#but you are literally shaking your fist at clouds for raining outside

[theslimeologist]

LEGALLY EVICTABLE FOR LAWN CARE CRIMES

i can only hope that one day people who use leafblowers on their residential lawns realize they look just as stupid as someone using a riding lawn mower. That is a heavy duty tool my friend.

The humble rake can do this job. For many fewer dollars. And zero environmental impact.

[anakinca]

hum... anakin taking care of us after we get sick.. would our dear nina be willing to write that..🤔

—❝safety net❞

anakin skywalker x reader

tw ; nothing, just pure fluff

a/n ; i was literally giggling and kicking my feet while i wrote this it was so fucking CUTE. i hope you all enjoy this, angels <3

THE STARS ARE COVERED BY THE DARK, RAIN FILLED CLOUDS THAT COVER THE SKY. The rainstorm outside raged on, drumming against the windows of your flat like the echo of a distant battle, but inside, the bedroom was a haven of warmth and comfort. The soft glow of the bedside lamps bathed everything in a dim, golden hue—from the tissues scattered across the bed, to the steaming bowl of soup resting on the nightstand. You sat bundled in the thickest blankets Anakin could find, your cheeks flushed with a fever and a faint pout on your lips. "I'm not sick," you sniffled stubbornly, though the congestion in your voice betrayed your words. You coughed into your fist, trying to look composed despite the obvious evidence to the contrary. "I don’t know what you’re talking about." Anakin arched an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth quirking up in that half-smirk you both loved and dreaded. "Sure, you’re not," he drawled, his voice low and teasing, but laced with concern. With practiced ease, he scooped up a spoonful of soup, holding it up to your lips with a quiet but insistent, "Here. Eat." You hesitated, only for him to nudge the spoon closer, his ocean eyes narrowing in mock impatience. "Don’t make me use the Force to get you to take this," he teased, though his voice softened as he added, "Please, angel." You took the spoonful reluctantly, earning a satisfied nod from him. "See?" He said, setting the bowl aside momentarily. "I told you not to go running around in the rain without an umbrella, but no, you had to have your dramatic holo-movie moment." He rolled his eyes playfully, a sigh escaping him as he handed you a mug of steaming tea next, his touch lingering on your fingers as he passed it to you. "And now look at you. Feverish, sniffling, and your nose is running faster than a podracer on Tatooine." You couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled out of you, even though it ended in a cough. Peeking up at him, you tilted your head and gave him your best wide-eyed, pleading look. "I won’t do it next time," you murmured, your voice soft and guilt-tinged. "Don’t be mad at me, Ani." He sighed, the sound heavy with feigned exasperation, though his expression betrayed nothing but affection and utter love for you. Sitting down beside you, he cupped your cheek with his gloved hand, his thumb brushing lightly over your fever-warmed skin. "Mad at you?" He repeated, his voice almost a whisper. "I could never be mad at you, my love. You could crash my starfighter into the Jedi Temple, and I’d still think the stars hung in your eyes. And you know how much I love my ship." You laughed weakly, leaning into his touch as warmth spread through your chest—not just from the soup, but from the way his love wrapped around you like a safety net. "Now, finish your soup," he said, his voice firmer but still impossibly gentle. "And then sleep. You need to rest if you’re going to get better." You nodded, obediently finishing the last of the soup before sinking deeper into the blankets. As he stood to take the bowl away, you mumbled through a yawn, "I’ll sleep, but you better not eat the last jogan fruit. That’s mine." Anakin chuckled, shaking his head as he crouched back down beside you, his gloved fingers brushing a stray lock of hair from your face. "I wouldn’t dare," he said, his voice soft with adoration. "Anything for you, my little troublemaker." “You’re the one calling me a troublemaker?” You murmured in a teasing tone as your eyelids grew heavier. He let out a small huff of a laugh, choosing to ignore your comment as he pulled the blankets over you more. As the rain continued its soothing rhythm outside, you drifted into sleep, comforted by his presence. Anakin stayed by your side a moment longer, watching your peaceful expression with a fond smile before pressing a feather-light kiss to your forehead.

"Sweet dreams, my love," he whispered, his voice a gentle promise. Then, as you dozed off, he thought of the bowl of jogan fruits sitting on the kitchen counter—with only one left inside—and smirked. For you, he’d leave it untouched—though he was already planning a trip to the market tomorrow to buy you an entire stash. Anything to see that smile on your face again.

@thesassypadawan @anakinstwinklebunny @sydkneez @dessxoxsworld @nikiloveshayden @sweetcheesecakesblog

let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the tag list, angels <3

[ilkkawhat]

for @panacaelium. head trauma and hypothermia, written about niko with some niko/lena that i added in. thank you for helping me crash through my block 💜

The drive to a crime scene at a remote meat packaging plant in the middle of the night was a recipe for disaster. The road was paved with a thin layer of ice and sandwiched between two walls of snow about a foot off the ground. There were no lights except the moon and the two bright beams from his vehicle, no sound but the hum of his engine and the lowered volume of his radio, murmurs of a rambling late night radio host that he only put on because coffee wasn’t enough to keep him awake. Niko cursed at himself for giving in to Kari’s request because the man himself had his obligations to stay for his family while Niko didn’t have anybody, something that had been on his mind more often than not as of late. 

The moon became hidden as he entered a thicket, he was getting closer to the plant. The frozen trees had looked like magnificent statues in daylight that he pointed out like shapes of clouds in the sky to his earlier passenger, but the darkness had since transformed them into looming stalking shadows that made him feel less comfortable. His foot leaned harder into the pedal out of an urge to get to his destination faster, as if something were chasing him. A trick of an exhausted mind, the rational part of him knew there was nothing following him, leaving only wafts of powdered snow billowing behind him. The road seemed like it was becoming narrower, twisting into itself like a spiral. He cut one curve a little too fast, heard an alarm in the form of tires warning him to slow down, which he tried to, but just as he did he drove into another curve in the opposite direction. He knew it wasn’t much longer until the road would straighten out, he took his foot off the gas, tried to coast back to control but his foot slammed the brake, a mistake but he swore he saw something move among the trees, coming at him—

The car swung around, he dared to think he would be safe in crashing backwards into the tree but as fast as his heart had rose in twisted hope, it sank in terror as the car swung itself horizontally into a tree on the driver’s side. His head bounced like a pinball against the window that didn’t crack, he felt an impact but didn’t feel any immediate damage to anything but the hood of his car. It wasn’t that bad, he dared to think, until he heard a tingling crack of an army of icicles that rained down onto his car like the worst type of hail.

He saw it just in time to hold up an arm to shield himself from the shattering glass cascading with a mixture of sharp shards and frozen ones. His body heaved in labored pants intercutting the ethereal wind now howling at at the door that he clamors out of, stumbling sideways into the snow.

He fumbled for his phone deep inside a jacket pocket as the world teetered beneath him. He rolled up into a sitting position, leant his back against the car as he pulled his phone up. Niko’s fingers trembled, his eyes squinted as he pressed the emergency numbers. Each press was a churn to his nauseating stomach. A fruitless effort, there was no service, no tower for the past five miles, at least. 

“Fuck!”

He pounded his fisted hand backwards against the car, another dent would just be a molehill to the mountain of payments he’d have to make to repair his car, if it wasn’t totaled entirely. The action triggered another shake of the tree, a small amount of snow added salt to his wound in an almost literal sense as the snow fell onto his head, further planting small shards of glass that had stuck to him further into his winter hat.

“Niko?”

A voice, clear as a whistle from the other side of the car. 

“Lena? Is…is that you?”

“In the flesh. You must have hit your head pretty hard to forget me.”

“But…but I came alone.”

“At first, until you just happened to pass by my home, catching me having a smoke outside and practically begging me to come with you.”

His heart sank. How could he have forgotten? How could he have been such an asshole and ignored her wellbeing in the crash? 

He dug out his flashlight and got to his feet, stumbled as he crawled onto the side of the driver’s seat to see Lena still sitting in the car, turned sideways to face him with frazzled hair, brushing glass off of her coat and out of her hair. 

“Y-You okay?” 

“I’ll live. You got a few pieces—” Lena gestured to her head, pointing out the spots in the mirror that Niko should pluck out. Slowly, he followed her movements, wincing as he removed the shards of glass from the top of his head. One of them was stuck to his skin. 

Once he was done he moved himself fully to the driver’s seat, a trail of heavy breaths ending in an even heavier sigh. 

“Phone doesn’t work,” he told Lena. 

“Figures.” 

“You don’t seem all that bothered by what happened,” Niko sneered back. He felt a twinge of pain in the spot that he pulled the glass from. He reached up and swiveled the rear view mirror closer, to get a better look at himself.

“Driving with an overtired Niko Uusitalo was just a disaster waiting to happen. You are allowed to tell Kari ‘no,’ you know.” 

His eyes followed the stream of blood that trickled from his forehead as it rolled over his cheek and into the snowy patch of his beard. He shivered as he raised a hand to wipe the snow away, but Lena caught his wrist and stopped him. She did it herself. He was equally annoyed and pleased by the gentleness of her touch.

Another shower of snow assaulted the car, but at a sprinkle’s pace. Consistent, and still threatening in their current situation. 

They sat in silence as Niko blinked hard a few times, trying to get the world to fall back into balance but he felt like he was on a rocking ship lost in the sea of snow. 

The wind continued to blow and he felt the increasing paleness of his skin. His teeth chattered together, his lips trembled and he bit back a whimper. It was only going to get colder. The snow would just keep piling. 

He craned his head to look through his backseat before he realized the emergency kit was in his trunk. He gave Lena one last look before he stepped outside of the car again. The alarm for the door being open somehow echoed louder and louder the further he got away from it. 

He staggered to his trunk, with an embarrassing amount of effort he popped it open. He wrapped a spare blanket he had around him, brushing off the rest of the snow that had fallen onto him, but the blanket still felt too thin—he still shivered, snow still fell onto it and melted into it. He may as well have been wearing a cape of ice.

He found a flare in the kit, and ignited it which sparked Lena’s attention. 

“We have to get shelter,” he explained himself. 

He drew an arrow in the snow, pointed the flare in the direction they would head towards.

“The meat plant isn’t too far off.” 

“Okay,” Lena agreed. “You got a first aid kit in there?”

“Huh?”

“Your head,” Lena traced the line of blood still pulsing.

“Uhm…no…I-I don’t know where it is…” he muttered, confused. He wiped the side of his face, it didn’t hurt so it must not be that bad. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine.”

She walked towards him, hooked her arm in his. He tried to shrug it off in protest but his next attempt at walking in a straight line made him fall into step with her. He felt like he was limping on a broken leg, the snow was a frosted white bog of tar pulling him down. 

“What does Kari need that couldn’t wait until morning?”  

“He doesn’t trust the daytime employees. He thinks the angle of the security camera was tampered with and also thinks there’s something in the manager’s office that maybe the night staff could help us unlock.”

“Without a warrant?”

“That’s suddenly a problem for you?” Niko chuckled. He looked behind him, the flare and the car were still within sight. 

“Ah, so that’s why you picked me up, huh?” 

“I don’t know why he didn’t call you in the first place.”

“He knows better than to bother me at this time of night. Unlike you.” Lena playfully nudged her shoulder into his. “I wouldn’t have come if I really minded, though,” she added when Niko gaped his mouth open in worried offense.

“Good. I’m….glad you came. I’m…sorry I got us into an accident.”

“Wasn’t your fault.”

Niko waved the flashlight across the field of snow. The world had finally stopped teetering but he still felt lightheaded in shock. The tire tracks that had helped him this morning had long since covered up with the new layer. 

Was there an intersection at this bit of road? Did they have to make at turn? He could have sworn it was a straight shot after the winding road but a wave of uncertainty shivered down his spine. Lena hadn’t gone with him and Kari to the scene during the day, she was waiting on him for direction. He gulped, and decided to just keep moving forward, they’d have to see the building soon enough. 

His feet began to feel sore. His head began to nod downwards. The silence between them felt unresolved. She said it wasn’t his fault but it most definitely was.  

He needed to talk it out.

“I know we said we wouldn’t talk about it—”

“So we are not going to,” Lena pinched his arm.

“I think we s-should,” Niko refuted with a nasty shiver. “What else do we have to talk about right now?”

“We could keep walking in silence.”

She started walking faster, tugging his arm in a warning to go just as fast or she’d throw him to the finish line. 

“Lena.”

Niko stopped, Lena stumbled out of his grip backwards to face him, but not to look at him in the eye as she rolled her eyes with a sigh. She hugged herself, pulling her coat as tightly as she could around her body but he saw small puffs of frustrated breath pipe out of her uncomfortably clenched teeth. 

“What’s there to talk about? We helped each other get what we needed. You want to do it again, is that it?”

“Well, yeah, but not right now.”

Lena laughed unbelievably. Her nose and cheeks were rosy red. 

“You’re not in your right mind for this. Next thing you’re going to tell me you love me.”

“I do.”

The words came out in a puff of cold air that hung suspended between them. Niko had said it with a bluntness to match her own. As if it was the simplest thing in the world for her to understand. He unraveled the blanket around him and approached her. She didn’t step back as he expected. She allowed him to put the blanket around her. There was a gleam of gratitude in the daggers of her eyes. 

They kept walking in a more comfortable silence and he dared to think his mind was finally at ease. He could see a shadow sprinkled with soft lights in the distance, square, tall, imposing. A factory behind an illuminated curtain of the falling snow. They were so close. He wrapped himself around her side, the crunch of the snow between their feet synchronized. 

But his heart froze when one of the crunches turned into a crack.

And that’s when he remembered, there was a small lake at the front of the property.

One of his legs gave out, and plummeted into a pit of ice water. He shoved Lena away before using both his arms to stop his entire body from sinking into the growing puddle but slammed his head down in effort to push himself up and out. Once he got enough height, he quickly scrambled backwards out of the water. His legs had gone to an immediate numb in the sheer cold, he couldn’t feel them. He held himself still, eyes wide in terror that the ice would continue to crack and the gaping maw of a frozen hell would swallow him completely. He turned his head, Lena had made it to what must have been the shore, and he slowly crawled his way towards her. 

“Niko! Quickly!” she barked at him. He kept reaching a hand out, searching for something to grab onto but even the packed snow didn’t offer much grappling, and his hand would fall onto the very flat surface he was trying to escape. He had to rely on his upper body to do the job but another bout of vertigo slowed him even further. Lena was on a slant, he feared that she would just slide down along with him.

“You idiot, come on!” Lena bent down, a hand reached out from the bundle of blanket towards him. He blinked, slower and harder with every labored breath. The numbness turned into a thousand needles and he stifled a whimper as the previously unpleasant crawl became painful. He tasted iron in his mouth, his wound must have opened again. 

Despite the effort and the pain, he used the returning sensation in his legs to give himself one final push onto a bed of snow with nothing but earth underneath it. He lay flat on his back, panting, and closed his eyes. 

“Niko? Niko! Stay with me!” Lena shouted at him. He felt something cover the lower half of his body, but the upper half suddenly felt colder. His fingers burned with pain at the smallest twitch, he suddenly feared they would snap off altogether.

His eyes opened, and in front of him Lena was above him, tapping the side of his cheek. Leaned in for a kiss, to resuscitate him. 

He blinked, and she was gone. Somebody else was in her place…Kari?

“Niko? Niko!” Niko narrowed his eyes, his mouth hung open. “You’re in shock,” Kari added in explanation. 

“Lena, where’s Lena?”

“She’s on her way.”

“On her way to where? She-she was just here…”

Niko turned his head, the blanket he thought he had given her was being lifted out of the snow by someone in the far distance. 

“I-I don’t…”

“It’s the hypothermia. Or the head wound,” Kari gently tapped Niko’s forehead. “Or maybe both.”

“How did you find me?” 

“You didn’t call me back, I knew how long it’d take for you to get there. It's a miracle I found you when I did,” Kari thumbed behind him to indicate the factory that he almost made it to. Kari’s eyes flicked up, and he got to his feet, waving his hands. “Hey! I found him! He’s over here!”

Niko winced at the sudden brightness once Kari pulled back the curtain. It was early morning, the sun was rising. He didn’t feel cold anymore, instead felt like he was being cooked alive.

“No, no, no, don’t do that,” Kari warned him as Niko tried to strip off the sweater he had under the coat that he must have wrestled off and put over his legs.  

“It’s hot…”

Kari puppetered Niko’s arms initially away from his body, his clothes, before crossing them together and pushing them onto his chest to keep him warm. 

“Help is on the way,” he advised the younger man. “Just stay with me.”

Kari morphed into Lena again. She was straddling him. 

“I like it on top,” Niko whined. 

“So do I, but it’s only fair we take turns.”

Niko closed his eyes again, and giggled.

“On top of what?” 

“Nothing,” Niko answered, maybe a little too quickly. “Can you let go of me now?”

“As long as you promise not to go streaking into the winter wilderness.”

He wouldn’t have the chance to do that anyway, as he started to slip back under the ice into unconsciousness. 

------------------------------------

He briefly awoke in the ambulance to feel his head get wrapped with a bandage, the wound in his forehead felt larger than before, and his eyes widened when he saw an icicle the size of a screwdriver melting into a pool of blood on the table beside him.

The throbbing faded away gently until he swam out of the darkness again, back into an overbearing light over his body, heating him up. 

“They’re roasting you like a chicken,” Lena dryly chuckled. 

His head lolled to the side to find her sitting with her legs crossed in a hospital chair, her coat draped over the side. She had been there a while. 

She pulled the chair closer, grabbing his hand.

“You okay, Frosty?” 

Better now that you’re here.

He nodded, biting down on his lower lip.

“Really…I’m glad you’re okay. I mean it.” 

“I know. I—...thank you.”

“When you’re feeling better…I think…we should talk. About the other night…I’ll make another house call to your place.”

His eyebrows rose. His heart fluttered. 

“I’d like that,” he croaked. 

“It’s a date then,” Lena smirked, patting the hand she cupped into her own.

[tonberry-yoda]

You know I have to ask—a crumb of Polnareff, mayhaps? Something sweet like dancing in the rain or snuggling by the fire <3

omg the way I SMILED when I saw that you put in a request. this literally made my day so now it's time for me to make yours! I don't get enough Polnareff requests on here, so thank you for putting one in! I hope you enjoy and have an amazing day!! <333

Dancing in the Rain - Jean Pierre Polnareff

Pairing - Polnareff x reader

Warnings - none!!!

Word Count - 492

Notes - I know you said dancing in the rain or snuggling by the fire, but I got carried away and did both lmaoooo. I really loved this idea and I am super thankful that I got a request from you @junosartsthetic!!! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and enjoy!!

You sighed, resting your fist on your cheek. You were nearly done, but a break had to be in order or else you would be super stressed.

“Mon cheri?” Polnareff yawned walking into your room scratching his head. “What are you doing up so late?”

You turned to Polnareff and smiled. “Nothing, love. Go to bed, okay?”

Polnareff frowned, seeing all the work you had piled on your desk. “How long have you been up doing that?”

Your cheeks flushed pink. “Since uh… after dinner. But I was procrastinating a lot if I'm being honest with myself.”

“I see,” Polnareff said, pulling on a pair of sweatpants of his that he found sitting in your room. “Come outside. Take a break with me.”

You smiled, grabbing his hand. “That sounds really nice actually.”

Polnareff led you out of your stuffy room and handed you a jacket, opening the front door. He smiled at what was outside, but you just said, “Shit.”

“What’s wrong, dear?” Polnareff tried pulling you outside in the pouring rain, but you stayed still.

“I… It’s raining.”

“So?” He tilted his head and you just grinned, following him outside.

You two just stood in the rain for a little while, watching the moon get covered by rain clouds. You jumped feeling Polnareff’s cold hand slide onto your hips and moved to hold onto him. You wrapped your arms around the back of his neck and he held you close, swaying you in the rain.

“It feels nice to get some fresh air, doesn't it, y/n?”

You just giggled feeling the raindrops tickle your nose as the warmth from Polnareff’s torso encased you in nothing but love.

Soon, you and Polnareff were twirling in the rain, holding each other, and laughing the whole time. It's like all the stress from earlier that day just faded and you were shrouded in nothing but joy.

“Come on, mon cheri!” Polnareff shouted over the heavy rain that began to fall. “Let’s go inside! I don't want you to get a cold!”

You followed him, trying to avoid as many raindrops as you could. When you got inside, Polnareff ran to the bathroom and handed you a towel, which you wrapped yourself in.

“I'll get a fire started in the fireplace. In the meantime, love, do you mind making us some hot cocoa?” Polnareff said, shaking water out of his white hair.

You smiled at the idea. “I would love to.”

When you came back to the living room, you were greeted by the crackling of fire and Polnareff still wrapped in his towel.

“Here you go, Pol.” You handed him his cocoa and scooted close to him, his large arm wrapping around you.

“Merci, love.”

“Thank you,” you leaned on his chest, breathing in the scent of burning wood. “For a wonderful night. I needed that.”

“Anytime dear, anytime.”

You ended up falling asleep in his arms. Your work would have to wait.

~~~~~

jjba masterlist --- pinned post

@tonberry-yoda

[luna-jaden-shadow]

Electric Love

Plot - Out of everything you could be afraid of, it’s thunder and while you find it stupid and childish, Karl finds it rather cute as it’s a free card to get to hold you and mess around to “take your mind off of it”

Fluff & Smut

Warning - Fear of thunder, Karl being a cocky little shit, teasing, smut, praise kink, degradation, pet names, dirty talk, biting, unprotected sex (stay safe people), 

Pairing - Karl Heisenberg X Fem!Reader

[ I was feeling fluffy then I was drawing him on the side and now it’s smutty. Rough smut next? ]

-><-

-><-

You had been dreading it all day, the storm that had been brewing and stirring since around lunch time. The dark clouds twist and only get darker as it starts to shift into night. You stand in front of the window of your room, staring out at the forest and ever darkening sky above. The natural hum of the factory had always kept you at peace but with the storm coming in you were on edge. When the rain started to come down you only grew more anxious as you tried to focus on the factory noise and the idea of your lover coming back soon. 

The rain outside only got louder, beating against the glass of the window Your heart’s racing in your chest as you back up and head to your bed. The room lights up with the flash of lightning as it carves its path across the dark sky. The thunder follows too quick and makes you jump, nearly falling and missing the bed had you not caught yourself. Your hand presses to your chest as you let out a shaky breath and settle on the bed. 

When another round of lightning passes you’re pressing your hand to your mouth, turning away from the window. You would have drawn the curtains but Karl had yet to fix them from when you two had broken them during a rather rough round of sex. There’s a knock on the door before it opens and the head of your favorite inventor pops in from behind the door. “Hey.” He greets before walking the rest of the way into the room, looking you over behind his glasses. “Still scared of big old thunder?” He muses, removing his hat and placing it on the chair by the door. 

You would have shot him a glare had it not been for the next crack of lighting and roar of thunder that drew a whimper from you. His eyes soften instantly at your frightened state as you can’t help but reach your arm out towards him, making a grabbing motion with your hand. “It’s not funny.” Comes out broken and shaky from you as he strides over to his side of the bed. 

“I know Kitten.” He takes your hand in his, sitting beside you and pulling you close. “I’m sorry,” his voice is soft as you bury your face in his chest. Had you been literally anyone else he would have kept on with the teasing and poking fun, but you meant everything to him and he hates seeing you sad. Karl smiles, knowing that you trust him enough to hold you like this while there’s a storm raging outside. 

Karl leans back against the headboard, looking at the window then down to you as you hold his trench coat in tight fists. Karl runs his hand up and down your back, letting it linger on your lower back every time as he pulls you closer to sit so you’re straddling him. 

His breath fans over the side of your face as he leans down to whisper in your ear. “Let me take your mind off of the scary storm baby.” He presses a kiss below your ear, nipping at your earlobe. He smirks when you take in a sharp breath and your head tilting slightly at his touch. “Atta girl.” He proceeds to slowly kiss your neck, savoring every kiss to driver you crazy about him and make you focus on him and only him. 

As bites up to your jaw his hands trail down to rest on your ass, squeezing just to hear the gasp that leaves you. You can’t help the hum that leaves you as he bites your jaw and raises a hand to gently hold you by the chin to get you to look at him. Your eyes met and he licks his lips, taking you in before pressing your lips together. It wasn’t often that he was gentle when it came to being this intimate. 

You don’t hesitate to open your mouth, letting him deepen the kiss while he slowly nudges your hips on his lap. Your breathing gets heavier as he guides you to grinding slowly on him while he pulls back to watch your expression. “Look at you Kitten.” He coos, watching your jaw slack with your soft whimpers, “So good.” He presses another quick kiss to your lips. His hands trail around to grip your thighs, leaving you to shamelessly grind against him while he admires you. “You’re so good for me kitten.” Karl bites his lip looking you up and down with a toothy smile. 

His hands raise goosebumps as they trail up and under your shirt, hiking it up as he reaches your chest. A broken moan leaves you as he squeezes your breasts before pulling off your shirt. He leans in fast, kissing and biting at your collar bone and with the flick of his wrist, your bras undone and off somewhere else in the room. He can’t help but take in a sharp breath when you give a particularly hard jerk of your hips. “Fuck.” You curse, back arching towards him as he bites at your breasts and sucks a nipple into his mouth. Your breathing gets faster, more moans leaving you as he gropes you with one hand while he teases your nipple with his tongue, yellow/green eyes looking up at you.

“You’ve been so good.” He mumbles against your skin, pulling your nipple between his teeth before switching breasts. He curses under his breath, now incredibly hard under you as you grind on his clothed member. “You close baby?” He feels the way your hips snap, growing tired with doing the work but chasing the release that’s building in you. 

You nod, moaning when he suddenly bucks his hips up. “Karl.” He gives a cocky smirk again, bucking his hips again before he reaches his free hand down and into your pants, rubbing at your clit. Once more, your hips jerk off rhythm and you moan out his name. 

His assault on your clit is relentless as your pace picks up, more and more moans leave you as you draw to the edge of your release. “Come on Kitten.” He whispers, biting your neck. “Cum for me. Come on girly, come like the slut you are for me.” You gasp, clinging to him as your orgasm hits, your face pressed against his shoulder before he grabs your jaw and gently pulls it back. “Look at me pretty girl.” He forces you to look at him while you come undone on top of him. You moan his name, eyes flickering between being open and being closed.

When it passes, Karl grabs your hips and shifts, making you lay down on the bed. You’re still panting while he stands up, shedding his layers of clothes. Once he’s stripped you two work on taking off your pants and underwear, leaving the two of you completely naked. Karl gets back on the bed, spreading your legs with his hands running up your thighs as he positions himself between your legs. 

“Damn, look at you.” He runs one of his hands over your opening, pulling away slowly to show the string of wetness that comes off it. “So fucking wet for me.” He leans down, kissing you while using one hand ot tease you with his member. “You ready Kitty?” You nod and he slowly pushes into you, connecting your lips again. “Fucking Hell Kitten.” He curses, sitting up as he fills you till your hips touch and he’s fully in you. He doesn’t move for a minute, letting you adjust while he runs his hands over your body. 

“Please.” You beg him, getting him to groan when you shift your hips to get him to move. “Karl please move.” Smirking, Karl leans back just enough to look you in the eyes. 

“Needy tonight huh?” He smirks, slowly starting to move himself in and out of you. The moans he pulls from you has him picking up his pace just to hear more. “That’s it baby, let me hear you.” Your back arches as his thrusts grow faster and harder. You grip his shoulders as he leans over you, his hands propping him up beside your head, caging you against the bed. “Fuck,” he growls, head tilting back slightly as you tighten around him, quickly approaching your second orgasm. 

You moan out his name, eyes closed as you get closer to your release. “Please, please.” You’re begging him to let you go over the edge. 

He’s in love with seeing you beg for him, knowing that only he can make you feel this good. “You wanna cum again kitten? Greedy aren’t you?” All you can do is nod, moaning at his words and the way that he’s driving in and out of you at a pace and strength that has the headboard lightly tapping on the wall behind it. He leans in close to you, finding himself once again nipping at your ear. “I wanna hear you scream for me kitten.” He bites down on your neck, getting you to go over the edge to your orgasm. 

You scream out his name, scratching at his shoulder blades and back as you come undone under him. He can feel your legs shake with the shocks of your orgasm and he lets out a breathy moan as you grip him and pull him to his own release. As much as he hates it, Karl pulls out and finishes on your stomach, left panting and admiring the sight in front of him. 

“Damn, you look so good covered in me.” He smirks, watching your marked up chest rise and fall with your quick breaths. “I’ll be right back.” He presses a kiss to your head, getting off of the bed and walking off before returning with a towel. Reaching out, he runs a finger through the white liquid on your stomach and raises it to your lips. “Can’t let it all go to waste.” Tiredly, you open your mouth and suck on his finger while he uses his other hand to wipe you off. “Good girl.” His eyes wonder away from you and to the window, seeing the storm having calmed down and passed. “How about a bath hmm?” 

You nod, reaching your arms out to him making the grabby hands that he loves so much. He chuckles, picking you up in his arms and striding towards the bathroom.

[saphirered]

Hey! You asked for individual character requests, so how about Vex x Reader (I thought I’d give you a break from EXU as well), where the reader has a massive crush on Vex, but is unfortunately really scared of Trinket? And maybe something about Vex helping them to relax and bond? Thanks regardless! I love your writing x

Thanks for requesting! This was definitely a fun one to write so I hope you enjoy! 😘

-

You may or may not like Vex. Okay, maybe a but more than just like, closer to a major crush but how could you not? Vex’s intelligent, quick-witted, drop dead gorgeous and don’t even get started on the woman’s charm or you might just swoon. Gods above, you’ve fallen for the half-elf hard. The worst part; you know she likes you too. She’s stated so several times, flirting with you more than anyone else and not just to get something from you. She’s not shy about it and takes every opportunity she can get to make you blush. It’s great, or would be great were it not for your very reasonable fear for big hulking bears and Vex just happens to call one such bear her closest of buddies if not closer to a fur baby.

You’re not sure what to do. Trinket, you know, is nothing short of lovely but you cannot get over your fears no matter how much you may like Vex. You’ve kept your distance and retreated within your shell every time the big grizzly is around. Bears are scary. Sharp claws and teeth, super strong. They can climb, swim and run. They’re great trackers too so there’s really no getting away from them.

“Darling, do you have a moment?” You’re seated at the table scribbling away on some paperwork you needed to take care of. Someone has to assure there’s any food and drink left after Grog has one of his solo exclusive parties again. They’re not really parties and only consist of him inviting Scanlan and Vax for a night of binging food and ale until the sun comes up but you’re always out of groceries right after.

Vex peaks around the corner leaning on the doorpost arms crossed. You put down your pen and nod. Vex nods her own head to the hallways behind her and you get the message getting up and following her to wherever she’s leading you. There’s a determination in her step but she tries to cover everything else which leaves you worried just a bit. What’s she up to?

“Vex, where are we going?” You fall in line next to her as you begin to ascend the stairs.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ve found the perfect sight I think you might enjoy and simply wouldn’t want you to miss out before the weather changes. I’d like to discuss some things with you too so, two birds one stone?” Okay that does sound like a reasonable explanation. Maybe almost a little too reasonable now you think of it. You continue walking until you’re stopped in front of a door, Vex opens it and allows you to step in.

Immediately you see the late afternoon sun shine through the clouds, casting rays of golden light upon the landscape contrasting with the darkened grey of the rain ahead. It’s an absolutely beautiful sight. You enter the room walking up to the window as Vex steps in and closes the door behind her. You hear a grumble and a soft but forceful ‘shh’ behind you.

“Just my stomach. I’m afraid I haven’t had lunch yet. Would you like to enjoy some with me?” You turn around at the offer, seeing the table to the side set with lunch for two and a huge plate of fresh fish. A brown grizzly tries to nibble on the tail of one fish in an attempt to pull it off the plates without his momma noticing and is quickly scolded.

“Trinket! What did I say! Stay hidden!” Vex scolds the bear as you squeal making a break for the door but Vex is quicker and grabs you by the arms stroking your shoulders in a calming motion as Trinket growls in shame, for disappointing Vex and being tempted by the delicious fish.

“Let me go, Vex.” You almost beg and Vex offers you a sad smile.

“I’m afraid I can’t just yet. I wanted to ease you into this but as we’re a bit short on time, we’ll have to take this route. Now calm down, just breathe, in and out. That’s it.” You do as she says, Vex guiding you and preventing a mental breakdown of being face to face with your fear in an enclosed space. Her presence makes it a little better knowing she at least is able to control Trinket to an extend and you know he won’t attack you outright but doesn’t get rid of the fear.

“Now, are you alright to sit down or am I going to have to tie you up to prevent you from running? I’m not opposed to the latter but I think we’d both prefer better circumstances.” Vex jokes, or half jokes. You know her well enough for that. You nod and she guides you over to the table, sitting you down on one chair while taking the other next to you, rubbing circles in your back to keep some nerves at bay as trinket makes himself comfortable, laying down, eyes closed but occasionally peaking, pretending to be asleep, much akin to a young child having been told to go to bed.

“Shall we eat?” Vex gestures to the set table and you have to admit the food does look divine, maybe minus the plate of fish though. You look between her and Trinket. You can do this. You’ve been in the same space as Trinket plenty of times before. Granted, those times the spaces were much bigger and there were several people between you and the bear at all times.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I could do with some food.” Your voice shakes but Vex smiles anyway. Small steps are better than none at all. She half expected you to have made a break for the window. She took all the precautions and ‘fear-proofed’ the room just in case. Awkwardly you’re eating and if Vex has learned one thing from animals is they don’t eat when they really mistrust the company, so people can’t be much different right? Vex attempts small talk asking you about your day and such and while you replied you always keep an eye on Trinket not so successfully pretending to be a sleep even mustering a fake snore.

Halfway through Vex keeps staring at you absentmindedly playing with her food leaning her chin upon her enclosed fist. She’s got plenty of ideas running through her head but all are circumstantial. Maybe she’ll go for a hail Mary.

“Darling, do you trust me?” The question makes you look at her confused. Have you done anything to show that you don’t? You don’t think so.

“Of course I do. You’ve saved my life more than I can count. I trust you more than anyone.” You admit a bit wary of where this is going but it’s Vex and what you said is true.

“Could you close your eyes for me?” You look between her and Trinket biting your lip. You do trust Vex but within your own head a battle between that love and trust for her and your fear for the big fuzzy animal rages on. What are you supposed to do?

Vex sees your struggle and gets up from her seat. She gracefully walks around the table making sure your eyes stay focussed on her and kneels down in front of you. Taking both of your hands in hers she squeezes them softly and gives you a gentle comforting smile.

“I want you to know your trust is not misplaced so I’ll give you this.” Vex takes the necklace from her neck and puts it around yours.

“Now I want this back when we leave this room but for now you’re in control of it. Will you close your eyes for me?” She asks once more. Her expression says enough to let you know if you don’t want this you don’t have to and literally anything but closing your eyes will show her you’re not ready yet and that would be okay. There’s no shame in taking small steps or finding a different approach. She’d come to terms with that too but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t relieved and happy when you nodded and closed your eyes.

Darkness. That’s all you see, and the occasional movement of light outside bleeding through distorting that darkness from time to time. You’re hyper focused on your other senses and you’re unsure wether that be because of closing one sense off or because you’re practically shaking with fear awaiting for that fight or flight reaction to kick in. You smell the sweet fruit from your plate, the gentle kick of the fermented grape juice, and of course the slight saltiness of fresh fish. You hear a grumbled moan and the sound of paws-no sharp nails hitting the fine stone floor step by step almost drowned out by the soft whispers of encouragement of Vex.

Trinket, as quietly and carefully as he can makes his way over to you. Vex shushes him a couple of times and the bear loyalty obeys the commands, laying down at your side. Vex takes one of your hands and you jump a little when she does so she turns to rubbing circles in the back of it as she guides your hand away from your lap towards Trinket.

“You’re doing great.” Vex can feel the gentle shake of your hand but you don’t resist so very slowly she guides you towards Trinket until your fingers touch his fur. You breathe in sharply holding your breath upon contact and freeze up, waiting for something to happen, be that a sharp claw slashing out at you, teeth munching down on you, a roar in your face but none of these come. Even Trinket awaits in suspense for your responses, his bear senses giving him enough insight in your discomfort.

Once you’ve gotten a moment to adjust Vex takes her hand off yours watching both you and Trinket. You don’t dare open your eyes yet but in the back of your mind you hear words of encouragement. You’re doing great. You got this and before you know it your fingers glide, all be it a little rigid and awkwardly, through Trinket’s fur.

“Perfect, darling. You’re doing absolutely wonderful.” You nod afraid to speak and break the spell you definitely must be under with this newfound courage.

Vex couldn’t be more proud of you. When you walked in here she wasn’t even sure she could have you be in the same room as Trinket for more than ten minutes and now you’re petting the bear. She watches as you slowly peak through one eye and when you deem the coast clear open the other too watching in amazement.

“He’s so soft…” You breathe barely audible and Vex laughs. Trinket grumbles at the compliment making you pull away your hand and jump a little but when no repercussion comes you put it back and continue petting the bear, who begins purring softly almost akin to an oversized cat. You can still feel your heartbeat in your throat but this is going relatively okay until you begin seeing spots and you start feeling dizzy. Vex notices and pulls your hand away from Trinket offering you your glass.

“Maybe that’s enough for now? We’ll take it easy.” You nod and feel the nerves subside as Trinket returns to his comfy spot by the window. It may be best not to push your luck and drive yourself into a panic attack.

“Don’t worry, darling. Before you know it we’ll have you riding into battle on Trinket’s back. Won’t you like that Trinket?” She shouts over her shoulder to the bear who replies in a happy moan. Vex pours you another glass of wine after she watches the colour drain from your face. Let’s stick to small steps. But for now, the first ones have been taken. Besides, she can’t deny you’ll look absolutely marvellous riding into battle on her favourite Trinket.

[jjaspr]

𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝟎𝟎𝟏: 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 

Characters: Jasper (age 20); feat. DJ, an npc Summary: One of his more significant break-ups in a long line of failed relationships Time Period: September 8, 2015, 2:30pm  Setting: In DJ’s car, outside Jasper’s dorm building in Vancouver Tags: @vancityroleplay

Trigger warnings: toxic relationship, mentions of death, mentions of bullying and implied homophobia

It’s late afternoon, but you wouldn’t know it from the lack of sunlight. The sky is one colossal dark gray cloud and the ferocity of the ongoing thunderstorm suggests the world is coming to an end. Jasper has his hood up when he runs to DJ’s idling blue Jeep, but he’s still soaking when he climbs inside. 

“Sorry,” he says breathlessly, pushing the hood down and ruffling his hair. “I got super distracted with that project for my sculpture class.” Evidenced by the paint all over his hands and up his arms, but at least his hoodie covers the worst of it. “It’s coming together though, it looks awesome, you should come inside and see it later.”

DJ says nothing. His elbow is leaned against the window, fingers in his hair, the other hand in his lap, holding his phone. The rain drums endlessly against the car. 

“What?” Jas presses after a minute, already annoyed. It’s so fucking classic DJ, quietly seething about something instead of just saying it. “What’s your problem now?”

“You fucked Ian,” says DJ bluntly, finally turning his head. Jasper’s chest contracts, but an angry, helpless sort of self-righteousness safely buries the guilt before it can make him too sick to his stomach.

“And?“ he says coolly. “I didn’t realize you were monitoring my sexual activity, Deej. I could’ve made it easier and started a Google sheet for you.”

“God, you’re so fucking —” He breaks off, hand coming away from his hair to ball into a fist briefly and go limp again. Jas can see his jaw muscles working, too. His own posture hardens, but worst of all, he can feel his throat swelling up like it does when his emotions take him off guard and there’s suddenly a horrible possibility of tears. Normally, this wouldn’t bother him — he hasn’t given a shit in years what anybody thinks about him sleeping around, but DJ is different. Because he likes DJ. Kind of a lot, actually, only he’s still been trying to figure out how to deal with that.

“I’m so fucking what?”

“Selfish,” says DJ. “You’re so fucking selfish, Jasper.”

Jasper laughs incredulously. “For fucking Ian? Are you serious?”

“Are you serious?” asks DJ. “You’re gonna fuck one of my friends —?”

“Your friends?” Jasper echoes, twisting in his seat and raising his voice. “I’m sorry, what the fuck am I, a leech?”

“Oh my god —”

“No, I’m glad you’re being honest,” Jas cuts him off. “I’m so, so glad you’re being honest, DJ, because I wouldn’t wanna go around thinking your pretentious asshole friends actually like me when they’re really just tolerating me like they would any of your hookups —”

“We’re just hookups, huh?”

“What does that even mean?” Jasper demands. His heart is pumping so hard he can feel it in his fingertips, and far off in the distance there’s a low, threatening roll of thunder. “What the fuck does that even mean, what else are we supposed to be? Boyfriends?”

DJ stares at him a few seconds, frowning, like he’s trying to read beneath the words, then says in a low voice, “I thought we were…” He shakes his head. “Something.”

“We literally fuck other people all the time,” says Jas.

“Yeah,” DJ agrees, “strangers. One night stands. Not my fucking friends.”

“I’m sorry, is this for real?” Jasper laughs. The tears are finally stinging behind his eyes. “So we were, like, unspokenly ‘something,’ whatever the fuck that means, while also openly having casual sex with other people every weekend and you being literally incapable of showing any emotion towards me that isn’t horny or angry or both?”

“We talked about my fucking dead cousin a couple weeks ago, Jasper!” DJ shouts just as a deafening crack of thunder rattles the sky. To Jasper’s utter horror, he realizes he isn’t the only one on the verge of tears. “Last week you were telling me about that dude who bullied you in high school!”

“Yeah, and then you blew me off to fuck some girl from your Poli Sci class the next day.”

“I didn’t fucking blow you off!” DJ says. “We didn’t have plans —!”

“Oh, we didn’t have plans!” says Jas, approaching hysterics. “Cool cool cool, so let me just get this straight. We’re something when I feel like fucking somebody so you can act all betrayed and shit but when you’re telling me you’re too busy to hang out because you’re fucking someone, that’s, like, totally fine and normal.”

“You fucked Ian!” DJ says again. The side of his fist comes down on the wheel. “How do you not see the difference there?”

“Why didn’t you just tell me you fucking liked me then!” Jas yells, and wipes furiously at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. “You could’ve just said it!”

“You’re impossible to talk to, Jasper.” His voice is cold and Jasper realizes suddenly that something has broken between them. Just like that, with no warning or gentle easing into it. “I never know what the fuck you want from me, don’t act like I could’ve just come out and been like, ‘hey, by the way, it’d be cool if we could go on a date or something,’ when you know you’d have sprinted in the other direction after laughing at me.”

“Incredible, that’s your assumption, is it —?”

“I’m not finished,” DJ says over him, and Jasper’s jaw clicks shut. “I can’t keep up with you anymore. One day you’re talking about how it’s hot when we ‘hate fuck,’ whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean, and I never said anything ‘cause, like, yeah, it was fun at first when you were this really interesting and super hot little fucking freak obviously starting fights with me on purpose, whatever, we both got off on it. But then lately you have these moments sometimes where you’re, like…” He pauses, clenches his jaw, swallows, and Jasper wipes at his cheeks again but stays silent. “You’re, like, kinda soft or whatever? And it seems like maybe you’d want more. But then the other night I asked you to stay over and you got all freaked out and left. And then you fucked. Ian.” He sighs. “And that’s it for me, Jas. I’m not doing this anymore with you, it’s emotionally exhausting.”

Jasper licks his lips and turns away to stare out the windshield, where the wipers are working fruitlessly against the downpour.

“Okay,” he says. 

Next to him, DJ shakes his head again and utters a short, humorless laugh. “Okay,” he echoes.

“So we’re not going to Opus, then.”

“Nothing to say, huh?”

“What do you want me say? You just told me you’re not doing this anymore.”

“And that’s cool with you?” says DJ. “You’re fine just calling it quits, just like that?”

“What should I do, DJ?” says Jasper sarcastically. “Beg you to give me a chance to explain myself? Yeah, I’m kind of a fuckwit and bad at relationships, I know that and I’ve never pretended otherwise, but don’t act like you’re some patron saint of communication, alright? Don’t act like I’m the evil sex demon luring you into an emotional trap, you could��ve told me how you were feeling straight up, and I’m not talking about asking me to have a sleepover after we fuck —”

“You would’ve done what you always do!” DJ says desperately. “You would’ve changed the subject or turned it into sex or suddenly had somewhere to go and you know it!”

“I’m allowed to be freaked out!” Jasper shouts. “I’m sorry, okay! This shit isn’t fucking easy for me, it’s not like I don’t have feelings for you, you fucking know I do!”

“Then why did you fuck Ian?” DJ says, and Jasper buries his face in his hands, palms pressing into his eyes until he sees stars. Ian, Ian, Ian. 

“Because you blew me off,” he admits finally, dropping his hands and turning back to DJ. “Because you could’ve canceled on that fucking rando when I asked if you wanted to hang out the other night but you went out of your way to tell me you had plans to get your dick wet, DJ. I’m not the only one culpable here, okay? You fucking do it too. You play games. You wanted me to know you were fucking someone.”

For a long minute there’s only the sound of the rain. Then DJ says, “I wanted you to tell me not to.”

“Well that’s fucking manipulative and weird,” says Jasper. 

“Yeah, it is,” says DJ. “The way we act with each other is fucked up.”

“Great. Good thing we’re done then.” He picks at his chipping blue nail polish. “You freak out at Ian too or is it just my fault?”

“He just told me two minutes before you came out here.”

Jas whips his head around, pausing in his anxious picking. “Ian told you?”

“Yeah, he texted me.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause he feels bad, Jasper,” DJ says wearily. “‘Cause he and everyone else knew we were a thing even if we hadn’t put a label on it. And yeah, obviously I’m pissed at him too, it was a huge fucking betrayal. If you didn’t think it was a big deal, why didn’t you tell me?”

Instead of answering — because the answer is that Jasper did know it would hurt him, and maybe he’d been pulling the exact same thing DJ had pulled with that girl the other night — he picks up his backpack from where he’d set it between his feet.

“Are we going to Opus or not?” he asks. “‘Cause I need art supplies.”

“No,” says DJ, “we’re not going to fucking Opus. Are you gonna answer the question?”

“What’s the point?” Jasper asks. He feels distinctly like he’s going to throw up. 

“‘Cause I wanna hear you say it. That you did it on purpose.”

“Fine,” Jasper says tonelessly. “I did it on purpose. Happy?”

“Not even a little.”

“You, hard to please?” says Jasper, fingers on the door handle. “That’s new.”

“You know, we may have both done fucked up shit to each other, Jas,” he says, “but you put the last nail in the coffin when you fucked one of my best friends. This could’ve been something. Now it can’t.”

“Great,” says Jasper. The tightness of his chest and stinging in his eyes tells him the next time he opens his mouth, he’s going to start crying for real. And he desperately wants to be in his dorm when that happens. “Is that it then?”

“Guess so.”

“Cool.” He opens the Jeep’s door and the rain soaks the side of his right leg. “Have a nice fucking life.”

[dongofthewolf]

Everything in Between- Chapter 1

Abby Anderson x Fem!Reader

The reader stumbles across Abby one sleepless night and can’t help but become an absolute stuttering mess.

Warnings: swearing, mild violence, fluff, bad grammar lol

I’m extremely new to this so please be gentle T-T

Read chapter 2 here !

The first thing that you always noticed about a person was their eyes (it’s cliché you knew that, but you really couldn’t help it), and anyways… that was the first thing you noticed about her. The first time you saw her it was pouring outside; the kind of pouring where it got dark at 5pm and the reflections in the puddles on the pavement—partly distorted by the heavy raindrops—looked like fun house mirrors. It was brief and she only passed you for a second, but the clouds that were concealing the sun left a shadow of darkness in the air and in her eyes. Making her regularly blue eyes a much darker shade from the lack of sunlight, a blue that looked like the part of the ocean you can see from the shore but avoid from fear you may drown in it. 

You had forgotten your umbrella that day leaving your hair drenched, you were shivering from the cold and desperately made your way to your room as quickly as you could. But as you hastily walked with your head down in an effort to conceal your eyes from the raindrops, you bumped into her. She was a lot taller than you and was incredibly built, she had her long blonde hair in a neat braid and was wearing some simple cargo pants with a grey sweater. She was also carrying some bags but you were walking too fast to really get a good look at them. Although this was the first time you had seen her and it was only for a moment you’ll never forget those eyes, those dark blue eyes that made it seem as if she was hiding from something. That was the first time you saw her but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

It was stormy again but at least today you were inside, the howling of the wind against the windows woke you up and when you glanced at the digital clock it read 2:30. You always had trouble falling asleep again once you were woken from your slumber, and found that you required at least an hour before you could actually sleep again. Since it was so late though you figured that the cafeteria would be empty and you could grab a cup of tea before going back to bed, you also often sat in the commons room to read because it’s pretty isolated from the rest of the place and very seldom did anyone else sit there too. 

You pulled a black crewneck over your messy hair and put on some slides before making your way down to the cafeteria, the hallways leading up to it were lit with fluorescent lights that burned your eyes when you stepped out of the darkness of your room. It was surprisingly silent (with the exception of your footsteps of course) and after living in a place constantly occupied by so many people for so many years, it was a rare occasion to find some peace and quiet; an anomaly that still surprised you to this day. 

The cafeteria was nothing special, there were 30-40 folding tables lined up near the big tear stained windows and next to the kitchen there was a communal fridge with a basket of fruits no one dared to touch. Cabinets lined the whole half of the room and you reached into the second last one to grab some chamomile tea before setting the kettle on the stove. 

You sat by the windows while you waited for the water to boil when you saw a strike of lightning, it was purple and quickly followed by a large cracking noise which weirdly enough didn’t quite startle you. You supposed that after all these years of living in a place that is universally known to rain more than anything, you become accustomed to the crashing sound of thunder and the sudden flashes of lightning. Plus, it’s a lot better than the sound of guns going off or those dreaded clickers that haunted your nightmares. So consumed by your thoughts you hadn’t even noticed the whistling noise coming from the tea kettle. It wasn’t until you heard an unfamiliar voice that nearly made you leap out of your skin, you turned around and standing there was the very girl you had briefly seen that rainy afternoon just three days ago.

“You gonna get that or should I?” She was wearing some grey sweats and a khaki tank top that showcased her huge biceps, you admired her toned forearms, unable to form any combination of words that wouldn’t make you sound like a complete and utter idiot. She must have noticed you staring though because she repeated the question with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk. “Hello?” She asked.

“Right… sorry” you immediately responded. You laughed nervously and hurriedly ran to the tea kettle, a small blush forming on your cheeks as you removed it from the stovetop. While pouring the hot water into a small cup you quickly threw the tea bag in so she wouldn’t notice your shaking hands, as you threw the bag in you quietly ignored the quickening beat of your heart. At this point you couldn’t tell if the shaking was because you were startled by her sudden presence or if you were nervous because of the literal goddess staring down at you.

“Sorry again about that I was just distracted.” You looked up and she was studying you with those same blue eyes, the intensity from her gaze made you ramble on.

“Did you want some tea? I accidentally boiled too much water, I guess eyeballing measurements just isn’t my forte.” You chuckled again, clearly flustered by this gorgeous woman looking at you in your damn pajamas. Somehow even at two in the morning she managed to look effortlessly beautiful and you couldn’t help but be fiercely jealous of her overwhelming confidence. Up until now, no one had ever had this effect on you, then all of a sudden this stranger looks at you once and BOOM you’re a stuttering mess.

“Sure, does this place have any chamomile tea?” She said nonchalantly while grabbing a chair from the stack in the corner. She sat in it backwards with her arms resting on top of the chair and you flashed a glance at her toned forearms “holy shit is she strong” you thought.

“Yeah, I’m having some too actually.” You poured out the tea and sat down across from her, this was the first time you had actually been able to really see her and you were in awe of how gorgeous she was; Her hair was in a simple braid which had a few strands astray (most likely from sleeping in it) and she had these adorable freckles that spread from her face all the way down to her arms. She was staring at her cup with those same intense blue eyes—this time the fluorescents adding a tint of green to them—she looked like a statue that was literally sculpted by the Gods and you couldn’t take your eyes off of her. As you looked down at her calloused hands that were cupping the warm ceramic cup, you noticed that they were a lot larger than your own, but they also had a delicacy to them; the kind of delicacy that deserved to be in a museum. Every aspect of her was absolutely perfect and never in your life had you seen someone like her, you were struck with this sudden need to know everything about her (even though she didn’t really seem like the chatty kind). Consumed by the essence of her beauty and strength you almost hadn’t realized that she was talking to you, and “oh God” You thought “I was staring again”.

“So uh… what’s your name?” It was obvious she was trying to fill the silence but there was a softness and kindness to her words, almost as if she was trying to appear harmless. 

“Y/n and yours?” You replied in the calmest way that you could even though your hands were shaking like crazy, you gripped on to your cup for dear life hoping she wouldn’t notice. You were always so terrible around new people and now with the combination of not just a complete stranger, but an incredibly charming and attractive stranger? You were surely doomed.

“It’s Abigail but you can call me Abby, most everybody does.” She was clearly not oblivious to your nervous manner (and your staring) but she pretended not to notice, probably to spare you the embarrassment. Having people stare at her was nothing new to Abby and honestly, she liked it. She felt powerful and strong when men were intimidated by her, but the way y/n was staring at her was different. It certainly wasn’t fear because despite the shaking of y/n’s hands that she tried so desperately to conceal, she didn’t look at Abby with fear “Perhaps it was admiration?” Abby thought. But she soon nudged any ideas of romanticism from her mind figuring that y/n was probably into those douchebags who act cocky and disrespectful but are too chicken to ask a girl out; Abby despised disrespectful people. However, if there was anything that Abby hated more than disrespectful assholes, it was embarrassment. Abby’s confidence was one of her greatest strengths, it was like a shield she put forward that helped her endure the incredibly misogynistic environment she lived in. She figured that the staring was just intimidation. Abby was quite confident in her ability to judge a person’s character and brushed any thoughts of attraction to the back of her mind, not wanting to risk the possibility of rejection or being wrong. 

“So what brings you to the cafeteria at this fine hour? Besides the tea of course.” She smirked, her smile was so infectious that you couldn’t help but smile as well.

“I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, figured I’d drink some tea and read for a bit in the commons room. Better than laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling for an hour I guess.” You stopped yourself before you could say something stupid or embarrassing. “What about you?”

“I just got here a couple days ago and I’m a pretty light sleeper which normally would be fine, but that damn thunder won’t shut the hell up!” She pointed her fist to the sky dramatically and you couldn’t help but giggle, she looked at you with a smile. “They stationed me here to do some work and I haven’t had much time to myself, they gave me some time off tomorrow and now thanks to this storm I’m gonna spend it passed out in my bed.” She paused, contemplating her words before continuing. “I’m glad I met you though, late nights are much better with company.” You could feel a heat trickle to your cheeks. “So what are you reading?” 

“Pride and Prejudice” You answered excitedly. “It’s my favourite book, I’ve read it like a hundred times. I guess I’m just a sucker for cheesy love stories” She grinned.

“It was good but Elizabeth? She was way out of Darcy’s league, I mean yeah she had pride but Darcy was prideful and snobby.” You giggled at her response and the thought of this tough and brawny girl reading Jane Austen. “I mean, if you’re gonna have a terrible character trait just choose one. Not both!” 

“Okay… But you gotta admit they were perfect for each other” You added. “Their weaknesses complimented each other and then their strengths the same. It’s like they were meant to find each other, and I mean just the thought of something like that gives me hope you know?” She looked at you with a raised eyebrow, urging you to elaborate. “Soulmates, I mean… just the thought of there being one single person on this entire Earth who was put here alongside you, the perfect match who’s strengths compliment your weaknesses and vice versa makes me feel some sort of hope.” You felt yourself getting carried away and decided to let her speak. “What can I say, I guess I’m nothing if not an optimist.”

“I get what you mean but I feel like that’ll just set you up for disappointment. There's so much more to life than just love and finding your ‘soulmate’. There’s thunderstorms, books, good food, there’s family and friends, and strangers that make you tea.” she glanced at you and your heart skipped a beat “this is insane!” You thought “Not only is she totally gorgeous, but she’s smart and funny? God she’s so perfect I think I might melt where I stand”

“Fine, fine, you got me there.” You smiled and was struck with this sudden feeling of security that you’d never felt before Abby, and though you’d never really admit it, you realized that all this time living in a facility had made you really lonely. Speaking to Abby was seriously the first time in this place that you weren’t thinking about the end of the world or crying over lost family and friends. At this small fold-out table in this dull and dreary cafeteria, you felt the first modicum of safety that you hadn’t felt for a really long time, and it was all because of her. You noticed that your mind had wandered off again of course but Abby’s mind seemed to be elsewhere as well, she had an almost nervous or unsure look on her face.

“Hey, so I know you said you were gonna go read in the commons room but do you think you could ditch Elizabeth and Darcy for a bit? I haven’t really gotten a chance to see this place and I was hoping you could maybe give me a tour.” Abby asked in a casual tone, hoping y/n wouldn’t notice the slight nervousness in her voice. 

“Of course! I’d love to show you around, though there isn’t much to see other than empty halls and abandoned rooms” You replied enthusiastically. You were ecstatic, she was the first person you had really connected with in a while and you jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with her.

“I don’t mind, as long as I have you to keep me company.” She winked at you and smiled warmly. You felt your heart skip a beat again “Is Abby flirting with me?” You thought. “Nah, probably not” She was the coolest and most beautiful girl you’d ever seen. What would she see in you? Plus Abby probably isn’t even into girls, she’s just being friendly.

You walked her through each of the empty halls and corridors while you guys chatted about books, friends, family, life before the outbreak, and everything in between. You even traded embarrassing dating stories in which you both had to stifle loud outbursts of laughter so you wouldn’t wake up the rest of the facility. While you were speaking about your various dating escapades you decided to sprinkle in a story about a girl to see Abby’s reaction.

“Okay okay I got a good one, so once I was dating this girl and we actually moved in with each other like a month into the relationship but that’s not important. Anyways, so I had this cat right and when we broke up a few months later and she moved out, she took the cat!” You both bursted out laughing. “She literally stole my cat and I was so pissed that I keyed ‘thief’ into her car.” 

“Remind me not to piss you off y/n, you’re a vengeful one.” Abby chuckled and responded casually. You were slightly unsatisfied, she hadn’t reacted to that statement (or any of the subtly gay references you made) at all and you couldn’t tell if it was because she liked girls or because she didn’t care. It didn’t really bother you that much though because this was the most fun you had had in a long time. When you were laughing and talking with Abby all the thoughts about your family and impending doom—thoughts that were once constant—had begun to fade away. All that mattered now was Abby, she was the best thing that had happened to you in a really long time and you were so grateful to have met her.

By the time you guys had decided to depart it was six in the morning, Abby walked you back to your room and you couldn’t help but feel like every atom in your entire body was vibrating. 

You had spent an entire night with this amazing girl who was now the first friend that you’ve had in a while, your cheeks were bright red and your heart felt like it was shaking. When you laid your head on your pillow to sleep you couldn’t shake the thought of those brilliant blue eyes, and that clever, knowing grin that made you melt. God, and you couldn’t forget those gigantic biceps, you just wanted her to crush your skull with those beautiful, freckled arms. You adored her, and as you drifted off into a deep and peaceful slumber you dreamt of the most incredibly gorgeous, funny, charming, and intelligent girl you had ever met: Abigail Anderson.

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Kiro’s Memories of Summer Date (Eng Translation)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a date, 忆夏之约, which has not been released in English servers! 🍒

References are made to the following unreleased and likely cancelled content, so please read them before this date, or you might get lost at certain parts:

> R&S - Stunning Young Idol

> R&S - Youthhood

> Greenhouse Date (IMPORTANT)

There’s a call BEFORE the date: here

[ This date was released in CN on 21 October 2020 ]

[ PRESENT - Location: MC’s house ]

MC: All right, I’ve read through the scrapbook. Are you satisfied now? 

Kiro and I are sitting shoulder to shoulder, flipping to the last page of the scrapbook. 

Kiro : Did you leave something out? 

MC: Hm? Did I miss out an itinerary?

Kiro takes up a pen. In the blank space on the page, he draws a slightly crooked, but adorable teddy bear. 

Next to it, he draws a speech bubble: “I have a secret to tell you!”

-

[ FLASHBACK - Location: MC’s house ]

“I have a secret to tell you”...

MC: ...

While absent-mindedly having my breakfast, I ponder on what Kiro’s “secret” could be.

A few days ago, I suddenly received a call from Kiro while he was filming outdoors. We agreed that today would be left entirely up to his arrangements.

"Ding dong--”

MC: Coming, coming!

I run over and pull the door open. Behind the door stands Kiro, wearing a baseball cap and looking very relaxed. Several strands of golden coloured hair disobediently curl upwards underneath the brim of his hat. 

When he sees me, he immediately reveals a happy smile. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, are you ready? We can set out!

MC: You haven’t told me where we’re going?

Kiro: Since it’s a secret, how could I divulge it from the start?

He shakes his head firmly, and even uses his fingers to make a ‘X’ in front of his mouth.

Kiro: This time, I’m not going to soften my heart and divulge it to you first!

MC: All right...

Seeing how he’s rarely this serious, all you can do is smile and agree.

This “secret” - it’s probably a visit to another secret haunt to view the scenery, right? 

Kiro: You definitely wouldn’t be able to guess it this time!

He blinks and grabs one of my hands, his tone as lively as a dancing musical note.

Your mood is also influenced by his, and the corners of your lips involuntarily tug upwards. 

MC: I’ll just wait and see then?

Kiro: In the name of donuts, I guarantee that you’ll definitely like it!

Even though the sky outside the window is filled with dark clouds, Kiro’s smiling face seems to light up all of the gloom.

No matter where we go, and no matter what view we see, as long as we’re together, it’s good enough.

--At least, that’s what I initially thought.

-

[ Location: Kiro’s car ]

MC: Where exactly are we going? 

When I notice the car gradually ambling onto an empty trail in the outskirts, the confusion in my heart becomes more evident.

Pattering raindrops continuously pelt onto the window of the car. Outside the window are large plains of greenery which are being cleansed by the rain. 

Kiro turns his head to look at me, and it’s as though his eyes are filled with stars. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, I once promised that I’d give you a garden belonging just to us. 

Along with Kiro’s voice, a small garden teeming with blooming flowers appears in our line of sight.

It’s only after a few seconds that I finally internalise the meaning of his words, and my eyes widen.

MC: W...what do you mean? Are you saying...

Kiro: That’s right. This garden belongs to us now. 

Without waiting for me to continue guessing, he nods in acknowledgement. 

Kiro: When I was filming, a friend said he wanted to dispose of a small garden. So I bought it from him.

MC: But... but...

Even after several “but”s, I still can’t think of what to say. Should I rebuke him for squandering money to buy this garden, or tell him that he didn’t have to take my words literally back then?

Meanwhile, Kiro animatedly introduces the garden to me. 

Kiro: Even though the garden isn’t large, it’s pretty near the city. And it has a very beautiful glass greenhouse! The first time I saw the photograph, I felt it was very suited for us. When we’re free next time, we can have a vacation here. This is a “secret haunt” belonging to the two of us!

Noticing that I haven’t responded even after a while, Kiro slows down.

Kiro: What’s wrong, Miss Chips? You don’t like it?

MC: I...

Kiro stares at me anxiously, as though the moment I shake my head, his eyes would reveal a grieved expression.

When I think about his kind intentions, my heart softens. 

MC: I like it very much. Really, I’m incredibly happy!

His blue eyes are once again ignited with a radiant light. Kiro suddenly chuckles and leans over. 

Before I can react, I feel a gentle sensation on my cheek. When his lips make contact with my cheek before pulling away, there’s a soft sound.

Kiro: It’s great that you like it.

MC: [blushing] ...

In contrast to my stunned state with my mouth hanging open slightly, he looks especially at ease.

Kiro: Miss Chips, what’s wrong? 

MC: [blushing] N-nothing.

You face away, trying to ignore the lingering sensation of that gentle touch. But your heart rate is unable to calm down.

And you don’t notice the widening smile on Kiro’s lips.

While talking, the car reaches its destination.

Kiro: We’re here! Let’s get out of the car!

Kiro leaves the car first, holding an umbrella. Then, he walks over to my side and pulls the door open. 

-

[ Location: Forested area ]

Damp air accompanies the summer wind. Not too far off, the garden, which sits in the midst of mountains and forests, is reminiscent of a scenery framed in a painting.

Purplish-blue morning glories climb and entwine around bamboo fences, embellishing the curtain of drizzling rain with heart-stirring vibrance. 

MC: How beautiful...

The anticipation I harbour for the garden has reached its peak. Similarly, Kiro also pulls me towards it in anticipation. 

-

[ Location: Garden ]

When we draw nearer, we discover that the garden doesn’t seem to have been tended to for an extremely long time. Even the glass greenhouse is filled with junk, and is in disarray. 

The image in our heads - a small, romantic, yet beautiful garden flourishing with blooming flowers - is shattered in an instant. 

Kiro: Why does it look completely from what I imagined...

Kiro walks around the garden, frowning as he looks at me apologetically.

Kiro: I’m sorry, Miss Chips. I should have asked someone to tidy the place properly before bringing you here. 

MC: There’s no need to apologise. 

I place my hands on both sides of his face. Before he can react, I knead his cheeks with my palms. 

Kiro: ...mm?

MC: I think it’d be even more meaningful if we decorate the garden ourselves. We can write our names on this garden together.

Kiro is stunned for a moment, his eyes widening slightly. Then, a smile appears on his face. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, you’re right! This is a garden belonging to us.

-

I originally thought that tidying up the greenhouse would be an insipid affair. But I didn’t expect that we’d turn it into a treasure hunt. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, look at what I found!

Peering in his direction, I see Kiro squatting in front of a large paper box filled with various bits and bobs. In his hand is a beautiful glass bottle. 

Along with the swaying of the bottle, the glass beads in it channel tinkling sounds.

MC: It’s ramune!

[Trivia] Ramune is a Japanese carbonated soft drink

I lean over, realising that the box contains several more of such bottles. They’ve been washed and stored away by the original owner.

MC: Last time, I couldn’t bear to throw the bottles away after drinking them. But I’d always get sprayed whenever I open them...

Just recalling the uncontrollable spurting leaves me with a twinge of lingering trepidation. 

Kiro: It’s actually very simple. Press down on the cap for a while longer, and wait for the fizziness to go away before removing your finger from it. When I was schooling, I’d buy this whenever summer arrived.

Kiro sounds very familiar with it, his eyes brimming with longing.

His words also transport me back to my earlier years: summer days, late afternoons, and ice-cold ramune.

MC: Looks like we’re the same. Actually, it doesn’t taste that good, but the way to open it is really interesting!

Kiro and I exchange a glance, and we burst into laughter. 

Kiro: Actually... I still think cola tastes better!

While chatting, we clear out the soda bottles together. There are still various things in the box: lego toys with missing parts, incomplete jigsaw puzzles...

And a metal box filled with tiny paper slips. The words on the slips are unclear, but you can vaguely read them--

“Lend me your homework”, “Why is teacher dismissing class late again”, “Let’s go home together after school”, “I’m on cleaning duty today”...

MC: Pfft...

As I flip through the slips of paper, I laugh without restraint. Curious, Kiro takes a look at the slips. 

Kiro: Oh, they’re short notes! How nostalgic. Many people used to give me short notes during class last time too!

MC: Eh, really? 

I cast him a doubtful glance. Kiro pretends to be indignant as he looks at me, eyes wide.

Kiro: Of course - I’m Kiro! But I didn’t respond to every single note... apart from yours. I’ll always keep the notes you write to me.

After saying this, he suddenly makes a fist with one hand and places it on his other palm.

Kiro: Oh yes, I have to find a box for them when I get home too!

I pause for a while, unable to think of any important notes you wrote to him.

MC: You’re referring to those normal memos, right? 

Kiro: They’re still memories belonging to us. 

He cuts me off. His eyes sparkle, reminiscent of a little squirrel which has found a pine cone.

Kiro: I can remember all the important things, but it’s more difficult to remember the more trivial ones. But every minute and every second with you - I don’t want to forget them. They could even be left as family heirlooms!

MC: How could they be family heirlooms...

Kiro: Of course they can! Next time, we’ll tell them that the box contains the dribs and drabs belonging to me and the cutest girl in the world. Each note records a story. And each story is an important treasure. 

I open my mouth, but forget how to speak.

In his voice, I seem to envisage a scene from the future. 

My heart beats rapidly. I hurriedly lower my head, leafing through a random sketchbook in my hand. 

The sketchbook contains a drawing of a girl’s side profile done in clean brush strokes. As I flip through the following pages, I find that the entire book contains the same person in different situations. 

Kiro: Ohh, he definitely has a secret crush on her!

Miss Chips: Yeah, this should be very precious to him.

The thin sketchbook in your hands seems to shoulder the weight of memories. You carefully place it at the side, prepared to return it to its owner. All of a sudden, you hear Kiro speak.

Kiro: Miss Chips, have I ever told you about my high school days? 

You shake your head, recollecting the interviews and articles written about him before he returned to the country.

MC: I know a little. You attended high school in America, and even formed a band. Then, you successfully signed on with Warner Brothers... In the end, you entered Berkeley University with excellent results. All the articles said that you were an exceptionally serious and hardworking person. 

Kiro: So you already knew about it... However, I wasn’t necessarily that “sweet boy” mentioned in the articles!

The corners of his lips tug upwards, his expression carrying with it an almost imperceptible playfulness and ease.

Kiro: At that time, I was actually a little rebellious. I was filled with curiosity about the world, and wanted to try everything. 

Kiro: My band also tried all sorts of styles, because it’d be so boring if we only stuck to one! 

Kiro: You definitely didn’t know that I secretly played truant. Pei En and I... ah, he was my bandmate. When we had performances, we’d often go out to have fun behind our agent’s back. 

Kiro: I even researched how to sneak donuts into the performance venue...

The Kiro he’s talking about is a little foreign, but my curiosity is stirred up.

The Kiro of back then - was he really like that? 

Kiro: ...but there was one thing I didn’t try back then. 

With this, he suddenly stops and looks at me. 

MC: What was it? 

I blink in puzzlement. With a smile curling up his lips, he suddenly leans close to my ear. His lips brush against my ear, and I can almost feel their ridges. 

Kiro: I didn’t try liking a person. Do you think it’s because I hadn’t met you yet?

Every syllable, accompanied by his breath, rushes into my ear. 

The citrusy scent from the soda bottles lingers in the air - sour and sweet, just like those young and inexperienced years. 

My free hand is gripped by Kiro.

Subconsciously, I tighten my hold on his fingers, and I respond without much thought. 

MC: [blushing] At that time... you should have been studying!

Kiro: ...you’re right. 

The warm atmosphere vanishes in an instant. Kiro releases a sigh and fumes slightly, but it disappears quickly. 

Kiro: [sighs] Miss Chips, you’re really slow. 

He mutters something softly, but I pretend not to hear him and continue clearing out the items with my head lowered. My face feels like its burning.

-

Very soon, the junk in the greenhouse are cleared away. Kiro is currently tidying the messy wires, and I’m carrying an umbrella and the items to be disposed, leaving the greenhouse. 

MC: I’m heading out to throw the rubbish away. 

It’s still drizzling outside. By the time I toss the rubbish at the crossing, the drizzle grows heavier. As such, I follow a small trail and run back.

Passing through the stone path to the garden, I turn at a bend and step across a puddle. When I lift my head, I see Kiro sitting at the glass pavilion.

He’s barefoot, gazing at the path I had set out on, as though waiting for me to return.

Rain patters continuously around the pavilion. The morning glories which entwine around it are encased with water vapour.

Everything is hazy. Only his colours are especially distinct.

He doesn’t seem to care at all when the water droplets pelt onto him. He looks happy and content.

MC: Kiro!

My voice shatters the picture-like image before me. Kiro whips his head around in response, shock flashing across his features. 

Kiro: Eh? Miss Chips, why did you appear from this side?

MC: Because it’s much nearer. Were you waiting for me? 

With a sound of acknowledgement, Kiro raises something in his hand happily, showing it off as though he found a treasure. 

Kiro: Look at what I found! 

In his hand is a harmonica, and the logo on it looks incredibly familiar.

MC: In junior middle high, I think I had a harmonica with the same brand...

I walk over to the pavilion. Like Kiro, I remove my shoes and squeeze underneath the tiny pavilion with him, our shoulders touching.

Kiro pulls me even closer, preventing water from the eaves from pelting onto my shoulder.

The pattering water droplets continuously pelt onto our bare feet. The relaxing and cooling sensation enters the depths of our hearts.

- 

The rain persists even after a while. Kiro and I are hiding in the pavilion. Coincidentally, we have a full, unobstructed view of the entire garden.

I take a careful look at the harmonica in his hand. It has been washed clean, and the marks of years gone by linger on its body.

MC: Does it still work?

Kiro: Mm, I just tried it. It still makes sounds. 

With this, Kiro looks at me confidently.

Kiro: I said that I wasn’t good at playing the harmonica before. Afterwards, I specially practised it! This time, I’ll definitely play it even more amazingly than the last time!

MC: Cough cough. Actually, I didn’t mention this the last time - when I learnt the harmonica in junior high, the teacher complimented me for having a natural talent!

After saying this, I have a twinge of guilt. Because since then, it’s been a long time since I even touched a harmonica.

Kiro: Really? Miss Chips, you’re amazing!

Kiro’s eyes are shining as he looks at me. I lift up my chin ‘modestly’.

MC: I was so-so.

Kiro: Boasting might make your nose grow longer.

I subconsciously touch the tip of my nose, but react in time.

MC: It’d only grow longer when you tell a lie, right?

Kiro: Is that so? 

He elongates his words, widening his eyes and pretending to be silly. 

Kiro: In that case, I’ll play a song first to get the ball rolling.

Without much preparation, Kiro brings the harmonica to his lips. After adjusting his breathing, he blows the first note. 

“Du--”

My eyes widen in astonishment, not expecting that he really meant it when he said he “wasn’t good at playing it.”

Noticing my expression, Kiro arches one of his brows, as though telling me not to underestimate him.

At this moment, several musical notes form a smooth melody.

It’s a tune I’ve never heard before. Along with the rhythm created by the rain, it drifts over in a tranquil and mellifluous manner.

Kiro has his head half lowered, his lips moving from time to time along the harmonica. His expression has turned quiet, as though immersing himself in the world of music. 

Every time I see such a Kiro, I’ll always feel that he genuinely loves music with a fiery passion.

Soon, the melody ends. Before I fully extricate myself from the music, Kiro is already turning towards me with a satisfied look on his face.

Kiro: How was it? It’s a new song I’ve been trying recently.

MC: Hold on... are you really not good at it 

Kiro: After we performed together the other time, I re-discovered the joy in it!

He chuckles. He uses a tissue to wipe the harmonica clean, then hands it to me. 

Kiro: Now it’s your turn, Miss Chips.

MC: I’ll start off by saying that it’s been many years since I last played. 

I speak timidly, taking the harmonica.

MC: Let me see... I’ll play “Farewell” then.

Kiro nods. He holds his chin with a hand, his clear eyes gazing at me, waiting for my performance seriously.

I take a deep breath, placing my lips on the harmonica, which still has his lingering warmth on it. After a moment of hesitation, I blow the first note. 

“Su--”

I subconsciously look at Kiro’s expression. There isn’t a hint of ridicule in his eyes. Instead, they are filled with encouragement and trust. 

Hence, I continue pressing on, completing the simple melody.

Originally thinking that I had more or less forgotten it, memories from the past slowly surface before my eyes, enabling the melody to become fluent gradually.

My eyes flutter shut as well, basking in the delight of the moment where music and memories interlace.

After playing the final note, Kiro starts applauding.

Kiro: I didn’t expect Miss Chips to play so well even after such a long time!

Every time Kiro compliments someone, he’s always especially sincere. Seeing his awe and commendation, I start to feel embarrassed.

MC: Actually, I only know how to play a few songs...

Kiro: That’s already very amazing! Sometimes, I think about how great it’d be if I could travel through time.

MC: Why do you say that? 

Kiro: Because that way, I’d be able to know you in junior middle high.

He doesn’t seem to be joking. His gaze is focused on me, as though imagining how I looked like in junior middle high.

Kiro: Then, I’d be your seat mate, and give you lots of little notes during class. In summer, I’d buy two bottles of ice-cold ramune and wait for you before heading home together...

Kiro: [sighs] I really want to participate in your past: junior middle high, high school, university... all those long years.

Kiro: Fortunately, I can still participate in your present and future. 

His voice merges with the flavour of summer, and the sound of my heart beating against my chest resembles the song of cicadas, unable to be halted.

Unable to control my emotions, I instinctively want to avert my eyes. At the same time, however, I don’t want to keep avoiding things out of embarrassment like I did earlier.

I’m at a loss, so I simply lift the edges of my lips, giving him a small smile.

MC: All right, we’ll start from our garden.

And it’d span across the rest of our lives. From now till the future, everything will be given to him.

Kiro: Mm, I’ve got it!

Kiro beams with joy. He takes one of my hands in his and grips it tightly, as though he’ll never let go again.

By this time, the rain has already stopped. The summer heat in the air has long since dissipated, leaving behind the freshness of rain. 

This tiny greenhouse isn’t very exquisite, but the wilfully growing plants give it a rustic charm. After the rain, the lush flowers appear vibrant.

We step out of the pavilion and into the garden. Only now do I truly feel like this garden belongs to us.

Kiro: What type of flowers should we plant next time? What do you like? Roses... daisies... freesias...

MC: They’re all fine. We can plant different types of flowers. This way, there’ll be flowers blooming in every season. We can even buy a glass tea set so we can sit in the greenhouse and appreciate the flowers over tea.

Kiro: We’ll also have a rocking chair. When we’re old, we can sit here and enjoy the moment.

Based on the garden in our imagination, we start conceptualising and planning how it’d look like in the future.

When we reach the glass greenhouse, I look at the empty door and realise that something is missing.

Kiro: Over here, we need to hang a door plate.

Suddenly, Kiro retrieves a small wooden board from behind the door. Not knowing when he did it, the wooden board already has our names written on it. 

-- Kiro’s & Miss Chips’ Garden.

MC: When did you prepare this? 

Kiro: When you left just now. Now, I’ll leave the important task of hanging up the door plate to you!

Looking at the familiar handwriting on the wooden board, there’s a heaviness in a certain area in my heart. Perhaps that area already stores a flourishing garden filled with blooming flowers.

I tiptoe, hanging the wooden board on a nail, then look at it from left to right.

MC: Done!

Satisfied, I clap my hands together and turn around. Taken by surprise, I see a bouquet of white freesias, their petals dotted with water droplets.

The other end of the bouquet is held by Kiro. His eyes contain a bright smile. 

Kiro: Miss Chips, this is for you. This is the first bouquet in our garden!

He pauses for a while, his tone turning serious. 

Kiro: Next time, all the flowers here will be given to you, and only you.

My mouth hangs open. My heart rate speeds up in an unnatural manner. The blooming flowers seem to replicate the splendour of midsummer.

[Trivia] White freesias symbolise purity and innocence, and are the most popular wedding flowers because they are symbolic of the purity of the bride as well as the trust between the couple :’D

I take the freesias, which have been tied together simply with a ribbon, holding them to my chest like a treasure.

MC: I like it very much, thank you!

Kiro: I really want to do one thing right now!

Kiro suddenly stretches out his arms, bringing both me and the flowers into his arms. The summer-like heat encases me in an instant. 

While I’m still at a loss, I feel my feet being lifted off the ground as Kiro carries and spins me around several times.

MC: Whoa, hold on!

Kiro: [laughs] I can’t wait any longer!

He chuckles while setting me down. His eyes are filled with the colours of unconcealed happiness. Then, he offers his hand to me. 

Kiro: Do you still remember the dance we did before? 

I recall the “dance” we did the last time in a greenhouse, where I was spun around till I was dizzy. I shake my head vigorously.

MC: I don’t remember!

Kiro: Liar.

Seeing his slightly aggrieved expression, I smile and place my hand gently on his palm. Then, he playfully hooks his fingers with mine.

All of a sudden, the dark clouds accumulated in the sky are blown away by the wind. Rays of light from afar reach us, illuminating the entire garden.

The scintillating light dances on the tips of Kiro’s golden coloured hair, and my vision is completely taken over by his smiling face. 

It can no longer hold anything else.

Kiro: Let’s dance!

I’m pulled closer to Kiro, and he takes my head, lifting it over my head.

MC: Are we going to dance right here? 

I can’t help but laugh. Cooperating with him, I tiptoe and twirl around. Then, he draws me into his arms.

Kiro leans his chin on my shoulder. The breath he exhales stirs up stray hairs on the side of my neck.

I can’t see the expression on his face, but hear his incredibly gentle voice in my ear, imbued with overwhelming sweetness.

Kiro: Miss Chips--

-

[ PRESENT - Location: MC’s house ]

Kiro: All right, that should be it. The only thing left is to paste that photograph we took at the garden. Hmm... we can also consider making dried flowers using the flowers in every season, and keep them here...

Kiro sets down the pen, casting an earnest look at the mostly empty book, as though he has come to a decision.

My gaze lingers on the phrase he just wrote down.

The adorable teddy bear is waving at me from the book. The speech bubble is drawn seriously, and there’s an arrow pointing at the next page.

The ink left behind by Kiro has yet to dry completely. His voice in my memory and the short phrase blend together, creating a drawn out sweetness in my heart. 

“Miss Chips, will you give your future to me?”

--

💐 MOMENTS 💐

Kiro’s Post: The person who sees this message can make a wish.

MC: Why do you suddenly want to fulfil people’s wishes?

Kiro: Because I want to know what your wish is!

-

Kiro’s Post: The person who sees this message can make a wish.

MC: Could I wish for three more wishes?

Kiro: If it’s Miss Chips, even a thousand or ten thousand wishes are okay.

-

Kiro’s Post: The person who sees this message can make a wish.

MC: Looks like I’m the first one?

Kiro: Mm! Actually, you’re the only one.

--

Call after the date: here

[screpdoodle]

Duality - Chapter Ten (The Grumbletown)

Kaos struggled to fully unfold the gigantic map in the cramped space he and Glumshanks were holed up in. The two sat crouched at a low, wooden table. It looked to be homemade, with knobbly legs and indented sides. A lone lamp was strung from the slanted mud ceiling, wooden cross beams seeming to be the only thing keeping it up. Even Kaos felt slightly cramped as he wrestled with the huge slab of crumpled parchment, twice the size of the table he sat at, if not more. The sound of crackling fire, rambunctious trolls and electronic music outside was muffled by the poorly fortified clay walls, flecks of dirt falling down from the ceiling with every thump of the beat. Kaos’ attention wandered as he watched stout silhouettes run past the clouded windows, followed by a loud CRASH as one of them came catapulting through the glass, rolling across the floor before coming to a stop, beady eyes spinning in their sockets. The troll shook their head, locked eyes with Kaos, then scuttled out of the room through the unlocked front door, leaving it open behind them. Kaos huffed, then slid off of his stool, peering out into the chaotic street. Trolls of all shapes and sizes looked to be having the time of their lives; some were sprawled out across barrels (the ones they weren’t smashing at least), enjoying bottles of ‘soda’ and other treats Kaos didn’t quite recognize. Others were chasing each other around the winding dirt paths, or chasing what Kaos assumed to be the previous residents of the commandeered village - Rats. Kaos didn’t mean that as an insult, no, they looked like literal rats, with matted grey fur, long snouts and worm like tails. Judging by the architecture, the assumption seemed to track. Kaos pulled his head back in as someone threw a cart of wrinkled produce against the wall, the wooden cart splintering and fruits splattering into a multicolored mess of foul smelling slop. Kaos slammed the door shut, looking back to Glumshanks, who had managed to tame the wild map.

“What in Skylands are they even doing out there?” Kaos asked, brushing a few hanging roots out of his way as he walked back to Glumshanks’ side.

“Christening.” Glumshanks answered plainly, sighing. “They do this every time. Make a mess of the place to show ‘dominance’... or something. ‘Cause running out an entire settlement doesn’t do that already, I suppose.”

Kaos frowned, then looked down at the map, trying to pick out any details he might recognize now that he could more easily look over it. But the more he looked, the less he seemed to recognize. Noted landmarks and island formations he had first thought were possible leads were nothing but red herrings. How had he gotten himself so lost?

“If this one doesn’t work, I should have a few others.”

“No no, I’m sure this one is fine. I can’t have gone that far from home.” Kaos waved Glumshanks off, squinting at the map. He tapped one of the sepia-toned islands, frowning. “This is where we are, right?”

“Uhh, I think it’s here actually.”

“Troll. I’m pretty sure I know the location of a place I’ve never been on a map in a language I don’t know.”

“...please tell me that was sarcasm.”

Kaos just looked up, a deadpan expression on his face, before looking back down without another word. He scanned the map once more, mumbling incoherent words under his breath. This wasn’t right. Kaos winced, rubbing his temples as he felt a throbbing pain start creeping its way in, followed by the feeling of a damp rag pressed against his forehead. Kaos opened one eye, looking up as he watched Glumshanks gently dabbing the dried blood away, a concerned look on his green face.

“What do you think you’re doing, troll.”

“Cleaning the wound?” He phrased it more like a question, rather than a clean cut statement.

Kaos furrowed his brow, but didn’t object, simply squirming in his seat as Glumshanks began inspecting the small, albeit quite bloody, cut in his forehead. It didn’t quite hurt, but the sensation wasn’t all that nice either.

“...Maybe if we go back you can find the route you took?”

“That’s just the issue, troll.” Kaos slouched in his seat, resting his chin in his hand and elbow on the table. “I didn’t take a route. One minute I was in my backyard, the next I was here. I remember falling, but that’s about it.”

“Maybe you fell off the edge?”

“Impossible. I was nowhere near the…” Kaos trailed off, then sat forward with a start, the gears turning in his mind. “Glumshanks, are there any islands above this one?”

“A few, but-”

Before Glumshanks could finish his sentence, the sound of splintering wood cut through the muffled ruckus of outside, the sounds flooding in as the two looked over to see the door hanging off of its hinges, a clearly intoxicated Thropp staggering his way inside. Kaos instinctively got up off of his chair, taking a step back. Glumshanks just sighed, looking down.

“So, this is the-” a small hiccup interrupted Thropp’s sentence, “the boghole mama sent you to claim? Man, and I thought the other ones were bad. At least they had real walls.”

Thropp trailed his massive fingers across the clay wall, scraping a good amount of dirt off with his yellowing fingernail. He let out another hiccup before finally setting his beady eyes upon his brother, a tipsy smirk twisted across his face. He lumbered forward, paying no mind as his bare feet stepped over the shards of broken glass that lay across the ground, towering over Glumshanks. He hadn’t seemed to have noticed Kaos quite yet, despite him being right there.

“It was the best one I could find.” Glumshanks mumbled, trying to muster up an air of confidence, albeit to no avail. “You know how hectic it can get. Especially since you tend to be one of the ones causing most of it…”

Glumshanks’ voice grew quieter at the last part. Thropp’s ears twitched, but he didn’t seem to register it. At least not enough to care.

“You better hope there’s enough room in here, or you’ll be sleeping in the ‘doghouse’ again.” Thropp sneered.

If Kaos had thought his breath smelled bad before, it was nothing compared to the stench now. Sour and sickly sweet, like decay. Kaos couldn’t help but cover his nose, the smell all too familiar to him. At this movement though, Thropp’s eyes darted over to the small human, finally noticing him standing there at Glumshanks’ side. It took Thropp a moment to recognize him, the two merely standing there, locked in an unofficial staring contest.

“What. The hell. Are you doing here.” Thropp seemed to sober up almost immediately, his voice taking on a deadly tone.

“Well, cleeaarly ruining your ‘school project’ just wasn’t enough for me, so I had to hunt you down and ruin your homelife too.” Kaos explained, sarcasm dripping from every word he spoke.

“Kaos, I’m not sure if now is a good time to-”

“I knew we should have dealt with you on that- hic- that stupid ship!” Thropp raised his voice, raising his hands up. “At least I have a chance to fix that mistake now!”

Before Kaos knew what was happening, Thropp slammed his fists down, Glumshanks grabbing the small human out of the way at the last second. Kaos squeaked, his heart pounding in his ears. Thropp barely took a second to collect himself, his glare burning holes in Glumshanks’ skull.

“You dingweed!” He spat, slurring his words. “You two talked like, what, once?? And you’re already head over heels for this twerp! You wouldn’t believe how much he yammered on about you, human!!”

Kaos blinked, opened his mouth to ask what exactly Glumshanks had talked about, but before he could even get a word out Thropp threw a right hook at the two of them. Kaos ducked, pulling Glumshanks down with him. Thropp's fist slammed into the side of the staircase, the entire house practically shaking, bits of clay and dirt raining down. Kaos scuttled out of Thropp's line of sight as he quickly shook off the pain of his bloodied knuckles, shouting something Kaos assumed was in trolltongue. Glumshanks quickly scrambled to his feet, dragging Kaos up with him, practically carrying him to the door before his brother could come barreling after them. The two ran out into the night air, the pathways lit by smoldering embers, the trolls outside too busy partying to notice the scene that had unfolded. All but a few, at least. Glumshanks looked up from trying to catch his breath as a large troll came towards them, heavy feet thundering down the crowded street, three smaller trolls in tow. Three smaller trolls Kaos recognized almost immediately; the three lackeys Thropp had dragged along on the ship, the three ‘other brothers’. Which meant the one in the middle was…

“Glumshanks, thurhaakum duruth gorotu ishoing?? gu’vuth shrakeebag hakookinor azverywheruth guoum gorou!” The stout troll ran forward, the three others clambering along behind her, cooing and cackling about how Glumshanks was apparently in ‘hot water’ and how much trouble he was in.

“Mama, I-”

Glumshanks started, only to get cut off by the woman yet again, grabbing him by the sleeve and dragging him back towards the house, paying Kaos no mind whatsoever. Ascral, Haldir and Zhoark trailed off at the sight of him, on the other hand, words turning into hushed whispers as they followed their mother to the door. Kaos hesitated, then followed after them, a curious tilt to his head as he tried his best to listen in.

“I usholmar gorotu ushug ashtazag shrakzag ushhuth gulouse! gorotu dol-noiz ushhiakun athlacuth guakun ishangerous, thurhaakum thuroulmar thuruth ishug guir gorotu duloakum hakost, inium thurorse!!” The mother’s voice was sharp. He couldn’t understand a word she was saying, but Kaos could tell she was... less than pleased. Glumshanks kept trying to speak, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise. It was almost amusing, if not a little sad. They didn’t even seem to notice the door barely hanging on its hinges, simply walking inside as if they did this every day. The trio of smaller trolls threw their knapsacks to the ground as their mother dragged Glumshanks to the table, sitting him down as she continued to lecture on about ‘ushhuth gumportancuth iniir guamilzag gobalueakun’, whatever that meant. Thropp had passed out in the little alcove beneath the loft, his soda-induced stupor leading to a sound slumber. Kaos was amazed he was able to sleep through the shouting, but then again, if he had grown accustomed to his homelife, maybe this was normal for Glumshanks’ family too? Kaos stood in the doorway, watching the trolls acting like they had lived in this house for their entire lives, the chaos from outside now filtering into the lantern-lit room. Zhoark, Haldir and Ascral raced each other up onto the loft, laughing and jeering as their mother verbally berated her stringbean of a son, grunting and snarling as she threw her hands around to punctuate her sentences. Kaos couldn’t help but watch, picking up on details he hadn’t noticed before; like her graying ginger hair tied in a messy bun, the dirtied apron wrapped around waist, the fact that despite her tone, her cool grey eyes were soft, worry creased across the wrinkles in her face rather than anger. Kaos furrowed his brow, then tensed when he heard her voice trail off, gaze now locked on him. She said something to Glumshanks, then quickly walked around the table, standing before Kaos with her arms crossed across her chest, staring down the bridge of her nose at him. Kaos took a step back, looking over his shoulders as if expecting her to be looking at someone else there, before mustering up a hangdog smile.

“You.” She spoke sharply, jabbing a finger at his chest. “Thurhaakum ishug gorotu ashpeauku.”

“Mama, he-” Glumshanks cleared his throat. “Guluth ilabag ininlzag ashpeauku gulumabag.”

The woman looked back to Glumshanks, scrunched her face up, then gestured to the table. “Ashiakum. Ashiakum.”

Kaos just blinked. Before he could figure out a way to respond, she had taken him by the sleeve, dragging him to the table and sitting him down with more force than really necessary. Kaos winced, then rubbed his shoulders, his discomfort creeping up his spine like a clutter of spiderlings. Glumshanks merely offered him a sympathetic smile.

“Kaos, this is our caretaker, Oyana.” He gestured to the troll woman. “Mama, this is Kaos. He’s my, uh-”

“Ishug gorotu azaakum ashugarbaakum.” She interrupted, paused when she noticed Kaos’ look of utter perplexity, then spoke again. “You. Eat dinner?”

“...yes?” Kaos didn’t quite understand the question, but before he could ask her to elaborate, she had already shuffled off into the back room, closing the moth-eaten curtain that covered the doorway behind her. Kaos let his posture slump, breathing a sigh. “Well, your mother sure is... something.”

“Hm? Oh, she’s not my mom.” Glumshanks rested his chin in his hand, his arms resting on the table.

“But you call her mama? Is this, like, a cultural thing I don’t understand or…?”

“Kinda. I think she’s the equivalent of a human grandma to us? Something like that.”

Glumshanks traced his finger across the table’s surface, drawing little swirls in the light layer of grime that covered it. In the back room, Kaos could hear the clanging of utensils, firelight crackling out from beneath the loosely hung drapery. Up in the loft, he could hear the trio talking in hushed grunts, saying things he could barely hear, let alone understand.

“...I guess I’m staying for dinner?” Kaos managed a laugh. “I’ve never had troll cuisine, so this should be fun! Then maybe after we can give that map another look, eh?”

“Yeah, fun.” Glumshanks chuckled, a hint of sarcasm sprinkled over his words, though he cracked a smile nonetheless.

Kaos grinned back, letting his guard slip, if only a little. From the kitchen, Oyana called Glumshanks’ name, causing him to jump up with a start, calling back before rushing into the kitchen, probably to help with the cooking. Kaos sighed. The pounding techno music outside was almost a comfort now that he was used to it. Thropp let out a shuddering snore, then fell silent again, the three upstairs sniggering at the noise. Kaos looked out the window, to the islands past the edge of the village. He needed to get home, but staying here a little longer couldn’t hurt, right?

***

Kaos folded up the comically large map best he could, eventually giving up and thrusting it against Glumshanks’ chest, letting him deal with the crumpled mess of parchment. This was the spot. Kaos stood before the well, then looked up, glaring at the empty night sky above. That couldn’t be right. He had fallen from one well into another, so surely, his home had to be above this one. Kaos huffed, trying to wrack his mind for any possible landmarks he may have passed, something to jog a possible path to take. Anything to prove he was merely misremembering what had happened. He winced, holding his temple, the bandages Glumshanks’ mama had fixed in place scratchy against his fingertips. Had he really hit his head that hard?

“You’re sure this is the place?” Glumshanks cleared his throat, a frown on his face.

“It has to be. How many odd, intricately carved wells could there be in a single area?”

Glumshanks adjusted his worn jacket, then took another look at the map, peering at it from different angles to try and see if they were missing something. Kaos grumbled under his breath, pacing around the well, his hands folded behind his back. This wasn’t adding up.

“You said you were in a forest, right?”

“Yes. A two-toed greeble stole my scarf so I chased it right into those lumberous leviathans’ lair.”

“Lumberous-”

“The trees, Glumwad. Keep up with me here!”

“...riiight.” He looked down at the map again. “There should be a forest not too far from here, if you follow the path you should come to it in no time.”

Kaos paused his pacing, ten pulled the map down to his height, peering at the section Glumshanks was on. Sure enough, it seemed to portray a densely wooded area, though none of the surroundings seemed to spark a feeling of recollection. Still, it was at least a start.

“Well, I guess I’ll head that way then...?” Kaos tried to hide the hesitancy in his voice, to no avail.

Glumshanks looked up the way of the tread path. “If you want, I can walk you there, but Mama wants me back before ‘moonset’, so I can wash the dishes… and make the beds…”

“Let me guess, if Thropp doesn’t have his pillows fluffed he throws a fit?” Kaos snickered.

Glumshanks managed a dry laugh. “More or less…”

Kaos frowned, then wacked Glumshanks on the arm playfully. “Well, we’ll just have to have you back by moonset then, eh?”

“Before moonset.” He corrected.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. You’ll be back to do your menial labour before you even know it.”

Kaos turned, putting on a brave face as he started down the beaten trail. He lingered as he passed by the well, still slightly suspicious of its carved walls, though he did his best to shrug the feeling off. Now wasn’t the time to let his active imagination get in the way. He picked up the pace, trying his best to keep in stride with Glumshanks, who was managing to overtake him even with his slower, meandering speed. Curse those long legs. It didn’t take long for the two to notice the foliage getting denser, the previously vacant planes of boulders and browning, patchy grass now overtaken by thorny roots and dense, red bushes. Kaos hopped over a small break in the island, his frown worsening. He had a faint sense of familiarity, but it felt like he was grasping at straws. It was a few moments before Kaos noticed the troll was no longer by his side. He paused, then looked back. Glumshanks stood at the edge, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“I… I should be heading back.”

“Yeah- yeah of course. Don’t wanna keep them waiting.” Kaos laughed awkwardly, his spine prickling.

“Stay safe, okay? Don’t go getting eaten by a Gargantula or anything.”

“No promises.”

Glumshanks gave a small, tense wave, Kaos trying his best to reciprocate before turning to face the forest. Knowing Glumshanks wasn’t by his side, the trees seemed to loom over him, branches reaching and leaves rustling like razor blades ready to slice at him if he got too close. Kaos took a step forward, then looked over his shoulder, watching Glumshanks walking away, his heart sinking further with every step the troll took. Kaos took a deep breath, turned to face the path ahead, then began walking.

“Wait!”

Kaos was nearly bowled over as Glumshanks came racing up to join him, branches and dry leaves crunching beneath his bare feet. The troll skidded to a stop, wringing his hands together.

“I-I’m sure Thropp can survive without me for a little longer. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help out?”

Kaos smiled, his eyes lighting up. “A piss poor one, that’s what.”

Glumshanks laughed breathlessly, then ducked under a low hanging branch, walking along into the looming shadows. Kaos took a moment, then followed, keeping his hand on his rusty pruning shears. Just in case.

[chilling-seavey]

Well it's been raining all day and it reminded me of Passchendaele so a blurb on Daniel and Corbyn helping each other with their PTSD ~T

T/W Mentions of war violence, death, and injury, descriptions of PTSD/shell-shock, and possible borderline substance abuse (that was normal for the time period). 

September 1, 1917

“Have you been sleeping?”

Daniel pursed his lips, keeping his stare on the wooden tabletop in front of him for a moment, before looking up at Corbyn across from him, “Is that a trick question?”

Corbyn cracked a small smile, taking a drag of his cigarette before tapping the end off and answering with a calm, “No. I am honestly curious.”

“No better than last year, or last month, or last week.” Daniel answered, taking a sip of his dark beer from the glass in front of him.

The bar was nearly empty; most men still fighting overseas. The old barkeep kept stealing glances at the uninjured men who seemed to be enjoying their free time a little too much…or so it appeared. It wasn’t new. The other tables were occupied by older men and one in the corner had two other ex-soldiers, one without a leg and one with his arm in a sling. Everyone seemed to be staring at the unharmed young men in the middle of the bar.

“Nightmares still?” Corbyn pressed on, seemingly unphased by the onlookers.

Daniel hunched over a little under their stares and answered to the tabletop again, “Yeah.”

“Me as well.” Corbyn nodded stiffly, slouching back in his chair as he took a sip of his drink.

The friends fell into silence for a moment.

Corbyn sat up again, raising his cigarette to his lips from his other hand before looking over at Daniel through the faint cloud of smoke that rose between them, “Find anything that helps yet?”

Daniel opened his mouth as if to respond but bit his lip nervously, his fingers tapping against the tabletop, “Is it absolutely ridiculous of me to say making love to my wife?”

Corbyn laughed loudly for a moment at his shy friend’s nervous question. Daniel blushed terribly at his laughter.

“No, mate.” Corbyn assured him quickly. “It makes sense; stress relief of sorts.”

“Shut it.” Daniel chuckled shyly, hiding his embarrassment behind another drink of his beer.

“For me it’s running around the block a few times before bed. Think it tires me out enough. Not as much as yours though.” Corbyn smirked.

Daniel shook his head lightly and ruffled a hand through his hair. Corbyn stamped out his cigarette in the ash tray in the centre of the table and let the end burn out as he sat back to relax.

“I don’t know…it seems less drastic now that I’ve moved out of my parents’ house. Too many memories were there I reckon.” Daniel continued.

“Don’t blame you.”

“But I’ve been stable enough, I suppose. Weird breakdowns sometimes…makes me feel like I can’t breathe or that I’m not in my body anymore…but not often. Certainly not enjoyable however.”

“I understand that.”

Someone stopping beside their table had them looking up to see the two injured soldiers passing by and stopping to say something.

“Enjoying your drinks while the rest of us got our bloody limbs blown off, boys?” one spoke darkly.

“We paid our time.” Corbyn replied coolly.

“And came home without a scratch?” the second man glared.

“Nearly lost our whole battalion capturing Passchendaele, mate. You’re standing in the presence of the Sergeant who led the whole ordeal.” Corbyn gestured to Daniel across from him who only slouched farther in his chair as if wishing to completely disappear. “We’ve earned our dispatches. Doesn’t make either of us better than the other.”

“Passchendaele was a fool’s game. Meaningless. The Huns took it back the end of the year anyway. Arguably, then, it appears you’ve done nothing for the fight.”

“Pathetic.”

Corbyn glanced over his shoulder as the two soldiers left the bar, his eyes widening at the fact he had just been told. He turned back to Daniel with wide eyes.

“The Huns took back Passchendaele. Did you hear that?” Corbyn said in disbelief.

Daniel’s bottom lip trembled and he looked down to his lap and tried to swallow back his emotions, “I…”

Corbyn gave him a second to compose himself.

“I put my bloody life on the line to lead that campaign like a…like a blasted idiot – and we couldn’t even keep the damn town?” Daniel spoke quietly, his voice shaking. He looked up at Corbyn again, tears brimming in his eyes and he rubbed his palms against his thighs anxiously as he continued, “My brother…”

Daniel’s face scrunched up and he bowed his head again before taking a sharp breath.

“My brother died for the capture of that town.”

“Why don’t we step outside and find some privacy?” Corbyn suggested softly, his own heart racing with too many emotions as he picked up his jacket from the back of his chair.

“Zach blew himself up for the capture of that town!” Daniel said loudly, his blue eyes boring into Corbyn’s.

The few men around the bar stared.

“I can still feel his blood on my fucking face!” Daniel shouted through his tears. “I can still feel my brother’s dead body in my arms! And for what?!”

The bar was silent. Corbyn didn’t move.

“For what!?” Daniel screamed as if demanding an answer out of someone, his voice breaking with intense emotion. “For the bloody Germans to take it back like it’s easy? Like I didn’t lose my family, my friends, and my-fucking-self in that never-ending mud? For a destroyed town? They literally got themselves killed for a shitty pile of blasted bricks!”

Corbyn sniffled back his own tears, forcing himself to stay strong in front of his younger friend but his angry words held nothing but the upsetting truth.

“Suicide.” Daniel mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief as tears trickled down his cheeks. “Pointless fucking suicide for nothing.”

“That’s all this war has been.” Corbyn agreed softly. “Millions dead for centimetres of land gain.”

“It’s not fair.” Daniel sobbed, slamming his fist on the tabletop enough to make their glasses rattle at the impact. “None of this is fucking fair!”

Corbyn sighed in frustration, shaking hands pulling out a cigarette from his shirt pocket and he set it between his lips and lit it with the lighter on the table. He tossed it back against the wood and leaned back in his chair, shutting his eyes and rubbed his fingers over his forehead as he took a long drag from his cigarette. Daniel cried into his hands as Corbyn sat across from him in silence, neither friend even looking at each other. They didn’t speak, simply crying, drinking, and smoking away their pain.

[writingkeepsmewhole]

I Need You

This is part 11 of The Cowboy and the Girl. It’s been forever I know. This fic is kinda hard to write. Gotta be in the right head space haha. Anyway here it is hope you like it.

Fic Summary: Trish remembers a dark part of her past.

Joel Miller x OC Trish

Warnings: Language, attempt at suicide, talk of murder,

I would love tag you: @amandamaesweetheart @jodiereedus22 @el-dibidibidorado1 @yourgirltaz​ @lemondropirwin​ @iovemoon​ @lookinsidemyhead​ @my-awakened-ghost​ @avengerssstuff​

Part 1  Part 10

I woke up to my mouth dry, that plus the thumping in my head told me I was most likely dehydrated.

Joel was nowhere to be seen but Ellie was putting her blanket inside her backpack.

“Where’s Joel?” I ask as I push myself up from the floor falling off the bean bag chair at some point in the night.

“No good morning?” She asks, smiling at me.

“Sorry, good morning.” I say getting my own bag to pack up.

“Joel went to go get Bill, guess he’s in a hurry to get rid of me.” She says shrugging, her eyes downcast.

“Don’t take it personally he’s in a hurry to get rid of me too.” I say despite what happened last night.

“Why do you say that? I got the feeling he likes you.” She says making my heart pick up a bit.

“He tolerates me. I make him like me.”

“So is that what I should do?”

“I think you should just be yourself, because you're awesome.”

“Your right I am pretty cool.” She says grinning.

“What are you two amaering about?” Joel asks walking into the room holding all of our cantens.

“You.” I say honestly watching him left an eyebrow in my direction.

“What about me?” He asks, handing me my canten it full of fresh water.

I quickly open it and take a drink so I don’t have to answer.

“Are you ready to go? I have other crap to do besides help you idiots.” Bill says stomping into the room.

‘How can someone be mad this early in the morning?’ I think as I put my backpack on.

“We’re ready.” Joel says jerking his head towards the door as if to tell us to get going.

I do as he said ready for whatever the day is gonna bring.

That was the thing about the end of the world. You didn’t get to wake up whenever you wanted, have a nice cup of coffee, watch some TV or browse the web. You hit the ground running and you made every little thing count.

It was hard and fast but it was the only way to stay alive.

Maybe that’s why I stuck close to Joel. Him never seeming to crack. He could go for what felt like months without sleep. He was strong and resurfull. They taught us in school that a female picks her mate, whoever is the strongest. In this world, I understood that.

Joel knew exactly how to lead us through anything.

He walked through a yard full of clickers like he was taking a stroke through the park. My heart was beating out of my chest the whole time but Joel knew when to stop and when to go.

I watched as he would use a bottle or a brick to distract them. Him using the bow we found yesterday to take out the runners.

I would sometimes get lost watching him. I knew it was stupid and pointless but I couldn’t stop the pull I had towards him.

I hated it truthfully. I knew getting attached to someone always ended in pain. The still fresh loss of Tess proved that.

Joel was cold but he was colder since it happened. I think we all were. None of us spoke as we snuck around the infected town trying not to get eaten alive.

But there was just something different about today. Something in my gut that I couldn’t shake. It hit me like a ton of bricks as we walked through a house a dead guy hanging from the ceiling. This could all be over in a split second.

“He killed himself?” Ellie asks but it sounds more like she was shocked.

“Yeah come on you don’t need to see this.” I say grabbing her wrist gently, pulling her back outside.

“I’ve seen worse.” She says making my heart clench.

“Well that doesn't mean you should see more horrible things.” I say take a breath.

“Are you okay?” She asks looking at me as I lean on the side of the house.

“Yeah, I just know what it’s like to be in that headspace. It’s not the best place to be.” I say memories filling my mind.

I sat on the wet ground, my hands numb, my breath puffing out in a cloud. Rain poured down on me but I didn’t move. I stayed on my knees, it was how I fell after I took another life.

I was surrounded by corpses. Not the infected kind but the very human kind. Most people would claim they had to. There was no other choice. But that’s not true. I could have talked, told them what they wanted.

That would have stopped them, or at least kept them from using me the way they wanted. I guess that didn’t matter now. It was too late.

I was covered in their blood in the literal sense. My clothes were torn and ripped. I could feel my muscles twitch the adrinial still pumping thru my veins. My heart, fighting to keep me alive in the condition I was in.

But I didn’t care, I felt numb. But why wouldn’t I be? I was a killer. The lifeless child in front of me was proof of that. Him killed by me before I even thought about it.

His father was the first to go, him leaving me laying the mud after he forced himself on me. Him not realizing he left a knife behind.

It's funny how fast you can kill someone with a blade. Your brain just cuts everything off, you black out and wake up to carrange.

It is most likely why Joel left me behind. Him seeing me black out like this one too many times. Waking up alone then being ambushed and taken away for days makes you care less about the people around you and care more about how to get out alive.

I jump when hands grab my shoulders. With the survival knife still in my hand I lift it ready to kill again before I even think about it.

“Trish it’s me.” Says a hoarse voice.

I blink away the rain looking up into the bruised face of Joel Miller.

“What happened?” He asks, pulling off his flannel and laying it over my shoulders.

It made me realize how bad I was shaking.

I drop the knife falling backwards, the mub slapping around me.

“I-I killed him.” I say looking at the kid.

“What happened?” Joel asks again, moving to help me to my feet. Them asleep, sharp tingles shooting through them.

My knees buckle under me, Joel catches me before I fall him letting out a grunt as he does. I look at him seeing a bleeding wound on his shoulder and maybe his side. All I could see was blood coming through his soaking wet white T-shirt.

“They took me.. I..” I don’t finish my sentence as Joel helps me walk to the nearest run down house.

Us in an abandoned trailer park. It growed up with weeds, and trees.

“They took me too. I thought they might have killed you. You had me worried.” He helps me into the house.

It wasn’t much warmer than it was outside but at least I wasn’t getting rained on. 

“You didn’t leave?” I ask looking up at him, surprised and relief filling my voice.

“Why would I leave? We make a good team, even if you are annoying.” He says setting me on the bed in one of the bedrooms.

“I’m a killer.” I say that explaining why anyone would leave.

“You and me both sweetheart.” He says turning away from me to dig through the dresser.

“They had me locked in here, trying to beat information out of me. I kept telling them they had the wrong guy.” He says sitting next to me with first aid supplies.

“I killed that kid.” I say looking at him feeling tears fill my eyes.

“You didn’t mean to.” He says gently pushing his flannel off me.

“How do you know?” I ask softly.

“You love kids. He surprised you I’m guessing.”

I nod the memory of it fresh in my mind.

“It’s okay, just try to forget about it.” He says looking me over for wounds.

Besides the busted lip and black eye I got while killing them I was wound free. Them preferring to use rape instead of there fist or wepons on me.

“You need to rest. I’ll leave you alone.” Joel says but it sounds far away.

I nod barely noticing him leaving and closing the door behind him.

I sit there staring at the wall. Replaying the events from today over and over in my head. I sat there even after it got dark.

I realized that it didn’t bother me as I sliced through those people. It was like second nature almost. I remember when I killed for the first time it bothered me for weeks and now I didn’t even think about it.

It was so easy to me I killed a child without thinking about it. Without pausing to see what I was doing.

I was a horrible person. I’ve become like the men inside that storage container. Something I swore never to do. I didn’t deserve to live.

As the thought whispered through my mind I knew it was true. I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t go on like this. The world didn’t need another mindless killer like I was becoming.

I looked around the room seeing a pistol on the dresser I stood up and grabbed it. It was cold and harsh in my hands. Like I never held one before. The weight almost seemed like too much as I lifted it to my head.

One bullet and the world would be a better place. It would be better off. Joel would be better off. I was annoying, I slowed him down. I was a monster.

Placing my finger on the trigger I could feel my hand shaking. My mind is having a war with itself. But the image of that child laying in the mud kept coming to the front. Telling me what I really was. What had to be done.

I didn’t flinch or make a sound when the door opened. Joel stood there with a lantern.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asks his voice thick and angry.

As if the weight of the gun became too much it fell from my hands just as I fell to my knees. Hot fat tears rush down my cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” I mumble looking up at him.

He sighs, placing the light down he moves to sit next to me.

“You’re a fucking idiot. What do you think you were gonna accomplish doing that?” He surprised me by wrapping his arms around me.

“I became a horrible person. I-.”

“Shhs with all that. You ain’t no worse than me.”

I don’t say anything, not knowing what to say. How do you explain the feelings I was feeling?

“Don’t ever try to do something like that again.” He says lifting my head makes me look at him.

His face shadowed by the dim light in the room but despite that I thought I saw tears in his eyes.

“I need you so you can’t be killing yourself.” He says letting go of me and moving to stand up.

I quickly reach out grabbing his wrist making him stop.

“P-please, don’t go.” I whisper my voice cracking.

He nods offering his other hand.

“Come on you need to sleep.” He says softly.

I place my hand in his letting him pull me to my feet. He leads me to the bed and pulls the covers back.

I climbed into the bed, Joel joining me on the other side after he turned off the light. I shiver the room seeming so much colder now.

I wasn’t numb or full of adrenaline so I was suddenly feeling everything again. I move closer to Joel without thinking, jumping when a jolt goes through me the moment my hand bumps his. His touch shocked me. Him grabbing my hand tightly.

Joel was lying on his back, his other hand tucked under his head. I was laying on my side facing him. My mind was fried from the past few days but I couldn’t sleep. The memories of what I did, of what happened to me not letting me rest.

I couldn’t tell if Joel was asleep. His eyes closed but that was it.

“Are you awake?” I softly ask if I woke him up but I was scared of what I would do if I laid there alone with my thoughts.

“Yeah, what is it?” He says roughly.

I chew my lip not having anything particular I wanted to talk about. I just needed a distraction.

“Did you mean it? That you need me?”

“I said it didn’t I?” He says harshly.

“Yeah, I just didn’t know if you meant it.”

“I wouldn’t have said it. Now I need you to go to sleep.” He says turning over to face me, his hand leaving mine.

“I can’t.” I whisper softly.

“I know. But you need to.” He says softly.

He places his hand on my face gently stroking my cheek.

“Just close your eyes and think happy thoughts.”

I nod my head doing what he says praying it works. The soft caress of his hand helped me to drift off into much needed sleep.

[flutteringphalanges]

Summary:  “Am I in Hell?” Agatha’s voice was hoarse, a hint of fear in her tone. “That depends on your definition,” Dracula answered. “Perhaps.” His fingers felt cool against her burning skin, the fever raging through her body. “If you’re going to kill me, then do it,” she mumbled. The count chuckled, gazing into her eyes. “On the contrary,” he smirked. “I’m going to save you.”

((In which Dracula cares for a gravely ill Agatha))

Characters: Agatha Van Helsing/Dracula

Rating: M 

Read on FFN and AO3

A/N: Thank you for all of the comments and reblogs! This was a much darker chapter to write! I hope you guys like it! Feedback is greatly loved and appreciated! -Jen

                                         Chapter Nine

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." -William Congreve, 1697

The rain had stopped long ago, but the puddle from the aftermath collected at the bottom of her feet and up to her very edge of her dress. She ignored the numbing feeling it brought on by the cold air, her mind still reeling from before. As the sun finally broke through the clouds, offering with it a little warmth, she finally stood up. Agatha ventured towards the edge of the balcony and looked out. It was a beautiful sight to behold if she was to be honest.

For the briefest of brief moments, a part of her wondered what would happen if she merely flung herself off the edge. Down, down, down to the solid ground below. But the bigger and better part of her waved away that feeling. That same urging need to fulfill her grandfather's dying wishes. Her family's pact. So she turned around and strode with purpose back into the dark castle.

"Emotion is a weakness, Agatha. It kills. Murders. If you allow yourself to feel, you allow yourself to be vulnerable. Look at where it got me. Your father. Be hardened. Don't let yourself become a victim. Love leads only to pain. Save yourself the trouble. There is no happiness at the end of a rainbow."

Abraham watched as Agatha cradled the dead rabbit in her arms. It had been a pet she'd kept hidden from the older man. But he had found it and did what he claimed was best for his granddaughter. The girl looked up at him with a tear streaked face, anger fierce in her blue eyes.

"I hate you!" She snapped. "I hate you! I hate you! I HATE you!"

"You'll understand with time what I did for you was in your best favor." He said quietly, turning his back on the girl. "Now drop it and come inside. It's getting dark and it isn't safe to be out in the opening when it is."

It was quiet. The air still around her. The only sound that broke the silence being her wet feet as she walked across the stone floor leaving damp footprints in her wake. Agatha's eyes scanned the area around her. No sign of Dracula. Good. Maybe he had turned in for the morning. That would make things easier. Not that the idea of a good, solid fight wasn't overly tempting.

Descending the staircase, she made her way over to the table where the stake still lay untouched. She picked it up, examining it closely. The wood was carefully carved, free of splintered. Agatha couldn't ask for a more perfect weapon. Had the Count really been that reckless as to leave something like this out? Perhaps he no longer worried that she was a threat. The idea of such a thing only made her blood boil even more.

"Don't you have any family Anyone who cares for you?"

Agatha stood outside of the infirmary as they lay a blanket over Abraham Van Helsing's corpse. The only other person in the world she knew was gone. Perhaps she had an extended family, but she knew not where they were or had any means of contact. Her grandfather had made sure of that. Separation was safe. Something he'd taught her.

"No." She answered quietly, finally addressing the young woman who spoke to her. A nun of all people. "I don't."

"Oh," the nun said softly. "That must be very lonely. Surely you need someone."

"I don't mind it." Agatha said with a half smile. "Sometimes it's better that way. You don't get hurt. Or broken. Perhaps being by myself was what life always had in store for me." That and her mission to end Count Dracula. "I'll manage."

"But you don't need to." And the woman rested a hand on Agatha's arm. "Come with me to my convent. You'll be welcomed there. You don't have to be alone. God always has room for another."

Religion. Christianity. The young Van Helsing gazed down at the nun's hand. To be somewhere. Maybe able to find herself. Maybe able to study more in the process. Had she much of a choice? What money had Abraham left anyway? Barely a cent to his name. Agatha thought long and hard before inhaling deeply.

"Okay," she finally decided. "Okay."

What exactly would happen when she struck him deep within his chest? Would he immediately turn into dust? Burst into a flaming pillar? The possibilities seemed endless as Agatha traveled down the all too familiar path towards Dracula's coffin. She'd be quick. No hesitation. If she should show the slightest amount of pause, he'd be able to take advantage of the situation quickly.

Her still mending hand began to sting from how hard she was gripping her weapon. But she ignored the pain. Ignored how chilled her wet feet were against the stone. She was hellbent. Ambitious. Abraham would be proud. But the further she walked, the closer she got to the cellar, the more she began to wonder if she was really doing his bidding. Doing it in his honor. No. No, it was something else. Something Agatha was forcing herself not to think about.

"A nun's heart belongs to God and God alone. We embrace those around us, but our true love is to the Lord and his teachings."

Agatha sat on the opposite side of Mother Superior's desk, hands folded tightly in her lap. She hadn't been at St. Mary's Convent for very long, but already she was being assimilated in. The head nun wasn't as old as she had anticipated. A round face with a firm voice that still held some friendliness to it.

"I hold no intentions of romance," Agatha assured her. "I never have. You needn't worry about that."

Mother Superior smiled. "I'm not worried about you, Sister Agatha. There's something different about you. I'm not sure what, but I think you'll do well as a nun." She straightened up in her chair and held out her hand. Agatha took it without hesitation. "Welcome home, Sister. Welcome to your new family."

Slaughtered. Just like her rabbit. He'd slaughtered them all. Her family. Mother Superior. Each and every nun. Why had she allowed herself to forget that? Ignore what he had done. The horrors. The hatred. He hadn't batted an eye. So many lives lost and she forgave it. Or rather, from her actions, acted as such. She swallowed thickly. What was wrong with her? Agatha Van Helsing. Protector. Altruistic. Supposed to guard all those around her. A failure. Laughing stock. A singe on the Van Helsing ancestral lineage. Not anymore.

Her name was Mina. Frail. Blonde. Tiny little thing that had stumbled upon their convent in desperation. Agatha knew why. Jonathan Harker now in their care. Or what was left of him that was. The girl knew nothing of what vampires were. Sheltered from such tales. And yet, here she stood before the nun of all people. The woman who knew Count Dracula like that back of her hand. At least that is what she had convinced herself.

"I...I don't understand." The young woman stammered. "Johnny was attacked by a...vampire? But how could someone be so...cruel?"

"Not someone, something. A beast so vile has no heart, Mina. He's poison. Venomous. Count Dracula literally drains you dry. Takes away your life as if it were a mere scrap of spoiled meat." Agatha felt a little guilty for her words. For how timid the girl looked. But she needed to know the truth. "You are Christian, yes? Despite my status, I do not hold the same beliefs as you. But I swear to you, what attacked your Jonathan is the literal Satan."

"I cannot lie to you, Agatha." Mina murmured, nervously playing with her hair. "I'm frightened."

Her eyes were wide. So round. For a moment, Agatha thought she was gazing into her own reflection as a little girl. But immediately, she snapped back to her senses.

"You should fear him. Be terrified. Because the emptiness within him, any prospect of empathy or sympathy has been smothered." She finally answered.

"What must I do?" The girl asked, staring at Agatha as if she knew the answer to every question in the world. "What do I do?"

In that moment, Agatha really hadn't an answer. But she said what had been spoken to her so many times as a nun. "Pray, Mina. Pray for Jonathan. Pray for us all. And maybe, maybe someone above will listen." She paused before exhaling slowly. "Though, I can't say He's heard me yet."

Agatha approached the coffin that sat in the center of the room. No longer did boxes occupy it. Just the single casket. Fist still clenched around her weapon, the former nun managed to heave the lid open. There he lay. Still. Pale. Count Dracula in a deep slumber one might mistaken him for being dead. He was technically.

"End him."

The words rang in her head as if Abraham was speaking to her from beyond the grave.

"Do it!"

She raised the stake, positioning it over his chest. Over his heart. Her hands were trembling. Why was she shaking? Agatha sucked in a breath, trying to collect herself. This was it. Her life's work. Just one fluid motion and everything would be finished.

"Now!"

But before she had a chance to bring it down, Dracula's eyes flew open. In a matter of seconds, Agatha found herself thrust backwards. She collided with the stone, the wind knocked out of her by the motion. She panted, now face to face with the Count.

He had her pinned against the wall by the wrist, her hand still gripping the stake. Dracula's fingers tightened around her with such force he could have easily snapped the bones in two. But he didn't. Instead, he stared into her eyes. Expression still. Mouth pressed into a thin line. There was no malice. No resentment. Humor. He just stood there, holding her back.

"Abraham taught you well." The vampire stated. "Well. But not well enough."

"I sure as Hell plan to get farther than he ever did." Agatha spat back causing a small smile to cross the Count's features. "I don't plan on letting you live."

"Oh?" Dracula said, cocking an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Much to Agatha's confusion and alarm, he brought the fist that held the spike to his chest. Applying pressure, she could almost begin to feel it give way into his skin. Her eyes flickered from her hand, to the spike, and then his gaze. But instead of any reaction she'd expect, he merely gazed back at her emotionless.

"So do it," Dracula challenged. "End me, Agatha Van Helsing. If that's what you truly desire." He smiled and began to push harder. "End me."

[mood-swings-for-days]

Thunderstorm Ι Ch. 3 Ι JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut, Werewolf!au

Word count: 6, 829

Warnings: Characters in a less than healthy state of mind, violence, slight body horror, an addicted to cigarettes Jungkook (don’t do drugs, kids!)

Summary: An accidental encounter triggers a series of events that shatter your monotonous life. A new relationship starts to develop, following the stages of a thunderstorm.

Note: Written under the influence of beautiful music

1   2   3   4

Chapter 3: Drizzle

      Propping the old umbrella on your shoulder, you struggled to lock the driver side door of your truck. Raindrops were falling heavily on the hood of your car and covering your face in a fine misting of rainwater. You were scowling in frustration, straining the key in futile efforts to make it fulfil its purpose. Water pooled around your feet and seeped into your sneakers, egging your irritation even further. With the fading sunlight, cueing you were already late for your shift, you couldn’t help but think that this was the worst possible time for the old lock to start acting up. Abruptly, you turned the key in the opposite direction and back again, repeating the movement several times before the lock finally reacted. With additional effort to turn the thing all the way, you were finally rewarded with a resounding click. A relieved sigh tore itself from your lungs as your hand flopped down to hang beside you. With throbbing fingers, although victorious, you headed up the street toward the store.

      The bell above the door and your wet, squelching shoes notified of your arrival before you could do that yourself. Your coworker was leaning against the counter, already changed out of his work uniform.

        “I’m late, I’m sorry!” You decided to forego a proper greeting in favor of trying to explain yourself. “Yoongi, my car was acting up and I-”

      “Spare me.” The hostile tone he cut you off with immediately struck you as odd. He had opted to work a 12 hour shift today and was going to be absent for the next week so you could only assume he was tired and cranky and wanting to leave already. That being said, the look in his narrowed eyes went far beyond mild irritation from a tiring day. Yoongi looked mad; his eyes were quite literally burning your soul. You stood unmoving under his glare, blinking up at him owlishly and wondering what you did to piss him off to that extent. He couldn’t have gotten angry because you didn’t show up on time as he was notorious for coming to work late. With a quick glance toward his crossed arms, you noticed he was squeezing his fists so hard, his knuckles were turning white. You carefully swallowed the saliva, built up in your mouth and his eyes immediately snapped to your throat. The tiny movement seemed to finally set him off. He pushed off the counter and headed straight for you, staring you down. You tensed up and held your breath until he brushed past you. A cloud of his natural scent hit you in the face and, as if on autopilot, you mumbled:

        “Have a nice evening, Yoongi.”

        His reply came in the form of the store’s front door slamming behind you. The little bell shook for several moments after his departure and when the shop was finally silent again, that’s when you snapped out of your initial shock. Sheepishly, you walked behind the counter and signed your name into the evening protocol. The rest of your shift went by quietly and with minimal human interaction.

      On your way back home your thoughts flip-flopped between the botched lock on your car and Yoongi’s unusually hostile behavior earlier. No amount of pondering could help you figure out either one of the two problems. On the flip side, there was another question whirling around in your head for a while now and it wore the name of Jeon Jungkook. For over two weeks he was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t show up for lectures, you didn’t see him frequenting his usual spots and he never came around to your store ever since you two exchanged numbers. Lately you found yourself sitting in bed, looking at the piece of cardboard, carrying his name and wondering if it would be ok to call him.

       Your throbbing heart quickly became forgotten when an acute howl broke the silence of the night. Chills immediately made your stand on high alert and blood ran cold. In your peripheral you could see shadows moving at the edge of the woods. Ever since you rented a house near the forest, you started to develop this irrationally vast fear of wolves and other nocturnal animals, and sounds like this one freaked you out to no end. With a shrunken heart you gripped the steering wheel tighter and prayed that nothing would jump out on the road in front of you. You started shaking when you looked in your rear view mirror and saw reflective eyes keeping pace with the back of your car.

        “Oh-nononono. Please go away!” You whined pathetically

      In your mind you imagined some rabid creature jumping in the trunk of your old pickup and charging at you through the back window. You imagined sharp teeth and claws, broken glass and copious amounts of blood spilling everywhere. You suddenly remembered the pain of something tearing into your throat in your dreams and tears started pricking at the corners of your eyes.

      You were quickly approaching the intersection that lead to your house and this time you were sure as hell not going to take that thing straight to where you lived. Instead of continuing straight when you entered the intersection, you took an abrupt turn left, in the opposite direction of the woods. The street lights were more and closer together here and you quickly lost your pursuer as the light seemed to scare it off. Still, you drove a few blocks further until you parked your car under a street light to try and calm down. You released the steering wheel and curled in on yourself. The light rain was tapping against the windows of your car, but other than that there were no other sounds. The street lamp above you provided soothing yellow light, but in that moment you felt so very alone. You stayed like that for a minute until a voice you certainly wouldn’t mind hearing crept into your head and clenched around your heart. You shakily reached for your bag and pulled out your phone along with a small slip of cardboard that had been recently taped to the back of the device.

      23:01 said the screen. You wondered if it’d be ok to call. You punched in the numbers and your finger hovered over the green button. With a thumping heart and a lump in your throat you figured it was now or never. Once the first ring sounded, you put the phone on loudspeaker and stared intently, breathlessly anticipating the 0:00 to appear on screen. Across the street from you, Jungkook’s hand was hovering over his buzzing phone. The screen showed a number he had positively memorized by now and adrenaline was spiking high in his system. With a deep sigh and a clenched jaw, he picked the device up, pressed a button on the side and made the buzzing cease. Back in your car, you felt worse with every passing second you kept hearing the monotone dial tone. Finally, the zeroes you so desperately wanted to see flashed on screen.

      “Hey, Jungkook here. I probably can’t talk right now, but I’ll listen to your message, if you decide to leave one.” Came the generic message he had recorded who knows how long ago. For a moment you panicked, wanting to hang up as quick as possible, but the adult in you knew you needed to explain why you called so late in the first place.

      Beep. You coughed dryly “Hey, uh, it’s y/n. Sorry to bother you, but I accidentally dialed your number… That’s all. Good night.” You lied through your teeth and hurriedly hung up. Somehow, you felt completely humiliated once the silence surrounded you again. You threw your phone on the passenger seat and kicked your truck into high gear, heading straight home.

      Jungkook watched his phone until the screen faded to black, seconds later the “Missed call” notification appeared and under it there was another one, signaling he had voice mail. He heard your engine roar to life outside and waited until he could no longer hear it. At this point guilt and curiosity were eating him alive and he lunged for his phone.

      “Hey, uh, it’s y/n.” your voice sounded weak and shaky “Sorry to bother you, but I accidentally dialed your number…” a sniffle “That’s all. Good night.”

      Jungkook dropped the device next to him and laid back on his bed, covering his face. He felt like a jackass. His heart was throbbing heavily in his chest and every fiber of his being screamed at him to go out and run after you. Instead he lay motionless, allowing himself to get swarmed by remorse and frantic worry until he fell unconscious for the night.

      Your sleep wasn’t any more peaceful either. All night you kept tossing and turning, your clothes drenched in cold sweat and face contorted into a pained expression. Your dreams turning into full-blown nightmares as you ran through the woods, nearly naked and completely barefoot. The wind savagely tore into your exposed flesh, but the pain from the cold was nothing compared to the agonizing feeling you had in your legs. The souls of your feet were all sorts of cut up and bleeding profusely, every other step you took granted you with another nick or tear. Your bare calves and thighs were also cut up from the bushes and branches you kept running into in your frantic dash to escape whatever had given chase after you. Your muscles were aching, begging for mercy and making your knees rattle helplessly, but you couldn’t stop.  No matter what, you couldn’t stop running. Deep in your gut you knew that if you stopped, you would be no more. An ancient primal instinct to survive at all costs was pulling you forward, forcing your legs to move and lungs to breathe despite the burning pain. Behind you, heavy footsteps were quickly gaining on you. Whatever was chasing after you, sounded as if it were walking on two legs. It was big and fast, and, judging by the sound of it crashing through the bush, it possessed immense strength as it snapped the branches in its way like toothpicks. If it weren’t for the low growling, coming from the thing, you would have assumed it was human, but the sounds it was making forced you into a desperate prayer that you wouldn’t have to find out what it was. It was snarling, sniffing the air and panting and you could feel hot rivets of tears staining your face. You tried to scream out, but your voice was long gone. And, God, the forest was endless; thousands of tall pines looming over you, but doing nothing to stop your pursuer. Dark and heavy rainclouds covered the sky and suffocated the moonlight. The wind was slamming into your front and seemingly trying to slow you down, howling in your ears and disorienting you.

      You felt so alone and scared, as if nature itself was out to get you. In that very moment you thought of your family and every pet you’ve ever had, you thought of your professors and classmates, you thought of Yoongi and your store manager, you thought about your roommate and about Yara, and finally about Jungkook. In that very moment you knew you would give anything in the world to at least be able to share another conversation with them. Suddenly, your life seemed much more valuable than it did the previous days and you deeply regretted depriving yourself of a happier life for all these years.

      Incoherent wheezing tumbled from your mouth, your chest being rattled by loud sobbing. With all you might you tried to form words. Your throat was dry and painful and your lungs couldn’t swallow enough oxygen, but you still pushed. Heavy coughs scratched at your insides.

      “Pl-p” followed by a broken inhale “Plea…ease” you managed quietly “Please, please, I’m begging you!” your cries steadily grew in volume. You couldn’t even recognize your own voice. Words mindlessly poured out of your mouth and all you knew is that this was your last chance to survive.

      “I don’t want to die!” you knew it sounded stupid as the sentence echoed in the night. You weren’t thinking straight and the heavy footsteps behind you showed no signs of stopping. You were growing desperate.

      “Please! Somebody, help me!” you started screaming out random names that came to mind. “Yara! Jungkook, please! Jun-” Just like it would play out in a bad horror movie, your foot got caught in some raised roots and you plummeted to the ground. You fell heavily on your shoulder and heard an audible crack. Burning pain slithered down your arm, across your chest and up your throat. As much as you tried, you couldn’t push yourself up. Your heart was positively about to burst both from fright and complete exhaustion. The huge lungfuls of freezing air you were swallowing were making you lightheaded. Just behind you the bushes rustled and the last thing you saw before you fell unconscious was a pair of reflective eyes about 6 feet off the ground.

      You sat up in bed. Your heart was still thumping wildly, but you were relieved. Tears were streaming freely down your face and sweat rolled off your temples. “It was just a nightmare” you chanted repeatedly, but dull pain was still throbbing in your left clavicle and feet. Your room was dark and quiet. No light slipped through your blinds so you could only assume it was still too early for the sun to have risen. You brought your knees to your chest and wrapped your arms around your cold legs protectively. Sheer will power wasn’t enough to stop you from shaking like a leaf. Even if it was a dream, why was your body still aching? It couldn’t have been the force of memory. If that was the case, the pain would have faded in the ten minutes you sat curled into a ball.

      Jungkook too was tossing in his bed all night. He hadn’t bothered to change out of his jeans and t-shirt when he fell asleep and in the earliest hours of the day he found himself tangled in the bedsheets, covered in sweat and with a heavy chest. In his dreams he could smell blood all around, he was running like a madman and his instincts were kicking into high gear. Everything was a blur and he wasn’t sure where he was headed, he didn’t remember, but adrenaline was pumping inside him at the thought of reaching it. A woman’s voice and then something resembling his name reached him. He needed to run faster, he had to know what was calling him. He felt like he was coming in and out of consciousness, noises becoming very loud and then completely muffled. His body moved purely on muscle memory. Before he could come to his senses, he heard a crash and then abruptly stopped. That’s when he woke up with the image of your tear-stained face on his mind. His chest felt tight and he pounded his fist into it a couple of times to make the feeling go away. He sat up in bed and leaned back against the headboard. Reaching for the pack of cigarettes on his nightstand, he planned to finish the whole thing until sunrise.

      When morning came, you finally willed yourself to unravel from the fetal position. You tugged some jeans and a sweater over your chilled body and headed for the bathroom. In no time you found yourself seated at the back of the hall, alone and waiting for the lecture to start. Yara had called in sick earlier this morning. You didn’t really speak to any of your other classmates, your friend was the one who did most of the talking anyway. At this point you had stopped hoping Jungkook would show up either. You didn’t even know if he attended this class. You were barely holding your face up with the palm of your hand, your eyelids heavy and head pounding with a migraine. You were zoning out, staring at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling when someone bumped into the back of your chair.

      “Oh, sorry!” a sweet male voice apologized and for a moment you couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. You turned to look at the someone in question with a dumb expression. There stood a guy of average height with fluffy brown hair and a warm and smiling face. Absentmindedly you stared at the single long earring that dangled from his left ear.

      “Did I make you mad? I didn’t mean to.” The guy explained with a humorous smile and just then you realize he was talking to you.

      “I’m not mad.” You mumbled and the guy giggled at the dull way you said it.

      “Haha, I’m relieved” he laughed and began walking away “See you around?” He waved and when you reciprocated the gesture a sweet smile stretched his face, finally turning his back to you. You watched him walk down to the front of the room and sit down. He had a nice posture and carried himself with confidence, but that earring still captured your attention until you lost sight of it.

      Your lectures came and went one after the other and after that you went straight to work. Nothing particularly spectacular happened that evening and you went home only to be terrorized by your ambiguous and repetitive dreams all night long. That’s how the next couple of days played out too. Yara was still sick as a mutt and every now and then you would email her the notes you had halfheartedly taken during the lectures you two shared.

      Today however was your day off of work and honestly you felt kind of lost after your lectures ended. You didn’t want to go home, because you knew you would fall asleep and have nightmares again. Taking a walk was out of the question as it was pouring rain and you didn’t really want to waste gas on driving. You would have gone to visit Yara, but becoming sick on top of your by now chronical exhaustion wasn’t something you wanted to go through.

      That’s how you found yourself sitting alone on a table for two at your local coffee shop. Your hot cup of bitter black coffee was keeping you company as you watched customers come in and out of the café. A shiny new psychology textbook lay open on the table in front of you and every now and then you forced yourself to read a paragraph or two. Yawns tumbled out of your mouth lazily as you read some article about mental illness. ‘Symptoms of depression include, but are not limited to: isolation from friends and family, inability to concentrate, reliance on alcohol or sedatives, feeling unhappy, guilty or overwhelmed, irritability, headaches and muscle pain, exhaust- ‘Before you could try and self-diagnose yourself someone interrupted you.

      “Hey, is this seat taken?” You looked up from your textbook to see a familiar face. The guy from a few days ago smiled down at you warmly. You looked around the nearly empty café and wondered why he decided to come over to you.

      “Sure?”

      Once he was seated across form you, he extended his hand and politely introduced himself “I’m Park Jimin. We have psychology together.” You completed the handshake, but didn’t know what to say to him. He mistook your awkward silence for confusion and explained further

      “I’m the ass that bumped into you a couple days ago.” That managed to pull a laugh from you and he seemed pleased.

      “Yeah, I remember you. I was just wondering why you decided to sit with me.” You clarified

      His smile turned sheepish “Because you’re cute and looked like you needed some company?” You weren’t expecting that answer and just stared at him dumbfounded.

      “I may or may not need some help with psychology, too.”

      “Oh, so there’s the catch.” You remarked sarcastically.

      “Not at all. Everything I said is true. I do think you’re really cute and do really suck at psychology.” That sneaky smile made its way on his face again. “In all fairness, I didn’t come here to ask you to tutor me… I just happen to see you alone all around campus lately and today fate brought us together. Will you at least tell me your name?”

      “I’m y/l/n y/n. We have psychology together and the chair your ass bumped into was mine.” You imitated with a grin that Jimin seemed to take a liking to. He was very confident and also unexpectedly flirty. The next hour or two you got lost in his jokes and remarks as you two got to know each other. You talked about so many things, but in hind sight you couldn’t gather much personal information about him. All you learned was that he was born in Busan and moved to your small town with his family. He refrained from sharing more, which was fair enough, you thought.

      When the sun started to set, Jimin offered you a ride home which you politely declined. When it was time to leave, he paid for your coffee without asking and silenced your protests with a dazzling smile. Outside the shop he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around your middle and pressed your body into his in a gentle hug. Out of instinct your arms quickly made their way around his shoulders. After a moment he pulled back, but didn’t let go of your body completely. His warm palms rested on your waist as he looked fondly into your eyes.

      “Thank you for sharing this afternoon with me.” He mumbled and for the first time since you spoke to him you noticed his pointed canine teeth. His plump lips formed every syllable with care. You were staring at his mouth which was at your eye level. He quickly caught on to what you were doing and moved to lean in for a kiss. You flinched, suddenly realizing the situation you had gotten yourself into. Your heart sank and you were quick to push your hands against his chest. Jimin didn’t insist further and immediately withdrew. You were expecting to see bitterness when you went you look into his eyes, but instead he chuckled, baring his teeth.

      “Ah, sorry. I got a little carried away.” And there they were, his canines, just slightly sharper than the average man’s. His hands dropped from your body and he took a step back. A darker smile now played on his lips. Jimin didn’t look angry in the slightest, perhaps amused would be the correct word.

      “I’m sorry if I-” you started but he cut you off

      “You didn’t do anything, dear.” He pronounced the pet name slowly, deliberately “I just got the wrong impression. Perhaps it was wishful thinking.”

      You looked like a deer in headlights. Your heart was drumming loudly in your chest. Jimin smirked at you, standing tall with his hands in his pockets and you felt like you were expected say something. Your mind went blank, try as you might you couldn’t come up with an answer. A few seconds passed like that until Jimin finally released his hold on you with a deep sigh of his own. His familiar sweet smile plastered on his face as he cocked his head to the side.

      “Well, thank you again for allowing me to keep you company. Don’t be shy and come say hi next time you see me, ok?”

      You nodded.

      “Before I leave, would you like me to walk you to your car?” he offered, but you declined. “Good night then. I’ll see you around? I mean it.” He emphasized the last part with a quirk of his brow and you managed to crack one last smile for him before waving goodbye.

      The next few days your accidental encounters with Jimin around campus became a little too frequent for you to chalk it up to chance. It was becoming blatantly obvious that he was deliberately seeking you out. One day you would be walking out of class and he would be leaning against the wall, offering to walk you to wherever it was you were going. The next day you would be climbing out of your truck, hurrying to enter the university and escape the cold, when you would hear him jogging behind you, calling your name.

      “Good morning!” he would greet happily and ask about your schedule for the day. Without fail, every chance he got he would ask “So, do you want to hang out again sometime? I really enjoyed your company last time!” And your chest would tighten upon hearing his confession.

      At first glance Jimin was the embodiment of a perfect man. He was fit and very attractive, had a great fashion sense and knew exactly what to say in every situation. He was always the perfect gentleman as well, never once getting hostile after you rejected his advances on multiple occasions. He was so polite, always watching his mouth in your presence and you truly enjoyed his company. There was something about him however that didn’t quite sit right with you. Jimin was incredibly persistent when it came to taking you out. The first few times you declined his offer you truly were busy, but as time went by you started to notice that his determination wasn’t faltering in the slightest. In your previous experiences, guys became discouraged after several failed attempts, but Jimin was different. You couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling that it was so bizarre that he could go for any other girl on campus with great success, but instead he was stuck trying to get to you. He had made it undoubtedly clear that he was interested in you, sneaking compliments into casual conversations. The look he gave you after you pushed him away at the café still lingered in the back of your mind. Jimin had accepted the challenge you had unknowingly thrown at him. In that sense he resembled a predator, determined to snatch you up, the prey he had laid his eyes on and immediately knew he wanted. That realization had you keeping your distance as much as possible. There was also the heaviness you carried in your chest every time you caught him following the curve of your body or every time his compliments came sounding an octave lower than usual. There was a darkness hiding under the surface of Park Jimin’s friendly smile.

      Deep in the pit of your heart a dull pain buzzed every time Jimin pushed his hair back or crinkled his eyes with laughter, small gestures that reminded you of a different guy you were still yearning to see. Today marked the fifteenth day since you last saw Jeon Jungkook and you secretly hated yourself for counting. Yara was back from her brief vacation under the weather and she wasted no time and started pulling information out of your mouth.

      “What’s up with you and random hot guys when I’m not around, huh?” She gasped “Am I cock-blocking you?!”

      You couldn’t help the giggle that tumbled form your mouth. “Now that I think about it, you might be!”

      “That’s it, I’m leaving! Don’t contact me until you get laid!” Yara scrambled, pretending to gather her things and at that point you were full on cackling. “I’m serious, if that’s really the case, I will gladly let a beautiful boy take my place as your faithful companion in life!”

      You wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug. “Nuuu!” You whined and both of you bursted into a cheerful fit of laughter. Yara was slapping your knee, gasping for air and losing her shit after hearing your occasional involuntary snort. It was so good to have her back. Tears were beading in the corners of your eyes until you felt a warm caress on the back of your neck. You quickly whipped your head around to see who it was, your arm falling off of Yara’s back in the process. Towering over your seated frame was none other than Park Jimin. He cocked his head to the side and grinned down at you, his hand comfortably resting on the junction between your neck and shoulder. You gulped when you felt his thumb stroking the cloumn your throat.

      “Speak of the devil…” Yara slipped up and you coughed awkwardly

      “Jimin? I thought you didn’t take this class.”

      His smile widened to show his teeth and he hummed “I don’t, but I heard sweet laughter while passing by and decided to check it out.” Your heart dropped when you saw him lick his lips. You probably had the same look on your face as when he tried to kiss you, because his eyes were locked onto yours, dark and sinister. “When will you let me take you out again, hm?”

      A beat of silence and then you tried to speak, but someone cleared his throat behind Jimin. Your adrenaline spiked when you saw messy dark hair peeking a good two inches’ over Jimin’s head. He abruptly turned around, revealing Jungkook’s larger frame. The moment you laid eyes on him, it felt like you had been missing him for months. He looked so good, wearing ripped blue jeans and a black hoodie, his hair had also grown longer in the time he’d been away. You immediately caught the faint scent of cigarette smoke, wafting from his body and warmth filled your chest. His face was taut, dark eyes staring into Jimin who was standing no more than a foot away. The latter was wearing a broad smile, but some other emotion played behind it.

      “Jungkook-ah, it’s been a while. How have you been?” Jimin spoke first, smooth and steady.

      “I’m fine. What are you up to, hyung?” Hearing his voice for the first time made you straighten in your seat.

      “Oh, you know I’m always busy.” Jimin chuckled “Actually, I’m in the middle of something right now.”

      “I don’t think so.”

      “Oh?” Jimin’s eyebrows shot up in feigned surprise “But I was just talking to lovely y/n here. I don’t think you know-”

      Jungkook cut in with a clenched jaw “I do know her.” Chills rattled your spine when you managed to catch the rumble of irritation in his chest. You weren’t the only one to notice, however.

      “Jungkook-ah, is something wrong? You seem awfully tense?” Jimin cocked his head “Am I doing something wrong?” When the younger didn’t answer, he smirked darkly. Jimin was fully aware of Jungkook’s hostile aura toward him. His shoulders relaxed as he pressed his hand to the back of your neck again.

      “I don’t think she’s off limits, or am I wrong?” It was a subtle challenge, intended to jab at Jungkook’s unfavorable position. Even though the exchange revolved around you, you subconsciously knew you had no say in it. You watched Jungkook intently, waiting for his response. He sighed, shoulders pulling back and spine straightening. His lips tugged into a smirk of his own and your heart leaped.

      “Hyung, I’m afraid that’s not for you do decide.”

      Your pulse skyrocketed as your gaze jumped form one man to the other. Jimin wasn’t smiling anymore when the feeling his touch left your skin. He shoved his hands in his pockets, eyes coldly staring into Jungkook’s.

      “Anyway, y/n my offer still stands if you’re up for it.” Still, he didn’t look at you “I’m heading out now, but I’ll definitely see you around.” You weren’t sure who he was talking to at this point as he turned on his heel and simply walked away. Surprisingly, the brief exchange hadn’t attracted much attention from your classmates and you were thankful. You turned to look at his retreating figure in bewilderment. What was this all about?

      Cold fingers gently pressed to the underside of your chin and turned your head. You were surprised to find Jungkook’s soft brown eyes giving you all of his attention for the first time in a while.

      “Can I sit with you?” when his hand retreated from your face you could feel it heating up rapidly. You scrambled to move to the next chair over to make room for him. Yara quickly did the same and you reminded yourself to thank her for keeping her mouth shut throughout the whole ordeal.

      That’s how you stayed for the next hour and a half for the duration of the lecture. Jungkook’s shoulder lightly brushed yours every time he moved and you found yourself unable to focus on the professor’s words anymore. The scuffle with Jimin from earlier plus the fact that you were finally close to Jungkook again had your suddenly overwhelmed. Every once in a while you would steal sideways glances at him and sometimes he would catch you doing it. His response immediately came in the form a soft smile that warmed you from the inside.

      Classes ended quickly and painlessly today with Jungkook by your side. Somewhere along the way Yara had excused herself with a pat to your back and lots of questions and remarks burning on the tip of her tongue. Jungkook too remained mostly silent, following close behind you and occasionally brushing his hand delicately down the curve of your back. After all of your lectures were finished, you found yourself mindlessly walking around campus. The air was crisp and humid from the rain that had poured in the morning. The dull slapping of your wet shoes this time was accompanied by another pair. Jungkook strode beside you with his hands in his jean pockets and messy hair covered by his large hood. You somehow managed to think about everything and nothing all at the same time, and the overwhelming desire to voice all of your thoughts got stuck in your throat. You didn’t know where your boundaries with Jungkook stood exactly and you were afraid to scare him away with questions he might find intrusive. Now that you finally had him within an arm’s reach, suppressed emotion threatened to spill through the cracks of your crumbling walls. Instead of opening your mouth, you bit your tongue and trudged forward wordlessly. Heart throbbing wildly had you short of breath and, as much as you tried to disguise it, Jungkook quickly caught on.

      “Are you okay?” He stopped abruptly and peeked down at you under the edge of his hood.

      Pink dusted your frozen cheeks “Yeah, I just seem to tire out easily lately.”

      Jungkook stared at you for a few moments longer, face neutral and unreadable. He hooked his arm around your shoulders and made a beeline for the nearby benches, surrounding the small fountain that could be found in every stereotypical college campus. Everything was wet, but Jungkook seemed unbothered as he wiped the water off of the top of the backrest with his palm and quickly stepped on the seat and sat down. You followed suit, grimacing slightly when the remaining droplets melted into the butt of your jeans. Jungkook was quick to wrap his arm back around you and pull you into his side. His warmth wasn’t something you knew your craved until it started seeping into your skin. The faint breath of cigarette smoke complimented his natural clean scent and almost compelled you to relax into him. You both stared at the old fountain that had been out of order for years. From your spot on top of the bench you could see copper coins lining the bottom like a mosaic and it made you think of all the unspoken wishes that plopped into the cold water and sank to the bottom. While you stared at the water, Jungkook watched you from the corner of his eye.

      “What have you been up to lately?” You finally spoke up when the pounding in your ears became unbearable. Seconds of silence dripped between the two of you and your body became rigid with anxiousness. You stared at his profile from the corner of your eye, breathless your heart was pounding even harder than before. Silent still, Jungkook’s arm started slipping off of your shoulders. Losing his comforting warmth made your chest constrict uncomfortably. A lump immediately lodged itself into your throat at the thought that you had crossed a line, no matter how innocent and unassuming your question had sounded in your head. Your face was burning. Shit, you dove head first into the exact situation you were trying to avoid.

      Jungkook reached into his back pocket and the snap of his lighter brought your attention back to him. You watched as he took a drag from his cigarette, the crackling of tobacco sounding obnoxiously loud in your deprived mind. He blew a puff of smoke and the wind carried it straight into your face, making your eyes sting with tears. You squeezed them shut, trying to avoid embarrassing yourself on top of everything. Inhale, hold, exhale, you listened to his breathing pattern for a few more drags until he sighed heavily.

      “Nothing worth mentioning.” Your shriveled heart lurched back into life upon hearing him finally answer the god-forsaken question. “I went out of town for a while. How have you been?”

      “Same as always…” your voice cracked and Jungkook pretended not to notice, staring straight ahead. At this point you were desperate to keep some sort of conversation going. “There’s not too much going on around here.”

      “I didn’t know you knew Park.” Jungkook suddenly blurted out.

      “Jimin?”

      Jungkook took a particularly deep drag from his cigarette, making the ash break off the end and fall between his parted thighs.

      “We have psychology together and went out for coffee once.” You felt embraced admitting to the last part, face heating up when you heard Jungkook exhale sharply through his nose.

      “He took you out on a date?”

      “Well, not exactly.” You were squirming against the undisguised hostility, radiating off of him “We just ran into each other at the café. I was alone and he just said he wanted to keep me company. That’s all.” You decided to cut the hug and attempted kiss out, because you felt like that would only make Jungkook angrier.

      In the ensuing minutes of uncomfortable silence, a realization suddenly hit you. Why were you suddenly compelled to spill your guts in front of him? Especially when you didn’t want to invade his privacy with your much simpler question earlier. Was it really his place to chew you out after disappearing for two whole weeks? You swallowed down your initial embarrassment and hit him with a question of your own.

      “What’s the deal with you two anyway?”

      Jungkook’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and, for the first time in what felt like forever, he turned to look at you. You stubbornly stared back at him with a tiny scowl as wonderment and now mild irritation swirled in his deep brown irises. His face softened almost immediately and he leaned in toward you.

      “I like that expression on you, you know?” As he spoke, smoke spilled from his mouth. Because of his close proximity, you managed to involuntarily inhale every last bit of it. It made you choke and sputter as the taste burned your throat. When you looked back up, Jungkook had retreated back to his original spot and wore a soft smirk. Your face was red hot and soft coughs still rattled your chest.

      “That was the weirdest shotgun kiss I’ve ever had.” Jungkook remarked lightly

      “What?”

      Your flustered state was all too entertaining for Jungkook and he couldn’t disguise his tender laughter. “Haven’t you heard of a shotgun kiss?”

      You remained silent, looking at him like he’d just grown a second head. He was having the time of his life, taking in every detail of your bewilderment.

      “That’s when you blow smoke into another person’s mouth, it’s called a shotgun kiss.” He explained and pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth. You were immediately drawn to the motion and unconsciously mimicked it. Slowly, you began to shift your eyes over his face, caressing his porcelain features with careful attention. You could almost feel his gaze gliding along your skin in a similar manner.

      “Fuck!”

      You were suddenly startled when Jungkook jerked his arm in the air with a yell. The cigarette butt flew from his hand and by the way he sucked on the side of his forefinger you could safely assume it had burnt him. Try as you might, you couldn’t suppress the chuckle that slipped past your lips.

      “That damn thing was cursed from the start.” Upon hearing your remark, Jungkook cracked a smile of his own.

      The atmosphere was back to normal between the two of you and, as weird as the sudden mood swings were, you didn’t want to ponder over it right now.

[7official7moose7]

Part three.

Hey kids! this chapter will be a bit longer than the others, soo yeah. Happy valentine’s day!! Part four will be out by Monday.

TW: Angst, Nightmares, Mentions of family loss.

The sun had set a little over an hour ago, and the boys were three-fourths of the way to Lawrence. Dean was driving the Impala, of course. Jack pleaded to sit in the passenger seat this time, and Sam was all for it. Him and Cas had it made in the backseat.

Though he was feeling better than that morning, Sam still got a little woozy halfway through the drive, but it wasn’t too much to handle. He was still exhausted from lack of sleep throughout the week, so he fell asleep with his head against the window, Cas holding his hand gently. Though, he made sure Dean and Jack could not see them through the rear-view mirror, because he knew that Sam would have another freak-out if they saw. But, what they didn’t know wouldn’t kill them. Jack smiled. 

The car was quiet, save the music from the radio, which was turned down.

But as the Impala thundered down the road, Sam frowned in his sleep as a violent storm thundered in his dream.

…

Sam opened his eyes with a start. 

Where am I?

Everything was pitch black, cold and wet. It was raining outside, and the thunder rumbled above him. He moved his head to look around, and his hair floated away from his face, revealing dark, murky water.

Sam was in a lake, sinking.

The water stung his eyes as he held his breath. He looked up, and saw that he wasn’t too far from the surface. Sam tried to swim up, but the surface got farther and farther away as he did. So he swam faster.

It finally became closer, but Sam couldn’t hold his breath for much longer. He tore at the water furiously, desperately. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t make it. He felt lightheaded.

I’ll never see my brother again. I’ll never see Cas or Jack again, I won’t get to tell them what happened, I won’t get to say goodbye! 

The Winchester’s vision clouded with tears, but the water washed them away. He felt a lump in his throat that he could not swallow, and an emptiness in his mind that he could not fill with anything but the word breathe.

It was soft for a while, but then it grew louder and started to sound like Dean. Sam refused, but it grew louder and louder and soon, he couldn’t take it anymore.

…

Sam gasped and sat up as stiff as a board, his chest and throat burning as he coughed. He was still in the car, but they were parked at a motel. Dean was leaning into the backseat, a hand on Sammy’s arm, shaking him awake and was telling him to breathe. Jack watched in confusion and fear as Castiel led him out of the car to their motel room. “He’s fine, Jack. It’s another human thing,” he said.

Sam took deep breaths. He took hold of himself, yet still shaking and panting as Dean asked him if he was okay.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” he said, but he still felt like he was drowning. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Just.. a dumb dream. I’m okay.”

Sam shook Dean’s hand off of his shoulder and scoffed. Dean studied him a bit longer before shrugging and hopping out of the Impala and grabbing the bags out of the trunk. As Sam stepped out into the open air, he staggered and braced himself on the car. He felt dizzy for a moment, and passed it off as standing up too fast. Dean looked at him with concern as he slammed the trunk. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked, starting off to the motel room. “Dean, I said I’m fine. I just had a weird dream and got up too fast,” Sam said, following.

“What kind of weird dream?” 

“I dunno, I was just.. Drowning, I guess.”

“Huh,” Dean mused and walked into the room with Sam, locking it behind them. Jack and Cas were waiting.

“Sam, are you alright?” Jack asked with worry. Sam smiled softly, ruffling his hair. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Cas looked up to the younger Winchester. “I told him about dreams, and how they can affect humans. I must have worried him,” he said. Sam shrugged. “It was just one of those random dreams, I’m sure it didn’t mean anything.”

But Sam wasn’t sure at all. He knew what the dream meant, and he remembered what he said the night before when he was drunk. Yes, he was drunk, but he knew good and well that what he said was true. He was stressed. Really, really stressed. He just didn’t want to admit it to himself again.

And so he distracted himself with his family, and they sat down for a nice pow-wow before getting their rest.

Dean and Jack shared the bigger bed, leaving Sam alone in the smaller one. But it wasn’t small enough. Sam still felt an emptiness beside him, a cold spot. Cas wasn’t there, he was off doing some angel errand.

Sam lay awake, but had his eyes closed in hopes of falling asleep. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t. His mind was racing, thinking about Castiel, his dream, their conversation from last night.

Ah, last night.

It was so wonderful being curled up against such an amazing, adorable, admirable angel like Castiel. And Sam sort of laughed at the fact that he thought Cas was cute, considering it wasn’t actually Cas, but Jimmy Novak’s vessel. Jimmy was pretty, not gonna lie. Sorry you lost such an awesome meat suit, man.

But Sam snapped himself out of it. Stop pining, that’s stupid and you can’t date an angel of the lord. It’s literally in the bible.

But is it?

Technically Castiel isn’t male or female, he thought, unless angels have assigned genders. Do they? I’ll have to ask when Cas gets back.

And then he remembered that Cas wasn’t there, and he was back to square one.

…

The other angels had reached out to Castiel through Angel Radio, asking for his help retrieving a soul who had escaped from their heaven and was roaming the halls of other gates. Her name was Abigail Scott, was no older than thirteen and she had been in a plane crash east of an airport in Michigan three weeks ago.

The angel immediately responded to the situation. It was dangerous having a wandering soul, as she could open another soul’s gate and then there would be two souls roaming around. And they would know that it isn’t real, and they would tell others that it wasn’t real..

It just wasn’t something that the angels had the time to deal with.

And so Castiel walked around the halls until he spotted her. She had bright orange hair and heavy freckles, and she had hazel eyes, just like Sam’s.

Ah, Sam.

Cas felt his wings flutter and his grace spark at the thought of him. He was so, so beautiful and amazing and-

Cas suddenly shook the thoughts out of his mind. Not now, focus.

“Abigail,” he started, and the girl at the other end of the hall startled and looked at him with those eyes. He resisted the urge to look away as he flushed red. “You can’t be out here, child. It’s dangerous.”

Abigail clenched her fists as she stalked towards him. She stopped about half way. “Who are you? Where am I?” she asked fearfully, warily. Cas averted his gaze, unable to concentrate. “You are in heaven. So is your grandmother, in the other hall.”

The girl relaxed, but still stared at him. She stepped closer. “Are you.. An angel?” she asked, and Cas nodded. “Yes, and I must take you back to your heaven.” he said gently, trying to make this quick. Abigail looked away, frowning. “Do I have to go back? I don’t want to live in a lie again,” she said sharply. 

The angel looked back to her. Their eyes met again, and he held back the off-topic thoughts. 

“You can, or I can take you to your grandmother. But you can’t stay out here,” he said. Abigail looked disappointed for a second, but then smiled. “It would be nice to see her again,” she said, and so they set off to find the room labeled “Francis Scott”.

As they walked, Abigail asked, “So, what’s your name? Do you have a name?” 

Cas smiled softly. “Yes, I am Castiel. All angels have names, even the lowliest.” he answered. The girl smiled. “What’s it like being an angel? My mother has.. Or, had theories, but they were a bit over the top.” 

“Well, it depends on the rank. If they are a leader, they listen to prayers and give the soldiers orders. The soldier’s job is the most tiring, doing as told and always on the run. The rest are just there for support or backup, if needed.”

“And where are you on that chart?”

Castiel thought as they rounded the corner to the next hall. “I don’t know. I caused a bit of trouble in the past, so the others wouldn’t really approve of me being in heaven any more than I have to.”

“Then where do you go? If you aren’t here?” Abigail asked.

“On earth. I have friends there. Sometimes, they’re even more like family.”

“Oh. Is that why you don’t talk like the other angels here? You sound different, you use more human-like words and ways of explaining things.”

“Yes, I must admit, they rub off on me.”

“These friends, what are they like?”

“Well, they are all hunters. They hunt dark creatures like werewolves, vampires or demons. First there’s Dean Winchester. He’s more on the tough side, always seems grumpy. Then there’s Jack Kline. He’s a Nephilim, half angel-half human. He’s very kind, and he’s powerful,” Castiel hesitated, “And then.. There’s Sam Winchester. The boy with the demon blood.”

Abigail looked at Castiel. “Demon blood? Is he bad?”

The angel looked back. “No, not at all. He’s the sweetest, most loving, caring and accepting human being I know. And he has eyes just like yours,” he said, smiling as his face flushed again. His grace spiked.

“It sounds like you really care about him,” Abigail said, “And I bet he cares so much about you too.”

Cas beamed at that thought. “Yes, I suppose he does.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Cas continued.

“You don’t seem to be upset that you’re.. You know..” 

“Dead? Yeah, I guess I am a bit sad. But I know that this will be better than my life down on earth.”

“How so?”

“My life started out as just a big lie. I was adopted as a baby, and I’ve lived with these people who didn’t care for me much. My grandmother, my real one, found me at a music festival during the spring a couple years back. She wanted to take me with her, and I wanted to go, but my adoptive parents wouldn’t let me.

But they did agree to let me see her on the weekends, and we had the best time together. But..” she paused to rub her eyes, “In fall of last year, she suffered from a stroke, and.. didn’t make it out of the hospital.”

Castiel blinked, not knowing what to say. “I’m sorry, Abigail.”

The girl gave a teary smile. “It’s okay, I’ll be able to see her soon.”

“Speaking of soon,” Cas said as he came to a stop at a door that said, “Francis Alicia Scott”. 

“Are you ready?” Cas asked, and Abigail nodded, tears rolling down her freckled cheeks. Her hazel eyes glistened with sadness and excitement, and she grabbed Castiel’s hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back. 

And so, Castiel opened the door, revealing a beautiful field of grass and flowers. The sun was shining and the sky was a soft blue with white, puffy clouds scattered across. And up on a hill stood a great wisteria tree. And under it sat a petite older woman, with reddish gray hair and freckles, wearing a yellow dress and sunhat with a book in her hands and a picnic blanket spread under her. She smiled softly as she turned the page.

Now, Abigail was crying. Castiel showed concern, but she waved them off as ‘happy tears’.

“Well?” he said after a minute, gesturing to the woman. “Would you like me to come along?”

The girl shook her head, but threw herself onto the angel and whispered, “Thank you, Castiel.”

And with that, she began to make her way through the lush field, and when she called out to her, Abigail’s grandmother smiled greatly as she sprung up and rushed to her. She embraced the child and Abigail returned it, and they walked back to the tree hand in hand.

Castiel smiled, feeling something prickle at the corners of his eyes.

A single tear fell to his trench coat.

And as he was about to leave, he heard a shout from behind him. He turned, and Abigail and her grandmother were waving with sad smiles on their faces. He waved back, beaming, and disappeared through the wall.

As he closed the door behind him, Castiel lingered before starting back down the hallway. Another tear escaped his eye, and he wiped it away with his sleeve, like he saw Sam and Dean do.

Maybe they have rubbed off on me, he thought.

[dontmindthefangirling]

Omg I’m so glad I found your account I love it so much 😍 can you do a sad/fluffy Tom Holland fic based off the song Hoodie by Hey Violet? I heard it on the radio and thought you’d do an amazing fic for it

omg I love that song! i hope i did it justice :) 

I highly recommend listening to this song!!

Hoodie {t.h.}

Warnings: angst, fluff

this was so much longer than i intended, but enjoy!

-

Rain pelted the windows of your apartment as you padded through your kitchen, holding a mug of tea between your cold hands. The gloomy clouds only matched your mood as you set your tea down on the table. It was normal London weather, and you rather liked rainy days, however you were particularly cold for this day. 

You wondered if your landlord even put the heat on. Probably not, to save costs. It was unusually cold for a day in the spring. 

You were only in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, so you walked towards your room to find a change of clothes. You glanced at your unmade bed when you walked in and let out a deep sigh. You hated sleeping alone, especially ever since him. 

Swinging the doors open to your closet, you rummaged through some of your sweatpants pulling out your worn out gray pair and slipping them on over your cold legs. You then began going through your sweatshirts, having to skip the first three because you couldn’t wear gray on gray. 

But then your fingers froze. 

A familiar navy blue hoodie hung in your closet, almost like it was hiding behind the rest of your clothes, and a lump instantly formed in your throat. Your fingers grazed the material and all you could think about was him. 

“What are you looking at?” you asked while coloring in the outline of Big Ben in your ‘adult’ coloring book that Tom had bought you for Christmas. Your lips were curled up in a smile, and you weren’t looking at him, but you could feel his eyes on you. 

“You,” he responded, nonchalantly. You stopped coloring and looked up, meeting his twinkling brown eyes. 

“I can see that,” you chuckled. 

“You just look adorable in my clothes,” Tom said with a shrug. 

Instantly, your cheeks flushed, and you let out a laugh, embarrassed that even after a year of dating, he still made you flustered. 

“They’re comfy,” you chided, hugging yourself with the oversized sleeves. Tom laughed before scooting closer to you on the couch. 

“I’d rather you hug me than my clothes,” Tom pouted, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into his chest. You smiled and turned towards him, capturing his lips in a kiss. 

“You can hug me anytime, babe,” you said with a grin. 

Tom chuckled, and you felt his chest vibrate beneath you while he pressed a kiss to your hair. 

You hadn’t put on that hoodie in weeks, ever since you and Tom broke up about two months ago. Looking at the navy material, your heart twisted in a way that almost caused you to cry. You hadn’t cried over Tom in a while, and you were proud of yourself for it, but touching the sweatshirt made your mind flash back to all of the good times. 

You pulled the hoodie from your closet and instantly got a whiff of Tom’s cologne. The scent instantly brought you back to the first time he had hugged you. 

You and Tom had been friends for a little while, both having a mutual friend in Harrison, and one night he invited you to go to the bars with him and Tom. Harrison had told you it was a casual thing, and you showed up, somewhat nervous but you didn’t know why. 

You always knew you thought Tom was attractive, but seeing him lean against the bar with Harrison, laughing at something his friend had said, made your heart flip. 

You spent the night by Tom’s side, even when Harrison left to flirt with someone at the other end of the bar. You and Tom spent the night laughing with one another, and neither of you acknowledge the gradual inching closer to each other, so much so until Tom’s arm was brushing yours. 

At the end of the night, Tom led you out of the bar before Harrison. 

“We should hang out some time,” he said with a shy smile. 

“We hang out all the time, Tom,” you pointed out, furrowing your eyebrows. Tom’s cheeks flushed and he shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. 

“I meant…without, uh, Harrison,” he said. 

You instantly blushed when you realized what he meant, but when he looked back up and met your eyes, you couldn’t help but smile. 

“I’d like that,” you said. 

Tom grinned from ear to ear, until a car pulled up that had been valeted for you. 

“That’s me,” you gestured to the car, and before you could react, Tom pulled you into a hug. His arms were strong, and he smelled like mint and the ocean mixed together in one and you realized that right then and there you wanted to spend the rest of your life in his arms. 

You laughed bitterly at the memory. You had been so hopeful. So naive. 

But holding his hoodie in your arms, and the lingering scent that you loved so much, you couldn’t help but slip it on over your cold body. Almost instantly, you felt warmer than you did before. You hugged yourself with the oversized sleeves like you had done before, but Tom wasn’t there to tell you that you looked adorable. 

You didn’t realize you were crying until your vision became blurry with your tears. You laid down on your bed, curling your legs to your chest, as Tom’s hoodie was a blanket enough, and closed your eyes as silent tears rolled down your cheeks. 

Wearing his sweatshirt made you feel a little bit closer to him, even though you had never been further apart. You didn’t know why you kept the hoodie, maybe because you were hopeful that he would come back to you one day. That was a big maybe. 

The last two months had been absolute hell, and every time you opened your eyes, you were hoping to see Tom laying next to you, sleeping soundly with one arm draped over your waist like he used to do. 

Wearing his hoodie in that moment had never been more comforting and hurtful at the same time. 

But with the rain outside and the warmth and smell of Tom’s hoodie, you were lulled to sleep.

“It’s not fair to either one of us, (Y/N),” Tom said, his voice level. You didn’t know how he was being so calm when he literally just came home to your shared apartment and told you he thinks you should break up. 

You were staring at him, wide eyes in shock and tears threatening to spill over your very fragile eyes. 

“You’re serious?” you asked in disbelief. You were amazed you found your voice. 

Tom ran a hand through his hair, like he normally did when he was stressed, but he looked so fucking calm that it was driving you insane. 

“Yeah, I’m serious,” he finally said, daring to look up and meet your broken gaze. 

“Well, you’ve clearly thought about this a lot!” you snapped suddenly. How could he be acting so nonchalant. What, almost two years of being together wasn’t enough? 

“(Y/N)-”

“No! You just walk in and the first thing you say to me is that we should break up? This is brand new news to me! You completely blindsided me, Tom!”

Tom sat down on the couch and tugged at his curls, groaning in the process as he looked down at the ground. You could see his body shaking, but your feet were stuck to the ground and you began chewing on the strings of your- his hoodie, a nervous habit that you had. 

“I don’t want this,” he said, finally looking up. 

“Then don’t do it.”

“I have to.”

“Why?!”

You were angry now. You had been sitting on the couch, reading one of your favorite books when Tom came in looking disheveled. You knew something was wrong from the moment he said hello to you, but now he was throwing this at you? Just last night he was telling you how much he loved you, how the fuck was that fair? 

“Because what kind of boyfriend can I be for you when I’m traveling all over the world!” he said, standing up suddenly from the couch. 

“You know I told you that it doesn’t bother me,” you said shakily. “We FaceTime, we text, we call-”

“It bothers me!,” Tom exclaimed, clenching his fists by his side. 

You were taken aback by this, as you never stopped to think about how he was feeling about the long distance relationship. You were always the one he said he was leaving behind, and you always tried to assure him that you were okay, and that you missed him, sure, but this was his dream. 

Apparently, you weren’t a part of that dream. 

“Oh,” was all you could manage to say. An awful silence fell in between you, and you were stuck standing in front of him, chewing nervously on his hoodie strings while he stared at his feet. 

“I just,” Tom began, running a hand down his face. “I can’t keep doing this.”

You looked to the floor now, as the tears suddenly began to fall. He was serious about this. It was over. 

“Okay,” you almost whimpered as you began walking towards your shared bedroom. 

“(Y/N), where are you going?” Tom called after you. You had already begun packing up your things when Tom finally followed you into the bedroom. The look of hurt on his face when he saw you packing was enough to cause more tears to fall from your eyes. 

“You don’t have to leave,” Tom sighed. 

“Then what, Tom?” you shouted. “Just stay here while we’re broken up? I don’t think so.”

“Where are you going to go then?” Tom asked gently. You didn’t want his sympathy now. You were too hurt to even look at him. 

“I’ll stay at my friend’s house,” you grumbled, as you continued to pack. You wanted him to so badly intervene and stop you. 

But he didn’t. 

And you left his apartment without another word as tears flowed down your cheeks and you flagged down a cab, still wearing his navy hoodie. 

You woke with a start, and realized you had been clutching onto his hoodie. The rain had stopped, but clouds still loomed over the city like a blanket. You sat up and stretched your legs. 

You had to stop thinking about him, but at the same time, you loved the comfort you received just from his one stupid hoodie. How could he still have such an effect on you?

Standing from your bed, you yawned and slipped on your shoes before walking towards the door. You needed some air.

The London air smelled of fresh rain, a smell that usually comforted you, but you could still smell Tom’s scent on the hoodie, and it was harder to enjoy the musky post-rain smell. 

You didn’t have a particular location in mind, but you knew you had to get out of your apartment, so you shoved your hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt and began walking. There weren’t a lot of people out considering the wetness left over from the rain, but you preferred it this way. No one could see how disheveled you looked.

You decided to walk towards Hyde Park, considering the park always calmed you, especially with it being somewhat empty. You smiled as you looked at the blooming flowers, running your fingers along the wet petals. Before you could continue your walk, you heard panting, from a…dog?

An all too familiar Blue Staffy scared you out of your thoughts by running out behind you. You yelped when you looked down, but when you saw the dog’s collar, your heart leaped into your throat. It was as if she recognized you from far away, or maybe she smelled her owner’s scent on the clothes you wore. Regardless, you froze as Tessa began sniffing your leg, and especially when you heard his fucking voice. 

“Tess!” his called, jogging over. “I’m so sorry about that, miss-”

Tom froze when you turned towards him. “(Y/N)?” 

Hearing him say your name sent a whole new wave of emotions through your body and you were too scared to meet his eyes so you just bent down and patted Tessa on the head. 

“Hi Tom,” you murmured, standing and shoving your hands back in the pockets of the sweatshirt. 

“What-…what are you, uh, doing here?” Tom asked, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck. Your head shot up and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“I live in this city too, you know,” you said, harsher than you were expecting. But you wished you hadn’t looked up and met his eyes because seeing him so close after so long made your stomach flip. You were surprised, however, because quite honestly, he looked just as bad as you did. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tom mumbled, keeping his eyes on you. His eyes eventually flickered down to your attire, and you almost missed the way his lips tried to tug into a smile. 

“Is that my-”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell between you, the only sound of Tessa’s sniffing of the grass around you. 

“You can have it back if you want,” you said, secretly hoping he wouldn’t want it back, but it was technically his. 

“No! No,” Tom said quickly. “I mean…no, that’s okay. You, uh, you can keep it.”

You just nodded, looking down at your feet again, not sure what to say now. Apparently Tom felt the same, because the last time you had spoken to one another was when you stormed out of his apartment with your bag of clothes and his hoodie. 

“I’m sorry,” Tom whispered, breaking the silence. 

“For what?” you grumbled. 

“For everything.”

You slowly raised your head and noticed the bags under his eyes. He looked beyond tired, and his skin was paler than you would have liked to see. You were sure you didn’t look much better. 

“I should probably go,” you murmured. You weren’t sure if you wanted to have this conversation because of the pain it caused you. You didn’t want him to hear how he loved you but you couldn’t be together because of his career. You didn’t want to see the eyes you fell in love with, and you really didn’t want to cry again. 

“Okay,” Tom whispered. “Yeah, I should too.”

But neither of you moved. It was like your feet wouldn’t let you. 

“I miss you,” he whimpered, his voice cracking. You shook your head, hugging yourself again because if you looked at him, you would cry too.

“Please, don’t,” you cried. “I can’t-”

“I made a mistake, (Y/N),” Tom pleaded, taking a step toward you, only to be hurt by the way you took a step back. “I messed up.”

“You hurt me so badly, Tom,” you cried, looking up at him. Your eyes were brimmed with tears, but you didn’t fail to notice the way his eyes were red from possible previous crying. 

“I know,” Tom sighed. “I know, and I know sorry doesn’t cut it, but I need you in my life, (Y/N). It just isn’t the same without you.”

“You seemed like you made up your mind two months ago,” you grumbled, shivering slightly by a short breeze. Tom ran his hands through his curls again and let out a shaky breath. 

“That was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made,” Tom whispered. He took another step towards you, and this time you didn’t back away. “I’m not asking for you to take me back, at least not right away, but please, let me fix things.”

You could smell his cologne from where you stood, and this time it wasn’t from his hoodie. You wanted to so badly hug him from where you stood, but your heart was still guarded. 

“I want to fix things,” you agreed softly, and a smile instantly broke out onto Tom’s face. “But I need time. I can’t just jump right back into dating like we were because I can’t get hurt like that again Tom, I just can’t.”

Tom nodded. “You can have all the time you want, love.”

Hearing him call you that sent more mixed emotions running through your veins and you had to look down so he wouldn’t see the blush that dusted your cheeks. When you looked back up, you met his eyes again. 

“If we start as friends again,” you said softly. “And work our way from there?”

“I’d like that.”

“Me too.”

“Would you like to, uh, maybe catch up over coffee or something? At one of the cafes downtown?” Tom suggested. The nerves were apparent in his voice, and it only made your heart swell. But you were quick to remind yourself; friends first, then work your way up from there. 

“Sure,” you said with a gentle smile. “Does Saturday work?”

“It’s a date.”

You blushed at his words and nodded, confirming what time you would see him and then you both parted your separate ways to head to your separate homes. You shoved your hands in his hoodie again as you walked back to your apartment. 

It wasn’t going to be the same. But it was a start.