#day 4 in a row of not being able to sleep at night and having to go into work with god awful headaches

[midnight-mourning]

Hearts & Home

💘💘Midnight's DCA Valentine's Day 4💘💘

Woahhhh more cowboys.... That's CRAZY... hehe anywho, i very much enjoyed taking another crack at these idiots, hope you enjoy reading about them :)

Prompt: Valentines continuation of the prev wild west x yn request i made last time perchance :)c i liked your story you made with em a lot teehee

Word Count: 2203

Read here if you prefer ao3!

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You keep your eyes on the horizon, mouth a firm line as you scan the distance for any sign of life. 

Nothing but the vast expanse of white and grey stares back at you. They're not here. Again. 

The breeze blows by, chilling you once more, and you shake your head, deciding it's for the best to head inside. Despite they're seeming lack of care for you in the moment, you know they wouldn't want you to freeze. You think, anyway. 

This was the third week in a row now, they'd promised they'd be back this time. Not another letter, not another empty promise. But, you couldn't be too harsh on them, they still had jobs to do, and with the weather as of late, you're sure they're being worked hard to keep their ranch in tip-top shape. You were doing the same here, afterall. Though, you were handling roughly the same size property on your own, whereas their boss had multiple hands to help out besides your cowboys—

You shake your head, the door slamming shut behind you. 

The warmth of your home greets you, but it does little for your mood. You're less worried and more, disappointed. For well over a month now they'd been promising to visit you, their usual trips having become few and far between. 

You hadn't been given an explanation for this shift either. Only noting that when you did see them this last time they'd become a bit skittish, off-put even. Your usual affections weren't returned in full, and if you had thinner skin you'd be alarmed by this. For now, you were just concerned. And annoyed, incredibly annoyed. 

 You thought that after the confrontation of your feelings, things would be more defined between you. You'd been mistaken of such. Rather, you felt as if you were stuck in a bit of a limbo. Though, part of that was your own fault to be fair. 

You were each seemingly too scared to take that next step. To go from casual flirting, joking back and forth, late nights spent together to something more, intimate neither you nor Sun nor Moon has made the step. Sure, you'd gotten close. On several occasions.

When Sun would corner you in the barn for a brief 'chat' that was filled with far more actions than words. Or when late at night, when you couldn't sleep, you'd find yourself in your kitchen and Moon would come up behind you, offering sweet nothings of comfort in whispered words and chaste kisses. 

But that's all it was, wasn't it? You bitterly think as you swirl the coffee in your cup, the black liquid seeming to taint your very being in the moment. 

All of it, it meant nothing. And again, perhaps you were to blame for such. In those moments, it was you who pulled away in the end, it was you who hesitated and froze upon hearing those murmured expressions of desire. And for what, fear? Fear of what? It surely wasn't rejection, not at the surface level at least, you knew they both wanted for you as you wanted for them, to an extent at least. 

Commitment then. Stability. Even if you told yourself it's what you wanted, the idea of it seemed impossible, and therefore terrifying to you. Being able to trust someone, multiple someone's was unfamiliar to you, it always has been. To have it all so easily within your grasp made you feel as if you were living in a dream. So you were doing everything that you could to wake up. 

But still, even with your own insecurities, that didn't explain their odd behavior, or their sudden disappearance altogether. That, was something you'd need to determine on your own. 

And the best way to do that, was with a confrontation.

So, you sent another letter. And another. And another. 

If that damn courier was going to pass through here daily and use your land as a shortcut, you were going to make well sure you made use of him. 

You sent letters without waiting for a response. As despite your insistence and incessant writing, somewhere deep in you you knew that one was never going to be enough. 

But as the days grow from one, to three, to seven, and still no answer to even one, you had enough. It didn't help matters that Valentine's a day you never really celebrated truthfully, but now desired more than anything, was about to be upon you. If anything, that fact pushed you over the edge finally. 

You hadn't wanted to resort to it, but now felt as if you had no other choice. You would have to do this directly. 

Face to face. 

You didn't pick the best day to go for this, you realize. The wind, once merely just a bother while going about your day to day around the farm, now bites mercilessly at the uncovered skin of your cheeks. You pull your hat down further with one hand, and snap the reins again with the other. 

Besides the wind, it's snowing hard, covering the plains in a way you hadn't seen in years. Just your luck it seemed, that a blizzard like this would happen right at the worst possible time. But, you're too far out to turn back now, even if you're admittedly beginning to lose your way a little. 

You knew it was only a half day's ride between your ranch and theirs, so surely you must be close by now. But with all the snow, your field of vision is nothing but white. Which frightens you just a tinge. 

Your fright becomes genuine alarm when suddenly, Felicity spooks. Unprepared, the reins slip from your hands as she bucks, sending you flying into the snow. You land, face first into the powder, almost grateful for the softer than normal landing. But still, it knocks the wind from you, and you groan in pain as you lift your head just enough to see Felicity fade off into the distance. 

Out of either desperation or disbelief, or maybe even delusion, you start to laugh. Quietly. Not because there's anyone around to hear you but because you're in pain. 

A lot of it, actually. 

As you lie there you become increasingly aware of two things; the cold, and your ribs. 

The first of which is starting to seep in despite your many layers, and the second you think might be broken. 

What a grand situation you've put yourself in here. 

You find yourself with a lack of care however, perhaps because of the dire absurdity of it all. No one's coming to save you. No one even knows where you are. Well, Felicity does but she's long gone. 

You may very well die out here, you realize. All for a couple of cowboys you couldn't even say 'I love you' to. 

Your own fault, truly.

You close your eyes, face cold against and feel a pull for sleep in you that you know is dangerous. One that tempts you, so, alluringly so. 

But luck was on your side, as right when you feel yourself beginning to slip, there's a muffled noise out in the distance. A shout. 

Soon enough you can make out the sound of hoofsteps and then footsteps that rapidy approach you. 

Your body is suddenly hoisted up, the light blinding even against your eyelids. Whoever it was, you weighed nothing to them. 

You find out soon enough, based on voice alone. "Come on darlin', stay with me now."

It's a struggle, but you find your voice.

"Tryin' to, Lone Star." You wheeze out, cracking open an eye to see his worried face staring down at you. 

He presses a kiss to your forehead then, hissing once he feels how cold you are. "You're frozen solid. Just what were you thinkin'?"

Sun starts to walk back over to his horse, you bite your cheek to hide the agony it causes you. 

"I wasn't. It's called desperation—" You can't help but cry out as he shifts you to mount his horse, biting your tongue again after a moment and speak through gritted teeth. "Can't a poor rancher be with their loves on the most romantic day of the year? Or some sap horseshit like that. You get the point."

Sun's too busy examining your body for damages, poking and prodding until he makes his mark against one of your ribs and you hiss. "Save that for somewhere warmer, won't you? Bit too cold to get a peek under there don't you think?"

He tsks, shifting you hold you tight against him with one arm, using the other the grip the reins and start moving. "I think the cold's made you delirious, Sweetheart. Just hold on a little longer for me, yeah."

"I'll try."

You're only able to half register as Moon rides up to the two of you, concern plastered across his features. They speak to each other, but you can hardly listen. Now that you have a sense of safety surrounding you, that urge to fade in the black pulls at you stronger than ever, and you can't help but close your eyes. Though, the  jostling pain of your broken ribs keeps you from falling asleep entirely. 

Soon enough, you find yourself in a warm bed in the boss' house, despite your protests the bunkhouse would be fine. You're treated and fed and warmed from the moment you step in the door. Something you're not taking for granted. To make matters better, you learn the reason you were found was because of Felicity wandering near the outskirts of the ranch, thus confirming to you that she was okay after all. 

With that news, you crash, weight off your shoulders—and ribs—waking up some time much later. 

When you open your eyes, you spy two restless cowboys nearby. Sun sits with his hands clasped in a chair beside you, frown settled heavily on his face. Moon is on the end of the bed, eyes trained on your face and thus, the first to notice you were awake. 

"You sure know how to make an entrance, don't you Starlight?" His tone is a mixture of displeasure and relief. 

You chuckle, wincing a little as you sit up. Sun reaches out to stop you but you wave him off. "Ah, couldn't help myself, Moonshine. Figured I needed to get your attention somehow, since it's been lacking here lately."

"You really risked your life for something so simple?" Sun asks, taking hold on your hand in both his own, squeezing tight. "All of that?"

You shrug, though not very well. "I didn't say it was a good idea. But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

Moon huffs. "If you call ‘working out’ almost dying, sure." 

You lay back again a bit, looking up to the ceiling as a quiet settles over the three of you. 

"An explanation would be nice."

"Suppose that's fair." Sun says. "Moon can share."

A tsk. "Of course you'd put it on me..." He grumbles, then takes your other hand and you glance back down. "Long and short of it is, we got fired."

Your eyes widen and Sun lets out a long, disappointed, sigh. 

"We didn't get fired. But we did ask to quit. Move on to somewhere else. Boss asked us to find replacements before we left." Sun explains. 

This does little to comfort you. "Somewhere else? Can't stand it and have to put more distance between us, huh?" You can't fight the bite in your tone. 

But, they both chuckle at this. Moon shifts to lay on his stomach beside you, grin cheeky as he leans in close. "Closer actually. Much closer. Within walking distance. You might even say kissing distance."

Before you can get further confused, Sun juts in, halting any chance of Moon getting what he wants for the time being. 

"We'd like to come work for you. If you'll have us. No need to worry about payment or the likes, just a place to stay, your hand to hold." He nods once. "That's more than enough."

You're more than surprised, shocked even. "I, you mean it?"

"We haven't been great 'bout it, but we care a lot, darlin'. Let us prove that to you." Sun kisses your hand, looking up to you with a plea in his eye. 

Moon pulls your focus by taking his free hand and setting it on your cheek. "You look ready to cry, Sweet Thing."

"Truthfully, I just might." You swallow, shaking your head. "You two are somethin' you know that?"

He tuts, leaning in and kissing you softly. "We take pride in it."

"One of us does." Sun grumbles. 

A snicker from his counterpart. "How about you wait your turn in silence, Sunshine?"

"How about you,"—You feel a tug on your arm pulling you away—"Learn to play fair?"

If you weren't stunned from your previous kiss, or in so much pain, you might've interfered with there argument. But, with the combination of both, you're content to simply lay back and watch it go down. 

You're getting kissed by someone, someway eventually, and that's good enough for you.

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Thank you for the request @alynwrench! The cowboys are always a delight to write for, especially when I get to put them in SITUATIONS >:)c

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[kalashtars]

"to get rid of sleep deprivation headaches, you should sleep between 7-9 hours at night-" no fucking shit google, do you think i would be googling this rn if i could sleep???

[astro-royale]

「How to know you are spiritually protected ☥

My own insights into spiritual protection- Amaryllis

1. This is going to sound weird but… feeling invisible when you go outside in large crowds. Sometimes it will literally feel like you’re gliding..and some people can’t see you at all. Some people seem to look straight ahead completely unaware of your presence..and the people who look, turn their heads to look again to make sure they’ve seen you correctly. Because your auric field stands out so much…

2. You are safe in situations most people wouldn’t be. This is not by any means an invitation to try this out because if you F* around you will find out! - Spirit. But maybe you end up being in certain circumstances where you have to walk alone at night on certain streets that may have a certain negative reputation and you always end up being safe. Like having to take a certain particular way home everytime you come home from school or work and other people have horror stories about that road/street yet you don’t and you’ve always been fine.

3. Learn to see the hidden blessing behind rejection. You get rejected by many people, jobs, “opportunities”…this one sounds strange again but it goes back to what I said in point number 1 with somehow being invisible to certain people with negative energies that could possibly harm you. Sometimes when it comes to romantic relationships especially…we have short term contracts with people..but staying within that connection any longer would be harmful so spirit encourages us to sever that tie or to let go because it served its spiritual purpose. Maybe that person suddenly decides they want to break up or don’t like you anymore. Rejection is Gods protection. I’ll say that again. Rejection is Gods protection. Whatever is meant for you, will find you and be with you.

4. You have some sort of extra sensory gift. With power comes responsibility. If god gave you some sort of intuitive power; one half of the reason as to why you have it is to protect you and warn you about certain dangers.. to help a seasoned soul like yours navigate this life.

5. You are able to sense when something isn’t right with people.. this goes back point number 4. But sometimes you will get chills or feel like something isn’t right with certain people and you don’t know why. Even when others seem to gravitate towards that thing/person. You can see behind the veil very well.

6. An obvious one but getting warnings in dreams, having a strong connection with the dream realm and understanding the spiritual significance behind it.

7. Your friends/family let you know they’ve had dreams about you and you often know what they mean/what they’re referring to, and know to take it as a sign.

8. Another strange one.. not being able to sleep…not knowing why you can’t sleep sometimes for several days in a row and then you’re fine and able to sleep normally again. Sometimes the astral realm is murky. Spiritual warfare is real. And sometimes not entering different realms and dimensions full of energy harvesting, demons, malicious entities, means not being able to sleep that night. That’s your higher self and guides protecting you.

9. Getting chills/realisations reading this post ;)

That’s all folks

[skateboard-of-sickness]

Riz Gukgak, a little rogue from a single-parent household. A natural detective, going nights without sleeping and worrying his mother to death. He was looking for his babysitter who had gone missing, he didn’t care about friends. He was the briefcase kid, he was used to getting bullied. He gets thrown into a trash can and called “The Ball.” He stole a teabag in the name of getting clues and got detention. He brought a gun to his first day of school. He killed a monster, making the worst but smartest choice of jumping into the corn monster. He joined the A.V. club with some gross people just to solve a mystery. He started taking care of a random rat just because he could. He used his suitcase as a skateboard during combat. He shot Coach Daybreak when he was unconscious just to make sure he was dead. He knew they weren’t done yet despite the cops having the palimpsest. He took 7 damage to try to save someone from a palimpsest. He shot 2 of his classmate’s fingers off to get him to answer their questions. He holds the sword of shadows. He kills a dragon and then eats him. “Fury of the Ball” He becomes a licensed investigator. He lied about having a partner, and it manifested and kidnapped him. He comes clean immediately. He gave up a secret only to save his friend he never thought he would have. He tried to help Fabian feel better after the fight at the Row and the Ruction. He helped save Adaine, helping take down a Plyon. He found record of the coin from the Nightmare King in Kalvaxus’ Horde. He was also the first to find out about the Shadow Cat.  He represented Fig in a legal trial in Hell. He met his dad and almost thought he was bad. He became part of the Lower Planar Reconnaissance Task Force. His biggest fear was getting left by his friends getting in relationships. He came up with the way to destroy Kalina. He used magic to be able to drive. He ran over Fabian. He joined every club he could and became a campaign manager so that he could go to college since his mom couldn’t afford it. *His principal cast Hold Monster on him…  He didn’t hesitate to protect Fig from the moon by throwing her into his briefcase and jumping in after her. His nightmare followed him, it attacked his friends. He got away again. He learned to talk shit. He hid so well and helped with the Last Stand so much. He found the rogue teacher, he solved so many points of the mystery. He killed another dragon! He is so protective of his friends, and he hated what the rat grinders stood for. “Make sure to cut his head off so he can’t be revived.” He submerged in lava just to throw Kipperlilly off.  ���Very good on paper but… no practical application.” He apologized to Fig and Kristen for pushing them to do school when they didn’t want to, as well as made sure Kristen actually wanted to be president. He is Riz Gukgak, The Ball, and he is a huge part of the bad kids despite being so small. And the one thing Porter was right about? Riz is a “Little Shadow” and he is good at it too. 

It took me three hours to write this because I had to condense and cut so much. It’s 1am (12:14) in a warehouse in the middle of the sea (a dorm room) and I am finally done with this style of post. At least 4 more Bad Kids posts are coming, and then I’ll be normal again (posting about other fandoms and dnd shows)

*I said this was important! He used dominate person on Ruben, so that was a choice Grix made, there are no mechanical reasons for monster to work vs person

[wordsarelife]

⛧༺ NO BODY, NO CRIME ༻⛧

EPISODE 04: somebody’s gotta catch him out

pairing: theo nott x potter!reader

summary: bonding with hermione, theo tells you the truth and new theories come up..

warnings: extremely big trigger warning for the whole series, in this chapter: mentions of murder, illegal activities, grooming

note: welcome back to the fourth episode of nbnc! i’m so excited to have you all back and to hear your opinions on this weeks episode!!

and because i’m not a monster and know that you guys are patiently waiting for the ball chapter, the next episode will be out either thursday or friday, depending on when i get to finish it!!

you had fallen asleep around 4 am, repeated thoughts about burbages murder and theo’s letter plaguing your mind. the night had been awful, sleep only ever granting you a few minutes of calmness, until you shot up, another thought in your head.

you still felt uneasy when you got dressed before sunrise. hermione was still asleep when you got up, which honestly said a lot. 

you didn’t want to risk, running into theo during breakfast, so you walked to the great hall as soon as it opened, ready for students to eat. you couldn’t concentrate. the loneliness of the morning only fueling your thoughts. 

some part of you just couldn’t believe theo really was the type of person to do something like that. he was so different from every slytherin you had ever met and him being the killer seemed so unlikely. 

at the same time many things made sense now. you thought about monday evening. theo had been late to dinner, just like professor burbage. they had strolled in only minutes apart. and while theo barely looked at her, professor burbage hadn’t been able to stop glancing at him. she had been nervous and scared. maybe theo had been the reason for that. 

he had been at the astronomy tower just minutes before you had found the womans body. he never offered a real explanation for his presence, only saying he hadn’t meant to disturb you. but what was the truth? could all of this really be coincidences? how many could there be before they stopped feeling like chance?

had you been so wrong about him? so terribly wrong? 

when you left the great hall, you almost ran into hermione, who silently commented you strange behaviour with a quirk of her brow. 

“i’m going to the library” you quickly muttered, not allowing her to say anything before you continued your fast pace. 

hermione stared after you in disbelief, before she abandoning her original plan for breakfast (which was nothing like her, because she was a great believer in breakfast being the most important meal of the day) and followed you. 

to both of your surprise you really ended up in the library. you had walked inside the room by accident, but quickly decided to do some research if you were there already. you had often enough watched hermione do it, it couldn’t be that hard. 

you only noticed her presence when you were in the third row. “hermione” you gasped, pressing a hand to your chest as you tried to calm the beat of your heart. 

hermione was not even fazed by your reaction. “you’re acting strange” she noted, a look of disbelief flying over you, as your hand wandered along the row of books in the shelf. “i have never seen you pick up a book from here that wasn’t fiction” 

“i—“ you tried answering something but were at a loss for words. 

“what’s going on?” hermione crossed her arms, sending you one of her typical strict looks. “the truth, please”

you sighed, knowing it was to no use to lie to her. “it’s theo” you said finally. 

hermione searched your face for a hint of emotion, for something to tell her what was bothering you about the boy. your expression remained stoic and unreadable, even for her.

you sighed, before you sat down at the desk in the middle of the two shelves. hermione followed your movement and sat down next to you. you turned your head to look at her. and then you told her absolutely everything. from what you had found out in burbages office (which hermione interrupted, lecturing you) to the kiss and finally the letter theo had send burbage. 

when you had finished, you were keeping your eyes on your fidgeting hands, ashamed and afraid of hermione’s reaction. there were a few seconds of silence, which you spend wondering how fast she would get up and tell your brother everything you had just admitted to her. 

instead, she grabbed your hands with her own, making you look up in surprise. 

“it’s going to be okay” she assured with a calm voice. she smiled at you softly. “you’re not alone” 

“but theo—” you muttered “what if he really..?” you couldn’t even say it. 

hermione shook her head. “he didn’t” 

“what?” you asked, confused, unsure if you had heard her right. “how can you be so sure?”

“well” hermione smiled mysteriously. she stood up and studied the shelf for a few seconds, before she grabbed a thick book, throwing it down between you. she began turning pages, while she explained. “the smell of the poison you described, you said it was a mix of burnt herbs and something metallic” 

she skipped the pages, past liquid luck and into the more advanced section. “i only ever encountered one potion that was described to smell like that. theo is absolutely smart enough to brew that, that’s for sure” your hope sank. “but” she noted, pressing her finger down on the page, seemingly having found what she was looking for. “mors fumes is a binding potion” she looked at you with a smile. 

“which means..?” you drawled, unsure what she was telling you. 

“it means that the potion binds itself to the person” she explained. “that timeframe has to be atleast six hours before the person drinks it to have any effect. it matters when she drank it, because she must’ve received the bottle atleast six hours before that. the poison works fast. burbage died around ten, right?”

you nodded and hermione’s smile grew even bigger. 

“that means she drank the wine at around half past ten.” she calculated in her head, before she continued. “so she received the bottle between three and half past four.”

“but couldn’t she have received it a day before or something? wouldn’t that work too? more than six hours?”

“no” hermione shook her head, before she aggressively pointed down on the page again. “mors fumes is shortlived. it can only survive in it’s measured timeframe. it could’ve been brewed whenever and over weeks or days, dependent on the wizards time to brew. but as soon as it’s hexed, the six hour timer starts. after that you only have four hours to use it until it’s worthless, so considering it still worked, it could’ve only been given to burbage during that timeframe”

“wow hermione” you almost couldn’t comprehend how your best friends mind worked so effortlessly and precisely. “that’s honestly amazing, but sadly i have no idea where theo was between three and half past four that day, so it changes nothing” you sank you head into your hands, frustration taking over. 

“of course you don’t” hermione muttered, rolling her eyes. “but i do”

“you do?” you were ready to jump out of your seat and plaster her face with kisses. “how?”

“how often did i tell you to visit the library?” hermione asked, raising her brows. 

“so theo was in the library? the whole time?” you asked hopefully. “and he didn’t leave for some time?”

“he was here the entire time i was” hermione nodded. “from two until half past five. he didn’t leave. he sat two seats from me, i would’ve noticed.”

“not even to, you know, go to the bathroom?”

“no” she shook her head. “he definetly drinks way too little, you should tell him that by the way” 

“oh, hermione” you almost cried, as you leaped over the table, throwing your arms around her body and messing up her curls. “you’re amazing, seriously” 

“i can’t let you run around suspecting the wrong people” she muttered into your hair. “and i can’t let you run around suspecting theo. he might be a slytherin, but he’s better than all of them”

“i know” you nodded, sitting back down and quickly freeing your face from a few stray tears. “but i’m still angry with him”

“of course” hermione nodded. “he should’ve told you about the letter and his whole relationship to burbage, considering his weird remarks. you definitely should ask him about that. just because he didn’t kill her doesn't mean he didn’t do anything wrong”

“yeah, i will” you nodded. she was right with everything she had said. you just didn’t know why theo felt the need to lie to you, if he hadn’t killed the professor. you had sworn to work together, that would only work as long as you could trust each other. 

“and all of this..” you muttered, pointing in the air between you. 

“stays between us” hermione assured. “no word to the boys, just like i promised, as long as you stay safe”

“thank you” you smiled, thanking her for nothing defined and everything all at once.

“always” hermione promised, before she got up, excusing herself to go to breakfast. despite having just eaten yourself, you decided to accompany her. confronting theo could wait a bit longer and hermione was glad about the company, was she always lonely breakfasting so early during the holidays. 

it was actually quite wholesome for hermione and you to get some time alone. you had the chance to catch up and discuss topics you normally wouldn’t when harry and ron were sitting with you. 

hermione was not in a rush like she usually was, enjoying your time together, and you felt a bit bad, that you had focused so much on theo and only relied on her when things got difficult. hermione assured you that you didn’t have to worry about it considering she was working most of the time and also most efficiently when she did it alone. 

still, she was there whenever you needed her and you promised the same. 

after an hour, you were joined by harry and Ron, who strolled into the hall behind neville and ginny, who were in deep conversation. you could see that harry was trying to catch what they were talking about, while ron talked your brother's ear off at the same time.

theo came to breakfast at nine and made obvious gestures for you to follow him outside around ten. you quickly excused yourself from the table and followed the boy. harry and ron reacted confused at your sudden urge to leave, while neville and ginny both waved at you and hermione send a smile.

ron quickly concentrated on his food again, but harry kept an eye on the entry of the hall, peeking around hermione, and saw you drag theodore nott down the hallway behind you. 

“she’s not honestly—“ he muttered, while he made a move to get up and follow you. hermione stopped him before he could do so. 

“calm down, harry” she said. “she has to ask him something about their final project, she couldn’t sleep last night, wondering if she had forgotten something important.” hermione effortlessly lied.

“hermione” harry muttered sternly. “there’s just been a murder and the slytherins—“

“—are just as suspicious as anybody else” hermione finished. “don’t get your knickers in a twist. she has her wand, she’s fine” 

“she could’ve at least discuss whatever she had to in here. nott was sitting at his table the entire time”

“discuss a mistake in a potions project next to draco malfoy, really harry?”

harry muttered something neither ron nor hermione could understand, before he picked up his toast and bit into the strawberry jam atop it. 

you had gripped theo’s arm, before he had been able to say something, dragging him down the hall behind you, until you reached an empty classroom. you let go of his arm, like it was on fire. 

“ow” theo muttered, rubbing his skin. “you have a hard grip, sparrow”

“no, don’t call me that” you crossed your arms, leaning your back against the wall. “not after you did nothing but lie to me”

“lie to you?” theo repeated confused. “i never—“ 

“sure you didn’t” you spat, throwing the letter, you had kept in your pocket, at him. 

all colour drained from theo’s face in a second. he didn’t even have to look at the paper, he knew what it was immediately, which did not help his case.

“i swear this isn’t what it looks like” he muttered, picking it up and scanning the lines of his own writing. 

“i bet it isn’t” you nodded sarcastically. “for a few hours i really thought you were the killer”

“i? i would never—“

“you can be glad hermione cleared that up or this conversation would be a lot more physical”

theo seemed like he had temporarily forgotten the topic of said conversation as he looked at you, a dirty smile on his face. 

you send him a deadpan look and he quickly remembered the severity of the situation. “oh” he muttered “you mean..”

“yeah” you nodded. “i would’ve bashed your head in”

theo’s eyes quickly fell on the paper again, not daring you to make your statement reality. 

“i’m ready for a good explanation” you encouraged, as he continued to stay quiet. 

“it’s not as easy” theo muttered, averting his eyes and trying to find a spot in the room he could focus on. 

“theo” you muttered, a bit softer now. “you threatened a teacher and told her to meet you on the evening of her murder, i don’t have to tell you how it looks” 

“yeah, i’m sorry.” theo whispered and if you weren’t mistaken, you noticed tears in his eyes. “i never meant to drag you into this”

“drag me into what?” you stepped closer, forcing him to look at you, tears now clearly rolling over his cheeks. “you’re scaring me, theo” 

maybe there really was a good explanation for all of this, but right now you just hoped theo hadn’t murder-in-the-orient-express-ed professor burbage.

“okay” he finally said. “i’ll tell you, everything, but you have to listen until the end”

you nodded, waiting for him to begin his story.

“it all began two years ago. that’s when i had to take muggle studies, because i had too few subjects. professor burbage was amazing. she was attentive to all of her students and over all a great teacher” he smiled upon the memory, before it quickly evolved into a frown. “but then she asked me to stay back one day after class. she made a few comments i found unsettling, but decided to forget about. maybe i had understood her wrong, she surely hadn’t meant it like that.”

you looked to the ground, not liking in which direction his story went. you felt sorry for the way you had treated him. for how you had spoken about burbage like she had been a saint, how judgemental you had been when theo had disagreed. 

“she passed me notes during class when no one was looking. she asked me to stay back more often. she made obvious advances. and she continued and didn’t stop until i couldn’t excuse it anymore. until i reached a point where i understood that i hadn’t been the one who had gotten the wrong idea, she was. she read into the things i did, not the other way around”

tears spilled over his cheeks quicker than before, but he did not falter, as he continued to speak, his voice trembling through both of your crying. 

“then, one day after class, she tried to kiss me” 

your breath hitched, waiting for him to continue. 

he shook his head. “i stopped her and rushed out of the room. i was too scared to tell on her, but i went to dumbledore and requested to drop the course because of personal reasons. i had enough luck never to be caught with her alone again for the rest of the year”

you thought about everything he had just told you. how someone you had respected was so different to the person she had shown everyone around her. you thought about theo, the fourteen year old version of him, who’s trust got betrayed so badly. fourteen year old theo, who had no one to tell about a teachers wrongdoing. fourteen year old theo, who had probably felt so alone. 

you stepped across the room and hugged him. the way he had calmed you, you were now trying to calm him. “you’re safe” you whispered softly. “you did nothing wrong, you didn’t deserve it”

you could feel him nod, as he buried his face in your hair. his body still spread warmth, it felt the same like yesterday in the closet, when your lips had connected. 

“i never told anyone” theo admitted. “you’re the first person”

“i’m sorry” you muttered, breaking the hug to look at him. “i shouldn't have made you”

“no” he shook his head. “i should’ve been honest from the beginning. i didn’t want anyone to know, i didn’t want you to know. i thought you might think i’m weak or less of a man”

“i would never think that, theo” you shook your head. “you’re not the person this information should damage. she was in the wrong, not you, you’re right the way that you are. i doesn’t matter what she did to you, it doesn’t change anything about you, you’re still the same to me”

theo nodded. “i wrote the letter out of frustration, not because i intended to kill her” he continued. “a few months ago dumbledore gave me something i had to deliver to burbage. when i came into her office, she was busy writing a note. i was able to read what she had written before she saw me”

“what was it?” you asked carefully. 

theo sighed, before he recalled the words from the top of his head. “your insights in class are so refreshing; i truly appreciate how you see things differently. can you stay behind after class today? i’d love to discuss some of your ideas further—just between us, of course. it’s important to me that this stays our little secret.”

“wow” you huffed disgusted. “what happened then?”

“i told her she should not be doing that” theo mumbled. “she agreed and i believed her. she had lied, i should’ve been more persistent”

“you’re not responsible for her actions, theo” 

“of course i am” he shook his head, fidgeting with your hand, he held in his own. “she tried the same with me, she was just able to do it again, because i never reported her, because i was too scared to admit what she had done to me” he breathed, his voice steady again. “and then after all, i just believed her, because it was easier than to admit that i had a responsibility for this child”

“it’s not your fault” you assured. he continued to shake his head. “it’s not your fault!” you repeated, louder, more firmly. 

“i only found out a few weeks ago that she hadn’t stopped like she had told me she would” theo said softly. “i don’t know who her victim was and it honestly didn’t matter, because then i wrote the letter. but the one you read wasn’t the first i sent. in the first i threatened to report her if she would not immediately resign and leave her position as a teacher, nothing happened so i send a second one, the letter you found. i gave her a last chance to do what i had told her, to resign and leave the castle as well as the poor kid she had used all this time. i didn’t want this to have any effect on them, so i only threatened to report and tell dumbledore about my own experience. i asked her to meet me so she could tell me about her decision"

“and?” you asked, interested to hear how the conversation had went. 

“she told me that she had resigned, like i had asked her” theo explained. “she asked me not to tell anyone about this and i agreed, because i honestly was not ready to tell someone myself. but i told her i would if i should find out about any of this happening again or if she would resume to a teaching position at a different school. she promised she wasn’t planning on doing that. and that was it. we split up and went to dinner”

“okay, but that would explain the note on the wine bottle burbage received: ‘consider this a parting gift’. that’s why she wasn’t suspicious before drinking it. it made perfect sense in the context of her resignation”

“yeah” theo nodded “i know that my involvement seems to make sense, y/n. i had reason enough to kill burbage, but i didn’t, please believe me, i’m not a bad person”

“you’re quite the opposite of a bad person, theodore nott” you shook your head, proudness flushing your whole body as you looked up at the brunette boy in front of you. “you did everything to make sure burbage could never hurt someone again. you had absolutely zero reason to kill her, considering she did everything you had asked her to and also, you possibly couldn’t have done it”

“i know, but how do you know that?” 

theo listened attentively as you told him everything hermione had told you. 

“that's incredible. and it reveals a time frame we can follow” he nodded. 

“exactly" you smiled, before your expression turned serious again "thank you for telling me all of this. i’m sorry for all of it, but i’m still glad you had a good reason to send such a letter”

“yeah, it probably looked pretty bad without context, now that i think about it” theo admitted. 

“but i do still have one question: was it really coincidence that you were at the astronomy tower too, right before burbage’s death?”

“yes and no” theo nodded. “it was a coincidence that i was there when she died, but i followed you on purpose”

“you followed me on purpose?” you repeated confused “but why?”

“because i wanted to talk to you” theo admitted, his voice steady yet vulnerable “i’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now”

you raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued “really? about what?”

he hesitated for a moment, searching your eyes as if weighing his words. “i’ve fancied you for a long time, you know?”

your heart skipped a beat, surprise flooding through you. “you fancied me? me?”

theo laughed, the sheer disbelief on your face amusing him. “how couldn’t i?” he replied with a playful grin, his eyes sparkling “you’re smart, you’re fierce, and you don’t take any nonsense from anyone. plus, the way you stand up for your friends? it’s impossible not to notice. it’s honestly quite entertaining to watch draco and you fight”

you grinned, somewhat proud someone had taken an interest in your debates with malfoy. you always made sure to be ready to break him. “who do you think wins?” you asked, a brow quirked. 

“you, of course” theo smirked. “draco is not half as good. it’s honestly amazing how good you are at telling him off” 

“you’re making me blush” you smiled, as you stared up at him. “i always liked you most, you know? out of all of them. you were so nice every time i encountered you and i think i really took a liking to you during our project”

now it was theo’s turn to smile proudly. “so, are we good again?” he asked softly, waiting for you to make a decision. 

you nodded, mirroring his expression. “we are” you assured, before you reached for his neck, connecting you lips with his for a short peck. 

when you pulled back, theo grinned at you with a lopsided grin, his worries fading away as his eyes wandered over your face. 

the next thing to do, you had decided, was to wait for mattheo’s invitation to reveal the infos you needed to find the masquerade ball of the nocturne society. someone there would probably know more. 

that led to your next problem: the right clothing. theo suggested to make a trip to hogsmeade, which you quickly noticed to be impossible because of the storm. that’s when you remembered the convenience of the room of requirement. you had always used it the year before, so it had become manageable for you to find. 

theo walked next to you through the halls cluelessly, ready to follow your lead. 

“so, motives” you muttered, looking at him. “who would’ve had an interest in killing burbage?”

“someone who was after the artifact?” theo suggested. 

“not impossible” you shrugged. “maybe that was the only way to steal it. maybe she had hexed it and there was no other way than to kill her.”

“but that would mean that whoever was trying to get access to the artifact also knew about burbage’s resignation” theo noted, he thought for a few seconds, before he added. “so far, the only people who know about it are you and me and of course dumbledore and maybe also mcgonagall.”

“i don’t think that will lead us far, theo” you remarked softly. “we don’t know who burbage might’ve told. she was thinking about if for some time. i mean, remember your first letter? that was months ago. she could’ve told people as far as we know”

“you’re right” theo nodded. “so back to the beginning, if we exclude the artifact for now, what else could’ve been a reason to kill her?”

silence errupted between you as both of you thought about the question. 

your breath hitched. “what if it’s unrelated? what if someone found out?”

“about?” theo quirked a brow, not able to follow your stream of thoughts. 

“her inappropriate relation to a student” you explained. “i mean think about it. you found out, how unlikely is it that someone else did?”

“not unlikely at all” theo nodded. “it wasn’t even hard to uncover. i mean, if someone was just a student in her class, they could’ve easily picked up something”

“i’m not trying to make you uncomfortable, so tell me if we should stop talking about it, but—“

“it’s fine, sparrow” theo said honestly. “i can take it”

“okay” you nodded, before you continued. “if we assume that she had a preferred age, fourteen, like you were, then maybe the killer is not an unrelated student, maybe it’s someone who didn’t witness the relationship first hand during class, but someone who knew her victim” you explained. “someone, who would go to lengths to protect that kid, someone who wanted to take revenge”

“a sibling” theo breathed. 

“exactly” you nodded. “i would kill for my brother, no questions asked. we just have to find someone who would do the same”

you both dwelled on the thought as you walked around a corner, the doors of the room of requirement welcoming you as if they had waited ages for your arrival. 

“what about this?” you held a blue dress against your body, twirling from side to side for theo to inspect it. 

“beautiful” theo complimented, before he scrunched his nose. “but too blue. most members of the society will be slytherins, remember?”

“how can you be so sure about that?” you questioned, putting the dress to the side and picking up a dark green, almost black mask and holding it in front of your eyes. 

“well, it’s illegal and dangerous and—“ theo grinned “—have i already said illegal?” 

you shook your head, throwing a similiar mask like yours in his direction. theo caught the thing with ease, wiggling his eyesbrows as he held it in front of his eyes. 

“you recognize me, sparrow?” 

“your smile is uncanny” you giggled, holding a hand up to hide his mouth. “maybe you should just wear a whole bag” 

“well, your options don’t seem the most practical to guarantee a fast escape. i mean can you even run in these shoes?”

“i’m not running” you crossed your arms, raising your nose. “i’m a lady, theo” 

“of course” theo shook his head, before his gaze dropped to a beautiful emerald green ballgown underneath part of his tuxedo. “wait” he muttered, holding the dress up against your body. “this is the one”

your smile grew bigger as you took in the gorgeous dress. it was made up of a thin lace fabric, adorned with highlights of shimmering ivy. as you put it on, it was clothing your body beautifully, fitting like it had been made for you (that were the perks regarding magical clothing; they fully took on the form of the person wearing them, clinging to every curve of your body). 

“wow” theo muttered when you stepped around the shelf you had changed behind.

your cheeks grew rosy, glancing up and down his body, admiring how well the tuxedo fit him. “you look very much wow yourself, mr nott” 

he laughed, shaking his head like he wasn’t believing one word of what you were saying. “it’s time” he grabbed both of your masks and the note mattheo had given you, that was now slowly revealing letters. one after the other until more and more words were forming. 

moonlit atrium, it read, portrait of the lonely witches daughter, in the dungeon

luckily, theo read the words with a hint of recognition in his eyes. you would’ve been completely lost without him, probably strolling through the halls, desperately searching for a portrait admist thousands. you would’ve never made it in time. 

“come on, my lady” he watched you fasten your mask around your head, looking into the corridor to check for people, before he took your hand in his, leading you to the nereast stairs down to the dungeon. 

the air grew cold around you as you walked down, the chilly setting of the hogwarts dungeon making it's presence known and casting your body in goosebumps. theo didn’t let go of your hand for one second, squeezing it to reassure you anytime you would cross a dark hallway that send shivers down your spine. 

finally, theo started walking slower in a particularly dark corridor. his eyes wandered along the walls, searching for the familiar portrait, before his gaze locked onto the artwork. 

you were searching the wall opposite from theo, when a hand reached out and touched your arm. “did you—ahh!” you screeched, jumping back when the person the hand belonged to was not theo, but someone else. 

the unknown person was a man, well, more a boy, blonde hair peeking out behind his mask. he wore an even darker tuxedo than theo, the black on his body almost making him invisble against the dark of the corridor. 

theo behind you, spun around, ready to meet your attackers face with his fist. before he hit him, you stopped the movement, pulling the dark haired boy back by the arm. “malfoy” you said simply, sharing the gathered piece of information with theo, who relaxed immediately. 

“potter” draco malfoy greeted almost bored. he moved the mask from his face, revealing his ice blue eyes staring at you and theo in displasure. “theodore”

“draco” theo breathed. “i almost killed you”

“sure” malfoy rolled his eyes, not believing it for a second. “luckily potter here kept you from murdering any more people”

“haha” theo nodded. “very funny” 

malfoy shrugged, not caring one bit about his unsolicited joke against theo. rather than on his friend, malfoys gaze was fixated on you. you lifted your mask too, deeming it weird to act like your identities hadn’t been revealed. 

“i should’ve known you were involved in this club” theo crossed his arms, making not even the slightest move to take off his mask too. 

“well, theodore, i’d say it is in my blood” malfoy took his eyes from you for a mere second, before his unnerving gaze returned. “unlike you, halfblood”

“careful” theo warned, voice filled with a sharp edge. 

malfoy’s gaze flicked back to him, eyes narrowing with an unspoken challenge. he tilted his head slightly, the question clear in his expression, almost daring theo: have you forgotten where you belong?

“it’s alright” you mumbled, not even moved by the blonde boy’s words. he had insulted you and your friends too often for you to still care about it, unlike harry, who almost enjoyed throwing a tantrum. maybe that was the reason malfoy hated you a little less than your brother. you knew how to behave and that was something he respected.  “what do you want?”

“i didn’t come to murder you, if that’s what you’re thinking” malfoy replied, his tone almost playful as he hinted at your reaction of panic at his sudden presence “nor to give you more proof. that’s not why i’m here.”

“then what?” theo snapped impatiently, eyes still on malfoy. “what’s so important that you had to deliver it in person?”

draco paused, his gaze darkening as his playful demeanor faded. his next words were spoken softly, almost ominously. “a warning.”

the air in the corridor grew thick, the weight of his words pressing down on you. theo stiffened beside you, his guard going back up as malfoy’s expression turned deadly serious.

“a warning about what?” you asked, your heart pounding now, knowing that this wasn’t just another one of malfoy’s games.

malfoy stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “someone’s watching you. and it’s not just the castle’s usual suspects.” he hesitated for a moment, his eyes locking with yours, as if deciding whether to reveal more. then, quietly, he added, “you're not safe. neither of you.”

before you could question him further, malfoy backed into the shadows, disappearing as quickly as he had come.

“malfoy!” theo called after him, but it was too late—he was gone.

the tension in the air remained, your heart still racing. you exchanged a glance with theo, both of you realizing that whatever danger was lurking, it wasn’t just in the form of cryptic messages or secret clubs. it was something much darker.

and now, someone knew you were onto them.

go to the next part

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Jealousy (part 4)

Pairing : Charles Leclerc x reader

Theme : Angst / fluff

The end! Thank you for loving the short series. I think this might be my best one yet because I didn’t limit myself to include everything but it was longer than my usual ones. Apologies it long fics are not your thing!

Your week went by with no more phone calls. Charles didn’t ask for another chance to speak to you and you were so glad he didn’t because you weren’t sure if you were gonna find it appealing or irritating. Deep down, you knew there was still an enraged flame in your heart that you couldn’t ignore regardless of your feelings for him.

You stopped replying to his texts too but you still read it from the notifications bar. He would tell you about what he did on the day, would ask you if you had eaten, how was your day but none of his questions were answered. He went to Maranello right away and stayed there until the next race so you were glad you didn’t have to meet him.

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Charles was demented with worry. He knew he was hoping too much when you unblocked his number but he never thought you would stop replying to his texts. He didn’t know what you were up to and that made him agitated.

Y/F/N has added to their story

You hadn’t unblock him on his Instagram but he would still be able to see your friend’s. He saw pictures of you on your friend’s Instagram story, all smiles and grinning ear to ear. He missed you a lot. He would stare at his phone every night before he went to sleep, anticipating your name popping up in his notification or phone call but none of it actually came. He was disappointed, of course, but he knew he deserved this.

But he still hadn’t lose you, had he?

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You had declined Charles’s offer to join him on his private flight to Mexico because you still had things to do at work on Friday so you had to miss practice rounds. You even forced Y/F/N to come with you so you wouldn’t be left alone with Charles because you didn’t know how to act and what to say around him. As if he wasn’t your boyfriend for 2 years.

“Please come with me! Please please please!”

Y/F/N rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning her back on you to which earned her a pillow threw at her head. “No, thank you. Hey!” She then sat up and threw it back at you and chortled at the face you made.

“I need you there! I can’t be with him alone!”

“He was your boyfriend for 2 years. Why are you acting as if you haven’t done anything nasty with him.” You stopped peeking inside your closet and glared at her.

“That was so unrelated.”

“You get what I mean! If you don’t want to be left alone then just ignore him! Plus, he’s gonna be so busy he won’t have time to chase after you.” Y/F/N shook her head at the navy top you showed her and you placed it back into the rows of clothes.

“I know but he even asked me to go to the after party. You know what happened the last time I went to a social event.” You picked another top and earned a yes from Y/F/N so you folded it into your small luggage.

“There’s a party?” You heard her sounded intrigued. You should have known this better. She would never say no to parties. The conversations could have been a plain sailing one if only you mentioned this topic first.

“Yeah. There’ll be hot guys everywhere. It’s a shame you couldn’t come.” You packed another pair of pants and saw in the corner of your eyes Y/F/N scrammed away, leaving the room.

“Wait for me!”

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You arrived at the hotel early in the morning and Charles had arranged everything. Y/F/N was passed out as soon as you guys checked in while you immediately gotten ready to go to the paddock before the qualifying round started.

Once you arrived, there were still a lot of people waiting at the entrance meanwhile the paddock was already packed with a few interviews being done at every spots. You only took a few steps when you heard your phone rang.

“Hi.”

You looked up from your phone and saw your boyfriend, or ex boyfriend, whichever you preferred walking towards you and you hated yourself for feeling this way. You felt like a kid who bumped into their crush at a school hallway. That silly, giddy with excitement as if it was your first time meeting him. Your heart was throbbing so loud that if he told you he could hear your heartbeat, you would have believed him right away. The butterflies in your stomach went wild and it made your knees weak. You smiled back at him and he took your hand in his, clasping it as he turned and walked back to the entrance. The sound of the fans around the paddock area screaming his name turned into a mumble as you kept your eyes on his back.

You were so glad you didn’t get to see and talk to him that much throughout the rest of the qualifying round. You didn’t even stay until the end though he offered you a ride back to the hotel.

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“How was it?”

“It was okay?”

Y/F/N mocked your face and you squinted your eyes at her. “What?”

“Tell me more! Did he say anything? Did he hug you? Tried to kiss you maybe?”

“No! He just held my hand. It’s not like he had any free time to even talk about us.” You took off your earrings and tied your hair in a bun.

“Such an asshole, isn’t he? When is he gonna apologise? Is he even gonna say sorry? Does he know how to say sorry?” You heard her blabbered with a mouth full of chips.

“We are not talking about this anymore. I’m gonna take a bath.”

As you started shampooing your roots, you heard the doorbell ring and thought it was just another room service that your best friend might had ordered.

“Hi, can I talk to Y/N?”

“She’s busy. We’re busy.” Y/F/N looked at the guy up and down and was going to close the door on him when he propelled it back.

“Wait! Please, I just want to give her something.”

Y/F/N stretched her arm forward and Charles blinked in confusion. “Give it to me. I’ll pass it to her.”

“Can I see her instead?”

“No. Either you pass it to me to you can go back to your room.” She replied sternly to which made him obediently handed the paper bags to her and walked away.

“Look,” Charles stopped in his trail when he heard her broke the silence.

“I’m not mad at you. Wait, I am mad at you. I’m pissed off, actually. But as much as I want her to leave your ass, she still loves you and I think that’s more than enough confirmation you need. I’ll give you a space to talk to her tomorrow so do whatever you need to do.” Charles was going to say something but the door slammed on his face faster than he could even blink.

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“Who was that? Did you order room service?” You walked out the bathroom in robes with wet hair, gasping when you saw boxes of pizza and doughnuts on the coffee table. “This is a lot! When did you buy them? Oh, this is my favourite!”

“I didn’t. The delivery guy came all the way to our room to deliver these.” You saw the displeased face on her and frowned in confusion.

“He also left you that. I don’t know what you told him but you could open a Dior pop-up shop with those stuffs.”

You looked to the side and saw a Dior paper bag full of different shades of the new lip gloss. It was the one you briefly mentioned in your last phone call with him. There was also a small note written on it. “I might forgot or had missed you said your favourite shade during our last call so I got them all. And I don’t think you have eaten anything after the qualifying round today so enjoy the food.”

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The race ended with Charles getting P3, letting him to get the podium spot again after missing it a few races. Y/F/N has asked you to head back early because she needed hours to make sure she looked hot to flirt all the guys at the afterparty. It always made you wonder how both of you ended up being best friends even with all those contrasts in your personalities.

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You arrived with Y/F/N a few minutes late so it was already crowded with people. As much as it made you feel nervous, Y/F/N was thrilled.

“You look beautiful, angel.”

“Oh?” You turned around and was greeted with Charles, hands in his pocket, a few steps away from you. You opened your mouth to reply to the compliment, but Y/F/N cut you off.

“Right? Too beautiful to be treated like a shit.”

You nudged her on her waist and glowered. “Okay, this is not the time!”

“I’m off! Charles, she’s yours.” Y/F/N fixed your hair before leaving both of you, too fast that you couldn’t even catch her arm to force her to stay with you.

“Thank you..” You awkwardly smiled, your hands were clasp together, trying not to look at his green eyes that much.

“Thank you?”

“For yesterday. You really didn’t have to, but , thank you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing compared to what you actually deserved. Anyway, do you want to—“ Charles turned around and saw one of his friends calling out to him. You looked at the source of the voice and saw his group of friends standing at the end of the room.

“You should go with them.”

“No, come with me.” He was going to seize your hand when you stepped back in defence.

“It’s fine, I’ll be somewhere else.”

“Y/F/N will kill me if she finds you alone. I know you hate me and you don’t want to be left alone with me but stay with me this time. Please?”

You felt his hand gently taking yours in his as he looked into your eyes, as if he was asking for consent and you gave in. Sure, you despised him a lot but the moment he held your hand, feeling his thumb stroking your knuckles, it reminded you that he had always been your solace in life. It took everything in you to not embrace him right there and then.

He introduced you to the rest of the groups and immediately engaged in a full conversations. His hand never left yours. You were just standing by his side, playing around with your heels when you were greeted with Y/F/N and a few people with her. She would always brought her group of friends with you at any party just to introduce you, her best friends with her new friends. Charles turned around when he felt you accidentally tugged on his hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You were so glad for Y/F/N and was simply amazed with her social skills. Though you had a hard time engaging in a conversation and preferred to just listened, she kept on pulling you into the conversation by constantly asking you series of questions.

“That’s the worse. Right, Y/N?”

“Isn’t Y/N so pretty? I did her hair.”

“Y/N is very good at mix and match her clothes. Right, Y/N? But she still needed my help.”

Throughout the conversations, Charles still kept your hand in his but then it got uncomfortable when your hand started sweating so you ended up holding his pinky finger, occasionally fiddled with his fingers since you didn’t have your ring on. You thought he would pull away but he didn’t. He didn’t even budge.

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

“Do you wanna go back to the hotel?”

“Can we?”

“Of course, angel. Let’s go.”

Charles had took you back to the hotel but it was only when you had arrived in front of your room when you realised you didn’t have your access card with you. He had asked you to stay in his room first until Y/F/N called.

It had been a while since the last time you were with him in a small space. As soon as you walked in, you were greeted with his smell, the mixture of scent between the different collection of his perfumes, the smell of his shower gels it was all too overwhelming it made your eyes teared up instantly.

“Sit down, silly. Why are you standing?”

You let out a sob, looking down and he stoop down to look at your face, sounding all worried and anxious. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Y/N?”

You continued to sob uncontrollably and he enfolded you in his arms, one hand around the back of your head and another one wrapped on your waist. “It’s okay, angel. I got you.”

“I hate you.”

His arms around your figure tighten when your body shook and he planted a kiss on the side of your head. “It’s okay, I hate myself too.”

“But I miss you so much, I miss your touch, your kiss, your voice, everything about you. I tried so hard to ignore you because maybe it would be easier for me to end everything, to end us but it was so hard.” The silent tears kept on running down your cheeks that you were so sure his shirt was already soaked.

Charles’s blood ran cold when you mentioned about ending things. Both of you had always been so optimistic with the relationship. You would always talked about how you would grow old together and he would have to assure you that he would always find you beautiful or you would have sulk.

He pulled away and crouched down to hold your cheeks in his hands and level his eyes with yours. “No, please, no. Please don’t leave me. Please, angel. I know I fucked up but give me another chance to be better. To fix this. I know it makes me selfish but I can’t see you with anyone else. Please.”

You didn’t reply but kept on wiping your eyes with the back of your hand, harshly, because of how frustrating everything was.

“I’ll kneel down if you want. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I can’t lose you. I really, really can’t.” His eyes were red from holding his tears and it smashed your heart. He looked so broken with compunction it made you cry even more.

“I’m sorry for what I did. I should have listened to you. I just got so mad when I saw you with other guys when I should have known better. I was too blinded with jealousy.” He took a shaky breath and wrapped you back in his arms so you wouldn’t see him cry.

“And when I saw what happened to you that night, I was just so furious at myself for being so stupid and allowing that to happen to you so I just blew up at you when all you needed was just my commiseration and assurance.” He left a few lingering kisses to the crown of your head and mumbled against your hair. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, angel.”

“Do you miss me?”

You felt his chest quivered as he tittered to your silly question. Had you got a glimpse of his life during the absence of you, you would have seen how miserable he actually was. “I don’t think the words I miss you is enough to express how much I long for you.”

You were no longer hugging his middle but your body was flushed against him as you stroke his cheek, feeling it damp from the tears that he tried to hide from you.

His arms left your waist briefly as he unhooked the necklace around his neck, pulling the end of it so the ring would slip out into his palm. “Do you… accept my apology?”

“I’ll think about it.” You giggled when he looked taken aback. “You are forgiven, Charles.”

“Can I put this back on you?” He looked nervous, as if he was going through every words he was about to say, too scared if you would slip off his fingers again.

“Are you proposing to me?”

“Not yet but I will. Mark my words.” He slid the ring back into your ring finger and lifted your hand to peck on it. Your arms circled around his neck as he locked you in his embrace. Your face was just an inch away from him that your nose would collide into his every time you moved your head a little. “I love you, Y/N.”

“And I love you more, Charles.” He dipped his head down and pressed his lips to yours, his arms cinching you to him as you kissed him back, your hands feeling the silken strands of his hair against your fingers.

﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎﹎

“Hello?” Charles squinted his eyes and put the phone to his ear, slightly whispering to not wake up the sleeping beauty in his arms.

“Charles? Do you happened to know where Y/N is? I just realised she’s not in the room.”

He laid his head back on the pillow and yawned. “Go to sleep, Y/F/N.”

“Where’s Y/N, you dick!”

“My girlfriend’s here with me. All safe and sound. You don’t have to worry.” His hand ran up and down against your back,when he felt you stirred on his chest.

“Oh, okay. I thought she was kidnapped or something. Break her heart again and I’ll make sure you won’t get any podium in your entire career. I mean it.”

You tilted your head a little to look at him, your eyes barely open. “Who was it?”

“It was just your guardian angel making sure I don’t fuck things up again. Let’s go back to sleep, baby.”

✧.* tags! @i83andrew @cltrlne @karmabyfernando @ohthemisssery @buendiabebeta @needtokeepfeelingsincheck @ironmaiden1313 @teenagedreams-cl @sheslikeacurse @love4lando @charli123456789 @ru-kru @httpspedri26 @honey6578 @sealsu @shyartisanvoidwagon @changetyre @aundercover

Let me know if you would like to be removed or to be added in the tag list!

[mj-iza-writer]

Whumptober Day 4

Hallucinations - Hypnosis - Sensory Deprivation - "You're still alive in my Head" (Billy Lockett, More.)

I don't see a lot of Ghost Whump, I love hauntings so much.

Whumper had been arrested, and was now awaiting court dates. An investigation was being conducted so he had a while to wait.

Police had been tipped off about violent noises coming from Whumper's home.

Police got there as quickly as they could, but it seemed to be too late for Whumpee.

Whumpee lay in a puddle of their own blood. Stab wounds covered their body... some more critical than others.

Whumper sat on the couch watching the body... knife still in hand.

Police made the arrest... Whumper went quietly.

"I'll have to figure out who tipped off the police", Whumper frowned as they waited in solitary, "if I ever get out of here."

They were deemed too dangerous to be anywhere else.

A flash of something caught Whumper's attention, but it was gone as quick as it was there.

"What was that?", Whumper frowned, "it almost looked like.... nah! I'm hallucinating."

That night, Whumper tried to sleep. It wasn't easy as the lights were left on.

Something moved from one side of their cell to the other and seemed to disappear into the wall.

"Whumpee?", Whumper jumped up.

Throughout the night Whumper had several nightmares. By morning they were rocking back and forth in the corner of the cell.

They could barely eat breakfast, but with the threat of force feeding they gagged down the food.

Solitary confinement was boring. The guards didn't interact often enough.

The guards knew what Whumper did. All of them agreed they belonged on death row.

The only time guards would interact with Whumper was when they would cry out for help because someone was in their cell with them.

The guards figured Whumper was losing their mind. They showed no sympathy though. Whumper didn't deserve it.

That night Whumper tried to rest, they were lightly sleeping when they had this dream.

Whumpee stood in the cell with them. Still covered in the stab wounds. Blood dripped from their body. Black goop flooded from their eyes like they had been crying constantly. Whumpee was talking... no yelling... but no sound. Whumpee approached the bed, something metal suddenly glistened in their hand. Whumpee lifted their arms in preparation to stab.

Whumper jolted awake before the knife went into them.

They yelled for the guards.

"What do you want?", a guard approached.

"Please I need help, they-theyre haunting me", Whumper gasped, "I killed them and they're haunting me. Tr-trying to kill me."

"For what you did to, I might agree with them", the guard chuckled, "I don't think you deserve sympathy or forgiveness, but why don't you try apologizing to the ghost."

Whumper nodded weakly, this haunting was seriously affecting them. They never felt so tired or scared in their life.

Whumper looked around the cell, "Whumpee I'm sorry", they begged, "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me", tears fell from their eyes as they pleaded.

The rest of the night, Whumper could hear Whumpee's yelling ringing in their ear.

They were fairly certain they didn't receive forgiveness from Whumpee.

The next night though was quiet, Whumper was even able to get a full night of sleep. The first since they were imprisoned.

Whumpee's eyes fluttered open weakly. They were too tired to care about where they were.

A gentle hand rested on Whumpee's arm.

Whumpee took in how warm it felt.

"Where am I?", Whumpee whispered.

"You are in the hospital. Do you remember anything?", a voice came from beside them. They were too weak to look around.

"I, um, I got stabbed.... I think", Whumpee whispered, "I thought I died. I was waiting for my body to catch up with me."

"You were very close", the voice comforted, "it took a lot of people. Highly trained people to get you to this point. You've been in a coma for a few days just so your body could heal."

"Whumper's in prison?", Whumpee turned toward the voice.

"Yes", the person nodded, "don't move a lot, you are still in bad shape. How did you know."

"It feels like I was there with them", Whumpee frowned, "who are you?"

"I'm Caretaker, I was put in charge of taking care of you for as long as you need me to", Caretaker smiled, but was startled by this. They recalled the guards mentioning Whumper's issues.

"Whumper doesn't know you're alive currently. We want to surprise them at their court hearing", Caretaker stood, "I will tell you more later. For right now, you need to rest. Here take a drink."

"Okay", Whumpee nodded, "thankyou."

A week went by. Besides boredom, Whumper was very happy to be rid of the ghostly visitor.

They were also elated to hear their first court date was scheduled soon.

Whumper sat in the courtroom, heavily shackled. Their lawyer was talking with him about a few things before the hearing started.

Whumper watched as a bigger computer was set in the witness stand. It was turned to the judge and jury first.

"Can I say a cuss word?", a small, weak voice came from the computer.

"For ehat you've been through, I will allow", the judge winked at the screen and watched as the computer was turned to the crows.

Caretaker was sitting in front of the judge as well. A stand in for Whumpee because of how weak Whumpee still was. All their notes neatly set to read over when their time came to talk.

Caretaker side eyed Whumper as the realization hit Whumper.

Whumper went pale.

"I lived Mother Fucker", Whumpee stated as strongly as they could.

The judge couldn't help but chuckled.

Without hearing anything else the judge slammed their gavel on the desk.

"Guilty", the judge stated.

Whumper was zoned out at the point.

Whumper sat in the bed of the death row floor.

"Whu-Whumpee lived?", was all Whumper would whisper as they slowly went mad, "Whu-Whumpee lived?"

Taglist. As always please let me know if you want to be added or taken off of the list. It's not a problem at all.

@villainsandheroes @the-beasts-have-arrived

@sacredwrath @porschethemermaid

@monarchthefirst @generic-whumperz

@bloodyandfrightened @freefallingup13

@notpeppermint @cyborg0109

@idontreallyexistyet

@painfulplots @whumpbump

@everythingsscary @skittles-the-whumpee

@expressionless-fr @theforeverdyingperson

@legendarydelusiongoatee @candleshopmenace

@whumpanthems @lavndvrr

@ivymyers @starfields08000

@a-living-canvas @lumpofsand

@watermeezer @indigoviolet311

@whumpy-mountains @3-2-whump

@risk606 @electrons2006

@paperprinxe @whumprince

@kaz-of-crows @mis-graves

@decaffeinatedtimetraveler94 @sausages-things

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@glennemerald @jasperthecapser

@does-directions @deafeninglittlecrown

[jinnify]

irreplaceable pt. 2 — park sunghoon

pairing: sunghoon x idol!reader and a little bit of jay x reader genre: idk tbh LOL warnings: none word count: one thousand four hundred fourteen now playing: killing me by ikon extended note at the bottom. part one.

It had been a little over a month since you had broken up with Sunghoon when he received news of you being in a dating scandal with one of your seniors. If he were honest, he’d say he hadn’t ever expected you to move on from him that quickly, but maybe it had just been him overestimating how much he mattered to you - instead, he sent you a congratulations message that you never even opened.

Sunghoon, of course, had immediately started talking to his crush as soon as you’d broken up with him, trying to distract from the strange string of emotions you had stirred up within him that night. It was never more than a couple of dates before he lost interest in her.

Sooner or later, Sunghoon deleted your number from his phone, seeing how you had been caught with your presumed boyfriend more than once. It had been a mystery as to who you were dating as celebrity media outlets had only released your name, but Sunghoon felt bothered by it nonetheless.

Months passed with no news about you, which led him to quietly pass the time without thinking about you until end-of-the-year practices started ramping up for the entire industry. Suddenly, Jay would arrive at practices with a warm meal in hand, much too familiar with the way you once did for him. 

He tried to push away the many thoughts of one of his members and best friends dating his ex-girlfriend until he noticed a notification with your name on his lock screen. 

Sunghoon swore he died a little inside. How could his friend do this to him? To not even speak to him before trying to pursue you. Sunghoon was heartbroken for more than one reason that day. 

It took everything in him not to drag Jay out into the middle of the room and confront him for what he was doing behind his back. Instead, he went home without a glance back at the room filled with people. Sunghoon calmed himself down after an hour of pacing back and forth throughout his dorm room. He hadn’t been rationally thinking. 

Would Jay really do this to him?

The breakup had taken a toll on you. You hadn’t been able to eat or sleep well, which led to a lack of energy when you had practices that resulted in poor performance on music shows. You were more than aware of how dramatically you were reacting to this ordeal given that Sunghoon hadn’t even liked you, but that didn’t stop your heart from breaking every time a random memory of him doing something nice for you popped up in your head.

You tried to convince yourself that you hadn’t ever felt anything for Sunghoon yourself - that your infatuation had come from how handsome he was and you would get over this little slump in no time. 

You flopped around in bed, leaning over to look at your member’s alarm clock. 4:00 AM shown in red letters blinked back at you, taunting you with its horrendously bright lights.

This had been the third night in a row that you had been unable to sleep.

You felt your phone vibrate from under your pillow, alerting you of a text message. It took you a second to completely register who had sent you a message before you replied. Jay had asked if you were awake, wondering if you wanted to meet by a local convenience store. It only took you 10 minutes before you snuck out of your dorm, and were on your way to meet up with him.

You had never expected the level of true amity that would bloom between the both of you, but you were grateful to have had Jay there for you through one of the worst times in your life yet.

Neither you nor Jay was aware of the stirrup it would cause the next day when it had leaked that the two of you had met up late at night and after a stern interrogation from both of your managers, the situation had been cleared up without a problem.

The nightly outings with Jay continued whenever you couldn’t catch a full night’s rest, too preoccupied with your thoughts to give out. More and more of your fans had begun to speculate online, but your shared company never commented.

You had only recently started making Jay meals and dropping them off once you had started feeling better to repay him for all the money he had spent on your ice cream. Little thank-you notes littered the tops of the lids, cheering him on as you were both about to get very busy. 

It wasn’t until Jay asked you to stop that you realized there was a problem with what you had been doing. Of course, Jay had kept the reason for his hesitation to himself but it didn’t take a genius to understand what was going on.

In a fit of anger, you messaged Sunghoon’s number, still having his contact saved in your phone. It was a wordy message, filled with obscenities you wouldn’t have ever repeated to his face, but you were rightly upset that Sunghoon had the gall to be angry at his friend for comforting you as any normal person would have.

Who did he think he was to dictate his friend's actions?

If Sunghoon were honest with himself, he’d admit that he knew Jay dating you shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did. He hadn’t even actually dated you - his friend was more than validated in his right to pursue you. 

He didn’t completely understand what bothered him more, the fact that it was Jay who was dating you or that you had moved on. He knew he should be happy for you, especially since he knew how hurt you had been when you broke up, but he couldn’t find it in himself.

He often caught himself daydreaming now, imagining how it must be for you and Jay on your dates. The glimmer in your eyes that had once been only for him to see was now shining for someone else. There was a sickly feeling in Sunghoon’s stomach, one he knew he shouldn’t be feeling.

After a while, he started avoiding Jay as much as he could. Sunghoon hadn’t expected the misery that would accompany him after your breakup. There had been an intense guilt that had started eating Sunghoon from the inside out. Couldn’t he just be happy for his friend?

Awards shows came quicker than he would have wanted. Sunghoon had managed to suppress his feelings long enough to get through practices, but he had no idea how well he’d hold up if he came across you with Jay. On top of that, you were upset with him over his reaction to your relationship.

It was only the beginning of award season, but Sunghoon had already seen too much. The smiles shared between you and Jay did not go unnoticed, and he hated it.

He hated just how much he wished your smiles were directed at him.

Sunghoon’s intense stares didn’t go unnoticed by you either. They were difficult to miss when you could feel his eyes burning into you whenever you stood to applaud his group. It was an intense feeling to know that you were being watched with such disdain, but there wasn’t much you could do. Jay tried to comfort you as much as he could through text messages whenever he was in his green room. 

After one particular performance by your group, you ran into Jay and his members, excitedly congratulating them all with hugs as Sunghoon distanced himself as much as he could. Again, you felt his stern stare, hesitantly turning to him you gave him a thumbs up and a smile.

You figured keeping things civil wouldn’t hurt, despite being annoyed with how he was acting lately. Unsurprisingly, Sunghoon didn’t return the small gesture instead he looked away from you almost entirely.

Yes, you hadn’t expected much from him but it still hurt. You didn’t understand where this hostility came from. The last time you had physically seen Sunghoon he looked like he was on the verge of tears, yet now he stood looking miserable at the thought of your presence. 

The thought hadn’t even been processed in your mind before you were walking toward him, escaping your member's hold on your hand. 

“Sunghoon, can I speak with you?”

EXTENDED NOTE. ok she's not done but I really really struggled with her so I just cut it off here 😔 I promise the next part will be nicer and probably fluffy <3 also jiji I thought I was gonna post this yesterday but I didn't ansorrriiiiii

[hydrangeapartridge]

Title: Mind Body and Soul - Chapter 5

Pairing: Mage!Shinsou x reader

I wrote for Shinsou again! Link to AO3 here

Summary: Once upon a time there was you: a nobody, a refugee from a country devastated by Dabi’s undead army, serving as a maid in king Todoroki’s castle. There, fate decided you would cross path with the mysterious and dreaded court mage Hitoshi Shinsou. Little did you know that particular encounter would change your life forever.

Rating: M

Tagged people <3 (tell me if you want to be added): @maple-syrup-with-strawbewwies @moonlitmoonpie @obeythehuman

Chapter 5: The Fire (under the cut!) - (link to chapter 1, 2 , 3, 4)

The following days were filled with more reading, but also practice with the lenient spirit of water. Shinsou insisted that you should improve your handling of water before you could try handling another element; especially one harder to move like earth, or more abstract to picture like air.

Water spells weren’t boring, far from it. Every spell, every magic trick you performed felt as thrilling as the first one. You were sure you would never tire of it. However, you felt curious about the way the other elements would feel when connecting to them, and you were eager to learn more on the subject of magic. You barely started grazing the surface of it afterall. All that knowledge was new and exciting.

That thirst for knowledge became a consuming passion, and soon, you caught yourself reading for hours in the dead of the night, or not putting down your notes while hastily wolfing down a meal. As such, you understood Shinsou’s lifestyle better, slowly coming to follow it yourself. And never did you mock his impressive book collection again. On the contrary, you were grateful to be able to borrow from it.

After your interview with the king, your were informed that a room had been made available for you at the bottom of the castle’s tower. Being able to have your own space, and to sleep in a proper bed was a luxury you thought you would never be graced with. And yet, thanks to your gift for magic, your life was once again made better.

You absent-mindedly reflected on your improved lifestyle as you swiftly watered the plants on the windowsill with a little magic trick. You didn’t need any incantation anymore for it, and as Shinsou explained, the more you practised, the more magic stamina (or <i>mana</i>, as he called it) you gained, and the more spells you were able to cast in a row. At first your casting took time, and left you tired and drained. Now you could move a small amount of water with a snap of your fingers.

Once done with watering the flowers, you closed the windows. Outside, the air was chilly, the sun slowly setting. It was getting darker inside Shinsou’s office, and looking at the unlit candles on the desk, an idea struck you.

You still didn’t know how to conjure spirits, but if you could move water as you pleased, transferring a small amount of the fire inside Shinsou’s oil lamp to light a few candles shouldn't be too difficult. The theory of it you mastered without question. You felt confident it wouldn’t be too hard.

If he never explicitly told you not to play with fire, Shinsou did tell you you shouldn’t try new spells when he wasn’t present. Your teacher was overly careful with what spells he allowed you to experiment. He kept warning you about the dangers of magic, so much so that lately you listened to him less attentively.

You decided this one spell was simply a variation of water handling. After all, you would just be moving an elemental spirit from one place to another.

Shinsou liked to keep secrets to himself, that you were sure of, and as a fellow mage you would do the same. It would be your little secret, until you surprised him with how much you had improved, and proved him how skilled and independent in your studies you could be.

You secretly couldn’t wait for him to praise your progress, and with that thought in mind, you placed the oil lamp near the candles on the desk.

Taking a deep breath, you focused on the flame gently swaying inside the oil lamp. You took some time to visualize the path you would make a sample of the flame take. Even if you were confident you were able to do this, you still carefully approached the spell, knowing being careless with magic could result in a disaster. The candles were mere inches from the oil lamp. It shouldn’t be a difficult spell.

You quickly glanced at the door to Shinsou’s room. It was closed, and no noise came from there. He was probably focused on some reading. You wouldn’t be caught.

You straightened your clothes to steady yourself and leant towards the materials you placed on the desk.

You lifted a hand and whispered as low as possible. “Ignis”

Before your eyes, the flame in the oil lamp seemed to perk up. It burned brighter the moment you called out to it. The pulp of your fingers tingled as the connection was made, the sensation familiar but very different from how the water made you feel. The fire was warm, tickling, almost bubbly, giving you a sense of playfulness and a yearning for freedom.

With extreme focus, you slowly moved your finger. The flame stretched over the top glass opening of the oil lamp. You struggled to split it in two but after a while, you succeeded in getting only a tiny flame to leave the lamp. You quickly moved the flame to the candle, fearing it would go out. Its light seemed so fragile compared to the steady flame burning inside the lamp.

Once the flickering spark of fire touched the candle wick, its light grew bolder. You let out a relieved chuckle. You had succeeded.

Or so you thought.

The second you relaxed and eased your focus to terminate the spell, the flame lighting the candle suddenly grew wild. It rose as high as the ceiling, setting ablaze the parchments and books in its way, and licking at your hand that had the misfortune of hovering close to it.

You stepped back, nursing your injured hand, eyes wide with fear as the flames grew bigger. Fire started licking at the desk, wildly and exponentially spreading, devouring the easily flammable paper and wood. Was it your yelp of surprise and pain, or was it the sudden burst of light that alerted him, you wouldn’t know, but soon, the door to Shinsou’s room slammed opened, and the next second, the mage was by your side, stunned in front of the disaster you caused.

The look he sent you made you want to crawl into a dark hiding place forever, for more than furious, it was wounded. You had destroyed part of his hard work, and part of his beloved book collection. And worse, you had broken his trust.

Without wasting another second, Shinsou turned to the fire, staring at it like it had personally offended him. You felt the prickles of a spell in preparation in the air as your teacher focused. He raised his hands in front of him, then with force he brought them together. A strong gust of wind blew through your hair and a loud clapping sound rang in your ears. And with that, all the flames in the room went out.

In the dim light brought by the moon only, you could still see the dark burnt traces the fire left in its wake. On the desk and on the shelves, the damage was thankfully minimal, but a few parchments and books were still lost.

The silence that fell over the room felt deafening, and frozen in place, you couldn’t bring yourself to look at Shinsou.

“Fire is wild and wants to eat everything” You finally heard him whisper in a sigh.

“I’m sorry” You sniffed, voice barely audible. You felt ashamed that you didn’t heed his warnings. Tears started prickling at the corners of your eyes. You felt terrible, and your hand was hurting, burning where the flames touched you.

Through your blurry vision, you saw a pair of shoes appear in front of yours.

Shinsou carefully took your hand in his, gently prying your palm opened with his cold fingers. You winced as he traced the place where your skin was tender and turning an angry red.

“You’re hurt” He breathed, brows furrowing. “Why do I always end up needed the only kind of magic I’m so bad at” He sighed, then let go of your hand. “I won’t try my hand at healing magic for fear of worsening the wound. But I think I might have a poultice somewhere that can help”

Shinsou stepped away and with an effortless flick of his wrist, he lit the oil lamp again. You bit your lower lip in frustration, continuing your efforts to reign in the tears threatening to spill on your cheeks. While Shinsou looked for the salve, you carefully ran your thumb over the palm of your hand, tracing the edges of the burn. The gesture felt oddly soothing. As you massaged the area, you were surprised to feel the tip of your thumb tingle with an oddly familiar sensation. You could feel your pulse abnormally pounding under your skin. Under your bewildered eyes, you saw the burnt skin you were stroking progressively loosing its angry red colour, instead turning into a less sore pink hue. You forced yourself to blink a few times, almost sure you were hallucinating things because of the pain and fatigue.

“Shinsou” You feebly called out to him, distress filling you.

Despite sour mood and the obvious anger he must be feeling towards your actions, in an instant he was by your side. His worried gaze followed yours until he could assess the state of your hand.

“What’s happening to me?” You asked, voice shaking, your thumb still pressed to your opened palm. You felt like it was glued to it, finding it difficult to stop touching your burnt skin. It felt like that part of you was on a mission to finish something it started without your consent, and it was overwhelming.

Shinsou looked between you and the visibly receding burn on your hand. He then gently pried your thumb away from the wound, carefully holding it between his fingers. The pounding stopped; the tingling too. The connection was broken. Where you were once severely burnt, only soft pink and barely warm skin remained.

Shinsou let out an almost amused exhale through his nose “Well, nothing to worry about. It seems to me like you were simply healing yourself”

Your head lifted and your widening eyes meet his twinkling amethyst ones. You found no traces of anger left there. Only a sort of amusement mixed with maybe … pride?

“I did what?”

Shinsou smirked, leaving your side only to retrieve the poultice. Despite your burn looking a lot better, he still opted to treat it with the salve. Taking your hand in his, he took his precious time spreading the creamy mixture over your palm, intentionally not answering your question. You cheeks burnt under his attention, his ministrations, and his avoidance. Was that his way of punishing you? If that was the case, it was an oddly pleasant sort of punishment. The poultice’s fresh texture soothed your aching skin, but the feeling of Shinsou’s touch on your skin threatened to set it ablaze again.

“I am upset that you didn’t listen to my numerous warnings” He finally said, eyes focused on the task of massaging the poultice into your delicate skin. “But I suppose making mistakes is part of the learning process” He released your hand and his gaze met yours. “At least this debacle was of use; we found your spirit of affinity”

You blinked owlishly, surprised that he would forgive you so easily, and puzzled by his words. “Spirit of affinity?” You repeated, clueless.

Shinsou’s smirk sent heat coursing under your cheeks. “Haven’t read about that yet now have you?” He smugly teased. “Well, thankfully it is part of my duties as your master to enlighten you”

You levelled him with your best unimpressed stare, but it didn’t seem to deter his suddenly good mood.

Not paying you any mind, Shinsou started his evening lecture. “Although in theory any mage can cast any spell; communicate or order any spirit, each mage has a special connection to a particular kind of spirit, with which it is easier to connect. That is what we call ‘spirit of affinity'”

His explanation was very logical, and you nodded your head, the whole notion piquing your curiosity. “So mine is .. healing?” You wondered. “But that is not a spirit, is it?” You immediately corrected yourself, feeling a bit lost.

“Indeed” Shinsou nodded his head. “Your spirit of affinity seems to be the spirit of the Body” He told you, and suddenly it all made much more sense. “I am sure you remember the lesson about the Body, the Mind and the Soul” Shinsou continued his explanation. “Healers can communicate with and shape the spirit of the body. It is a rare and powerful ability”

Healing magic involved the spirit of the Body. You were thrilled to know you possessed such a rare and useful ability. If you pursued the path of healing magic, you could help so many people in the kingdom. That prospect made you ecstatic, and it was probably easy to read on your face.

“That discovery seems to please you” Shinsou remarked and you vigorously nodded your head “Sadly I’m afraid I won’t be able to teach you a lot in this area. As you may have noticed it is far from my expertise. But between books and the theory I can provide you, you should be able to cultivate that ability. As well as the many other things you need to learn to become a proper mage” His eyes held a mischievous glint as he added. “Like for example, handling fire spirits without any incident”

You let out an embarrassed little laugh. “Yes.. well, fire clearly isn’t my spirit of affinity” You commented, running a nervous hand through your hair.

Shinsou shook his head at your antics. “That we gathered. From the beginning, I didn’t picture you to be a fire mage. They are often brash and unfocused. Preferring easy solutions to well thought plans. You are nothing of the sort”

You felt a surge of pride at his words. “So you’re telling me that a mage’s personality matches its spirit of affinity?” You asked, curious.

“In a way” Shinsou replied, and you urged him to elaborate with examples. You were happy that he obliged, chuckling at your interest.

“For instance, earth mages are often stubborn, while air mages are light-hearted. They even have a reputation to be flighty. Metal mages are strong willed and taciturn, when wood mages are reliable and supposedly skilled in crafting… Those are rough approximations of course, there are some exceptions to these beliefs and reputations”

You avidly drank Shinsou’s words, and wished you could meet other mages to test if these theories were true. In your country, mages weren’t detected or trained; so much that you thought none of you were gifted. The discovery of your talent proved it to be wrong, but it didn’t change the fact that the court mage was the first and only mage you ever met. Your new found curiosity of the subject felt unquenchable, and you couldn’t help but wonder in which category Shinsou fell. You felt like the knowledge of his spirit of affinity could help you know him better. So you simply asked about it.

“What is yours?”

A beat of silence. Then he turned to look at you, deep violet eyes shinning with mischief.

“A secret” He whispered, the low rumble of his voice sending a shiver down your spine. A coy smile was on his lips, but his tone was nothing but serious.

Your heart skipped a beat in your chest. Between the light of the moon and the flame of the oil lamp, Shinsou was a two faced almost ethereal beauty. On one hand a warm and reliable teacher, and on the other, a mysterious and cool mage.

His smile, his eyes, his voice; you realized you weren’t indifferent to his charms. And given how secretive and powerful he was, you felt intimidated by that realization. That inclination could give him more power over you. He seemed to trust you but you were sure he did mostly because he could control you; control the knowledge he passed onto you, and handle you with his magic if ever you poised a threat. You were positive he was a better person than his master was, but he kept so many things to himself that it was shady. At first you didn’t mind, simply glad for the many improvements he brought into your life, but these days, you found yourself wishing to know more about him on a personal level. And that was obviously not a good idea.

You unconsciously stepped back, trying to regain your composure. Shinsou gauged your reaction, one thin eyebrow rising when you didn’t comment on his evasive reply.

“Well” You quickly followed up with the conversation, making a show of being annoyed by his lack of answer “if you don’t want to tell me then I’ll just have to guess”

Shinsou chuckled. “I wish you good luck on that endeavour”

You stepped in front of him, all serious this time. “If I find what it is, you’ll have to tell me when I’m right. No lying, no beating around the bush”

Shinsou’s amused expression dropped, leaving place to a more severe one. “Certainly” He accepted. “However you will have to argue for your breakthrough and explain what gave it away. No cheating. No listing all the existing spirits until you get it right”

You pouted, crossing your arms over your chest while your teacher proudly smirked. “It would make for a good assignment” He smugly added.

“Fine” You finally relented, accepting the challenge, but not without giving him a warning and a promise of your own “Just wait and see. I’ll uncover that secret of yours in no time.”

[toasttt11]

changes

April 1, 2023

Mackenzie looked out the bus window feeling excited that in a month she would be playing her last game of the season with Chicago Steel and could go back home.

Next season she was eligible to join collage if she wanted and the only tour she took was as Boston University and she saw how much Aiden loved the school and she really loved it too.

Three days ago she committed with Aiden to Boston University and she was really looking forward to being able to play with Aiden again and just be around Aiden in general.

She currently was in the bus heading to Michigan to play her two last games against the UNTP team and she was playing the two games against the U-18 team, luckily Cole would be playing in the two games.

Mackenzie was a bit excited to see Will again, He had followed her on instagram the same day they met a few months ago and he’s liked all of her story’s and post and they have texted a few times.

Mackenzie looked out the window as the bus stopped in front of the arena and she elbowed Michael who was next to her sleeping and grinned as he woke up and glared at her.

Nick laughed from across the row as Michael is grumpy no matter how he is woken up so Mackenzie and Nick have taken to being annoying to wake Michael up.

Mackenzie headed into the arena went through her off ice warm ups and headed onto the ice to continue warming up.

She tried not to look to eager but she looked around trying to find the blond curls sticking out a helmet and smiled seeing Will.

She waved softly and she watched as his face just harden and looked away, she frowned confused as her shoulders slumped slightly.

Mackenzie had no time to think of Will’s actions as her shoulder was bumped and she looked over seeing Cole standing there grinning at her. Mackenzie smiled back at her best friend.

Mackenzie chatted with Cole as they warmed up together before they both headed back to their teams as the game started.

Mackenzie immediately noticed when she played next to Will he was harsher to her and sticking out his elbows more at her.

By the third period of the game Chicago Steel was leading 5-4. Mackenzie had a goal and Cole got one only minutes after her.

There was only sixteen seconds of the third period left and Mackenzie watched as Will got the puck and scored the goal to tie up the game.

She smiled slightly seeing his wide smile and joy on his face as he celebrated with his team but shook her head looking away.

Mackenzie went out in her first shift in OT and grabbed the puck and brought the puck up the ice passing back to Nick and Nick quickly shot the puck getting a goal.

Mackenzie whooped and celebrated with her team as they won 6-5.

Mackenzie didn’t rush coming out of the locker room as she is staying the night in Michigan because they have another game tomorrow so she can spend a lot of time with Cole tonight anyways.

Mackenzie walked out of the locker room and headed to the front of the arena seeing Cole waiting for her in the lobby, she walked over and hugged her best friend having not seen him in a few weeks.

Cole hugged her back pulling back and they started talking for a little bit.

Mackenzie jerked away as a bag brushed against her and she looked up seeing Will brushing past her and completely ignoring her.

Will shook his head ignoring the way his heart clenched as he ignored her, he couldn’t like her now that she is committed to BU, he couldn’t think how pretty she is, he couldn’t spend way to much time anymore looking at her instagram, he couldn’t ever be nice to her again as she is his rival now.

Mackenzie frowned slightly and Cole squeezed her shoulder also looking confused at what Will’s just did.

April 2, 2023

Mackenzie spent most of last night catching up with Cole and enjoying some quality time with her best friend and they facetimed Connor together.

She was back on the ice for the second game against the U-18 team.

She was having a really good game so far already having a goal and an assist by the second period.

Mackenize was skating down the ice with the puck and glanced to the side seeing Will skating over to her.

Mackenzie suddenly got tripped by Will’s stick and went tumbling down to the ice. She caught herself before her face could hit the ice as her teammates pushed Will away.

Mackenzie let out an annoyed breath as she blew the stray hairs out of her face and stood back up.

She watched as Will was guided to the penalty box and he didn’t seem to regret his actions at all, she shook her head, the boy who was so kind to her she didn’t known where he was.

Mackenzie didn’t know what she did to make Will not like her anymore.

It doesn’t matter she only met him once and only texted a few times, it shoulder matter anyways.

She shook sadly and just skated back to the bench avoiding Cole’s concerned eyes from his bench.

Mackenzie’s next shift she narrowed her eyes and took the puck across the ice easily skating around the other team and getting a goal and she just shook her head at Will as she made eye contact with him still sitting in the penalty box.

Chicago Steel ended up winning 7-3.

Mackenzie only gave Cole a quick hug after the game once they both got out of their lockers rooms and started heading to the bus and she quickly stepped out of way as Will walked out of the locker room as she walked by and ignored the feeling of his eyes on her.

[intergalacticuniversity]

Innate Time Travel

(From The Galactic Time Standards Manual, First Edition)

Innate time travel is what some call a "gift" as it is a psychic ability which activates itself instead of being activated consciously. People who experience innate time travel often report an intense period of time immersion followed by an interval of time in which no alterations occur. After this interval, the time immersion begins again and the individual re-experiences the interval of time again, but with alterations introduced in the second immersion.

Some Examples of Innate Time Travel

Juan wakes up every day at 4 AM and, in the period of five minutes, experiences a deeply immersive vision of what the next day will be like. After this experience he perceives time at a regular 1:1 speed over the course of 24 hours, during which he is allowed to act as he wishes. Because of the vision, he is able to act in anticipation of certain events. The vision is never brought on by a trigger or otherwise purposefully engaged with, instead it simply happens on its own. In Juan's, it happens on a regular schedule that he is able to anticipate.

For some people, it is as simple as Juan's experience, in which the next morning, a vision will come of the next day, and each day the same process will go as before. But for others it is more complicated. Let us examine Domingo's situation.

Domingo dreams every night of what will happen the next day. As soon as he wakes up, he tests to see what he can change and what he cannot. Sometimes he does something a little rash like steal a donut or kick over a trashcan while no one's looking. Every now and then he tries out something just to see what will happen, like giving a random person a hi-five or shouting down the alleyway at midnight that he sees Bigfoot and could someone please come help him fight off the big guy? Domingo is a bit of a prankster and the reason he is like this is that when he goes to sleep the night after doing those things, before his dream starts, he has the option to dream of the day before or the day to come. If he dreams of the day before, then when he wakes up, it is the day before. He has a new chance to start over and another try at whatever things he might have failed at. Domingo might seem like a bit of an impatient guy, kicking trashcans over like that. It turns out that is a result of re-living so many days so many times. He gets bored easily of a day he's lived three times already. This is why Domingo has never repeated a day enough times to win the lottery. He simply can't stand living the same day more than five times in a row.

Mercedes is a woman who knows exactly what she wants. When she dreams, she chooses what will happen, and when she wakes up, that is what will happen. This seems like an ability with no limit that might cause some problems, but Mercedes does not have much imagination, and she is a very laid-back person. She actually has a pretty boring job with an average salary and lives in a dull side of town, has a very lazy and predictable husband, and loves every moment of it. Mercedes has a very innate gift that cannot be taught or learned, and her subconscious uses it to keep her safe, secure, calm, and happy. Mercedes would likely never use her ability to make a big change or do something nefarious because those are not things she is predisposed to do in her life and they typically require the sort of planning the subconscious is not capable of doing.

Some people are able to repeat a day several times, or a week several times, or an hour several times. These abilities vary by person in how they manifest and exactly how they are controlled (or uncontrolled). For most people, there is a limit to the amount of repeats, and for the rest, fatigue tends to set in after too many. This results in many cases where people repeat time about 3-5 times before giving up on whatever it is they were trying so hard to do. Often there is no actual hard limit on the number of repeats one can do in time other than the limit of what your own self can go through.

Advice for Innate Time Travelers

Some people do not experience an immersion period and instead repeat an interval of time over and over until they no longer do so. These individuals are advised to speak with a hypnotist about setting up a regular "preview period" as shown in the examples. This greatly reduces the amount of "repeat fatigue" a time traveler goes through because it allows for most modifications to time to be done the first time around instead of the second.

Some innates do not experience repeats at regular intervals and instead experience them as necessary or at the behest of some trigger. For all innates experiencing repeats it is advised to complete your goal within three repeats. Do the first round dry or, if precog tells you that you are on round one of a repeat, go ahead and do exploratory work. Once the first round is done you should have knowledge of what you have to work with and what your greatest obstacles are. Before round two, also take some time to determine your end goal for this cycle.

On round two, make some changes to eliminate your obstacles and pursue your goal. Remember that you will have a round three to finalize these changes or explore additional possibilities, so use round two to gather information you couldn't get the first time around. Only repeat from round one what is necessary to succeed in round two. Do not give in to the temptation to make round two a throwaway period in which you do something silly that you know you can reset and forget in round three. This forces you to succeed at all goals in round three without any pre-work and could get you caught in a dangerous situation if you're not able to endure a repeat after a failure in the third round. If you're not able to repeat after any of these rounds, you simply have to accept the causality and live in it.

In round three, cross your t's and dot your i's. This is the part where you finalize decisions and find out any remaining information you didn't have before. A classic way to handle round three is to ask a person two different questions in rounds one and two that are designed for maximum information extraction, then in the third round, give that person a compliment so that they remember you fondly. Then you have their information (doubly!) and their future favor, all in a neat three rounds.

Using electronic assistance it is possible to re-run more than three times. Usually the first round is re-run once to gain twice as much initial information, and then the third round is allowed to run again if necessary to control a variable that went awry. This results in, sometimes, a total of five rounds. Career travelers taking this path are advised to buy private time travel health insurance to cover for all eventualities that may occur from repeat fatigue or causality anomalies.

[fearlessword]

I’ll meet you in my dreams - Chapter 4

Summary: You dreamed of the boy who played piano before you knew who he was. Humming the melodies you heard in your sleep brought BTS into your life and you thought it was just meant to be.When you finally have the chance to see him perform live, you realize that the dreams you have are more than a coincidence. You hope he dreams of you too.

Slow burn/ Slow build/ canon divergence/ d-day tour / soulmate- ish

Pairing: Idol! Min Yoongi x Reader

Ongoing

Masterlist

Author’s note: I am alive! After the longest time, I am finally updating this! Chapters 1-7 are available on AO3. So many things have happened in my life in the past few months, even more during November and December, I hope to come here soon with more updates. Thank you so much for reading.

“You smile that beautiful smile and all the girls in the front row scream your name”

There was no sound and no light in the hotel Min Yoongi was staying in that night. Still, despite the lack of any outside interference, he was tossing and turning for the last two hours. He didn’t know where his body was taking all of this energy from in order to stay awake like that when was so exhausted.

He felt the quite familiar tingly sensation at the bottom of his stomach. He felt like his heart was literally cold, he felt like he couldn’t breathe and that made him feel a little desperate too. Logically, he knew it would be just another show, another tour. He performed for thousands of people, he gave hundreds of interviews and promoted so many albums before. He knew all of it, that should help him sleep. Just another show. He is a professional, he wrote the songs, they are all about his story. He can do it. He should be able to do it. It’s a challenge of course, being alone, but he performed on a stage alone before. His members were backstage, he knows, but he sure did. He can handle a tour by himself. Right?!

But he’s sick. His throat is sore and his body hurts because of a cold that came at the wrong time. The doctor said he should take more care of himself. The hectic work routine wasn’t a problem, after so many years, he should be used to it, so it’s obvious that he was frustrated with the situation. He needed sleep to make sure the first concert was successful, to make sure his voice was good enough, to have energy to see ARMY after such a long time.

Yoongi groans. He didn’t want to be worried about it. He just wants to have a great time before he has to leave. He wants to focus on the lyrics he himself wrote and that what’s to come is going to be okay. He moves around some more. He walks around the room, he drinks a bit of water, pulls his hair up, stares at his face in the bathroom mirror. 

“Get. It. Together.”

He doesn’t dare to get his yellow notepad. He knows he won’t be able to stop working until the morning if he decides to do so. He tosses and turns some more and almost cries in annoyance. He does breathing exercises to calm the monster in his brain that tells him something will go wrong. Yoongi does all of that until his tired body wins the battle against his anxious mind and he falls into deep sleep.

🪷🪷🪷

The second you opened your eyes in your dreams you felt your clothes heavy and your shoes squeaking due to the amount of water in them. Really? Again?

The storm was worse than last time, too. Bright lightning bolts painted the dark sky and the powerful thunders made you feel like the whole world around you was shaking. The amount of water falling all over your face made it difficult to keep your eyes open, but you could see the warm light coming from the same house of stone from your previous dream, and that’s the direction you ran to.

As you open the maroon door, the welcoming scent of the house envelops you. You immediately take your shoes and socks off and run up the stairs to the attic, in hopes that a certain someone was there again. You find nothing but the film reels and pillows.

You try not to wilt too much. You know it’s a dream, and you hoped you could talk to that version of Yoongi that your brain created. After all, that is the closest you’ll ever get to talk to him, even if it’s not real. You check each and every door on your way down to the living room, in hopes of finding perhaps a change of clothes, but all of the doors are locked. You reach the living room leaving behind you a path of water droplets that will probably stain the hardwood floor.

Shivers surround your entire body and you can’t help but feel annoyed by the situation. Is this some personal test to see how you need to practice patience?

You look around and stare at the logs piled up beside the fireplace, then, you stare at the kitchen cabinets and suddenly feel the gears in your brain making up a plan.

“Imaginary coffee in the middle of the night won’t make me stay awake if I’m already sleeping, right?” You reassure yourself out loud before making your way to the kitchen.

“Brain, I wish for coffee, and maybe an espresso pot, or something” you say as the sound of the doors of the cabinets opening and closing echoed around the room. You analyze the cabinet space, finding some pots and pans. You search for coffee on the overhead cabinets, but, besides mugs and plates, you find a single box of tea. 

“Chamomile tea?! Ha ha very funny”

That would have to do. 

You get one of the pots to boil water and go back to the living room just stare at the pile of firewood and try to strategize a way to light the fireplace up. It must be a simple thing of course, but it’s not like you’ve ever done it before. You get some of the pieces of wood and try to put them in the fireplace, trying to organize them in the right way before finding out how it actually works.

“Ugh! Why is the weather here always like this?” You let out a loud groan. You don’t remember feeling that cold last time you’ve dreamed about this place, quite the opposite, but you were also too distracted by someone last time to pay attention to the state of your clothes or your body temperature.

“How many times have you been here again?” The deep voice that comes from the front door makes you jump. Air escapes through your mouth as you put your hand over your chest in an attempt to calm your heart. You already know whose voice is that, hell, by now you could recognize it anywhere.

“It’s only the second time, but It’s been uncomfortable enough” you turn your face to answer the question and there he is in all his glory. Suddenly, the shivers are gone and you feel your cheeks burning and your heart tight. Min Yoongi combs his long wet hair with his fingers in a way that makes you feel so thankful for your imagination because it’s such a heavenly sight you could die. He takes his shoes off, and tries to loosen up the oversized black T-shirt, just so it could stick to his torso and his arms again. You are about to gasp loudly when he speaks.

“Need help?”

Yoongi’s hands grab the other edge of the piece of wood you’re holding and he’s suddenly right in front of you. Safe distance but so close. You wonder if he looks like this in real life or if the glowy skin and wet hair is just some sort of fantasy of the deepest and most delusional part of your subconscious. Under the golden light of the living room he looks ethereal, and you don’t understand how someone like him could exist in the real world. Before your casual look turns into staring, you answer him.

“Yep, that’d be great”

“Right” 

He kneels in front of the fireplace, takes a close look at it and starts talking to himself in Korean while rearranging what you tried to organize before. Then, he asks you for whatever you used to turn the stove on (a matchbox that you promptly grab and give to him). 

As he works on the fire, you pour water into two mugs and add the bags of chamomile tea in them, observing how Yoongi lights up the fireplace in a matter of seconds.

“Wow, that was fast!”

“It is actually a gas fireplace, so I just needed to find the switch. It was quite simple.”

Okay. Now you feel a little dumb.

“Well, Thank you, Yoongi.” You walk in his direction and offer him one of the mugs, which he grabs gladly.

“It’s Chamomile” you say.

“Huh” he looks at the mug amused.

“What?”

“Just ironic”

“Well, took me a while to sleep because I am too anxious for tomorrow, but my brain found a way to quiet my anxiety in dreamland”

“Guess I should thank your brain then”

“Anxious too?”

“I didn’t know performing by myself would make me that nervous, feels like I’m a rookie all of a sudden”

“You’ll be fine” you say as if you’re talking to your bias for real. “Look at everything you did… All of those singles, and the videos for ARMY,the documentary and the album, of course.That album is everything and more, you just write better and better songs every time it’s not even fair to all of the other artists out there.” You look at him just to find a shy grin on his lips. “ And your fans simply adore you, I know I can’t wait to see you tomorrow”

“Wait, are you going tomorrow?” 

“Are you kidding me?! I’ve been dreaming, quite literally, about the day I’ll see you, or real you play. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Why do you think I’m so nervous about tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, tests to grade?”

“And here I thought my dreams were a safe place away from teacher responsibilities” you massage your temples, wishing your subconscious would give you a break “ But no, I will miss school to see Min Yoongi"

“You mean, you’ll miss school to see me?!” He smirks.

“Well, the actual you, yes, unfortunately the you I’m talking to right now is just a figment of my imagination”

“I could say the same about you” he murmurs and takes a sip of his tea.

“I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean” your eyes scam his face.

“I’m not sure if I know it either” he shrugs, then asks “Did you get good seats to the show?” 

“I’ve got soundcheck, so the view will depend on the time I arrive. I know it will be great regardless, I’ve been waiting for this concert for such a long time.”

“You’ve been now?”

“I thought it would be BTS, but it’s my bias, so I’m excited, of course”

“I hope I can be an artist that can make you proud, even if I am performing without the members.” And you give him a proud smile. This is such a Yoongi thing to say.

“I’m already proud. We all are. The MV today? It shredded my heart to pieces, although I had deja vu because I feel like it was exactly like what I saw last time I was here. I don’t think you understand how proud I am, and happy I can have songs like this to relate to. He, or you… I don’t even know anymore, will do well”

“You are feeding my ego, ________”

“But it’s true”

“Thank you”

“And I’ll be there, probably crying my heart out to ‘People’, that song probably saved my life. Oh God, I hope it’s on the setlist”

“That I can’t say, but I can ask you which song from the album you liked the most”

“Well, it’s too early to say, but SDL is stuck in my head”

“Funny you mention that” he says, and you arch your eyebrows in a question. “That one was written about you”.

And you sip your tea smile fondly at him, finding it comical how your brain created this scene of exactly what you’d like to hear the most from a certain someone.

🪷🪷🪷

The next morning, you wake up before your alarm clock goes off, but you don’t feel tired at all. Instead, you jump out of bed and go straight to the shower, ready to start the most unusual Wednesday of your adult life. You hum the songs as you braid the top of your hair on both sides to let it out of your face, and let the rest of your curls down.

Energy is buzzing through you while you get dressed with your best version of the Daechwita outfit that you love so much. You hope that the army green jacket is enough to keep you warm on this spring day, at least while you’re out of the venue.

You go to the kitchen to fix your breakfast and find a sleepy Camila brewing her morning coffee.

“How come you are awake and ready before me?” She asks with a hoarse voice.

“I woke up before my alarm and had everything ready for once”

“What’s with the three hundred chains on your neck?”

“It’s a costume, Cami.” you reply,  pointing to your whole outfit.

“Oh. Oh! I know what this costume is! But…Where’s the scar?”

“I practiced doing it multiple times in the last couple of days, but it didn’t look good. I’m afraid I’ll ruin the rest of my makeup if I do it right now.”

“Today is the day. Maybe you’ll have more luck if you try it one more time. I can help you”

“No worries. You've got to leave for school and I need to leave too.”

“When does this concert start again?”

“I guess around 8. Gates will open at 3”

“8 p.m.?! You are ready at this time in the morning for a concert that starts at 8 p.m?! You’ve gone mad!”

“You forgot the fact that we are talking about BTS fans, right now. People are camping! I’m already late.”

“This is insane! Completely insane!” 

“You gotta do what you gotta do”

“I would never!”

“I’ve also said that once… Look at me now.”

“Well” she stands up with her coffee mug. “I have to get ready for work. You have fun with your man”

“You say it like this isn’t just a concert!” You let out an exasperated huff.

“You say it like you don’t dream about this guy all the time and this is the first time you’ll actually see him. Also, he will be there, you’ll be there. You’re gonna have fun together at the same space”

“You should stop nurturing delusional me”

“You’re not delusional. Dreams can mean many things and I just know there’s something there. As you know, I’m always right.” Cami tosses her messy morning hair and walks away. “Enjoy, amiga!” 

“I will!” You yell from the kitchen table.

You finish your coffee and feel even more energy buzzing through your veins, you have no time to lose, so you just quickly get your concert bag, your ARMY Bomb, wear your sneakers and take a quick look in the mirror.

Your roommate was, in fact, right: The scar was missing. So you do it. Carefully, thinking about what that symbol meant to him, and what you made it mean to you. You look again in the mirror and, this time, it actually looked good, not perfect, but also not terrible. Feeling ready to celebrate the music (and the artist) that helped you so much, you walk out the door, excited to feel all of the emotions only a concert can bring you.

As it turns out, getting to the venue was not an easy feat for a Brooklyn resident. You’d have to take 3 trains and a bus and it would take you almost two hours to get there anyways. You were also supposed to take the bus with your concert buddy, after all, you had to get the VIP package together, but she was running late, which meant that, after more than one hour inside of the trains, you had to wait at least 25 more minutes to meet up with your friend. It made you arrive at the place way later than what you would have liked.

Now, you don’t know what you expected of an event with ARMYs, but you sure did not expect to spend most of your day in a line. You knew many people would camp, you knew many people would arrive before the time you woke up, but the amount of people in front of you in that line? That was just crazy. By the first 40 minutes, your poor lower back was already crying for help, and it was only past midday when you could actually get your pink bracelet with your number on it. Behind a thousand people, it was clear that the barricade was not feasible, still, you hoped you’d have a great view of the stage. Besides that, it was fun to go around with your tour lanyard and write messages on the pavement with chalk, and see so many people with flags of so many different countries. 

“I feel like this is a dream.” you hear Natalie beside you.

“Doesn’t it feel a bit weird that all of these people are here because they like the same thing we do?” you say.

“It does feel crazy when you actually see it!”

“I wonder how we will react when we see him for the first time…”

“I feel like crying just thinking about that!”

“I just can’t wait! "You jump excitedly.

“Well, we’ll have to…” Natalie points to the door “ There’s another gigantic line coming our way.”

The line that took over the one of the parking lots of UBS Arena gave place to multiple lines inside of the venue, for merch, for food, and to enter the arena for the soundcheck, of course. The moment you stepped inside of that place, you felt different. Your skin was tingling all over and your heart was beating faster than ever before. This is it. It’s real and happening so soon.

The fans were singing to the Agust D songs being played and you couldn’t wait to actually hear him. Natalie and you find the line you’re supposed to be at and sit on the floor, just singing and waiting for the soundcheck.

“We are actually going to be the first people to hear some of these songs live!” your friend squeals in joy by your side.

“If he performs ‘People’ in front of me, please tell my family that I died happy, it’s my favorite…”

You stop speaking the moment the music suddenly stops and you hear a deep voice saying something you don’t understand, just to laugh right after. All of the fans around you roar in excitement and that’s when you realize these songs are not recordings. It's him. It’s his rehearsal. He’s here and he’s laughing and you just heard Yoongi laugh and you will see him in a while and he’s real. This is not a dream at all.

You’ll really die a happy death.

“Okay, everybody! May I have your attention please?!” A member of the staff yells to both your group and the other line. “We will start letting you guys in, remember, no pushing, no running, be respectful and please, no photos or videos during the soundcheck. We will take you out of the venue if you don’t follow these instructions. I don’t want to call any of your parents to tell them you got hurt. It’s all for your safety. Are we clear?”

You hear hums in agreement and a single scoff behind you.

“Call my parents? I’m the parent, hell, I might even be the grandma”

Both you and Natalie turn in the direction of the voices and your eyes find a trio of women who might be a little older than your parents. You giggle a little and decide to interact with them. After all, what are concerts for?

“Well, I’m pretty sure some of my students are here, so I can say that I’m a professional at being a responsible adult”

“If they see you and something goes wrong, I’m sure there will be parents popping up to say that you should’ve done something. You see everything these days” the lady with the short dark hair says. 

“I even saw some ARMYs fighting and getting physical outside. I’ve never seen something like this before. This is not the ARMY I know, this is not spreading the BTS love.” The short lady with the silver, pink and purple hair adds.

“Have you gone to multiple BTS concerts?” Natalie asks the trio.

“So many!” The third woman answers. “We went to Busan last year and to PTD - LA”

“PTD in LA was phenomenal, we got front row seats. The guys must have been weirded out by these three crazy grandmas screaming their names” the colorful haired woman says. “Is Yoongi your bias?”

“He is!” you say “It’s actually my first time seeing one of them!”

“Oh my! It will be amazing!” She exclaims. “He is my bias as well! I was in the same elevator as him once… On one of our trips to Korea. Poor boy! He was so tiny in the corner, all because I held the elevator and entered. I couldn’t say a word, of course! I wouldn’t. I was just dying inside, and didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.” She laughs “It was one of those moments of pure luck. What are the odds? I always say there was life before Min Yoongi and life after Min Yoongi. I hope you feel the same way tonight”

“Wow” you say “And here I am, barely holding up after hearing his voice and knowing we are in the same place, you are a strong soldier!”

“I had to be! The poor boy would feel even more uncomfortable. It’s not easy being that famous! He has to worry about safety all the time, not all ARMYs will just pretend they are not around. You know how there’s always someone to stalk and show up armed around them. It’s so sad.”

Both Natalie and you kept talking to the three nice ladies until the line started to move and you finally saw the stage from the entrance. You try to speak, but a shriek leaves your mouth, your friend holds your hand and you go together to the left side of the stage. With so many people in front of you in line, you thought your view of the stage would be bad, but it seems okay. You are far from the barricade, but can see the stage well. Natalie isn’t pleased, being shorter than you are, even with her platform shoes. 

“I’ll try to squeeze my way to the front, or at least in front of the tall people”

“Go ahead, Nat”

And as she goes, not so far from your vision. You move in your own place waiting for the soundcheck to start and to finally see Yoongi perform. It takes a while. You step side to side, you shake your arms and legs multiple times, like a dance routine that you practice over and over again, for 10, 20, 30 minutes, until you feel it again, only this time, stronger. The tingling embraced you whole body, and your vision blur, you felt your neck and face hot and, for a millisecond, the only sound you could hear was your heartbeat, rapidly substituted by the thousands of voices screaming his name. People push you to the front to get closer to the stage and you try to regain your balance before looking up.

What you see looks more like a mirage than a person. The air seems to get lost on the way to your lungs and you are so overwhelmed that it makes you want to cry. You don’t, too focused on the man on the stage, and how he smiles and glows as all of his fans scream his name.

How can a man be this beautiful? You ask yourself. It's unfair.

He tests the microphone and the beat of ‘People’ fills the arena. Your heart skips another beat, and you get your ARMY Bomb and sing the lyrics of your comfort song with him. Happy is an understatement, what you feel can’t be described. You can’t stop looking at Yoongi, and when he comes closer to your side, scanning the crowd while rapping, you almost melt. You wonder if he can see the faces in the crowd and if he sees yours, even with the lightsticks shining so bright. The soundcheck keeps going with ‘People pt. 2’ and you have so much fun singing and dancing to the song.

“Are you having fun?!” Yoongi asks the crowd.

You scream and jump in excitement, just like the other ARMYs.

When ‘SDL’ starts, your mind takes you back to your dream. You try not to think about it, because dreams aren’t real and you can’t think about dreams and forget about reality. But when he comes close once again and points at your direction changing the key when singing “I’m thinking ‘bout you”, you can’t help but be a little delusional, even when you know it’s wrong. Later in the song, he comes close to the edge of the stage. Fans in the barricade go insane when he pulls his shiny hair back while singing the chorus one more time. You can’t stop looking at him, and admiring how he shines, when he points to your direction in the crowd again and ends the song.

“See you tonight!” he says, waving as he walks away.

The colors around you suddenly seem dull and the air feels so cold around your warm body. The screen that once showed Yoongi with his orange glasses and shiny black hair gave place for a video of rain falling fast, the sound of the raindrops weirdly comforting. You sit on the floor,  not believing in what actually happened in front of you, but sure that the actual concert will be bigger and better than anything you’ve ever seen. Now, all you have to do is wait.

[saltyyuuri]

🖋️Writers Block 🖋️

Iso x fem! Reader

Part 5

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5 - PART 6 - PART 7

Words; 5100

Warnings; mentions of NSFW and vulgar language . This will be copy pasted on every chapter.

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Once again you spent the entire day focused on your art, you could have sworn the tips of your fingers were overheating-but that was probably due to the laptop that was slightly overheating from being used for so many consecutive hours in a row. The book was already pretty much 3/4 done- and yet you felt like there was so much more you could write.

You figured it would be a series, unsure just how many you would be able to make, but considering it how the ideas were going right now, you figured you'd probably be able to make three books. Once again you weren't paying attention to the time, curtains closed and lights are on as always, there was a pile of empty energy drink cans stocking up on the desk- some being from a few days ago and some from today.

There was also quite a few snack wrappers starting to pile up in the trash bin beside you, some had fallen out but you couldn't care less. Once more you were too focused, sitting cross-legged on your chair, fingers flying over the keys as you read what you typed on a different monitor.

Your phone had been dead half this time, you haven't paid attention and you hadn't plugged it in. If anyone was trying to text you you didn't receive anything- which was a bit of a problem considering some people had been texting you. But once again, we have focused you were you didn't even know if you would even check your phone no matter how much it buzzed.

Once again what pulled you out of your work, making you cuss a bit this time, was a knock at your door. "Not now!" You called out a bit snappy, you were currently writing an intense scene, of course one of your famous erotic scenes. You were focused and you didn't want anyone breaking your line of thoughts. You got back to typing instantly, continuing with your descriptions as you always did.

Some time passed again- the chapter in which that scene had gone by finally written up, you just moved on with the story and continued typing. Once more just not paying attention-you got to interrupted once again with a knock on the door. It irritated you that it was the second time somebody had interrupted your bubble- and you just kind of snapped. "Who is it?" You asked a bit irritatedly- it was obvious that whoever was knocking was interrupting you.

The door simply opened, and Iso peaked inside your room. Your head snapped in the direction of the door opening- and he got a good look at you. You were wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, you had bags under your eyes and you looked a bit pale. And by the looks of it it was obvious that you had locked yourself in here and had been working on your book the entire time.

"You look exhausted-" he said softly, a bit surprised by your state. Sure, his initial plan was to come in here and be a little bit romantic, maybe try his luck-but after catching a glimpse at your state, he figured it was definitely not going to be the right move. You go on the other hand blinked a few times, looking around your desk and realizing just how much of a mess it had gotten. You let out a small sigh, not letting your grouchiness get to you.

You quickly just left a few notes on your Excel spreadsheet, saving up everything before shutting off your laptop-the poor thing obviously needed a break. "Sorry-... I just got really caught up with the book... I finally got an idea and I just couldn't stop-" you said softly, understanding that your previous home probably led him to think that you were pissed.

"Glad you finally got a good idea- but did you sleep at all? You look like you haven't had a proper night's rest or even a meal in a hot minute-" he said, walking into your dorm and up to you, one of his hands gently going up to your face, cupping your cheek. His hands were warm, and almost instantly you leaned into his touch, appreciating the warmth. You let out a small hum, momentarily forgetting he had asked you a question.

Iso just looked down at you and the reaction you had- letting out a sigh. "Did you take any care of yourself at all?" He asked again-this time you opened your eyes and you had a moment to think-you had a delay on every thought, exhaustion slowing you down quite a bit. "I need to go to the bathroom... And I need to shower. And probably some water." You mumbled out- stepping away from Iso before hiding to your bathroom almost automatically- your movements feeling robotic at this point.

Iso stared in disbelief-standing in your room as he watch you just lock yourself in the bathroom to take care of yourself a bit. He took a short moment before finally snapping out of it, heading out of your dorm while you took a shower.

By the time he came back he had made some food quickly- just making a sandwich as it would be rapid and easy on the stomach. You were just walking out of the bathroom, your water bottle filled up and in hand as you were sipping on it. You were wearing an oversized hoodie and just some underwear- honestly forgetting that Iso had come by earlier.

When you were face to face with him you flinched - your face going a bit red as you realize that you're halfway nude in front of him right now. "Fuck,-I forgot you were here-" you mumble out - your hand going up to rub your face a bit to wake yourself up. Iso ignored the comment, one of his hands going to your lower back and pushing you slightly towards your bed. "C'mon, you're going to eat and go to sleep." He said sternly.

You barely registered his words, just being pushed down on the bed to sit down-blinking a few times as of trying to register what was going on. He set the plate on your lap gently- and you noticed the sandwich. You slowly got to eating, only now that you had the food in front of you that you realized you indeed didn't have a proper meal in a hot minute.

The food was gone pretty fast, not realizing just how hungry you were until now. "Thank you -" you started to say, he was taking the plate off of you and setting it down on your desk temporarily in one of the free spots before he pushed you down fully on the bed. "Don't thank me just yet, you need rest." He said firmly once more, taking time to tuck you in and make sure that you were comfortable.

Once more you really couldn't find him off, just letting him do whatever he wanted. The moment he shut off the light, you felt your own tired mistake over-passing out from exhaustion pretty much instantly. You were lightly snoring- he was impressed at how fast you passed out but at the same time with how you looked, he wasn't surprised that you knocked out so quickly.

Iso sighed, using his phone's flashlight to light up the room without having any intense lighting. He looked around, seeing it was mess. He immediately decided to start cleaning up a bit, mindful to stay quiet. It took him about 20 minutes to clear off the trash, the cans, put the dirty clothes into the hamper, take back his hoodie and clear the dirty dishes.

And the hardest part was getting the hoodie back. You were cuddling it- and he knew it had been at least a week since you had it. He didn't want to wake you up but he also wanted to take it back to so he could get it cleaned. Once he managed to take it, he finally brought it back to his own dorm, trading it in for a different one before heading back to your own room, trying to tuck it in between your arms like the other one without waking you once again.

He felt like he was on a stealth Mission with all of this, trying to take care of you while you finally got the rest you needed. He didn't mind- even if initially he had different plans for this evening, he didn't mind taking care of you. With that, he placed a small kiss on your forehead, now done with those little tasks before heading out, heading to his own dorm to rest up after the mission.

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You woke up pretty late the next day- you didn't even know what time you went to bed at, but you woke up and it was already 11:00 in the morning. You took a moment to stretch, yawning at the same time. You barely remembered what happened, you were so exhausted it was essentially like you were drunk. It took you a minute to even remember that Iso was back- and you immediately went to your phone.

That's also when you realized it was dead. You goraned, plugging it in before going back to lay in bed, profiting of the moment you had of peace and quiet to relax a little more. A few minutes went by, just cuddled up under the sheets as you hugged his hoodie... Also just realizing it wasn't the same one. You were confused to say the least.

After a few minutes you finally got back up to check your phone, you had a lot of missed messages from his end- some announcing he was back and some asking if you were okay seeing that you weren't answering. You finally read up on his messages, sending a quick one explaining briefly your phone was dead that whole time-and you just now realized.

You also looked around the room to see that I got cleaned up- you were starting to wonder if he had taken over the task of making your room a little more viable. You were just about to text him to ask but there was a knock at your door. "Who is it?" You asked, looking for a pair of pants to put on considering you were still only in underwear and a hoodie. "Iso". You heard from the other side of the door, calming down a bit.

"come in-" you said as you headed to your dresser, leaning over to grab a pair of sweatpants from the bottom drawer. He walked in and the first thing he saw was your ass-quite literally- considering you were only an underwear and a hoodie. He quickly shut the door behind him, clearing his throat. His face was red at the sight, holding back any comments at the moment.

You finally put on the pants once you got the pair, turning over to look at him. "What?" You looked at him with a bit of confusion as you saw he was quite flustered. "You... Uh-... It was a nice view-" he finally mumbled out, looking away for a small moment. You realize what he meant and you chuckled, a smile forming .

"glad you enjoyed it-" you giggled softly, enjoying the moment. You continued on speaking. "Did you clean up my room when I was passed out-?" You asked him, gesturing to the obviously much cleaner room-without the piling cans of energy drinks and trash was overflowing with snack wrappers, it definitely caught you off guard.

"Yeah- no offense, but the place was starting to look like a League player's room." He said, chuckling softly as he spoke. You snickered at the reference, not really expecting him to pull that one out. "Rude-" you said, shaking your head slightly. "Am I wrong though-?" He retorted, smirking slightly as he spoke.

"I cannot confirm or deny-" you simply said before taking a few steps towards him, deciding to give him a hug without a warning. You wrapped your arms around his waist, face planting in his chest as you let out a sigh. "Also, welcome back- I'm glad you're okay." You mumbled out in his chest.

Iso blushed slightly, but wrapped his own arms around you immediately, holding you tightly. "Thank you." He sighed, appreciating the soft moment. "You know, after the messages you sent, I was expecting you to be waiting for me eagerly-" he started to say in a teasing manner. "I wasn't expecting to come back to Oscar the Grouch-" he finished off with a chuckle, one of his hands going to rub your back slowly as he spoke.

"shush- I got really caught up in my book okay-" You pinched his hip lightly, but you did chuckle slightly as you spoke. "Yeah, I could see that. I'll keep note you're quite the workaholic when you really get into it-" he said with a small hum, leaning in his head a bit to rest on top of yours.

"pff- to make it sound like you got a check in on me like some pet-" you snickered out softly. "After seeing what state you were in yesterday? Yes-that's what's going to happen." He scolded you lightly, lifting his head to look at you with a stern look. "You do realize you were passed out for 16 hours straight?" He said, frowning, his tone still scolding as he spoke.

"Wait you put me to bed at 7:00 p.m.-? What am I, a toddler?" You asked him in a slight mocking tone, ignoring the scolding. He sighed, lifting one of his hands to pinch your cheek. "I'm going to treat you like one if I have to-" he said sternly, his eyes narrowing at you. You kind of realized at this moment he wasn't joking too much- looking away slightly. "Point taken-I will shut up now-"

He hummed-releasing your cheek before simply holding you by the waist, using both hands to hold you close. You had butterflies in your stomach from how he was holding you- feeling your cheeks warm up just slightly. He decided to test his luck, Iso leaned in, his face approaching yours.

You leaned in too, it was obvious what he wanted. You two shared a kiss, one that was a bit more soft and gentle- a bit of a contrast of what either of you had in mind, but that went without complaints. It was a sweet moment, him holding you close by the waist while you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, trying to pull him closer as you were standing on your tippy toes.

You could feel his thumbs rub soothing patterns into your sides, slowly lowering onto your hips as he held you, his lips still firmly pressed onto yours. He did Lean in a bit more so that you didn't have to be on your tippy toes the entire time, allowing you to relax a bit. You ended up tangling one of your hands in his hair, the butterflies in your stomach going wild.

He finally pulled away first, honestly he was getting a bit of a cramp in his back from being leaned over. When he pulled back he did stretch a bit, chuckling. "You're short." He finally said, those were his first words to break the silence between the two of you after that kiss. "Well fucking excuse me- beanpole-" You immediately retorted, raising a brow at him.

The two of you started cackling like idiots afterwards, it was a bit funny that those were the first word that came out of your mouths after that sweet kiss. When the two of you stopped giggling so much, he spoke up again. "So... Are we... Dating?" He asked you a bit hesitantly, just wanting some clarity on his end.

"hm... I don't know, are we?" You asked him right back, a small smirk on your face. He give you a bit of a confused look before catching on to what you were trying to do. "I see what you're doing. All right, I'll bite-" he said , a small smirk of his own starting to form. "Would you like to date me?" He asked properly this time, his thumbs once again starting to massage small patterns in your hips as he asked.

"I'd like that, yeah." You replied with a genuine smile, getting back up on your tippy toes to place a small peck on his lips, leaving him with rosy cheeks once again. His smirk turned into a smile- happy with the answer he got.

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You too haven't announced it yet, plus anyways you were too busy working on your book too go and create some gossip in your social circle. Since you were almost done typing it, or at least typing the first book of that series you were making, you just wanted to get at least the first one done so you could send it to the publisher.

When Iso had left to go and start training on his end, you went right back to work. Now that you are well rested and you had a functional mind, you felt like it was a lot easier to type away, especially now since your ideas were a lot more clear. You added along some details that you didn't think about the first time around, going to correct a few chapters to add some intrigue, strenghtening the backbone of your story just a bit more.

You had worked on your book all afternoon, you were only a few chapters off from the end- only getting interrupted around dinner time, when Iso came in to drop off some food. "I know you really want to finish writing-but I really want you to eat. Can we at least just make a deal where you take a break for a few minutes?" He said, placing the plate of hot food beside you. The smell alone immediately got your attention, pausing your typing.

You didn't even need to answer, scooting away your laptop to make place for the food. You took a few bites and let out a hum of satisfaction. "Thank you!" You said between bites, taking a moment to savor the meal. "You're welcome - glad to see your easy to convince-" he said with a soft chuckle, setting down the glass of juice he had also brought along for you to drink.

"Hey actually since you're here-can I ask you a few questions?" You said, grabbing onto your notebook and pen almost instantly after you said that, turning to look at him. "Sure - but finish eating first." He said, turning your chair right back around so you could be facing your plate once again. Your groan-but you did as he asked. You took the final bites to the food, turning back to look at him. Taking a moment to at least swallow first and not speak with your mouth full, you prepared to ask away.

"Okay so- I've been asking around for information about assassins and stuff- so far Cypher in Omen gave me slightly different answers- and there's a few things I just wanted to confirm-" you started off as you flip through the pages of your notebook, rereading the answers they each gave you, seeing which ones you needed to reconfirm.

Iso raised a brow at you- seeing just how many notes you had taken already. It was impressive to say the least-he also didn't think you would already be asking his teammates. He a took seat on your bed, making himself comfortable.

"okay-so Omen said that you worked for an agency, Cypher said you tend to take your contracts back to back- even though you're deadlines weren't quite dead set-" you were reading the notes out as you were trying to lead up to your question-reading out the notes was more for yourself rather than for him- but he nodded along anyways to confirm.

"Okay- so first question- Omen wasn't able to answer this one, but just how do you get hired by an agency to be an assassin-like I've been trying to figure it out but... I really just can't-did you just give a resume or something-??" You asked him, looking up from your notebook immediately after asking, your pen in hand and ready to write.

"That- no-... You don't just walk in with a resume-" he said, snorting before he spoke. He couldn't help himself but laugh a bit, the idea of just walking in an agency with a resume written 'assassin' in big letters was a bit funny, but definitely not the procedure. "No, usually they go by the dark web. Most of the time assassins will have a profile set up there, and if agencies want to hire you, they have to contact you via that profile. Either that or they track you down in person."

He explained, making sure to be clear in his explanations for you. You immediately got to noting the moment he spoke, wanting to keep track of this. "Okay... And what happened for you? Did they just find you online or they tracked you down?" You asked him curiously, your nose buried in your notebook as you wrote.

"A mix of both. They saw my profile, I got hired once or twice, but then they tracked me down in person to offer a job." He explained with a small hum, to which you nodded, writing it down. "Okay... I do have another question- I know I asked Cypher this, but since you didn't quite do the same thing as him, I might as well ask you too-" you hummed out, flipping back a few pages in your notes to create a new one on the same page where you wrote down Cypher's answers.

"Just how much money do you make as an assassin?" You asked him bluntly, looking back up at him. "What, trying to determine if I'm going to be a good sugar daddy?" He asked you in a teasing tone, a small smart forming. You rolled your eyes at him, shaking your head. "I have my own money thank you very much-but seriously, I just want to make sure I didn't fuck up-"

He chuckled out softly before taking a short moment to think about it. "It depended on my contracts-... But I could say I could easily rack up maybe 20k monthly?" He answered, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Damn-" you mumbled out as you took note, then quickly to the mental math, knowing he was an assassin for about 5 years, mostly out of curiosity to know roughly how much he actually made.

"Fuck that's like a million after 5 years-" you said as you looked back up at him in Surprise. "The hell are you doing here if you're already a goddamn millionaire-" you said, a look of confusion on your face. "... I mean I like the job-" he said sheepishly. "And the team, their great. I can take a lot more time for myself." He said, a genuine smile starting to form.

You nodded. "Fair." You said, small smile of your own forming. "I also send a lot of money to my family, trying to help them out with that since I don't get to visit often." He finished off, this time his expression changing a bit. Even if he tried to not let it show too much, there was definitely a bit of sadness behind it.

"Oh- I see." You said, a bit more softer this time. "No need to pity me- it's a bit of my fault anyways, I rarely take time off." He said, shaking his head a bit. You still could tell that it was bugging him, considering your words on how to approach the subject without it being like turning a knife in a wound. "Are you maybe scared it's going to be awkward? By the sounds of it it's been a while-" you asked him gently, just trying to get a better understanding at the same time.

"That-... And I just don't want them worrying. They obviously don't know what my job was; but now that I'm a valorant agent, they're aware of that. My grandmother isn't too much of a fan, and I'm scared she won't want me there at the family gathering." He explained gently, making sure to keep his tone measured and stable- even though there was still a bit of a flicker of sadness in his eyes.

You put down your notebook, getting off your office chair to go and sit beside him, putting an arm around him. "Well... The obvious advice I can give is you won't know if you don't try-" you said, this time your words coming out of it bluntly. You saw him wince slightly-so you took a moment to try to rephrase your next statement and maybe smoothen the delivery.

"But... If it's too intimidating to just show up unannounced, maybe try with baby steps? Like sending messages, maybe calling? Just one step at a time- test the waters and see where it goes." You said a bit more softly this time, leaning your head on his shoulder as you spoke, trying to offer some comfort at the same time. He hummed, his own hand going to rest on one of your thighs.

"Yeah... I should probably do that." He said, his tone much quieter this time. You two stayed like that for a moment, enjoying the silence and each other's company. After a few more minutes you placed a soft kiss on his cheek before getting up to sit back down at your desk, still facing him. "I'll leave you be, just don't stay up too late. I'll come by later to make sure you go to bed-" Iso said, getting up and picking up the empty plate of food that have been discarded a bit further away on your desk.

"Okay-... And if you need any help writing anything- just ask. It is my job after all-" You added on softly, nodding your head towards your laptop as if to support your argument. He nodded with a small smile. "Thank you." He said softly before leaving your dorm, leaving you alone to continue working on your book. You let out a short sigh, double checking your notes once again, going through the pre-written chapters to modify a few things, then continuing to write your story.

🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️🖋️

It was around 11:00 p.m. when you finished writing the book- putting down the final sentence, you raised your arms almost victoriously. You stretched out, letting out a sigh of satisfaction and relief as you slowly squished into your chair, relaxing. All you had to do now was just save a copy, send it to the editor and hope to get the okay-which usually wasn't much of a problem at that point.

You immediately got to doing that, since you already done anyways you just figured it would be sent out and you'd be worrying about the rest after. You had pulled out your hard drive to save the copy of the book, then submitting the copy to your editor just as Iso finally came by, holding true to his word that he was going to put you to bed.

"Hey, bedtime-" he said up at sternly, peeking through the door the moment after he knocked to say that. "Just give me one sec- I just need to finish submitting this to my editor." You said, not turning away from your computer, just lifting a hand to give him a 1 minute sign. He hummed, walking into your dorm and shutting the door behind him.

"You're already done?" He asked, both in surprise but also slate disbelief. "Yeah- I mean I wrote the entire thing practically back to back in the past few days- so the first book is done, yeah." You replied, finishing typing up that email you were doing before sending it out with the compressed file that had the book in it.

"The first book-? You're making a series out of it?" He asked you curiously, taking a seat on your bed behind you. "Well I'm hoping to-I have an idea how to make a series out of it, but first I need to see if the editor likes the book." You said , finishing up sending everything out before turning off your computer, letting out a sigh of relief.

"God, I'm in desperate need of a shower." You declared as you pushed yourself out of your chair, getting up and giving him a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the bathroom. You tried to go fast, you didn't want to leave him alone too long- already that you felt like you neglected him a little bit since you got really caught up with your book- you didn't want him to think that you only were going to think of yourself.

The moment you were done, you walked out of the bathroom only wearing a towel, freshly washed up and taken care of. Iso was on his phone, looking up the moment he heard the bathroom door open. "Bedtime-" he started to say again before pausing, his eyes glued to the towel. "Is that all you're wearing-" he asked, the question coming out almost instantly.

"Honey, my eyes are up higher. And yes this is all I have on currently-" you said with a giggle- watching as he blinked a few times before looking up, his face slightly pink. He had dropped his phone on the bed, just staring at you. You walked over, now standing in front of him. "What? It's just a towel-" you said, still giggling at his reaction.

"Your so hot-" he muttered out, looking like his words were just pouring out without any filter, which made you giggle again. The unfiltered comments were slowly becoming one of your favorite things to hear from him, a genuine smile on your lips. "And you're adorable-" you said to him, deciding to be a bit more of a tease.

You took off the towel, pretty shamelessly at that, tossing it on your office chair. You are now completely nude in front of him, then just going to lay on the bed beside him. He choked on air- his eyes were just completely glued on you the entire time, looking too stunned to speak. His reaction made you giggle even more. "Iso-" you started to say before he interrupted you.

"Yu-... My name is Yu. Call me that." He said a bit bluntly as his eyes were still glued on your body, taking in the sight. "Yu, honey, you're staring." You said, your tone teasing as you giggled once again. He hummed - then hesitantly moved a bit, his hand hovering over your thigh. "Can I..-?" He started to ask. " If I didn't want you touching me I wouldn't be laying naked beside you." You replied bluntly, giggling again. "Fair enough -"

[ghostieeez]

꒰ა All Yours ໒꒱

✧.* Hey Girly Series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

✧.* Content: Ghostface x fem!reader, 18+ minors DNI, stalking, obsessive behavior, stabbing, knifeplay/knife kink, blood play/blood kink, cnc, primal play, degradation kink, praise kink, spanking, hair pulling, choking, vaginal sex, rough sex, fluff and smut

✧.*‎ Summary: Your heart was racing, your chest was burning. Your feet pounded through sticks and mud and muck as you ran for your life, heading deeper and deeper into the woods surrounding your house.

Ghostface was after you.

✧.*‎ Word Count: 4.5k | AO3 Link | Divider Cred

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ - ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ʙᴀꜱᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴛ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴀꜱᴛ ʜᴇʏ ɢɪʀʟʏ ᴘᴀʀᴛ: ɪ’ᴍ ꜰᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ʙᴇɢɢɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜᴀꜱᴇ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴏᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴜᴄᴋ ᴍᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ᴀ ꜰᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴇᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴀᴍɴ ᴍᴀꜱᴋ ᴏɴ

ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ɪᴅᴇᴀ, ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴꜱᴘᴏ! ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜰᴜɴ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴘᴇꜰᴜʟʟʏ ᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏᴏ :) ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ʀʟʟʏ ᴇᴀɢᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢɪᴢᴇ ɪꜰ ɪ ᴍɪꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴀɴʏ ᴛʏᴘᴏꜱ

Your heart was racing, your chest was burning. Your feet pounded through sticks and mud and muck as you ran for your life, heading deeper and deeper into the woods surrounding your house. It was dark out and nearly impossible to see through the thick rows of trees and bushes, but that didn’t stop you. Adrenaline and fear coursed through your veins, allowing you to keep your feet moving.

Ghostface was after you.

Not that you were surprised, though. It was only a few days ago that you had drugged him, tied him up, and fucked him.

It had been such a wild night. You couldn’t help but reminisce; you remembered how good he looked handcuffed and bound with rope. Thank god you were able to get pictures of it, too. You remembered how you had turned him into such a whiny, needy mess, and damn were you proud of yourself for it. You loved having him at your disposal for once. You were able to suck and fuck him as many times as you pleased and all he could do was take it. It was nice for the roles to be reversed.

Well, it was nice, until it was time to free him. You remembered how scared you were at the time.

“Would you just untie me already?” He had asked. You were crouched on the floor, a warm washcloth in hand, wiping him clean. You stared up at his mask, which was covered in red lipstick stains from your kisses. The both of you were exhausted and breathless after so many rounds.

“And how do I know you won’t do anything to me?” You asked warily. “After what I did, I’m guessing you’re pretty upset with me.”

“I’ll be nice, pinky promise.” You noticed he didn’t acknowledge the part about being upset, but still, his voice sounded genuine. You didn’t know why, but you trusted him.

Once he was free from the restraints he was quick to grab your face and pull you close to him. His fingers dug into your cheeks and you stared into the black eyes of his mask as a small whimper fell from your mouth.

“I’ll be nice, for now,” he practically spat at you. You hated to admit it, but he was always the sexiest when he was angry. “But don’t think I’m just going to let this go so easily.” With that, he released your face and stormed out of the house.

His words had sent you into paranoia; you glanced over your shoulder wherever you went, triple-checked your locks at night, and even slept with a baseball bat next to your bed.

You had known from the start that it was risky to do what you did. You knew you would get yourself into trouble when you planned it, and now that trouble was lurking around every corner, you weren’t exactly disappointed. In fact, it was excitement that bubbled through your entire body. It was like you and Ghostface were playing a game of cat and mouse. He was on the prowl, teasing his prey, driving you crazy with his obsessive shenanigans, and you ate it right up.

He had kept sending you ominous texts and leaving voicemails late at night. One morning you woke up to a message that read, You look so peaceful sleeping right now. It’d be a shame if someone came in and hurt that pretty little face.

Of course his messages scared you–he was threatening you after all. Yet at the same time, you loved receiving them, and you couldn’t stop rereading them time after time. He thinks my face is pretty? You’d think. You wanted to smack yourself. You really had it bad for a killer, didn’t you? The texts continued as did the voicemails, but that was the majority of his antics, just creepy messages.

Until tonight.

You had just gotten home and were throwing your keys onto your kitchen counter when you heard Ghostface’s filtered voice from behind you.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said in a sugary sweet tone. Hearing it made you freeze in place, which only made him laugh. “I’ve been sooo eager for this moment. I couldn’t wait to see the scared look on your face once you realized I was here to get my revenge. C’mon, turn around so I can see it.”

You did as he said and slowly angled your body towards him, but it wasn’t exactly fear on your face–you couldn’t help it. Hearing the anger dripping from his deep voice and seeing him in the flesh, his mask and robes looking pristine as ever, his knife gripped tightly in hand, had you swooning hard. He looked and sounded so good.

“Fucking dirty girl, only you would be blushing at a time like this,” he said and started making slow steps toward you.

You weren’t sure what to say, but you knew you had to diffuse the situation. “Listen-” you started, but he interrupted.

“No, you listen. I’m sick of you treating everything like some kind of joke.” Suddenly he was right in front of you. He shoved you against the kitchen counter, causing you to yelp. His body pressed against yours and he held his knife up to the side of your neck. “Does this look like a joke to you?” You tried to create distance between the two of you. You attempted to lean away from his face, but you had nowhere to go. He had you trapped.

You shook your head in response to his question, which just made him angrier. He pushed the blade into your skin.

“Does it?! Answer me.”

The pain was searing. You reached a hand up to his arm and gripped it, seeking any kind of relief. Your knuckles turned white from the pressure. “No!”

“It’s almost like you forget your role in this ‘relationship’ of ours,” he scoffed. “You think you’re special, doll? You’re not. You’re like my pet. Every time I’m bored I call you and you come running right to me.”

It felt like his words hurt worse than the knife did. “That’s not true...”

He moved the blade right below your chin and used it to tilt your head upward so your gaze met his. “Isn’t it? Be honest with yourself babe, you’re infatuated with a killer. Can’t get enough of me, can you? Well, I’ll show you the real deal. I’ll show you what a real killer is like.”

Before you could even blink, he had plunged the blade deep into your thigh and he shoved you to the floor. It wasn’t the first time he had stabbed you, but it was just as sudden and painful as before. You cried out and your hand instinctively covered the wound. There was so much blood already.

“I’ll give you a 10 second head start but that’s it. After that, you’re mine,” He nearly growled the words at you.

You didn’t need to be told twice. You stood–more like wobbled, to your feet and bolted out the back door as fast as you could.

Your thigh burned with each step and blood had already soaked your clothes, but you had no choice other than to keep going. Your life was on the line. You ran towards the forest hoping you could lose him in the trees.

You went as far as your feet carried you, but it wasn’t long before you were out of energy and gasping for air. Your pace slowed until eventually you had to stop. You leaned against a tree to support yourself and took a few deep breaths. You decided it might be a good time to check on your wound. You lifted your thigh and inspected it closely. It looked bad, but it felt even worse.

“Fuck...” you whispered.

But you couldn’t wait around any longer. You had to keep moving. You had no idea where Ghostface was.

You looked around but couldn’t see any sign of him. There had been times you’d seen how sneaky and quiet he was, so you knew he could be anywhere. And it really didn’t help that you felt the sensation of being watched the entire time.

He had to be close. He was probably peering at you right then, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

You moved off the tree and immediately missed the support it gave. You started to walk, hoping to find some place to hide, wincing every time you were forced to put pressure on your leg. You bit your lip as you tried to stifle the pain and move quietly but it felt impossible. Twigs and leaves crunched under your feet with each step. Tears pricked the edges of your eyes. Your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest. You were downright terrified but you willed yourself to keep going. 

Then, you heard it. A faint sound in the distance, you weren’t sure what it was. To be honest, it didn’t matter to you, you were darting to the nearest hiding spot you could find regardless. You noticed a thick bush nestled on the side of a tree and decided it would have to suffice. You lowered yourself to the ground, scooted into the leaves, and leaned your shoulder against the tree.

You tried your best to slow your breathing to conceal your location. You peeked out through the leaves, watching for any kind of movement, but saw nothing. The forest was so silent and eerie.

You were starting to think maybe you had actually escaped him, but suddenly a pair of strong hands grabbed you from behind and lifted you from the ground with ease.

Shit shit shit shit shit–go! Was all you could think during the panic that flooded your mind. You didn’t have time to be scared, you just had to fucking go.

You tore your arms away from him, hoping you could get out of his grip, and were shocked you actually managed to free yourself. Maybe he wasn’t expecting you to actually fight back? Does he even know me at all? You thought. Of course you wouldn’t go down without a fight.

You turned your body toward him, stuck your hands out, and shoved him as hard as you could. He was sent stumbling backwards and you took that as your opportunity to flee.

So you ran; heart racing, chest burning, feet pounding, body aching, burning, and oozing blood. He was quick to follow after you. With the state of your leg, it wasn’t like you were going very fast anyway. Still, your body pulsed with adrenaline and fear and... thrill. 

You hated to admit it, but this was the most fun you’d had in a long time. It made you think of what Ghostface said earlier. Be honest with yourself babe, you’re infatuated with a killer. You hated how he was right.

“You bitch!” He called out, close behind you.

It was only a few seconds before his body collided into yours and he tackled you to the ground. You felt like all the air had been knocked out of your lungs as you made impact with the hard, dirt floor. You were sure you’d be covered in bruises. Fuck, you thought. More injuries to worry about. Great. You were face down and he was laying on top of you, his body weight painful and crushing.

He leaned down and brought his mask right next to your ear. “Gotcha!” He said, voice full of enthusiasm. “Y’know what that means right?”

You gulped.

He continued, “It means you’re mine now,” and whispered your name. His words sent a shiver running across your whole body. “All mine.”

He lifted himself up and started to straddle you. His hips shifted slightly and you could feel his dick pressing against your rear. You could hear how his breath caught at the sensation. He leaned back, took both hands, and hooked them into the waistband of your bottoms. You barely had a second to react before he was sliding them past your ass and down to your thighs, along with your panties too. He let out a whistle at the sight, then slipped them off your legs completely.

It’s not like he hadn’t seen your ass before, but now it felt different. You felt so embarrassed. You clawed at the ground, trying to crawl out from beneath him.

“Ah, ah,” he said. His hands tightly gripped your hips and dragged you right back in place under his body, with his groin lined up to your ass and his hips rocking in tiny motions against you. Of course it felt good, but you weren’t focusing on that. Instead you were worrying about what he had planned for you next.

“What are you gonna do to me?” You asked, voice not sounding as confident as you hoped.

He chuckled. “I could do anything to you and you would still eat it up. That’s just the kind of slut you are, aren’t you?” To prove his point, he brought his hand to your ass and smacked it hard, leaving a stinging red handprint. You couldn’t help the small moan you let out. “See what I mean?” He gave you another hard smack then kneaded your flesh between his fingers. “You may be a slut, but at least you got a great ass. I’ll give you that much.”

You received another smack, then another. He kept at it, not caring at all how tender and sore you were getting. Between slaps, he would cup your cheeks and jiggle them, clearly enjoying the way they bounced in his hands. Then he’d spread them apart, exposing everything to him.

So embarrassing! But you could withstand it. Knowing him, this was just the beginning of his twisted game. You knew there was more in store for you than simple spankings.

You weren’t surprised when you felt a light pricking sensation on your hip. You realized he’d gotten his knife out and was dragging it along your skin. At times it tickled, other times it burned as he used more force and the tip slowly sank into you.

He brought the blade lower and swiped it along the curve of your ass. It felt like fire as he sliced through your skin. He was mesmerized watching the ruby droplets seep out and pool between your thighs.

“Such pretty skin, too,” he said. “Looks so good covered in blood.” He went back to kneading your ass, this time gathering blood between his fingers. He smeared it across your skin as he rubbed. He gave rough squeezes here and there.

Your mind was going wild. On one hand, you were in so much pain; your leg from being stabbed, your ankles from so much running, your body from being tackled, your rear from so many slaps, and now all these cuts too.

On the other hand... you were so turned on; from him hunting you down like a predator, from the pressure of him straddling you, from his hips rocking against you, from his harsh words, and from his even harsher treatment. It all had you feeling butterflies.

“Ghostface...” You whimpered. “It h-hurts.”

“What a damn baby,” he responded snidely and sliced you again with his knife. He loved the sounds that came from you each time he did so. “I have to say I’m disappointed in you though. I thought you could take more, doll. Where’d that fighting attitude go?”

If you could see his face, you would be glaring at him. 

“Oh well,” he continued. “I thought killing you would be way more fun, but if this is how you wanna go out then that’s fine with me.”

“No!” You shouted, his words driving fear into your heart. You thrashed and squirmed, trying to escape him, but he held you tight in place with his body. “Please!” You were crying at that point.

“That’s more like it!”

“Please,” you repeated, sniffling. “I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Was it worth it?” He asked.

You paused for a second, then answered honestly. “Yes.”

His hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of your hair. Before you knew it, he was standing from your body and dragging you along with him. You cried out as he yanked you to your feet and led you over to a nearby tree. He pushed you against it and caged you in. He leaned in close, bringing his mask right in front of your face.

“Do you ever stop acting like such a brat?! God, do you know how crazy you drive me?” He put a hand around your throat and squeezed. “Do you?!”

Your eyes were rolling back and you were gasping like a fish out of water, then he released you. You coughed and struggled to take in deep breaths.

Once you had some air back in your lungs, you answered, “Don’t act like you don’t like it.”

Then your thigh was bursting with pain and you realized he had clamped his hand over your wound. You tried to pull away but his grip was tight. The pressure had you feeling dizzy, but you didn’t back down.

“Why can’t you just admit it?” You wheezed. “You like me.”

“Just shut up,” he snapped.

“Then why have you kept me around for this long?!” You waited, but he didn’t reply. You figured if you were going to die anyway you might as well get some things off your chest. “Fine, I’ll own up to it first. I have feelings for you. Maybe you’re right, maybe it’s just infatuation, but... I don’t care. What I feel for you is real. And maybe I’m fucking crazy falling for someone like you, but I don’t regret it. I don’t regret anything we’ve done, I- fuck, I just don’t want to believe that you don’t feel anything special towards me. Do I really mean that little to you?”

You looked into the black eyes of his mask and swore you could see a set of eyes staring back at you.

His hand moved off your wound and instead slipped to the back of your leg. He hoisted it up into the air and slotted himself right against your core. You felt his dick pressing against you through his clothes.

“...Do I?” You asked quietly.

He let out a deep sigh and dropped his head onto your shoulder. “No,” he said. “You mean... a lot. To me.”

Your jaw was slack. You’d never heard him be so vulnerable. Plus it was obvious he was struggling with the words, so you decided to help him out in a way that was more natural to you both. 

You reached a hand between the two of you, placed it over his dick, and began rubbing him softly through his clothes. “Why don��t you show me how much I mean to you?”

His head lifted from your shoulder and he was quick to move his robes out of the way and start undoing his pants. You watched with bated breath as he pulled his cock free and lined it up to your pussy. He swiped the tip through your folds, collecting your slick, and brushed it against your clit. You were so sensitive and his touch felt electric.

He brought the tip to your entrance, but hesitated. “You want this?” He asked.

“Please, I want it so bad,” you answered and he was happy to oblige.

He pressed his hips forward and slowly sank into you. Both your heads were tilted down, watching, entranced at the sight. It felt amazing being stretched by him as he entered you, inch by inch. It was so good you could almost forget the pain coursing through the rest of your body. Almost. 

Your mouth gaped open and filled the forest air with breathy moans. “Aaahh, fuck,” you said.

Finally, he was fully inside of you. “So tight,” he groaned. “You feel so fucking perfect, like always. Like you were made just for me.” You couldn’t help the small smile forming on your lips after hearing those words. He caught it, too. “Yeah? You like hearing that? No one can make you feel as good as I do. No one can drive you crazy like I can. No one.”

You agreed, “I know. I only want you, Ghostface, not anybody else. I’m all yours.” He was firmly inside of you, but staying still. You were dying for him to move. “P-please, I need you so bad right now.”

His hips pulled back and he slowly took his cock out of you, only to slowly slide it back in. “Like this, princess?”

You whined. He was always such a tease. 

With no warning, he began to thrust for real. His hips pounded against yours and god, he felt so divine. He gripped at your leg roughly as he held it in place, which allowed him to fuck you in the perfect angle. He was moaning too, and combined with the short, ragged breaths he was letting out, you could tell he was loving every second of it.

“You’re doing so good for me baby, taking me so well,” he praised.

Your mind was hazy with lust so you responded by moaning his name. He kept thrusting, his pace fast and rough. You couldn’t lie, you were starting to get a little tired and woozy. You had lost a lot of blood, after all. You leaned back against the tree and closed your eyes, trying to focus on the bliss instead. 

You felt his hand snake around to the back of your head and his fingers twined in your hair. He leaned your head forward until your forehead was resting against his mask. “Don’t close your eyes, I want you to watch.”

Then he titled your head down so you were watching him ram into you over and over. The sight was beautiful; his thick cock, your throbbing pussy, and the creamy mess the two of you were making. It was hot as fuck.

“I’m so close,” you told him. Your legs started to twitch, your face scrunched up in concentration.

“That’s it, babygirl, let it all out.”

His grip on your hair tightened and his thrusts got faster. All you could hear was the sound of his flesh slapping against yours and the sound of him moaning out your name. You loved hearing him say it. With a few more thrusts, you were being pushed over the edge.

Your orgasm wracked your whole body, sending you into a fit of spasms. You felt lightheaded as you moaned praise at him, “Fuck, ugh. So good.”

It felt like life was going in slow motion as you came down from your high. Your head was killing you and you felt so weak. Your vision was slowly fading to black... A thought crossed your mind... Am I dying? Is this how I’m gonna go out?

He was still fucking you, he was saying something, but it was hard to focus on his voice. You thought you heard something about him cumming, but you couldn’t tell for sure. Everything around you was fading. Eventually he slowed, but stayed inside of you.

His hand grabbed your chin and forced you to look up at him, but there wasn’t much he could do at that point. Your eyes were slipping closed as your body went limp and you fell forward, colliding into his chest.

Everything went black.

-

When you woke, you were confused. 

You were not in the woods anymore, but instead, tucked neatly into your bed. The room was dim, the only source of light being your bedside lamp and a lit candle, which filled the room with a refreshing scent.

Then, you noticed him.

Ghostface sat at the foot of your bed, facing away from you. He wasn’t wearing his mask. Not that you could even see his face, but your heart began to race anyway.

“Ghostface?” You asked in a hoarse whisper, then cleared your throat. “What happened?”

“Hey sleepy,” he said. You loved hearing his voice without the filter on it. “You passed out. I had to carry you back.”

“Oh. Well, thank you,” you replied. You also noticed your hair was wet and you weren’t covered in blood and dirt anymore, so he must’ve cleaned you up too. “For everything.”

“Don’t thank me, I’m the one who did all this to you in the first place,” he sounded guilty. “I, uh, patched you up and stuff too. Y’know, took care of all the wounds and shit.”

“That’s sweet of you,” you said. “But... can I ask you something? And you have to tell me the truth no matter what.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Were you... were you actually going to kill me out there?”

Silence hung in the air, awkwardly. Until after a few moments he finally broke it, “I was planning on it. I was supposed to... but I couldn’t go through with it. You’re too... special to me. Fuck, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this sappy shit.”

You giggled at him. “That’s really nice to hear. So, my next question-”

“You didn’t say there would be more than one-”

“Do you forgive me for what I did? I really am sorry I drugged you. I should have never-”

“I’m not mad,” he interrupted. “If anything, I was mad that I wasn’t mad. I liked it.”

“Really?” You asked.

He gave a short laugh. “Yes, that’s the problem. You make me so weak.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

He sighed. “For me, it is. I’m not used to it. That’s why I got the idea that I should kill you, just nip things in the bud before anything got too crazy between us... but then I couldn’t even follow through with it. See? Weak.”

“Well, I’m pretty happy about that. I’m glad I’m alive.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, his voice sounding the most bashful it’s ever been. It was so different from his usual cockiness.

“Oooooo you like meee,” you teased with a wide smile on your face.

“Shut up! I should’ve left you out there you little shit,” but his voice was playful as ever and you could hear a smile through his words. “It’s getting late so I should probably let you get some more rest.”

He stood from the bed then walked over to the candle and blew it out. He put his mask back over his head and paused in the doorway, looking back at you.

“Can I ask you something now?” His normal voice was gone and it was back to the filtered version you had heard so many times before.

“Sure,” you replied.

“Did you mean all those things you said in the woods?”

“Of course, I meant every word. Don’t you know that by now? I’m all yours, got it?”

“Got it, doll,” he said. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning to check on you. Sleep tight.”

And with that he left. 

You had a lot on your mind, but you were exhausted after going through so much in one night. It only took a few minutes for you to drift off to sleep for the night, having happy dreams of your masked lover.

[xoxo-sarah]

I Wanna Be Yours || Part 5

Part 4 | part 6

↝a/n: I don't want to hear a single thing about the French being wrong. I had to use Google so blame it. Anyway, sorry this is late, been very busy and been stressing.

↝pairing: Robin Buckley x fem!Wheeler!reader

↝ Warning: slightly proofread. Possible spoilers, Canon events, Google translated French, pinning

↝⎙ 8.12.23

Robin couldn't help but admire you as you caught your breath.

Writing a decent essay in French wasn't going to be easy, which is why this is the 3rd day in a row Robin had invited you over after school to finish the partnered project.

To be honest, the essay was long forgotten. You two were just going through phrases in French at this point. Well, Robin was teaching you more French. You just couldn't wrap your head around it, no matter how hard you tried.

After you were paying so much attention to her mouth and the way it moved, you couldn't help but find it hilarious, and in turn, Robin began laughing too.

It was probably around 9 by now, and you two had barely any of the paper done, but you kept wanting to hear her talk. For educational purposes, obviously.

“tu es belle.” (you're beautiful) Robin wasn't worried about you knowing what she was saying. It honestly felt freeing to be able to admit things openly, with you not knowing what it was she was saying.

She adored how you looked at her so confused, with your eyebrows furrowed. Her hand was practically shaking from not being able to lean forward and wipe the wrinkled skin away.

“tu es magnifique aujourd'hui" (you look beautiful today) She kept teasing you.

“Are you going to tell me what you're saying?”

“No, I don't think I will.”

You smiled, basking in how comfortable you felt around her at that moment. You wish it could stay like this. Neither of you broke eye contact as she continued, “Tes yeux brillent si joliment aujourd'hui. Le ciel nocturne devrait être jaloux.” (Your eyes are shining so beautifully today. The night sky should be jealous.)

“I should probably pay more attention in class.” You chuckled, looking down at your lap, fiddling with the cover of the notebook. Robin was back to admiring you and your blushing cheeks.

“You're cute.” Robin's smile dropped; her whole being scared of what she just said… out loud…to the person she'd fancied for what felt like forever. She wanted to disappear right then and there.

“What?” You glanced up from your notebook, still smiling- as if you hadn't heard what she had said.

“I said you look like a fruit.” Pushing away the feeling of wanting to kick herself for her stupidity on the situation, the choice of words had her internally spiraling. What kind of answer was that? You certainly do not look anything like a fruit.

“That doesn't even make sense.”

“Well I'm sleep-deprived.” She pulled her blanket closer to her, wrapping it around her body to find any comfort. “And it's tu ressembles à un fruit.”

After a moment, you nodded, before standing up and gathering your stuff. “It's getting late.”

“Yeah-yeah, uh,” She flung the blanket off, standing to help you gather everything sprawled across her bed and floor. “I guess we lost track of time.”

“Yeah.” Flinging your backpack over your shoulder, you pointed at her door. “I can show myself out. You need to be getting ready for bed-wouldn't want to keep you up any later.”

“A-alright. Yeah, bye. Be careful.” She stayed standing in that spot even after you closed her bedroom door.

She was not sleeping tonight; she already knew that much. She'd stay up all night thinking about you. And how you looked when you smiled or laughed. A joyous sight and sound, really.

Your leg shook from nerves.

“Can you stop? You're shaking the car.” Nancy glared at you from the rearview mirror.

Digging your nails into your thigh, you stopped them from shaking anymore. “Sorry.”

Robin glanced back, noting your nervousness. “It's going to be okay.” Her voice was barely over a whisper.

“What if it's not? Two of our friends have already died because of this Vecna creep. We have no way to contact Mike or any of the Byers. What if something is happening up there too? I mean, they should've called by now. Mike promised he would call when he got up there-”

“We haven't been home, y/n.”

“I was! He didn't call all yesterday.”

“He's having fun with his friend and girlfriend. Calm down.”

Robin's eyes went back and forth between you and Nance. You were usually calm, or made it seem that way. Ever since you woke up in a frenzy, you had seemed on edge.

“What if he's not?” You whispered one last time, as Nancy pulled up to the school.

“We don't have time to think about that right now. Come on.”

"It was here. Right here.” Max was almost hysterical as she kept repeating the same thing over and over since you ran into the school. She kept talking about a grandfather clock in the wall.

If you were anyone else, you would be calling her crazy, maybe even making a phone call to the nearest psych ward.

“A grandfather clock?” Nancy almost seemed bored as she asked.

“It was so real and then, when I got closer, suddenly I just… I woke up.”

“It was like she was in a trance or something.” Dusting spoke, “Exactly like Eddie said happened to Chrissy.” A cold hill went down your spine, causing goosebumps to make your arm hair stand up. Folding your arms over your chest, you continued to pay attention.

Max turned around. “That's not even the bad part.”

"Fred and Chrissy, they both came to Miss Kelley for help.” You looked at the files on the desk. “Uh, they both were having headaches-bad headaches that wouldn't go away. And then-then the nightmares. Trouble sleeping. They'd wake up in a cold sweat. And then they started seeing things. Bad things…from their past.” The desk slowly creaked as you leaned against it, giving Max your full attention. “And these visions-- they just kept getting worse and worse, until eventually…everything ended.” Your eyes shot down to the ground.

What were you to do about all of this? This is too much for this group that consisted of teens and young adults. Before, you had El. But now, she was in California, without any powers.

Robin's voice broke you out of your thoughts that were running a mile a second. “Vecna's curse.”

“Chrissy's headache started a week ago.”

“She kept asking for medicine almost every time I saw her.” She had taken nearly 2/3 of your medicine on your side table.

“Fred's started 6 days ago.” The blood from you biting your lip tasted salty and like metal. “I've been having them for 5 days.”

The air in the room became stale, almost like the air fell flat. “I don't know how long I have. All I know is that, for Fred and Chrissy, they both died less than 24 hours after their first vision. And I just saw that goddamn clock, so,” Max's breath became uneven, “Looks like I'm gonna die tomorrow.”

A loud click made you jump and turned to where the sound came from.

“Stay here.” Steve looked at you guys, before walking towards the door. Before he opened it, he grabbed the lamp.

Not listening, you all stood and walked after him, through the dark school halls.

You could hear his uneven breathing from where you were. Or maybe that was you. You couldn't really tell at this point.

The sound continued as you walked behind Steve. It clattered, almost sounding like rapid running.

It grew louder until something came around the corner. Everyone screamed, Steve held the lamp up, going to strike, as your arms went up in the air, flashlight clattering to the floor as you turned on your heels, going to grab the nearest person. No matter how much you tried to move, your feet stayed in place, causing you to double over and fall onto your knees, bringing the person with you.

“It's me!”

“Lucas?!”

“It's me!” Lucas looked as if he were about to cry. You would too if you had nearly gotten beaten to death by a lamp.

“Holy shit!” You fell back onto your butt, facing the scene.

“Jesus!” Steve yelled, bringing the lamp back down to his side. “What is wrong with you, Sinclair?!”

Lucas tried to catch his breath with his hands on his hips, nearly doubling over. "I'm sorry."

Robin, who you had taken down with you, stood and held her hand out to help you up. You held up your finger, “I need a second.” You might've peed yourself a little.

“I could've taken you out with this lamp!” Steve shook the lamp in his grip, furious.

“Sorry, guys.” Lucas continued to pant, “Sorry. I was… I was biking for eight miles.”

Grabbing Robin's hand, you let her pull you up.

“Give me a second. Shit.” Lucas continued to pant through his words, “We've got a code red.”

“What?”

“Dustin,” He walked forward, “I've been with Jason, Patrick, and Andy, and they've gone, like, totally off the rails. They're trying to capture Eddie, and they think you know where he is.” He spoke as fast as he could, while also trying to breathe. “You're in terrible danger.”

“Alright. Yeah, that definitely sucks, but we've got bigger problems than Jason right now.” Dustin looked back and Max, Lucas following him.

After Nancy and Robin came up with the plan about being Ruth and Rose, your leg went back to shaking, and your teeth went back to biting into your lip, taking chunks out.

While everyone was getting a bit of shut-eye last night, you were wide awake. There wasn't really a thought that took up more space in your head than the other 10 thousand. Every time you tried to shut your eyes, Chrissy's face was painted on the back of your eyelids. Occasionally, you could hear her screams when you tried to tune out Steve's snoring. Max hadn't gone to bed, she stayed sitting at the desk, writing. What, you hadn't gotten a clue.

Currently, Steve was following Nancy after he had been stuck on babysitting duty yet again.

“Nancy, you're outta your mind if you think I'm babysitting again.” Coming out of your room, you pulled the new, clean clothes closer to your body and walked after him into her room.

“Okay, first of all, they're not babies anymore. And Max is in real danger.”

Steve scoffed at her as you plopped on her bed, wrinkling her made bed.

“She needs people around her.”

“I know. But why does it always have to be me?”

“Y/n is here too.” Nancy reminded, pointing at you.

“Oh my god, you have a Tom Cruise poster.” Robin walked into the room, going straight for the poster and side table. “You have a Tom Cruise poster.” She turned and smirked at Nancy, who was going through her closet.

“That's…old. It's just…"

Robin laughed before digging into the table,

“Can you please not touch anything?”

You leaned over, looking at whatever Robin was going through.

“I just- I can't do anything here, Nance. Maybe I can be helpful with this asylum director dude. I dunno. I could turn on my…my charm.”

“Not the charm we need.”

“Ouch.”

“No, I just,” Nancy sighed, stepping away from the closet. You followed Robin with your eyes as she stood and moved to the dresser. “I did a little digging last night, and it turns out this Dr. Hatch is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Harvard visiting scholar, okay? This is a lifelong student of the world. If we're going to win him over, we're gonna have to convince him we are too.”

Robin opened the music box that laid on top of the dresser, music softly played as Nancy continued to talk, softening the blow. “That, like him, we are true academic scholars.”

“Holy shit.” Robin whispered, turning around to show the music box. “There's a little ballerina in here.” She bit her lip.

Looking away, you tried to hide the pink on your cheeks. She was so cute.

Steve began nodding his head, turning back to Nancy. “Academic scholar. She's giving you an academic scholar vibe? Yeah.”

Rolling her eyes, Robin closed the box, putting it back.

“No, but…” Robin scoffed, turning around. “She will.”

Nance held up a pink dress.

“Oh, please tell me that you're joking.”

"They're not answering.”

Sighing, you slammed the phone back into the wall.

“They're probably out.”

“You said that for the last 4 calls. It's been over an hour.”

Dustin walked over, “Y/n, Mike is most likely out having fun with El and Will. Please, calm down.”

“Yeah,” Sighing again, you plopped back into the couch, "Yeah, you're probably right."

•2021-2024 by xoxo-sarah on Tumblr•

• My work is not to be translated, copied, modified, and/or reposted on any other site without my permission. [!I don't give permission!]

[maccreadysbaby]

A Hundred Days to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: none :)

wanna start from chapter one or read more? here’s the table of contents!

this chapter is massive but the next one is coming and it’s me torturing our precious golden boy dick >:) sorry not sorry

part seventeen

❝ LITTLE WING ❞

SUNDAY — 4:57PM — DAY 43

OVER THE NEXT WEEK AND A HALF, THE TEMPERATURES FELL FROM TOLERABLE TO UTTERLY MISERABLE. The cold was to the point where it hurt to simply step outside. Bentley wasn’t sure how the superheroes kept patrolling in it. It was cold enough when Nightwing found him in the alley, but now, he was pretty sure his blood would freeze solid if he even thought about going outside.

He was catching onto their drift. Every night, someone got left out from patrol to stay home with him. Which made him feel kind of bad. It was usually Duke, since he took a more patrol-during-the-day approach to superheroing, which made him feel slightly less bad. Occasionally, though, it was someone else. For example, it had been Tim that night with the nightmare, stuck at home with a crying kid instead of leaping between rooftops in his Red Robin suit. 

It had been Jason three nights after, for two nights in a row because (Bentley was pretty sure) he’d been hurt. He was favoring his left side and had a slight limp — not to mention that he stayed at the manor for three full days, something he didn’t usually do. It made more sense to Bentley that they’d make him stay around if he was injured.

One night it was Dick. Maybe they needed Duke for the specific mission they were on, or maybe Dick just wanted a good excuse to find himself into Bentley’s room (which he did, in the middle of the night, without warning, despite being a literal adult.) and whine about not being able to sleep. Bentley laughed at him all tiredly and then went back to bed, and woke up to Dick clonked out across the foot of the mattress the next morning. Bentley didn’t mind. 

…But he did wonder if Dick had nightmares, too, because he couldn’t help but notice the layer of weariness and emotion that clouded the usual glow in his eyes when Bentley turned on his lamp that night. After all, the file said he’d watched his parents die right in front of him, and that he’d died once, and he had to have been around when Jason and Damian died, right? (Because that happened, too, apparently. Bentley was living with a bunch of zombies.) The boy was sure that was enough to warrant some nightmares. Not to mention his near nightly scuffles with supervillains of all kinds.

But he didn’t mind. With all the comfort that had been extended to him since he first met the Wayne’s, he felt like lending Dick the bottom half of his mattress when he didn’t want to be alone was the least he could do. 

Plus, Bentley was learning that he liked to have people around. Not like when he used to go to conventions with his father, watching rich people hover uselessly and engage in meaningless, fake small talk. He liked to have people around in a… realer sense. 

For example, when Tim would wander into the den at nighttime when Dick was having Bentley watch old movies, flopping down on the couch with his laptop and declaring that he hated work. Or when Duke would plop himself down at the kitchen island next to Bentley on a Saturday during lunch just to grovel over his geometry homework. Or when Cass would appear (yes, appear. He’d never saw her use a door.) in the midst of a heated card game between Bentley and Bruce and cheat by showing him the card numbers on her fingers behind Bruce’s back. 

There was something so much more real about people living their lives around him. Something so raw and personal compared to anything Bentley had ever experienced with his father. Having people simply live in his presence without ill intent or a constant eye on him was somewhat comforting, to say the least, and Bentley was starting to like it at the Manor. Probably too much.

After all, he was here just to watch it all burn.

As of now, he was sitting in the dim library beneath a throw blanket. The fireplace was crackling on the other side of the room, and the blackout curtains had been pulled closed to block out the sun. Jason was in there, too, taking up the same chair in the corner of the room where he sat when Bentley first met him. He was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, black and white hair frazzled from sleep, and was holding a book just like he had been the first time. The Outsiders, actually, because he insisted that Bentley needed to hear the written version if Dick was going to make him watch the (terribly adapted and heinously watered down, according to Jason) movie.

“Dally was there, too, swearing under his breath, and turning away with a sick expression on his face. I wondered about it vaguely. Dally had seen people killed on the streets of New York's West Side. Why did he look sick now?” Jason read.

Bentley watched the flames twirl and dance in the fireplace. They spat small bits of glowing ash up into the chimney every now and then, popping with combustion and pressure, and it was only working to try and put the kid to sleep.

“He tried to swear, but suddenly started crying, fighting to control himself, then sobbing all the more because he couldn't. I had seen Johnny take a whipping with a two-by-four from his old man and never let out a whimper. That made it worse to see him break now,”

After a few quiet moments, Bentley glanced over at Jason, and he adjusted his hands on the book (restlessly?). He took a breath and continued:

“Soda just held him and pushed Johnny's hair back out of his eyes. ‘It's okay, Johnnycake, they're gone now. It's okay.’”

Bentley listened quiet for ten, twenty minutes. People had made brief appearances in the doorway or walking through the hall, but no one came into the library. Jason seemed to stay in there a lot. Maybe they were giving him space. Bentley wasn’t sure — but Jason didn’t seem bothered by his company, so he took it as a good thing.

Dick, Steph, Jason, Cass, and Tim had all been at breakfast that morning, plus the five (counting Bentley) who lived full-time in the Manor. It had been another meal full of overlapping voices and crazy stories and maybe a few threats and jabs sent sailing across the table, but Bentley was learning to enjoy it. The chaos was just another reminder that the Wayne’s weren’t anything like his father.

But then again, having Jason read peacefully to him in the library was a reminder all the same.

“I felt hot tears of anger and frustration rising. ‘I said I didn't mean to...’ 

‘I didn't mean to!’ Darry shouted, and I almost shook. ‘I didn't think! I forgot! That's all I hear out of you! Can't you think of anything?’”

Bentley realized the way Darry was talking in the book sounded all too familiar.

How many times do we have to talk about you not embarrassing me during meetings? It’s always something with you. You’re tired, you’re hungry, you don’t feel good.

I’m sorry. I was really tired.

“Darry wheeled around and slapped me so hard that it knocked me against the door. Suddenly it was deathly quiet,”

Bentley pulled his knees up to his chest as the sickening thwack of his father’s hand echoed in his head. He really wasn’t so different from Ponyboy, was he?

Jason took another quiet moment, stealing a short, appraising look towards the child coiled up on the couch. “We don’t have to keep reading if you don’t want to. It can be intense sometimes.”

Bentley shook his head in an attempt to clear the thoughts away, eyes flicking over to Jason. Brown eyes met blue, and they just looked at one another for a short, strange moment. A moment where Jason’s eyes did that thing that everyone’s did, the little, pitiful I’ve been there, kid look that Bentley hated.

“No, I like it. Jus’ cold.” He lied through his teeth. Well, not about the liking it part, because he really had liked the book so far. But he definitely wasn’t just cold. The blanket he had wrapped around him was heated and it was cranked up to the highest setting. Dick had said it was the only thing that kept him alive in the Manor during winter — Bentley was starting to wonder how much of his brain he cooked out every time he used it.

Thankfully, before any more conversation could be made, Dick busted into the library and shouted: “Bentley!”

The child jumped and glanced over at Dick, who looked fresh out of a shower with wet hair and a blue t-shirt. Dick’s eyes found Jason. “Oh, hey, Little Wing.”

Jason made an unintelligible grumble. Dick hurried over to the couch with about as much energy as a golden retriever on steroids, bouncing Bentley when he jumped on it, and ripping the blackout curtains open.

Jason groaned. “Dick, what the-“

“Look!”

Bentley turned on the couch, using the backrest to pull himself up.

Through the window, the Manor grounds were no longer a brownish green, but a bright, stark white. Giant flecks of white were fluttering down from the sky — billions of them, everywhere. The snow was building up against trees and fences and bushes and didn’t seem to be stopping soon. It was snowing so hard that they couldn’t even see the epically massive front gate.

Bentley would be lying if he said he didn’t share in a bit of Dick’s excitement. He hadn’t been out in the snow much, but his father had allowed him a couple of times. He remembered building an igloo once. (Well, a squatty little thing that looked more like a turtle shell, actually.)

Plus, one time his father fell right on his butt from the slick concrete in front of their house during a snowstorm, and Bentley nearly tore a muscle in his face trying to hide his smile. Believe it or not, snow held the very few, vaguely good memories he had.

“You know what this means!” Dick exclaimed, whipping around toward Jason. “You’re all snowed in, Little Wing! Alfies not gonna let you escape with icy roads.”

There was an argument, and at one point Dick got kicked, but Bentley wasn’t really watching. He was more focused on the colossal size of the snowflakes falling from the sky.

“Everyone’s snowed in, actually. It’s like a mandatory sleepover,”

“I’ll crawl home just to spite you,”

“Bold of you to assume Alfred would even let you out the front door,” Dick snickered.

“Who said anything about the front door?”

“Do you want to build a snowman with me, Little Wing?”

“I hate snow,”

Bentley turned around on the couch, glancing at Jason and Dick from where he sat. Jason was still in the chair, and Dick was behind it, probably getting out of range of his little brother’s legs.

“… I’ll build a snowman with you,” Bentley piped up.

Dick’s face lit up when he looked over at him. “Really?”

“Yeah,”

A strange expression flashed across Jason’s features, but Bentley couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was.

“Oh yeah! If you’re coming, we can probably peer pressure Damian into helping, too,” Dick came out from behind Jason’s chair and made his way to Bentley, ruffling his red hair. “Go layer up, little dude, and I’ll work on wearing down Dami.”

Bentley wordlessly obeyed, rising to head upstairs. Jason’s eyes followed him out of the room. Not with fondness or even disdain, but he would’ve taken either of those over the strange, calculative, detective-like way he seemed to be looking at him. 

Bentley kept at his normal pace until he was out of his sight, then promptly ran upstairs.

What did he say wrong? What did he do wrong? He played over the conversations again and again in his head as he halfheartedly shuffled through the wardrobe in his room. Curling up on the couch at the mention of Darry slapping Ponyboy was stupid on his part, but it shouldn’t have been enough to make Jason suspicious, right? And wanting to make a snowman with Dick didn’t seem suspicious. How could that be suspicious?

All he was sure about was that Jason freaking knew something and Bentley didn’t even know what he’d done to cause it. He should’ve known this entire thing was going to be a disaster.

As he put on a jacket and slid a coat on over it, listening the Dick and Damian’s muffled voices from the hallway past his slightly ajar door, he gave himself a new goal on top of his father’s plan:

Freaking avoid Jason at all costs. 

It really shouldn’t be that hard, he didn’t stay at the Manor much. Well, except for the new factor Bentley had to include: the snow. Jason would be at the Manor until it was safe to drive unless he came through on his threat to crawl home. But the only time Bentley really spent alone with him was when they both ended up in the library, and he could easily put a stop to that by telling him he didn’t actually like The Outsiders. Or that he didn’t like reading. Or to just never go in the library again, ever. Easy, right?

He was so screwed.

“You know good and well that I don’t participate in such useless childish activities, Grayson,” Bentley heard Damian grumble from the hallway. 

“It’s not useless, Dami, it’s fun,”

“Tt,”

Bentley was zipping up his coat when Dick knocked excitedly on the doorframe. “Ready to rock n’ roll?”

Bentley nodded even though Dick couldn’t see him, heading to the door and pulling it open. Dick was on the other side in a puffy coat, gloves, and a beanie. He handed Bentley a handful of stuff. “Stole these from Damian. He doesn’t mind.”

“I heard that, Grayson,” Damian muttered from the staircase.

Bentley glanced down, taking note of a beanie, gloves, and rain boots in his arms. 

“The boots might be a little big, but I think they should work if you tuck your pants in them,”

Bentley smiled lightly and pulled all the stuff on. 

He, Dick, and Damian built a snowman that they dubbed Frosty. (Dick’s idea, with yet another promise of a movie Bentley needed to watch.) It had been a hassle to roll the balls big enough, and the snow ended up kind of muddy, but Dick passed it off as Frosty getting a spray tan. Alfred had even fetched a real carrot for the nose and a scarf for his neck. When they were finished, it ended up being taller than both Bentley and Damian.

Titus and Ace had joined them in the middle of their snowman escapade, as well, both bunny-hopping around in the snow. It gave them all a good laugh to see the big dogs hopping — even Damian, who seemed to loosen up about the childish activities as time went on. The snow never stopped, and in fact, it only seemed to come down harder the longer they were out there.

Bentley was smoothing out Frosty’s lowest sphere when he realized his hand was hurting.

If he was being completely honest, it hadn’t stopped hurting since he picked the glass out and bandaged it up, but the cold seemed to be irritating it more for some reason. It made his entire hand throb and sting, so he started using the other one by itself instead. He probably should’ve let Nightwing take a look at it that night when he fixed up his head — after all, Bentley’s first aid skills were subpar at best. But he wasn’t going to whine about it now. It’d been, like, a month. 

It’d been a month. Shouldn’t it have healed by now?

He pushed the thoughts away when a giant ball of snow slammed right into the side of Dick’s head, coating his hair, skin, and shoulder in the icy fluff.

“Wha- you almost hit Frosty!” He exclaimed, brushing the cold away from his skin. He and Bentley glanced over toward the back doors of the Manor, where Jason was standing with a smirk on his face in a jacket that looked mysteriously like something of Dick’s. “Oh really, Jay?”

Jason ducked out of the way just in time for a massive ball of snow to splat on the wall next to the doorframe, most of it sticking to the wall instead of falling.

“Tt,” Damian voiced, drifting up next to Bentley with his arms crossed. “I’m clearly the most competent and mature of us all.” 

There was suddenly a gasp, and Steph thudded out the back door decked head to toe in purple layers. Even her earmuffs were purple. “That snowman is so cute!” She exclaimed.

Cass trailed out behind her in a black getup. Bentley watched as she spotted Dick and Jason, who were still throwing wads of snow at each other, and gathered up a bunch of it from the ground for herself.

“Did you guys build this? That’s adorable!” Steph continued as she made her way to the snowman, aiming her question at Damian and Bentley. “Why’s he frowning, though?”

Bentley glanced over at Damian, a silent reply of he did the face.

Damian shrugged. “He was created against his own will for the pleasure of others, only to die when they’re done with him. I would be frowning, too.”

Steph muttered something about how he was so weird before rearranging Frosty’s pebbles into a smile.

Bentley glanced away from her just in time to see Cass shove the massive handful of snow down the back of Jason’s jacket. He immediately yelped and whipped around, growling: “Cass!” Before peeling his jacket off and attempting to shake out the back of his shirt. Cass and Dick both erupted into laughter. Jason was not amused.

Cass kept blitzing around the yard and avoiding snowballs from Jason in a way only a superhero could, and was so focused on Jason that she didn’t realize Tim and Duke came out the door until Tim splattered a mass of snow right in her face.

“Oh, sorry, Cass!” He faked. “Didn’t see you there.”

It wasn’t long before the entire yard was taken up by Waynes throwing and slapping each other with snow. Bentley and Damian stayed uninvolved for the most part. Bentley didn’t really want to get pelted with snow, and he was having plenty of fun watching the dogs and laughing at the others anyways. He was watching Jason haul Tim off the ground and drop him face-first in the snow when he heard his name being whispered from the left.

He turned and looked in the direction of the barn, and Dick was gesturing for him to scoot over. So he did.

And Damian got a snowball to the back of the head.

After that, it ended up being a war with Bentley as a spectator. He was glad no one tried to get him in on it, because people tossing him around and throwing things at him reminded him too much of his dad. Instead, he ended up helping Tim with battle strategies and overseeing the creation of snow bases. Even Bruce and Alfred got in on it a little, but Bruce opted for staying near Bentley and talking to him while the others battled. 

The war only ended when the sun fell below the horizon, and the temperatures got really terrible. Then Alfred beckoned everybody inside with the promise of hot chocolate.

Bentley was sitting at the dining table with everyone when he noticed the blood seeping through his poorly held-together bandages.

He really hoped no one noticed. Actually, he hoped no one had even seen the bandages at all since he got there. (Which they definitely had — they were detectives, after all.) He just kept that hand down in his lap and out of sight. How long had it been bleeding?

After talking with everyone for a while, he went up to his room and grabbed the gloves he’d shed after coming inside. There was blood going through them and he hadn’t even realized. Well, he knew the snow was making it hurt more, but he didn’t know it could make it bleed.

He’d only been in his closed room for about two minutes when someone knocked on the door. He dropped the bloodied gloves on the floor and kicked them under the bed, burying his hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Come in,”

Much to his absolute horror, Jason was the one that opened the door.

As if this could get any worse.

He was back in his hoodie and sweats now. Bentley tried hard to keep himself from looking afraid, but he was, like, seventy percent sure Jason knew exactly what was going on and was probably about to pull a gun on him.

Instead, he let the door swing open and stayed in the doorway. “Your hand.”

Bentley blinked. “Huh?”

“Your hand. Let me see it,” He replied, crossing his arms. “It was kinda hard not to notice you favoring the other all night. And the blood you left in the snow. I’m surprised Nightwing didn’t say anything about it when he picked you up off the street.”

And Jason was… not killing him?

Bentley shrugged, scraping the toe of his sock across the hardwood. “It wasn’t important.”

Jason groaned, turning and closing the door behind him. “Don’t be like Tim. C’mon, let me see it.”

Anxiously, Bentley forced himself forward until he was in front of Jason, and held out his injured hand.

“I wondered how long these bandages were going to last,” He continued, gingerly unwrapping the half-fallen-apart bandages off of his palm. They stuck to the opened cuts a little and made Bentley flinch.

Jason was… surprisingly gentle.

“Looks like you tore them open doing something outside. What was this, glass?” 

“Uh, bottle,” Bentley replied. Jason grabbed him by the wrist and led him into the bathroom, flicking the sink on.

Oh, okay. So Jason was going to play doctor. Bentley could play along. Until the doctor tried to kill him.

“Let’s get the blood off first so we can see what we’re dealing with here,” He muttered. As if he’d done this a thousand times (because he probably had) he pulled a washcloth out of the cabinets beneath the sink and waited for the water to warm up before cleaning off Bentley’s palm. It stung just as badly as it had the first night he put water all over it.

He tensed and tried to pull his hand away, but Jason’s grip didn’t relent. “I know it hurts, kid, but you need to let me clean it. It might already be infected, by the looks of it. You feeling sick at all?”

“No,” Bentley muttered truthfully. Jason pressed the back of his hand to his forehead with a focused, inquisitive look on his face. Bentley just kinda… stayed still until he removed it.

“Good. I’m guessing the infection was keeping it from healing right,” He murmured. He prodded at it with his fingers for a few moments, and Bentley winced. “Hell, kid, there’s still glass in here.”

Bentley did recall leaving a few of the pieces he couldn’t get out. One of them was actually not tiny, but he was crying and tired and scared when he was picking them out, so… 

Maybe that’s why his hand never stopped hurting.

Jason fished back under the sink, still holding onto Bentley’s wrist, and withdrew a small first aid kit. He popped it open and pulled out a little bottle that said peroxide. “This is gonna burn, but it’s cleaning it out for you. We used to use it to get splinters out. Never tried it on glass, but I guess we’ll see.”

Jason moved Bentley’s hand over the sink and poured it all over his cut palm, and he hissed in pain, trying to pull it away but Jason wouldn’t let him. Little white bubbles kept coming out of the cuts and it looked unnatural. He blinked away the urge to let his eyes water up at the stinging. Every now and then Jason pointed out a little piece of glass in the sink that this magic fluid was apparently fizzing out?

“There’s still one in there. The skins tried to heal around it so it's probably gonna hurt pretty bad to take it out,”

Bentley said nothing. Jason shuffled around in the first aid kit for a second before pulling out a pair of tweezers. “Sit on the toilet. I can’t have you trying to escape while I’m doing this.”

Bentley mindlessly obeyed, and Jason started prodding at his palm with the tweezers. It wasn’t long before a new stream of blood was dripping from between his fingers onto the tile.

After a few more minutes, Bentley felt like he was being stabbed through the hand.

“Jason!” He nearly jumped off the toilet, his other hand shooting out to try and grab Jason’s, but the vigilante fended him off well. 

“I almost have it out,”

They did that for a few more moments before Jason pulled a surprisingly long shard of glass out of Bentley’s hand. It was stained red and the diamond designs from his father’s expensive glass set were clearly visible. 

Jason didn’t say anything about it. He simply wiped Benley’s hand off again, applied some medicine, and bandaged it with clean, fresh bandages. “See? Not terrible.”

Bentley didn’t respond while Jason put away the first aid supplies.

“You’re not gonna… tell them, are you?” He murmured. Jason humphed.

“I’m not a snitch, kid. Although that might change if you go passing out from infection after not changing the bandages for a month,” He eyed him sharply, and Bentley’s eyes traveled down to the floor. 

“I’m sorry,”

Jason glanced back up at him from his spot in front of the cabinets. “For what? I’m just glad I saw it before it got seriously infected.”

Bentley shrugged. “I dunno. I’m just… sorry.”

“Bentley, stop apologizing,”

“Sorry,” He muttered before he could think any better of it.

Jason made an are you serious right now face at him, so Bentley just looked back at the floor. He stood up and flicked the lights off, walking out of the bathroom and patting Bentley’s shoulder. “G‘night, kid.”

“Goodnight,” Bentley muttered as Jason made his way back to the door and retreated into the hall. He shut the door quietly, and Bentley stood there for a minute.

Unsure whether or not that meant Jason liked him, Bentley turned the lights off and slinked into his bed, hoping Jason didn’t think too hard about why the glass didn’t look like a bottle found in an alley.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld💛

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