#conversations with no strings attached but there's always some part of him filing information and tidbits away that he can't turn off

[volivolition]

suggestion do you have... any wants? like obviously you do but like? suggestion my guy my ourple boy. both the easiest and hardest to write. you need a skill to say something to move conversation along but it doesn't fit any skill in particular? about 80% of the time you can have suggestion say it and it will make sense. but like actually characterizing him... how do i define you dude... what makes your character tick... urgh. i dont get you yet. im trying to understand but you are difficult.

[yuzukult]

acquitted love || sjn & reader

title: acquitted love pairing: johnny suh x reader genre: fluff, angst, co-workers!au, lawyer!au, one-sided enemies to lovers word count: 8.7k warnings: some language/cursing, brief mentions of sex but there's no actual discussions or explicit conversations of the topic, but generally pg-13 prompt: you absolutely hate johnny suh. but when your boss pairs you two up together for one of the highest profile cases, you’re left working close with your enemy but he doesn’t seem to think that way of you. a/n: tada!! i wrote this for the @/ficscafe fic exchange event!! so @urlocalnctstan​ , hope you enjoy this !! i tried to write it according to what you put as your preferences, but honestly T_T it was so hard bc i was just not getting any ideas!! hopefully this is something you’d like :D enjoy !!

“God, isn’t he just… so attractive?”

Along with a click on your tongue, you feign a hit in Hyeri’s direction, whose reflexes have gotten so much faster in the past couple years of knowing you and it shows when she cowers underneath your arm. She gifts you that not-so-apologetic smile, full of mischievousness because she knows no matter how annoying she can be, you’ll still love her nonetheless.

“Why do you keep talking about Johnny? You know he’s banned as a topic of our conversations.”

Hyeri rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her white frilled blouse. You know that she doesn’t actually inhabit any romantic feelings for Johnny, but she has a problem of thinking without the usage of her brain when she sees a hot guy.

Not that you think Johnny is hot.

No.

“Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t think he’s at least an ounce of smokin’ hot.” She’s unraveled her arms by now, poking your shoulder incessantly to grasp onto your attention as you're tapping on the buttons of the copier machine. “I bet if you asked him out, he’d say yes.”

You briefly glare at Hyeri. “You realize that he and I don’t get along, right? He keeps finding stupid loopholes in the system to win his cases. He thinks with his heart, not his head, and sometimes, with whatever that thing was in his pants.” And, not to mention that he walks out the court with that big grin stretched from cheek to cheek, giving the ‘good news’ to your well-respected boss (who you desperately seek the approval of but that’s a different story for another time). And every single time, she gives him that nod of appreciation, that ‘nod of approval’ if you will, when it should be given to you and not to some asshole who fucks his way to victory.

“But he’s so hot—”

You narrow your eyes at your friend, and with a stern voice, you call out, “Hyeri.”

She shrugs. “Honestly, though, he’s hella smart. He’s got a job here, and works under your boss. It’s Park, Kim & Associates—notice how Park is first, because she’s a fucking genius. She only picks the intelligent ones to work under her. Why do you think I’m still working for Mr. Kim?”

Park Seohyun and Kim Gonghyun—one of the biggest lawyers in the region, decided to join together to build their own law firm from the ground up. They were both highly respected in their field; Kim Gonghyun spent years of his life being mentored by one of the most famous judges, and as for Park Seohyun, she was, simply put, admirable because of the obstacles she has overcome to make her dreams of working in law to be real. Being a woman, young, and beautiful, she’s had her fair share of encounters with people who disregard her potential, that is until she met Gonghyun—who, admittingly is an old man who seems like he’d be traditional, sexist, even, but he proves to also make people realize how wrong they are with their impression of him.

But, as Mr. Kim is getting older, he’s gotten a bit… lazy.

In fact, he’s been slacking so much that he’s gotten a new rep in the office—if he was your direct supervisor, or your supervisor was under him, you were on the side of the office where all the easier, uncomplicated cases were assigned. Which meant that there was a slight possibility that your talents and skills weren’t as sharp and exceptional as you thought they were.

And well, Hyeri works directly underneath Mr. Kim.

Hyeri doesn’t want a heavy workload, despite the fact that there’s a plethora of files on her desk, stacked up one onto another as tall as her PC tower, and they were all open and closed cases—needless to say that she didn’t mind it.

“Okay, but you got offered a position under Seohyun. Do you really think you’re not wasting your potential?”

Hyeri scoffs. “Never. At least, not now. I’m still in my twenties, I’d like to enjoy my youth while I can, for your information.”

You quirk a brow. “And does any of that pertain fucking Johnny? The hot guy, so you claim?”

She immediately has her hand covering your mouth and you scowl. “Shhhhh, he works here!”

You bite the flesh of her hand and Hyeri instantly retracts. “You think I don’t know my archenemy works here? He sits directly across from my office—I get the best view of the guy and I’m not even one of his fangirls.”

“You’re not gonna be one of those girls who claim they’re different because they don’t like him but then end up falling for him anyway… are you?”

Your hand goes up and Hyeri crouches down.

“Stop it.”

“Seriously though! It’s the classic e2l love story,” she has her hands gesturing in front of her like she’s making an imaginary rainbow, “Two lawyers, constantly butting heads, accept each other’s differences and learn to love—“

“The fuck is an ‘e2l’?”

“Enemies to lovers.”

“Are you high? Stop spitting nonsense.” This time, you’re waving the stack of papers that finish printing in front of her face. “Meet me for lunch later. But if you keep talking about my archenemy and I falling in love, you can kiss a free meal goodbye.”

Hyeri gasps.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

Maybe. Just maybe, Hyeri might be a tiny smidge right when she says Johnny is handsome. Just a bit though, because she can’t get credit for something like that.

He’s dyed his hair this shade of brunette that sort of reminds you of roasted chestnuts on a cold, winter day, sitting inside of a cooker outside of your childhood home, baking along with some sweet potatoes your mom had gotten from a farmer’s market nearby. Johnny has this focused gaze attached to the screen of his monitor; there’s a dip in the fronts of his brows, lips tightened into a straight line, and constant switching back and forth from the computer while taking notes down in a book that’s laid open in front of him.

You wonder what’s running through his mind, or well, you’re more interested in what files he has sprawled out on top of his desk.

Truthfully, if it hadn’t been obvious enough, you weren’t quite a fan of Johnny Suh and it’s mostly due to his work ethic. He’d been notorious for his reputation of sleeping around—especially with the opposing side—so it’s hard to convince yourself that he didn’t win the case because of his actual capabilities, but it’s because he pulled some strings.

And Johnny doesn’t put much effort into denying it either.

Albeit deep down, you were a teeny bit envious of his confidence. He struts around the courtroom with ease, and when he presents his position, there’s no staggering in his voice—it’s always crisp and clean, weighted with nothing but credence, and never straying from his initial perspective. It’s never a lack of poise, it’s consistently the look he goes for; from the hand gestures and the furrowed brows, to the rhetorical questions in the end of certain statements that has the speculators and jury sitting at the edge of their seat, Johnny had a talent for performing in the courtroom, but that doesn’t mean anything when the way he gets to the success isn’t ethical.

Just at that moment, his eyes lift from the screen and meet yours.

There isn’t any hesitation when you scramble to grab the remote controller, and the shades drop over the windows instantaneously.

“Fuck,” you mutter underneath your breath, tossing the remote onto your desk and shaking your hands after. What if he thought you were admiring him? Maybe he didn’t see. Yeah. It was for a brief second, and with how close your offices were to each other, it would be common to accidentally lock eyes… right?

Interrupting your thoughts, the office phone rings and it nearly startles the living soul out of you. But before you reach for it, your head tilts to the side curiously because the extension number is familiar—it’s Park Seohyun’s, your boss.

What could she be calling for?

You don’t remember fucking something up—but to be fair, half the times, you never really know if you’ve actually fucked up until someone with steaming ears and a crimson face comes storming in. So… did you do something good? Again, you don’t think that’s right either, because other people would’ve made comments about it.

Deciding to swallow your nerves, you pick up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey!” Seohyun never fails to be bubbly, and you could never mimic her energy. You definitely had to be born with that kind of enthusiasm. “I have a favor. Hop into my office.”

Leaned back in her leather swivel chair, she had her fingers laced with each other while resting over her stomach. Johnny stands beside you (and you do your best to not look directly at him, especially after that weird staring thing), and you both feel like kids being lectured by parents from how still you are. Her office is huge, probably the size of both yours and Johnny’s combined; with ceiling to floor windows, cases of books that line the perimeter, not to mention the humongous ass couch that practically covers the other half of the room, and her desk was so wide, you estimate about four monitors would fit on there with still additional space for work. That wasn’t even the best part—the view of the city looks almost like a generic lockscreen of a Windows computer, and you’re not even sure why she goes home at night when she basically has a penthouse here.

“As you know, I have a favor.”

“Right,” Johnny retorts, mostly as a filler in the awkward silence. “So… what’s the favor?”

She pulls a box from her purse; square, black and made from a leather material with a lock pad stitched into it, something you’ve never seen before, and she slides the passcode in, then it pops the lid open. A key (a… very small one) sits in the velvety cushion, with nothing else occupying the space with it, and it looks comical. She uses this to open the very top drawer of her desk, and as she pulls using the handle, there’s another box inside, but this time, metal instead of leather, but still black.

What the fuck?

It seems Johnny shares the same thoughts, because he sneaks a glance over at you.

“You see,” Seohyun begins, pressing on the digital keys of the box until there’s a beep at the end and the case hisses open. “There’s a lot of security for this. Which means you understand the importance of it.”

Then, she picks up four manila envelopes and lies on the surface of her wooden top desk. “I have a family emergency to attend to this upcoming week. I’m boarding a flight tonight. So I’m leaving the Hwang v. Yoon case to the two of you.”

“Fuck—”

“The what?”

You and Johnny are sputtering out of shock. The Hwang v. Yoon case is the biggest case that the firm is involved in currently, and the only people involved in it have been Seohyun and Gonghyun. It’s been on every social media platform you could think of; from Facebook to Twitter, TikTok to Instagram—there’s even this weird website for emo/grunge teens or strange kids that like writing fanfic called Tumblr, and whatever that is, it’s discussed on there too.

“What about Gonghyun?”

Seohyun scoffs, closing the drawer and dropping the key back into her special box. Where do you even get a box like that? “He can’t handle this alone. So I’m kicking him off until I come back. I thought about letting the two of you work with him, but his ego is so inflated, it’ll get in the way of our chances of winning. It’s easier if it was just me and him, but seeing that things at home aren’t well, I’m going to need you two to step up to the plate.”

The room goes quiet. The only sounds you hear are the muffled noises of a typical bustling office outside the thick walls of Seohyun’s office, and at first, excitement rushes through your blood because Seohyun thought of you taking over a special, high profile case.

Albeit, another realization gets soaked up, and it’s that Johnny also came to mind, and that because it’s such an important case, the two of you would be… working… many… hours… together.

Maybe you should back out of it—but then again, this is such a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Imagine winning this— it wouldn’t be good for just the law firm, it’d be good for you too. Your name, in articles on these big fancy news websites, perhaps even on new channels, talking about how you, this amazing lawyer, won the Hwang v. Yoon case.

But then you’re snapped back into reality when Johnny leans over to take the envelopes from Seohyun.

If your name is on those platforms, so is Johnny’s.

God, this guy just ruins everything, doesn’t he?

“We’ll take care of it, Seohyun. You can trust us,” he says assuringly, a smile tugging on each corner of his lips with that dazzling gaze. “We’ll be at our best.”

Kiss ass.

If you had the option, you wouldn’t be spending your Saturday night here at work, in one of those conference rooms with a long table in the middle, a big projector that displays on the wall, and a random black leather loveseat couch that lines the one corner in case there’s too many occupants.

Especially since the person who’s accompanying you is Johnny Suh.

There’s probably a lot of people who would kill to be in your position (Hyeri being one of them), but you dread it. Not to be that person, but what’s so special about him anyway? What? He’s tall, has some muscles, long luscious hair that he can slick back with that sultry stare—wait, what?

“Alright, moving on…” From what? You guys just started? It’d been clear with Seohyun that the mornings would be dedicated to other cases, but nights would be considered overtime and where you’d zoom in your focus on Ms. Hwang’s justice. “Let’s take a look at the facts here.”

Johnny slips off his blazer, hanging it on the back of one of the chairs as you’re seated in another, leaning back comfortably with an arm resting on the table. He loosens the first few buttons of his dress shirt before folding up the sleeves, and that’s when you notice a little thing in the inner crook of his elbow—is that a fucking sunflower? Is that what he uses to reel girls in? That he’s soft enough to have a pretty little flower etched onto his gentle, silky and supple—

“Okay,” he says, interjecting into your thoughts with a laser pointer in his hand. He taps on the space bar of his laptop that mirrors what’s on his screen, but then, that’s when you realize what’s on the slides.

There’s a collage of pictures, mostly street, casually walking themed ones, but the common factor was that they were of Yoon Changmin, the man you guys were up against. They were all paparazzi-like photos, which begs the question, how did he get pics like this, and why did he get them?

“What’s the point of this?” you ask, voice laced with nothing but suspicion.

“We gotta get into the mind of the enemy.” You wanna get into the mind of your enemy, too.

You gesture to the one image of Changmin with an arm around his girlfriend and a finger up his nose. “Seems like he’s trying to reach inside of his head instead of us. These are just everyday pictures, Johnny. What’s that going to do for us?”

“Well,” he begins, turning to look at the wall of ‘evidence’. “You see—wait, holy shit.”

Freezing in the midst of reaching for your coffee, your head jolts in the direction of your partner. “What? What is it?”

“Holy shit,” he exclaims, “Hoooooooooly shit. Why didn’t I see this before? This changes everything.”

Furrowing your brows, you’ve given up getting your drink and dropped your hands onto the table. “Tell me, what is it?”

“This is a game changer.”

“Johnny,” you call out sternly, and his eyes link with yours before he instantly points to a particular picture with his red laser pointer.

“Look at that.” There’s pride saturated in his words, but when you look at what he’s indicating, your body slouches in disappointment.

Why the hell was he directing your attention onto Changmin’s thighs? Surely, there’s no denying that they were attractive—you recall that his alibi was at the gym that very night of the crime.

“What? He’s guilty for showing off his toothpick legs?” They were lean, you never said they were muscular.

“No,” he retorts, slightly irritated by your response as he rolls his eyes. “Look at his pants.”

“Okay…”

“They’re jean shorts.”

There’s a pregnant pause, but the expression on your face is so loud it can’t be hidden.

Johnny continues, “That’s a fashion crime.” He says it as if it’s an obvious fact known by many. “Not to mention that it’s fucking raw hem. He should be arrested.”

Suddenly, your opinion of him thinking too much with his heart dissipates because it seems like he’s thinking out of his ass instead. Did he win those cases out of pity? How did this guy even pass the bar? How about law school? How the hell did he even get into law school?

“I don’t think—”

“Listen, alright, just hear me out,” he’s got the palms of his hands resting flat on the surface of the table, doing his best to gain your full undivided attention. “Only assholes wear jean shorts. They flaunt that shit around like they own the place, but they’re horrendous pieces of clothing that should not be on a male’s body. I don’t care what you say, what your opinion is, because that is a fact.”

Puffing your cheeks, you feel at a loss. If Johnny is who you had to get this done, it feels like you’re not going to be finding much evidence any time soon.

“Okay, if… if that’s how you want to play it, then show me the evidence—other than those 2012 cut off denim shorts.”

He reaches over to hit his space bar again, then with a wink and a slide change, he leans closer to you and says with that deep, honeyed voice, “Gladly.”

You hate admitting when you’re wrong.

Ironically, you concede and will confess when you actually are, but it doesn’t mean that you enjoy it. For example, when Hyeri claims that the intern Mark had a crush on you, you quickly waved her off, stating something along the lines of, “I’m too intimidating; there’s better chances of him being scared of me than ever finding me attractive.” And then a week later, you owed Hyeri free lunch at that hip ramen place downtown because Mark had approached your desk that very morning with a bouquet of red roses flowers for you, a cheeky grin glued to his face with pools of hearts in his eyes, and ready to ask you on a date because it was the day after his internship had ended. Naturally, it wasn’t fun rejecting that poor college boy.

But, you won’t say you find Johnny interesting or handsome. Or that there’s potential when it came to possibly (just barely the slightest smidge) that you’d ever consider asking Johnny out. He’s your enemy here, you’ve mentioned that a multitude of times, and you stand firm on that very declaration, despite the fact that sometimes when he gets too close, your breath gets caught in your throat and you feel like you can’t get whatever’s lodged in out.

Albeit it’s not the whole “you guys are gonna end up together” comment that Hyeri makes and resulting in you denying it afterwards, it’s that Johnny might… be a decent lawyer.

He’s not the best one you’ve seen; the stupid revelation he had on the first day working on the case about the jean shorts is evidence for it, but it’s the days following that were slowly changing your perspective on him.

When you said, “He thinks too much with his heart more than with his head,” it was 100% correct.

When meeting with potential witnesses, you recognized that Johnny empathizes with people often; when they cry and start panicking from being overwhelmed, he's quick on his feet to put an arm around them, share reassuring words, and have them back to normal in record’s time.

And, well… you? You’re the one making them cry in the first place.

You don’t want to fully take the blame for being the cause of their tears, but people need to hear what’s happening, and the very detail that they can’t even handle this information probably means they’re not worthwhile as a key witness.

Johnny, of course, thinks otherwise.

He believes that these people should have a voice (although you’ve alluded that they might be more useless than helpful), and putting them on the stand with Yoon Changmin there would change the view of the jury to supporting Hwang Naeri.

“Listen, if we get these people to sign the form, we’d get witnesses and it’ll help Naeri,” Johnny claims, frantically moving his arms annoyingly as he talks, trying his best to express the gravity of the situation, “and maybe, maybe, money wouldn’t be how Changmin wins, but how he loses. We can’t have another person with jean shorts walking on the streets of our city like this—they deserve to go to prison.”

You scrunch up your nose. “Why does this always revert back to the jean shorts?”

“It always has to do with jean shorts,” he snaps back matter-of-factly. “Any straight guy wearing jean shorts with that much goddamn confidence has done some wrong in their lives.”

“Right, but I’m pretty sure that the crimes he did are mainly the reason why he’s being prosecuted against.”

“Jean shorts are the windows to the soul.”

“I’m almost 100% sure that eyes are the windows to the soul, but whatever. If you genuinely believe that the women we met today would benefit our case, then… okay. Let’s bring them to the stand.”

On the contrary to you, Johnny doesn’t have a hard time convincing witnesses to testify. You see the way that he works; those kind eyes directed at the participants, the pools of chocolate were sweet, saturated in nothing but tenderness and warmth, then he does that weird thing where he reaches for their hands and cups them before the words that escapes from his lips are enough to swoon them to stand in front of a courtroom.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a method to his so-called madness.

Aggression and bluntness don’t work, it seems, because when you’re the one attempting to convince these people to go against the man that had done them wrong, they’re less willing to do it. Something about ‘moving on,’ and ‘not wanting to relive those memories again,’ but if it was you, you’d want justice. Then again, not everyone is like you, and not everyone thinks like you, and spending this abundance of time with Johnny is slowly getting you to ease into that perspective.

So… the initial impression you had of him may have been wrong.

And maybe, just maybe, you’re developing some feelings for him, just as Hyeri predicted.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

His abrupt personal question is enough to have the coffee spill into your mouth to slide down the ‘wrong throat’ because you’re choking, hand on your chest as you’re tackling to regain your breath again and Johnny only stares in disbelief, blinking blankly. “Are… are you okay?”

You glare at him through a hooded gaze. “Well,” you clear your throat once more. “Now, I am.”

“Cool.” He nods, retracting his hand so he could rub your back soothingly, deciding it’s best to stay away. “Are you going to answer my question?”

Quirking a brow, your head tilts slightly in puzzlement. “Why are you asking this?”

Johnny shrugs. “Isn’t it weird that we’ve hung out with each other for a whole week—stayed here for nights and we both don’t know anything about each other?”

Tapping your fingers against the wooden top table, you sigh. Maybe he’s got a point; after all, “Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer,” right?

“No, I’m single.”

Johnny’s face suddenly brightens, ears perked, and his body straightens its posture in his seat at this revelation. “Oh, uh, I didn’t know that. You seemed busy in your personal life, so I, uh… was just wondering.” He looked anxious, but you couldn’t pinpoint why. “I, um, I’m single too, by the way, in case you’re wondering.” You weren’t.

The plethora of cardboard and plastic boxes scattered across the table was a representation of the night. It’s been long, exhausting, and messy, mostly because it’s a Friday night, the hearing was on Monday, and the two of you were nowhere near close to having enough to present to the court. In fear of disappointing Seohyun, the two of you agreed to stay over the office for the weekend to cram work for the case. There’s no denying that the atmosphere is weirder on the weekends, especially since, well, no one really comes here on the weekends. Johnny had to use the bathroom earlier and ran into the cleaning lady and she nearly shit her pants because she didn’t think anyone was here, so she had music blasting in her headphones.

Johnny is… interesting. He makes you laugh—or well, want to laugh, but you don’t give him that sense of satisfaction—and he’s smart but in his own weird way. He’s not like the other lawyers you’ve met, or any of the law students you attended University with because he’s more lighthearted and free-spirited than the rest, taking life in strides instead of just overwhelming himself in the abundance of stress that work brings.

He’s entirely the opposite of you.

And maybe you could learn something from the guy, but there’s something in you that brews hatred toward him. Possibility that you resent how easy he makes being a lawyer seem when you’re struggling in your day-to-day life to make things work.

But it’s way too fucking hard when he’s just… like that.

Despite all of that, he’s very generous and kind toward you. On rough days, he delivers your coffee order, the one you always get because he remembers what you asked the intern to get for you the last time, and he’s good at identifying when you’re just having that kind of day. You eventually learn he has a photographic memory (fucking show off), so when he saw that crumpled napkin with scribbles of what you want in that dumb intern’s hand, it wasn’t hard to remember. Which, by the way, is how he’s able to get into the most prestigious school for undergrad, manage to pass the bar so easily, and get into law school effortlessly.

And knowing this information sort of angers you more.

You know this isn’t his fault—he’s been blessed with a trait that people desire, one that you also yearn for, but the lucky ones get handed a lot of things in life. You wonder if he’s the type of guy who wins girls easily after matching with them on dating sites because of this stupid ass ‘photographic memory.’ Does he sleep with them right after? Does it ever get serious?

You shrug your shoulders and shake your head. You shouldn’t even let these strange thoughts haunt you, especially when you don’t even like him.

He’s a spoiled brat who gets everything handed to him on a silver platter.

So you’re left counting the remaining days until the trial so you don’t ever have to work with Johnny Suh this closely again.

Okay, well, it’s evident that bad luck is glued to your side because after you win the Hwang v. Yoon case for your law firm with that asshole, Seohyun is so impressed. So goddamn impressed that she insists that all the high profile cases are to be given to both you and Johnny.

To work as a team.

Together.

Jesus, this is Hell for you.

Surely, the promotion and raise that came along with it was definitely a plus, but it has you wondering if it’s even worth it. He’s been your unspoken enemy since the first day, and although you think you’re pretty forthright about your hatred for this guy, he can’t seem to read social cues.

When you’re pushing the double doors into the conference room the two of you often spend working on cases in, you expect Johnny to be ready for another day. But strangely enough, Johnny doesn’t have his laptop out or any of the notebooks sprawled across the table.

“Um,” you slide the strap of your bag off your shoulder and onto the spare chair. “Did you come late or something?”

He takes in a deep breath like he’s been holding back something. “We need to talk.”

There’s worry inscribed into his features; from the crease in between his brows, to his pursed lips, and eyes soaked in concern, almost like he’s got bad news to share and it has your stomach in knots. Was it that the case was thrown out? It couldn’t be, right? You both worked hard, presented your stance to the point that the jury and the judge were in awe with your findings. Sure, you had to cover Johnny’s mouth right before he was about to go off in a tangent about jean shorts, but overall, it was a good win, a hard one to go back on and pull out the wrongs of it. So what was it?

“I’m quitting our partnership.”

You blink. “What?”

He gestures to the room with his hands as if there’s anything out to reference. “This thing. Our work. The big profile cases. The famous stuff. I told Seohyun that I won’t be doing it anymore and she can revoke the promotion and the raise.”

You’re still not catching on. “… Why?” Was it something you did? Yeah, you weren’t a big fan of Johnny either, but were you so bad that he decided to not go through with the raise because of you?

“Because,” he pushes his blazer back, hands sliding into the front pockets of his navy blue trousers. “There’s a policy put into place. Those who are on the same cases cannot have any personal relations with each other that extend past friendships.”

“We’re not even friends?” With confusion written across your face, your head tilts to the side. “I’m not… I’m not catching on here.”

“I like you.”

Startled, the words you want to say are stolen out of your mouth. You’re left with a mixture of perturbation and bewilderment, uncertain where to go from there because Johnny asked for the removal of both a promotion and additional money that could be so good for his career… and it’s all because he has a crush on you?

“You quit the best thing that could’ve happened to you because you like me?”

“Yeah,” Johnny states calmly, sucking in his cheeks for a brief moment. “Ain’t that romantic?”

You scoff. “No. Absolutely not. You’re insane! Why would you do yourself dirty like that? Use your head, Johnny, you’re constantly thinking with that stupid heart of yours, and hate to break it to you, but it won’t get you anywhere.” Combing your hair with your fingers, you let out a sigh. “Go ask Seohyun for the position back. Say you made a mistake and—”

“I’m not asking her for the position back.”

Johnny doesn’t make any sense to you. “What? Why wouldn’t you do that?

“Because,” he laughs in disbelief, not because he thinks you’re funny. “I’m not going to force myself to work with a girl that I keep falling for. That’s self-inflicting, you realize that, right? You’re amazing, but you can seriously be so dense sometimes.”

“I’m dense? You just told one of the best law firms in the city that you don’t want to work on the important cases anymore because you have a stupid crush on your partner!”

“If we were on a team with more people, maybe it’d be different. But it’s just us two. You think I won’t fall any harder? That’s not easy. Every time I see you working, I swear I could be hopelessly in love with you one day.”

Your heart stops for a second.

This is Johnny Suh you were talking about here. One of the claimed best lawyers in your office, one of the most intelligent people that Hyeri has ever met, and Seohyun evidently backs this up because she’s given him so much recognition for his work. He’s the guy who worked with you to win the Hwang v. Yoon case, he’s the one who brought up the stupid jean shorts that seemed so far-fetched at the time, but they were a crucial detail everyone missed—it so happened that when Changmin bought those dumb shorts, there was evidence of at least one of his crimes in that store from the security cameras.

Any cis-gendered male who wears jean shorts can’t be trusted, according to Johnny.

And candidly speaking? You couldn’t even deny that. Your past two ex-boyfriends both wore jean shorts and the one cheated on you and the other one was caught money laundering.

“Listen,” he begins, interrupting your foggy thoughts. “I’m not asking you to tell me you like me back. I’m telling you because you should know, and that I can’t go on any further without letting you know. I’ll, uh, be in my office. Seohyun said she’d find a replacement for me.”

Hyeri is his replacement.

She’s great company and does a good job of helping you with whatever you need, but that was just it. Hyeri followed you, she never led with you, just as Johnny does. Agreeing with everything you say, mindlessly trailing behind everything you do—Hyeri was smart, but she couldn’t figure out how to think for herself when it came to these bigger cases because she’s never been given such a responsibility. But you couldn’t even blame her because it’s what she was told to do under Gonghyun.

“You said that you think Maeri snatched the bracelet?”

“No, I said if you watched the security video that the jewelry store submitted, it clearly shows that Maeri snatched the bracelet. Not that I ‘think.’ The proof is right there, Hyeri.”

She nods, resuming back to her work on the computer. Truthfully, Hyeri felt more like an assistant than a co-worker, someone to bounce ideas off of and to see from a different perspective. And as much as you hated Johnny, he had decent points. He had ways of making you put yourself into the shoes of people you never thought you were; although the guy was obnoxious, at least he actually was… good at his job.

Deciding you can’t take it anymore when Hyeri asks for the tenth time that hour about your beliefs rather than her own, you abruptly stand from your seat.

“Where are you going?”

“Out,” you reply shortly. “I’ll be back.”

It was just a spontaneous thought. It’s after hours, and although there are some people who stay behind to get some work done, you had your doubts that Johnny would still be here. He seems to have a better grip on that work/life balance thing people talked about (unlike yourself), but it didn’t hurt to check his office, right?

It’s a good thing you went with it. Because right across from yours, there’s Johnny.

There’s one single lamp that shines over the tabletop of his desk, and the other sources of light in his office are from his computer screen and the ones from the city skyline from behind him. It has him seemingly angelic like this, so serene, calm, and collected, only focused on what’s laid out in front of him. The sun has gone down, people have gone home, but Johnny remains, hardworking as always, despite your previous observations that he’s a lazy, unprofessional guy who gets everything handed down to him.

With a knock on his glass door, he flinches, head raising up and eyes meeting yours.

Were his eyes always this sparkly?

Opening the door, Johnny drops the pen in his hand and crosses his arms before leaning back in his seat. “What’s up?”

“You’re here late,” you state the obvious, and Johnny only nods in return, without a rebuttal in sight. “You aren’t normally here late. At least, before the Hwang v. Yoon case.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But Seohyun dropped something on my desk this morning. Wanted to work on it. What brings you here?”

Inhaling in a deep breath of courage, your hands bundle up into a fist by your side. “Please come back.”

Johnny raises a brow. “What?”

“Come back,” you reiterate, this time, it’s less tense and releases with ease. Caving in isn’t usually this effortless to you, but something about Johnny makes you feel… comfortable enough.“Come back and work with me again. Yes, I’m not supportive of how you do things—”

“Then let’s go out on a date.”

You freeze. Legs rooted into the floors of Johnny’s office, you’re left immobile and diffident on how to react next. It wasn’t what you were expecting, although you weren’t quite sure what you were hoping to anticipate, but it most definitely was not this.

“I—”

“I said my terms,” he retorts, shutting the book in front of him before shuffling up from his seat. He’s leaving, you realize, and Johnny’s ready to head home for the night and you’re not sure if you could handle an entire weekend with Hyeri here. “And, I meant what I said. One date, and if it really doesn’t work out, I’ll stay on the case.”

Chewing on your bottom lip anxiously, the next words that come out are out of character for you. “And… what if it does?”

A soft smile tugs from each corner of his mouth. “Then we’ll figure it out from there. Promise.”

This is… awkward. It shouldn’t be, but yet somehow, it remains awkward.

You’ve spent weeks with Johnny before, and those moments were in a room, in the middle of the night, and alone. Hours and hours were dedicated to work, yes, but it was just the two of you and nobody else.

So why is it so weird being in a five Michelin star restaurant with him?

Maybe it’s the atmosphere. The dim lights, the white clothed tables in lieu of the scratched up wooden one back at the law firm, and instead of leather seats, there’s a neutral beige chaise cushion for the dining chair, slightly less comfortable because it doesn’t recline like the one in your office. Instead of an array of photos and evidence disseminated in front of you, there’s a laminated menu with a multitude of options of what to have for dinner.

Johnny gets the steak with mashed potatoes and string beans, and you order something similar but seared salmon for the main protein. The waitress offers wine, babbling on about the age of the red, where the vineyard is located, and the dryness to sweetness—to be honest, you could care less; you’d rather have gin and sprite with a squirt of lime. A couple glasses of that and you can almost guarantee that the night would end with a deep slumber.

Oddly enough, Johnny seems nervous. Ever since he pulled up in his midnight black Audi in front of your apartment complex, he’s been acting strange. He keeps wiping his sweaty palms off the material of his trousers, occasionally swiping off the droplets that fall on the side of his face.

“Are you… okay?” you suddenly ask, adjusting your dress in your seat. Deciding to go with a black silk dress with a slit up the leg and your hair let down, it’s not a look you often sport but since you’re going on a date (one you haven’t been on in quite some time), you figured it would be nice to at least play the part.

“I’m, uh, honestly, I’ve never really asked a girl out before.”

You quirk a brow curiously. “What? You’re telling me you never asked a girl out before?”

He lets out a bashful laugh with a faint nod, making an attempt to swallow his nerves after. “Honestly, I’ve always been asked out and not the other way around. Not to sound like that guy, but I never really had to put effort into trying for girls. They kind of just…”

“—Throw themselves at you?”

He beams. “Yeah! Like that. I don’t really know how to react half the time, but it makes the whole dating scene a little bit easier.” Geez, he called you dense, but he’s over here acting clueless.

Either way, it feels like whatever opinion you had about Johnny remained true. He never had to try when it came to the dating scene, and you could only imagine what that means for work and the relationships he has with the women in your career field.

“Mm, does that usually happen with work too?”

Befuddled, Johnny leans back in his chair. “What do you mean by that?”

With a shrug of your shoulders, you’re poking the meat of your salmon that falls off easily. After the first initial bite, the fish practically melts on impact when it touches the tip of your tongue, smooth like butter and bursting with flavor that couldn’t be described by any common person because it wouldn’t do the salmon justice. Johnny seemed to put a lot into this date, and you’re left pondering what the point of this was. Did he actually like you, or was he trying to get into your head? “Just seems like you get a lot of special treatment.”

“Are you jealous?”

“In what way?” you snap back.

“Are you jealous of me because I’m getting this so-called special treatment that you think I’ve always had, or were you jealous of the girls that seemingly got my attention?”

You’re left without anything to say.

It was a good observation he made because truthfully, you never saw it like that.

In actuality, you often saw Johnny as your rival. He climbed the ladder in the field with ease, and it wasn’t hard to quickly blame his success on the fact that he was a guy in a male dominated industry, but the fact that there’s a possible interpretation for your hatred may be from these feelings you might’ve been harboring for him this entire time… that can’t be it… right?

“I mean, look at where you are now,” you begin, trying to defend yourself. It can’t be true that the reason you’ve been bitter about Johnny was because of the girls that got his attention, and one of them not being you. “You got a high position from—”

“—From hard work,” Johnny interjects with his brows furrowed. “I didn’t get to where I was because I slept around, if that’s what you’re insinuating. I knew you sort of always hated me, but I’ve always admired you. I like your work ethic, I like your style, even though we’re both on opposite spectrums, I like the way you think and I wanted to know what it was like being partners with you. Getting to be on that case with you showed me more than just who you were as a lawyer, but who you were as a person. I like you, but I’m trying to put my finger on why you hate me so much.”

“So you noticed.” Sucking in your cheeks, your eyes trail elsewhere—from the fork that lays beside your plate, to the glass filled halfway with wine, to the little candle that sits in between the two of you that flickers the way he has your heart when he expresses once more how he feels about you.

“Yeah, of course I noticed. If you like someone, it’s kind to miss details like that about them. So… you really hated me because you thought I slept my way to the top, huh?”

“I mean…” shoulders dropping in exasperation, you run your fingers through your disheveled hair. “All those rumors—”

“Again, they’re just rumors. I worked hard to get here, you know. And I’m kind of offended that you thought of me that way.”

You scoff. “They’re rumors, Johnny, it’s kind of hard to ignore all the office gossip when that’s all you hear. Plus, it wasn’t hard to believe either, with the whole flirtatious act whenever you encounter anyone who’s breathing and has a vagina.”

“I wasn’t flirting.”

“You need a book for dummies that elaborates on what’s flirting or not, because Johnny Suh, whatever it is you do with your body language in front of that chick who sits by the front door.”

“You mean Siwoo? The pregnant one who’s married to her highschool sweetheart? Also, how do you not know our receptionist’s name?”

You throw your arms into the air. “How am I supposed to know her name?”

He tilts his head to the side, genuinely baffled. “Do you… not talk to anyone outside of Hyeri?”

Your silence answers his question.

“I… honestly, I don’t know if I should be offended or if I should be honored. You think I didn’t earn anything that I have now, you think that everything I have was handed to me. On one hand, it’s flattering that you think my looks and my bedroom skills could do that but at the same time… I’m offended because you think I’m incapable.”

“I never said you were incapable—”

“But you implied it.”

Hands falling onto your lap, it’s your turn to gulp. His words come shooting at you, but you’re without a shield to protect yourself, and with the new experience of working with Johnny, there comes the realization at times that Johnny is a hard worker. There are some things that he says and does that aren’t like the people you’ve encountered, and being put on new cases with Hyeri only proved it. He’s thoughtful in the sense that whenever you’d bring up your stance on something, he challenges you with what the defense might counter.

Johnny makes you want to be better. Not just against him, but to brush off the dust on your skills and enter into the battlefield of a courtroom to showcase them.

“Well, if you’re staying silent, I just want to say that I tried,” the crinkle in between your brows makes another appearance because Johnny is great at leaving you stunned and confused. “I really like you. I love how your head works, and I wanna be with someone like that but I also can’t be with someone who doesn’t respect me.”

Why is it that when you’re in that conference room with him, you’re not afraid and never running out of things to say, but now you’re empty handed?

“I’ll pay for dinner. Grab you an Uber. I honestly thought I could overlook those things, and maybe your perspective for me has changed, but I could see it on your face. It’s the same.”

After that date with Johnny, his life turns back to normal.

Yours? Not so much.

Candidly speaking, part of you missed working with Johnny. You were wrong about him, so wrong, and even when you wanted to apologize at the dinner for what you thought of him, the pride in you was like a vicious plague that blackened your insides, preventing you from ever saying those words.

Oftentimes, you’d still be able to sneak a glimpse of him in his office with that same look on his face—full of concentration and nothing else in his mind other than the task at hand.

The cases you have with Hyeri entail a head like Johnny’s. Someone who could question you, to protest against your stance when there could be flaws in it. It feels like deja vu each time you think about it, each time you open a new case file and Hyeri sits there, perched in that seat beside yours, eyes sparkling with what you have in mind next, instead of what she has going on in hers.

Although you’ve tried convincing yourself that maybe, just maybe, what you feel for Johnny is purely professional but when you see him standing by the water cooler with a couple of your coworkers, eyes mimicking the moon crescents in the skies, replicating the ways his lips curl in elation—it was beginning hard to believe that it was all platonic feelings.

So maybe you should be bold for once. Pull off that exterior that displays you as someone who isn’t just independent and assiduous, but someone who’s stubborn and aggressive in getting what they want—and not in a good way.

This time, you’ll show it in a good way.

Or at least, you’ll try.

Johnny is a routine kind-of-guy—he grabs an iced americano every morning at the coffee shop downstairs at the edge of the street, he does his daily 11:00AM drop-by at the water cooler to refill his Hydroflask (which was his prized possession, by the way), and parked in the same exact spot in the parking garage of your building, despite there being an abundance of places he could choose.

That’s why you decide to stand by his car after work that day. Bouncing on the balls of your feet, hands shaking because it’s your turn to feel anxious. That blazer that once fit so comfortably in the morning suddenly feels tight and hot in the afternoon, and the weather hasn’t even changed. Your bag slung over your shoulder weighs ten times heavier than an hour ago, and you can’t stop your jaw from tightening.

Before your thoughts could spiral off all the possibilities of what the outcome may be when you tell Johnny how you feel, he’s already standing there, feet away from you with that dip in the fronts of his brows that you want to smoothen out the crinkles of with the pad of your thumb.

“Hi,” you greet, faint and peculiarly different from your other approaches. “Um, I just… was waiting for you.”

“Hey,” Johnny says back, the first few buttons of his shirt already unraveled, his blazer hung over his forearm and the sleeves are rolled up. “I see that. What’s up with you?”

“Um,” your leg was jittery, hard to control so you spat everything you had to say out as fast as you could before he could see right through you. “I just wanted to apologize. For everything. You’re admirable, kind, and I wish I inhabited those same characteristics you have. I think professionally, you’ve got great ideas, one that could be implemented into mine and what we did together for that case was just… yeah. We could do something big if we put our heads together.”

Johnny nods in agreement. The relationship between you two work-wise was obvious, he knew that much. “And what about… outside of that?”

“I like you,” you choked, barely getting the words out. “More than just coworkers, um, I guess, more than friends but I’m not really sure since you walked out on our first date,” inhaling in a deep breath of courage, you continue on, “and I don’t know how you feel now after I’m standing before you like this, asking for another chance and that I’m sorry.”

He stares at you blankly, and it leaves you unsure whether or not he accepts your apology. “You know why we ended that date early.”

“Well,” you start again, “can we… start over and try again? I promise I won’t tempt you to end the date early this time.”

And with that, there’s the signature smile that Johnny sports that swoons girls, makes their knees weak, and heart clench but this time… it’s just for you.

“I’d really like that.”

[snowgoldwaylon]

A Night At The Opera - Grigori Weaver X Reader

Performing is what you loved to do best. Meeting a young soldier is just what you always dreamed off, but while you were on tour for one of the most iconic operas ever written. And you, the main character.

TW: None!

"Y/N! You are live in 10 minutes!" The producer called, as he walked past your mirror.

You glanced in the mirror and just caught the last glimpse of him leaving the room. You turned to look back at yourself in the large vanity, the lights illuminating your current hair style which stood pretty tall.

You were getting final touches to hair and makeup, and it just so happens for this opera, you were the main star. And as hollywood rules states, go big or go home. So you chose the classic big, bouncy curly hair with curled sideburns to give it spice.

It was elegant, you had little glass flowers put all through it so it would glitter and reflect off the stage lights. You wore a stunning ballgown dress, with large bell sleeves. And for the finishing touch which the hair stylist was putting in your hair?

An authentic, diamond and gold lined tiara, which had a long, lace veil attached to the back. You simply smiled at how you looked in this moment. A makeup artist came over and touched up some spots and re-applied the ruby red lipstick you had on.

As soon as they finished, you looked over yourself and smiled. You pushed a falling glass piece back into place, applied hairspray, and got up. You soothed the dress out and turned to the two who had made you look stunning.

"Thank you both, you have made my dream look come true! I think I'm going to permanently hire both of you to tour with me!" You exclaimed, giving a hand.

They both nodded graciously, and bowed with a humble 'thank you' before you were pulled away by someone.

"Okay Y/N, you will be live in one minute. You know the cues, good luck out there!" The stage coach yelled, pulling you to the side stage.

You watched as the young man who played Pollione finish his number, Meco all'altar di Venere. After the dramatic change of scene and the curtain close, the audience clapped loudly. The moment you trained for was finally here!

You watched as Klaus, the owner of the gorgeous, all original opera house approached you. You smiled, and he gave you his hand.

"Miss Y/N, do you look stunning! I must tell you before you go on, we have special guests in the audience. Not to make you worried or such, but these guests are returning soldiers from the war. One in particular who you might have the chance to meet after, is named Grigori Weaver. He loves operas, and even funded this show to go on!" Klaus exclaimed.

You were taken back by the odd sounding name. Grigori? Is that Russian? you asked yourself. You smiled at Klaus, and gave a simple nod.

"Yes Klaus, I understand. Thank you for the information. I do hope to meet him afterwards!" You said.

The stage hand tapped your shoulder, as you saw two men heading towards the curtain strings.

"I must go, Klaus. Thank you!" You said, before taking your spot center stage, right up against the curtain.

The choir filed in behind you on the risers as you stood, singing small voice warmups before it was go time. You felt nervous, but excited. Your heart raced with joy and adrenaline as the final words of the scene were spoken.

That was the cue! With the final dialouge spoken, the curtains opened. The lights suddenly filled your vision, along with the large crowd in the huge theather. A small, soft smile was written on your flawless features as the orchestra began the song.

The flute soloist filled the room with warm, beautiful, contrasted music with crescendos and decrescendos. It sounded almost ominous, but it was beautiful. You stood in the pose as practiced before.

The bell sleeves hung beautiful as you would slightly lift your arms with the music. The violins cued your very first note, and you gave it your all.

"Casta Diva, che inargenti

queste sacre antiche piante,

a noi volgi il bel sembiante

senza nube e senza vel."

You maintained a professional and elegant posture as you acted the part of your character, Norma. You swayed lightly with the music, and smiled as the choir behind you hit the correct notes, pitch, and phrases behind you. You glanced out over the crowd, and right away spotted a man wearing an eye patch in the VIP section.

Suddenly, you felt the urge to finish this aria right, and with ease. Your next cue happened, and you let the bell sleeves hang beside you.

"Tempra, o Diva,

tempra tu de’ cori ardenti

tempra ancora lo zelo audace,

spargi in terra quella pace

che regnar tu fai nel ciel.

 

Fine al rito

e il sacro bosco

sia disgombro dai profani.

Quando il Nume irato e fosco,

chiegga il sangue dei Romani.

Dal Druidico delubro

La mia voce tuonerà.

Cadrà; punirlo io posso.

Ma, punirlo, il cor non sa.

 

Ah! bello a me ritorna

Del fido amor primiero;

E contro il mondo intiero

difesa a te sarò.

Ah! bello a me ritorna

Del raggio tuo sereno,

e vita nel tuo seno,

e patria e cielo avrò.

Ah, riedi ancora qual eri allora,

quando il cor ti diedi allora,

ah, riedi a me."

With the last note of the orchestra, ending right after your vocals pitched down, you struck an elegant pose. The diamond of the tiara made you sparkle as you soaked up all limelight.

Cheers roared and echoed through the halls and walkways of the opera house. Whistles and flowers were thrown as the curtains began to slowly close. You glanced towards the man with the eyepatch again, and saw him standing up.

He joined everyone in a standing ovation because your pure and effortless talent had shaken them to the core, but in a good way. The heat of the lights brought you to a pant, and small specks of sweat beaded at the line of your hair.

The curtains finally came to a close and you released the pose. You quickly made the way backstage to cool off, so you wouldn't look rough for the finishing act.

Producers swarmed you, makeup artists, and hair artists also swarmed you like buzards so they could doll you back up. You were to keep the hairstyle for the final act, but change the dress for a Victoria era wedding dress.

TIMESKIP, END OF THE OPERA

You gathered at the entrance along with the cast to say goodbye to guests as they exited the opera house. This gave guests a chance to get autographs, pictures, and words to say. You were of course, the first at the door for the order of namesake.

Soon, the hundreds of people came, and shook hands with everyone. You were signing many autographs for many people, and snapping many pictures for all. And you were very determined to make sure everyone who asked had one.

Soon, the end of the line came, and out came the man in question. The handsome, dark haired man with the eye patch and a handsome pair of dress blues. He made conversation with everyone, and you even noticed Klaus right beside him, talking.

They came up to you last, and the rest of the cast exited to get cleaned up. You smiled as they approached, and held out your hand.

"Evening, Miss Norma. You did fantastic. My name is Grigori Weaver, could I have yours please?" He asked kindly, taking your hand and giving it a small kiss.

You blushed as Grigori let your hand go, and turned to Klaus.

"This is the gentleman who sponsored the whole show!"

"Ah yes, Grigori. Nice too meet you. I'm Y/N Y/L/N. Or as you know, Norma. On behalf on all my cast and producers, coaches, and myself, we thank you. This production would have been lost if it wasn't for you kind donation." You said.

He smiled at you, and only you. He couldn't get over how flawless and just how polite you were.

"Well, as proven tonight, Miss Y/L/N, it's my pleasure. I do hope you stick around for more performances these coming years, da?" He asked.

"Well of course! I plan on staying in the opera for many years while I attend school and look for my dream job." You said.

Grigori looked at his watched, and slipped his hat on. While he fixed the collar on his jacket, he fished inside his coat for something. He pulled out a brilliant, luscious red rose and handed to you. You gratefully accepted as a blushed creeped across you.

"I must be going now, my job starts soon. But, for you, Norma. Maybe possibly I could come see you perform again this coming week?" He asked.

"Of course you can, I'd love that." You said, with a smile.

"Off I go then. Have a wonderful evening, both of you!" He said as he exited the opera house.

You watched him walk to his very luxurious car, and he looked back. You waved and turned on your heel, walking back with Klaus.

"I think you just got the VIP to fall in love with you, nyet?" He asked.

"Klaus, do not be so foolish! He was simply being nice." You said, walking up the first flight of stairs.

"But, he did say he'd be returing for the other shows. If he does, then that will prove my point for sure!" Klaus said.

You came to your dressing room, and wished Klaus a good evening as you closed the door. You set the red rose in a vase on your vanity and began carefully taking out the pieces from your hair. You couldn't stop thinking about with Grigori had said.

And over the rest of the following days the opera showed, Grigori kept his promise. Soonz the vase was overflowing with roses. And after one performance, you found yourself at one of the nicest restaurants with Grigori.

That was one hell of a night at the opera.

Taglist: @smokeywhalee @wennbergbabe @justagenderfluidstuff @goawaypleasecryingemoji @kazazure @kapanovangswife @xundeadqueenx @direwolfspostsrandomshit

[stevenuniversetanzanite]

Fallen Angel (Venable X reader) Part 2

I mentioned this extending over multiple characters. I assume most people read for all her ahs characters, so I don’t think how I am going this will be a problem.

I have two/three chapters written for the prequel (which is with Cordelia) which will go with this collection, I guess it would be called. If you want me to post the first two of that I probably could, the only problem is it will explain the reader’s deal. So if anyone wants it I could post it otherwise, it will wait.

Summary/idea: Two strangers come to ‘save’ the occupants of outpost 3. Neither are what they seem.

Warnings: N/A

Parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 , Part 4, Part 5 (Will add as I go)

Ms Venable couldn't wrap her head around the pure insanity of the new girl. She was completely bonkers in every single way, she shouldn't trust a word that left your mouth. You were the only one who knew Michael before he arrived at the outpost if anyone knew his true intentions it would be his business partner. Whether your words were valuable, well that would only show with time. If she took everything you said with a grain of salt then what's the harm in hearing you out. I mean, how can she trust a girl who forgot she ate someone else's meal? Or, claims she hadn't eaten since '92? She didn't even look old enough to be born then.

She kept an eye on the girl, to see if she could trust her. Her incessant flirting painted her to be a bit of a harlot. She was used to presumptuousness from working with Jeff and Mutt- always looking down upon them and their perverted lifestyle with a string of hookers attached. This was different, maybe because the attention was towards her? Y/N didn't look like a streetwalker, the formal attire suited her well actually, something Venable would never admit aloud. 

She didn't mind the girl's intentions. She was even flattered. No one had ever shown interest in her, not even in her younger days. She had always been a woman of action, always needed to get something done. Someone would hold her back. Also, her incessant complaining that the men are the scum of the earth tended to draw that sex away, not that she minded, they never appealed to her anyway. 

You were careful but still managed to have a filterless go about communicating. You took what you deemed was yours (mainly other peoples food or drinks) and no one complained. You had power over them, one word from you (if even) and their shot at making it to the sanctuary would be torn away from them. Even with this knowledge, they made an effort to get to know you, possibly for their own benefit. You put more work into knowing the residents than Venable had in all the time she'd been running it. 

"Ms Venable requested your presence," A grey informed you mid-conversation with a few of the men in the outpost. 

"Duty calls boys, good luck on your interviews," you wished them luck before turning attention to the grey. "Keep me company?" The grey nodded their head once knowing whether or not they wanted to; they had orders to obey all in a higher rank eg you. 

You made small talk with the grey, finding out what they did the world ended. They asked back and you responded honestly, telling them about your schooling. "But I guess they're all dead now. Oh well, we all can't be lucky." The conversation took a dark spin, bumming the person who didn't want to be there. "I wish you the best of luck during your interview and I'm sorry about the loss of your husband and kids." As soon as the door is shut, you uttered out, "They aren't going to make the cut."

"Good evening Ms L/N," Venable said.

"It's evening? I only woke up an hour ago." 

"I assumed you didn't want to be a part of our… customs."

"I don't if it means I have to wake up before it's dark- wait, it's always dark here, nevermind." You noticed the bottle of red on her desk and the two glasses. "Ah yes, you got the red." You ran over to her desk and cracked it open, pouring yourself a glass. "That's the shit. Better than the last wine I had. You can call me Y/N by the way. I have a feeling we'll be getting to know each other very well."

"This is strictly business Ms L/N, I would like to get in with it."

"The fact that you have to say it's business suggests to me it's not- at least not entirely," you smirked. "But I'll play your games."

"Do you ever stop-"

"Stop what?"

"If you let me finish then you would have found out-"

"No." Venable was losing her temper. "The answer to your question is no. I don't flirt with everyone I meet, I’m not a whore. Ask anyone here if I have ever flirted with them." You took a sip of your wine. You knew exactly what she was going to ask. People's minds weren't as perplexing as their behaviours. "Did you want me to pour you a glass? I assumed you were capable of doing it yourself but some people like sentiment."

This was all your game. It had to be. Venable wanted no part of you, she was fine on her own. She couldn't even call this an alliance, it was a one time thing to get information from you. If she had to play by your terms then so be it.

"You said you had intel on Mr Langdon."

"Mister, more like master, he's barely 12. Why do you people call young boys master anyway that's kinda fucked up. Is that an old-timey thing?"

"You're not making any sense."

"Nothing about that man does." You chuckled like what you said was an inside joke. " How much do you know about the Cooperative?"

"As much as they needed to tell me to be able to do my job."

"Which is?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know what you do but I want to know in your words."

"I am the keeper of order, looking after humans' last survivors."

"Look after, I take it loosely. Killing doesn't usually fall under that category."

You knew that she’d been killing off the survivors for their disobedience? She didn't gather you to be the observant type after that display on your first day.

"Killing was necessary to keep order-"

"And I'm not complaining, it's remarkable how you manage to use their own fear against the lingering." Lingering? That would imply that they are on their last threads, not supposed to stick around much longer. 

"And what do you see my job being?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that. Self-awareness will ruin everything. It's like that unspoken agreement between a magician and their audience, if you are aware of the magic then it ruins the allusion. Also, I can't tell you directly, it will ruin my reputation-"

"You have a good reputation? Among the Cooperative?"

"God no, the Cooperative isn't important. Why be loyal to the dead?"

“Then to whom?”

“If you stick around long enough, you’ll find out yourself,” You said vaguely. "I'll tell ya one thing about that man. He has said it himself, in other words, he doesn't give a crap about anyone else unless you are faithless on his side, he can't give a rat's ass about any of you."

"On his side or on our knees praising him? I know his kind. Men."

"If you don't side with him, you won't survive the year. You have very few options V." You said. You rose your glass, "Thanks for the wine." You vanished before Venable could stop you.

The days went on. More people were getting interviewed for the selection process. Others, such as Coco, nagged you on how well they did. You would always shrug and tell them the interviews weren't your job, as everyone had been told at the introduction. You already knew no one thus far had made the cut but why rip their hope from right under them. While they still think they have a shot, they are easily manipulative. 

It was an hour before curfew for the residents. You tended to spend the night’s hours in Michael’s office re-reading over the occupants' files, drawing or sitting by the fire. You were catching up with Michael when Ms Venable interrupted.

“Ms Venable,” Langdon said in his drawn-out monotone voice.  

“Mr Langdon. Ms L/N.”

“V.”

“Excellent timing. I was meaning to speak to you.”

“You were?”

“You’ve violated the rules set up by the cooperative, instead implementing your own.”

Langdon went on about Venable's transgressions against proper protocol. Wilhemina insisted that she was given classified instructions which made you laugh. You had heard the rules too many times when they were being made to not have memorized them. Michael may have taken a more backseat approach to all of this but you kept a closer eye on all of this, mainly not trusting the two cokeheads organising this whole shebang and you were right to, the place has been infiltrated. 

Langdon told the story of the woman and child you stumbled across when heading over. A mother with her two children, one child sick, the other, a baby, dead in her arms. She begged for mercy but neither showed mercy. Venable was taken by the story and republished by what you two did or didn’t do. Venable insisted that none of her charges are worthy to move on to the Sanctuary aside from Dinah, whom she admitted she knows little of.

“At this rate, it sounds like we will have the sanctuary all to ourselves,” Langdon said. He stood up from his desk walking over to the woman standing in the centre of the room, in front of the fireplace. “There’s no need for us to be adversaries, Ms Venable.” He stood in her personal space, she was forced to look slightly upwards towards the taller man. You swivel your chair around to watch on. “Take off your dress.”

Both women choked. What did he just say to her?

“I will not.” She was as shocked as you. She laughs uncomfortably, stiffening slightly. 

She glanced from the man before her to you, trying to piece together if this suggestion was in some way your doing. With all the suggestive comments you make in passing towards her, she wouldn’t doubt it. 

You propped yourself on the edge of your seat. “Michael, what are you-” In the month you had been there Wilhemina had never heard you call him by his first name. You always insisted on calling people by nicknames rather than their given names, all the outpost members had at least one, ones you talk to more frequently have multiple. 

“A part of your cooperation includes a physical examination.” Only after he spoke did he acknowledge you. A look telling you to back down was enough for you to piece it together. No one gets special treatment, she had to follow all the same rules as everyone else to see how far she would go and with that, must go through their tests of will.

You eased back in your chair, sitting the most proper you have in years. You turned your attention away, picking up a pen from the man’s desk and playing with its clicker. 

“You can read my file,” she spoke with a quiver in her voice. You winced at the sound of her broken voice. Someone who presented themselves so strongly, shouldn’t be allowed to be seen as weak.

“Your file won’t show me what I need to see. Your shame.” He circled Venable, his hand running from her shoulder to her back. “I want to see the part of you that humiliated you the most.” Venable stopped before it reached her spine. “You won’t get a second chance.”

You leapt up from your chair, snapping the two out of their own world, “I’ll do it- I’ll to the examination.”

“Y/N-”

You made your way over to the two, “I was a nurse back in the day- well nun but let's not go into that.” You move Michael’s hand off her back. 

“I was capable of examining the other-” You knew he didn’t do anything to them. He wasn’t going to do much to her other than look at her back, bring her down a level in the process.

“I’m more qualified to do this and if you are supposed to be doing a physical examination wouldn’t you prefer a medical professional to do it. Unless you have some ulterior motive.”

He eased back knowing that if by bringing up the idea of an ulterior motive if he insisted on doing it, it would appear that way.

“You’re turning weak Y/N,” Michael whispered in your ear as he passed you on the way to his desk. “Just like how I found you.”

You had to stop yourself from snapping back at him. You were weak… human. A part of that still lingers in you, begging for more attention. You shoved it back down but it kept reemerging with these reckless feelings. You thought if you found something to stimulate your old life, maybe it would go away. Your needs were different now but you still needed commitment. Someone to worship the ground you walked on, maybe even do the same back. 

Michael made it to his desk, he told you to hurry along with it. You stared at her face, the close proximity becoming uncomfortable. You apologised before circling her. You would make this as quick as possible for her while still not hurting her. You zipped down her dress revealing her ‘shame’ as Michael called it. You ran your cold hands down the curvature of her spine asking if it hurt. She shook her head, not being able to speak due to the overwhelming emotion she was going through. You zipped her back up before announcing you were done. Her hand slipped back on her shoulder checking if you were telling the truth, her hand meeting yours. Her hand faltered at the contact but reached out for yours holding it briefly. You were the one to pull away, you two weren’t the only ones in the room.

“Did I pass?” She pulled all the strength she could to ask the question. 

Michael looked towards you, annoyed. “Ask Y/n, she seems to think she’s in charge of this now.”

Wilhemina looked towards you. She was confused between the sudden switch of both of yours dynamic.

“You will find out in due time. Like the others.” You don’t look at her as you made your way back to your spot in front of the desk. “I would like to continue the meeting we were having before you interrupted.” You glared daggers at the man before you.

She repulsed you, Venable thought. You refused to look at her after you saw her back. The one person who actively sort her out was turned away by her- She wasn’t to sob but held it in. She had to make it back to her room, her sanctuary.  

“What did you think you were doing?” Michael asked you when the woman left.

“You said I could have one person of my choice in favour of my service to your cause.”

“I shouldn’t even have to do that, you should be faithful to me because-”

“You are not your father, I could give two shits about you and your little plan for the earth.” You snapped. “He could have done it himself, instead of sending his spawn to do it. Don’t even get me started on his procession attempts- I don’t know what his plan was with that.” You stood up leaning all your weight on his desk. He looked up to you with that stupid little smug expression he gave the others. He thought he was above you, typical antichrist behaviour. “I swear he could have come up with a better way to do that or better yet, figured out a way to appear human among. Everyone else can do it if he’s so powerful why can’t he? Don’t look at me like you're above me, you may be tough stuff but you're still human. You can still go to hell. It’s not as nice as you might think if daddy dearest wants out too.”  You went to leave. “You refused me to have my first course as it would screw up your plan, I understood that. But you aren’t stopping this time.”

“The woman is incapable of love. Even if you get her to like you, she won’t stay long. There’s a reason angels and demons don’t date.”

“Like you know shit, your a child and barely de-” 

You were flung against the wall being held by Michael’s power. You felt a pressure around your neck choking you. You gasped for air but nothing was coming in. 

“You might be more human than you thought Y/N.” He cut his magic off, gravity kicked in and you fell to the ground in a crumpled mess. He walked over to your body kneeling down and leading over your body which was backed up against the door. “Know where your place is. Either as my equal or as my enemy.” He stood. “And if you choose enemy, you’ll be dead with those witches you hung out with.” You chuckled knowing better than him. Yeah, dead.

“What must I do- to get rid of the- humanity?” The word humanity felt wrong. 

“Kill what it wants. Kill Venable.”

Link to next chapter

[ewritesthangs]

Part 2: A month later

A/N:: Here is the second installment of the baby Halstead reader!

Antonio Dawson x Halstead! Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Mature themes

The pile of papers sat on your home office desk, staring at you. They needed to be checked. And yet, you were distracted. Antonio was snoring in the room off the office. Which happens to be your room. He had spent the night, again. You didn’t mind, for he was a furnace and you tended to freeze yourself. The snoring stopped, making you a bit scared. 

“Good morning beautiful.” A tired tone came from the entry-way to your office. 

“You snore very loudly.” You chuckle. “Kept me from my work.” You nod your head in the direction of the pile. 

“Oops?” He smirks and saunters over to you. He captures your lips in a kiss, tipping your head up by your chin. You smile when you break. “Forgive me?”

“Hmm, a little.” 

“I’ll do anything, ma’am. Please.” He kneels in front of you, a pout on his face and his hands on your bare thighs. Just as you were about to answer, you hear the door to your apartment open and Jays voice echo through your apartment. 

“Bug! Wake up! I brought you some coffee!” Antonio’s eyes went wide, and your heart started to race. 

“My bathroom, go.” You whisper, standing up. He tiptoes into your bathroom. “Hold on a minute Jay-bird! Let me get descent!” You put on a pair of sweats, not realizing they were Antonio’s. You then walk down the hall to where Jay stood. “Haven’t you heard of knocking?” 

“What’s the fun in that?” A small smirk plays across his lips, a cup being handed to you with your favorite coffee in it. Iced. 

“Okay, you’re forgiven.” You state, sipping the coffee. 

“I will never understand how you can drink iced coffee in all temperatures.” 

“Iced coffee is bomb diggity and you just don’t appreciate it.” 

“Who says bomb diggity anymore?”

“I do, obviously, moron.” 

“Hey, be nice. I brought you coffee.” He pouts. 

“Wait until Will finds out you broke into my place.” 

“I didn’t break into your place, I made a key for Will and I.” Your mouth becomes ajar, shocked. 

“Jay Martin Halstead. Seriously? God you guys are terrible.” 

“You won't be saying that if you get locked out, now will you?” 

“Bite me, Halstead.” 

“You don’t taste good, so I’ll pass.” You punch him in the arm, causing him to flinch. 

“Voight has a new case for us.”

“I know, I helped him figure out the pattern.” 

“I forget you’re super ultra mega smart.” 

“Future Dr. Y/N Halstead, at your service.” You bow. “Let me get changed. I’ll meet you there.” 

“I thought-” 

“I have a guy here, Jay.” Antonio was listening in on the conversation and began to panic as he heard you say that. You guys had not mentioned going public. 

“Oh? Let me meet him.” 

“He is a fling, you know I don’t do relationships anymore.” 

“Fine, fine. I’ll see you at work.” He places a kiss to your cheek before heading out. You watched as he left, making sure the coast was clear. 

“You’re good, Antonio.” When he walked out, he was dressed. He seemed a bit upset. He had grown very fond of you. In more ways than he had thought he could. “Hey, Tonio.” You step in front of him. 

“I gotta get to work. But first, I have to change.” 

“Not before you tell me what’s going on.”

He sighs in defeat. “I heard what you said about us.” 

“Wait wait wait. You’re upset I said we were a fling? I thought that was what it was. Just sex, no strings attached.” His expression dropped, his heart going to the pit of his stomach. 

“Yeah, it was but now, I want more.” This kind of scared you. You didn’t want to do the whole feelings thing, in fear of getting hurt. You couldn’t lie, you had feelings for Antonio too, but you were scared that he too could and would hurt you. 

“Antonio I-I” Your voice was small, a whisper. 

“I’ll uh see you at the precinct.” And with that, he left. You felt horrible. You got changed and headed to the precinct. He was there shortly after you. 

A gravelly voice interrupts your thoughts. “Alright, we have a drug ring run by Los Labios. Hector Reyes is the leader. There have been 3 bodies to show up around town.” Kim handed out the information packets. 

“They don’t look related.” Adam pipes up, examining the crime scene photos. 

“That’s because, if you continue on with the packet, it’s all in the toxicology reports. You see, these kills were made to look random and like they were killed one way. But if you look at the M.E. reports, they all have the same concentrations of fentanyl in their symptoms mixed with other substances. These mixtures are a common cause of deaths with Reyes. He has done this before, in his home of Puerto Rico.” Antonio watched as you showed the rest of the team, his heart aching. He loves how intelligent you are. 

“Whoa.” Adam states in awe. 

“And since Y/N is relatively new to the team, I thought we could do an undercover assignment with her. She seems to be just the type for Reyes.” 

“No!” Jay and Antonio say in unison. 

“Not up for debate. Kim is going to be her wing woman. This will start tomorrow.” 

“I do not like this idea, one tiny bit.” Jay crosses his arms. 

“I’m not a little kid anymore, Jay. I can do this.” 

“I just don’t want you getting hurt.” 

“I know.” You wrap your arms around his torso, and bury your head in his chest. This always gets him to go soft and cave. 

“Why must you tug so at my heart?” He rubs your back and kisses your head. 

“It says to do so in the sibling bible.” You retort, looking up at him. 

“And you do like to read and memorize.” He chuckles. “Go get prepared then. Read everything and such. I love you.” 

“I like you too.” You smirk and duck away from the small swat you were about to receive. 

“Play nice you two.” Antonio pipes in. You walked over to his desk. 

“Locker room. I need to talk to you.” You whisper as you bent down so he could see you better. 

“I have a file to read.” He says coldly. 

“Now, Dawson.” You reply, in a stern tone. He looks up and sighs, defeated again. 

Once you guys are in the safety of the locker room, with nobody in there, you lock the door. 

“What do you want? To humiliate-” He doesn’t finish his sentence, for you had cut him off with a kiss. “Please don’t play with me, Y/N.” He pleads. 

“I’m scared, okay? I have very intense feelings for you. But I don’t want to be hurt again. You know this from out night time talks.” 

“Y/N, I would never hurt you. Not intentionally. Not emotionally. I have liked you since you were 24. I fell for you when you became my partner. It’s hard not to. You are brilliant, funny, intelligent, beautiful, the list goes on.” His words hit you in the heart, which sent a signal to your tear ducts to open up and shed some tears. 

“Can-can we go slow-ish? I want to try. But keep it a secret from everybody. I don’t want you being killed by the brothers Halstead.” 

“Slow-ish?” He chuckles, pulling you into his embrace. 

“Maybe I meant secretive. I just don’t want many people to know. Especially my overbearing brothers.” 

“As long as I get to call you mine, I am down.” He kisses your head. A knock on the door breaks the intimate moment. 

“Y/N? Let's go get some lunch! Will wants to see you.” 

“I’ll be right out!” 

“Better not be fu-” 

“Jay Martin!” You open the door, eyes puffy and red. 

“The fuck did he do?” 

“I was confiding in him how scared I was for the undercover operation.” 

“I’m going to see if I can go in as her friend or something. Be a drug mule or something.” Antonio shrugs, spewing the truth. He wanted to be with you the whole time. Make sure, for his and Jay’s sake, that you were okay. 

“Oh, okay. That could actually work. Since you know Spanish and all.” 

“I am a total asset to this mission.” Antonio proudly stands with a smirk, making you laugh. 

“You’re such a dork.” 

[web-of-fics]

“Peter!”

Requested by: anon (”a fluffy thing where the new girl at school figures out Peter is spider-man terrifyingly quick?? like after a few quick accidents where Spider-Man saves her and Peterman slips up and she figures it out???”)

Starring: Peter Parker (and friends) x reader

Fandom: MCU

Warnings: As promised, fluff. With a side of occasional mortal peril. 

Summary: Reader realizes Spider is Peterman because of his many Vine references. 🤪

Writer’s note: This takes place in MCU Peter’s early Spider-Man days. 

Words: 2019

✎_____________________________________________________________________

“It is Wednesday, my dudes!” a chocolate-haired boy exclaimed, slapping the doorframe as he entered the gymnasium. He was immediately greeted by a black-haired student, who let out a pained shriek in response. They high-fived.

In any other setting, such an exchange might be alarming, but even at your old high school everyone loved watching Vines. An amused smile tempted your lips.

“Shut the hell up, Parker!” the girl next to you yelled. She had just introduced her self to you, but you had already forgotten her name. 

“Watch your profanity!” Parker replied to her in a comically high-pitched voice. His friend lost it.

The girl groaned and pointedly turned her attention back to you. 

“I bet you’re excited for this day to be over,” she said sympathetically. 

You shrugged. “I’ve had worse first days." 

“Jones!” 

The girl looked up, spotted the gym teacher who was waving her over, and trotted over with quick a goodbye wave to you. 

Jones. Her name was Something Jones. You would have to pay attention to remember what the rest of it was later. 

You surveyed the faces occupying the gym now, wondering if you’d successfully recognize anyone else you’d met today. In most of your classes, the teachers had made a point to single you out as the New Girl before calling people’s names for attendance. As if you wouldn’t forget each and every name as soon as it was said. 

Now, your eyes landed again on this Parker boy. His smile seemed infectious to those around him: you wondered idly what it would be like to get to know him. 

The gym teacher’s whistle shrieked throughout the room. He informed the room that everyone would be running the dreaded mile for class today. The collective groans that followed were quickly silenced by another blow of the whistle. Everyone filed outdoors and one by one, pairs of feet began pounding around the track, slowing slightly after each lap. 

You didn’t mind running as long as you had something in mind to distract you. With each step you repeated a syllable of his name in your head so you wouldn’t forget it. 

Parker, Parker, Parker.

You noticed that he lapped you twice, his dark hair bouncing in the wind and his gait never slowing, even during his final lap. You finished your mile a few minutes later. 

Panting, you beelined to the water fountain, joining a pack of students who were also desperately trying to catch their breath. 

“Oooooh, he needs some milk!” you recognized Parker’s voice before you saw him. His black-haired friend was in tow, clearly lacking Parker’s athleticism. In fact, it seemed as though everyone besides Parker was moments away from heaving up a lung.

His friend punched Parker in the shoulder. It didn’t seem to affect him. “Shut up,” the friend muttered, making his way over to the water fountain. You wiped water from your chin and stepped out of his way. 

You stole another glance at Parker, this time accidentally making eye contact. Too shocked to look away, you stared, hoping he would break eye contact first. 

He didn’t. 

“Hey, you’re new right?” he said. You should have been annoyed after hearing the same line over and over that day, but hearing it from him thrilled you somehow.

“Yeah,” you said, grateful to have collected your breath.

“I’m Peter. Hi,” he said with a small wave. 

“I’m Ned,” his friend said when he finished drinking. 

You smiled. “I’m y/n.”

The gym teacher’s whistle screeched again and everyone darted for the locker rooms, desperate to change out of their sweaty T shirts. 

“See you tomorrow,” Peter Parker said brightly. 

As he turned away, you could have sworn some pinkness had crept into his cheeks that had nothing to do with running.

- - - - - - -

Since you had just started the semester, you didn’t have any homework for tomorrow. Sitting at home with nothing to do made you anxious, so after you got home from school you abandoned your backpack, grabbing your keys, wallet, and cell phone and stuffing them into the pocket of your denim jacket before setting off to explore your new neighborhood instead. 

Cars beeped in the distance. A cool breeze picked up, tickling your cheekbones. You had always found city life soothing. Being less-than-familiar with the area, however, you made sure to stick to well-lit streets as the sun dipped behind the horizon. 

Apparently, a well-lit street did little to dissuade the lurking thieves of Queens. A tall figure launched out from the shadows and demanded your belongings, the glint of a weapon flashing from inside his jacket. 

You yelped in surprise, your heart sinking through your feet. Adrenaline infused your body and you couldn’t help but think, this is why people carry drop wallets, as you reluctantly pulled your real one from your pocket and chucked it as far away from you as possible. The thief ran to it. You turned to run in the opposite direction. 

A white rope shot down from the sky like a javelin, attaching itself to your wallet before the thief could pick it up. A flash of blue and red landed neatly on the sidewalk before him. The two figures engaged in swift combat: the thief was clearly no match for this colorful figure, and he lost the battle fairly quickly. Once he was taken care of, the Spandex-clad figure approached you. 

“Spider-Man,” you gasped aloud.

“The one and only,” he replied.

“I’ve only ever seen you in the news,” you said.

He extended his arms out, palms facing you, then patted his chest. “In the flesh.” He held his hand out. “I think this belongs to you.”

You took your wallet from him.

“Thanks.”

“Are you hurt?” 

“No.”

He looked you over and seemed to decide you were being truthful. 

The unblinking eyes of his mask stared at you a moment too long.

“Are you new to the area?” he said. 

“What?” 

He shook his head, turned, and pointed down every street in sight. “Everyone in Queens knows not to come this way unless you want to get stabbed!” 

You looked at him blankly. 

He approached the unconscious assailant. In a voice that sounded like he was speaking to a child, he said “let me see what you have” and lifted the man’s jacket. The same knife you had spotted earlier flashed underneath the streetlamp. “A knife!” he pretended to gasp, then looked to you. “No!” 

Something stirred in your memory, but you couldn’t place the connection. Why did that string of words sound so familiar?

“Listen,” Spider-Man said in his normal voice as he approached you again. “Let me escort you home. I don’t want you to risk running into any other excitement tonight,” he nodded in the direction of the assailant, now being taken into police custody. 

“Sure. Thanks,” you agreed, flattered by the attention. 

As you walked back home under Spider-Man’s watch, a warm and fuzzy sensation coursed through you once the adrenaline subsided, like an internal security blanket. 

You slept well that night.

- - - - - - -

It wasn’t until the next day that you realized why what Spider-Man had said had seemed so familiar. 

Ned and Peter were talking amongst themselves once more in gym class before the teacher rounded everyone up for whatever terrible exercise he had planned for that day. 

You decided to walk up to them and attempt to continue yesterday’s conversation. Overhearing part of their conversation as you approached, you slowed down.

"You’ll be fine,” you heard Ned reassure Peter. “Just walk up to her and say what’s up, I’m Peter, I’m sixteen, and I never fu--” Ned stopped when the teacher passed within earshot, the whistle balancing between his teeth. 

“I know how to read,” Peter pouted as the whistle sounded. He turned and noticed you. “Oh, hey,” he said. You couldn’t tell if he looked more surprised than you felt. “W-were you standing there long?” he stammered.

You looked at him, a crease forming between your brows as you wondered...

“Hey!” the whistle blew again. “Social hour is over! It’s time for class!” 

You retreated to the line along the back wall, your mind racing faster than Peter’s ridiculous running pace. 

- - - - - - - 

It was strange to leave your house that evening with the intent of finding crime. You hadn’t exactly paid attention to the street Spider-Man had warned you away from last night, but you were determined to find it again. 

You knew your plan was foolish, but you had taken the precaution of leaving your wallet and phone at home this time, bringing only an empty wallet and your keys with you.

You left at dusk and wandered down the same streets as the previous night, following the lights that lined empty stretches of road. You vaguely recognized the spot where you had been almost mugged. You walked a bit further until you reached a crosswalk. You’d definitely not made it this far before. You looked around, hardly believing that you actually hoped someone would jump out at you again. There was no guarantee Spider-Man would even be around to help like he was last time. It’s not like he had some special kind of radar that helped him detect danger. 

And he definitely wasn’t hanging around the same neighborhood tonight, looking out for you in particular. 

You heard footsteps. Finally!

You whirled around. The person walking toward you wasn’t another mugger like you had hoped, but it was the next-best thing.

“Spider-Man,” you sighed with relief. Your comfort blanket was here after all.

His reaction was quite different. “What are you doing out here?” he said. He sounded distressed. 

“I--” you realized how dumb you were about to sound. “I was looking for you.”

“What? Why?” he said, exasperated. “I told you it wasn’t safe to walk around here!” 

“Yeah, but,” you shrugged. “You’re here, so I’m covered.”

He attempted to start a new sentence several times, then finally pointed behind you. 

“Go home.”

Your heart sank to hear the curtness in his voice. When you didn’t move, he turned to walk away. He didn’t look back. Crushed, you almost left for home. 

Then you remembered your theory. There was only one way to know for certain. 

You drew in a deep breath and opened your mouth.

A scream escaped instead, as a bearded man in a baseball cap jumped you in the same moment. He clocked you in the side of the head and you slumped onto the sidewalk. In your hazy awareness, you felt him grab your empty wallet from your pocket and heard him sprint away. 

“Peter!” you screamed.

You heard a second set of footsteps join the first, followed by several shouts, grunts, and finally, a defeated moan. 

You heard Spider-Man’s rapid footsteps as he ran over to you. 

“You’re hurt!”

You forced your eyes open and tried to roll onto your side. He held your shoulders to the ground.

“Don’t move, y/n. EMS is coming.”

“Peter,” you smiled. 

“What?” he said, still horrorstruck. 

“You called me y/n. Spider-Man doesn’t know my name.”

He grew very still. 

“Don’t worry,” you said. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said unconvincingly. 

Your lips spread into a grin. “Why you always lyiiiiin,” you said in a sing-song voice. 

Spider-Man cocked his head before realization dawned on him. 

He smacked his palm against his forehead and jokingly said, “Ah, Spidey. I can’t believe you’ve done this,” to himself in a surprisingly good British accent. 

“Whoa,” you said. “When were you going to tell me that you’re British too?”

He rolled his eyes. Flashing lights turned onto the corner. He looked from them back to you, a sense of urgency in his voice.

“Okay, but I’m only Spider-Man when I’m in this mask, okay?”

You reassured him that you wouldn’t dream of revealing his identity to anyone. 

After all, you were perfectly content having discovered his secret for yourself after a single day. 

_______________________________________________________________________

Just one more before bed? Click here for a masterlist of my fics!

[savannacentralperk]

Just Can’t Wait...

“Ok!”

Nick looked up from his video game to where his mother stood in his doorway. She stood dressed in her scrubs and smelling slightly of disinfectant. Leaning against the frame, she crossed her arms and waited for Nick to focus his attention on her.

“Game plan for the next few days,” she began. “There was a major accident in Tundra Town and they need extra paws. So, I’m going to be there for a week helping in Tundra General.”

Nick’s jaw dropped as a thought hit him.

“So… Greg is in charge?” He flopped back onto the floor with an exasperated sigh. Last time Greg was left in charge, he was tyrant.

“Nope!” He raised his head a bit to look at her, wary of her smirk. “Your brother just left today for a camping trip. He won’t be back until next week.”

With an excited grin he shot up to a sitting position, paws clasped together with hope. “So, I get the house to myself?”

At that, Vivian burst out laughing. Her son’s expression dropped as he watched her, turning into annoyance as she continued to laugh.

“After picking you up how many times from the precinct?” She shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. “Yeah, not happening!”

“So where am I going?”

Vivian raised her brows and smiled, amused by Nick’s confused expression. He just stared at her until the answer dawned on him. “No.” She laughed again. “Mom! NO!”

“Sorry, baby,” was her reply, not sounding sorry at all. “But you’re crazy if you think I’m leaving you alone in my house.”

“Mom!” He whined as she left his room still smiling, with him right on her heels. “Skye can be worse than Greg. And she always wants to paint my claws and mess with my fur. I don’t like staying with her.”

“I thought you loved your sister.”

“I do, but there’s a limit to how much a glitter a mammal can take. And she never paints them the colors I want!”

Opening the fridge and pulling out lunch supplies, the vixen just laughed again.

“Yes, yes, sweetheart. Your life is so hard, being surrounded by mammals who love you.” She smirked as she pulled an apron over her head as she gestured to the veggies on the counter. “Wash these, please.”

With a groan, he obliged, rolling his eyes as he brought them to the kitchen sink. His mom accepted each veggie piece by piece, Nick silently fuming until he realized a very important fact: Skye had Jack and work to distract her. Meaning he would have more time to spend with Judy. There would have to be nights Skye would have to stay late and he and Judy would be free from helping, leaving them unsupervised…

“And whatever you’re thinking, stop thinking it.”

Ears flushed hot as they laid back against his head. Looking over to him mom, who smirked at him with a knowing look in her eyes, he felt himself blush harder.

“Your sister is under strict instructions to chaperone you and Judy the entire time you’re together.” Her smirk turned into a grin as Nick huffed and shut off the water. “And I plan on meeting her soon, by the way.”

“How soon?” he asked nervously.

“Like this afternoon soon. I’m walking you to the cafe for your shift.”

A sudden thought kept the terror of that statement from forming.

“You haven’t met Jack yet, have you?”

“Your sister’s boss? Not yet.” Nick stared at his mother in surprise. Feeling his eyes on her, Vivian looked up in confusion. “What?”

With a shake of his head, he smiled at her. “Nothing.”

Eyes now suspicious, the vixen went back to making lunch for the two of them. And as he helped her, Nick felt a strange glee. Skye hadn’t told their mother about her favorite part of her new job yet. There had been no mistaking either of their intentions towards each other. That information would be very useful…

With a calculating smile, the todd spent the rest of his time imagining being close to his bunny for a week. And what a great week it was going to be.

……………

“Gid, touch the dial again and you’re walkin’.”

The todd scowled at his sister in the driver’s seat before slumping against his own. He had already been trapped in this car for an hour. Daisy had kept the music poppy and obnoxious, singing in her horrible singing voice and dancing in her seat because she knew it would annoy him.

“I’m tryin’ to remember a time in my life I hated you more,” he grumbled. His sister just laughed and turned the music up more. “Dais, we listened to this song four times already! Can we PLEASE change it up?”

“Sorry!” Daisy continued to dance and drive, one claw pointed to her ear as she shook her head. “Can’t hear you, Gid! Music’s too loud!”

“Then turn it down!”

“TURN DOWN FOR WHAT!”

Gideon groaned again, tugging his ears some to try and block out some of the sound.

Just think of Sharla, he thought. Just think of Sharla…

After watching the pretty ewe get the highest score on Free Throw, they decided the next best thing was to race each other on the motorcycle game. She was the victor once more, something he found he didn’t mind at all. His consolation prize was a long, tight hug from the pretty black sheep that filled his nose with the scent of fresh, sweet hay. It was then Gideon came up with the plan to lose to her as often as possible.

He wasn’t thrilled to be leaving Bunnyburrow so far ahead of schedule. His visit to Zootopia was supposed to be for the coming weekend, but his sister had the opportunity to meet some of her professors at ZSU and their parents capitalized on that. It was decided that the two of them would go to the city and stay with their aunt, while Daisy ran around her new campus and Gideon got to see his best friend.

As excited as he was to follow Judy’s brother Jack and explore Zootopia, he was just as eager to stay back and spend as much time with Sharla as possible. Especially considering she would be leaving for camp the day after he got back. Life could get really unfair sometimes.

The music being lowered caused him to snap back from reality. A peek out the window saw them pulling into a gas station and stopping at a pump.

“Hungry?” Daisy asked as she unbuckled. “My treat.”

With a smile, Gideon followed, thinking maybe his sister wasn’t all that bad. Daisy got out of the car, still dancing and singing under her breath. Stretching before following her lead, the young todd pulled his phone out as he crossed the station towards the mini mart attached to it. He was so engrossed in responding Sharla’s latest text, Gideon didn’t even notice the other car blaring music as it sped up to one of the pumps.

The screech of tires made the todd jump in alarm, his fur on end and eyes wide as the car full of older males laughed.

“Hey, watch where you’re going little buddy!” called a heavy-set badger from the driver’s seat.

A meerkat, ferret, and fox slowly filed out of the car while the badger popped the gas tank. Gideon glared at the group, though he was slightly surprise to see the other red fox todd smirking over at him.

“Yo, Wilde!” The fox looked over to the badger pumping gas, catching the wallet tossed at him. “Peanut butter cups and the largest soda they got.”

Wilde winked and gave a lazy salute before continuing to the mart. Gideon shook his head at the situation and followed after them. A quick scan around store saw Daisy missing from the aisles. With a shrug at the restroom door, he headed for the candy, and, to his irritation, the other todd was there.

He grinned over at younger fox, his eyes a lighter blue than Gideon’s. “Sorry for scaring you, fox.” Wilde snatched a pack of peanut butter cups and coconut almond candies. “We were never going to hit you, so don’t be mad at us.”

Gideon turned his attention to the selection with a frown. “I don’t know why y’all had to speed up like that,” he grumbled.

“Oh c’mon!” the older todd argued with laugh. “It was a harmless, little joke! I have a brother your age who would have laughed at it.”

“He would have laughed at almost gettin’ run over?”

“Who almost got ran over?” Daisy danced up and smiled at her little brother, a new pair of sunglasses propped on her top of her head and can of sweet tea in her paw. A pack of gummies were grabbed from the shelf before she danced past, her paw ruffling Gideon’s head as she did. “Shake a leg, Gid. We’re burnin’ daylight. Travis, darlin’!” she called to the weasel behind the counter. “I need ten on pump two, please.”

Rolling his eyes, a pack of sour strings were chosen before deciding to add a soda to his order. Wilde gave a low whistle, his own sunglasses pulled down as he eyed Daisy’s retreating form.

Gideon scowled at him, feeling offended on Daisy’s behalf.

“You know her, kit?”

The teen scoffed. “And they say you city mammals are smart.”

Wilde didn’t even acknowledge the comment. “Damn! They grow ‘em nice in the country.”  

Gideon looked at him in disgust before leaving for his drink. Wilde, on the other paw, smoothed the fur on his head, brushed his shirt out, tucked his sunglasses into his collar, and sauntered up to Daisy. She stood off to the side as his friends paid, chatting with Travis while she waited for her brother. His friends wagged their eyebrows at Wilde as he leaned up on the counter. With a wink to them, he schooled his face in his most winning and dashing smile.

It was not without a little envy that Gideon watched him approach his sister with such confidence. He couldn't help but wonder where every other todd in the world learned to charm those that caught their attention.

And not just todds. Daisy herself was a natural flirt. Travis was one of many males who fell under her spell, so Gideon didn’t blame Wilde for giving it a shot. His sister never went further than just few honied words and a batting of her lashes, but it was enough for way more males than should be allowed. And more often than not, it helped her get her way. Most of the time, Gid wondered if his sister was a bunny in a fox coat.

Daisy and Travis paused their conversation when they realized Wilde was leaning against the counter, watching her as he waited patiently to be noticed. Frowning, the vixen met his eyes.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I sure do hope so.” A paw was held out to her, the smile on his muzzle bright as he made his voice drop to what she was sure he thought of as a seductive drawl. “I’m not from around here and I was hoping to find something pretty enough to keep me coming back. I was positive I was gonna to be let down... Until now.”

The paw he had been shaking was gripped a bit tighter, the vixen gently pulled towards him. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m Greg. Greg Wilde.” He gave her a wink and looked her up and down. Her eyebrows raised, unimpressed at his attempt. “And you are?”

Daisy simply sighed and moved away, tugging her paw free. Using it to pull her wallet out, some bills were tossed on the counter to Travis.

“Keep the change, darlin’.” She pushed off the counter and beckoned towards Gideon walking to the register. “C’mon, Gid, honey. Aunt Marian is expecting us and we’ve dawdled long enough.”

Without another word or glance to Wilde, the two foxes left for their car. He watched Gideon hop into the passenger seat while the vixen headed for the pump. Her sunglasses were flipped over her eyes as she selected her fuel.

With a grin, he tossed money onto the counter and took off after her.

“Hey!” he called out as she finished filling the tank. Looking over her glasses, her blue eyes watched him run up, coming to a stop just a few steps away from the car. “I didn’t get your name.”

She gave him a mockingly sad look and clicked her teeth. “That’s ‘cause I never gave it to you, sugah.” The sunglasses were lowered a bit further and a wink was tipped at him. “Ciao!”

Gideon guffawed as she took her place in the driver’s seat. Music blasting as the car was turned on, the vixen peeled out of the gas station, making Wilde jump back in surprise; one paw was laying on the horn as the two foxes whooped and hollered out the open windows. The noise was cut as a perfect, fiery red paw shot out the window in a wave to him as they vanished into the distance.

Eyes wide open and heart racing, Greg stared after them. He had been turned down plenty of times, but never with such style.

“Ha-ha, Wilde!” The meerkat in the passenger’s seat hung out the window as the badger laughed and pounded the steering wheel.

“Greg got dismissed!” All three mammals cackled as he climbed into the back seat.

The fox reclined back, passing the badger his candy. “I still get more tail than any of you assholes.” He pulled his sunglasses on and propped his arm out the opened window. “Besides, plenty of fish in the sea.”

“Hey, Greg?” He looked over to his friend in the driver’s seat. “My soda?”

“What soda?” was Greg’s response as he fished the wallet from his pocket and tossed it up to him.

With a grumble, the badger started the car and continued on to their campsite. Greg smiled as he thought about the vixen. They really did grow them nice in the country.

……………..

Jack was humming to himself as he piped the edge work on his latest cake.

The grin wouldn’t leave his face and his good mood was oddly contagious. Judy was bouncing around, the pair of them singing random bits of songs. It was still busy, thanks to Fru Fru Big making sure everyone in Zootopia knew where to go for the best coffee and desserts in the city. And through it all the buck had never felt happier.

But even he knew Skye needed a break. So, today she was free from work - though it took everything Jack had in him to not call her in. Skye had been working from opening till close nearly every day that week. As much as she liked him, the rabbit was fairly certain she would snap if not given some breathing room. Though, the fact that they hadn’t stopped texting each other all day said a lot.

She was keeping him updated throughout her day, sending him pictures of the various activities that kept her preoccupied. It was huge consolation to know he would be seeing her that night for the Small Business Seminar. Not quite the first date he wanted to have with her, but he was still excited about it.

“There!” He stepped away from the cake and gave the side he’d just worked on a critical look over. Turning the cake stand it was on, his eyes scanned for mistakes and flaws. Satisfied it was as close to perfect as it could get, he and Jon lifted it onto the larger bottom piece and packaged it away.

“Ok,” began the buck as he massaged his stiff paws, “I gotta do a lap. You gonna be ok if I step out for a minute, Jonny?”

“You know I will be, boss!” The raccoon grinned before picking up the pile of orders and leafing through them.

With another sigh of relief, Jack headed out of the kitchen, stretching his back out, not noticing the truck pulling up in front.

The buck was making a pass over the lobby when he spotted a familiar face walking up to the door. Having arranged for a delivery of produce from his parents while he was in Bunnyburrow, he had naturally assumed Tom would be the one to drop them off. He was a bit more open minded and tended to try to get along with everyone. Next to Jack, he was the more adventurous one out of the older Hopps kits. Even if he never wanted to leave the farm.

Jack wasn't expecting Maple to be the one to drop off his supplies. And he wasn’t expecting her to storm in, proverbial guns blazing, her hazel eyes narrowed in on him. The doe stomped up to Jack, not acknowledging the hellos from Lucian and Sandra, and smacked him across the face. A collective gasp came from the customers sitting or waiting to order. Jack dropped his towel, and reached up to clutch at his cheek.

“What the FUCK, Maple?” he shouted in anger, only to receive another painful slap in reply across the other side of his face.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded.

Seeing their boss in trouble, Sandra and Kari rushed to him with Lucian, Bobby, and Jon not far behind. The three predators snarled, causing the doe to jump back a few paces. Maple eyed them with distrust before her gaze moved to Judy. Her little sister had her attention on Jack as she gently pushed past the vixen. With a cry of alarm, the older doe hopped towards her and snatched Judy up in her arms.

“Stay away from her!” snarled Maple as she dragged her little sister away.

The look of hurt that crossed Kari’s face just made Jack even angrier. Judy was struggling to free herself while Maple tugged her towards the door.

“Maple, will you please stop being such a fucking speciesist idiot?” he demanded as he straightened up and waved away help. “You have a better chance at becoming SpiderBun than any of the predators here hurting you or Judy.”

He met his sister’s angry gaze and stepped towards her. “And right now, you should be more worried about a rabbit attacking you than a predator.”

Judy finally tugged free and darted into Jack’s arms as Maple tried to regain her grip on her.

“Are you ok?” asked the younger doe, looking up at him in worry.

“Of course, I am!” he assured with a laugh and kiss to her forehead. “Maple hits like a bunny.”

“Judy Hopps! You get over here right now!” their sister demanded.

Jack tightened his grip and shielded her from Maple’s view. “Judy, sweetheart head upstairs for me please. I need to have a talk with our sister. Kari, will you go with her, please?”

Reluctantly, the two females broke away from the group while Maple glared at them. Kari wrapped her arms around the small bunny, using her tail to block her from view. Maple’s cold stare followed them as they went up the stairs and vanished into the apartment. She was suddenly jerked from her glowering as Jack stomped over to grab her by the arm and drag her to the back door.

“Jon, will you set up a tray and start offering everyone in the shop a cookie. Use whatever we have in stock. Sandra, pair it with iced tea, coffee, or lemonade, customer's choice. Lucian, unload the truck, please. I'll be there to help in a moment." Jack's voice was clipped and cold, not sparing his workers a glance as the rabbits vanished into the alley.

Once the back door closed, he practically threw his sister from him in anger and disgust. She faced the buck, her own eyes blazing, matching Jack temper for temper.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he demanded.

“Me? What the fuck is wrong with you?” she countered. “Have you gone completely insane?”

“Asks the bunny who storms into my workplace, assaults me, and insults my workers in front of a room full of customers? What the hell are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m here because I wanted to know how your date with Emma went. I thought I would surprise you two and maybe spend some quality time with my brother and sister and drop off your order. So, when the cafe was closed and no-one answered the intercom, I figured I would treat myself to a drink and just see you two in the morning.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Imagine my surprise when I walk into the bar, only to see you locking lips with some vixen!”

Jack froze and his expression went blank. “Who I choose to get involved with is none of your business, Maple.”

“But it becomes my business when my baby sister gets involved. How the hell could you have dangerous predators around Judy, Jack? And you went and convinced Sandra to spend all day around them too! You must be out of your gods damn mind!”

“Well excuse me for being more open minded than you! For being able to see past the species and into the mammal that’s underneath.” Jack turned from her and brought his paws up to his face. After a frustrated groan into them, he moved to massage his temples. “You don’t even know her, May.”

Maple frowned at the hint of pleading in his tone. And she couldn’t contain her flinch when he turned to give her a tired look.

“She’s… complicated and funny. And smarter than anyone else I’ve ever met and she makes me feel like I’m the only mammal worth talking to.” He smiled to himself as Skye filled his mind’s eye again. “I really, really like her.”

The bunny doe digested his words with a nod. Sighing she looked him the eye. “That’s exactly what she wants you to think. And to feel. She’s a fox, Jack. Tricking good, honest mammals like you is what she was born for. Don't be so naive to think she's being genuine.”

A step was taken towards her stricken brother, her eyes softening in sympathy.

“Jack, I know it’s hard to hear. But that vixen is using you. And I don’t

want to see you hurt.” Maple felt satisfaction as she watched her brother’s face fall, happy that she got through to him. Only to have him shake his head and turn his back to her.

“You’re wrong, Maple.” He walked to the back door and tugged it open. One last glance was given to the doe. “She’s everything I’ve been waiting for. And you don’t have to like it. Or accept it.” He started to step through before a thought occurred to him. “Go around to the front. Lucien and I will have the truck unloaded in a moment and I’ll let Mom and Dad know I’ll quick pay them their money online.”

“I’m telling them this,” she threatened. He only raised his eyebrows and smirked.

“And I’ll tell them how you earned your spending money in college.” And with another flick of his eyebrows, he vanished, leaving his fuming sister standing alone in the alley.

Jack paused for moment to gather his thoughts when the door closed behind him. Panting, he pinched the bridge of his muzzle and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore his anger and hurt. Breathing deep, he shook his head to clear it and opened his eyes. Walking briskly to the front of the shop, he forced a smile on his muzzle.

“Jack?” came the quiet voice of Judy. He paused and looked up to see her sitting at the top of the stairs.

“I thought I told you to go into the apartment,” he said with a smile.

“You said go upstairs. I’m upstairs,” she replied with a smile of her own. It fell as brother and sister held each other’s gaze. “Are you ok?”

Rounding the railing, he walked up to where she sat and kneeled in front of her. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Judy looked at her paws folded in her lap. “I like Skye,” she whispered.

Looking back up at him, she gave a shy smile at his happy expression. “She’s good for you and she respects you. I don’t want you to stop seeing her because of Maple.”

“Hey.” His paws went to frame her face. “No power in this universe can keep me from being with her. Because I like her, too.”

The apartment door opened and Kari poked her head out, looking frantic. “Sorry, boss! I had to use the bathroom and when I came out, she was gone.”

“Don’t worry about that, Kari.” Jack pulled Judy to her feet. “Let’s go get some work done. Sandra is going to need you at the register, Kari. And Judy, help wherever they need you.”

Kari gave a nod as she bounded past the two bunnies, though Judy looked at her brother in curiosity.

“What did Maple do in college?” she asked as Jack turned to follow the vixen.

He paused and grimaced at her. “It’s a really long…  disgusting story that you're way too young to hear.” He grabbed her paw and pulled her along. “Now back to work, Bun-Bun.”

Maple stood off to the side as the buck and grey squirrel unloaded the truck. Though Jack’s ears twitched every few moments as she huffed. It made calling out a greeting to every predator who entered The Perk all the better. Anything to let her know he could care less about her opinion.

The buck smiled his thanks as Lucian accepted the last box from him, watching the grey squirrel vanish through the propped open cafe door.

Though he rolled his eyes at the bratty grunt from his sister. Jaw clenched, Jack turned to face her, finding a sour expression on her pretty face and her arms crossed.

"Thanks for driving all the way up here, Maple," he began coolly, "I really appreciate it."

"And when she breaks your heart and leaves you high and dry with nothing to show for it, don't come crying to me." He shook his head at her expression of stubborn malice. "I'll be too busy laughing."

"Yeah," retorted the buck, "a small army of brothers and sisters and I'm going to run to the one sibling who makes Pop-Pop seem progressive."

Maple studied him for a moment before huffing. "You're an idiot. You really should have just stayed on the farm. No doe is going to want anything to do with you after that slut is done bleeding you dry."

Narrowing his eyes in anger, Jack watched as she turned on her heel and climbed into the cab of the truck. His jaw ached from being clenched as he watched his sister drive away.

"Bitch," he spat out, still glaring at the spot where the family truck had vanished.

There was an abrupt pause in activity when Jack re-entered the cafe. Kicking the door stop aside and sealing the cafe against the hot outside air, everyone stopped what they were doing to glance at him. Realizing he was the center of attention, Jack gave a nervous smile and wave to his audience.

"Bunnies," he said with a shrug. "We're so emotional."

Sandra and Judy giggled, the sound loud enough to break the tension. And it was all anyone needed for the cafe to start moving again. Judy went from customer to customer with a tray of cookies. Kari followed, her own tray loaded with drinks. Jon and Bobby gave their boss concerned glances as the buck accepted his apron back. Watching him retie it with a thoughtful expression, both exchanged concerned looks as he literally wandered back into the kitchen. Jack was silent as he picked his work back up, his thoughts on both his sisters' words.

She likes me, Jack thought as he shuffled through a stack of orders. I know she does…

……………..

“Okay, so what are the rules?” Vivian and Nick were paused at a street light, waiting to walk. Her son huffed and rolled his eyes as his paws adjusted the straps of his backpack.

“Mind my manners, be respectful, no summoning spirits, clean up after myself, don’t tell mammals I’m so happy my sister was able to get herself out of her coffin or that she kicked her drug habit, and don’t advertise tarot readings.”

“Unless…”

“Unless they offer me stupid amounts of money.”

“That’s my todd.” The vixen smiled as they approached the cafe, stepping back to let Nick push the door open. “So, Skye said she’ll meet you at the cafe after your shift, so don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

"Yes, Mom," Nick grumbled as they approached the cafe door.

"And, actually…" she added as he pulled the door open, "don't do anything I would."

Vivian was pleasantly surprised by the cafe. It was busy, but not overwhelmingly so, the line consisting of only three mammals as the rest of the patrons enjoyed their orders. She had expected her daughter to be the only vixen employed so the sight of the pretty corsac on the register was surprise. The cashier gave a quick wave to the two of them before she went back to her customer.

“That’s Kari,” explained Nick as he led her to the counter. “She and Bobby, the bobcat, go to ZSU.”

“And is that Judy?” she asked uncertainly as cream colored bunny doe passed drinks to those waiting. If it was, Vivian was going to have a serious talk with that rabbit about going after someone her own age!

But Nick just laughed. “No, that’s Sandra. She goes the Zootopia School of Technology.”

“‘Bout time you showed up, Slick!”

Both foxes turned to the greeting, the vixen noting how her son’s tail started to happily wag behind him. And she was pleasantly surprised by the sight that greeted her. Standing at least a head shorter than Nick, with big, pretty purple eyes that seemed to light up on him, Vivian accurately deduced the doe was the famous Judy.

“For a second, I though you forgot all about us.” The bunny smiled at Nick, who took a step closer to her.

“Oh, I could never forget you, Carrots.” He gave a shrug and stuffed his paws in his pockets. “I can’t have a cu- sweet little bunny like you get bored.”

“And I’m Vivian, Nick’s mother.” The vixen extended a paw to her, enjoying the way both kits blushed. Her grin grew as the bunny accepted her paw and smiled up at her shyly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wilde,” she greeted politely.

“Oh, please, sweetheart, just call me Vivian.” Pulling her paw free, it went to her purse to tug her wallet free. “And I have something I want to show you.”

Both teens exchanged glances as a picture was pulled from her wallet and passed to Judy. The doe’s face split into a grin when she saw what it was. Her son tensed, before groaning in embarrassment.

“This is Nicky when he was a year old,” Vivian explained moving to stand next to Judy. The little fox kit in the photo sat in just his diaper, facing the camera with one little fist rubbing his eye. “He started walking early, and as soon as he did, decided he wasn’t going to wear his diapers anymore.” Judy burst into laughter as Nick groaned again.

“Mom, please stop!”

Vivian simply smirked at him before turning back to the rabbit. “Every time I turned around, he managed to get out of them. He would run around the house completely naked, laughing and babbling. Took us hours to catch him.”

“Mom!” Nick’s ears were flat against his head as he glared daggers at her. Vivian tucked the photo away and pulled the todd into her arms. “Did you really have to show her that?”

“Did I have to share an embarrassing photo and story of my son with the female he likes?” She pretended to think about it before smiling down at him. “Yes. Yes, I did. And besides,” Vivian leaned towards his ear and lowered her voice to keep Judy from hearing her, “if it keeps you a virgin for the next few years, I’ll be telling that story every time I see her.”

Nick looked up in alarm but his mother merely winked and pulled away.

“Hey!” came a new voice. The vixen turned to see a striped rabbit buck walking from behind the counter. “There you are! I was wondering when you’d get here.”

The buck smiled at the teens before noticing Vivian. “Oh! You must be Mrs. Wilde! Jack Hopps. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He stepped forward with his paw out to shake and a friendly smile on his muzzle.

“And you, too, Mr. Hopps. But please, call me Vivian.”

“Only if you call me Jack,” he countered with a grin.

She shook his paw, thrilled that her daughter found a job with such a friendly mammal. It made her breathe a sigh of relief. And that had her pausing when she smelled something far too familiar. Or rather, someone. Leaning into his space a bit, she sniffed again. Jack’s face became puzzled as she inhaled deeply before she realized who it was she smelled.

“Something tells me we’re going to have a long talk soon, Jack,” she said finally, pulling back with a smile. The buck’s ears drooped as he gulped.

“Right. Yes, ma’am.” He gave a strained smile as the vixen flashed every tooth she had at him.

“All right, baby.” She started turning to Nick. “Have a good week and don’t get into trouble. Judy, I’m counting on you.”

“No pressure or anything,” the doe joked, earning a little nudge from the todd.

Laughing, Vivian marked her son’s ears, causing him to grumble in embarrassment, before heading out with a final wave. Judy was still giggling, though while both males watched the vixen disappear, Nick glaring and Jack with a hint of fear. Giving the doe a slightly annoyed look, the todd looked to her brother and sniffed.

“Yeah,” he began, his expression morphing into a smug smile, “real subtle, Jack.”

Alarmed, the buck looked down at himself and began to sniff. “What? I don’t smell anything!”

Kari, who had a small respite from customers, laughed at that along with Nick and Bobby. Jack frowned as he made his way back to the kitchen, the teens close behind him.

“What is so funny?” he demanded.

“You don’t smell anything because you’re used to it!” Kari explained. “But you smell like Skye.”

“No, I don’t!” Jack argued. Judy leaned forward and gave a curious sniff. He looked at her expectantly and shook his head as she shrugged.

“You totally do,” Nick said gleefully. “You smell just like my sister and you met our mother, completely reeking of her.”

There was an odd stillness that came over Jack as he looked to the young fox. His expression was blank in response to the look of pure joy on Nick’s face.

“Oh, fuck me…” he muttered finally, closing his eyes in mortification.

“I think that’s my sister’s job,” came the cheeky response. He laughed as Jack opened his eyes to scowl at him. “Speaking of, where is she?”

“I gave her the day off.” The buck walked back into the kitchen, pausing at the apron hooks. One was tossed to the todd who was still grinning at him. “Start on the dishes, please, and then see what Jonny needs from you. And Judy-”

“GIDEON!”

Everyone in the cafe jumped up in alarm as a grey blur darted past them, heading to the front door. Jack, Nick, and Jon rushed to the kitchen entrance just in time to see Judy tackle the pudgy fox todd who walked through the door.

Nick’s fur bunched in alarm as the newcomer wrapped his arms around the bunny in a tight hug. The pair laughed and exclaimed in pure delight as he felt jealousy pull a low growl from him. Jack’s ears twitched and he grinned at the todd scowling at Gideon. Still beaming, the new todd set Judy down and playfully winced when she punched him on the arm.

“You jerk!” she teased with a smile. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be here so early!”

“I did so!” came Gideon’s argument. A paw vanished into his pocket and a cell phone was pulled free. Flicking through the messages he turned it to her with a patient look. “See? I messaged you Friday lettin’ you know.” His smile suddenly dropped and his arms crossed as he surveyed her accusingly. “And you never responded.”

Ears dropped as she looked over her shoulder to Nick, who was still eyeing Gideon suspiciously. Realizing she was looking at him, Nick blushed and busied himself with tying his apron on.

“I’ve been…” Nick’s eyes met hers briefly, his heart fluttering as a small smile curled her muzzle and a blush swept her face, “… busy.”

Smirking, Gideon looked from her to Nick. “Busy or distracted?”

“Both,” came Jack’s response. The buck grinned and rolled his eyes at Judy before giving the new todd a hug in greeting. “And you aren’t in the city by yourself, are you?”

All three looked to the door as the bells jingled again. “Naw, Mama and

Daddy ain’t that trustin’.” The vixen who entered ruffled the fur on

Gideon’s head before being tackled by Judy. “Nice to see you too, darlin’!”

“I’ll be darned!” Jack exclaimed with a happy grin. “If it isn’t little Daisy Grey!” Jack brought his paw to his chin as a thoughtful look took over him. “Let’s see… Bunnyburrow High graduated on Monday… My brother, Marco, told me you made valedictorian and got a full ride to ZSU… Which means you’re touring the college this week!”

“Yes, sir, I am.” Daisy smiled as she draped her arm around Judy. “My folks made me take Gid. We’re staying with Aunt Marian while we’re here.”

“You’re here a whole week!” Judy bounced with excitement as she grinned from the vixen to the todd.

“Yay…” came a less than enthusiastic response.

Everyone looked to Nick, who stood just off to the side, paws in his pockets and frowning in discontent. Gideon looked to Judy and smirked again before marching to him with an outstretched paw.

“Gideon Grey.” Cautiously, he shook the offered paw. “And you must be Nick.”

Nick’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he looked from the friendly todd to the now furiously blushing bunny doe.

“Judy wouldn’t shut up about you,” the new todd explained. “I tell ya, it was the most adorable thing. I ain’t never seen her smitten with anyone before.”

“Gideon!” Judy groaned, tugging her ears over her eyes as Nick looked over at her.

Daisy laughed while Jack rolled his eyes. Gideon released Nick's paw and joined his sister in her laughter.

“You talked about me?” came Nick’s breathless reply.

“She wouldn’t shut up about ya.” Gideon laughed as Judy gave him a death glare from behind her ears.

“Well, I’m glad you both came in today.” Jack interrupted as he turned to Daisy. “Wanna earn some cash tonight? My sitter fell through and I need someone to keep an eye on these two tonight.”

Both Nick and Judy looked at him in alarm.

“What do you mean you need someone to keep an eye on us?” demanded Nick

“We’re not babies, Jack! Where are you going that’s so important?” added Judy.

“Skye and I have a business thing tonight and last time we left you unsupervised, you both got arrested,” the buck explained, making his way back to the kitchen. “Daisy, I can pay you if you can babysit.”

“Love to, Jack, but Aunt Marian has a thing planned for us.” Daisy looked apologetically at the rabbit. "Sorry."

“No worries!" Jack said with a grin. "I can ask Clawhauser. And Gideon, my assistant and I need some help in the kitchen if you’re up for it.” The rabbit winked at the fox, who turned to his sister with pleading eyes. Daisy smiled at her brother and nodded.

“Works for me.” She was about to turn and walk away when she paused and her ears shot. Eyes snapping over to the bunny doe, she pointed a paw at her. “What do you mean, ‘you both got arrested’? Little miss goody two-paws Judy was arrested for somethin’?”

Nick stepped forward and nodded vigorously. “She attacked me. Viciously, too, I might add. Seriously, it should be a crime for how cute it was. That’s why they had to arrest her. Better safe than sorr- OW!”

The todd grinned down at the bunny, rubbing the spot on his arm where her fist had landed.

"I wouldn't have attacked you if you hadn't provoked me," Judy said with a smirk.

"Aww, but you're so cu- adorable when you're provoked." Nick grinned as he took a step closure to her.

Crossing her arms, the bunny doe laughed as Gideon and Daisy looking on with interest.

"Careful, Slick. We both remember what happened in the park." Tilting her head, she gave him a playful wink. "And at camp."

Copying her pose, the todd's tail wagged happily. "Bring it, Carrots." Quick as a flash, his paws shot out to pull her against him as he tickled her sides. Judy exploded into laughter, both teens oblivious to the trio watching.

"Ha! Not so tough now, are you?" demanded Nick with a grin as he hauled Judy closer to him.

"You're cheating!" the bunny cried through laughter, tears streaming down her face as she tried to pull free. "Th-this is no fair!"

"WILDE IS THE VICTOR!" Nick was laughing with her as he continued his assault. Though their mirth petered out at the sound of a throat being cleared.

Still laughing, they pulled apart and blushed as they faced Jack again. The buck eyed them with a bland look, before shaking his head and turning to a stunned Gideon and Daisy.

"And they wonder why I won't let them hang out without a sitter." With a sigh, Jack jerked his head towards the kitchen. "Whenever you're ready, Gid, I got some pretty exciting projects waiting. Nick, dishes please. And Judy, will you go see what Kari and Sandra need? I'm going to head upstairs really quick to grab my other set of fondant tools for you, Gideon. Head to the kitchen and wait for me there. I'll see you later, Daisy!"

Daisy's eyes narrowed on Nick, a thoughtful look crossing her face as she absently waved good-bye to the buck walking towards the stairs.

"I'll see you later, Gid. We have to meet back up with Aunt Marian at six." Daisy's eyes moved from Nick to her brother, who was looking at him with as much curious speculation as his sister.

"Later, Daisy."

Shifting uncomfortably, Nick did as he was told, Gideon falling into step beside him.

"So," Gideon began, "Wilde, huh?"

Furrowing his brow, Nick looked over at him suspiciously. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothin'," was the hurried response as the new todd accepted an apron from Kari and followed Nick through the kitchen entrance. Jon looked up from the order stack and gave his normal cheerful wave.

"Have fun, Gideon!" called Judy from the lobby, sparking another flare of jealousy from Nick.

Gideon laughed at Nick's reaction. "Calm down, lover todd. I'm seein' someone. And if I ever wanted to be with Judy, I'd be with her by now. That bunny only has eyes for you."

A flush spread across his body at the statement. Looking at Gideon briefly, Nick looked over his shoulder towards the lobby, pausing in his step. His eyes sought out Judy, smiling as he watched her bounce through the lobby, cleaning and gathering used dishes.

His tail started to wag as he watched her move, dancing to whatever song she had in her head. The doe paused as Jack came back into view and muttered something Nick couldn't quite hear. Both bunnies laughed, Jack's eyes meeting Nick's through the order window, causing the todd to blush and look away. Jack merely smiled and shook his head before continuing to the kitchen.

The buck adjusted his apron and held the fondant tools out for Nick to wash when he realized the kit's attention was back out in the lobby. With the fox's body tense and ears splayed, Jack felt his nose twitch in nervousness.

"You ok, kit?" he asked, Jon and Gideon looking from the order pile up in curiosity.

When Nick didn't answer, everyone followed his gaze.

Judy stood next to a table talking to another todd, this one not much older than Nick, his fur an attractive combination of white, grey, and black. The other three males gave slight winces at the stranger's obvious interest in Judy and looked back at Nick who was growling slightly. Though all signs of aggression were exchanged for obvious shock as they turned back just in time to see the new todd lean over the table, pen in paw. Whatever he had written (and everyone had a good idea of what it was) was passed to her with a charmingly bashful shrug and shy smile.

Turning pink and ears falling down her back, Judy looked down before giving a hesitant nod and small smile of her own.

"Wow…" Gideon whistled, as he watched the new todd shrug (smile still intact) before turning to leave. "Who's that?"

Seeming to sense he was being watched, the stranger scanned the cafe as he leaned against the front door. Smug, golden brown met hostile green, which widened when the other todd grinned and winked at Nick.

"Kody," Nick growled.

He watched Judy look at the paper Kody had given her before crumbling it in her paw. His ears perked a bit as she tossed it into an empty coffee cup still on the table before looking up. Their eyes met before Nick felt himself blush and turn away. Taking a full bus tub to the back, the teen refused to make eye contact with anyone while he prepped the sinks.

But the gentle clatter of dishes had him jolting out of his temporary daze. Forcing a smile, he looked at her.

"Dish delivery," she joked, setting the new tub next to him on the floor.

With a laugh, he nodded at her attempt to lighten the mood. "Thanks. I'll get to it."

Turning back to his task, Nick waited for her to leave, very aware that everyone in the kitchen had also paused to watch. Looking back up, he noticed she hadn't moved.

"What?" he asked, watching her gnaw her lip.

Looking over at her brother, Gideon, and Jon, she looked back at him, opening her mouth to speak only to close it again.

"Good talk," Jon muttered, earning a glare from the doe.

Nick gave a small laugh as she turned to meet his eyes again. Quick as a flash, she jumped up and caught his lips, a paw moving to his cheek to keep him from pulling away. Like that first kiss at the party, the world fell away.

Jack's displeased grumble, Gideon and Jon's teasing whoops, the rapidly filling sinks…

His world was melted and floated away. All there was, was Judy. Giving him his first, real, un-hustled, better-than-fantasy, all-encompassing kiss. But she pulled away much too soon, leaving him so dazed that he fell forward a bit when she did.

With a dreamy mutter, he opened his eyes (never realizing they’d closed) and gave a dopy smile which she returned.

"What was that for?" he asked softly.

Judy shrugged. "No reason."

Both teens blushed at the sound of a clearing throat, turning to see Jack glaring at Nick.

"Not at work, ok, kits?" he said with a roll of his eyes. Passing some fondant to Gideon, he and Jon set about teaching him the basics. "Let's keep this a 'no make out zone'."

"Yeah, Jack." Jon piped up with a grin, looking over at his boss. "No making out at work.”

He was ignored as Judy gave Nick one last shy smile before bouncing back to the lobby. Nick smiled after her, catching Gideon's proud grin before their work resumed. Shutting off the water and sorting through the stack, Nick's eyes landed on a piece of crumpled paper tucked into a coffee mug. Plucking it free and smoothing it out, jealousy didn't rise as he read the note.

**'Call me, gorgeous! Kody 443-737-4821'**

And it was with no small amount of smug, he balled it up and threw it away.

Mine, he thought, grinning as it landed in the trash.

…………..

Emma loved her life.

She had a great job she loved and was kicking tail in. Her family was doing better and learning to talk things out instead of starting wars. She was meeting more mammals and expanding her client base, as well as making new friends.

Sure, her ego stung a bit at Jack's rejection. And it was shocking to see the sort of female he had picked for himself. But this Skye lady seemed smart and nice enough. Something told the doe Jack had met his mate. And for all of her flaws, Emma was big enough to step back and admit she had lost.

Plenty of rabbits in the burrow, she thought wistfully to herself as she walked down the hall to her team meeting.

"Excuse me!" came a slightly harassed voice. Emma turned to see a moving filing cabinet rushing towards her. Amber eyes, watery with exertion, were peeking out from a gap between binders and two black ears stuck up straight from the pile. The cabinet stumbled closer, a few binders and pages coming free falling to the floor. "Oh, dear! Now I've done it."

"Here, let me help you." Emma kneeled to scoop up the things, ignoring how the pile of books and papers lowered themselves so they could be replaced.

Instead, she gingerly removed more of them, stacking them neatly against her hip. A surprisingly handsome face beamed at her in thanks as the now manageable pile was shifted in his paws. Now able to see him better, the doe took in his rumpled white shirt and black tie, paired with nicely pressed black slacks. A pair of wire framed glasses were perched on his head, where a thicker patch of his sleek, black fur grew longer than the rest.

Sighing with relief, the rabbit buck's look turned bashful. "You don't happen to know where conference room A is, do you? I just started and I can't seem to get my bearings."

Still off kilter, courtesy of her new companion, Emma nodded and smiled back. "Follow me. I'm heading there myself."

"Thanks! I think I've been circling this hall, like, five times." He obediently followed her. "I'm Milo. Milo Harreson."

"Emma Longrass." She felt a smile grow larger as he held out an elbow to tap against her own. "Welcome to Paddington Marketing."

"Thanks, Emma." For a moment, the pair walked in silence, until Milo stumbled to a stop with an annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, no. I think I left my glasses in my office."

Laughing, Emma's free paw reached over to knock them from the top of his head to over his eyes.

"Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise. Grinning at her, he nodded. "I like you."

Holding the door open for him, she laughed again as he moved his foot to keep it from closing.

I think I'm going to like you, too, she thought.

[xathia-89]

Warlords and Mafia AU Part 2

“Natsuki Tomi,” a voice called out from the office manager’s door, freezing me in my tracks. It was the tone that made me cold inside. It was stirring memories up that I thought I had managed to successfully bury several months in my past. It was all about the poker face as I made sure to stay calm under pressure, putting the files I was carrying down on my desk before making strides towards the office door.

I had been taken on as a general office administrator at first in a law firm several cities over from Kyoto. I had botched my surname, gotten the local hospital to remove the bullet after citing some vague incident that not one of the medical staff had bought, but had to let me go after paying because my ID wasn’t matching anyone known to the police. All I was concerned about was being able to keep paying my portion of the rent in a houseshare, but since I had been recently promoted as a low-level solicitors personal secretary, then I had been looking to find my own flat. I had been getting comfortable in this life, and it was indeed nothing like what my brother had always made out that it would be if I left the cover of the mansion.

All of the focus of the office floor was on me, especially the solicitor who I did the work for. She had only just managed to get them to give me over, and she was now thinking of her work going all down the drain as the door was locked behind me in a strange move. The strange part being that the office manager showed me in, and then showed himself out without a word. The big chair with the high back was obscuring the person in it from me.

“Take a seat,” I stiffened at the voice, but complied. All of the internal and external windows were covered by blinds, and it was the presence in the chair that ensured that everyone was keeping their distance from trying to listen in.

Shingen spun the chair around confidently once he was confident that I had complied with his instruction. He had a smug look on his face, one that I was only aware of wanting to smack off him, but I was at a disadvantage given that I could see the holster for his gun on his belt and under his blazer. He was wearing a look that could only be described as predatory, and I was feeling very flighty at that moment in time.

“I’m honestly impressed it took me so long to find you when you technically work for an ally of mine,” he was glancing me over before standing up from his seat, sliding his hands into his trouser pockets before sauntering around to the front of the desk. “And that I had to promise an office manager and a solicitor that I was ‘only promoting you’ and would be replacing you? Your work ethic is clearly something to be admired. You have really taken the ability to hide in plain sight, I do applaud your efforts.”

“I wasn’t doing anyone any harm, why come looking for me now?” I had no need to play nice, but I had to toe the line at civil for certain. I didn’t want to give the man an excuse to use that gun of his. “Even the hospital taking the bullet out didn’t want to let me go, but the police are never looking for a woman. I was keeping my head down and out of all of your way.”

“You never truly leave this life is what I have been told,” there was a threat to his voice. “And Oda has become more of a pest recently. You’re the closest thing I have to keep him in line,” it was a casual shrug. I was a chess piece, nothing more. “I can twist his right arm for certain at the very least. Hideyoshi adores you. Plus, your talents are second to none. I haven’t seen any other girl last more than an event, and Oda has even taken to bringing other men along regardless of any talk. You are the only one he could have doing the job properly since it’s always someone different.”

“I’m a liability. You don’t want me in the crossfire,” I tried to argue. “I might have a gun and know how to use it, but all I would end up being is someone else to protect in the middle of it all.”

“Actually, I can deal with that, I need your talents,” Shingen surprised me as he gestured for me to stand up. “We’re going now, you’re being promoted to my secretary at the parent company for such diligence and due work.”

“I don’t see why I should be coming along with that,” I boldly stated.

“You’re still on the police wanted for questioning list actually, under the surname of Toyotomi,” Takeda was done playing nice, his face icing over instantly. “I could easily ensure that you are outed and dragged back to Kyoto and it all comes out that you were in the middle of the public shoot out and lied to police? They won’t be very nice about it, especially if they just happen to find your fingerprints matching other scenes.”

“Let us say I play along, you don’t go to the police, and I am promoted to your secretary-” I started.

“There is no room for bartering,” Shingen had an agenda and a time to keep. “You agree, or I have the police arrive to arrest you, it would be such a shame if you were the one they were looking for in response to a string of crimes,” his smile was cold and barely there.

“Fine, I have no choice. And we both know you’d fabricate evidence against me, I keep quiet, play secretary for you,” I stated through gritted teeth. “At least let me know what my duties are.”

“Keep the diary organised, book my hotels when I’m away and arrange transport. Plus any escorting required, you will be attending with me,” he asserted, before gesturing to stand up. “I have places to be, you are coming with me. I had your things boxed up while we were having this conversation, and your things are currently being moved into my ‘spare room’. Before you protest, I have to let you know that Kenshin was arguing with me about this as well, he didn’t want you anywhere near him. So if you don’t play along, I can easily let him take over your care, and I will promise you that he will be a lot less accommodating than I am about this all.”

The office was practically brimming with everyone offering their congratulations as we left, an immediate and impromptu promotion to the parent company after catching the eye of Shingen was the story I gleaned. It was all smiles and passing information off towards Takeda while the illusion was kept stable. Then we both feigned an essential meeting in Kyoto that we needed to get to to allow us to leave. Shingen had staff carrying my box of things, it would be seen as too improper for him to allow for me to do that. It was all stunned expressions as I was escorted out of the building by Takeda and his staff, and I was willing to bet that there were already rumours now that we were sleeping together as I got into the stretched limo that had been waiting for us.

I ignored the fact that Shingen never stopped typing away on his phone for the entire journey back to his mansion. I was either enjoying watching the scenery or playing a mindless game on my phone. I already knew that it would be taken off me and destroyed the second I left the car. It was a good job I hadn’t developed attachments to anything as I spotted a removal truck pulling up outside a mansion.

My face was dropping as I recognised the things when the shutter was rolled up. Mostly my furniture, and all of my clothes and items. It was a professional moving job at least, and they had undoubtedly arrived not long after I had left for work by all appearances. It was all being handled with care, though not one of them seemed to be disturbed by the look of surprise on my face.

“Princess?” Shingen sounded too smug at my emotions for me to try and ignore it as I spun around in frustration. A camera shutter sounded, his phone in his hand and then a confident smirk as he continued tapping away on his phone. “I’ll show you to your glittering cage, and we should discuss your new role.”

My jaw went slack after I was dragged through the mansion. It was all pristine glamour as an entrance hall, a grand staircase and wooden floor leading to what was the private settings of the people who lived here. It was all white walls, and giant pictures, a showing of wealth in that the owner could afford the paintings and for someone to keep the place so white and clean. I didn’t get much of a chance to see anything else, as I was taken down after the removal men who were putting the last of the cardboard boxes in a grand scale room. It was larger than any apartment I would have been able to afford on my own for sure. A thick carpet under my feet, as I saw that my bed was already set up, minus the sheets, and I had even been ‘gifted’ with a TV and a small two-seater sofa next to a small kitchenette. There was an inbuilt wardrobe, and a little wet room off in the corner. It was sheer luxury, as I turned to face Shingen reluctantly. I had also spotted a workspace of sorts, with my laptop already on and open. I was willing to bet that my wardrobe had been given an upgrade as well. I was beginning to feel like I was very much out of my depths.

“To maintain all illusions, your laptop and that desk phone are all hooked up to my work systems. You are required to answer that phone at any time of day, and all calls are monitored and recorded, so you can’t plan anything. Yuki will take you to the grocery store for shopping so you can keep yourself fed on whatever diet you like,” Takeda was running things through on automation it felt like. A robot in the middle of a plan. “The intercom connects to the rest of the house, so you can tell us anything urgent if something arises. The door is locked from the outside, and the windows have bars on. You can open them for fresh air, or you have the air conditioning and heating system. Any questions?”

“Do I have internet?” I sighed, noticing that my gaming console had made it over at the very least.

“Yes, but don’t think we won’t know who you’re talking to,” he shrugged, and turned to leave, ending the conversation as he kept his eyes glued on his phone screen.

I was feeling more than a little frustrated at the whole princess in a tower imprisonment that this was resembling. To anyone, it was a luxury place to be, but it was still a cell that I had no chance of escaping without an elaborate plan, and I would need inside help, especially now that I knew it wasn’t just Shingen here, his right hand was living with him. Two high-level mafia sorts and I definitely didn’t quite have the physical capacity to overpower them alone. My first job was a shower at least, then going through my laptop to see what they had planned for the time being since I was meant to be Takeda’s PA.

The following morning was a little more interesting, Sasuke and Yukimura took it upon themselves to get into my room after my morning coffee. The scientist was looking a little abashed, while Sanada was glaring at me in the attempts to make me burst into flames. I was curled up on the sofa, making no efforts to move and create a space for either man. The news was playing across the screen, more out of force of habit than interest as I found the need to be aware of the world around me.

“Good morning to you two as well, glad to know you are capable of knocking before entering a woman’s room,” I sarcastically drawled, making a pointed jab at the fact I was still in my nightwear under a dressing gown that had been provided at least. The diary had told me I wouldn’t physically be going anywhere, so I saw no need to rush in getting ready to go nowhere. “And for the record, let’s just set it straight that the only person who wanted me here at all was Shingen. So what’s the reason for barging straight in?”

“We just came to make sure that you know what’s going to happen if you act up,” Yukimura was pacing like a caged animal, trying to assert his dominance in an area he wasn’t even certain of.

“I’m guessing it won’t be pleasant,” I rolled my eyes, not appreciating the alpha male approach to the whole situation without a care in the world for me. “But all I really know right now is that I’d be dragged to the police with evidence and outed as a criminal that they’ve been after for a while and Takeda gets to gloat over everyone that he caught the criminal, and then ensure that my connections to Nobunaga and Hideyoshi are found out to bring them down.”

“More like he would pass you to Kenshin for all information extraction before doing that,” Sasuke corrected. He nodded to Yukimura, who glowered at me as though I was there to enchant Shingen to my feminine wiles, before leaving.

Sasuke turned the tv off and then waited silently for my attention and for me to stop sulking.

“Kenshin knew your surname before he realised who you were in that room,” he calmly explained, his arms folded across his chest. “When I mentioned Toyotomi was in my science class at university, and I just happened to be tutoring her, he did his digging. Hideyoshi’s little sister who fell onto hard times and was taken in suddenly by her brother after being left on her own for years? Didn’t you even find it slightly suspicious that he insisted you move in with him after so long in silence?”

“I was that desperate to not be homeless, I wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth,” I replied quietly. “Uesugi taunted Hideyoshi into fetching me then I presume?”

“When he took you in, Kenshin knew that he’d gotten under your brother’s skin. You’re a weakness to the Oda, and that can always be exploited, but it wasn’t until the night at the casino that we had any clue how deeply you were really involved with the boys. It took us by surprise, you were usually scouted at neutral and Oda allied events on Nobunaga’s arm where there wasn’t a chance of a shoot out, so we assumed you were sleeping with Nobunaga really,” Sasuke calmly explained. “Then when you disappeared from Oda’s manor, well there were all sorts of messages on the grapevine, even possibilities of a large monetary reward. It seemed very much out of character for the men to be so willing to get information in such a brash manner. Shingen was going through the new recruits at his companies, and your photo appeared and hatched the plan. Uesugi wasn’t impressed with this room, he believes that you should be constantly attached to his room in a small cell so he can make sure you’re behaving.”

“If Shingen wasn’t making such awful attempts at trying to flirt with me, then I would thank him,” I quipped, glowering at an old friend. “But he completely turned my life around without permission, has no concept of privacy and has dragged me back into the middle of things just to taught my brother. I wasn’t a threat to anyone, why bring me back? The only reason is to get my brother to reveal Nobunaga’s plans.”

“You caught everyone’s attention. I don’t think I know many people who can take a bullet to the shoulder and then command the entire getaway of their side without leaving a trace of DNA behind,” Sarutobi pointed out. “Then add in the disappearing from the face of the Earth, and it’s going to have everyone in our business looking for you.”

“Well, leaving proof behind gets you caught,” I smiled tightly. “One thing I always knew, you never leave anything behind. Makes it messy on the law side of things and you can’t deny all knowledge,” I continued.

“You make it sound like common sense,” a disgusted voice attracted both of our attention. Kenshin Uesugi had a big imposition on the room. All of the atmosphere was turned on its head from a slightly relaxed one to balancing on a knife’s edge. “Sasuke, meeting, now. And don’t think you’re free to move,” he glared at me, and his gaze was impossible to break. His eyes were gorgeous, one blue and one green, and I believed he was liable to strike me dead without a second’s consideration. I nodded, audibly gulping as the man shrank away, dragging Sasuke in his wake.

I buried myself straight back into work after making a fresh cup of coffee. I had heard a couple of dings from the laptop while Kenshin had intruded, meaning that I had things to do. I glanced over Shingen’s diary and then noticed a slot that was full suddenly for this evening.

The intercom buzzing nearly sent me flying.

“I’m glad to see you take your work seriously at least. I need you ready to leave in an hour, we have an event to attend tonight, and I need to take you dress shopping and get someone to make you presentable to be on my arm,” Takeda’s voice broke the silence of my room.

“Of course,” I sighed in response, already mentally figuring out my schedule as I finished my coffee before moving to the wet room.

[lukeysgirl]

The Note Tree ❋ L.H. Pt.4

Part  F O U R 

Summary: A cherry blossom tree, residing at the farthest part of the schools courtyard. Nobody dwelled there, and you didn’t care much for it. Until you kept hearing one song played over and over, with lyrics changed to touch at your curiosity. They knew you were listening, and one day you gave in and made your way to the pink tree. Waiting for you, a series of notes tied to a single strand of string.

Word Count: 3k+

AN: back again with another part! im so sorry this series is slow due to the notes thing, it’s kinda a bummer aha. ill be more lenient and release them regardless of the note count sometimes. but as usual, lets try n hit 100. also to everyone who is so supportive and reblogging this more than once: ya’ll are the real MVPs aha im so glad you guys like this series :) xx 

Parts: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

I M A G I N E 

Thursday 

“I told you that I owed you. I never said when we could talk about it.” 

At the brink of your literacy period, first period, was the infamous blonde with ocean eyes. Luke had sat across from you on the oak wood table, his hands planted nicely on the glossed object. His hair was curly, as usual, with locks of gold shining from the ceiling lights. He was wearing a slightly ripped Blink-182 shirt with the usual black skinny jeans and converse. He stared at you curiously, like he’s never seen you before. 

“But now is a good time, is it not?” Luke asked, a smile forming on his lips as you put your book down to rest and stared at him. You couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance just staring at the pompous boy before you. 

“It’s way too early, Hemmings,” you began tiredly, a yawn escaping your mouth. “It takes a lot of energy to put up with you at times, and I have little to no energy right now.” 

“Hey man, I forced a paper cut on myself to cover you,” Luke pointed out, showing off his hand. The cut was now covered by a Hello Kitty bandaid, with the cat herself in a nurse outfit. “It’d be nice if you can give me some of the energy when I want it.” 

“Fucks sake,” you muttered, stuffing a piece of paper in the page you left off at and closed your book. “For one thing, I didn’t ask for you to cover for me. Also, of all ways to cover me, why the hell would you give yourself a paper cut?” 

“I covered for you because I know how much you care about your attendance,” Luke said softly, having your expression soften to a more ponderous look. “You never, ever want to be seen as a tardy student, so I respect that greatly and just want to help–” 

“I don’t need your help,” you quickly interjected, but Luke was quick to drop that.

“For the paper cut, I thought it’d be more comical,” Luke said simply, having you shake your head with a small smile. You had to admit: Luke is quite silly, and that makes him fairly endearing. “Can’t lack any chance to be me, ya know?” 

“Of course,” you said simply, still retaining your soft smile for a few brief moments before straightening your lips. “So, about me owing you–” 

“You look really beautiful when you smile like that.” Eh?! You looked up at Luke, seeing him smile fondly at you. His sudden words left you slightly speechless. Blood surged to your cheeks, staring into his ocean blue eyes to see the audacity. 

“Don’t be so candid!” You exclaimed, looking away to allow your embarrassment to slowly dissolve. Luke put his arms up in defense, a smug smile painting his lips as he did. You wanted to punch it right off his face, but you couldn’t. After all, that dude did cover for you willingly. “A-anyways, what do you want?” 

“That’s quite the offer, Y/N,” Luke began, sitting back in his seat while folding his arms together. “I desire a lot of things, but obviously there’s a limit.” 

“Nothing sexual or stupid, alright?” You vaguely specified, having Luke squint his eyes in contemplation. You then watch as he reached down for his bag, shifted a bit inside, and conjured a piece of paper. 

“Here.” 

You took the paper and held it up, reading the contents of it. You noticed a list of band names, and beside them, times. There were details of the location, including the venue name and the street number. Blues, reds and blacks were splashed all over it, having your index finger rub down the names as you compared the colors to your skin. 

“We’re having a concert this Saturday,” Luke informed as you continued staring at the paper. He brought his finger to the paper, staring attentively at the page as he pointed to a time. The row of that time held the band name 5 Seconds of Summer. “We’re on at 1 A.M. Michael was handing them out like a maniac the other day. It seems like you didn’t know?” 

“Oh, I did know about the performance,” you said simply, putting the flyer on the desk to begin folding it. “I wasn’t paying attention when the boys came to talk to the girls about it. I was half asleep.” 

“As usual?” 

“Mm.” You filed the paper in your backpack. Luke watched you attentively, his arm bent and leaned against the desk with his head leaning against his forearm. He stared at you, having your heart stop for a brief moment. “What?” You asked, glaring at his obnoxious behavior. 

“So is that a yes that you’re coming?” Luke chimed, his eyes full of hope and anticipation. You let out a sigh, thinking for a moment before slowly nodding. “Wait, like actually?” 

“We can pinkie swear on it,” you began, swallowing harshly as you put your pinkie up. 

“You… you still do that kinda stuff?” Luke commented, his pink, chapped lips parting to stare at you in wander. You found yourself blushing again, really hating the fact that Luke Hemmings was putting you in this flustered position. “That’s damn cute, Y/N.” 

“Just shut up and swear already!” 

Without hesitation, Luke’s pinkie found itself wrapped around yours. You felt the roughness of his skin, the thickness and callouses dancing around your pinkie due to his guitar playing. A few seconds pass and you attempt to let go of his grip, but his pinkie was strongly attached to yours. You stared at Luke, questioning his deal. But he just gazed distantly at you, seeming unaware as to what he was doing. 

“You… can let go now,” you murmured, watching as he quickly reeled his pinkie back and began blushing. You rolled your eyes, curious as to why he was embarrassed. He then quickly placed his hands behind his neck, scratching the nape with his light, blonde locks. 

“Anyways, how did it go with the tree? Did you go?” 

“Oh, yeah I did,” you said simply, feeling your cheeks smudge slightly with blush. You took your book back in your hands, allowing your eyes to fall to it to occupy your sight. You traced the dents worth of the title, feeling the smooth, fake-gold print on it. “It went well, more or less. Didn’t meet the stalker but he left kind words on notes for me. He was the reason you covered for me.” You revealed an accidental soft smile that made Luke widen his eyes a bit. 

“I see this stalker is somehow advancing better than me,” Luke began. You tilted your head up to stare at the boy attentively. He leaned back into the chair and threw his head back. You watch his Adams Apple bob up when gulping. “Ah, he’s making it so difficult…” 

You hadn’t bothered to question his words. Luke was always one to say things that were deemed empty for you. Not that you hadn’t cared, but you didn’t know what he meant and knew he was only going to dodge telling you. But he was acting somewhat annoyed, which doesn’t seem like a trait Luke would own. Mister popular, irresistible, and ecstatic Luke Hemmings isn’t someone to get annoyed, but rather be the one who is annoying. 

“Anyways, where are your boyfriends?” You asked, watching as Luke regained himself and leaned his elbows onto the desk again. His large hands held his head up by the jawline as he began blowing away his curly locks from his eyes. 

“Probably with your girlfriends,” Luke said with a shrug. “Where are your girlfriends?” 

“Probably with your boyfriends,” you mocked, having Luke roll his eyes before chuckling. You then rose, picking up your bag to put it on. “I’m gonna go to Mr. Tanners to reprimand him over bad choice in history study.” 

“But Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety two, Y/N!” Luke exclaimed as you picked up the literature on Christopher Columbus’s voyages. 

“He also thought he ‘discovered’ India when he actually ‘discovered’ America,” you hummed annoyingly as you used one of your hands to curl your index and middle fingers when saying discovered. Luke chuckled, watching as you took your leave from the library. 

You were at the cherry tree once more. And this time, with a watch wrapped around your wrist. 

With your legs bend into a pretzel, you seated yourself on the soft grass. Right in front of you was the math textbook you were analyzing. It was open to a page that resided in the 200s with a sandwich on the page (courtesy of Alexis’ mother.) Your bag, in it’s sky blue glory, was sprawled just above the textbook, unzipped and still. Then, in your hands, were the notes of the day. There were only 4, but each one held words of sentiment that made you just a little happy. Just a little. 

Note 1: You look so beautiful today. You were practically radiating. I’ve never seen you smile so much before until now. 

Note 2: I honestly hope it were by my words. Not because I think you have low self-esteem, but because I like seeing your smile. Your lips are perfect, I want to see it to everything. 

Note 3: Stretching out a smile so much that it hurts your cheeks. I want to see them be parted slightly from shocked expressions. I want to see them pucker up together to make mockery of the duck face. I want to see you touch them being touched by your fingers when you read or trapped in some sort of thought. 

You smiled widely at the way your stalker tried so hard to make all his words fit into one piece of paper. His letters were more put in order rather than the messy, barely-legible handwriting he owned. His words were stretched longer by length and shrunk in size in order to fit his words of sentiment. And you honestly appreciated it. 

Note 4: I’ll start telling you stuff about me that not many know. I really adore penguins, I think they’re the cutest, flightless birds ever. Okay, so now that I’ve told you something about me, do you mind telling me something about you? Something I wouldn’t expect?

You smiled widely at this. This boy enjoyed the penguin, even though it was flightless. It really gave you an idea about this boy. He must be someone who doesn’t care if someone lacks in something vital that supposedly labels them. A penguin can be flightless, but they don’t lack in being fantastic caretakers and clever hunters. It made you further your curiosity over this stalker. 

You stuffed the notes in your pocket before looking up at the tangling piece of paper hung from the branch. You got yourself on your feet, feeling grass get stuck on the back of your thighs due to the jean shorts you wore for the day. While you used your hands to brush the green flecks off, you walked towards the note and cautiously opened it. On the top of one of the bends, it read: You can also request anything you’d like that isn’t revealing my identity. 

You thought a lot as you held the note, yanking it kindly to get the sharpie down to the grass. You bent down to pick it up, straightening up once more to hold the note. You nibbled at your lower lip kindly, glancing down at your watch to be weary of the time. You then realized what you wanted but wanted to give away something more personal. Something that would maybe push him to be more personal as well. 

I am a very sad person, stalker dude. I won’t tell you the reason just yet (if we’re lucky enough for a yet) but I will admit that your singing makes me smile. Nobody has ever sung a song to me before, even if it wasn’t to convey feelings for me like a cheesy romance flick. So instead of me coming to the tree tomorrow, maybe you can sing during my English class. Like before.

You had mentally thanked this boy for providing you with one of those thin sharpies, because you hadn’t realized how much you wrote. You subconsciously wrote small due to lack of space. Placing the sharpie on the ground, you lifted your wrist to check the watch. 

Oh fuck! You were urgent to stuff all of your things and put them in the bag, keeping the sandwich in your hand. You began dashing away from the tree, finding Des back at the school ground with an unfamiliar face. And although it was a bit blurry, you can tell Des was fuming as she glared at the boy. 

As you began slower and noticed your pace gaining progress, you noticed this boy was far taller than Des. But then again, who isn’t? His head of hair was chestnut, and in the sun it looks like a lovely kind orange, like one of the inside bark of a tree. His eyes were not too easy to see, but they were a generic set of blue eyes, one incomparable to, for example, Lukes. He was handsome, you give the boy that much, with his simple sharp nose and salmon-colored lips. 

“If you’re annoying my friend, you really should back off now,” you said simply, panting to regain your breath. You dusted yourself off a bit, unsure if you had any more bits of grass stuck on you. “I’m not in the mood to use so much energy on an entity like yourself.” 

“Calm down, Y/N, I haven’t been harassing your girlfriend here,” the boy joked, having you roll your eyes. Des shoved him a bit, receiving more laughter from him as she folded her arms and glared at him. 

“I’m not her girlfriend,” Des muttered, having you smirk at her baby-like behavior. “I ain’t gay–” 

“And dating is a lot of energy,” you continued for her, having Des shove you playfully in response. The boy looked down at the both of you, slightly nodding. “Anyhow, how do you know my name? Have we met before?” 

“Seriously, Y/N?” The boy said, his cheeks developing in pink as he looked down at you. “Y/N, we’ve literally had all the same classes in freshman year. We sat right next to each other that entire year.” You then realized and parted your lips slightly. 

“Oh, Holland,” you began, addressing him by his last name. “Nathan Holland, right?” 

“Right,” Nathan nodded, his blue eyes softening over the fact that you recalled his name. “It’s been a while, no? 3 years in the same school and we haven’t interacted since. How unfortunate, yeah?” 

“It’s not my job to keep up with people I know little to nothing about and can’t be asked to care about,” you said simply as you turned and began walking for the door. “It’s your fault for not trying then, if it personally affects you.” 

“As cold as ever I see,” Nathan attempted with a chuckle, having you blatantly ignore his words as Des clung to your side. Her arm wrapped around yours, having you watch as she glanced back at Nathan following us. “So what’s the deal with you and that tree, Y/N?” 

“Do you ever shut the fuck up, Nathan?” Des growled, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she walked you to your classroom. Luckily the halls were still a bit crowded, so you knew you weren’t going to be late. No required rush. You were just a few feet from the doorway of your Anatomy class until the infamous blonde asshole blocked your access. 

“Seriously,” you muttered with a sigh, looking up as Luke gave you a suggestive grin. He looked over at Des and gave her a wave, in which she rolled her eyes but smiled at his stupid, smug look. But then his ocean eyes darkened like a storm when he rose them up to the other tall, lanky boy behind you. 

“Lucas! Buddy! How you doin’?” Nathan played off, a wide smile painted on his lips to flaunt his white teeth. But when you looked at Luke, he was practically fuming. His lips pursed into a straight line, his jawline clenching in disturbance as he stared at the boy offering his hand for a handshake. “Okay then,” Nathan uttered awkwardly, clenching his hand into a fist before dropping it. 

“Go away.” You were a little shocked to hear the cool, super chill Luke Hemmings telling someone to go away. You always figured that guy got along with everyone (and he does). But this one character must be his limit. But why? 

“Calm down, Hemmings. I haven’t made any moves yet,” Nathan began, having Luke scoff before Nathan allowed himself to tilt his head down to you. “It’s nice to finally meet your eyes again, Y/N. See you around?” 

“I suppose,” you responded nonchalantly. With that, Nathan gave you a wink before giving Des and Luke a mere wave. He turned and took his leave, shoving his hands in his pockets before losing himself in the midst of fellow classmates. 

“See you later, babes?” Des caught your attention, nodding at her with a smile before watching her disappear, too. You then turned to see Luke now leaning on one side of the door frame. You walked in, rolling your eyes at the annoying boy as you took your seat. 

“What’s with the attitude?” You asked Luke, audible enough while he trailed you and took his seat beside you. He piled his arms together before lying his head in his arms once more. “Are you hungry again? So much so that you own an attitude?” 

“‘You’re not you when you’re hungry,’“ Luke joked, giving you his usual smile as he closed his eyes. You looked back down at your hands, seeing the two hold onto the plastic-sealed sandwich. You threw it at him, listening as the food slapped his cheek. He sat up and took the wrapped sandwich in his hand. He studied it curiously before looking over to you.

“It’s a homemade BLT, relax,” you said simply, retrieving your materials from your bag as Ms. Lee entered the classroom. You prepared your pens and pencils, with the Bic pen you had stolen only days ago. As you prepare your fresh, new page for notes, you glance over to watch Luke eat the sandwich graciously. He loved it, not even dare hesitating to eat where you left your bites. Luke was hungry, that was evident, but he also ate with some sort of thought. He kept a smile on his face as he did, as if the sandwich was the greatest thing he’s ever had. 

Whether it was because you had gifted it to him or not was beyond you, but for some odd reason, you felt slightly happy that Luke had been eating it contently. 

ahhh im back at it again! please lemme know whatcha think right over here and ill see ya in chapter 5 xx