#cause man if you straight up forget you own a house you MUST be tired

[wanders-in-stars]

straight up forgot that i bought a house for Rasyira and after finishing a dungeon at like 2am, went to an inn located in the exact same city as the house, got a room, and spent the night

Obvs had Cary, Nebs, and Tally in tow so I'm just imagining them whispering behind her back like

Caryalind: Should we tell her...? Taliesin: Absolutely I don't want to sleep in this pig sty Nebarra, already walking to the bar: Weaklings

Anyway they didn't tell Ras cause they just had to prove Nebs wrong, so that's how they all ended up staying in an inn despite having a house like one block over

[bts-0t-7]

Slithered | JJK | Chapter 3

Pair: Mafia Jungkook x F Reader 

Summary: Jungkook was wandering the streets in the middle of the night and coincidentally passed the little flower shop you work at. Due to your odd working hours, you don’t have much socialising on a daily basis much less customers. So just imagine your shock when a handsome man, clad in all black, entered your shop in the ungodly hours of the night. Never would you have thought that the polar opposite of the worlds would collide and cause such a trouble. 

Genre: Fluff, mafia au, soft reader 

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of rape incidents from previous chapters, PTSD

WC: 2405

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Jungkook trudged back to his room. After your incident two days ago, he refused to bathe in his own bathroom. It was bad enough that every morning when he entered, he was reminded of how much later he could have gotten in. Reminding him that if it wasn’t for Yoongi Hyung, you would have already been ashes in an urn by his bedside table. 

He had opened a search to find out your details.

Your address, your family, your friends, everything that they could possibly find. And as he read through the consolidated efforts of his men, there were just too many things that didn’t make sense to him. But he knew better than to ask you now. 

If you woke up, that is. 

Doctor Eun had warned them to not panic if they were to take longer to wake up. He had explained that your body was weak and needed extra time to recover from what you have gone through. But it did not stop any of his Hyungs from barging into his room every day, ensuring that they check up on you. It soon became somewhat of a routine as his Hyungs constantly took turns to visit you every hour. 

He threw his towel on the loveseat, walked over to push back the covers and slid under them. He then carefully adjusted the ruffled covers back over you, ensuring that they covered until your shoulders and still had more fabric as a leeway. 

With a tired sigh, Jungkook smothered his face on his pillow and fell asleep with the blanket only hanging at his waist. 

This was the second time you woke up in the same room. Lightheaded, you tried to get out of the bed. 

“Exactly what do you think you’re doing?” A voice sounded beside you. 

You turned, eyes blown wide as you anticipated the worst. The first thing you see is a head of messy hair, sticking in all directions before you notice the tired-looking eyes boring straight into your soul. The man lifted his arm and wrapped it around your waist, bringing you closer to the heat of his body. 

You acted, throwing a punch directly to his face. 

Bad move. 

The man on your bed - technically not yours but who cares for technicality now - caught it and pinned you down with a flick of his wrist. Burrowing his head in your neck, you saw the strains of his shoulders. He wasn’t completely let go of his weight so…

“Who are you!” You pushed him away, hand going to the bedside table, trying to find anything that could be used as a weapon. The man quickly hopped off the bed, drawing the curtains as you squinted at the sudden attack of light. The room was so dark you could barely see a thing before. It wasn’t until your eyes finally adjusted to the difference did you see the moonlight shining through the sheer curtains, casting a light glow on your frames. 

And it was also then did you realised who your bed partner was. 

Jungkook. 

The over-ecstatic bunny in the morning that refused to let you go. 

Jungkook must have seen the recognition in your eyes as he slowly walked back to the bed, hands in the air in a surrender position. 

"Hey, hey." Jungkook called out. 

You weren't sure how trustworthy the men in this house were. God, you don't even know their names! You curled up in a sitting position at the edge of the bed, almost falling over. When Jungkook sat on the bed, you instinctively scooted backwards, clashing against the bedside table. 

You squeaked in pain, holding your back, forgetting that there was nothing but the cold hard ground awaiting your downfall. Your eyes largened as you felt yourself falling back, hands flailing out, trying to grasp onto something - anything - 

Strong arms wrapped your waist and pulled you forward. Your face smashed against a toned chest as you felt the blankets beneath you being pulled downwards and wrapped around your body. For the next few moments, the only sound in the room was your harsh breathing. It was so silent that you swore Jungkook could hear your heartbeat. 

The both of you stayed in that position for a few minutes - or it could be hours or even just seconds - you didn't know. But you knew that the heat radiating from Jungkook's body was like a blasting furnace and you were warm. And when you are warm, you feel cuddly. And when you feel cuddly, you feel sleepy. Your eyelids grew heavier by the second and you closed them. You knew you shouldn't be so trusting but they have yet to do anything that caused you to feel wrong. Jungkook has yet to do anything that oppresses you. So you closed your eyes and leaned closer to him, cuddling deeper into his warmth and fell asleep. 

That was the last thing you remembered before you woke up again, but this time, in the arms of a toned-ass man.

Jungkook. 

Hell, now that the late morning sun is shining through the curtains, you are able to see what you weren't last night. Jungkook was without a shirt and the full glory of his slim waist and toned abs were fully on show for your innocent eyes to see. Well, you weren't that innocent. But you were still a lady - a woman - and you still had your needs that were obviously taken far too long to satisfy. But you weren't about to go imagining someone you can never get - you weren't about to hurt yourself again. 

You were brought out of your wandering thoughts when the soft snores exiting Jungkook's plush bow-shaped lips reached your ears. A small smile lifted the edges of your lips as you sleepily yawned. Wiggling out of his hold - for God damn he is strong as a bull - proved to be harder than it seems. Jungkook's arms locked you in place and you couldn't seem to get out no matter how hard you tried to prod and push him. 

"Mhmm, noooo." The man cuddling your back whined. "No, it's not time to wake up yet. Stop movingggg."

You didn't. Obviously. 

The hold on your waist only tightened even further. "Stoooppp."

You pushed his hands off of you. "Jungkook, please." You resorted to begging him out. "I need to wee."

Jungkook's eyes shot open, hands immediately leaving you as you took that chance to leap out of bed and bound over to the washroom. 

Jungkook swore he should've heard it wrong. Jungkook swore that he must have heard it wrong. 

Nobody explicitly told you who he is. Nobody had given you enough pointers to let you know that he was the one who saved you in that alley. Not that he needed you to know. But he didn't know - oh, he should've expected it - for you to have been so smart. You figured it out so quickly - who he was. 

Unbelievable.

But he needed to check. To know. To be sure - that what he heard was correct. 

He saw your dishevelled state coming out of the washroom, hands going up to scratch your hair. While he had a massive bedhead, your hair looked like it was shinier after sleep. Oh, how he wished that he could have that sort of blessing too. Then he wouldn't have to take so much time to wash and style his hair every morning. He could just get out of bed and leave. 

Your eyes made contact with his and immediately shot back down to the floor, suddenly feeling anxious. Your hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt as your teeth worried your bottom lip. Jungkook had to physically hold himself back from jumping right onto you. He wanted to take those soft, plump lips and give them a taste. He wanted to make sure they never get sore from you constantly biting them (Jungkook found out one of your habits now). 

Jungkook pulled on his restraint string and blew a deep breath out. He walked over to you, hands going down to grasp yours in his. He turned your hands over in his, admiring the size difference. It wasn't big but it was enough to make him almost coo out loud. 

"Hey now -" Jungkook started before your stomach grumbled. 

The silence in the air was permeating. 

Jungkook snorted, falling to the floor with laughter. By no means was he laughing at you. No, he was laughing at the situation - how your hunger had directly stopped him in the tracks of his confession. If anything, he felt like Jimin Hyung right now. He knew all too well how much he was always stopped in his tracks from doing things he best wished for for the sake of his job. But this was something different. 

Jungkook looked up with teary eyes and spotted your slight pout, making him laugh even harder. As he slowly got up from the floor, he extended out his hand to you. “Come on, let’s go and get something for your ever-hungry system.”

Jungkook did not expect you to actually take his hand, let alone hold it the whole way down. But who was complaining?

Oh, definitely not him. 

He led you to the kitchen and started rummaging through the fridge to find food. Finding a bag of opened buckwheat noodles, cucumber, seaweed flakes, eggs, and canned tuna, Jungkook decided to whip up a mean Memil Guksu (메밀 막국수). Jungkook whipped out Seokjin’s favourite pot and started boiling the water. After mastering the art of flourishing the noodles in the pot, JUngkook left them to boil as he combined all the sauce ingredients - soy sauce, tsuyu sauce, perilla oil, sugar, and roasted sesame seeds with a tablespoon of water. Then he chopped all the ingredients and placed them aside. After ensuring that the noodles are thoroughly cooked, rinsing them under cold water for a few seconds was a necessity. 

Placing them in the bowls, Jungkook topped the noodles off with the sauce, sliced ingredients, and tuna, garnishing them with extra sesame seeds and a handful of seaweed flakes. 

“Tada!” Jungkook placed the big metal bowl in front of you with chopsticks in hand. 

You chuckled at his enthusiasm. Jungkook didn’t wait for anybody before he dug into his meal. 

You had to admire this man’s spirit of trying to uplift you. Anyone could see that he was trying his best. But you didn’t know if you could. You felt… different - dirty. 

You wanted it off but you -

“Hey.” Jungkook’s voice jolted you out of your thoughts. “You okay? Maybe you don’t like the food? Should I have Yoongi Hyung cook instead? Or maybe Jin Hyung? Or maybe you’re allergic to -”

You placed a soft hand on his shoulder. “It’s not you… It’s just…” Your hands fiddled with the hem of the shirt. You weren’t sure if you should be telling him this. He had no obligation to you and you shouldn’t be using him as a free-range therapist too. But you were just so tired of dealing with it yourself. “It’s just… I feel so…”

You didn’t really know how to express it in words. 

Disgusted? Humiliated?

You felt the urge to scratch. 

You weren’t sure how he was going to react when you told him. He saw you and saved you, but everyone can change in the blink of an eye. You aren’t sure how he would react. Would he cast you aside? Leave you for the wolves? 

But on the other hand, why would you care? Why should you care? The both of you aren’t close. He saved you and now you can leave. So why do you feel so hooked?

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

You shook your head. “I want to. I just…”

Words won’t form. 

“Okay… How about you show me instead if there are no right words? Sometimes words can be difficult, right?”

You nodded. 

But how were you going to show him? Strip? 

You hesitated again. How? 

“The feeling - it -”

You tried to look at Jungkook, tried to gain some of his courage to say what you wanted to say. You worried yourself over him not accepting you but all you saw were open eyes. The windows were wide open like he was the one pouring his soul to you. 

“Dirty.” You tucked your head down again. “Humiliated. I feel so… so… nasty… It - I wanted to stop it but I couldn’t! I tried - I tried - I didn’t want to -” You cried out. “I - I -”

Large palms ran up and down your shoulder in a light, soothing manner. 

“Okay, I understand what you’re trying to tell me. I know, I saw.”

You placed yourself in his hold. “I tried but - but… I’m so tired I couldn’t.”

Jungkook didn’t say anything. He just held you, tightly and you were glad for the silent comfort. You didn’t really want words just a steady presence and Jungkook gave you all. You were crying - bawling - you didn’t know. All you knew was that you were finally letting go, sharing this with somebody else. 

You held the burden for long enough and you knew - you just knew - that you trusted him. A deep-rooted type of fear of being left in the dust again sits dormant in the pit of your stomach. But trust, you had - so trust, you believe. 

Your eyelids grew heavy as your breath evened out, you fought the urge to fall asleep again but the comforting soothes were too much for your tired body so you gave in. You swore this was the most you have slept in a really long time. With your schedules, you were grateful enough to even get past four hours of sleep.

Things will definitely take time to go back to how they were before the incident. Maybe you will never be how you used to be. Maybe this scar will never heal. But you knew that you would heal. This would will leave a scar that serves as a battle reminder - that you were strong and will always be strong. So as you let yourself lose in Jungkook’s arms, you knew that you could trust him. You didn’t know what life would throw in your path but you were certain that this man - and you, would stand for each other. 

Trust.

You were certain. 

Trust. 

[azaleavi]

Woman like me - Part 3

Summary: Y/n and Bucky get a little closer while in Latvia

Word count: 2.8k

Warning(s): language(?)

Author’s note: Part 3 is finally here! I hope you’ll like reading as much as i liked writing it. The text in italics are y/n’s thoughts. Also I changed from “she” to “you” I hope you guys don’t mind.

Feedback is always appreciated and don't forget to reblog and like if you liked it and want to see more. Thank you!

Masterlist

(gif is mine)

The four of you were sitting in the private plane, going wherever Zemo was taking you. Bucky was sitting across from you, cleaning his vibranium arm. You were watching him intently, fascinated by the arm. Your had heard stories of the man of course, but he seems so much different just sitting there than what you were told about the ruthless assassin. Bucky noticed you watching, but he didn’t let you know. Instead he flexed his hand and because of that you slightly moved in your seat, feeling weird inside. You want to touch the metal and run your finger along it. You grabbed your own hand instead as if to physically stop yourself from moving. Bucky stopped and looked up at you.

“You okay?” he asked. You panicked for a second and tried to come up with something normal to say. You didn’t understand why you were feeling this way around the man but you needed to stop.“Yeah, it’s just…” you went silent for a second, eyes going down to his arm then continuing much quieter “it’s just cool” your eyes widened. You didn’t want to say that out loud. I’m supposed to be a super-soldier for god’s sake how can’t I just keep my mouth shut around him! 

“Cool?” Bucky leaned forward, thinking he heard you wrong “You think my arm is cool?” he was trying to hold back a laugh. He must be thinking that you are an idiot. You cleared your throat and tried to change the subject.

“So where did you get it from? In the older pictures I think it was silver” seriously that’s the best thing you could come up with? You scolded yourself. Bucky was still trying to hide his smile.

“They gave me a new one in Wakanda” he answered. Your eyes lit up.

“Wakanda? Isn’t that where the Black Phanter is from?” you smiled, scooting forward in your chair with child-like wonder clear in your eyes. You loved the stories about that part of the world and the technology they used, and to get a chance to talk to someone who has seen it in real life was truly amazing.

“Yes, T’Challa.”

“Oh, you know him?” your smile became brighter at the mention of the king. Bucky decided he loved to see your smile so he told you about the king and the people. He liked to talk about his stay there because he never was so peaceful in his life like he was in Wakanda. You hung onto every word he said, giving him your full attention. Sam watched the two from where he is sitting with a smile on his face. He has never seen his partner this talkative but he was glad Bucky finally has some normalcy in his life. Even if it’s with another super-soldier.

“It must have been so nice to live there” you mused. Bucky was looking at you with a small smile on his lips. Talking about Wakanda always lift his mood and to have someone who is is excited to hear about it makes him so happy “So they gave you the arm as a gift?” you went back to the original topic of the conversation.

“More like to fight. You know the whole Thanos situation” he thought back to those times. It hasn’t been that long ago for him, but for the people who stayed behind it had been more than five years. You faltered a little at that.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked” you said looking down. you didn’t want to bring up bad memories.

“No, it’s okay. It already happened, we can do anything about it” he reassured you. You looked up into his eyes, just now noticing how beautiful they were. Funny enough, Bucky thought the same about yours. Averting your eyes, they landed on his chest. The jacket he had on looked way too good on him and you could see the outline of his dog tags under his shirt. You moved in the seat again. You have never even kissed a man but here you were wanting to jump his bones. You suddenly stood up.

“I- I need to use the bathroom” stuttering you walked away as the men watched. Sam looked at Bucky and raised his eyebrows knowingly.

“What?” Bucky asked, not understanding why he was looking at him like that.

“Nothing” Sam said, turning away so the other man didn’t see his smile.

Meanwhile you were in the bathroom, splashing your face with water. You need to get it together y/n. He is just a man. A very sexy man and I would do anything to have his di…  you shook your head, leaning against the sink. Okay we are not going there while he is right outside! Why were you so obsessed with him? Yes he was handsome but it’s not like you haven’t seen handsome men before. He was the first to be this nice and make you feel like a normal person though. Maybe that was it. But it doesn’t matter because he would never look at you like that and you really didn’t have time for feelings. There were super-soldiers on the loose, who needed to be stopped. You shook your head again and dried your hands. This would be a long journey if you couldn’t keep your emotions in check around him.

-

The four of you were walking in the streets of Latvia when you noticed Bucky looking on the ground for a brief second. Following his line of sight you saw a little silver ball. You opened your mouth to ask him about it, but he spoke up first.

“I’m gonna go for a walk” he said as you stopped in front of a pretty old building. You furrowed your eyebrows, feeling like something was wrong. The other two men walked up the stairs while you stayed in the same place, looking at Bucky with worry in your eyes. He looked back at you and smiled a little.” It will be a few minutes, you can go up with them” he tried to reassure you. You nodded and walked after Zemo. Those little balls had to mean something, you just hoped it was nothing bad. You walked into the nice apartment that Zemo had, deciding to wait for Bucky on the couch. 

You listened to Sam and Zemo argue about the serum when Sam brought up the man who has been occupying your mind for the last two days.

“What is taking Bucky so long?” he spoke up from where he was sitting at the bar and just like that the mentioned man walked through the door. You let out a quiet laugh which made Bucky look at you. 

“The Dora Milaje is here and they are looking for Zemo” he walked over to you and sat down on your right so close that your thighs were touching. You stiffened and you were sure he felt it because he turned to you. You thought he would move away but instead he put an arm on the back of the couch behind you so he basically had his arm around your shoulders, all while looking straight into your eyes. You could feel your cheeks heat up, but couldn’t move your eyes away. He continued talking while keeping the eyecontact.” I bought us some time, but we need to be quick” Sam cleared his throat which broke the two of you out your haze. You turned around to him, only to see him smirking at you. You looked down, embarrassed that they both saw that. Tuning out their conversation you leaned back, forgetting that Bucky’s arm was still behind you so you accidentaly put your head on his arm. He didn’t seem to care so you tried to act like you didn’t either and closed your eyes. You were tired from all the fighting and flying.

A few minutes later you felt the arm under you move and you opened your eyes. What you did not expect to see is Bucky’s face a few inches from yours. His right hand was almost touching your cheek. Your eyes widened, but you were frozen in your spot. Why was he always so close to me? Your eyes moved down from his beautiful blues to his invinting lips. Oh god, he was so close. If I leaned forward a little I could kiss him. Before you could continue that thought he backed away from you.

“We need to go” he cleared his throat, his voice a little raspy. He stood up, pulling his arm from under you and started walking to the front door. You followed suit after him.

-

Meeting John Walker was not something that was on your bucket list. The dude was an asshole and the way he ordered around everyone was making you quickly irritated. You lied about being a super-soldier, to him you were just a friend of Sam’s. Him not knowing about your powers meant you couldn’t help the boys when everything went south. Bucky told you to stay back, but you needed to help in some way after all they had done for you. They saved you from Madripoor after all and even if the codes were still in your head they trusted you enough to keep you around. 

You met up with Sam and Zemo back at the house, Zemo looked like he got a pretty bad headache. Most likely deserved. When you couldn’t find Bucky anywhere in the house you started to panic. Sam saw it and calmed you down, saying that he could be here any minute. After a few minutes Bucky walked through the door, taking his gloves off.

“Something is not right about Walker.” he said as he walked over to the bar while taking off his jacket. Why was that black shirt so tight?

“You don’t say?” Sam answered him, a smirk evident on his lips.

“I know crazy when I see one, ‘cause I am crazy” Bucky opened the cupboard and took out a whiskey bottle.

“Are you trying to get drunk in the middle of the day?” you asked, standing up from your seat, walking over to him and sitting on a bar stool.” Is that what crazy entails?” you joked. He lifted the glass to his lips while looking at you.

“We can’t get drunk darling. The serum prevents that.” he drowned the drink in one swift motion and poured himself another one. ”you want some?” he motioned towards the empty glasses.

“S- sure” you stuttered, brain going into overdrive from the pet name he just called you. You definitely wanted some, but it wasn’t the whiskey you were thinking about. His black shirt was not helping either. Bucky seemed to notice how your mind was somewhere else and he walked around the counter to stand next to you. He lifted his glass that had already been refilled by him, and tapped the edge of the glass to your lower lip. You stared at him, eyes wide, your mouth slightly open. 

“So are you gonnna drink it?” he smirked, clearly seeing the effect he had on you. In your hazy mind you didn’t register that you should lift your hands and take the glass from him. Instead you put your lips around the edge of the glass and waited for him to tilt it while still looking into his eyes. He stared at you for a second, swallowed and then tilted the glass so the liquid reached your mouth. You took a sip. It did not taste good so you grabbed his hand that was still holding the glass and pushed it away.

“This definitely won’t be my favorite drink” you coughed a few times. Bucky let out a little laugh, putting his hand, that wasn’t being held by yours, on your thigh. Is he trying to kill me? You gulped, your grip thightening on his hand. He leaned closer to you, the smirk still evident on his lips. The lips that were once again very close to yours. You could feel his breath on your face. If he doesn’t kiss me right now I will lose my mind. You didn’t know what Zemo and Sam were doing but at this point you didn’t care. You just wanted his lips on yours. Something about this man made you very needy and as the day progressed it got harder to hide it. His sight slipped down to your lips and just as you thought he might do exactly what you wanted John Walker burst through the door. Bucky backed away immediately and you looked down clearing your throat, blush tainting your cheeks. 

“All right, that’s it, let’s go” John said as he and Lemar walked to the middle of the room. “I am now ordering you to turn him over” he pointed at Sam while Bucky walked to the chair next to you and sat down.

“Okay slow your roll. Shield or no shield, the only thing you are running in here is your mouth.” you turned away from them and towards Bucky so John wouldn’t see you laughing. Bucky on the other hand had a clear view of your joy. “Now I had Karli and you overstepped” Sam continued “He has actually proven himself useful today” he pointed at Zemo who walked towards the two of you.” And we’re gonna need all hands on deck for whatever is coming next”

John put down the shield and started running his mouth again and the next thing you knew there was a spear lodged inside the wall next to him. A woman in wakandan clothes was standing in the room and other two walked in through the front door. You raised your eyebrows impressed. That was cool. Bucky sighed next to you. The one who seemed to be the leader started speaking wakandan to Bucky. You didn’t understand a word of it but it must have been nothing good because he looked down like a child who was being scolded. 

“Release him to us now.” she said in english. John couldn’t keep his ego in check once again and Sam tried to get him to back down but it was no use. As soon as John touched the woman he found himself on the ground. These women are amazing. They started fighting and you just looked around, unsure what to do. Sam walked closer to you and Bucky stood up, making you look at him.

“We should do something” Sam said to him as you walked over to them.

“Looking strong John” Bucky shouted at the man still getting his ass beaten. You snorted. Sam called his name in warning so Bucky intervened, grabbing the woman’s spear. “Ayo, let’s talk about this” Sam went to the other side of the room, also trying to stop what was happening. You were still standing in the same place, still not knowing if you should help or stay out of it. Your problem was solved when a spear flung at you and you had to step to the side and catch it with one hand. The wakandan woman studied you for a second then ran towards you, clearly wanting to fight. You flipped the spear around in your right hand so the sharp end was aimed at the ground. You didn’t want to harm her but that didn’t mean you would let her beat you. She threw a few punches at you, but you managed to block them. You tried hitting her with the spear, but she caught it, making your faces get close to each other. She pushed against you but she wasn’t stroungh enough to get you on the ground. You saw the realization in her eyes at your strenght. She tilted the metal so it hit you on the head and you stumbled backwards in pain. You heard something heavy hit the ground next to you but you didn’t have time to look as the woman came at you again, now with the knowledge that you were a super-soldier. She fought harder and faster than before, but still couldn’t hit you hard enough. You grabbed her weapon again, pulling it with all your strength. When she couldn’t hold it anymore you lifted your right leg and kicked her backwards. She fell over and you pointed the sharp metal at her neck, panting. You looked up just now noticing that everyone in the room was looking at the two of you. Sam was on the ground while John was pinned to a table by a spear and Bucky was holding his metal arm in his right hand, eyes filled with something you couldn’t quite place. You dropped the weapon, realizing your mistake. No one should know that you are a super-soldier, especially not John Walker and he was looking right at you with wide eyes. 

Oh no.

Taglist: @geek-and-proud @ferxaniti

[xanthippe74]

Drarry ficlet: Momento mei

2399 words | general audiences | angst with a happy ending

Thanks to @glittering-git for the beta!

Read below or on AO3 here.

Memento mei

It seemed like a blessing at first.

In the months after the war ended, the articles chronicling Harry’s deeds in the Prophet slowly waned from full pages of lavish words and photographs, to barely a mention of his name. Harry felt lighter for it, free. By the time the first term back at Hogwarts was almost over, he could go to Hogsmeade without worrying about flash bulbs startling him every time he stepped out of a shop.

“They finally got tired of you, mate,” Ron said with a laugh as they trudged back to the school after a morning of Christmas shopping. Harry scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed it, none too gently, into Ron’s grinning face.

Harry and Ginny’s break-up didn’t get so much as a mention, even in Rita Skeeter’s gossip column, which had been relegated to an ignominious corner ten pages back from the front page. When he came out as bisexual and briefly dated Terry Boot that spring, he braced himself for a fresh round of publicity. It never materialised.

Harry looked in the mirror of the eighth-year boys’ bathroom and found he was truly comfortable in his own skin for the first time. His life wasn’t going to be scrutinised and dissected for public consumption anymore. The people around him didn’t think he was a freak or a waste of space.

One year after the war, with a handful of NEWTs to his name, Harry was at a loss for what to do next. There was no particular career he felt inclined to pursue, so he put his energy into renovating Grimmauld Place and spending time with his godson. He wondered at times why no one had offered him a job—Ron and Hermione had been deluged with letters—but he never mentioned it to anyone. It would have sounded awfully big-headed to expect anything to be handed to him like that, much less complain about it. While his friends began training programmes and apprenticeships, Harry Vanished broken furniture and stripped mildewy wallpaper off the walls. On the weekends, he met the usual Hogwarts gang for pub night or a party in someone’s cramped flat.

Harry looked in the mirror on his way out to meet his friends, giving his hair one last check. Maybe he’d meet someone new tonight. He winked at his reflection before leaving his newly-renovated bedroom.

Two years after the war, Harry didn’t think twice about walking through Diagon Alley on a busy Saturday. There were no stares or requests for autographs, no whispers when he paused to look into a shop window. He met friends for leisurely lunches. He ate ice cream at a table in front of Fortescue’s and watched people strolling by in the summer sunshine. Once, Harry walked the entire length of Diagon without realising that George had flicked a spell at the back of his head as he’d left the joke shop.

Harry looked in the mirror when he got home and was bemused by the things that didn’t warrant a second glance in the magical world, like hair that shifted between purple and orange every five seconds. He went over to Andromeda’s house to show Teddy, who laughed to see his godfather’s hair change colours like his did.

Three years after the war, Harry’s friends started forgetting to invite him to things. At first, they laughed it off as absentmindedness or a simple oversight. “I’m sorry, Harry! It must have slipped my mind,” was an excuse he began to hear more and more often. And then they began to look confused when he confronted them, like it was strange for Harry to expect to be included at all. As the months went by, the hosts of the get-togethers weren’t the only offenders—not a single person seemed to notice when Harry didn’t show up for something. When he mentioned it later, they would only lament all the fun he’d missed out on. His frustration curdled into self-pity.

Harry looked in the mirror the day he found out he’d missed Lavender’s engagement party, studying his unremarkable features and the unremarkable haircut he’d had since he was eighteen. Was he really so boring and unimportant that nobody thought about him much anymore? He didn’t mind in the least that the wizarding world wasn’t fawning over him, but it cut deeply that the people dearest to him no longer seemed to want or need his company.

It was only when his closest friends stopped recognising him that Harry began to suspect that something was terribly wrong. The first one was Luna, but she was often so lost in her own thoughts that it didn’t strike him as odd that she’d drifted past him in Diagon without saying hello. Then Molly looked at him blankly one day when he arrived at the Burrow for Sunday roast, as if Harry were a stranger who’d wandered in by accident. Thankfully, Ron was passing through the kitchen and greeted him as he usually did. Molly gave herself a little shake and ushered them both into the lounge.

Four years after the war ended, Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt didn’t mention Harry’s name in his speech commemorating the Battle of Hogwarts.

Hagrid didn’t invite Harry to tea for his birthday, as he did every year.

And when Harry popped into Neville’s flower shop to wish him happy birthday, Neville responded to his greeting with a baffled look. Harry watched in horror as he turned to Hannah and mouthed the words, “Who’s that?”

Harry spun on his heel and went right back out the door.

Either he was going mad or everyone else was. He walked around London for half the night, unable to think straight. The city was a vast ocean, and Harry felt like a small boat that had been set adrift, tossed around by waves of panic. When he was calmer, he decided to turn to the two people he knew he could always count on for help.

On his twenty-second birthday, Harry woke up on his sofa and rushed to the Floo to call Hermione before she left for work. He was flooded with relief when he heard footsteps approaching the fireplace. Ron’s face appeared in the flames—and immediately twisted into anger when he saw Harry.

“How did you get this address? Who let you into our wards? Get out!”

Harry sat on the floor for a long time after Ron had slammed the Floo connection closed.

Alone. Alone. Alone.

Oh, god—Teddy. Harry scrambled to his feet. Would Teddy shy away from Harry as he would from a stranger, the next time they saw each other? He stumbled up the stairs and dry heaved over the toilet.

Harry looked in the mirror and prodded his chalky face with his forefinger. Did he look unrecognisable to everyone but himself now? Did they see a different face, a different person when they looked at him? Or were they all under some kind of spell that erased their memories?

How had he been forgotten by everyone who loved him?

Forgotten.

You will be forgotten.

The phrase echoed in Harry’s head, causing him to sink down onto the bathroom floor. Over four years ago he’d heard those very words, snarled by a Death Eater as she’d been dragged out of the Great Hall by Aurors after the final battle. Harry had been so exhausted that the dank weight of her magic settling upon him had immediately vanished from his mind.

“The Dark Lord will always be remembered! But you will not, Harry Potter. You are nothing compared to him—utterly insignificant! You will be forgotten!”

Harry went to St Mungo’s to see the Healers, who shook their heads at the young man who insisted he was supposed to be famous. When they couldn’t fix him, they called in an Unspeakable who specialised in breaking obscure curses. After an hour of waiting, a man in hooded grey robes swept into the examining room. He didn’t show the slightest sign of recognition when he introduced himself to Harry as Unspeakable Malfoy.

Harry looked in the mirror above the sink while Malfoy cast diagnostic spells at him. He tried not to cry.

Malfoy didn’t make any promises when he was done with his spells, the results of which he recorded in a small notebook. He promised to send an owl if he found anything and asked for Harry’s name again so he could write it down.

If Malfoy couldn’t fix this, Harry decided on his walk home, he’d have to leave England. If he went someplace where no one had heard of him, they couldn’t forget him, right? The tears he’d held back at St Mungo’s slid down his cheeks as he thought about how much he’d gained, and now lost, since his eleventh birthday. Maybe he didn’t have the most exciting life or a career to boast about, but there were people who loved him. There were happy times and an old house that he’d turned into a home with his own hands.

Harry went back to Grimmauld Place and waited for word from Malfoy. He paced through the high-ceilinged rooms and climbed the long flights of stairs until his legs ached. He caught himself holding his breath, listening for a knock on the door or the roar of the Floo. When they never came, he went out to the back garden instead and lay on its small rectangle of grass. He considered where he might go—California or New Zealand. Or maybe some South Pacific island where it never got cold.

At last, Malfoy’s owl arrived four days after he had examined Harry. He’d identified the curse and, more importantly, found the countercurse.

Back at St Mungo’s, Malfoy greeted Harry coolly and ordered him into a chair. The countercurse was a droning chant in a language that Harry didn’t recognise, accompanied by complex wand motions that made him dizzy to watch. He closed his eyes until it was over, hardly able to breathe.

When the casting was finished and the room silent again, Harry opened his eyes and found Malfoy gaping at him.

“Potter? What the hell?” Malfoy looked over at his notes on the table, then back at Harry, his eyes widening even further. Then he said, faintly, “Well, Scarhead, that was quite the predicament you got yourself—”

He didn’t get the chance to finish. Harry launched himself out of the chair and crushed Malfoy in a hug, laughing tearfully into the shoulder of his Unspeakable robes.

“Gracious, Potter, a simple thank-you would suffice.” Malfoy wriggled out of Harry’s arms and stepped back to cast a diagnostic spell at him. “Do you feel any different?”

Harry thought about it for a moment. “Not really. Lighter, maybe?”

“You’re probably just relieved to be famous again,” Malfoy said, rolling his eyes. “It must have been terrible not to see your own picture in the newspaper every day.”

“No, that part was actually nice. It was having my friends not even recognise me anymore…”

The rest of the words got caught in Harry’s throat. Malfoy’s expression turned sympathetic, and when he spoke again, it was with surprising gentleness.

“Well, then. I suppose you’d better go see them now, hmm?”

He accompanied Harry to the Floo in the reception area. Harry tried to glance at him as they walked, but he’d pulled up his hood to hide his face from the other people in the corridor. No wonder Harry hadn’t heard anything about Malfoy in the past few years—he’d buried himself in the depths of the Ministry, learning to undo Dark curses.

And letting the wizarding world forget him, Harry thought with a pang.

Harry shook Malfoy’s hand and thanked him. Whatever happened next, he knew he wouldn’t stop thinking about Malfoy, with his sharp gaze and clever mind, anytime soon. Malfoy, too, seemed to consider Harry for a few long moments before he stepped into the Floo.

This time, the only reason why Hermione and Ron were surprised to see Harry was because they weren’t expecting him on a Thursday evening as they were squabbling over what to make for dinner. He almost started crying again when Ron cuffed him on the shoulder and asked him if he wanted a beer.

Hermione noticed that he was upset first, of course. When Harry explained the curse, she blamed herself for not catching that something was wrong. Ron looked towards the pictures on the mantelpiece and swore under his breath. There weren’t any pictures of Harry there.

The good parts of Harry’s life returned to normal after that, and he was almost bursting with renewed gratitude for the people around him. Diagon was off limits again, since the vultures at the Prophet remembered to hound him, but that was a small price to pay. Harry threw himself a belated birthday party in Grimmauld Place, and the rooms were filled with music and laughter and shouted toasts in his honour. He never wanted the night to end.

Harry looked in the mirror before going to bed in the wee small hours, and he smiled with contentment at his bleary eyes and the glitter caught in his hair.

He’d invited Malfoy to the party on a whim, but received a polite note declining. Harry tried again and again—a Seekers game? Lunch in Muggle London? Tea at Grimmauld Place?—until Malfoy finally gave in. He showed up on Harry’s doorstep in jeans and a soft, well-fitted jumper. Harry found himself staring.

“Did you forget that you asked me to dinner, Potter?” Malfoy smirked.

“Oh, no,” Harry breathed. “How could I forget you?”

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

Five years after the war ended, Harry spends his Saturdays teaching Teddy how to fly on his first broom and Sundays being climbed on by two or three small Weasleys who know he keeps sweets in pockets. He orders Christmas gifts by owl post to avoid star-struck witches in the Diagon shops. He slips into the Leaky Cauldron under his invisibility cloak to meet his friends for drinks.

And when Draco reads out the ridiculous articles about him from the Daily Prophet, Harry chucks the crusts of his toast across the breakfast table at his boyfriend and says he almost forgot how much of a prat he could be.

“You didn’t forget anything,” Draco says pointedly.

And Harry has to agree. He didn’t.

[writingwithacupoftea]

Poison

Summary: When Y/N Shelby arrives back from a meeting with some potential business partners, her brothers, Tommy, notices that something isn’t quite right with her.  Hours later, the family are crowded around her bedside, while she lies on the brink of death.

Word Count: 3350 (ooh, that’s satisfying)

Trigger Warnings: vomiting and just generally being ill

A/N: My stubborn arse finally managed to finish this fic (even though I edited as little as possible so it’s quite long)!! Hope you like it 💜💜

The Shelby and Gray families were not ones for quiet - they brought chaos and noise with them wherever they went. But now, not a single member of the family could bring themselves to speak, the doctor's parting words circling around in their heads:

"It's not looking good, I'm afraid. If she wakes in the morning, then I think we can say that things are looking up. But I can't promise you that she will."

Tommy couldn't decide if the silence was a blessing or curse. He was beyond grateful not to have his younger sister's screams of agony echoing down the halls of Arrow House any more, but it seemed so unnatural: Y/N wasn't the loudest of the Shelby clan, but she was always there with a sarcastic quip, witty comeback, or words of comfort that none of her other siblings could ever quite get right.

Her brothers often said that she was the future of Shelby Company Limited - Y/N had a vision and was determined to see it through with Tommy's help, for even though they disagreed frequently, he couldn't deny that her ideas could be the making of the business in the modern world. Tommy was beyond proud of the woman that he raised after their bastard of a father left them. Yes, Arthur, John and Ada had helped him and Polly with raising their sister – but no one could deny that Tommy loved Y/N in a way that none of the others ever could.

Now, he and his brother were crowded around her bedside, helpless, wondering how they could have let this happen.  

The doctor suspected poison, and although he couldn't be sure which poison it was, Tommy knew exactly who had given it to his sister and let the guilt consume him.

***

Earlier that day...

"Tommy, do I seriously have to meet them by myself?" Y/N asked as she marched into her brother's office (without knocking, of course).

"I've told you, Y/N/N, I've got a meeting of my own to go to and I don't trust Arthur and John not to fuck things up even if you are there."  

She was meant to be having lunch with some potential business partners from America, but despite Tommy's reassurances that this deal would be of benefit for their future plans for the company, Y/N had a feeling that something wasn't right about them. When she'd mentioned her suspicions that the associates may not be as friendly as they appear, Tommy brushed her concerns aside as Polly raged on at him ("Thomas you're a fool if you don't listen to your sister now – it's her gypsy instinct and it's never wrong.")  

But still, Tommy insisted on going through with it. He wasn't backing down now.

~ ~ ~

When Y/N returned later that afternoon, Tommy watched in silence as she slumped down at her desk and put her head in her hands.

"That bad was it, eh?" Tommy questioned, jokingly.

"My head's pounding, Tom, don't fucking wind me up."

Arthur, who had heard the exchange, walked up to her, slamming a pile of work onto her desk. "Is our little Y/N becoming a lightweight?"

"Oh, piss off Arthur," the firmness in her voice surprising him, considering that she didn't lift her head up.

Luckily, Arthur took that as his cue to leave, but not before sending an amused look at Tommy, one that was not reciprocated. Instead, the second eldest brother furrowed his brows, all of his attention focused on his little sister, concern beginning to bubble inside of him. Not wanting to start any arguments, however, he simply settled with saying "We'll leave at about five o'clock if you're still feeling like shit, yeah? I just need to finish this first."

Y/N laughed, humourlessly, and gestured towards her newly acquired work. "I've got plenty to keep me busy, Tommy, don't worry."

"You know if you're really feeling -"

"No, Thomas." His sister cut him off abruptly. "I'm fine to work, it's just a headache. It'll go before I know it."

With that, she began reading the first document that Arthur had given to her, actively avoiding Tommy's eye.

~ ~ ~

A couple of hours later and Tommy, having been so consumed with his work, realised that he hadn't heard a peep from Y/N since she started working.  

Looking up, he immediately became aware that Y/N still wasn't back to her usual self. To anyone else, she simply looked hard at work, furiously making notes as she waded through her paperwork; but Tommy could see her discomfort from a mile off. The hand subconsciously rubbing her stomach, the occasional wince in pain, the fingers on her other hand massaging her temples.

Y/N didn't seem to notice anything as Tommy made his way past her desk to speak to John and Arthur. "Has she said anything to either of you?"

"Nah," Arthur replied, casually. "I didn't think I pissed her off that badly earlier though, so I don't know why. She just keeps ignoring everyone and won't fucking sit still."

This did absolutely nothing to qualm Tommy's worries.

John piped up, tentatively: "You don't think it's...you know?"

"No, I don't, John. So spit it out."

John lowered his voice to a whisper, glancing slightly over his shoulder to make sure that Y/N wasn't listening. "You don't think it's that time of the month, do you? She always get a bit cranky, doesn't she."

Tommy cleared his throat as Arthur looked at the ground awkwardly. "Yeah, he's got a point, Tom. Best not to ask any questions."

"Right." Tommy paused, before making his way back to his office.  

He mulled over his brothers' words. It was a reasonable explanation for her behaviour, but something just didn't sit right with it for Tommy. Y/N had always lived with him and over time he had developed an instinct for when that time of the month was meant to be, and this didn't fit the usual pattern.

Lost in his thoughts as he packed up his things, Tommy was taken by surprise when Y/N appeared in the doorway, a smile plastered on her face. "You ready to go, Tom?"

If Tommy had looked a bit closer, he would've seen that the smile was just a bit too bright to be genuine. He would've seen that it didn't quite reach her eyes, which looked tired and pained in themselves. But, in an unusual move for Thomas Shelby, his shock at seeing such a drastic change in his sister overtook everything else.

As they drove back to Arrow House, the sun beginning to set in the distance, Tommy thought to himself 'Maybe John and Arthur were right, for once. I'm just worrying too much.'

Upon their arrival home, the siblings' usual routine began: Y/N made her way up to her room, whilst Tommy headed straight for his study to carry on working after greeting Grace and Charlie.  

And so, the evening began as a fairly typical one...but Tommy would never forget that night for the rest of his life.

~ ~ ~

At 7 o'clock each night, either Y/N or Grace would barge into Tommy's study to drag him to dinner (otherwise they thought that he'd never eat). In actual fact, Tommy always knew when dinner was going to be, but he enjoyed their visits to come and fetch him – for once, Thomas Shelby enjoyed being looked after.  

Grace had left for the weekend to spend some time with friends, and so when 7 o'clock came and went without Tommy being disturbed by his sister, he began to worry. Remembering her headaches and discomfort in the office, he came to the quick conclusion that she must have fallen asleep and made his way upstairs to go and wake her.

Call it his instinct as her older brother, but Tommy just knew that something was off as he stood outside Y/N's bedroom. Opening the door and peering around it, he froze at the sight before him: his sister, collapsed on her bed, sweating profusely and mumbling incoherently to herself. Tommy rushed over, panic eclipsing him, "Y/N?"

As he brushed the loose strands of hair away from her face, Tommy felt the heat radiating from her. Having nursed his sister through many an illness during her lifetime, and therefore knowing exactly what to do (or so he hoped, for Tommy had never seen her quite this bad before), he jogged down the hallway to fetch a bowl of lukewarm water and a cloth from the bathroom.

But Tommy's plans to nurse his sister through the night himself were put to an abrupt end upon his return. Y/N was curled up in a tight ball, arms wrapped around her stomach as she groaned and grunted in pain, vomiting violently over the side of her bed.

"Mary, call the doctor NOW!" Tommy yelled over his shoulder before dashing to sit next to his sister on the bed, dampening the cloth and dabbing it to her forehead. "Y/N? Y/N, speak to me, love, what's wrong?"

Still he got no response. Y/N didn't even give any indication that she knew that he was there. Her moans of pain simply got louder and more agitated and Tommy couldn't bear it. He had always done everything that he could (and more) to keep any pain far, far away from his sister, and when it couldn't be prevented Tommy would stop at nothing to make things better for her. Even when she was a baby, and their mother was still alive, no one could separate Tommy from Y/N's side when she was sick or injured – he didn't trust that others wouldn't cause her to suffer further, and so Y/N remained under his watchful eye until she was back to full strength (and even then he was wary for a week or so afterwards).

So, for Tommy, seeing his beloved sister writhing in pain, not knowing what was wrong or how he could help, was complete and utter torture for him.

~ ~ ~

When Mary arrived upstairs to inform her employer that the doctor would arrive within ten minutes, she barely recognised him: hair messy, hands shaking and muttering tender words of comfort, the Thomas Shelby in front of her was far from the controlled man that she had become accustomed to dealing with. But the thing that shocked her the most came when the man looked up at her. Whilst the blue of his eyes had become less icy since his marriage and the birth of his son, these eyes were wild, frantic and displayed a boyish vulnerability that Mary had never even imagined. They were glazed with unshed tears, and yet this barrier did nothing to hide the whirlwind of emotions that were communicated through them. The overarching message that they conveyed was as clear as day: Thomas Shelby was frightened.

The man's voice, thick with emotion despite his attempts to compose himself, snapped her away from her thoughts. "Call the rest of the family. Explain what's happening. Tell them that they need get here as quickly as possible. Then see to it that Charlie's looked after for the night. I'll be staying here."

"Yes, Mr Shelby. Shall I send everyone straight up here?"

Tommy simply nodded, his attention already devoted to his sister once more.

~ ~ ~

The minutes that followed this interaction would forever haunt Tommy's memory.

Whilst Y/N appeared to have stopped being sick, her cries of pain continued to escalate, both in frequency and in volume. Each one pierced through Tommy like a dagger straight to his heart. He knew that nothing he was doing was helping her, and that the situation was completely out of his control, and Tommy hated it. His brain became like a cage, trapping him in his tormenting thoughts: 'You should have done something sooner...you've failed her...how can you ever claim to be a good brother again when you can't even ease her pain...this is your punishment...it's your fault...it's all your fault.'

Tommy clutched onto Y/N's hand like a lifeline, mopping her brow as sweat continued to spill from every pore and her groans became screams tearing from her throat.  

Just when he thought that things couldn't get any worse, the convulsions began

Sheer terror consumed Tommy as he watched Y/N's body jerk violently on the bed. Silent tears cascaded down his face as he sat there, completely helpless, trying not to breakdown himself. That was the last thing that Y/N needed. He knew that he should call Mary or one of the maids, but he couldn't bear to leave Y/N's side to do so. He felt almost paralysed with fear, the only movement he made being the kisses that he placed repeatedly to her knuckles in between his pleas of "You're going to be alright, sweetheart...I'm here...I love you..."

The doctor came rushing in just as the convulsions were dying down, and immediately shooed Tommy away. Had the circumstances been any different, Tommy would have questioned the tone that the doctor took with Tommy – no one dismissed Tommy Shelby like that (except for Aunt Polly). But the Shelby man didn't even register it in his desperation for his sister to be looked at, so that he knew what to do to help her. He just needed to do something to make things better for her.

Standing outside Y/N's bedroom door, he heard the low rumble of his family's voices. Going against every one of his instincts to stay in position outside of Y/N's room, he ran down the stairs to see his family.

John, Arthur, Ada, Finn, Michael and Polly, like Mary, were shocked by the version of Tommy that appeared before them. From this alone, they knew that things were bad. Despite Tommy's explanations, the sight of Y/N lying weakly in her bed took them by surprise. Y/N always seemed so strong and full of life, the light of the family, and the realisation struck everyone that they may be plunged into darkness in the next few hours.

***

"It's not looking good, I'm afraid. If she wakes in the morning, then I think we can say that things are looking up. But I can't promise you that she will."

The silence left behind in the room after the doctor's departure was deafening. He had given Y/N some injections of fuck knows what to stop the convulsions and ease her pain, but he didn't know what else to do. He'd never dealt with anything like this before.  

All the family could do was wait.

After some time to process the doctor's warning, each member slowly began to unfreeze, or so it seemed. Polly disappeared to the kitchen to make tea and sort out some food, although no one felt like eating. John called Esme, and afterwards Arthur rang Linda, informing their wives that they wouldn't be back at home until at least tomorrow – they couldn't leave their sister. Michael ventured down the corridor to fetch some more chairs. Ada went to tend to Charlie, and Finn went with her, sent with the task of updating Mary and telling her to go to bed.

That left Tommy. Tommy, who couldn't believe what was happening. Tommy, who knew that, despite his new family with Grace, he couldn't cope without Y/N.  

Tiredly, the second eldest of the Shelby clan moved to reposition himself next to Y/N on her bed, holding her small hand in his and observing the baby hairs which fell delicately in front of her face. She would always be his little girl, no matter how old and grey and feisty she became, and nothing would change that. He refused to let anything take her away from him before they reached that point, not even poison.

As he mulled this all over in his head, remarking to himself how much she'd grown up yet how little she'd changed, Finn came back into the room. Breaking the silence, the youngest brother tentatively asked "Will she be alright?"

When Tommy looked up at his younger brother, he realised that he wasn't the only one who was scared. Truthfully, Tommy hated not being able to give a straight answer, and simply replied "She's a fighter, Finn."

God knows, they all hoped that she wouldn't stop fighting now.

***

Hours dragged on like days. The slow rising of the early morning sun taunted Tommy. The brighter it became in that room, the more the chance of Y/N waking up again slipped through his fingers.

He was the only one who stayed awake for the entire night, despite Ada's pleas for him to rest and Polly's snaps of "You're going to be no use to her if you're dead on your feet." Even the occasional drooping of his eyelids couldn't persuade him to relent. Because he knew that the minute he gave into that temptation, something would happen and Tommy couldn't risk missing anything.  

Part of him had stayed awake in case Y/N needed anything or got worse; part of him stayed awake in case she herself woke up (he didn't want her being alone); and the final part of him, the part of Tommy that was shit scared of what was going to happen, wanted to spend every single moment with his little sister. Because he didn't know if one of them was going to be her last on this Earth.

Arthur and John woke up in the chairs next to Y/N's bed, and gradually the rest of the family came to join them.

Polly was the first to speak. "Has there been any change?"

Tommy didn't trust himself to say the words out loud, so responded by shaking his head and placing a kiss to the back of Y/N's hand, which he hadn't relinquished his hold on.

Whilst her skin was clammy to the touch, she was no longer sweating like before. Her breathing had evened out and the expression of discomfort that had marred her face had melted away: Y/N looked peaceful. To Polly and the rest of the family, this was a good sign, an indication that she was getting better. However, the thought lingered that this would make it easier for her to slip away undetected.

This was the most terrifying idea.

The morning continued to pass by: 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock...still nothing.

Everyone was becoming more and more agitated, the ticking of the clock doing nothing to ease the tension. Tommy had finally moved, deciding to pace up and down the limited space left in the room instead. Occasionally, someone would walk over to the window or run downstairs to get a new book. But still they waited, each member of the family united in their hope that Y/N would wake soon.

When the clock struck midday, that hope began to fade, even though no one would say it out loud; it could just be felt in the atmosphere.

However, when no one was looking, Y/N's eyes slowly crept open, squinting as the bright sunlight beamed through the window. Once her eyes had adjusted, she observed her family positioned around her room and noted the peace and quiet, even if Y/N could tell that it was tense. Internally, she sighed to herself 'No fucking fighting, at last.'

Her voice was croaky as she said quietly "How long are you guys gonna hover round my bed like a bunch of creepers, eh?"

The relief was immediate. As Arthur and John roared in excitement, shouting "SHE'S ONLY GONE AND FUCKING DONE IT," Tommy raced over and rested a hand on her cheek tenderly, their tired eyes meeting for the first time in hours. His eyes spoke of admiration and disbelief, whilst hers held only adoration for her big brother. Tommy placed a kiss to her forehead, and let a couple more tears fall.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, Tom." Y/N smiled softly. "Thank you for staying with me, I knew you were there the entire time."

"As if I could ever leave you, eh."

"Or I you, Tom."

And that was the simple and honest truth.

[hypnomicimagines]

Fateful Meeting [Ninja!Harai Kuko/Reader]

The young ninja’s eyes were sharp, intense, so much so it felt like you were looking into the sun.

You looked down and away from his glare as you continued to tend to his wounds, ignoring the way he shifted uncomfortably, like he didn’t want you touching him at all. But he was the one who had stumbled upon your home a complete bloody mess, barely conscious as he looked up at you with pleading eyes, a moment of weakness when he thought he was on death’s door. Now that you had given him water and stopped his wound from bleeding his normal temperament had come back, and something told you he wasn’t the most pleasant dinner guest to have.

You had just finished bandaging him up when he abruptly stood, grabbing your wrist to stop you from reaching out to touch him again. You shared a look, wondering if he was the type of ninja to have taken a vow of silence before he opened his mouth for the first time.

“What do you want?” His tone is harsh but you think it’s likely just the way he sounds, if his looks are anything to go by. “You wasted your healing supplies on me, so what is it you want in return?”

“I don’t expect you to repay my kindness. Kindness isn’t kindness if it’s done expecting gratitude. Although I do suggest you spend some more time here recovering before you go anywhere…” Kuko’s eyes widened ever so slightly at your words but he doesn’t allow you to fully see his surprise, his neutral expression returning just as quickly as it had left. He adjusted the mask on his face as he stepped towards the door, ignoring your pleas for him to sit and rest a while longer.

“I always repay my debts.”

“Wait! Can’t you tell me your name at least? Or is that part of the whole secretive ninja clan thing you clearly have going on?” He hesitated for a second at your request, so simple to you yet to him… it was a show of trust. To willingly give your name to a stranger could mean terrible things for someone whose job was to blend in with the night; it would be better if you could forget he was ever even there which is why he becomes even more surprised when he spoke.

“Harai Kuko. Don’t forget it!” There’s a little more emotion in his introduction, a little less cold and far more personality shining through (which reaffirmed your assumption he was not the type of guest to bring home to your parents). But you found yourself charmed by him all the same, gentle smile on your face as you waved goodbye, his name just a whisper on the wind with how quickly he was gone.

You’re in awe at how such a bright shock of red hair managed to fade perfectly into the darkness but he’s gone from your view within seconds, leaving you reeling at the experience, wondering if it had only been a dream. The bloodied bed where he laid as you tended to him told otherwise but you tried not to think too deeply on it, grabbing the sheets to toss into your laundry pile to clean later. You cleaned up the scraps of your bandages and tidied your home like no one had been there, knowing that you had to sleep soon as you couldn’t burn the candle at both ends. You had to be up early for your patients the next morning as well since the work never seemed to end in the midst of the war.

As you’re finishing up there’s several aggressive knocks at your door, your body suddenly tensed as something feels off. Ever since your late-night visitor had left you felt an odd sensation in your chest, this anxiety unwavering in the heavy night air as you wondered how things could possibly get more interesting. When you’re greeted with the sight of two heavy-set men your anxiety finds itself skyrocketing, finding yourself backed into the corner of your own home as they make themselves comfortable.

“Excuse us for intruding. We just happened to see a trail of blood leading here… Are you alright?” His tone indicated he was not at all concerned about your well-being so you didn’t reply, instead trying to fix him with a steady stare that said ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’. “Ah, I see, the quiet type. I don’t mind that however… we’re tracking down a certain menace. A man with bright red hair who we heavily injured earlier today.”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Are you not the resident healer?”

“I am… but that blood trail could have just as easily been from an injured boar who was fighting for territory in the woods. Assuming it was human is a leap.”

“Might I ask why you’re still awake?”

“Some nights my mind keeps me awake with all sorts of thoughts, like whether or not I have to go into town to get more herbs and the like. You’re awfully inquisitive, are you perhaps looking to become a healer rather than being a person who supplies me patients?”

Your temper started to flare up despite you trying to carefully navigate the conversation, wanting these people who clearly came here to threaten you out of your home. You’d dealt with their type before, absolute savages, and you don’t appreciate their intrusion. You’re fonder of the random man who was bleeding out on your doorstep than these people who hurt just because they could, who bullied because they knew people were too afraid to stand up to them. Your irritation doesn’t go unnoticed but is returned with a heavy silence and glares, the two men who had forced their way in their home looming over you menacingly.

Perhaps you should’ve just gone straight to bed.

Kuko hadn’t made it far.

As headstrong as he was even he couldn’t deny the pain his body was in, his wounds aching as they hadn’t closed properly. He was normally far more respectful of the healers back at the temple but he was in a hurry, needing to report back to his father his findings immediately. He didn’t want to bring those hunting him to you either, it would be bad news as they seemed to have no issue slaughtering innocents left and right. He felt like there was a boulder in his gut that was slowing his movements, his body not able to move as nimbly until he’s finally forced to stop. He doesn’t know how far he’s gotten nor how much time has passed but he’s bleeding again.

It’s either turn back towards your hut or continue forward in hopes of finding another healer.

Something else is pulling him back towards you, like you’d attached strings to his body and were pulling at him to come back behind the curtain. Kuko bit his tongue hard to keep himself conscious, leaning against a tree, taking a deep breath, and then starting the journey back to your home. He’d have to prepare a proper apology for impeding on you so late at night but the sudden sense of urgency that rushed through his body stopped his needless worrying, walking forward with a huff.

He didn’t know why but he had to get back to you.

Now.

Your head is pounding as you lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, hands raising to cover your head to prevent further damage to your skull. You’d be in more pain if you were fully conscious but you’re only partially aware of what’s happening to you, your house in shambles around you. The place had been torn apart, the bloody bandages from earlier thrown across the room as they had been found during a ‘mandatory search’. The table you had been sitting at was flipped over and jars of needed herbs were tossed on the floor, even worse, now your own blood was staining the floor.

You’re fighting to stay awake, eyes scanning the floor for anything to defend yourself with but it was a fruitless endeavor. Your hands were meant to heal not harm, you weren’t suited for anything like this, and your assailants were clearly far more skilled than the average soldier. You wished you could say you put up a better fight than the pathetic mess that actually happened but there wasn’t time for self-pity.

“Hey you bastards! Didn’t hurt your pride enough after round one?”

Ninja’s are supposed to be quiet, stealthy, but Kuko had burst onto the scene like some sort of hero in a play. You’re wide-eyed as you spot the shock of red hair but your vision is so blurry and your brain so scrambled you’re worried you’re just hallucinating him. Your eyes met his for a second, your pleading reaching Kuko’s heart immediately; if he hadn’t been so carefully trained his entire life, he thinks his anger might’ve exploded in that moment, causing him to do something he’d regret. To see someone who had treated him with kindness, without asking any extra questions about who he was, someone who was likely innocent and had no means of defending themselves…

It pissed him off.

You hear the sound of skin on skin, some cackling that you’re sure is your ninja savior despite how high-pitched and wicked it sounded, and what you hope isn’t your house getting torn into even more pieces. Your face was buried in your arms as you were growing more exhausted, knowing the moon must be high in the sky at this point. You should’ve been in bed hours ago. Who would help your patients tomorrow when you could hardly help yourself? You weakly managed to bring your head up to survey the room around you but it’s suddenly silent, not a soul in sight until Kuko re-enters your home from the front door.

“Should I ask where you took them or just rely on blind faith?”

“You don’t have to blindly trust me but those assholes got what they deserved,” Kuko scoffed as he walked over to you, lifting you effortlessly so he could bring you over to your little bed (which had stayed clear of any debris). “Shit, I’m tired.”

Your eyes widened as Kuko lowered the mask so he could breathe a little easier, his face so smooth except for a scar on the underside of his chin. You can see a few more scars peeking out from the tears in his clothes but you don’t allow your mind to wander. Kuko is currently questioning why he just revealed his face in front of a civilian without thinking twice about the consequences, knowing this was yet another rule he had broken. There was a strict code all ninja were expected to follow and he’d already broken at least two rules, even more because he actually found himself liking you. He would be lucky if he got out of this unscathed by his father, not that he gave a damn what that shitty old man had to say to him, but he’d rather make his life easier.

“You’re bleeding… your wound from before reopened, didn’t it? I need to help you…”

Kuko shied away from your touch but you can see he’s actively fighting his body’s natural response to protect himself, freezing in place to allow you to place a hand on his shoulder. You kept your movements deliberately slow to prove you meant no harm, not like you could even consider raising a hand to him after he had saved you from who knows what kind of fate. He had half a mind to argue with you about trying to help him when you were injured yourself but he was too tired to even argue, his dad would’ve laughed if he heard that one.

“We should sleep…” After you had replaced his bandages with clean one you sent an exasperated look to your home, disliking the fact it was so messy despite none of it being your fault.

“We can just clean tomorrow.” Kuko flopped himself unceremoniously onto the floor beside your bed, hands behind his head like a pillow with his legs crossed; he winced a bit at the impact but otherwise gave no indication he was uncomfortable. You’re about to question his decision to sleep directly beside you but there really didn’t seem to be enough room in your home with a table flipped over in the middle of it, so it was easier to just settle yourself in beside him and hope he wasn’t secretly some pervert.  

Wait, did he say we?

“So, you’re going to stay this time?” You turned on your side to look at him, “I could use some extra help in the woods tomorrow… It shouldn’t be too rough a walk with your injuries… but I guess it’s selfish of me to ask a stranger to just help me out with my own chores…”

“Hmph. I guess I can help.” Kuko’s eyes are closed yet he’s unable to sleep, peaking one open when he hears you shuffling around next to him in an attempt to get comfortable. Even with a bruise forming on your temple you’re as stunning as ever, the young ninja biting his lip as he wondered how much of this was a sense of duty and how much was just him indulging his personal desires.

“Thank you…” You finally whispered out as sleep overcame you.

Kuko is left speechless, cheeks warm as he tries to settle his rapidly beating heart.

[sluttbuttsstuff]

La Squadra Backstory Headcanons Part 1 (GHIACCHIO AND MELONE

Since we’re probably never going to get any straight answers on their backstory, i’m writing my own for them.  Obviously, none of this is canon and guesswork

WARNINGS: none really, aside from dark themes 

GHIACCHIO:  

Came from a very large and very poor family, the youngest of many children.  

As a result, he was the last to get anything-last to get fed, last to get clothed, last to get attention.

He didn’t get the proper care he truly needed, so he had to fight and take what he really needed, or he would have to make do without.

He’s always had awful eyesight, but it wasn’t until stealing a classmate’s glasses that happened to be exactly what Ghiacchio needed, he fought the kid for them and gave him a black eye

“There, now you can’t even use them, they’re better off with me!”

Despite getting into a lot of fights, School was actually something of a sanctuary for Ghiaccio.  

He got the attention he needed, he was able to get free food through the lunch program, and excelled in several sports activities and physical Ed.

During middle school, under encouragement of a favorite teacher of his, he dedicated himself to his studies, and enrolled in as many extra curricular activities as he could stomach.

With his impressive physical fitness, natural intelligence, and a little anger management, his teacher convinced him he could get into a good college with a full scholarship that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to get into

Ghiacchio wasn’t always as loud, angry and violent as he was in La Squadra, but he did have issues with anger management, an inferiority complex, and a self-sabotaging need to always be right.  

But his teacher, now his mentor, never gave up on him.  He took Ghiaccio to therapy, gave him a shoulder to lean on, and served as the support he never got from his parents or siblings.

His family had no interest or desire to get involved with his life, or offer any support or encouragement.

School was tough- it was extremely stressful and he was pushing himself to his limits.  He had very little sleep, had to maintain a 4.0 grade average, but despite it all, Ghiacchio was very happy.

His mentor was like a father figure to him, without him, Ghiacchio wouldn’t have been able to get as far as he did.

And then the worst happened.

His mentor died naturally, of a heart attack, he was an older gentleman with a history of heart disease in his family.

It still broke Ghiaccio.

He skipped school for the first time in years to attend his funeral, and ended up getting in a fight with one of his teachers at school the next day.

Ghiacchio and his teacher argued over the correct pronunciation of a word, but really Ghiacchio was angry at his teachers and school-hell, the WORLD- that no one else had been at his mentor’s funeral.  He felt like no one cared about his mentor, and that included him.  

He broke the teacher’s nose, as well as several other bruises and nearly gave him a concussion.

Obviously, he was expelled from school after that, and sent to a juvenile prison.  He was able to finish high school in juvie, but no university or sports team wanted to sponsor him or offer him a scholarship. 

 It is his greatest regret, not being able to get the scholarship he and his mentor worked so hard for

But at the same time, he doesn’t regret attacking his other teacher and leaving school; he couldn’t stand by and let his mentor’s memory be forgotten, besmirched.

He would be picked up by Passione through the juvie system, he kept getting into petty fights with others and managed to impress some soldatos into offering him initiation.

I like to think that his strict grammar pet peeve stems from his mentor, who taught italian grammar and literature studies, and as a result was especially strict with teaching Ghiacchio proper italian.

The ice theme for his stand?  Yeah, it’s funny because he’s a hot head, but i think it’s his stand, as an extension of his mentor’s teachings trying to literally “Cool” him down.  He has to use a lot of focus to use White Album properly, just like how his studies and athletics would distract him from his own mental health issues.

At least, this is just what I think lol

MELONE:

Hoo-boy, this kiddo has to have had some serious  family issues

His father was the head doctor at the most prestigious fertility clinic in Italy

(He was also secretly into eugenics, and lots of other nasty stuff, but let’s get into that later)

He was so successful, he had even cured his own wife’s infertility

At least, that’s what he had everyone believe

Secretly, Melone’s father had had an extramarital affair with his secretary, who became pregnant and had Melone.

Under extreme threats and blackmail, Melone’s father managed to take Melone away from his biological mother, and convince his wife to raise Melone as her own.

Needless to say, Melone’s father was a very bad, manipulative man

Despite this, his wife had always wanted a child, and actually loved him and cared for him deeply, and Melone became her child as much as his biological mother

Melone’s father was very strict and had high expectations of Melone from a young age.

Melone had private tutors, a personal chef and nutrition plan, and even a physical fitness teacher who would regularly exercise him.

Melone had no other siblings, surprisingly, despite his father’s obsession with eugenics and breeding.  

His father must have been afraid of the possible scandal that would arise from an affair or divorce (italy is still a heavily catholic country after all) and his wife, Melone’s “adoptive” mother was still barren,

Since Melone was an only child, home schooled and surrounded by paid lackeys of his father, he was very lonely.  

His mother was his one and only real friend in his life.  She would sneak him dessert snacks, read him fairytale stories if he got tired of his textbooks, and even played games like jump rope and hide and seek with him.

The entire reason his “Adoptive” mother had married his father in the first place was because it had been her lifelong dream to have children, and she was determined to give Melone all the love his father couldn’t and wouldn’t.

And that was life for a long time- it wasn’t the best childhood but Melone couldn’t really complain.  His father kind of scared him, but at the same time he earned Melone’s respect.  

Melone was interested in Biology, and learning about genetics like his father.

And when the stress of living up to his father, and his own, expectations became too hard, he could always run to his mother.

Then, Melone’s biological mother found him

Melone’s biological mother had never really gotten over losing her only child, and despite the monthly salary and isolated home she had received for her silence, she couldn’t forget about Melone.  

It started innocuously enough, clipping out pictures she saw of him and his father from the clinic’s advertisement brochures, watching him from afar play at the beach with his mother on vacation.  

But it wasn’t enough- she couldn’t just GIVE UP her child.

She started to stalk him, taking photos of him playing in his backyard, going through the garbage to find old school projects and tests in the trash can.  She would try to sneak into the house, bribing guards and getting in fights with the tutors trying to get into Melone’s home.  

Melone didn’t know the whole story between his parents and this “Surrogate” (he had been sworn to secrecy by his mother, knowing it was important to tell adopted children early on or risk causing severe trauma later in life)  but he knew his parents were becoming more and more stressed out.

One day, it came to a head, and Melone’s biological mother successfully was able to meet Melone.  

Melone was a little afraid at first, but his other mommy was so nice to him, and gave him lots of hugs and love like his other mom and played with him at the park.  

They actually had a really fun time together, and it had a lasting impact on Melone for the rest of his life.

But all good things have to end, and for the first time in his young life, Melone was confronted with death.  

Eventually, Melone’s bodyguards (his father had employed some after finding out about Melone's biological mother stalking him) caught up to them, and Melone and his mother tried to escape.  

Melone’s other mother was with the bodyguards,and when Melone saw her, he was unsure of what to do.

He loved both of his mothers, he wanted to stay with both of them, why were they making him choose?

Under His father’s orders The bodyguards, who Melone later found out were associated with passione, shot his biological mother.  Terrified Melone would be shot as well, his adoptive mother dove in front of him to protect him from the bullets.

Both of his mothers were shot, his father had ordered them to kill the bio mother no matter what, even if Melone got shot.  Apparently, MElone’s father would rather risk his son’s life than let his bio mother escape with them and risk the scandal.  Knowing this, his adoptive mother was shot and killed protecting him.  

On that day, Melone lost both of his mothers, the most important people in his life, all because of his father.  

It took a long time for Melone to process what happened-his father didn’t help things either.  He was just as cold and clinical with Melone as ever, and with no one who truly cared about him in his life, Melone withdrew more and more into himself and his studies.

He was civil with his father, and maintained his studies and health, until he officially turned 18.  

After years of planning, he poisoned his father in his sleep and killed him.

The Police were never able to press charges or find any evidence on him, but Passione noticed, and saw potential in him.  

They gave him an ultimatum, pass initiation and join their ranks, or get turned into the police by passione and get his inheritance stolen by the gang.

Without much of a choice, Melone agrees, and finds he actually likes life in la squadra

It goes without saying, his mothers were a huge influence in both his life and his stand.

Both of his mother’s lives were so sad and lonely because they couldn’t have a child.  

He desperately wishes he could have used Baby Face on his mothers, either not realizing or not caring about the implications.

Despite his mother’s best efforts, Melone never really had proper social interaction as a child, and it seriously screwed him over in life, even interacting with la squadra. 

 He’s read up on how to behave in public, social psychology, but it's not the same as learning as a child

It’s easier to learn those things as a child, which is why he makes sure to spend at least a little time with each Baby Face on how to behave and treat others; at least they can succeed where he couldn’t.

It’s also why he can’t control himself around women- he thinks he’s genuinely helping them by giving them children or getting them pregnant.

He’s giving them what his own mothers couldn’t

And you can BET he takes his role as father VERY seriously- you saw how he taught and trained Baby Face in canon.  He’s intense, but he’s also a lot more loving than his own dad was.

I’ll admit, this backstory is a little bit “Soap Opera” but I think it still fits him

[julieloveupstead]

We're good. I just..., baby I'm just worried about you because I love you so much - (Upstead 08x14)

Description : A show of love, support and understanding. I love them.

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

Hailey sat on the couch, she was alone, the only sound coming from the TV. She waited for Jay who had gone to his place to get some clothes, by this time Hailey had cooled down and all the adrenaline that had been pulling at her all day was now subsiding. She felt bad about what she had done today, admittedly not a big deal but still. Again, she allowed her Sergeant's words to gaslight her doubts about her professional skills. She couldn't understand why Voight's opinions meant so much to her. It was the same thing last year, Hailey had done everything she could to make herself look like her boss, she'd gone to New York because of him, and it had taught her that she couldn't follow in Voight's footsteps because it would end badly. For so many years, she'd had evidence in front of her that fraternizing with the Sergeant didn't lead to anything good. Jay had warned her today, too, but she was in such a funk that nothing was getting through to her, and Jay was feeling the effects of that the most. He'd already lost one partner and he'd almost lost her. Hailey looked at her phone checking the time, it was almost 1am and Jay should have been at her place long ago. Maybe he changed his mind and stayed at his place because he didn't want to see her anymore tonight? All in all she wouldn't be surprised, she could barely stand herself. Today was the first time she had seen how much she had disappointed and pissed off her boyfriend. He was normally so calm, composed, not expressing his emotions much and trying not to show them too much in public, and the fact that he was showing anger at the scene meant that he was really angry. And that made her feel even worse about what had happened.

Hailey, tired after everything that had happened in the last few hours, must have fallen asleep because she was awakened by the sound of the phone ringing. Drowsy, she answered it without looking at the name of the sender

- "Upton"

- "Hailey, you finally answered. I thought something was wrong." - on the other side of the phone she heard Jay's worried voice. She quickly wiped her face with her hand to rouse herself and sat up straight.

- "Sorry, I just fell asleep." - She explained apologetically.

- "It's okay. Honey would you open the door for us?' - she heard an amused voice on the other side.

- "Yes I'm coming." - Hailey was amused by the whole situation. She had never fallen asleep so soundly to not hear someone knocking on her door, not while she was waiting for Jay. She must have really been exhausted.

- I'm sorry, I don't know how I didn't hear you knocking," she apologized again to her boyfriend, who only smiled.

- Nothing's wrong Hailey. The important thing is that you are okay - he said and hugged her tightly. At first she was surprised that after everything she had done today Jay was worried about her and that he was acting as if she hadn't upset him, but after a few seconds she gave in and snuggled into the safe arms of her man. She breathed in feeling the anxiety that gripped her after today's event, that Jay wouldn't want to see her or talk to her.

- Actually, I didn't expect you to come," she said truthfully pulling away from the brunet.

- Why, did you think that? - he asked, surprised by his girlfriend's statement.

- I don't know, but after everything I did today, I thought you were sick of me. - Hailey didn't expect that saying those words would hurt so much, but her honor didn't allow her to show how much. So she turned away from Jay and went to the kitchen to pour Whisky into the glasses she had prepared earlier.

- Hailey, you did what you did to get the person responsible for that boy's death," he said as he sat down on the couch and took the glass from Hailey. - I didn't like the fact that we went into that house without a warrant and I have to admit that I don't fully understand what was really driving you and the fact that I was angry, but that doesn't mean that I could get enough of you - he looked deep into his girlfriend's eyes. It broke his heart to hear Hailey talk about herself. - Come here to me Sunny - he grabbed his girlfriend's hand and pulled her close so she could sit on his lap.

- I'm sorry I gave you reason to think that - Jay looked guiltily at Hailey, who looked sad and lost. His heart was breaking at the sight. He kissed Hailey on the top of her head and hugged her tightly to him, and the blonde cuddled right back in.

- If anyone should apologize, it's me. I... I panicked. Again. I didn't want Voight to doubt my investigative skills. I felt like I had to prove to everyone again that I wasn't here by accident, that...

- That our relationship has nothing to do with your decisions," he finished for Hailey when she couldn't find the right words.

- Exactly. - she admitted quietly. - I hate feeling like I'm losing control of something. In order to survive the situation at home I had to follow certain rules and I owe it to myself to be alive and well, but as you know there are certain things, words that ruin my order and then I panic and do things like today.

- Hailey, look at me," he asked quietly. Every time he hears about what she had to go through his heart breaks. He wished he had known Hailey at that moment to make peace with her father and with every other man who had brought even one tear to her pretty face. It pained him to see his beloved like that and he felt powerless. He wanted so much that after the hell she had been through all these years now she would have only good things on her way. He wanted her to be happy because of him, but he didn't know how to ease the pain and trauma after all these years. And maybe that was the reason that pissed him off the most, because he could see that something was wrong with Hailey, that she was pulling away, and he didn't know how to remedy it. He had promised her a few weeks ago that he would help her, that he would figure something out, and what? He let her down. He let down the most important person in his entire world. - I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at Voight for making you stop believing in yourself and that you were a really great cop, even the FBI wanted you there, and it wasn't because of Hank, it was because of you and your skills. - He saw Hailey preparing to deny his words, but he continued. He had to make his girlfriend believe in herself again. - I've seen for a while now the effect what Voight says has on you and I don't like that he's using it the way he did today. He's manipulating you Hailey and I'm afraid that some tragedy is going to come out of this. I already lost you once, Hailey, and I don't want to go through what I went through without you again. I'm not gonna let Voight mess with your head. You are the most wonderful, wonderful and smartest person I know and you must never forget that. - Saying this, I saw tears appear in her eyes and immediately wiped them from her cheeks.

- So you're not mad at me and you don't want to break up with me and you're not sick of me? - she asked the question in a low, uncertain voice. Jay was hurt by how insecure she felt and how Hailey didn't believe anyone could love her. He promised himself that he would prove to her how much he loved her every day, every hour, every second of their life together, and he would never stop doing it. And he vows that as soon as he meets someone who has done her wrong he will kill them with his bare hands.

- Angry at you? I've never been mad at you and I never will be. You're too sweet for me to do that. And it never, ever crossed my mind for a second that I would get fed up with you and be the last idiot to want to break up with the love of my life. - He said in a calm, warm voice and with a small smile. Hailey could barely hold back her tears, and Jay was almost crying too. He couldn't help but feel each of Hailey's tears as his own. He can't stand to see his beloved cry, it always breaks his heart.

- So everything is okay with me? - she asked, still not believing her boyfriend's words. Jay grabbed Hailey's cheeks with his thumbs in circles and looked intently into her beautiful ocean blue eyes. He hoped that in his eyes Hailey would see that everything he said was what he felt, which was truth and true pure love.

- We're good. We're gonna be good always, until the end of our days. Honey I'm just terribly worried about you and this anger was caused by that. I was mad at myself for not being able to help you, and that's all it was, not that I was mad at you, okay? - Hailey must have finally believed me because I saw a slight smile appear on her face and the uncertainty in her eyes disappear.

- Jay you don't even realize how much you're helping me. Just the fact that you are with me and all my troubles, bad thoughts or panic disappear. - She shifted her position on his lap so that her whole body was facing him. She placed her hands on his cheeks and continued talking. Jay felt more drops of liquid slowly appear in his eyes. How much he loves her cannot be spoken. - You always say and even your brother told me yesterday that I saved you from death, and the truth is that you saved me and showed me that I deserve love, to love is not to hurt, and you taught me that love gives me wings, gives me a meaning to life. You give me the meaning of life, Jay - Jay couldn't stand it and joined his lips to Hailey's. It was just a brief kiss conveying how much he loved her. He rested his forehead on his girlfriend's forehead and closed his eyes enjoying her presence.

- You know I love you so much Angel - he opened his eyes to let his words reach this beautiful blonde girl, Hailey started to blush and Jay loved that he was the reason for it. - I love you Hailey Anne Upton and I will never stop. Angel you are the best thing that ever happened to me.

- Will you live with me? - He had not expected to hear that from his girlfriend. Hailey herself was surprised by her statement. It was a big step for her and especially for their relationship. She bit her lip, not sure if she had been hasty in her proposal.

- Do you want me to live here? - Jay made sure he heard right, Hailey confirmed eagerly with a nod, to which Jay laughed affectionately. - 'I was going to secretly bring my stuff anyway, but now I don't have to hide and I can bring a box of posters of my favorite superheroes that is always the style of my car,' Hailey laughed.

- Bear, where do you want to hang those Ninja Turtles of yours? - The sound of her laugh is the most beautiful he's ever heard and his heart beats even harder.

- In the bedroom? - he suggested, pretending to have a serious tone of voice, but by the look on Hailey's face he was sure she saw right through him.

- Not an option - she laughed even louder tilting her head back, Jay admired his girlfriend.

- You're beautiful Angel - he grabbed Hailey's hand, who blushed again. This is definitely one of the most favorite things.

- I love you Jay - this time she kissed Jay and then hugged him tightly.

Hailey realizes that she has a long and hard road ahead of her, but she knows that she can do anything with Jay by her side.

[ilalos]

Lavender dreams (Anthony Bridgerton x OC)-Part 2/3

Word count: 1.8k

Dances came and went and Grace had saved a dance for Anthony in each and every one of them, but he had yet to ask her for an outing. Gigi supposed he was busy enough trying to get Eloise to go on at least one outing with one of the few men that passed his rigorous check but was it so hard to take her out for a walk in the park or perhaps to have some tea? It didn’t help that she had heard rumors of him meeting actresses every night with unholy purposes, but she held hope for the eldest Bridgerton because every time they danced she felt as if there was no one else on the dance floor with them, and every time they talked he pulled a smile from her even if seconds before she had been upset.

She had had some outings with a couple of gentlemen who were approved by Simon and Daphne, and even if they were fine, educated young men she felt nothing for them. She knew her time was cutting short as it was already the middle of the season and her father didn’t have much time left, but she hadn’t felt anything resembling love for any of her callers. She had, however, started a friendship with non-other than Colin Bridgerton, and this lead Lady Whistledown to speculate about a possible engagement between the pair. The truth was, Colin saw Gigi as a sister at most and she saw him as the brother she never had.

The possibility of Colin proposing was truly daunting to Lady Bridgerton as she knew this union would break Anthony’s heart and could potentially cause a rift between the brothers. She had taken notice of the way her eldest tensed whenever one of the girls read the latest Lady Whistledown and the young couple was mentioned, Colin would always scoff and remind everyone he had no intentions of getting engaged anytime soon but that did nothing to lessen the deep frown in Anthony’s face or his mother’s worry.

Anthony had been visiting the brothel more often in a poor attempt to forget about Gigi and also convincing himself that he would never be deserving of the girl’s love. He knew he needed a wife and he intended on marrying that very season, but the thought of Gigi suffering half as much with his death as his mother did when his father passed, refrained him from accepting his feelings and proposing. Despite his resolve to forget his feelings for her, he continued to dance with her at every ball and party. When they danced he felt as if he could stay there forever, twirling her in his arms and holding her as close as possible; they talked sometimes at these events and felt as if they had known each other their whole lives.

It was the day of the picnic and the Bridgerton family was excited after hearing from the eldest daughter that Lord Watts had informed her and her husband of his intentions to propose to Grace. He was an earl and he and Grace had had some successful outings.

Grace had no objections toward the young man apart from the fact that she bore no feelings for him whatsoever, but given her lack of time to worry on such silly matters, she chose to ignore that in favor of having the wedding her father wished for, and who knows? Maybe their love would sprout once they were married.

When Anthony heard the news he could almost hear his heartbreaking in half, a pain ten times bigger than the one he felt when Siena rejected him. He almost wanted to beg Colin to propose before Lord Watts had the chance, at least that way he would be able to still see her when the couple visited. He decided to skip the picnic and instead stayed at home reviewing the business to avoid having to watch the happy couple celebrating their future union.

The proposal didn’t occur at the event, Lord Watts was there and he did take Grace on a walk but he had made the decision to make a formal proposal at his family’s home the following day so he limited himself to invite Grace, the duke, the duchess, and Lady Bridgerton to his house for tea. The invitation was accepted and the picnic continued without much excitement. The Duke's family left first because baby A was behaving quite fussy and her mother suspected it was due to the unforgiving sun beaming down on them; soon after the Bridgertons left due to a menacing black cloud that darkened the festivities.

Night and storm had fallen upon Lady Danbury’s home when a nervous messenger knocked urgently on the state’s door. Mr. Lock, the butler, had opened the door.

“How can I help-”

“Lord Bridgerton’s carriage was robbed and he is terribly hurt!” The young man had yelled the message hoping the duchess would hear him “Lady Bridgerton urges the presence of her eldest daughter in this uncertain times”

Grace had been the one to hear the messenger’s words and she felt panic take hold of her body. She ran to the door and demanded a horse be readied for her, the butler refused to let her go alone into the rain and advised her to wait until the carriage was ready. At his refusal, she chose to forget decorum and took the messenger's horse and rode it into the storm. The duke and duchess had heard the commotion and ordered the footman to ready the carriage at once.

Grace rode to the Bridgerton household in record time and when she got there she rode straight into the nearby stables, dropped the horse, and ran to the home’s door. Lady Bridgerton opened with teary eyes expecting to see Daphne and let a gasp when instead of her eldest daughter she saw the soaked figure of Grace Gillingham standing at her doorstep.

“Where is he?” That was all the girl said.

“Upstairs, the doctor is seeing him in his bedroom”

The woman barely finished her sentence before the younger girl pushed past her and ran up the stairs, politeness be dammed. She found Benedict passing by Anthony’s door and before she could ask about the man’s condition a pained scream tore through the wood. She gasped as if she felt his pain and fresh tears ran down her cheeks.

“The doctor said his injuries are extensive but not life-threatening” Benedict said it trying to calm the poor girl down but her sobs remained the same, “he said it would take a while, maybe you should go get changed into some dry clothes, surely Eloise can lend you some”

“I’m not leaving this door until I see with my own eyes that he is well”

Benedict only nodded and watched her seat on the floor with her back against the wall, right across the door. Daphne arrived not long after and she too tried to convince Grace to change out of her soaked clothing or to at least drink some hot tea while they waited but the girl refused

“I will be fine” was all she had said through gritted teeth and blue lips.

Hours passed and every once in a while a pained clamor would leave the room, Benedict watched how each sound made a fresh wave of tears fall from Gigi’s eyes. The wait was long and soon Benedict found himself nodding off against the wall, only to be suddenly awakened by the door opening, Grace barely waited for the doctor to exit the room before running inside and kneeling at Anthony’s bedside, taking his hand between hers and looking at his face with relief when hearing taking notice of his breathing and the pulsing of his heart.

“He’ll need lots of rest to properly heal his wounds but he will make a full recovery” the doctor took one look at Grace and shook his head with a smile “Give this to her as soon as you can” he said as he handed Benedict a vial with a yellowish liquid.

“What is this concoction?”

“It will help her fever and lessen her cold symptoms” he explained “If she looks abnormally flushed or agitated, call me immediately”

Anthony thought he had never felt pain as bad as when the doctor had healed his wounds but seeing Grace’s feverish form sleeping uncomfortably in a chair at his bedside hurt more than whatever he felt the night prior. He saw her pale skin and red cheeks that hinted towards a fever, and her labored breathing pointed to a terrible cold, his hand was resting between hers and he marveled at how small they looked around his. He saw Benedict enter the room and questioned him about her presence.

“She rode on a stolen horse in the middle of a storm to be by your side, brother” Benedict chuckled at his brother’s astonished expression, knowing his surprise would only grow “She pushed past mother, entered the house uninvited, sat on the floor in the hallway and refused to move until she knew you were alright” he pointed to her reddened cheeks and continued “She didn’t even change out of her soaked dress until she saw you with her own eyes, the poor thing caught a terrible cold and only accepted to take the medicine and the change of clothes if we allowed her to stay here by your side”

Anthony felt his heart explode with love for the girl, the feelings so strong his eyes glossed with unshed tears. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have such an angel loving him so much, and he only hoped he could make her feel half as loved as he felt at that very moment. He had to admit he was angered by her reckless behavior but the love overshadowed his protective feelings...until he saw her being woken up by a sudden fit of horribly sounding cough. He watched as she fought to regain her breath and was ready to chastise her until he noticed the way she looked at him, with so much love and so much relief he forgot what he was going to say.

“You’re awake,” she said simply, processing “You are awake!” Once processed the information had caused her tremendous joy and she jumped to embrace him, only to jump back when she heard his quiet complaint from the pressure put on his recent wounds “I apologize Lord Bridgerton, in my excitement, I seem to have forgotten about your injuries”

“No need to apologize, love” the pet name just flew past his lips, catching them both by surprise “You must go to get some proper rest now, you are sick and tired, we’ll talk later about the poor decisions you took yesterday”

Grace only nodded and without thinking took his hand and kissed his palm before leaving to finally get some rest on an actual bed.

“Fetch the Duke of Hastings for me, Benedict, I have a proposal to make”

PART 3

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Hi! If you’re still following along this story know that I appreciate it :))))) Thank you so so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it

[parkmuse]

Not So Honest (M)

Word Count: 9322 (Reposted) (Wonhopes Masterlist)

Jungkook has got a pretty BIG problem, and he desperately asks you for your help.

cr.

Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong! Dingdongdingdongdingdon-

You let out a heavy sigh, pausing your show as you get up from the couch to answer the door. That annoying repetitive doorbell rings could only come from one person.

“YAH! Where’s your fucking keys you brat-“ You stop mid-sentence from yelling at him because your eyes catch onto the large package he’s struggling to hold along with a mountain of grocery bags in his hands.

“Yeah, I forgot them this morning and remembered once I was at the store. By the way, this was at the doorstep-“ You immediately snatch it out of his grasp, twirling around as you let go of the door and let it slam back in his face. You run to the table, squealing as you set it down to try and go look for something to open it with. “My package arrived!”

You hear the front door rattle a few times before its shoved open again, him struggling to get all the bags in as he forces the door closed with a bang. “What the fuck Y/N? And I don’t even get a thank you for picking that up for you?”

“I didn’t ask for your help, Jungkook,” You replied, waving him off before you walked back over to your package.

You’ve been waiting a whole two weeks for another one of these Amazon packages. You did a little contract with some sellers there that you would test out their products for free and give your honest review in return that you get free samples of the items. So far you’ve gotten blenders, make up, wireless head phones, even a decent cellphone all for free. And all you had to do was type up a quick, honest review with the pros and cons of the product that took less than 5 minutes, then you could enjoy all your free shit. Did I say free already?

“What’s in the package? Another crappy phone?” Jungkook yells from the kitchen, placing all the food in their designated locations. You let out another heavy sigh before responding to him. “Why do you care? Go hangout with Jimin and suck each other’s dicks or something.”

“You’re just jealous cause I could probably get more dick or actually scratch that, any dick at all compared to you if I really wanted to.” You shot him a glare and he smirks, then sticks his tongue out before placing the milk in the fridge.

God, you hated that brat. You’ve hated him for so many years, basically all of your life since you’ve known each other since elementary. Your parents were great friends so you always had to hang out with him when you would go to each other’s houses, dealing with him pulling your hair and stealing all your food and toys from you almost three times a week. Once you hit high school you were even forced to baby sit him even though you were only two years older, but his parents baby him so much and think he’s not fit to stay alone in his own damn home that they’d throw him over at yours.

Even now, as two damn grown adults you are still stuck with him, forced to share an apartment since you two go to the same college because his parents don’t trust him alone or with strangers. It was a living nightmare since you basically had no privacy with this brat, always meddling in your stuff and your life and him walking out of his room practically naked every damn day. Sure, he’s grown up really well, and he’s always been cute I guess, but holy hell he gets on your nerves so much he’s lost the on chance that you would ever find him attractive. The only upside to this is that you get help paying rent, but honestly you think you’d rather live on the streets than be with this annoying kid.

At least your annoyance will be at its minimal today, too excited to let him cloud your day when you got more cool free shit-

“What the fuck?” You spit, eyes bugged and jaw dropped once you comprehend exactly what Amazon just sent to you.

“What? Another flip phone or some shit- woah,” Jungkook’s eyes widened as well once he peeks over your shoulder to see what the big deal was.

Sex toys.

Not one, not two.

A whole box full.

There were different kinds of toys like vibrators and silicone dicks in all the colors you could possibly imagine. You didn’t even know what half the shit in that box was either; there were weird looking eggs to obscure shaped things you assumed were supposed to replicate a dick but had an extended side that you couldn’t figure out what it was actually intended to do. You pulled out a box and on the cover read Sassy Anal Beads in fancy cursive lettering, finally making you lose your patience.

“Why the fuck would they send me this shit!?” You huffed, tossing the stuff back in the box. You had no use for any of this. Sure, they could keep you company since you were single as hell but you really wished they would have sent you something way more useful.

“Maybe they knew you needed it— OW!” Jungkook yelps as you punch him in the chest. He pouts as he clutches onto his pecs but you just roll your eyes.

“Shut up, you deserved it.” You walk back to the couch and plop on it with a sigh, resuming your TV show.

“Aren’t you supposed to review all this shit?” He says, digging through some more of the box as he pulls an unrealistic sized purple dildo.

“I’m not going to bother. I’ll just say they were all shitty or something,” You say as you bring your feet up to the coffee table.

“Well that’s not really fair. You have to give your honest opinion. What if King Cock Deluxe deserves five stars?” He snickers, waving it over in front of your face.

You scrunch your face in disgust, “Stop being gross.”

He laughs and tosses it back in the box, then pulls out another item. “What the hell is this thing?”

You see him examining it in his hands, his face scrunching up in confusion. It was small and black, a ring attached to the end and the top having two protruding bumps.

You’ve actually heard of that one before from one of your girl friends who was gushing all about it. It was a rabbit designed cock ring, the two ends from the top was actually a vibrator so when you had sex the “rabbit ears” would stimulate your clit. Your friend said although it looked really ugly it really did the trick, but her boyfriend never liked using it because it was way too tight on him.

“It’s a cock ring,” You said unamused, standing up to walk over to the kitchen.

“Cock ring?” Jungkook responded, still sounding confused as ever.

“Did I stutter?” You said, digging through the pantry.

“Does it make you feel really good or something?”

You turn back to face him so you can yell at him for asking so many questions, but stopped once you saw his face. He was still looking at the toy, examining it in his hand intensely.

A small smile crept on your lips, and you’re glad he was still too focused on the toy in his hands to see. “Yeah Jungkook, it makes you feel real good.”

He looks up at you with wide eyes, but quickly replaces his surprise with a lazy smirk. “Yeah right, this free shit would never work.” He tosses the toy back into the box.

You snicker at his response. How has he never heard of a cock ring? Was he that inexperienced? Jungkook’s a grown man, but you’ve always seen him as the little brat next door. “I mean, I heard that got a lot of positive feedback for being one of the best sex toys out there. Men go crazy about it,” You chimed in, continuing to tease him.

“That piece of rubber? Bullshit.” He walks back into the kitchen, throwing some more groceries into the fridge. After a couple of minutes of silence and fixing up the kitchen, Jungkook speaks up again.

“I mean, what does it even do? How is it that good?”

“I don’t know, but must be pretty amazing.” You were getting kind of tired of your little white lie, and his constant repetitiveness of the topic was staring to annoy you. Before he was about to speak up again you interrupted him.

“Jungkook! I told you to buy some more damn cereal!” You whack him on the back of the head and he groans.

“I got most of the stuff on the list!” He pouts.

“You had one job kid, and now we got milk and no cereal.” You huff, walking over to grab your purse. “I always have to do things on my own around here. I’ll be back in a bit.” You grab your keys and walk out the door.

-

You finally made your way back home after being stuck in traffic for a good thirty minutes just for some cereal. Damn that Jeon kid for forgetting one measly thing.

You were starving since you hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and you were too lazy to cook anything so why not just have some cereal? You walk to the kitchen to pull out a bowl, opening the box of Frosted Flakes and filling it up to the brim. You walk over to the fridge to grab the milk, opening the door. You were met with nothing but water bottles on the top shelf and some groceries at the bottom. Confused, you looked all over the sides and in the drawers. There was a whole carton before you left and now it disappeared!

Then it clicked in your head. Your eyebrows crinkled and you let out a heavy sigh, closing the fridge. “JUNGKOOK!”

That damn kid always brings the carton of milk into his room, sometimes drinking it straight out of the container. You hated sharing food with him for this very reason, and you should really get him to stop drinking that shit because he’s getting way too big for his own good.

You waited for a good minute just to give him mercy, but by now he should have answered you, walking out of his room with a yeah, yeah as he brings the carton back out.

But there was complete silence.

You groan, walking down the hall to where your bedrooms were. He better have a good ass explanation for why he hasn’t answered you by now. You twist the knob and roughly push the door open. “Where’s the fucking milk Jungkook?!”

You pause at the door, making eye contact with a seemingly alarmed Jungkook. He’s sitting on the edge of his bed faced away from you, shirtless again, head turned with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. He looks like a deer in the headlights, his hand clutching onto the sheets crumpled beside him.

“You’re just sitting there doing nothing but didn’t bother answering me?” You thought it was a little weird, but quickly brushed it off.

“Um—well, I—“ Before he can give you an explanation, your eyes catch the item you were looking for at the night stand beside where he was sitting.

“There it is, I fucking knew it!” You strode over to the carton.

“NO! DON’T COME HERE!” He hollers, causing you to stop in your tracks.

“Whoa no need to yell, what’s on your dick?”

“N-NOTHING! Just…go to the store and get more! This is my milk!”

You could have sworn you felt a vein pop out of your temple at his remark. “I just came from the damn store! That’s a brand new carton! And my milk your ass I paid for that!”

You were seriously getting tired of him. When will you finally be able to get away from him? 5 years? 10 years? Are you really going to have to spend the rest of your life with this brat?

You don’t even know why you’re listening to him at the moment. You can do whatever you want, he can’t stop you. You continue to make a beeline to your milk, running past him to grab it and run out. Your feet catches onto his blanket, causing you to trip over and onto the floor in front of him with a loud thump.

You groan on the floor, pushing the sheet off of you and sitting up as you rub your head. You turn your head to look at a mortified Jungkook, completely colorless as he stares back at you in complete fear and embarrassment. Confused, you were about to ask what his problem was but your eyes flicked south.

A mere inches from your face was his dick in his hand, semi hard and just…all out there. What definitely made your jaw drop was that right at the base was a familiar looking object, black with bunny ears sticking out at the top.

You covered your mouth, embarrassed to have caught him in the act but also trying so hard not to laugh in front of his face because you cannot believe he’s actually doing this.

“Y/N, I-I can explain-“

You get up on your feet and grab the milk from the night stand, walking straight to the door avoiding eye contact with him. “No need to Kook, pretty self-explanatory. You have fun with that!”

You just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible before it could get even more awkward, but he calls out to you, making you stop.

“No wait! Don’t go! I-Um…”

“If you think I’m going to sit here and watch you jack off you have another thing coming-“

“NO! It’s not that! Why the fuck would I ask you that? I’m not some sicko.”

“Says the one with a bunny cock ring on his dick-”

“OKAY! You got me there,” He sighs. “But I was just curious! What was so good about this piece of plastic? And then I put it on a-and…”

“And what?” It probably didn’t feel good as he expected it to. Hell, it’s supposed to be the complete opposite.

“Well, it’s kind of…kind of stuck.”

A few seconds of silence pass as you comprehend what he just said, then you burst out laughing. He jumped in his seat, surprised by your reaction but then gives you a glare and a pout. “Why are you laughing?!”

You grab onto your sides, tears coming out of your eyes. You just can’t control yourself. This dumb kid has a sex toy stuck on him and he can’t get it off.

“Y/N!”

“I’m sorry! It’s just so…so hilarious. Wow.” You wipe the tears from your cheeks as the last bits of chuckles come spewing out.

“It’s not funny! It won’t come off…a-and it really hurts.”

You can hear the pain in his voice and for a second you actually felt bad for him. Maybe you shouldn’t have teased him that much.

But then again, he deserves it.

“Well, seems like you got a real problem on your hands. I’ll leave ya to it.” You say as you start walking out the door.

“Y/N WAIT! You have to help me!”

You turn back to face him, your brows knitting in confusion. “And why do I have to do that?”

“Please Y/N, you know I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t mean it.”

You stare at him for a moment, taking in his facial features. You were a couple of feet away from him but from there you could see the tears threatening to fall from his big doe eyes. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth, probably to stop it from quivering in front of you. His broad shoulders visibly shook, and you sigh. He must really be in pain.

“Please, Noona.”

Your eyes widened in surprise, taken aback by his response. He hasn’t called you Noona for years. The last time he called you that was years ago, during a small phase where he was actually really sweet and nice to you. You actually loved that Jungkook back then, but then he went a full 180 on you and went back to being a brat.

You bite your lip, contemplating on what to do. He winces in pain and lets out a long drawn out whimper, which immediately shot to your core. What the fuck?

You don’t know what overcame you but you had the sudden urge to touch him.

What the hell were you thinking?

You just want to help him, that’s all.

You let out a heavy sigh, then placed the milk on the TV stand, proceeding to walk over to him. “Fine, let’s just get this over with. I don’t want your parents to blame me for not watching you and you coming home dickless.”

His eyes light up in admiration for you, excited to finally be free of this dumb torture-like pleasure free device. You stop in front of him, sitting on your knees as you push his legs apart to get a better look.

Surprisingly, Jungkook didn’t have a micro penis like you thought he had all these years. It was actually really, really generous, probably one of the biggest you’ve seen. No wonder this kid had a big ego.

“Alright, let’s see what we got.” As awkward as this was supposed to feel, it didn’t feel as weird as you thought it would. Why did it feel normal to be on your knees in front of Jungkook’s dick? You honestly didn’t want to think about why other than the fact that you’ve known him all your life and being naked in front of each other probably isn’t a big as a deal as you would imagine. You guys used to bathe naked all the time; that counts for something right?

“Wow Kook, you got it lodged pretty good. How the fuck did you get that all the way up there?” You stared at the small device, tightly clenching the base of his shaft.

“I-I thought it was supposed to hurt in the beginning, and then it would feel good later. That’s how sex is for girls, right?”

You snorted. “Does it look like you have a vagina, Jungkook? I mean maybe you will after your dick falls off-“

“Stop!” He whines, pouting at you. “Don’t say that! I would die without my dick.”

“That actually sounds like a good plan, maybe we should leave it then-“ He grabs your hands in his, squeezing them tightly as you were about to sit up again.

“Y/-Noona, please, please help me. I’ll be good to you from now on. I won’t be a brat anymore if you help me. Just…please.”

He softly caresses the back of your hand, looking at you again like a lost puppy.

Was Jungkook really being obedient right now? He seems like he would do anything for you, listened to anything you said. He seemed so��submissive.

You unintentionally licked your lips, but immediately came back to your senses. It was really getting hot in here and your hands were starting to sweat.

You ripped your hands away from him. “Okay, okay. Jeez.” You played it off like you weren’t phased by what he said and his sudden new name for you. You just needed to get this shit off of him and then you could finally eat. Starving yourself is definitely not good for your head.

You take in a deep breath, then reach for him. You didn’t want to bother addressing the elephant in the room, the surprisingly pretty big elephant in the room, because you didn’t want to make this even more awkward as it is. Asking if you could touch his dick would probably make this situation even worse, so you’re just gonna do what you need to do.

You grasp onto the base of his shaft where the toy is, tugging it forward in attempts to take it off.

“OW!” Jungkook yelps, grabbing your wrist. “You’re hurting me!”

“I barely even touched you brat, suck it up.” You whip your hand away from him, bringing it back to the toy.

He really got himself into a real mess here. There’s barely any space between the toy and his dick. Did he really think this wasn’t going to happen?

You attempt to pull at it again while your hand rested on his abdomen. You didn’t expect Jungkook’s abs to be so defined and rock solid under your fingertips, but you quickly brushed the thought away while you focused on the situation at hand.

When you pulled, the toy stayed put and your hand ended up grasping through the rest of his length to the tip, leaving you empty handed. You cupped the toy again, firmly pressing against his stomach while you pulled again, only to bring your hand against him again without the toy. You hear him whimper under your touch but again you don’t let it get to you, thinking he’s just being a little wuss about the pain again. After another attempt of tugging it off and your hand unintentionally grasping his length, you accidentally squeeze the end of his tip, feeling the warmth on your fingertips.

All of a sudden Jungkook lurches forward, putting a hand on your shoulder and squeezing tightly. His face is a few inches away from yours, his heavy pants tickling your face.

“Noona,” He chokes out.

You look up at him to see his adam’s apple bob, licking his partly chapped lips as he lets out open mouthed pants while his other hand clutches the bed sheet. You could see him breaking a sweat down his temple, looking so fucking hot for some strange reason but then something breaks your thoughts.

You feel a pulse under your touch, and you realize you’re still grasping his tip. You look down to see his dick erect, the tip partly red as you slowly feel the palm of your hand get wet. You slowly open your hand to see pre-cum leaking from his tip, some smeared along your hand.

You instantly get red, looking back up at Jungkook with the best glare you could muster up at the moment when in reality you’re freaking out and heating up inside. “What the fuck Jungkook!?”

You were about to stand up to leave when he grabs you again. “I-I’m sorry! I can’t help it!”

“You’re gross!” You try to rip your hand away, but he keeps a firm grip.

“Y/N I’m sorry! Your hand just feels really, really soft…please, just help me get it off!” He pleads. “I’ll do anything Y/N. I promise!”

You look back at your hand covered in Jungkook’s residue, groaning at the sticky substance. You hate to admit that you loved the fact he got like that because of your hands, because of you touching him. You grab the blanket off the floor and wipe your hand, not wanting to think about it. You gulp once you face him again, his cock looking bigger than before and a bit more constricted against the toy.

You press your fingertips against the toy, attempting to twist it off of him. He whimpers, eyes shut tight as you can’t help but notice his stomach clench against your touch again.

“Noona, please...” He says again in what was like a husky whisper, sounding like he’s begging for you. The high pitched whine that came after striked right at your core, causing you to bite your lip. Your stomach was doing somersaults as you tried so heavily to focus on getting this damn toy off of him, but he was making this so, so hard. No pun intended.

You tried whatever you could, pushing it upwards and to the side and downwards, but none of it seemed to be working.

“I think we need to get some oil or something and maybe it’ll slip off,” You thought. “I’ll go get some in the kitchen.”

“You won’t find any,” He said hesitantly.

“What do you mean? I thought you just bought some?”

“I…was that on the list too?” He looks at your warily, biting his bottom lips as he slowly cowers away.

Your eyes turned to slits as your brows crinkled in distress again, letting out a long, slow sigh. “Well, I can’t think of anything else.”

“Why don’t you spit on it?” Your eyes bugged out while you looked at him like crazy woman. What did he just say?

“What?” You say, looking at him incredulously.

“Well, water isn’t going to work. We don’t have anything else and that’s all I could think of.”

“Do it yourself!” You yell, red as a tomato at what he just actually asked for you to do.

“I can’t! My hands are too big! Your hands are perfect and it’s easier if someone else does it. I’ll just hurt myself. Please, just do it it’ll work!” He pouts at you again, biting his bottom lip as he shifts uncomfortably on the bed. “You’re so gentle Noona. Help me,” He begs.

You know his words weren’t supposed to sound dirty in any way, but god why do you keep thinking like that?

Your empty stomach was messing with your head. Not only was your head throbbing, but you can’t ignore the ache between your legs either. You thought of just telling him to fuck off and leave him there to figure it out himself, but he speaks up again.

“It really hurts…I’m begging you Y/N,” He whimpers, whispering your name with a groan at the end. You notice his uneven breaths as his stomach vibrates, his veins protruding along his arms as he still clenches the sheets, the other hand holding onto his hard cock. He grasps himself, letting out a high pitched whine as he grits his teeth, seeing his eyes water yet again from his action.

You gulp at the sight of him before you, so helpless and vulnerable that causes your core throb even more.

You press your thighs together to ease the tension. You don’t know why such a helpless Jungkook was turning you on uncontrollably, and you’d love to see how much more he could beg and sob under your touch if he’d allow you to.

You shake your head, pulling yourself out of your crazy thoughts. This is getting really bad and you knew you had to get away from him quick. You needed this to be over as soon as possible.

“Fuck, okay! But we’re never fucking talking about this again. This never happened,” You say as you kneel in front of him again. You bring a hand to your face, spitting into it and smearing it along your palm. You cup the base of his shaft and glide your palm around the skin near the toy, trying to lubricate it as much as you can.

“It’s not enough Y/N, just spit directly on it,” He groans. You were going to yell at him for telling you what to do, but spared him once you saw his flushed and pained expression. You silently obeyed, sitting up so your face hovered over his dick. You collected enough saliva in your mouth and spit on the skin below the toy, letting the liquid slip down and over his cock. You bring your fingertips to massage the area, spreading your fluid as much as you can over him. Once you think it’s enough, you try pulling the toy again but it still didn’t budge.

“I-I think you still need to add more,” He pants.

“You think I got gallons worth Jungkook? That I’m a human sprinkler?” You spew.

“Well how about you just use your mouth?” He said nonchalantly.

You gaped at him, about to tell him off but then he cuts you off. “It would be easier! You wouldn’t have to keep spitting and have it dry up. You can get it all over and then it would pop right off!”

Your patience was really wearing thin with this kid. But then he grabs you by shoulders, pressing his sweaty forehead against yours.

“You’re my only hope Noona. You can only help me with this. I’ll do whatever you want after I promise.”

  “I swear I’ll be a good boy.”

  Good boy?

  Hearing that made the last strings of your sanity cut loose.

 Fuck it.

 You push him away by his chest abruptly, making him almost fall back on the bed. He caught himself before he could fall, hands flat against the bed. Before he could ask you what your problem was, you flatten your tongue along the base of his shaft.

“Y/N!” He moans aloud, bucking his hips up and into your face. You glide your tongue along his vein, swirling your tongue against his tip. You press an open mouthed kiss, then wrap the tip around the lips as you suck lightly.

“Oh fuck! Noona,” He rasps, trying so hard not to lose control and grab your hair to push you further into him. His moans egg you on and you tease his slit, earning another strangled moan of your name from him. Then you bring your mouth down onto his cock, taking him inch by inch.

You try your best to use your tongue, trying to wet every inch of his throbbing cock until you finally reach the base where the toy was. You hear him panting like he just ran a marathon above you, groaning as he watches your pretty lips around his thick member.

“Your mouth is so warm, it feels so good,” He groans, licking his lips before he gulps as he watches you intently. You stop your movements and look up to him, making direct eye contact. He looks at you in confusion, seeing the subtle glint in your eyes. Before he could say anything you swallow hard, causing him to thrash his head back and fist your hair.

“Fucking shit!” He moans, bucking his hips upward into you, causing the tip to hit the back of his throat. It hurt of course, but seeing the way he reacts to your ministrations was definitely worth it.

You pull your mouth off of him just until the tip, then bring him all into your mouth once again, sucking harshly.

“Holy fuck Y/N,” he moans, grasping the back of your head as you bob up and down his length.

“Keep fucking doing that.” You scratch his thighs, telling him that you’re the one in control instead of him before grazing your teeth slightly against his length. He whines in response, slightly nudging your hair back to stop you.

“Y-Y/N please…I’m sorry, just please keep going.” You release him with a pop, wiping the saliva from your chin as you look at him with a glare.

“Why are you telling me what to do? I thought you said you’d be a good boy?” You say as you slightly dig your nails into his massive thighs once again. “Or should I stop?”

“No! No please! Don’t stop I’ll be good I promise!” He whimpers at you, bringing his hand to your cheek to slowly caress your face.

“I’ll be good Noona.” You pretend to contemplate on your answer when you definitely weren’t going to leave him like this now, but you seem to think he’s had enough when you see his arm shake and his lips quiver.

“You better be.” You bring your mouth back to him, sinking your mouth down his hardened length as you take all of him again. You didn’t really think of Jungkook as the vocal type, but hearing him shamelessly moan and whimper your name aloud to the point the next door neighbors could hear heightened your ego tenfold.

You release him, bringing your hand up and down his shaft. You lift his dick so it’s against his stomach, about to run your tongue against him once again when you noticed something odd. A very thin line was visible on the cock ring, located on the bottom side of his dick. You bring your face closer to the line, looking at it curiously. Very small and slightly faint read the letters OPEN right above the line, in bold lettering.

Aha! You thought. Finally. Before you could bring your hand to the little slit, Jungkook calls out to you.

“Why did you stop? I’m being good Noona. Please, keep going.” He cries, and you swear it’s a tear that slips from his eyes and down his cheek than his sweat.

You lick your lips, looking back down at the toy then back at his cock.

He deserves this for being a brat all these years.

You look back up at him, giving him a sweet smile which felt seemingly odd to him. You never smiled like that at him. “Okay, since you’re being so good for me Kook,” You say sweetly.

“Why are you- fuck!” Jungkook groans when you take him all in one go, his tip hitting the back of your throat. You slightly gag, your mouth so full from his thick length but you push through it. You wanted to see this boy suffer.

You continue to go all out, hollowing your cheeks and deep throating him in the best ways possible, drowning in all his whines and cries of your name and how you were so fucking good.

“N-Noona, fuck, I think I’m gonna-“ You smile at his words.

Any second now.

At one particularly harsh suck he grabs your head, sinking you further down his cock as your mouth hits the toy. He moans at first but quickly cries in agony, fisting your hair harshly as you try to focus relaxing your throat.

“What…What the fuck…?” He whimpers, eyes squinting closed as he groans.

You release him with a pop, looking up at him with innocent eyes. “What’s wrong Kook?”

“I-There’s something wrong,” He says, grabbing his dick and wincing.

“Does it still hurt Jungkook? You want Noona to make you feel good?” You pull his hand away from him, grasping his length once again and pumping up and down slowly. He cries again, grabbing your wrist to stop your movements. “It fucking hurts Noona. What’s happening?” He sounded so lost, so helpless.

You never thought yourself to be a sadist but fuck, you loved it.

“Shh, Kookie,” You slowly rise to your feet, standing between his legs as you grab onto his shoulder. You bring a finger to his chin, lifting his head so he can look up to you. “Let Noona help you. I’ll make you feel real good.” With that, you pushed him harshly on the chest, causing him to fall back into the sheets. You quickly shimmy out of your shorts leaving you in your black lacy underwear, then turn back to him.

You lick your lips, staring at him sprawled on his bed looking so fucked out, completely naked. You climb up over him, bringing one leg over to straddle his waist.

“Y/N, what are you-“ You muffled him with a kiss, soft and sweet at first but slowly getting rougher to the touch as seconds go by. He moans when you bite his bottom lip, allowing you to delve your tongue into his hot cavern. His hands quickly find purchase on the soft flesh of your hips, holding you tightly. You suck on the tip of his tongue, earning you a groan.

You bring your mouth to his ear, nibbling his lobe before you whisper, “Just relax, Kook. And let Noona do all the work.”

You rise above him, your hands running along his arms as you meet his hands on your hips. You bring your hands to the hem of your shirt, quickly lifting it off of you and exposing your matching black lace bra.

“God damn,” he choked, eyes as wide as saucers as his mouth gaped at your beautiful figure. You chuckle at his response, then bring your hand down to your underwear. You rubbed yourself through the fabric, lightly moaning as you feel your juices seep through. You were definitely ready for him already. You use two fingers to hook your underwear, pushing it to the side while using your other hand to grab his dick.

He groans, watching your movements as you align yourself with his dick.

“Y/N, are you sure you- ahh!” His nails dig into your hips as you slowly sink onto him, your mouth slightly ajar as he fills you up perfectly.

His length and girth is the perfect size for you, filling you up to the brim as you settle perfectly onto his cock. You moan once your ass meets his thighs, sitting still as you adjust to the new found fullness.

Then, you move. You bring yourself off of him until just the tip is left, then sit back down with a slap. You moan at the sensation, but Jungkook is crying from your action.

“Holy f-fuck! Fuckkk,” He whimpers, chest heaving as you bring yourself up only to come down with another harsh slap. You continue these movements until you set a steady pace, bouncing on his length.

“Y/N! Oh my god, fuck, fuck Noona,” He writhes below you, looking like he’s about to lose his mind as he twists his head back and forth with his eyes tightly shut.

“You feel so fucking good, god, keep going please,” He whines, continuously licking his lips as his mouth constantly lets out a string of profanities and whimpers.

“Am I making you f-feel good, Kook? Ah, fuck,” You groan, speeding up your pace as the room fills with constant slap, slap, slaps.

“Yes yes yes, fuck yes, you’re so fucking good, I’m losing my mind,” He chokes, bringing one hand to squeeze your ass while the other tightly grasps onto your upper thigh. You continue going hard against him, him hitting you so deep and in just the right spots. Every time you drop down you feel something hitting against your flesh, then you look down.

You forgot the cock ring was still stuck on him, then realize it was the bunny ears. Memories of your friend saying how good the vibrator was rushed into your head, then you bring one of your hands to the toy. You press the switch on the toy, the low buzz sounds filling the room along with Jungkook’s whines. Once you sink down onto him again the product lands right on your clit, vibrating at an inhumane speed which causes your eyes to roll back.

“Oh my fucking god!” You scream, pausing your movements as you let the vibrator run against your bundle of nerves. You’ve never felt anything like it before.

You attempt to squeeze your thighs together, slowly rotating your hips instead as you let the vibrations of the toy work its magic against you. You moan aloud again, throwing your head back as the feeling of Jungkook’s cock so deep inside you along with the toys ministrations make your mind go hazy. All of a sudden you feel Jungkook’s hips lurch forward, pounding into you from below as he holds you by the hips to keep you still.

“Jungkook!” You scream, scratching his chest with his hands as he takes over.

“Y-You’re getting tighter on me, fuck, you feel so fucking good,” He moans, filling you to the brim each time as the toy continues to rub against your clit.

You can’t contain your voice now, moaning nonstop as Jungkook keeps ramming into you, the toy helping you reach your high quicker than you ever thought possible. After a few more strokes you come undone, moaning loudly as you tightly clench Jungkook’s dick. He lets out a deep groan, continuously thrusting into you as you ride out your high.

“Y/N, Y/N, fuck fuck fuck, I’m gonna-“ Jungkook grabs onto your ass tightly, letting out a strangled moan. You watch as his head falls back into the bed, his stomach clenching tightly as he releases a choked sob. You felt his cock throb from within you, but no release. The side of your mouth twitches upward, but when you see his eyes fill with tears once again, him crying aloud, you finally actually start feeling bad.

You lift your hips, letting his hard cock slip out of you as you roll over beside him. You take a few seconds to catch your breath. You’re about to sit up to take the cock ring off of him but all of a sudden he rolls over to hover above you, spreading your legs open and pushing your panties to the side.

“Hey, what-“ He grabs his cock and roughly shoves himself into you again, causing you to throw your head back with a moan. He has his hands on either side of your head, then brings his mouth to your ears.

“You’re so fucking tight Noona, you feel so warm.” He grabs your hips as he starts pummeling into you, making your eyes roll back.

“You’re fucking hot as hell, you moaning my name and coming all over my cock,” He grunts, “You don’t know how many times I’ve came imagining what just happened. But why can’t I fucking come now?”

“J-Jungkook, stop,” You moan, trying to get him to stop so you can take the ring off of him. But he doesn’t let up, too focused on trying to reach his release as he fucks you harder, grunting and growling as he picks up his pace. The toy continues to buzz, occasionally rolling over your nub if Jungkook angles it the right way, causing you to yell out. He spreads your legs further, tossing one of your legs over his shoulder to reach into you deeper.

“That picture of you bouncing on my dick, fucking me, using me to make you feel good, I never imagined how fucking sexy you’d actually look. And the way you moan my name, fuck I’ll come just from thinking about that next time I touch myself,” He groans, reaching behind you to rip off your bra. His mouth latches onto your nipple, sucking your breast as you grab his head to bring him closer. He laps your nub, licking up the valley of your breasts and brings his lips to yours.

You moan into his mouth, allowing him to ravage you some more. He brings both of your legs around his waist and you cross them, shoving himself into you faster. At this angle the toy is hitting directly on your clit each time he pounds into you, making you scream out his name as you clutch the bedsheets beside you.

“Jungkook!” You moan his name like a mantra, your release getting closer and closer. He continues kissing you, and after a few more deep strokes you come all over him again, squeezing him so hard he yells your name aloud, his cock throbbing uncontrollably as you clench tightly around him. His hands are holding your hips so tightly you know there’s going to be bruises in the morning, but you don’t care. You move your hips against him as you embrace the waves of pleasure, panting as you finally go limp. You’re about to slowly doze off from being so tired, wiping the sweat along your temple when you hear another choked sob. Jungkook pulls out of you, his dick still hard and swelled. The tip looks painfully red, the rest of his shaft looking constricted as he whimpers again.

“I-I fucking can’t,” He cries, his cheeks red and wet with tears of frustration as he looks at you with pleading eyes.

“Oh Kook,” You bite your lip. Maybe you really went too far.

You crawl over to him on his knees, carefully touching his length. He winces at your touch, whimpering as you lift it up. You press the button to turn off the vibrations, then use your fingernail to dig into the slit of the toy, pulling it forward as it pops open. He groans in relief as you slowly drag the toy off of him, tossing it to the side.

“And that’s what you get for being a brat all these years.” You say as you plop onto his bed, grabbing the sheets to cover yourself.

“What?” He looks at you confused, then his eyes widen.

“Wait…you fucking knew?”

You chuckle, “Of course, who doesn’t fucking know what a cock ring does? It stops you from coming, Kook.” You shuffle onto your side, getting ready to fall asleep.

“So you fucked with me this whole time?” He said in a low tone, venom laced in his voice.

“Fucked and fucked,” You said. “You’ve always fucked with me all these years. I was just making it even. Also we’re not telling anyone about this, okay?” You pointed back and forth from yourself to him, then plopped back onto the pillow.

Silence filled the room and you accepted it with open arms. You were just completely exhausted at this point, not having really expected such a good fuck from Jungkook. But hey, he made you feel good and you got your revenge, so it all works out. You were slowly slipping off into dreamland but all of a sudden the sheets are ripped off of you. Your legs were pulled downward, dragging your head off the pillow.

“What the fuck-“ Jungkook grabs your waist and flips you over onto your stomach, pushing your head down into the mattress while your ass is raised in the air. You attempt to turn around to ask him what the fuck he thinks he’s doing, but you cry as a hard slap echos in the room.

He smooths his rough palm against your right cheek where he spanked you, then brings his hand once again over the spot making you choke.

“You think this is a fucking joke? Making me lose my fucking mind, not letting me come three times?”

“Let go brat-“

Slap.

“The girl of my fucking dreams comes in here and sucks me off, fucks me twice, yet I couldn’t even fucking enjoy it cause I was in so much pain? You know how fucking horrible that is?” He grabs your underwear, tearing it in half as he lets it fall on the bedspread.

“Jungkook-ahh!” You moan once he brings his hand to your core, running his fingers along your slit.

“You call me a brat all the time, yell at me, yet I do everything for you,” He says as he lets a finger slip in, pumping into you as your wet juices fall down your thighs. “But you didn’t even let me come once.”

“Jungkook I can’t, not anymore,” You whimper, fisting the sheets as he plunges a second finger into you.

“Oh you can’t? But you came so many times Noona. Fuck, I even called you Noona cause I knew you secretly loved that,” He grunts. “I hate saying that. But I did it for you, to make you feel good Y/N.”

“Please,” You beg, trying to move away from his touch. But he doesn’t let up, continuing to touch you.

“I think you can go again. You never do anything for me, so you can do this. I haven’t even come yet,” He drags his fingers out of you, then leans forward so his dick sat against your cheeks and his chest leaned against your back. He brings his fingers to your lips, prodding them at your entrance. “Suck.”

You complied, opening your mouth as you lapped up your juices on him. You hear him groan behind you, slowly rubbing his length against your ass.

“God, you’re so fucking hot.” He leans back, pumping himself a few times before he aligns his tip at your entrance. You were going to attempt to stop him again but he pounds right into you, causing your face to fall flat onto the sheets.

He immediately starts off rough and fast, holding you by the hips as he drags you to him, fucking you onto him. You mewl, so sensitive from the last two rounds that you didn’t have the strength to do anything.

“Fuck, you’re still so fucking tight,” He groans, “God, I imagined fucking you so many times before, but I never thought it’d feel this good.”

“Jungkook…” You moan, slowly feeling the coiling in your stomach return.

“All these years Y/N, having to deal with seeing you in those short shorts, those low tops, fuck, you were such a fucking tease,” His thighs slap harder against your ass.

“Did I ever tell you I walked in on you changing once? I fucking ran to my room and jacked off that entire night to that image.” You moaned in response, thinking about the thought of Jungkook touching himself, pumping his shaft hard and fast as he thought of you, moaning your name as he came. And he was only a couple of feet away from you in the other room.

“But I never did anything about it, because you always treated me as the little brat next door,” He growled, flipping you over so you were on your back, then pushing himself right back in.

“Tell me Y/N, do you still think of me as a kid?” He grabbed one of your breasts, kneading it as he sucked on the other. “Would some brat make you feel this fucking good?”

You moaned in response, grabbing his hair as you tried to pull him closer to you. He sucked harder, pinching your nub between his fingers as he continued thrusting you at a harsh pace. He let you go, rising up to adjust you again, hooking his arms around your thighs as he fucked you into his mattress.

“Fuck, Jungkook! Oh my fucking god,” You moan aloud, slightly arching your back as he drilled into you, making your body slowly inch upward and closer to the bedframe. The hinges squeaked uncontrollably, the bed frame hitting against the wall each time he thrusted into you.

The angle was causing you to see stars, his length hitting you in your deepest and most pleasurable spot.

“Fuck, I think I’m gonna-“

He immediately stops his movements, causing you to groan at the loss of your blissful release.

“Why the fuck did you stop!?” You yell, tears of frustration clouding your vision.

He smirks at you in return, leaning forward until his face is a mere inches from yours.

“I don’t think you deserve it. Why should I let you come again?” You try to move in response, but he still has his arms around your legs, keeping you in place.

“Please,” You beg, wanting nothing more than to just drown in euphoric feeling of letting go against him.

“How are you gonna make me?”

“I’ll do anything! I won’t call you brat anymore! Just please, let me come,” You whimper, bringing your hands to cup his face.

“Hmm…” He contemplates for a little while, then you whine another please before he chuckles.

“You’ll do anything?”

“Anything.”

“Will you be my girlfriend after this?”

Your eyes widen and your jaw drops, not expecting that request at all. You thought he’d want you to suck his dick again, which you wouldn’t mind. But girlfriend?

He grabs your hand into his, then slowly caresses his face into your touch. He turns his face to kiss the inside of your palm, then each of your fingertips.

“I’ve loved you since I was 7. You’re the only girl for me, and we’re practically going to be together for the rest of our lives cause of our parents. My parents don’t want me to be with anyone else either, so we already have their blessing.” He smiles at your speechless face, then brings himself forward to give you a kiss on the nose.

Butterflies fill your stomach, and you feel like you can’t breathe for a moment. This brat has been with you for so long you never realized you actually loved him too, and you wouldn’t know what you would do without him.

“So do I take that as a yes?” He says, peppering sweet kissing along your jawline.

You bite your lips, but slowly your mouth curves into a smile. “You’re such a greaseball.”

He chuckles, bringing his lips to yours. You wrap your arms around his neck, melting into his kiss.

“Okay not to ruin the moment but I’m kind of fucking dying here and I feel like my dick is going to fall off,” He groans, feeling him still hard within you.

You giggle, giving him one last kiss on the lips before moving away from him. “Where do you want to come?”

“Fuck,” He grunts, licking his lips as he contemplates.

“I want to come inside you.” You nod at his response, “That’s fine, I’m on the pill. And how do you want me?”

“On top.” You nod again, smiling at him as you lift yourself up, changing positions with him. He falls back on the sheets and groans while he watches you straddle him, lining his cock with your soaking entrance. Once again you sink onto him, allowing him to fill you up to the brim. Both of you sigh in content, him kneading your breasts and you holding onto his chest.

You quickly start bouncing on him, wanting him to have his relief as quickly as possible. He groans as your ass slaps against his thighs harshly every time you come down, eyes closed shut as his mouth hangs open. You clench against him, trying to milk him out for his release, and he moans your name louder. You feeling the throbbing occur and you know he’s close. You were so focused on trying to get him off that you didn’t realize Jungkook reached for the toy again, turning the power on as the slight buzzing filled the room. Your eyes pop open and you cry aloud once he presses the vibrator part of the cock ring against your clit, making you writhe above him.

“Oh fuck! Fuck, Jungkook, fuck,” You mewl, moving faster against him as he keeps the toy against your bundle of nerves.

“Come on Y/N, come for me babe. Come all over my cock,” He grunts, and after a few more seconds of the toy against you you let go, lurching forward as you throw your head against Jungkook’s chest, crying his name aloud. He grabs onto your hips and plants his feet flat on the bed, fucking you through your high, and after another half dozen strokes he chokes your name out, coming inside of you in long, hot spurts. Jungkook’s warmth felt nice inside you, and you continued moving as best you could until he finished, groaning as he slowly went limp inside of you.

Both of you were panting and you could feel his rapid heartbeat slow against your cheek. He brings a hand to brush through your hair, bringing a blanket to cover the both of you before wrapping an arm around your waist.

“I love you Y/N,” He said, kissing your temple.

“And I love sex toys now even though it hurt like a bitch, but at least it brought us together.” You slap his chest, causing him to let out a chuckle. “We should give it a 5 star review. The toy sucked ass for me but it also brought me this beautiful ass,” He said as he squeezed one of your cheeks. “Pretty great if you ask me.”

“You’re still dumb and a brat,” You said as you rested your chin on his firm chest, staring up at him. You leaned forward to kiss his bottom lip, right where his mole was that you always secretly adored.  

“But honestly, I love you too.”

[pterodactylterrace]

Guys Like You Chapter 4

Title: Guys Like You

Chapter: 4

Chapter Summary: It’s not a date, but I’m totally calling it a date in my head

Rating: 18+ for later chapters

Warnings: Mentions of blood

{Prologue} {Chapter 1} {Chapter 2} {Chapter 3}

So, what are the odds of getting an entire day just canceled? Like, everyone just collectively agrees to go back to bed and skip the entire day for the good of mankind? Or at the very least for the good of one very tired single mother?

Briar had a bad dream the night before and came flying into her room just after midnight. Then the little girl had curled up against her mother in a way that had Faye contorted into an odd position, which led to the backache of the century.

Combine that with Briar's constant rolling and kicking and she also didn't sleep worth crap. Her alarm going off that morning sounded less like a happy little chime to welcome in the day, and more like execution bells leading her to her death. Naturally Briar had hopped straight up, entirely too happy to greet the day, and bounded off to plunder the kitchen for snacks. Faye on the other hand, ended up calling set to let them know she wasn't feeling well enough to come in.

Sometime around eleven in the morning she was met with horrific stomach cramps that had her wondering just what she had eaten the day before. Nothing Briar hadn't eaten, and she seemed just fine. Was this how she dies? A bleak implosion on an unassuming Thursday? Was she really going to go out like this?

It was during her next trip to the bathroom that she realized it probably wasn't death coming for her, the cramps were more likely caused by her monthly visitor showing up to kick her while she was down. Weird, usually she didn't really get cramps. Figures she would get stuck with this mess today. Now her back hurt, her stomach hurt, her head hurt, she felt like a walking zombie, and upon further inspection, she was a tired hurting zombie that had forgotten to replenish her supplies after Briar had mistaken them for candy and stickers. Just what she wanted, a trip to the store while she felt like death, with an energetic threenager in tow.

Half an hour of wrestling with Briar to get dressed and actually put on pants later, her phone started going off. That was when she remembered inviting Henry over for dinner that night under the guise of "wanting to try a new recipe and needing another adult to try it". In all honesty she was just trying to lure him back. She'd gotten a taste of having him around and found herself quickly becoming addicted. In truth, it was a recipe she had mastered while she was pregnant with Briar but hadn't made in a while. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

Unfortunately, it was looking like she was going to have to postpone their "it's not a date but I'm totally calling it a date in my head" for another time. A time when her body didn't feel like it was imploding and when she had slept for more than twelve minutes. A time when she could feasibly pounce and possibly even have a reason to break into the unopened box in her bedside drawer. It had been a going away gift from her sister when she had moved to England, with the explicit instructions to "go and getting that English dick" or something. It had been ten months and she still hadn't opened it. Turns out having a child that you are responsible for running around your house can take a toll on your sex life.

"Hey, Henry." Faye sighed, hitting the speakerphone button and setting the phone on her bed to grab something for herself to wear.

"Hello, Miss Warren. I must have missed you on set today." Ugh, ever since Mrs. Anderson had called her that, he had been a dog with a bone.

"No, I wasn't in today." Faye sighed, grabbing an old ratty bra to throw on along with her "I give up" sweats.

"Did you have the day off?"

"No, I'm just not feeling great. Sorry I didn't call you earlier. I hope you haven't left yet, Briar and I need to run to the store."

"I'm already on my way." Henry informed. "I can grab whatever you need, I'm already out after all."

"I need pads and tampons, Henry. I doubt that's too high up on your list of things you wanted to go shopping for today." Faye sighed, digging her knuckles into her lower back to try and relax the knotted muscles.

"Anything else?" Wait, seriously?

"Not that I need right now?" Why was that a question? Was this some vivid hallucination or something?

"Alright, I should be to your house in about half an hour."

"Uhh... yeah... see you then. Just let yourself in if I don't answer the door, I may be sobbing hysterically into my rubber duckie." Faye really needed to have a talk with that voice in her head that keeps her from saying or doing anything weird. It seems to have gone strangely MIA in the last few months.

"The toddler won't attack me if I walk in, will she?"

"She'll probably be in the bathroom reminding me I'm naked every few seconds."

"She did seem to enjoy that the last time I was over."

"You have no idea."

"I'll see you in a bit, enjoy your bath." Yeah, right. Who wants to bleed into their bathwater?

Naturally, her hyperactive daughter followed her into the bathroom, pointing out everything she could as her mother tried to shower. "Mommy, you look like a tiger!" "Mommy, you have a big butt!" "Mommy, when will I get boobies like yours?" "Mommy, you're nakie!" "Mommy, do you have a boo boo on your butt?" "Mommy, when do I get pictures on me like you have?" "Mommy, are you in the shower?" "Mommy, why are you nakie in the shower?"

Briar, her little womb nugget. Her angel. Her reason for getting up most mornings. The light of her life. The fountain of endless questions.

"Henry! You're back!" Briar gasped from the other side of the curtain, the sound of her little feet on the tile letting Faye know she had left her station at the edge of the tub to greet their guest. "Mommy has stripes, I'll show you!"

"No! No, that's ok." Henry quickly deflected, snatching her up in his free arm before she could scurry back to the curtain. Once was enough of that for right now. It had taken her mother almost a week to look him in the eye after that day. It had taken him almost as long to tear his eyes from her backside every time she turned away. It wasn't even like he was actively trying to stare, his gaze just kept being pulled to it like a magnet. If she caught his rubbernecking however, she never let him know.

"But she's a  tiger! RAWR!" Briar giggled.

"I can hear you!" Faye grouched.

"I'll leave this on the sink for you. I forgot to ask exactly what you wanted, so I grabbed a lot of options." Henry called over the sound of the water. "Briar, why don't you show me how you make that tea again?"

He must be an alien. That was the most obvious explanation for him. Guys like him don't make the dreaded tampon run. Especially unprompted. He does realize he's too damn pretty to have to do such things, right? They also don't entertain your tiny clone for you to give you a moment's peace. Nope, he's clearly an alien. The MIB would be by any minute to wipe her mind.

When Faye finally put away the veritable stockpile she had been graced with and redressed herself, she wandered back to her living room, half expecting fire and mild chaos. She wasn't expecting to find Henry reading a Greek Mythology book to her overly fascinated daughter.

"The minotaur! Oh no!" Briar squealed excitedly when he turned the page, a depiction of the beast staring back at her.

"Don't worry, little one. You see that man? His name is Theseus, and he takes care of that mean minotaur." Henry soothed.

"Snaps his neck actually." Faye provided, curling up at the other end of the couch.

"Oh, you're familiar with the story?" Henry chuckled.

"Who's book do you think that is?"

"Just because you own it, doesn't mean you've read it." Henry pointed out.

"Those were my bedtime stories. Now Briar keeps wanting me to read them to her at night too."

"A little mythology nerd in the making." Henry chuckled, poking the toddler's side, making her squeal in delight.

"Books are for nerds!" Briar declared, snatching the book from Henry's hands and racing down the hallway.

"Yeah, don't even ask me what that was about." Faye sighed, shaking her head at her daughter.

"Feeling better?"

"Feeling more human." Faye forced out around a stifled yawn.

"Why don't you lie down and rest? I'm pretty sure I can keep Briar entertained and manage something for you guys to eat."

"You don't have to, Hen. You've already done so much." Faye declined, pushing herself up and mentally steeling herself for the meal prep she had ahead of her.

"Nope." Henry quickly interjected, popping up from the couch and snatching Faye up like she weighed nothing, ignoring her surprised squeal. "You're laying down, I've got this." He insisted, replacing her on the couch.

"Henry!"

"What? Don't think I can handle one toddler? Do you forget I have nieces and nephews? I'm sure one child will be a breeze for an hour or two."

"You don't know my daughter." Faye mumbled.

"I'll handle it. I had to go all morning without my favorite artist. If watching Briar for a little while means you'll be back tomorrow, I'm game."

Clearly someone forgot to inform him he was an incredibly attractive, successful actor. Faye decided she should catch some rest while she could, just in case someone decided to let him in the loop within the next hour or so.

[abby-abs]

Finding the light

Gif not mine

summary: Abby rekindles with the reader who she was close to while in the fireflies at Catalina island. After the attack in the hospital, Abby thought she was dead but finds out she was alive and living here.

AN: the rattlers never found lev and abby and ellie never left to go hunt abby down. so everyones safe and happy. enjoy. :)

“Abby?”

Abby turns at the sound of her name. Dropping what she was holding when she sees y/n. She looked different from the last time y/n saw her, she was taller, her hair was longer in her signature braid, but the thing that changed the most was that she was broader, her body more muscular with scars all over it.

“Y/N?” They run towards each other embracing in a tight hug. “Is it really you y/n?, I thought you were fucking dead.” She sniffles.

“You thought I was dead?I thought you were dead. You just ran off that day when you heard the alarms. I’d thought I’d never see you again.” Y/n holds her tighter crying into her chest.

“I thought so too but here we are. How did you...”

“Survive. After you ran off the older soldiers began to swarm saying something about a mad man on a killing spree. Shortly after I heard what happened. Abby, I’m so sorry about your dad I...”

“You don’t have to apologize for.”

“But I do I left you there alone I didn’t even go to find you to see if you were okay. All I could do was run until o found myself in the parking lot. I saw him. I saw a man shoot Marlene. It looked like they were arguing, but he had a girl in his arms. The girl Abby. He put her in a truck and went back to shoot Marlene point-blank in the head. I couldn’t do anything I had no weapon I just stood there frozen. He didn’t see me though he just got into the car and drove away as fast as he could. I didn't know what to do next so I ran away as far as I could.” You paused taking a deep breath. “ how’s Manny, Owen, Nora, Leah, Mel, Jordan.”

Abby cringed at the thought of her friends. She seemed to forget about Leah and Jordan or Nora who practically risked her life freeing her from the elevator so she could help Yara. She wanted to assume that they were fine but by the looks of the map, Ellie had for tracking them down says otherwise. Mel, she could give two fucks about, Owen alongside her but Manny who was one of her absolute best friends was gone. She absentmindedly rubbed her face where his blood was once splattered but then she remembered Lev, the reason why she was here. He kept her alive and sane after what happened at the theater. Y/n notices the shift in her expression.

“Oh Abs.” Her voice was shaking as she tears up. They were her friends too, long before all this craziness of revenge. They grew up together, trained together, laughed, snuck out, got drunk together, passed around a pathetic excuse of a blunt, and got high together. Abby knew Y/n probably spent countless hours mourning them thinking that they all were dead.

“We found him. That man you saw, his name was Joel Miller. We tracked him down and I was able to find him.” There was a strange feeling in Abby’s stomach when she said that. She knew that the fight was over and she got justice for her dad, but mentioning it after all she’s been through,  how much she’s grown as a person all resurfacing but she knew that y/n didn’t mean any harm after all she had no idea what happened over the last seven years. “He’s gone no. We.” Abby looks down pausing briefly “I took care of it.”

“Good, Jerry was a good man he didn’t deserve what happened to him.” Y/n saw Abby rub her arm like she used to do when she was uncomfortable all those years ago. So y/n took it as a cue to change the subject. What have you up to for all these years. I’m mean staying not the whole murdering of that Joel guy.” Y/n stumbles on her words.

“Well me and the others found this group called the wlf and lived there. Almost all of us did rounds patrolling the area while Nora and Mel worked as doctors. And you won’t believe this, I was roommates with Manny”

“Manny! Of all people. God that must have been horrible”

“Eh, I think I slept more times in the library than my own bed.”

“Still was on his sexscapades?”

“Like a feral rabbit.”

“How did you even get roomed with him?”

“Alphabet. Alvarez, Anderson with no one in between equals roommates.”

“Damn the alphabet.” You scold jokingly she laughs but goes back to rubbing her arm so you quickly changed the subject. “Well, I when down to Arizona saw the Grand Canyon.”

“How was that?”

“Just a bunch of rocks but definitely beautiful. You would have loved it.

“If I didn’t die of a heart attack from..”

“Yeah yeah your crippling fear of heights.” Y/n interrupted.

“You know I still hate it when you”

“What finish your sentences.”

“No cut me off rudely”

“Call it what you want Abs you know you love me”

“Jeez, you sound like Manny.”

“I sure miss him.” She says in a melancholy tone.

“Yeah me too.” Abby copies her tone. “Oh y/n I want you to meet someone.” Abby turns to Lev who was watching the interaction from afar. “This is Lev. He’s a kid I saved”

“More like I saved you, Abby”

“Whoa, where did all this sass come from?" she says holding her hands out defensively Yeah, he saved me then I saved him and we’ve been partners ever since.” Y/n gave Abby a sweet smile. “What why are you smiling like that you're kind of creeping me out.” Y/n grins with a small chuckle pushing her cheek to the side.

“Look at you all grown up taking care of kids being the bigger person

“I’ve changed for the better. He helped me see that constant revenge will only throw us in a nonstop cycle of killing. I don’t want to be that person anymore.”

“You won’t Abby. I know you”

“You know fuck all.” she scoffs

“I know that you’ll keep it up. You're a people pleaser Abs, always have been.”

Abby chuckled. “How did you find this place anyway.”

“Helped a group in the Hollywood area with a nasty pack of clickers. They were heading this way and asked if I wanted to join. You?”

“We got a tip about fireflies grouping in a town in Santa Barbra. No one was there but lev spotted a secret door that led to a basement bunker. There was a working radio so I tried to contact someone. We’d thought we lost all hope when there was no immediate response but we got lucky I guess. We hopped into our boat and sailed straight here. You don’t understand how happy I am to see you again y/n.”

“So am I.” She places a hand on Abby’s cheek before pulling away awkwardly. “What house are you assigned to? Maybe if you’re up for I can take you two on a quick tour.”

“Yeah that sounds great, we’re in 574.”

“Well, would you look at that right down the street from me. I’m up at 579.”

“Perfect I can go there whenever Abby is bothering me.” Lev jokes.

Y/n laughs “I like this kid.”

“And I liked it better when he didn’t know what a joke was.” Abby quipped back at him lightly nudging his arm.

“Well, you both are welcome there at any time. Oh, How about you two come earlier, you're probably starving and have nothing to eat at home. I’ll make us dinner then we can head to the rations distribution to get some food for you. Then I promise I’ll be out of your hair considering that you that both tired from your trip.”

“That sounds great. We’ll see you then”

“Perfect how does six sound. That should give me enough time to prepare the food.“

They are ready to part ways but y/n pulls her into another into a hug, then pinches Abby’s cheek.

“Ow, what was that for?” Abby asked fake annoyance in her voice.

“Just making sure you're real.” y/n rubs her thumb along the the scar on her cheek. 

Abby feels a warmth fill up her chest. “C’mere.” she pulls her into another tight hug.

Moments that feel like hours as they stood in each other's arms quiet cries coming from both them. They finally part and say their goodbyes to go their separate ways.

Abby closes the door to her new house with a sigh. God, there was something about talking to y/n even after years of seeing her that felt so normal. Almost as if you’d two spent the past several years together and never had lost touch. 

So what’s going on between you and y/n?” Lev chirped causing her cheeks to burn up.

[nicknellie]

I had Thoughts™️ about Reggie so I wrote them down. A lot of what I say in this post will be me drawing from my own experiences so I’m asking everyone to be respectful when adding to this or giving criticism or whatever.

TW for dementia, specifically Alzheimer’s.

When Reggie was little, until about the age of five, he was really close with his grandfather (on his father’s side)

His grandmother had died long before Reggie was born, so his grandad lived alone

When little Reggie visited or when his grandad babysat him, Reggie would always have the time of his life

His grandad was a talented artist - he and Reggie would paint together, and no matter what Reggie’s end product was his grandad would stick it to the fridge and proudly ruffle Reggie’s hair

Reggie would help his grandad in the garden because caring for his plants was always a comfort to his grandad

His grandad would tell little Reggie stories about all the plants - how the fuchsias were little ballerinas, and toadstools were their homes, and how the dandelions would dance with the daisies and the daffodils

Reggie loved hearing all his grandad’s stories and they always made him giggle

They would play music together too; his grandad had a marvellous old grand piano and although Reggie was more suited to guitar he enjoyed plonking out chords to go with the pieces his grandad would play

One day, when Reggie was six, his father picked him up from school early

They drove straight past Reggie’s house, so Reggie asked where they were going

His father told him very simply, trying not to frighten or worry him, that his grandad had tripped over so they were going to go to the hospital to see if he was alright

Reggie was immediately worried - he didn’t want to see his grandad hurt

They found out that when he fell his grandad had hit his head and hip - his hip was broken and while he was in hospital he needed multiple surgeries all very close to one another in order to keep him alive

He was in hospital for months, having surgery after surgery

The doctors hadn’t thought that the head injury was that serious and they had been correct, but the many surgeries caused some sort of other trauma to Reggie’s grandad

Eventually, he was discharged from hospital and Reggie’s dad bought him a frame to help him walk

As the months and years went by, Reggie started to notice small changes in his grandfather’s behaviour

It started with the smallest things

“Blast,” his grandad would say, “I’ve lost my bloody keys, I bet that awful neighbour stole them!”

And little Reggie, only seven and very confused, would say, “They’re here on the table, grandad.”

And his grandad, usually mild-mannered and very kind to Reggie, would snatch them up off the table and snap, “You probably put them there, trying to hide them from me. Trying to make me look stupid.”

Whenever things like that happened, Reggie would put it down to his grandad being in a bad mood

But things just kept getting worse and Reggie couldn’t understand it

Once, he asked his grandfather to make him a sandwich

“What?” his grandad replied

“A sandwich,” Reggie had repeated, thinking his grandad just hadn’t heard him

He got a blank look in return

“I... a what, son?”

“A sandwich, grandad.”

“I... I don’t know... No, I can’t.”

Reggie hadn’t had an explanation for that one. He got up and made his own sandwich and one for his grandad too, which remained uneaten

Another day, when Reggie was about ten, he and his grandad were going to go on a walk together

“Don’t forget to lock the door, grandad.”

“Lock the door?”

Reggie had turned around to see his grandad stood in the open door, looking utterly bewildered

“Yeah,” Reggie said. “Come outside and lock the door behind you, then we can get going.”

His grandad slowly came outside and shut the door behind him, but then looked to Reggie for help

“Do you have the key, grandad?”

“Of course I’ve got the key.”

He didn’t actually have the key - Reggie had to go back inside to get it and found it on the kitchen table

He came back outside and showed his grandad how to lock the door

“Well, of course I knew how to do that,” his grandad huffed

For the most part, Reggie could ignore it - old people forgot things all the time, right?

And it wasn’t like his grandad forgot everything; they would still paint together and they’d play music and his grandad would tell him all his stories about his garden (maybe just not as eloquently as before)

When Reggie was eleven, his grandad said, “Pass me the television remote, Arthur.”

Reggie had laughed and handed him the remote, saying, “It’s Reggie, grandad. Arthur is my dad.”

Reggie’s grandad had looked bewildered

“Reggie?”

Reggie had nodded, starting to feel concerned

“Yeah, Reggie... I’m your grandson, remember?”

His grandfather hadn’t said he remembered, he had just looked away and got back to changing the TV channel

Similar things kept happening: he would call Reggie ‘Arthur’, or the name of Reggie’s uncle, or what Reggie learned from his father was the name of someone he’d befriended in the war

“Why does grandad get my name wrong?” Reggie had asked when he was twelve

His father had sighed and run a tired hand over his eyes

“He’s got dementia, Reg. Your grandad, he’s going to forget a lot of things. Like names, and how to do easy things, a—”

“And his own family,” Reggie had said, remembering how his grandad hadn’t known who he was

“It’s not easy, Reg. And I’m sorry that he doesn’t always know who you are.”

“How do we fix him?”

His father had looked away - later Reggie would realise that it was because he was crying. “We can’t. There isn’t a cure.”

It had taken Reggie a while to understand what exactly dementia would do to his grandad - it was hard to understand how he didn’t know how to swallow a pill when he could sing entire songs off by heart before the lyrics had even started

Reggie tried to carry on as normal as possible

He learned to respond to the names Arthur, Brian, Oliver, Christopher, Ted, and any other name that wasn’t his own

He learned that when his grandad said “spoon” he actually meant “cup”, which was an easy enough link to get

But sometimes his grandad said “pillow” when what he really meant was “washing machine”, or he’d say “bird” when he really meant “paintbrush” and mistakes like that were harder to unpick; it made communication hard and his grandad would get frustrated when he wasn’t being understood

Reggie was keen to find ways to connect with his grandad, but it all felt bittersweet and painful

His grandad still loved it when they would paint together, but where he’d once been able to create beautiful sweeping landscapes there were now only blotches of dilute colours and the odd shape here and there

They both still loved playing music together, but now his grandad’s fingers would stumble over the piano keys and he’d lose his flow

His grandad could hardly get outside to attend to his garden safely anymore

Reggie’s father started hiring carers to go in every day and look after him

When they were around they would boss Reggie about and tell him not to get in the way

He understood they were just trying to do their job, but he didn’t like the brisk, harsh, matter-of-fact way they handled his grandad

His grandad didn’t deserve that; he deserved patience and kindness and to be helped gently rather than forced

Visiting started to get painful - Reggie would go to his grandad’s house and he would have deteriorated severely even overnight

Conversations had become repetitive and almost impossible - Reggie would answer a question and be asked the same one not a minute later

Reggie visited less and less

He never stopped completely, but sometimes it would hurt so much that he would leave weeks in between visits and his grandfather started to forget him even more

He couldn’t help how much it hurt - he had all those memories of spending time with his grandad, talking and laughing and being loved, and his grandad was losing it all; Reggie was losing his grandad right before his very eyes and there was nothing he could do to stop it or make it easier

He just had to watch as he became less and less like the man Reggie had once known

Reggie tried writing songs about it once Sunset Curve formed

Luke helped him sometimes, but Reggie didn’t like it when he did that - Luke didn’t have the right experiences, so his lyrics were forced and inaccurate and sensationalised and they didn’t show what was really going on

He never managed to finish any songs about his grandad

One day, Reggie was going through some old stuff he’d found under his bed, and came across a box of paintings he must have done with his grandad

One of them was a black background with a white emblem on it, a sweeping line almost like a road

Reggie spent the entire night painting the same thing but on a much bigger backdrop, emblazoning it with the words ‘Sunset Curve’ and adding splashes of colour

He was no artist but he drew upon every technique his grandad had ever taught him and it looked good in the end

He brought it to the next rehearsal, asked the others if they could use it, and they all agreed

When Reggie was fourteen, his grandad was deemed unfit to live at home by himself and was moved into full-time care

He couldn’t take everything when he moved into the home, so Reggie and his parents had to sort through it all

His mother just threw anything away that didn’t seem important; his father kept things with sentimental value; Reggie didn’t want to throw anything out at all

By the end of two weeks, his own bedroom was filled with things he didn’t need but couldn’t bring himself to get rid of: old cigarette cards, a collection of toy cars, a dozen flat caps, a broken walking stick, toys Reggie had played with as a child, hundreds of other items

The magnificent old grand piano now was in Reggie’s living room

Reggie would visit his grandad at the home

His grandad despised living with all the other old people, but the carers were good at making him happy

He liked seeing Reggie even if he didn’t have any idea who he was

Reggie would bring his bass sometimes and have the volume as low as it would go, playing for his grandad in his room

His grandad loved it

Sometimes it could get too much for Reggie to be there - usually a carer would notice and provide him with an excuse to leave or take a breather

It hurt having to leave without saying goodbye, but it saved a lot of pain and confusion

A few days after Reggie’s fifteenth birthday, his dad got a call from the care home

His grandad had fallen again and was in the hospital

Reggie visited with his dad

His grandad was in bed, practically immobile - the doctors said he had broken his hip again

Nobody told Reggie, but it was obvious that recovery was unlikely

His grandad was sent back to the care home to be looked after, but was bed-bound

Reggie visited as much as he could, trying to make up for all the time he had missed when it had been too painful to go

One day, Reggie was shown into his grandad’s room and sat beside his bed as usual

His grandad turned to face him, smiled, and took his hand

“Reggie. It’s so lovely to see you. Thank you for coming to visit me, son.”

It had taken everything in Reggie’s being to stop himself from bursting into tears

He clutched his grandad’s hand tighter and shakily breathed, “Always, grandad. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

There was a pause

“I will miss you,” Reggie whispered

“And I will also miss you.”

That evening, just as the family sat down to eat dinner, they received a call from the care home telling them that Reggie’s grandfather had passed away in his sleep

It was over

Whenever Sunset Curve made money from gigs, Reggie made sure to donate some of his share to dementia charities and the care home that had looked after his grandfather

He tried writing more songs for him, but still couldn’t find the words

Every now and then, he would find a birthday card or something similar that his grandad had written him - his handwriting and spelling had got worse and worse as his dementia had progressed but Reggie’s heart swelled when he read them

‘Dearest Reggie, happy birthday. I love you very much. Grandad.’

Reggie kept that little note with him wherever he went

When Reggie died, he almost hoped he would get to see his grandad again, but he was glad that he didn’t - that meant his grandad had crossed over, which meant that his life had been fulfilled

And for the rest of his life and afterlife, fuchsias remained Reggie’s favourite flower

He would see them dancing on a breeze and hear his grandad’s voice telling him they were beautiful ballerinas who lived in the toadstools

It comforted him on his darkest days

This is a link to a post I made where you can learn more about dementia and donate to Dementia UK and the Alzheimer’s Society.

[cosmiclatte28]

#6 A December to Remember (Jaemin x you)

Sixth day of Christmas

A December to Remember (Jaemin x you)

I do not own the pictures, but I own the stories :) hope you enjoy this

It is the sixth day of Christmas, you’re having your holiday already and you are simply enjoying the peaceful winter inside your room. You tune on to Christmas carols, turn the heater on and binge watch your favorite film. It is always the best feeling when you’re snuggled inside your thick warm blanket, with the pillows on their best supporting position and the amount of light coming through the window is not too bright.

“Perfect,” you sigh as you play your movie marathon and put your phone aside. Leaving the online world for a while won’t be a nuisance right? You almost fall asleep but your phone rings and causes you to jolt from your slumber.

The noisy ringtone doesn’t end even after you leave the caller there, lazily you pause your film and reach out to pick up the call.

“(y/n)! You did not forget right that you asked me to pick you up at four to drive you to the mall, right?” your best friend Jeno called and the first sentence he mutters was that.

You shake your head and scramble from your bed to fix your face and change to appropriate clothes. You glance over your phone “No I did not forget. I am preparing myself.” You lie and Jeno just buy your lie, he can clearly hear you running to rush your preparation.

You jump on your bed, “Shit-“you curse slowly when you totally forgot about this.

“Why? You forgot?” Jeno sounds confused on the other side.

“Don’t run. I’ll wait, besides I am not on the way yet.” He sits down on his sofa when he knows you’re not ready yet. What’s the point of waiting inside his car when you’re not ready yet?

“Give me 15 minutes and you can pick me up. Thanks, Jeno,” you hung up as you quickly take a shower, do your hair and apply a thin make up.

How could you forget, tonight is the night you and the Dream squad gather in Chenle’s big mansion to celebrate your late Christmas and just hang out until the year comes to an end. You were going to do the countdown with them and maybe stay over if you’re too tired to go home.

You’re glad you’ve packed your belongings last night and you just need to change into a nice costume tonight. You did not bother putting on a full make up, you just do what’s comfortable for you and right on time when you spray your perfume, your phone rings.

Jeno’s name appears and you gladly pick it up, “I am going down.”

“Hey there!” you greet him heartily when you make it into his car. “Here’s something for you. Merry Christmas and happy new year!” you hand him a bottle of perfume. His eyes twinkle, “Woah are you my santa?” he asks. You chuckle and shake your head, “No. I gave that because you’re my favorite and I want to give you a present. I will be buying the present for the secret santa now.”

“Woah thank you! So shall we go?” his map starts navigating the car and the two of you made it into the mall in half an hour.

“Want me to go with you or do you want me to meet you here later? Maybe you want to keep it anonymous the prize…” the taller man raises his brow.

You’re glad Jeno is a smart one, of course it won’t be fun if he knows what you are buying. So, after you two agreed on a time and a meeting place, you split up.

You use the directory to find the electronic shop you’re looking for and rush there. You know the person receiving this gift will be super happy, this person loves this thing so much and you happened to successfully make yourself skip coffees for weeks to be able to afford this gift.

You smile when the cashier hands you a nicely wrapped present. You did not take the bag and just bring the present in your bag.

You find Jeno waiting for you and you told him you’re ready to head to Chenle’s.

Chenle’s big house is always the best place to party and just gather around. Your friends are present there too and the other Dreamies are bringing along their significant others. You thank Jeno for the ride and waltz to greet your boyfriend with a surprise back hug.

“Nana!” you giggle when you successfully surprise him with a back hug and the blonde man jumps a little.

“(y/n)!! Sorry I cannot pick you up, my mother just came back from Paris.” Nana greets you into a tight hug and even kisses your cheek although there is Renjun and Jisung there.

“I miss you!” you change the topic, you’re already here with him and that is all that matter.

“Don’t challenge me. You did not know how hard it for me was to keep my head straight when you are running around in my head!” he dramatically gasps and you playfully pinch his cheeks, “My drama king. Just being away for a week to attend a Winter course for his dancing and acts like you’re back from the war!”

He giggles, “That is how much I miss you! It feels like hell! The training was tiring, and they did not allow us to use our phone during breaks. I couldn’t call you and at night the Internet sucks.” Jaemin explained. Well, he was in Russia one week ago to join a ballet winter course. He almost turned the offer down because he did not want to be away from you, but you reminded him how hard he worked and how hard was it to get a chance to join the workshop. So, with much bribing he left.

He did enjoy the class; he learned many new skills and Jaemin is more than excited to teach them to his own ballet class. You know Jaemin from your dance studio, you were there to send your niece to her ballet class and that was how you meet Jaemin. He is an angel when he teaches young classes the basic theories, but once he moves to teach the older and advanced class you see how serious he is about teaching ballet.

“Thank you, Jae, for going there and doing it for me too.” You rub his back, well ever since your car crash accident you’re not able to dance anymore and so when Jaemin took his chance to get to know you, you slipped your dream into his shoulder. You dated Jaemin for a good four years already and still going strong.

The dinner soon started and everyone of you are seated around the room, enjoying the barbeque party Chenle called for tonight and after dinner comes the game time.

Whoever has the idea to put on Just Dance on the screen, must be given a reward. Everyone is competitive to win the highest score, and while taking turn to play, you sit beside Jaemin on one of the sofa. Squishing yourself to half sit on the chair and half sit on his lap, He automatically rounds his hand over your waist and holds you in place so you cannot fall or slip away to the floor when you were laughing at how competitive Mark, Jeno, and Haechan are.

“Not cold?” Nana asks after he examines your dress. You’re wearing a dress while he is snuggled warm inside his favorite knitted wear.  You shake your head and he frowns.

You sip on a glass of wine in your hands to warm your body a bit. Mark opened a special wine for the night which is probably also why those three guys are super competitive over a dancing game.

“Wait here, let me take a blanket.” Nana pushes himself to stand from the sofa and you just let your body fall to the sofa. Your eyes are still glued on the screen and suddenly Jaemin has returned to you. He nicely sits himself back, have you on the same position and he drapes the blanket over your lap.

“Thanks,” you smile to him as he is being warm and considerate to you.

“Of course, anything for my love.”

The night goes deeper and it’s finally time to exchange gift. Everyone has placed their presents under the Christmas tree and one by one we will take the gift with our name.

Once everyone has done that, we all take turns in opening it. You’re excited when you get an Alexa home assistant! Wow everyone was jealous of yours up to now.

It was Jaemin’s turn that has you secretly holding your breath. Well it’s you who was assigned to find hm a present.

Jaemin unboxes the small wrapped box and was cheering when he finds a velvet box.

“Woah is that gold?!” Haechan already jumps forward to look closer, Jaemin laughs and feels his heart also nervous. What is this, inside a very nice box. Is it what he is thinking about? Or is this just a joke?

When Jaemin opens the box, he tears up and closes his mouth. He was speechless and Haechan who is dead curious walks to see the gift and he screams “THIS IS THE REAL DEAL!!”

“What did he get?” Mark also looks interested. Everyone is, you also play along to not make it obvious. You’re glad Nana seems to love it already.

“This, a necklace I’ve been wanting since long time ago.” Jaemin brings out the golden necklace with his zodiac and initial engraved. He gladly undo the hook, and with Jeno’s help (who is sitting beside him), Jeno helps Jaemin uses the necklace.

“Wow seriously whoever got me this. Thank you! I really love it and whoah what did I do to deserve this?” Nana wipes his happy tears and he just looks into the pendant with hearts in his eyes.

Everyone unwraps their gifts. It’s an hour to midnight and you all take a seat on the floor circling. Everyone shares stories, sends gratitude speeches and just reminiscing what you all did this year and what you wish to happen next year. You’re enjoying the night as you sit next to Jaemin and just holding hands as you listen to your friends’ talks.

“Let’s go out and see the fire works,” Chenle opens the door to his indoor garden and you guys flood the places. Looking for the best spot to capture some fireworks pictures.

“3…2….1..”

“Happy new year!!!” you hear different kinds of screaming and yelling. Everyone’s giggling and hugging one another, glad that we can start another year with good health and complete like this.

Jaemin pulls you into his embrace, “Happy New Year love,” he whispers and places his lips over yours. It’s a nice kiss to start the year and you smile when he pulls away.

“Happy new year too Nana,” you whisper and snuggle your head into his neck.

He hugs you close and when his friends pass by he just gives them high fives while shouting “happy new year!”

You stay with Jaemin under the bright sky from colourful and loud fireworks. He hugs you from the side and the two of you are looking to the sky.

“Thank you for everything, for being by my side. Trusting me, loving me, caring me! I am so lucky to have you. I love you so much (y/n) and I just want us to continue and take small steps together until we’re ready to tie our bond.” Nana looks seriously into your eyes. You blush and kiss him quick. “I’ll be here, don’t worry. Thank you for also being there for me. I love you too! Let’s hope this year can be a good year for us.”

“Also I want to thank you for the gift.” Nana smiles and your face drop, “You know?”

He giggles, “No one else knows I want this. I only told you and I got it for Christmas. It must be you.”

You laugh at your action, “Well sorry if it’s no longer a mysterious santa. Glad you like it.” You reach out to see the pendant and you really have no regret of saving money for this present.

“I’ll keep it safe and use it with me everywhere I go! This is like a piece of you in me!” he ruffles your hair and when you shudder from the cold wind Nana wraps his arm around your waist and ushers you back to the big house.

“Guess you need to change if you don’t want to get sick. Anyways see you tomorrow!” Jaemin waves his hand after helping you with your bag to the guest room Chenle provided for you.

You blush, “Thank you Jaemin, see you and happy new year! Love you!”

He smiles after closing your door and walking away to the boys room. It’s the best present he ever wanted, but you are the best present for him everytime!

He kisses the pendant and tucks it inside his sweater, if it’s near his heart he can keep you safe and warm right?

 see you tomorrow

Christmas masterlist

[vesuvian-american-fics]

Something Entirely New Ch. 6

Mending Bridges

You and Muriel avoid each other like the plague, will Asra help bring you back together?

(AO3)

Words: 1,624

Muriel dropped his large body onto the edge of his plush bed, holding his face in his hands. His nerves were eating away at him from the inside, bouncing his legs to distract himself form the rest of his trembling body.  

His soft bottom lip was trembling, as you were crying silently to yourself downstairs Muriel was fighting back tears of his own. What was the point in all of this anger inside of him? Was he only capable of hurting people? He never wanted to make you cry. Muriel pulled at his hair before stopping himself to breathe, trying and failing to calm his pounding heart.  

He fell back onto his bed, curling in on himself. He prayed for sleep, he wanted to forget what just happened, hoping that when he awoke, he’d find that it was all a dream. Yet, slumber never came to the man, he was restless. The vision of your dejected expression, your shoulders dropping, the tears about to flow from your eyes. He wanted nothing more than to right his wrongs and give you a chance.  

You were kind and gentle, the total opposite of what he was used to with strangers. All this time he was mean and cold to you, and he was disgusted with his behavior. Asra adored you, and he finally had the chance to see why and instead he continued to push you away. Now, he feared he lost his chance. How could he apologize, how could he make up for what he did?

Unbeknownst to Muriel, he had spent the entire night racking his mind for a solution. The early morning sun filtered in through his window, shining light on the dust that floated gently through the air. He ought to get outside and take care of those plants before you wake up, so he can avoid seeing your sad demeanor.  

Muriel tiptoed out of his room, peaking around the corner in the hallway. He cringed when the floor boards creaked under his weight, as light as he could be on his feet and made his way down the stairs.

When he entered the kitchen his froze, breath hitching and caught in his throat. There you were, sound asleep at the dining room table surrounded by platters of cookies. You had some dough on your cheek, he noticed, but then his heart sank when he also noticed the trails of dried tears there.

He silently moved outside, plucking one cookie off of a tray on his way. It was soft, fluffy and delicious. Just the right amount of lemon and sugar, damn your cooking could be the end of him.  

Muriel began to pull more weeds, the memory of your sleeping form burned into his mind. He was afraid of Asra seeing you there, alone and sad. The anticipation of who would awake first gave him anxiety. Asra would surely come straight for Muriel, scolding him for his words, but if you woke up first the guilt of Asra being unaware of the pain Muriel caused you would pain him just as much.

Soon he got his answer, Muriel heard the clanging of pots and pans coming from the open kitchen window. His heart raced, were you going to come out and talk to him or were you going to actively avoid him for the day? He paused his work in the garden to sit by the well and catch his breath.  

Just as he steadied his breathing you came outside, both of you stopping to gape at one another. Simultaneously your eyes darted away from each other, and you quickly walked off towards the market in town. You were carrying an alarming number of cookies with you.  

Asra woke up with the early afternoon sun, his nap from yesterday turning into a long night’s sleep. He stretched and yawned loudly, satisfied with the popping of his back. Asra looked out the window to see Muriel in the yard again, pulling weeds and arranging the cacti, and you were walking back up to the house with an empty backet on your hip.  

He noticed you and Muriel made not eye contact and never even acknowledged the others presence, actively pretending the other wasn’t there. He found it odd but assumed something must have happened while he disappeared to sleep.  

“I’ll leave it to Muriel to fix.” Sighing, Asra stretched once again and got up for the day. He hopped down the stairs and hugged you from behind, making you laugh softly. He’ll avoid asking how your night was, he wants you and Muriel to handle your affairs without his help until it’s necessary for him to get involved.

“Ooh! Cookies!” Asra popped a lemony cookie into his mouth and hummed at the flavor.  

“I’m glad you like them.” You smiled and quickly busied yourself with cooking a small lunch for the three of you, a vegetable soup with left over lemonade. Asra noticed your body language, you were anxious and distracted.  

“Let me, you just go sit over there. I saw you just came back from the little market in town.” Asra bumped you with his hip and move you out of the way, and lighten your mood. You laughed lightly and sat at the dining room table, watching him work.

“Yeah, I got a little carried away with the baking last night so I gave away from cookies to the vendors and children. Good people.” You fiddled with the hem of your shirt nervously, hoping Asra won’t ask too many questions.

“Is that so? I wondered why you came back with an empty basket.” He laughed at that and shot you a bright smile. You smiled in return, secretly thanking Asra for his fun-loving personality. You knew he could tell you were a little sad, but refrained asking for many details. He could guess what was the issue at hand. Speak of the Devil and he shall come, Muriel awkwardly entered the room.

Despite it telling himself to avoid eye contact with you, his large green orbs slid over to where you sat. His eyes widened when he saw you looking back at him and his averted his gaze. Scratching at his chin, Muriel cleared his throat.

“Cookies were good...” He stated, voice trembling with anxiety.  

“O-oh, thanks...” You replied, your eyes looked onto your feet. You guess he tasted some cookies while you slept, you didn’t know how to feel about that but in spite of it all you were glad he liked them.  

“Lunch is ready!” Asra interrupted, swinging the attention onto him. He carried the hot pot over to the dining table and sat it in the middle. He ladled the hearty soup into you and Muriel’s bowls before seating himself at the table.  

“I think I’ll eat outside, it’s a nice day out!” You said, and before you could notice the pout on Asra’s lips you were standing from the table and leaving out the back door.

Asra sighed and placed his chin onto his palm before his violet eyes met Muriel’s guilty olive ones.  

“I don’t know what happened, and I won’t ask, but figure it out.” Was all Asra said, before the two ate their lunch in relative silence. Just as they finished Asra spoke again.

“Are you upset with me?” He asked, concerned for his friend. Asra knew he could be a little pushy when it came to Muriel, he just wanted the best for him and maybe this time his methods were doing more harm than good.

“N-no... Yes? I don’t know. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t be.” Muriel stuttered out his reply as he washed their dishes. He looked up to see you outside still, looking off into the distance. He admired your profile for a moment before he tore his eyes away.

“I was jealous. But I didn’t have to be! I could have just gotten to know Y/N instead of being bitter. So, I was upset with you, because I felt left out. But not I’m upset with myself because I did it to myself.” Muriel explained, he wanted to be honest with Asra. He wanted Asra’s help but he knew he wanted to make this right on his own. He wanted to make you happy again, so the three of you could enjoy this trip together.  

He was tired of being bitter, tired of being anxious. All this time he was missing out on knowing you, judging you before you had the chance to show him your character. Now, he felt, it may be too late. He showed you his ugly side all this time, unprovoked. Could you forgive him? How will he go about this?

“I’m sorry.” Asra said, pulling Muriel from his racing thoughts. Muriel was stunned, although all this time Muriel was blaming you and Asra for his attitude, he never expected Asra to apologize. Now that he understood his own feelings, he didn’t want the apology. Muriel felt he was the one that should apologize to Asra, and now especially you.  

“No, it’s me! I’m sorry!” Muriel exclaimed, shaking his hands in front of his chest. Asra only smiled and laughed at Muriel’s reaction.

“Look, you two will get through this. You just have to apologize and make things right; you can do it. I won't interfere anymore though, it’s all on you!” Asra embraced Muriel in a quick, but loving hug before releasing the hermit.  

Muriel’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, he looked back to you, the afternoon sun making your skin shine like gold. The view made him blush; you were beautiful, peaceful looking.  

Muriel sighed before straightening his posture and stepping out into the backyard, giving you a regretful look.  

“Hi.”

[ninnodesu]

The New Matriarch, ch 2.

Tw: - Memories of rape - Brief mentioning of rape!  

Thomas B. Hewitt.

It's…, Sunday? Yeah, it's Sunday. He thinks before rubbing tired eyes to wake them up before squinting to the window that's cracked open. The sun's up, but it doesn't feel as warm as it usually is, even early in the morning. Seems like today's going to be a milder day.

Good. I don't have to overheat and die. He chuckles at his own bad attempt at a joke as he rolls out of bed. His back cracks in a symphony of newly awoken and hard working bones as he stretches, a grunt escaping his lips. He trudges over to his dresser and pulls one of the drawers out, grabbing the first t-shirt he sees. It’s gray and worn out with small holes in the seams under his armpit, but he knows they can’t afford to get new ones.

It will have to do, I guess, he shrugs and pulls it over his head. Realizing he probably should have taken a shower first, but frowns. He knows it’s no point in showering before going to work in cleaning the barn. His mama asked him the week before if he could help clean the barn, she wanted to see if there was anything of value they could maybe sell at a yard sale to try and scrape up some more money.

Even though the scraps of meat rejects he snagged with him home after a hard day's work were enough, his mama was longing for bread and maybe some fruits and vegetables. And those were expensive. So he promised her he would take a look and throw away obvious trash the next day he was off work. Which happened to be every Sunday. Before heading out he pulls his boots on and reaches for the mask hanging on a hook next to his door to buckle it on the back of his head. All the years he's been wearing it has turned his skill in buckling it to perfection and he fastens it while walking through the upstairs hallway, tired floorboards greeting him under his weight.

He stops suddenly at one of the stairs that makes a particularly alarming creak and bucks a bit, “Hm…”, he bounces as carefully as he can to not break the board to test it. Making a mental note that he has to take a look at that specific step at another day. Hoping it’ll not break in the meantime.

With a yawn he enters the kitchen where his mama is preparing breakfast to the best of her abilities with what they've got, some sausages she managed to throw together with whatever scraps he could snag with him from work, and eggs. In his heart he thanks God that they still had chickens.

"Mornin', darlin'", she says as he walks up to her and nuzzles his forehead to her temple. A small hum from him to wish her the same. "You goin' to fix that barn I asked you for today?", stuffing half a sausage in his mouth as he grunts. His own way of saying “yes”. He doesn’t like speaking anymore. Not since he carved on his face, a desperate attempt at trying to remove dead, and sick skin. He only knew pain during the healing period. And he lost a lot of weight at first, both speaking and eating only caused him pain. So he stopped talking. Doing his best to avoid unnecessary pain to his already throbbing face.

Yeah, don't worry, mama. Even if Sundays are the only days he has off work, he's still happy to help. And today seems to be a mild day. Even if the sun's out it goes behind clouds from time to time.

Rather today than next week. He thinks to himself munching away at his breakfast while looking out the window, not focusing on anything particular, leaving his brain a chance to wake up properly. Somewhere in the distance, he hears a loud burp, and then a door closing harshly, probably to try and wake up the last family member who was still snoring on the couch and then the sound of angry stomping wakes him up from his daydream and he lets out a small discrete sigh.

Great., he huffed silently at the sight.

His brother, Charlie, enters the kitchen. He reeks of both tobacco and alcohol,

Already? Come on, man…, Thomas just makes a grimace behind the leather as he follows him with his eyes. Usually, it was when Charlie had alcohol still running in his blood that he barked orders at Thomas, so he was used to Charlie drinking not being the best of signs. He never really did like when he drank, even less so early in the morning. Sure, the slaughterhouse had a worse smell, but that smell he was used to.

Charlie plops himself down at the kitchen table and just violently stabs one of the sausages with a fork.

"Mornin', mama.” His twisted and crooked smile directed towards their mother, before his eyes drilled into Thomas and he returned the stare. A tired but fierce stare off between the brothers. “Remember what mama told you, boy. You're goin' to clean the barn.", Charlie nods at him with a really childish tone at the end and Thomas grunts a reply before looking away, annoyed.

"Leave Tommy alone, Charlie!”, their mama scolds him and lightly smacks his head with her towel. “He's already done promised me that he's gonna. Let the boy finish eatin' his breakfast in peace."

Thomas lowers his head and smirks behind his mask while looking down at his plate. Mama always has his back.

"Yes, mama.", Charlie's voice is low but he gives the big man in front of him an annoyed stare. "Mama's boy…" he mutters under his breath before starting to eat the impaled sausage.

By the time Thomas has finished his breakfast, he hears shuffling from the living room and his uncle stumbles into the kitchen on tired legs. His uncle has never really seemed to pay him much mind, so Thomas does the same as he puts his plate in the sink. All he does is give him a nod on his way over to thank his mother for the breakfast by giving her a small kiss on the cheek through his mask and rub her shoulder before heading out to the barn.

Thank you, mama.

Outside, it's cool - for once - and he can't help but to close his eyes and relax when he feels a breeze caress the part of his face not covered up. He raises a hand and touches his mask, wishing he could feel the breeze on his entire face. But he knows better. Charlie would just harass him if he caught him without it.

Forget it. He shakes that thought away and trudges over to the barn and gives out a loud groan when he sees how much he actually has to do today.

I'll be sore tomorrow at work…

Hours go by. Lunch is over before he even realizes he's eaten it. The clouds have gathered over his head and he's afraid it'll start raining before he's done. On his way in to gather more junk lying around he hears something, a voice.

What th-....  He stops, trying to listen and see if he hears it again. Silence.

Maybe I'm imagining things. He shrugs, but then hears it again. "Please, help me!”, He gazes out towards the wheat field, squinting eyes trying to see something. He still can’t see anyone, though. He’s sure he did hear someone. He turns to look towards the main house to see if it came from there, but nothing. Not his name, no sounds coming from the house that would indicate someone came to hurt his family.

“Hm…”, he takes one step, and then one more away from the barn, toward the general direction he thought the voice came from. His curiosity has peaked.

After a few minutes of silence has passed he’s suddenly startled and his head jerks toward one of the walls where he sees a woman.

What the he-... where did you co-, his inner monologue is interrupted by her hoarse voice. “Please… please help me.”, it’s hard to hear, but knowing how rough his own voice is after so many years of choosing to be silent he’s learned to distinguish words. Seeing her walk towards him makes him back up himself. She’s all beaten up. Hair is more of a mess than his own and she smells of sweat, blood and earth. She’s so much smaller than him in height, not that he’s particularly surprised, honestly. Clothed in something that looks like several  potato sacks badly put together through the years to accommodate her growth. She’s dirty, and it looks like she’s badly hurt. He just watches her at first. “I beg of you. They’re chasing me. I need… I need help.”

You look like you’ve been through Hell... His eyes flicker towards the main house when he notices that she's not looking directly at him, but rather outside. Suddenly, he reacts to footsteps. Close ones and he turns his attention to them, tilting his head and listening to them. Following them.

Deep into concentration he feels small, weak fingers gripping the hem of his rolled up sleeve, tugging at it to get his attention. “Please…”.

He lets out a sigh. You must be truly desperate to reach out for me, lady. His head is directed towards a sound, and around the corner comes a man, and he looks straight at him as he takes a step in front of the strange woman, shielding her, Thomas stares at the man.

“Ah, good. I see you found our sister, there. I’ve been looking for her.”, Something tells Thomas it’s just lies. “I can take care of her now. She’s uh… She’s unwell ”, the last word came out as a whisper, something that shouldn’t be talked about.

Thomas just stands there, crossing his bulky arms over his huge chest, trying his best to look intimidating enough to avoid any violence.

You really think I’m falling for that, huh?, he smirks behind his mask and tilts his head to the side.

A stare off ensues. One huge man looking down at the smaller one. The bull versus the fox. Thomas lets out a big huff that sounds like a mixture between a laugh and a sound an annoyed bull makes.

I’ll humour you, but only because it’s fun to see you try.

“Look, we’re just here to take her back to her room so we can take care of her, okay? That’s all there is.” The stranger takes a step forward, and Thomas manages to hear whispers close by.

There’s more of you, huh?

Thomas looks down at the girl who has curled into a tiny ball behind his legs when he feels his pant leg start to shake slightly where she started gripping it out of fear.

“No.”, it’s dark, and hoarse, but it only helps to convey his statement. “No?”, the man mimics, suddenly realizing that his lie had failed. “Heheh. I see. That bitch told you, didn’t she? Well, this one is ours. We bought her. She is our property.”, Thomas frowns when he sees a sneer appear on the stranger. Then he chuckles darkly.

What the hell are you talking about?

“Tell you what, big man? If you hand her over to us, we can arrange a fee for you.” His leg suddenly gets warm as she hugs closer to him, clings to him, even. Like he’s some kind of life preserve for her. And that’s when his brain switches.

You can relax, I’m not letting them take you, he puts a hand on her head to try and convey his inner monologue and conversation with her. “Leave.”, he hasn’t spoken this much in months. But he wants her to know that she can stay, at least until his mama has had her say in it. “I’m not leaving until I get my property back!”, the stranger practically roars as he lifts the gun he’s been holding behind his thigh.

Thomas’ eyes darken at the sight, he truly doesn’t want to resolve to violence, at least not if his family isn’t involved, there’s no point. And as far as he’s concerned, this woman is not family. “You’re one big beast, you know that?”, a small chuckle emitted from the gun wielding maniac standing in front of the pair.

Then, like a gift from heaven - for once - he sees Charlie as he butts the stranger with the end of his own shotgun. The man falls to the barn floor. It’s not until he hears the thud that Thomas finally relaxes his stance a tiny bit.

Useful, for once.

“Who the fuck is that, Tommy?”, Charlie nods towards the scared girl still behind Thomas’ leg, who's desperately trying to curl into a smaller ball. Thomas’ looks down at her at first and then just… shrugs. He has no idea who she is. All he knows is that she’s the first person ever in his entire life who has been this adamant with getting his help. He puts his hand back on her head again and slowly strokes her messy hair.

It’s okay, now.

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

You.

Your sight darkens slightly and you fall into shadows as something big steps in front of you, and you look up to see him look toward something. You follow his gaze and see him, the one who had shot you and you take a step back behind the giant in an attempt to completely disappear out of sight. Why is he alone? Where’s the rest?!, your brain starts to go into that panicked state and you fall to the floor, your legs can’t keep you up anymore as fear sets in. You can’t see anyone else. There were at least three… Three… and… the dog… “Ah, good. I see you found our sister, there. I’ve been looking for her.” Liar.

“I can take care of her now. She’s uh… She’s unwell”, you jerk your head and eyes towards him when you hear his disgusting voice. You glance up at the huge man when you see his hands raise as he crosses them over his chest. You take a big gulp of air. He’s huge…

Silence.

You jump a bit at the moment the giant huffs. “Look, we’re just here to take her back to her room so we can take care of her, okay? That’s all there is.”, you flinch when you hear a shuffle towards you both.

No, no no no no. Not the box, please. Anything but that fucking box!  You curl up, instinct kicking in as you start to grab at the strange man’s pant leg while shaking. You’re so scared. You look up at him when you feel a pair of eyes gaze at you. And that’s when you finally manage to see his face. Or, whatever there was of it. It’s covered in a mask.

Strange… But his eyes seem kind. Light blue, you can’t see any kind of hate in them. You can’t really see any clear emotion at all, actually.

“No. ”, a shiver runs down your spine when you hear his voice. It’s dark, almost as hoarse as your own. But you feel safer than you’ve felt since you started running. “No?”, the man with the gun mimics, his voice is low, and clings to your ears and nerves as black tar.

You zone out, memories starting to trickle into your brain. Memories that makes you nauseous. Memories of his voice sticking in your ears as he forced himself into you, his tongue tracing venomous trails across every part it could reach. This disgusting voice, this sticky and tar like voice of his. You hate it. You hate it so much. In the middle of remembering all the sticky things his voice told you, you wrap your arms around the big leg in front of you, and bury your face in it, shielding yourself. Right now, the only safe place you can remember in your life is this man.

That’s when you feel a hand on your head. It’s not clamping down to hurt you, or to force your face up to make you recieve some disgusting load. It’s just… there. It’s there like a warmth, a helmet. A way to comfort you, you make you realize he wants to help you.

“Leave. ”, that same dark voice speaks. His whole body vibrates. “I’m not leaving until I get my property back!”

Shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up!, you press your eyes shut. Just hoping it will end. You keep your eyes shut. Not wanting to see his face anymore, not wanting to be here anymore. You just want everything and anything to end. You want to wake up from this nightmare. And that’s when you hear a thud and another voice speak out.

“Who the fuck is that, Tommy?”

Tommy? Wh… Who’s “Tommy”?, your brain is too tired to fully function and put two and two together.

This new voice sounds older, it’s definitely another man. But you can’t place him. It’s new. It isn’t until you feel the same hand on your head again, but this time in a stroking motion, that you get the courage to look up. But you can’t relax yet. You know there’s more people here. Around the house. You’re just not sure where they are. So you decide to try and talk again.

“M...m-...”, you take a shaky breath, and try to gather saliva again, easier this time. “Ther- there’s more…”

“More what?”, The old man spits at you as he crouches down to your eye level and looks at you, he seems angry at you, so you flinch further behind the behemoth, who all he can do is stand there since your grip is tight on his leg. His hand still on your head, intently watching as you attempt to have a conversation with the old man.

“O-... of them…”, you whisper as you nod towards the one lying down on the floor, still breathing.

“Are you trying to tell me that there’s more of those bastards on my property, girl?”, the old man spits.

He’s definitely angry, shit.

All you can manage to do is nod. The old man stands tall and puts his hands on his hips as he clicks his tongue. You stay put, almost too scared to move a muscle, your nerves still on high alert, ready to sprint if you hear any kind of loud noise. But nothing happens, it’s still. “Come. We’ll talk to mama.”, the old voice mumbles out, “After that, you’re helping me bring our sleeping friend to the sheriff’s station.” Before you’re able to fully comprehend what’s happening your protector bends down best to his abilities and slowly pats your arms holding him tight while keeping eye contact with you.

“Wh… what…?”, you’re confused. So, so confused as you look at him. He lightly takes hold of your arms and slowly pry them open to release his leg. “Oh…”, is all you can say as you understand what he wants and you release his leg by your own will, but still not fully grasping what he wants to do, at least not until you feel his strong arms under you.

One hooking under your legs and one resting at your back.

And you’re off the ground. It’s not until he takes one step forward that your brain sends a harsh reminder about the pain in your shoulder and you shriek out.

“FUCK!”, it’s loud enough - or you’re way too close to his ear - that he jumps, his grip almost slipping. The pain is enormous all of a sudden, and that’s when it happens. You pass out. Your brain, and body, finally giving up. You can’t run anymore, and you mentally accept your fate, not caring what it might be and you’re put into a deep slumber.