#dear pain you are not accessories stop layering

[clearwillow]

mid.

[livingalifeofasimp]

Incurable Love

《♚ SLIGHT YANDERE / POSSESSIVE Zhongli X Reader ♚》

➳ Dynasty Au

➳ Warning : This content contains Yandere themes if you are sensitive please refrain yourself from reading it. This is purely for entertainment purpose, arts and pictures are not mine credits to respective owners, only the content is mine.

❖ You leap through the time to some dynasty and found yourself in the dark forest sunlight scatting through the leaves, on waking up you saw yourself surrounded by some men, the look on their faces made you feel some kind of outsider. They were dressed in traditional wear layers of clothes warped around them secured with leather belts, long hairs, head decorated with pretty accessories.

❖A man came forward glaring, your clothing style made them even more suspicious of you " What is your name? Who sent you here?", Starling you with his strict voice pointing a beautifully crafted weapon yet deadly in your direction that you assumed was sword. "Is this some kind of sick joke, some social experiment Hahah I ain't falling for this", you shouted looking around you for hidden cameras where are they? Other than that, it's illegal to bring people without their consent.  

❖"Stop fooling around answer or die" something in his voice told you this all wasn't a joke as he put his sword near your neck. You cut your skin slightly in the attempts to push the sword away realizing it's not a play. "Do you wanna die so much?, General she doesn't look like an assassin", a young looking guy came forward, "Suspicious, everything about her is suspicious, her words, her clothes, her etiquettes, which country are you from?", Everything felt wrong you took a step back ready to run for your life while they argued with each other.

❖Your heartbeat accelerated as you ran faster than anything to save your ownself, curiously you turned your head and saw an arrow shooted towards you, subconsciously a scream left your mouth before you were pinned by the sharped arrow on the woods. "How bold are you?", General guy mocked you already on his way to grab your neck.

❖"Stop what's is this chaos for?", A deep commanding voice stopped him, he kneel down and bowed followed by all the other guys. "A sceptical girl has appeared, your majesty", he reported to the tall man dressed in all the luxury who made eye contact with yours, you adverted your eyes not wanting to offend these dangerous men after glaring at him. "Is this?", The man bend down and grabbed your chin to get a full view of your face, to find out from where you are.

"I believe people don't want to die unreasonable deaths I will ask you once where are you from?",

 "I am from South",

❖You lied through your teeth making an innocent face these sharp men, hopping to not get caughted by them, his face held a cold expression clearly not showing whatever is going in his mind. "South? From felecoia island?, You hurriedly nodded your head after all you wanted was to get away from them and find your way back. "Why are you here?", "Work I need money to eat", you babbled out anything that could at least save you from his threatening presence. He was surprised, your clothing did amused him, even tho your speaking lacked manners according to the era.

——————————————————————

❖You were forced on Emperor Zhongli's laps reminiscing, if you would have not said the things that you said would you be somewhere else in life, why did it ended up like this?. "What are you thinking about? Today is my birthday, you should be enjoying", he said playing with your silky hair,  you looked at the other side of the hall court officials drinking wine, enjoying, young girls dancing who were selected by the empress dowager so that Emperor Zhongli could choose one of them to be his wife or concubines on his birthday as gift, girls of powerful and influence families, beautiful and perfect in literature were dressed in a seductive way to win Emperor's heart but here he is looking at you with his heart eyes demanding your affection.

❖His face buried in your shoulders leaving kisses and smelling your intoxicating smell that always manages to calm him down, as you try pushing his body away with your hands that he took in his slowly intertwing, pulling your form closer, his left hands encircled your waist as he deepens the kiss running with passion as if he wants you to feel all his love towards you, his overwhelming love and desire that he can't hold back. Noble women looks at you with envy warning you to not get closer to the guy that they love.

❖Zhongli holds your hand to make you walk along side with him which was not done by any other Emperor before. Zhongli knows its wrong but he wants you to love him, piecing pain passes through his heart whenever you say you won't love him, leaving him at the verse of crying. Sometimes his love, loneliness, caring and gentle personality towards you melts your heart but his tendency to get jealous easily in small things makes you think otherwise seeing you pet an animal, he pushes it way and put his head in your lap asking you to caress his hair instead, trying to keep you closer to him all time and hugs you without your consent, making you think maybe it's a good choice to stay with him since you are not able to find your way back home.

❖Whenever you mention your timeline he holds you tight in his embrace afraid to let go so that you won't disappear. Zhongli do not show you his darker side, killing officials or their daughters and maids who plot against you on the spot, cutting their wives, husbands, concubines, sons and daughters' tongue but he isn't afraid to show you his clingingness, holding you down in his bed with him and making you his hugging pillow, trying to win your affection by showing you his pityfull and pathetic, lonely self. Surprising you that the most powerful Emperor who won each battles and states kneel infront of you begs and threatens you to love him.

❖You remember the time when you said, you liked cherry blossoms in one of your friendly lunches with Emperor, the next day you saw your backyard filled with exotic beautiful cherry blossoms trees making your jaw drop, unbelievable how did he managed to do such thing. 

❖"My lady do you like it?, it's specially designed for you, each patterns are threaded perfectly, Royal tailors had spent sleepless nights to make this masterpiece asked by the Emperor", a representative tailor girl said as she carefully put the luxurious red robe around you looking for some mistaken errors trying not to displease the ruthless Emperor. Suddenly guards announced his arrival which caused head maids to retreat back, bow down and leave the chamber immediately as Zhongli springed towards you, trapping you in a hug.

❖"You look so beautiful my Empress, this should be enough", you tried to moved away from him "Empress who?, I am not any Empress", Zhongli poked your cheeks "Quit joking my love", he walked around you and stopped behind you causing you to be nervous who knows what he is planning?, Zhongli caressed your back or rather the pattern design, thread made of gold, it's Dragon's symbol which symbolizes protection, power, luck and wisdom most importantly possession of Emperor, with this on, no one will dare to come closer to you or lay their eyes on you and disrespecting you would be equal to violating Emperor's order, the punishment served will be execution, it's a simple warning to everyone.

❖Zhongli's touch caused you to jump and due to reflex you turned around to look at him, just what is this man thinking?. Zhongli grabbed your right wrist and pulled you to him making you clash against his hard toned chest, he affectionately caressed your left cheeks too drunk in your view to realize your struggles and kissed your right cheek lovingly before whispering in your ears with his deep husky voice a templating offer, "Be mine, let me love you and I will give everything you want, you are the only one I need, I am not asking much, my Goddess please be kind to me, grant me the chance to get your love, your precious than any treasure I own", before enveloping you in a desperate hug.

❖When he hugs you so affectionately but securely telling you how much he loves you that he can kill anyone, forcing you to promise that you will never leave his side whenever he finds out about your escape attempts from the shadow guards, dangerous then any other trained soldier who were assigned to guard you more like to prevent you from escaping, no wonder you always get caughted some or the other way each time you try.

❖You where gazing at all the other princes ( Emperor's brothers) gathered in imperial garden who knew they looked so handsome when Zhongli turned your face towards him by holding your chin with his index fingers " Your Highness.....what?", his angry face scared you after all he can execute anyone he wants "Go inside and wait for me", stealing a delicious view away from you "But", "Show her way inside", he commanded your maids who draged you inside.

"You should be my concubine"

"No way I will never share my husband with anyone I want to be his only wife and him to be my only husband".

❖You smiled to yourself satisfyingly he got no chance other than to leave you but instead of seeing a disappointed Zhongli you saw a blushing Zhongli, his Chief assistant was shocked who immediately turned his head in some other direction to not get his eyes plug out by the tyrant.

❖"How can I be so stupid, you shall be my only wife and be mine forever I shall be yours forever my dear wife", Zhongli said taking your left hand in his long pretty muscular hands and kissed your ring finger as your smile disappeared realizing that you digged your own grave.

[raineydays411]

Oh what am I supposed to do without you?

The reunion

Loki x daughter reader

Masterlist

Y/n POV

In an other room, Frigga was helping you with the gowns and your hair.

“Oh this color is lovely on you” she said, fixing the skirt of the gown.

It was a beautiful dress, light pink and flowy. It was a long sleeve and off the shoulder, the sleeves wide and as flowy as the dress. The bodice was covered in blush covered flowers. It went down to your feet where it dragged lightly on the floor. Your feet covered by beautiful golden sandals. Your hair was put in an updo, gold hair accessories intertwined.

You felt like a princess.

You turned to Frigga, “ I can’t thank you enough for how kind you’ve been to me.”

She stays quiet for a moment, a small smile on her face. “ my dear, you may not know it, but you are practically family.”

You look at her with a bewildered expression. She continues on

“ you know, in that gown, you look almost identical to your mother.”

You freeze, looking up at her, “ You..you knew my mother?”

“ Oh yes,” she smiles as memories cross her mind, “ very well, in fact, I remember helping your mother with this exact dress the day she arrived here as well.”

“You mean...this dress was hers?”

“Mmhmm, it fits you perfectly too. It was meant for you.”

You smile, tears welling in your eyes as you turn to the mirror. You could imagine your mother in the exact spot, fretting over her hair or the many layers on this dress.

“ I...I think I’ve learned more about my mother now than I ever had in my life.” You mutter, looking down and playing with a loos thread on your sleeve.

“Well, did you know that your mother loved to read?” Frigga says, “ any chance she got, she had her nose in a book. There were times Lo-“ she stops herself.

You look towards her, waiting for her to continue her story. She shakes her head and sighs.

“There were many times we had to go find her and drag her to the dining halls to eat because she was hiding somewhere reading.”

You laugh, relating to the story.

“ I can’t tell you how many times Tony had to come get me cause I almost skipped dinner by reading.”

“Tony?” She asks, unfamiliar with the name

“Oh! He’s like.. kinda like my dad/ uncle. He and the avengers raised me”

“ Ah I see.” Frigga says, her tone sad. Then a knock on the door cut through the conversation. It opened to reveal Thor, he was fidgeting with a book so he wasn’t looking up when he walked in the room.

“ I apologize for interrupting Moonlight, but I have a gift for you and I think you would like...” He trails off as he looks up at you. His heart clenches as he realizes what you’re wearing.

“ Thor, it’s improper for a man to barge into a young ladies room.” Frigga scolds from her place beside you.

“ My apologies...Y/n, you look..you look beautiful” he smiles sadly, thoughts of his best friend flooding his brain.

He, like his mother and almost everyone else that knew her, pushed those memories deep down. They had to, or else they would have never moved on. But..she was a big part of their lives. Loki never realized how much his family cared for his wife. It’s the original reason why Thor couldn’t bear getting rid of you completely. He couldn’t, not when you were the last piece of his best friend. So he took you somewhere he could see you. See you grow, live. Did it hurt him when he realized you were an exact carbon copy of your mother? Yes, but standing here, seeing you in her clothes, smiling and happy made it all worth it.

“ Hey Uncle Thor, look! I look like a princess!” You shout, twirling around the room with a large smile on your face.

Frigga and Thor share a look. He then realized that his mother felt the exact same way he did. Only, she didn’t get to see you grow up. Abd her only grandchild, has no idea who she truly is.

“ Oh dear princess moonlight!” Thor says dramatically, “ Pls except the gifts I bear to you!” He reveals the book and a beautiful necklace.

“ Thor...where did you get that book?” Frigga says lowly, recognizing the journal and who it belonged to.

“ Ahh, I may have borrowed it from my brother..” he say nervously

“ Thor!”

“ Mother he will not notice, besides where did you get that dress from?” He shot back a playful smile on his face. Frigga just says and rolls her eyes.

“ Hey..this journal belonged to..” you start to say the name.

“Yes!” Thor said quickly cutting you off, “ it did belong to your mother. When...when she found out she was pregnant with you, she decided that she would write as much about her life as she could...in case..”

“ in case she didn’t make it.” Frigga finished, looking down briefly.

You took the book in your hands, tracing the carvings on the cover. “ So...she’s...”

Thor looks up, realizing he never did make it clear on whether your parents were alive or not.

“ Yes..your mother passed” he said, “ I am truly sorry I never told you y/n..I just..” he sighs “ I was being selfish.. I didn’t want to relive that moment.”

You stay quiet. You don’t know what to think. Deep down you had the feeling that she wasn’t alive, from the little bits that Thor told you, she wasn’t the kind of person that gave away her children. But hearing it be confirmed, it hurt. Knowing your uncle was keeping it and many other things a secret hurt as well, but you understood. You saw the pain in his eyes as he told you stories of your mother and the pain now. You wonder...

“I understand why you didn’t tell me, don’t worry about it” you say, flashing a smile at him, the squeezing Frigga's hand. “ Are we going to eat? Cause I’m starving!”

Frigga laughs,” Supper will be served in an hour, I trust you can hold out till then?”

“ Yes ma'am! Do you mind if I explore the grounds then? I think my curiosity is getting the best of me”

That’s when Frigga realized that you may look like your mother and sometimes it’s terrifying how similar you act, but you were your own person. Your mother...she was never the adventurous woman. She read about them, but never felt the urge to go out and explore. You, you seem curious about the world around you.

“ Of course! But I beg of you, please don’t get your gown dirty.”

“ cross my heart” you say with a smile.

“Y/n” Thor says with a warning tone, “ I know how you are when you get bored at Tony's galas.”

“Uncle Thor, I promise! Besides, this dress is wayy too nice to mess up”

He looks you in the eye for a bit then smiles, “well alright then, go on”

You smile, then grab a shoulder bag that was laying around the room and put the book inside and your phone (that surprisingly still worked). Then you skipped out the room, an adventurous look in your eyes.

Frigga sighed, “ Thor... why did you bring her here?

“She has powers. Ice powers.”

Frigga's eyes widened, “ What do you mean?”

“On her birthday, she wasn’t feeling well, she was cold all day. And when she was put under stress, she turned a light blue and shot snow out of her hands.”

Silence takes over the room.

“We must take her to see Odin” 

“I know.”

“We have to tell her who her parents are.”

This time Thor sighs. “I know.” 

“Do you think that will be the only power she’ll possess?”

“Who can tell, we don’t know much about her mothers side of the family. But she was powerful, even if she didn’t show it. And Loki...”

Another silence filled the room. 

“ Do you think she might run into Loki?”

“No, I told him royalty was coming to visit, there’s no way he’d leave his room.”

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

Loki POV

Loki left his room.

He felt as if something was off. There was a presence in the palace that he hasn’t felt in...years.

He decides to go find his mother, she would most likely know what’s going on. Plus, he hasn’t seen her since the morning.

So, even though every part of his being does not want to encounter the visiting royalty Thor spoke of, he left the room.

As he walked through the hallways, he noticed the atmosphere felt...happy. The servants were bustling and smiling, something that was rare now. As he passed by, they stopped chattering and stared at him. Which was slightly unusual, but he brushed it off at first. It was when he heard the name “y/n” whispered a little too loudly. 

He turned to glare at the woman who dared to utter the name when a body bumped into him. 

“Sorry mister!” then in a flurry of brown, pink, and gold the person was gone. 

Loki was frozen on the spot. He could’ve sworn that...

“No” He thought, “ Its impossible” 

Then he shook his head and kept walking, determined to find his mother. But as he walked, he couldn’t help but feel as if he didn’t know something everyone else knew. 

He finally found his mother and Thor, in a guest room of all places. 

“Mother.” Loki said, “I have been looking for you everywhere.” 

“No way he’d leave his room Thor?” She muttered to Thor as he paled. 

“Loki! It’s wonderful to see you out. What was it that you needed?” She said with a smile. 

“Is it me, or are the servants acting strange?” He asks, “ I heard them talking about..”

Thor holds his breath, even though he knows what his brother is about to say.

“About Y/n” 

Frigga sighs, looking at her sons,” Thor, you have to tell him.”

“Mother..” “Tell me what?”

“He has a right to know.”

“Of course he does, I just worry about-”

“It’s better to do it now than when she’s in the room, or have him figure it out on his own”

“What are you two talking about?”

Thor looks over to Loki and sighs. 

“Brother, perhaps you should sit down.” 

Loki, not understanding what going on was about to argue, but then he saw the look on his mothers face. so he sat on the bed. 

That’s when he noticed the a bag on the floor. 

It was a beige bag that had footsteps all over it and the words “Marauders map” on it. 

“That is a Midgardian bag.”  Loki states, “ Harry something, is it not?”

Thor freezes looking at the bag you had left on the floor

“Yes...That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Well, go on.”

“Loki...Brother...remember that night sixteen years ago-”

“I do not want to talk about it, I have told you this time and time again!” Loki shouts as he stands up from the bed, starting to walk to the door.

“Damnit Loki! Sit down and listen to me!” Thor shouts, surprising both Frigga and Loki. “I am tired of lying to her because you were too cowardly to raise her on your own! You will listen to me now.”

Loki squints at his brother, "What are you talking about?”

“Your daughter Loki. Y/n.”

“Thor..”

“NO, for sixteen years, she has been raised by me and the Avengers. And now she has shown that she has powers. Ice powers to be more specific.”

Loki’s eyes widen at the information. He knew that it was Thor who ultimately got rid of the girl. But that's all he knew, all he cared to know. Now he’s finding out that Thor and his...band of Midgardian friends have been raising her. On top of that, she seems to have inherited his Jotunheim blood. 

“Why are you telling me this...” Thor stays silent. 

“Thor.” Loki says, “Who’s bag is that?” 

“Loki...” Thor says softly, “ I think you know who it belongs to.” 

“She’s here?” Loki asks emotions not showing. 

“Yes, but Loki she has no idea who you are.”

“Good. I want nothing to do with that...that--” 

“Careful how you speak of her brother. Remember, I am the one who raised her.”

“Then I am certain she has no redeeming qualities.” Loki deadpans. 

“You do not know anything about her” Thor argues back, “ If I had it my way, you would.t have known she was here until she was gone.”

“Well, I am glad we can agree on something.”

“You-”

“That’s enough. Both of you.” Frigga finally says, silencing the men.” Now Loki, I have kept quiet about the decisions you made and continue to make. But enough is enough. That child has had to grow up without knowing her parents and heritage. I for one, intend for her to learn it, with or without you.” She sighs looking at her son.

“You have suffered a terrible loss, not only your wife, but the chance to have raised that beautiful child.” And with that, Frigga left the room. 

There was a beat of silence, then Loki spoke

“So, she was with you then?”

“Yes.” Thor said simply, “ She doesn’t know about you or her mother...well she doesn’t know anything about you.”

“So you told her about-” 

“Bits and pieces. It is kind of hard to explain that her father sent her away because her mother died giving birth to her.”

“She should know. Know how she killed her--”

“She did no such thing. Loki she was an infant.”

“It doesn't matter, my wife is gone because of her.”

That’s when Thor exploded.

“YOUR WIFE KNEW SHE WAS GOING TO DIE.”

“wha..what are you talking about?”

“She knew brother. She didn’t tell you but she knew.”

“I don’t understand, why would she..”

“Because, she loved that child. She loved Y/n”

Loki tears up at the thought. The whole time, the whole pregnancy, she knew. She knew she was going to leave him. That he would mourn her. But she carried on anyway. That's why she wrote in that damn book all the time. 

***Flash back****

“My love, why, pray tell are you writing in that book again?”

A smile forms on her face, "Because darling, I want our child to know how much it is loved by their mother. How anxiously I await their arrival.”

Loki smiles, not understanding his wifes antics, “Well in that case, make it known how much they are loved by their father.”

***

Loki stands and walks out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Thor shouts at his brothers back.

“I need to be alone. Don’t worry, the child will not be harmed.”

And with that, Loki disappeared.

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

Y/ns POV

During your exploration of the castle, you ran into some of the staff. After many apologies, you managed to introduce yourself. But it seems that the particular woman you ran into knew who you were. It was weird but added to your theory.

She directed you to the garden, saying that it was the largest in all of Asgard, so of course you had to check it out.

So there you were. You were surprised to find that it was actually pretty large. You walked around, taking in the scenery and all the plants that didn’t exist on earth. You took pictures for Tony and Bucky, they’re probably worried sick.

After a while, you got bored and decided to find a place to sit, you wanted to read that journal Thor gave you. So you found a quiet spot, it was tucked away behind some trees but it was perfect. A small gazebo, covered in wilting flowers. It was old, chipped paint came off when you put your hand on it. It creaked when you sat down on the wooden bench.  

That's when you noticed it. The letter L and another that was too faded to tell. You shrugged it off, digging in the bag for the journal, your headphones and the pastry you stole from the kitchens earlier. You settled in, playing some music and started reading. You got two pages in when your favorite song came on. Unable to resist, you started singing along. 

Getting lost in the music, you didn’t notice that the flowers started to perk up. The color started to come back and they blossomed. The gazebo itself looked as if it was freshly painted. 

Like magic.

Your singing caught the attention of another who came to the garden to be alone.

“What are you doing here?”

You jump, ice shooting out of your hands 

The person dodged it, but looked at you in surprise.

“Y/n” They whispered. That’s when you recognized him.

“Oh hey, I bumped into you earlier huh?” 

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

General POV

Loki was speechless. At first when he heard the singing, he thought someone was trespassing. Everyone knew they weren’t supposed to go anywhere near the gazebo. That was her favorite spot. 

So, he marched over, about to yell at the figure that dared to be in the space he and his beloved used to enjoy. That's when you turned around.

He thought he was seeing a ghost at first. That he had died and his beloved was waiting for him. But then he realized that this person shot ice out of their hand. And that’s when it hit him.

“y/n’

“Oh hey, i bumped into you earlier huh?”

Loki stayed quiet, still looking over your features. Realizing that the baby he sent away was now a teenager and had no idea who he was.he didn’t know what to say to you. How to explain that even though he could have raised you, he decided to selfishly sent you way. That the very sight of you had enraged him so much that he couldn’t bear to look in your eyes.

Emotions flooded his body as he looked at you. Remebering how excited he was to be a father. To raise a child with his true love.How he felt the night she died, before she could even hold you in her arms. 

Then he spoke, “You..you look so much like your mother...”

Then he broke down, crying as you ran to his side, wondering who this man was, and how he knew your mother.

[lomlmarvel]

Only You Pt. VI

Only You Series finale.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three I Part Four | Part Five | Finale 

Cedric Diggory x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.5k

Summary: The result and ending of the Triwizard tournament leaves Y/N heartbroken and at loss, or does it? 

A/N: It’s so short and I am so sorry. I hope you enjoyed reading this series and it has been an honor to have shared this story with you all.  

The Hogwarts orchestra began to play their victory song. Cheers came from every row of the arena. Everyone was so excited and proud of the last two standing Hogwarts champions, one of whom was the winner of that year's Triwizard Tournament. Hermione and Ron felt relieved when they saw Harry apparate to where he stood in the arena. Arthur Weasley and Hagrid felt a fatherly sense of pride at the thought of Harry being one of the last two standing champions. Dumbledore waited in awe at how far Harry had gone; even as a minor, he managed to meet and match his older classmates' skills. The smile on Y/N's face was wider than when she found out that Remus and Sirius were her and Harry's godfathers. 

However, that smile faltered when she saw Cedric on the floor, with bloodstains on his jersey. Harry was on his knees, holding onto Cedric as the goblet fell from his grasp. Something told Y/N that there was something wrong. Whether it was intuition, blood relation, magic, or fate, she raced from her feet and smoothly passed Hagrid and Mad-Eye, who stood in as guards of the arena stairs. 

It all happened in slow motion. Dumbledore quickly stood from his feet and chased after the young witch, who was moving faster than the golden snitch. Y/N harshly pulled Harry into her arms while he remained frozen on top of Cedric. 

"Are you alright?" She whispered into his ear, hoping that he could hear her through his painful cries. Harry nodded in response but held his grip on Cedric. 

"Harry! Harry!" Dumbledore shouted, a gathering of professors, headmasters, and the acting-minister of magic, formed a circle around Harry. 

Dumbledore, a much stronger person, managed to pull Harry away from Cedric. "Tell me what happened!" Dumbledore pleaded to the younger wizard. While Harry pushed through the encounter with Voldemort, Y/N shakingly moved to look at Cedric. 

She reached to touch the hand on his chest, feeling the freezing touch of his frozen skin. The color on his face no longer displayed the pink-flushed cheeks he proudly showed the world each day. His plump red lips were now a blue tint. The glimmer and glow in his eyes were no longer there. Y/N didn't know when or how long she screamed for before she was wrapped into Mr. Weasley's arm as he tried to pull her away from the body. At the same time, he was trying to console his dear friend on losing his son. 

"He's back, he's back! Voldemort's back. Cedric, they hit him with a curse, and I-I couldn't leave him, not there," Harry sobbed into Dumbledore's arms. 

                         "That's my son! My boy!" Amos, Diggory cried. By now, the word has spread that something had happened to Cedric. The crowd of students had gathered in the arena ground. No one knew what to do, and all they could hear were the painful cries of Amos, Harry, and Y/N. 

Y/N can't remember when it happened, but she woke up in the infirmary. She was wrapped in a warm blanket but was still in her clothes from the challenge. She looked to her right to see Harry asleep in a bed next to her. Arthur sat asleep in what looked like an uncomfortable chair. His hat shielded his face, but the snores coming from his mouth told her his state. 

She sat up in the bed and reached for the cup of water on the nightstand next to the bed. It was past midnight. She could tell. The castle felt much colder at night, despite the season. This was the time of night when she and Cedric would sneak off to spend the night together. Regardless of what they were doing, Y/N always wanted the time to freeze, and they could just stay frozen in time, in each other's arms forever. A cold chill ran down her spine at the thought of the love of her life no longer with her. It was a foreign feeling. The water didn't help her dry throat. She had screamed and cried for too long. It would be a while until she was fully healed, her throat before her heart. 

There was a loud growl that came from her stomach. She looked towards Harry and Arthur to see their unfaltering states. Y/N quietly got out of the bed and walked towards the infirmary office, where she hoped she could find Madam Pomfrey. Instead, she was met with a locked door and a sign saying she would be back before breakfast. 

Turning to head back to the bed, she saw another figure asleep on a chair. The figure rested with their head against the stone wall and their jacket across their chest as a blanket. Y/N's feet quietly padded towards the figure before she made them out to be Amos. She was contorted; what was he doing in the infirmary? Her heart stopped when she saw the figure lying on an infirmary bed. Cedric. 

She stood next to his bed, her hands shaking. She couldn't believe it. A few hours ago, his face was pale and cold. Yet, here he was a few hours later, peacefully asleep with his red splashed cheeks for her to see. She wanted to reach out to touch his cheek and awake him, but she was afraid that when she did, she would wake up from the dream she was having. She couldn't bare to live in a world where he wasn't there, and she didn't want to face reality yet. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts when someone grabbed her wrist. Her head darted to the hand, holding on to her. She let out a muffled cry that was quickly covered with her vacant hand. 

Cedric sat up in his bed and happily smiled at his girlfriend. It broke his heart to see her so devastated. Her eyes were red and puffy, along with her nose. He pulled her onto the bed and laid her on his chest--quietly to not wake his father or the other men in the room. 

"How?" Y/N whispered, looking up to stare at his face. Cedric smiled at her once again and closed his eyes.

"I'll explain later.  Let's just rest, okay?" Y/N nodded in agreement. She and Cedric leaned in to press a longing and passionate kiss. He pulled her closer to his chest and held a tight embrace on her. Y/N held tightly onto the hand, intertwined with hers, afraid that it would disappear when she woke up. 

A few hours later, when she woke up, it was because the sound of muffled conversations disturbed her dreams. She was scared to open her eyes and be met with a harsh reality, but instead, she heard George's laugh, followed by the sound of something coming in contact with his head. She opened her eyes to see George and Fred, with Arthur and Amos gathered around the bed. They were in their conversations and didn't see her sit up. Across from her, she saw Harry listening intently to something Hermione was explaining to him and Ron. Ron muttered something she couldn't quite hear but heard Harry laugh in response to his comment. Hermione annoyingly rolled her eyes and turned to speak to someone next to her. Cedric sat next to Hermione in his house robes. 

"Hey, Cinderella! Look who finally woke up!" Fred greeted Y/N, turning the attention in the room on her. Harry rushed from his bed to his sister's side and reached for her hand, asking if she was okay. Y/N nodded in response. 

"It's Sleeping Beauty, Fred," Y/N replied to the twin. His lip twitched to the side, trying to hide the smile from being corrected on his muggle reference. "How?" She managed to breathe out while turning to sorely look at Cedric. His charming smile showed as he sat down next to her. 

"You're my lucky charm, remember?" Cedric stated. He reached to look for the accessory hidden underneath his layers of uniform. He pulled out a matching pendant to the one she had around her neck. 

"Remember when you were practicing the protection spell Remus showed you?" He asked her. The rest of the group listened in with patience. 

"The one I kept getting wrong? The one I didn't even manage to cast, right?"  Cedric smiled at the thought of the memory. Earlier in the year, after Cedric had given her the necklace, he wanted to surprise her and reveal his matching pendant that he was finally able to afford. He had gotten hers first, deciding that he could buy his later. He had hidden it in the dueling room, somewhere where she would be able to spot it, but not right away. However, after a few failed attempts at a protection spell, the spell had deflected from the subject and struck the pendant. Y/N became frustrated after that, still not having seen the charm, and gave up on practice. After that, Cedric figured he could just surprise her with it after the tournament was over. Unknowingly to both of them, the protection spell had been cast onto the pendant, and when Cedric was struck with the death curse, the young witch's spell had sent him into a state where his body received the curse and killed him. Her protection spell had saved his body, barely. This led to his body, shutting down to hold onto the magic that was sheltering his soul from leaving his body. Fred was the one to notice the color returning to his skin when Dumbledore was trying to get him sent to a private room in the infirmary. Snape had taken the pendant to inspect it, finding the protection spell still alive on the piece of jewelry. 

"You saved me, Y/N," Cedric revealed. The proud smile on his face made her body melt. 

"Snape said he hadn't seen anyone our age cast such a powerful enchantment spell," Ron blurted out. Y/N turned to smile at the people in front of her. From the Weasleys to Harry and Hermione and her boyfriend and his father. Her family. 

The end of the term ended with a weird celebration. Harry and Cedric were crowned Triwizard champions, but the tournament was then banished by Dumbledore. Whispers about Voldemort's return spread through the castle. Many believed that Harry had lied and had tried to kill Cedric himself to win the tournament. Others stated that Harry just wanted the attention, but many believed him. 

The last day of the term was spent saying goodbyes and exchanging numbers and addresses with students from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang. It had been a successful tournament; its purpose had been fulfilled. The three schools socialized and were united by a terrifying thought that Everything would change in the near future. Something terrifying was coming. 

-

"How about spring?" Cedric asked, placing another centerpiece onto the round tables. 

"Spring is too rainy. Summer? Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to be there," Y/N replied, following his steps, but placing neatly folded napkins on the dinner plates. 

"Right, and everyone else from Hogwarts that we want to invite," Cedric added. He finished his task and turned to spin around the decorated room. The dance floor had been arranged a few hours before, and the band was setting up their equipment. The two proudly smiled at their finished assignment when the popular Weasley of the day stepped into the room. 

"Merlin's beard! This looks incredible; thank you, guys!" Bill shouted in excitement as he approached Cedric and Y/N. "Thank you so much for your help." 

"It's our pleasure, Bill," Y/N replied, taking in his elegant groom attire. He looked nervous. "Everything will be fine, Bill. You love each other, and that's all that matters," Y/N added. The oldest Weasley smiled in return, pulled her in for a hug. 

"You two can go finish getting ready. People should start arriving soon," Bill informed them, pushing them out of the room. 

Mrs. Weasley ran around the kitchen, making sure everything was prepared for Fleur and Bill's wedding. Even if she didn't entirely like her future daughter-in-law, she wanted her son to have the best wedding possible. 

"Hey Mom, Bill said everything looks great. It smells delicious in here too," Y/N stated, walking into the kitchen. The Burrow kitchen was a working factory. Dirty dishes were being washed on their own, while the floor was being mopped, and food was being cooked on the stove. 

"Oh, dear! Look at you two, you're not even in your clothes yet!" Molly walked over to Y/N and Cedric and shook her head disapprovingly. "The wedding starts in a few minutes, and you two need to get changed quickly!" Molly pushed the two upstairs. Y/N showed Cedric to Ginny's room, where she was currently bunking with Ginny and Hermione. 

"Can you help zip me up?" Y/N asked Cedric, who quickly found his way to her lower back. He slowly zipped the material as he stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

"So, we agree on summer?" Cedric asked her. She spun around to help him put on his suit but saw him already tying his tie. 

"Yes. Summer it is," She replied. She crossed the distance between them and straightened his tie. She kept her arms around his shoulder as she stared up at his beautiful smile. 

"You're gorgeous, and I can't wait to marry you next summer," Cedric whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her glossy ones. The two stayed entranced in their little bubble before their moment was interrupted by George.

"Afternoon," George snickered with a sly look on his face. Y/N shot a glare in his direction before she tossed a nearby shoe at his body. He managed to duck out of the room before it came in contact with him but popped his head back in to snicker another comment. "You love birds better race to the ceremony before Fred and Alicia win over everyone as the 'second cutest couple' at the wedding," George winked in their way and walked out of the room. 

"We should get going," Y/N stated, reaching to put her heels on. 

"We'll still be the cutest couple at the wedding, in my opinion, of course," Cedric commented. Y/N stood up and rolled her eyes.

"Don't you start, Ced," She chuckled at his comment and walked past him to the stairs.

"What? It's true, darling!" He called out after her. The two would wait until after the war to get married. Harry walked Y/N down the aisle. Molly and Arthur sat in the front row, with proud and smiling faces. Ginny, Hermione, Alicia, and Angelina as her bridesmaids with Fred, George, Ron, and one of Cedric's best mates as his groomsmen.

As the two shared their first dance as bride and groom, McGonagall sat proudly watching the couple. After so much loss and years of darkness, times like these reminded her of the years of peace and happiness that were to come. She scoffed for dramatization as she handed Professor Sprout and Flitwick a few galleons each. 

"But just to be clear, I am thrilled to be celebrating their love and union tonight," Minerva commented. Pomona giggled in response, and Filius followed her suit. It was the start of a happy ending. 

Tags: 

@lilulo-12 @malfoys-demigod @ladyblablabla @truly-insatiablem @dottirose @lovinnholland @ziggyspurplehaze  @firefliesindaylight  @inmygardensuit  @bebana-7913 @suixdal-dreams29 @onebatch--twobatch  @degeathesaviour @sunles @calaryssia​ @dancingforalltosee​ @whitejeans​ @spcncershybrid​

[chilling-seavey]

Qui Totum Vult Totum Perdit (d.s.) - 3

A/N Let’s get things moving

Warnings: This story is centered around a murder so there will be graphic descriptions of blood, death/manslaughter, dealing with corpses, possible domestic abuse (physical/verbal), crime/covering up a crime, shock/grief, and other possibly heavy or triggering topics. Please read at your own discretion.

Jonah and I stepped in through the sliding glass door that led from the back porch into the living room of my house. The main floor was quiet and tidy and the blinds on all the windows were still open, allowing the entire space to be brightened nicely. Jonah closed the door behind us, and we paused a moment to look around at our initial surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place; it looked just like how we left it nearly three weeks earlier.

I made the first move farther into the house, scanning surfaces and spaces for any sign of anything that could help trigger my memory of the night before…but even our suitcases from the flight home weren’t there. I ended up finding them in the master bedroom at the end of the hallway, rested neatly against the door with my laptop bag placed on top. Our room was no different than when we left with the sheets pulled tightly over the bed and topped with the odd decorative pillow; a few random items left on the two bedside tables. I let my eyes linger on the framed photograph of Avalon and me on the beach a few summers back that was sat on the small table on my own side of the bed. She wore this terrible huge white sunhat and a pair of designer sunglasses I had bought her for her birthday but her smile was the brightest thing in the picture regardless of what accessories she wore, and even my own self in the photograph was staring at her with nothing but awe.

“Daniel.”

Jonah’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and I followed his voice back down the hallway to the kitchen. He was standing at the end of the island and pointed to the floor with the toe of his shoe to lead my eyes down to the smashed glass and spilt water on the hardwood.

“Remember something about this?” he asked.

“God, I fucking hate you!” she screamed, throwing her water glass at me and it fell and shattered on the ground as she spun on her heel to head towards the sliding doors leading to the backyard.

“Don’t walk away while we’re talking!” I called angrily after her, hot on her heels as she stormed out into the dark backyard. I stopped the door with my foot before she should slide it shut and I followed after her into the warm LA night towards the studio built a few paces from the back deck. “You wanted me to talk to you so goddamn badly so here I am!”

“This isn’t talking, Daniel!” she stomped down the three stairs of the back porch and across the stone walkway to the studio door. “Leave me alone!”

The scene played in my head like a picture, like it was a true memory, but how could I be sure? I furrowed my eyebrows and stepped closer to crouch down and pick up one of the larger pieces between my fingers, “I don’t know.”

“It has to trigger something, Daniel. Be honest with me, bro.” Jonah pressed.

I tapped the tip of my index finger against the piece of glass in my hand until it started to pierce through each layer of callused skin. My eyes scanned the kitchen floor, past the island, and to the tall natural wood front door a few paces away.

“Your ignorance is fucking incredible, Daniel James!”

Her words were venomous, punctuated by the slam of the front door the moment we stepped back inside the house. I was still trying to put my wallet in my pocket after paying the taxi driver, showing exactly how quickly she decided to snap back at me after we already endured a terribly tense flight home. Yet, apparently a simple question of “are you okay” was completely disgusting of me to ask.

“You can’t just lose your temper like this every time you get a bit upset, Avalon. I’m just trying to talk to you.” I called as calmly as I could as I set my computer bag on the kitchen island.

She grabbed herself an empty glass from the cupboard and slammed the cabinet door shut before turning on the tap aggressively. Her brown eyes glared daggers in my direction over the rim of the glass as she raised it to her lips to take a sip, and the diamond ring on her left hand caught the light of the late evening setting sun coming in through the window. Flickers of orange light writhed on the marble countertop between us and died when she lowered her hand out of the incoming rays.

There was a moment of silence as the beginnings of this obvious inevitable fight lingered between us.

“We fought.” I breathed. “We had an argument that kinda blew up.”

“Okay.” Jonah answered plainly, watching me crouched there stewing in my mind.

I bit at my bottom lip as I tried to wrack my brain for any other snippets of memory.

“She didn’t talk to me all day…the whole flight home.” I whispered, eyebrows furrowing deeper as the faint hints of memory flicked through my mind. “She was angry at me…and we had an argument and we yelled and…”

I rubbed my hand over my forehead as the splitting pain was lessened to a dull throb, but my head still ached, especially while straining to think of something that I didn’t remember.

“I think we really went at it…I…”

“What was she mad about?” Jonah knelt down to help clean up the broken pieces of glass.

The gentle tinkle of the shards falling together in our palms as we collected them rang at the forefront of my mind. I could hear her soft gasp as the glass slipped from her hand and fell to shatters on the ground.

I cleared my throat, “Work…I think.”

Jonah’s eyes raised to me, “You never liked when she brought up our job in arguments. You’ve told me that plenty.”

“Yeah.” I said.

I paused a moment before getting up from the ground and I tossed the broken glass into the garbage. Jonah did the same after me.

“Do you think that was the final straw?” Jonah asked gently.

I leaned my hands on the island countertop with a sigh and then turned my head to look at him, “Bro, honestly, I don’t know. Why would I…why would I kill her?”

“That’s what I’m asking you.” Jonah said softly.

“We just got married, Jo. Why would I…I couldn’t have…” I mumbled. “I loved her.”

“Yeah, you loved her. And yet she never seemed to accept your status in society.” Jonah stated.

“Status in society.” I scoffed, turning around to lean back against the counter. “Yeah, right. You open a well-known recording studio and suddenly all of fucking Los Angeles thinks you’re a celebrity. Avalon always hated that side of it.”

“I know she did. You came to me pissed about it more often that either of us would have liked to admit.”

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out to see a text from my brother,

Hello?? You said you would text me when you landed and I haven’t heard from you. Where are you?

“Who’s that?” Jonah asked.

“Christian.” I answered flatly as I scrolled up in the conversation thread to see a few other texts from him since the time the plane landed, asking where I was. They were all unanswered. Why didn’t I answer him?

“My brother always told me you were too fucking weak to be my wife…couldn’t handle the baggage that comes with the job.”

“Leave Christian out of this. He doesn’t know bull-fucking-shit about us and especially not about me. Neither of you know how hard it is!”

“It’s not hard, Avalon! You sit here and look pretty and I buy you sparkly things! It’s not that fucking hard! You’re just being an obnoxious brat about everything, and you always have!”

I cleared my throat nervously as I stared at the unanswered texts from my older brother. He never particularly liked Avalon and that was obvious; when we were dating he had it in his head that she was a gold-digger and only with me for my money and once we got engaged he made a point to call her out on all the smallest things she did ‘wrong’. No one was good enough for me in his mind. At least she wasn’t.

If it wasn’t my job that Avalon and I argued about, it was Christian. I adored my older brother, but she had such a tense and weak relationship with him no matter how hard she tried to get him to even tolerate her. He was set in his ways that he would dislike her for as long as she lived. I loved him and he was my family so I would defend him and it would drive her up the walls batshit crazy. I’m not a perfect man, dear reader, and I don’t claim to be better than I am. I suppose I should have tried to take her side once in a while. She was the love of my life after all, wasn’t she?

Detective Team: @jonahlovescoffee​ @randomlimelightxxx​ @stuffofseaveyy​ @hopinglimelight​ @tempus-ut-luceant​ @br4nd1s​ @xkelsev​ @hiya-its-amber​ @sexyseavey15​

[sugarcookiesandsins]

Charmed [Episode 4]

➰ ot7 x reader, poly!bts x reader, mafia!bts ➰ they wouldn’t notice her until she was standing above them, a smoking gun in her hand a bullet in their heart 🌡 M   🛑 violence, guns, just y/n being a gutsy mf 🕛  6.1k+

✍️:  @yeomjoo​ - Thank you dear for editing this! 

(Please let me know if you want to be added to the tag list)

Tag List: @missseoulite @omgsuperstarg @slutkoo @asifetch7 @kawaiimusiccollection @namupeachs @xicanacorpse @bubbletae7 @crackhead1-800 @yeomjoo @crajishie @loveyoongles @knjkitten​ @btsarmysvtcarat @i-like-puppy-mg​ @nicoledelacour27

It had been a week since your injury at the warehouse. Thankfully, the bullet had only grazed your arm, taking away the layers of skin to reveal the fat layers underneath. The long-sleeved shirt that you wore would be forever ruined so you were forced to retire it, cutting it into strips to serve as bandages while you took shelter in your house.

There was no doubt in your mind that Jungkook had recognized your presence, but thankfully it didn’t seem like he had discovered the tracker, either mistaking it for a missed bullet or forgetting about it in the ruckus that followed. Still, it was odd.

Saying he was talented would be the understatement of the century. It had been dark and murky under the roof of the warehouse, that combined with the small opening between crates he would have to shoot through, it was a miracle you were hit at all.

The familiar beep beep of the microwave echoed through your house. Collecting the warm cup, you took a sip of revitalizing caffeine as you made your way back to your couch, eyes retracing the colored lines overlaid on a map of the city, each color a different day. Your alabaster skin suffering from the lack of sunlight. But you didn’t mind the drawn curtains and closed blinds, anything was better than ending up an unidentifiable body on the bottom of Han River.

You made your way to your nest on the new couch. Settling yourself among the blankets, you winced as the still tender flesh of your arm brushed against the leather of the fabric. It had been a stressful week of hiding - you had stayed in your apartment, relying on your bulk purchases of food to keep you sustained as you relied on your tracker to keep tabs on BigHit’s truck.

Glancing at the shuttered windows, you winced at the sight of the blond wig, half covered by the opaque fabric. It had remained there for the last week, ever since you chucked it at the window in your anger. It would have worked as the perfect disguise.

A high-pitched beep sounded from your computer, and your eyes turned to the screen just as another dot marked a location on the map - the truck had made another stop. You had programmed that tracker to mark location whenever the truck stopped for more than 3 minutes, longer than what it would take at a red light but still sensitive enough to pick up a small unloading and loading pause. It was a pain to wait before you went forward with the plan, but the mafia were smart. You didn’t know if they had approached the house or not yet. They could be waiting, or they could have used some corrupted form of psychology on you to fool you.

It was crucial that you got the location right the first time, as a failed attempt would put them even more on edge than they already were. You were sure that security would already be tighter due to your failure at going unnoticed, making the job even harder. Throwing your head back you let out a groan, one that was lost to time forever in the dusty gloom of your living room.

You let another week pass, stewing in the annoyance of being immobile and injured. Still, your impatience got the best of you and you wasted not time in rushing out the door as Eli.

He stayed mostly to roads he had never been on before, too paranoid that another underground worker would see him and give away his position. On hand, a phone with the list of all the addresses the truck visited, which was actually surprisingly short, organized from most visits to the least.

You had tried to narrow down your search using satellite imagery of the locations, but they were all clean. And yes, as cheesy as it was, there is some truth to the idea that suspicion increases when a place is too clean. Still, with no other option before you, here you were; possibly one of the greatest contract killers in the world, reduced to acting like a common thief who peeks through windows. Yes, some may argue that Eli was a common thief, but you firmly believe otherwise. What he did wasn’t thievery, it was art.

How many times had you trained to make your form disappear in a crowd, to make your fingers ghost-like in the efficiency with which they relieved pockets of valuables. You had done far too much to allow your work to be called anything less than a masterpiece.

The first house had been an epic flop in terms of anything interesting. The was simply a storefront for a pawn shop, most probably hiding another underground store but now that wasn’t your primary concern. It had taken you some time, but you had finally found it. Inconspicuous in the greatest fashion; why be isolated when you could hide in plain sight … in the penthouse of a luxury high rise!

You rolled your eyes at the extravagant clothing of the people walking through the ceiling-high, glass double doors. You could never imagine living like that every day; it would be stressful on your neck and head. All you needed was one accessory and your wardrobe was set. Without it you felt naked to the world, as if your entire identity was woven into the intricate metalwork.

The uniformed doorman sneaked another glance at your way, letting you know that it was time to do something, otherwise he was going to call security on your blonde ass. Instead of hightailing it out of there, you confidently walked to the front door and under the golden trimmed entrance, passing the doorman a slight nod. He silently glared back at you, too dependent on his meager wages to vocalize any complaint.

Passing the front desk, you smiled and nodded, playing the perfect part of a rich, but eccentric homeowner. Much like the cashier who worked at minimum wage, you were barely cast a glance. The clock that controlled time ticked away in the corner of the hall, much more interesting than any hooligan that may have infected the marble floors.

Making your way to the steel elevators, you stepped in the next available one and rode it all the way to the top. There was no one in the house, you knew that for certain; it was an entertaining sight to see the boys strut into their limo earlier, an hour or so before the doorman saw you for the first time. And since you began your surveillance, they hadn’t returned.

For how high-profile they were, the door itself was a very basic keypad lock, one that was clean enough to make the smudging more visible to the naked eye. In the corner of your eye, you saw the security camera trained on your face, or rather, Eli’s. He was a cheeky bastard and couldn’t help himself from waving at the person on the other side, who sat wide-eyed.

[KSJ]

It was a habit that had developed among us to randomly check the surveillance of our home while we were out. It wasn’t as vigilant as it sounds however with the time intervals ranging from 30 minutes to almost 2 hours but it was better than nothing.

I had reached a dead end with that ramen shop, though I did expect that. No thief was stupid enough to visit the same place twice, expecially when you had been tagged there. Still, no one had any rumors about his whereabouts despite antics being at an all-time high.

So imagine my surprise and anger at finding waving at me through the screen of my phone as he entered my house. His smile was wide enough to show off his perfect teeth and his fashion was to the nines with a smart hat over his blonde head and a leather jacket and dark jeans; he looked in his element.

Through gritted teeth, I ordered the driver to turn around. A business deal was small compared with bringing in Eli to the boss. Rarely did I ever break the calm and composed position of power like my father taught me, but even he had his breaking points and this was mine.

Giggling at your actions, you smoothly unlocked the front door with an electronic masterkey. It was the greatest thing you ever created and ran an algorithm to find all possible number combinations. It then used a phantom copy of the keypad server to run the possibilities, basically giving you an unlimited amount of trials.

You walked into the room like you owned the place, which for the next few moments until the boys got back, it felt like you did. Everything in you was working overtime to keep you from messing something up; the whited sepulchre annoying you to your very limits. It was very surgical in its decoration, pale and empty. It was a home, but it didn’t feel lived in.

Is this what happens when you probably have maids that come every day? Sadly, you would never know.

Making your way past the entrance hall - seriously what was with that? a hall just to greet people? - you encroached upon their living room; a bleak continuation of the uneasy entrance hall. There were multiple cameras, and you were pretty sure of bugs too, but what did you care about? You wanted them to know that you were here. You wanted them to understand just what Eli was capable of, even if it was putting a gun to their head and pulling the trigger.

The familiar ding of the elevator made its way through the opened crack of the front door. They were here.

The boys entered through the front door, six keeping an eye out for the intruder while Jin tried to find his location through their security cameras.

They were beyond furious, mostly because they felt the pain of having underestimated you.

“Hello boys.”

They would never make the same mistake again.

Immediately, you faced down the barrel of 6 guns, all but certain they would pump you full of iron without second thought. Yet in the face of death, you didn’t waver. They weren’t going to kill you after all, and everyone in that room knew that.

You only smiled, continuing to speak to maintain the dominance you held of the situation.

“Put your guns down. You can’t kill me anyways.”

Jimin scowled. Since the moment Jin had revealed to the group about Eli’s presence in their home, he had seen red creep around the edges. He was the frontman when it came to the group’s security, so even though he was happy the motion sensors inlaid into the cameras worked in informing them of the intruder, he was mad that the subversive technology in the lock had not prevented the intruder from getting in.

“Yeah? What’s stopping me?” Just to prove his point, Jimin took a threatening step forward, steadying the aim in the center of Eli’s forehead. “What’s keeping me from putting a bullet between those pretty blue eyes of yours?”

“Well, your boss for one.” Eli only smiled after that, letting the implications form themselves. it didn’t matter what justification he offered; the main goal was for the boys to come to conclusion themselves. That way, they would believe it more. “Or perhaps, it’s my pretty blue eyes? Take your pick Jimin.” The said man glared at your form.

Eli made his way to the antique bar setting on the far side of the living room, blatantly appreciating the arrangement of hard liquor in glass decanters. The boys had lowered their guns, coming to their own responses as to why Eli couldn’t die.

“Now, how about we all have a drink, and I explain why I am here, and you explain what it is that your boss wants me to help you steal.” They were trained men, so there was no blatant change in expression as you revealed the extent to which you understood their motives, but you could see some clenched jaws, no doubt unhappy with the power balance.

Currently, it was tilted in your favor, so you took the initiative to pour everyone drinks, gin and tonics all around. You then took your previous seat, leaning back with comfortable ease. The other boys also took places around the living room. They may not be completely estranged from the idea of shooting you, but at least the guns were no longer facing you.

Namjoon took a long sip of the drink, letting the familiar taste burn his throat on the way down. He hated Eli at that moment; the sense of passiveness the man gave off. As if he didn’t care about anything, least of all whether one of his boys put a bullet through his skull.

“Now, don’t be so morose about it all! It was all in good fun. Just a little something to show that I am not one to be underestimated, no matter how laissez-faire I seemed.” Eli spoke these words over the rim of his glass, the material distorting the smile that shines around white teeth. It wasn’t a tender kind smile that you show a lover, it was a deranged kind of smile, one that Namjoon rarely saw from anyone. And it sent chills slithering up and down his spine. He knew that working with this man would not be ordinary. And Eli knew that from the way it shined through his pretty blue eyes, locked solely on him at that moment. And for the second time in his life, he did not feel in control.

“Now, since I’ve shown you my cards. I think it is only proper that you show me yours.” The silence was punctuated with the clink of the tumbler on the center table. None of the boys met your eyes, half still focused on their guns. The other half just thought….and thought some more. How to answer a man who probably knows everything?

“We doubt there is anything that we could tell you that you wouldn’t already know.” Yoongi kept his voice level, as he always did. There was nothing special he saw in the little pickpocket, just another immature personality trying to be a man. Everyone was bound to mess up as some point, he just had to be the observant one and wait for it.

“You’d be surprised Yoongi,” Eli mused, ignoring the reaction Bangtan had to the obvious lack of respect the boy had. “There is always something to learn about everything. When you think you know it all, that is when you recognize that you were playing the fool.” You chuckled, leaving the rest of that phrase up to them for interpretation, already seeing the wheels in Namjoon’s head turning.

“Let me ask again. Why are you chasing me through the streets of Seoul?” Eli wasn’t expecting a no for an answer. You did not want to reveal that you only had basic knowledge of what they wanted, and even those hypotheses were not proven fact. But you had enough to play a small con for information.

“Here. I’ll even help you out. Your boss wants me to help you steal something because he thinks you’re not good enough, which is where I-.”

“We are good enough!” The outburst was instinct, coming from the one member that could never take being second to anyone, not even to a metaphor.

“Jungkook.” It was quick and sharp; an order without even needing to say the words.

“Oh? So, I was right. Thank you for the information, Jungkook.”

The dark-haired man leapt to his feet, pulled his pistol out of the holster and let go a single bullet. But then again, you weren’t just any old thief. With the same speed and flow, you pushed back on the chair as you saw, tipping backwards you dropped the glass, the loud crash more than enough to completely obscure a silenced shot. When the back of the chair made contact with the floor, you wasted no time  rolling behind the kitchen counter, where you were safe from any more stray bullets that managed to head your way.

“Sorry to be the bearer of bad new Jungkook but you missed this time.” You heard a growl, but thankfully no heavy footsteps making their way to your hiding spot. Still, he was a killer. Walking silently was no issue for him. As such, you made your way to the other side, facing the counter and behind it, anyone who would be coming for you from the direction of the living room.

Small murmurs made their way to your ears, far too quiet to make out the placating reassurances that the boys were delivering. You didn’t try and stop them, the less angry Jungkook was, the less he was prone to try and kill you, again.

“I suggest you come back out Eli. So we can show you to your room.” You could tell from his voice that Namjoon was just tired with the whole situation. “After all, you are working with us. It would be apt that you stay with us for the time being.”

Peeking out from behind the counter, you raised a single eyebrow at the assembled group of men. 

“When did I ever agree to work with you? As far as I’m concerned you haven’t even told me what you wanted my help with.”

“You have no choice Mr.– '' Namjoon cut off, fully intending for you to fill in the blank but you refused. Something about watching him squirm in the awkward silence made you happy, figurately at least.

“I have no choice?” you simpered. “Now that’s just plain wrong.” You came out from behind the counter, fully assured by the strong hold that Jin, Hoseok, and Jimin had on Jungkook. It looked like he wasn’t about to shoot you anytime soon. 

“I make my own choices Namjoon. No group of pretty boys is going to stop me.” 

And that is the story of how you no —  how Eli  — came to live with the Bangtan Boys.

The room they escorted you to contained the very furniture that you had seen them select a couple weeks ago. Sharp lines, metallics, and sterile. Everything about your job summed up into one disgustingly perfect room.

The blinds were open to catch the last rays of sunset that glinted off the high-rises around you. With a slight scowl, you turned your head as one stray reflection made its way into your eye. “Nice place. Bit too much light for my eyes though,” you said as you turned to face them. Only five of the men from before had followed you. It seemed that Jungkook had decided to leave rather than kill you, and Jin had joined him to make sure he didn’t.

You waited for a response. A minute passed. Then another. And now even you were starting to feel the weight of the tension in the room. Here they really had you cornered. The five of them corralling you into a room with a singular window more than 50 feet above cold pavement.

Have you escaped from this kind of situation before? Yes but that was only possible due to a conveniently placed window-washer’s station and a metal straw; neither of which you had available at the moment.      

“Good night Eli.” Namjoon’s voice betrayed the loosening reins he had on the other boys. Jimin, who had a soft spot for Jungkook, seemed to have no problem in gripping the beretta he had in a shoulder holster in warning.

Not that you ever listened to what pretty boys ever told you.

The next morning you woke up at your usual time, waved at the camera disguised on the black surface of the flower vase and began your morning routine. Thankfully over the years you had perfected the art of wigs and the blonde mane had stayed on through the night. Grabbing your clothes and more hair products you made your way to the bathroom. Changing into something more comfortable, you put on your running shoes and made your way to the front door.

Stretching out your back, you felt it pop and released a sigh before you crashed into someone. Taking a few steps back, you looked up into the face of the one and only Jung Hoseok. It was odd to see the man out of his suit and into what looked like workout gear.

It would be illegal for them to not be working out looking the way they did, but seeing it physically was something completely different. Not many were crazy enough to have a 6 am morning workout routine.

“Seems you’ll be joining us of your own accord.” Hearing the familiar drawl, you turn to see the rest of the boys in various states of putting their shoes on in the living room. So all of them did this every morning. Interesting.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but you can’t watch me run today. I have my own routes and my own errands, so I’ll see you back for breakfast.” As you were finishing your sentence you darted for the entrance, so quick that Hoseok could only graze your arm with his fingertips.

Behind you, you heard the sound of footsteps as one of the boys, most likely Hoseok, gave chase to you. You pumped your eyes faster as you darted in the direction of the stairs. The elevators were a sure way to get caught if there was not one available immediately, but at least on the stairs you could use your skills to descend faster.  Slamming open the door to the stairwell, you leaped over the banister without second thought and angled your body towards the railing on the opposite sides a floor down. It wasn’t much of a head start, but with Hoseok you thought you could manage.

Using your palms, you latched onto the cold metal and pulled yourself over it. Not wasting a moment in continuing your journey down the stairs. Behind you, the slap of hands on metal scared you more than you would ever admit. The sound meant that whoever was giving you chase was not Hoseok. It meant that your pursuer would not look lightly upon you if they caught you.

Willing your motivation into your limbs, you pushed forward, taking the steps two at a time and trying to find another opening for you to jump down another floor. It wasn’t that there weren’t opportunities; no there were plenty of those. The issue came with commitment.

With a drop of over 50 feet below you, there was no room for error. You had to be sure you were making the jump long before you actually shifted the weight. From what you had guessed, the person seemed to have some strength and training, making the possibility for error even less. A trained person would see the shift in weight and the element of surprise was the most important thing you could have.

“I could do this all day Eli.” The dark voice from behind you almost made you jump in fear. It was Jungkook and he sounded like he would enjoy nothing more than to just exact all the anger he had towards you in a single moment. A lot could be done to a person without killing, and nothing that BigHit had said prohibited you from being a little banged up by the time you reached their front door.

Seeing an upcoming opening, you counted down the seconds until you jumped. About a meter away from the gap, you leaped for the gap. From behind you, you heard another growl as Jungkook came after you. At the last minute, you reached out your hand and grabbed the pole and used the centrifugal force to pull yourself back onto the stairs. Jungkook was so focused on the jump as he didn’t have the planning that you did, that you were able to catch your breath as he really dropped himself down two floors.

The look on his face was the most amusing; that wide eyes expression that really betrayed more anger at himself or not seeing this coming rather than at you for getting away.

Between heaved breaths, you couldn’t help but rub it in a bit more. “Eli 2 and Jungkook 0,” you smirked out. “Don’t look now but you’re in second Jeon.” And with that you knew the moment was over, and so did he. A trained fighter’s first lesson wasn’t on fighting at all; it was about holding back.

[JJK]

Looking at the messy blonde head a couple of floors above me, I wanted nothing more than to wring his neck. His lips were parted in mirth at my state of loss and the audacity of him to further rub salt into the wound as he relaxed on his throne above me.

Nothing was stopping me from running back up the flights and going after your snark attitude with his fists, but that was beneath him. That would be revenge and revenge was not looked upon kindly. Revenge is mindless while fighting is mindful.

Catching my own breath, because Eli was faster than he seemed, I glared in his direction and slowly began my trek back up the stairs to rejoin the boys. He would get away, this time. From across the round staircase Eli kept his eyes on me as he circled down and I circled up, until we met face too face on the 19th floor landing.

He gave me a small nod, lips slightly parted as he continued to restock his oxygen supply as he continued past me. I didn’t try to contest my loss.

I regret my training.

It wasn’t a hard task keeping your identity secret. You had already prepared for this eventuality and had stocked both you backpack and the back room of the noodle shop with extra supplies. This way, you could keep the location of your apartment a secret, just in case you needed to catch a break for any reason. Who knows when you would need a hideaway from BigHit.

In the meantime, you kept to places the boys knew about, like the noodle shop. So the ones that followed you had nothing to report back to Namjoon who had grew more frustrated as time passed, with no new information about you. In the house, you kept to yourself, only speaking about the mission.

“Why don’t you come join me! Taehyung! Jimin! Over here!” Your voice reverberated around the noodle shop, giving you a sense of deja vu as the rest of the patron turned to the entryway. Sending a quick wink at the matron of the store, she shook her head and nodded in response as she asked for another two bowls of noodles.

Recently, you had become close to her, creating some semblance of friendship between the two of you, built around her new-found popularity and you character. She would never tell you this, but you became one of her heart’s adopted children. In you she saw someone who was forced to grow up too fast, for what reason she understood that she would never know, but it was there.

“You’re playing with fire here child.” She leaned in as if she was taking your order.

In response, you lifted the menu, momentarily covering both your faces with the red book. “Well good thing I’ve stocked up on repellent, Umma.”

Pulling the menu back down, you motioned them over, giving them no chance to turn tail and run. They would now have to suffer through lunch with your infuriating face with those big wide eyes.

“It’s not good to tail someone on an empty stomach, so you should eat up. After this, I’ve got to take you on a wild goose chase around the park.”

[oneofyatosfollowers]

One of a Kind- Last Chapter

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191861/chapters/54732715

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13360973/1/One-of-a-Kind

She supported him. Their breaths mingled as they walked straight, his feet dragging as he stumbled. He took a heavy hit, his side was probably already bruised, but it was hidden under the sturdy stitching of wearalls. She still had dried blood on her cheek and forehead, the specks of it being cleaned off by her sweat. She wasn't dizzy anymore, but she still struggled to walk with his arm around her shoulder. She held onto his wrist as tight as she could, grunting under the weight.

The sun beat down on the Earth, it's rays practically sizzling off the brown dirt and garbage. Even as she lead them away from the city, the heat was hardly bearable. Yato looked up when she walked them around the side of a truck trailer, his eyes bulged when he saw a perfectly cut hole in the side, just big enough for a Wall-E and their compactor.

"In here." she said, tugging him inside. The trailer had a mattress in the corner along with a first aid kit, TV, and a fridge. It was dirty and dark, but she moved easily in it. It dawned on Yato this must be where she lived. Not knowing what to do, he listened to her when she told him to sit down anywhere. He learned earlier it's best not to argue with this Wall-E. She went to the fridge and pulled out a ice pack, coming back to hand it to him with a smile.

"Thank you for saving me," she said, sitting in front of him. Yato blinked, his cheeks heating at the genuine kindness.

"Y-you're welcome, uh," Yato's eyes flicked to her stitched-in name, "Sakura."

"This is the least I can do," her eyes did the same with a playful smile, "Yato?" The red of his skin stretched to his neck.

"It's a nickname!" Yato waved his arms but winced and regretted it instantly. Sakura took his hand and gently lead it back to his side.

"Well, I like it!" She decided. They both smiled. The work day was over and Sakura felt it was dangerous to walk back to the city alone. Even though Yato promised he would be more than okay to make it back, she won with the same ferocity that got him here in the first place. So they talked, and laughed, and argued. Yato arguing a young woman shouldn't have a gapping hole in the wall of her house, Sakura insisting a piece of wood blends in just fine.

"Hey, wanna do something fun?" Sakura asked. Yato perked up from the ramen she gave him.

"Mm-hm!" Yato mumbled around a mouthful of noodles. Sakura beamed and made her way to the television. Yato's eyes wandered down to her feet, her ankle was bruised in the shape of a hand. She had thanked Yato, but in reality he didn't know why he saved her. She wasn't the first Wall-E to be attacked, by those infected or otherwise, but before he knew it he had jumped in. She looked familiar, that's what he told himself. The beads caught his attention, he had seen her in recruitment and accessories like that were hard to miss. It wasn't something he ever did before. But he also never did something fun.

It was nighttime and dark in the little trailer, so when the television burst to life, colors dancing around the room, Yato nearly dropped his food in shock. Sakura turned back to him, smiling from ear to ear. She quickly got up and dragged the mattress around to the front, sitting on it and patting the spot next to her. Yato crawled forward a bit slow, it had been a while since he watched tv, ignoring the city's advertisements. But the dancing yellow creatures intrigued him in a way they hadn't before when he was comprising them into a cube.

"I found one that works! But this is the only movie I managed to get that wasn't scratched." She sounded like the idea upset her. Yato didn't like that.

"I like it!" He stated, looking her in the eyes. Her face twisted, then she busted out laughing at the seriousness of his statement. Yato's face caught fire again, but he laughed too. The action was still foreign to his lungs. The movie's credits rolled long after they fell asleep, hurt limbs tangled up awkwardly on the mattress.

They went to work together after that. Sakura introduced him to the larger tribes of Wall-Es that stayed together, and often times they found themselves there to drink and party the night away. Stories of infections were still far and few between, but they preferred to be back in the trailer before sundown. Yato decided to keep close to her, the female Wall-Es were very rarely seen alone, something his friend didn't seem to understand until recently. He only snuck off so he could surprise her with Twinkies and working movies.

At night she'd teach him how to mend clothes and draw, badgering him when he finally fixed the hole in the wall and rigged the door to open and close with a push of a button. They lived that way, together, for a short time. Getting closer and closer. He told her of his past, his heritage, and she sadly said she couldn't relate. She was orphaned as a teenager and like most Wall-Es decided this was the best course of survival.

They lasted until the virus got worse. Until the city was more disease than sanity and work was a battle zone. They stuck together like glue, but even that couldn't help against numbers. He remembers her face, his systems able to bring it up in painful, blinding clarity that no human brain could ever accomplish. He remembers the way she said his nickname in every tone possible. The one they both grew fond of.

Yato.  

Yato!

"Yato!"

"Yato! Yato, Wake up! Please!" Hiyori shouted over the chaos. Yukine knelt next to her, tears gathering in his eyes. Yato's torso was crunched, his back bled from around his hooks and his hair was matted from the crack in his skull.

Once the ship righted, the humans were able to get up. The captain as well. Tenijn walked back onto the screen on his own two feet, followed by Bishamon, Kazuma, and a securely tied up and shut down Auto. His face had morphed from pride and accomplishment to one of horror when he pulled up a screen showing the Halo-Detector and saw Yato underneath, Hiyori and Yukine painfully trying to lift it off his body.

Tenjin hit the button, the Halo-Detector opened, and Hiyori dragged Yato out and onto her lap. The order came over the speakers for all hands to report to the stage and for humans to brace themselves. One of the Secur-T took the plant and placed in the Halo-Detector, it was scanned and confirmed. The ship announced it's count into hyper space.

Hiyori let out a sob, letting the tears drip down her cheeks. The drops fell on the Wall-E, his face not even twitching. Hiyori moved to wipe them, her fingers lingering on his face. She whispered his name again, pleading. Yukine sobbed it louder, burying his tears in Yato's torso. Heaven's Sun whirled to life, the entire ship buzzing with a power that hasn't been used since it broke Earth's atmosphere. Hiyori tugged Yukine forward by the shirt, her free arm wrapping around him. Yukine hugged her back, his other hand refusing to let go of Yato's.

The ship jumped into hyperspace. The humans fell back over and clung together for dear life. Tenjin did the same with Bishamon and Kazuma. Hiyori braced the two boys in her arms as reality around them twisted and stretched. They grunted against the strain, holding Yato even tighter. Then, just as suddenly as it happened, it stopped. The ship floating for a moment before letting Earth's gravity pull it in. Everyone shouted as fire lit up along the windows and sides of Heaven's Sun. The ship rumbled as it crashed through the pollution layer and plummeted towards the Earth's crust.

By the time the city came into view, Kazuma came up the stairs with Masaomi of all people. Practically carrying the human against the ship's landing. Behind them was a hovering stretcher and a couple more nurses. Together they lifted Yato onto the bed as the ship docked. The people rocked a little as the massive suspensions caught the ship, dust showering everywhere, and the bridges automatically connecting to the exits.

"Everyone clear a path!" Tenjin commanded over the intercom, "The closest exit is off to the right of my lobby. Go, now!" The humans were already forming a path so that Yato could be rushed through. Some of the Secur-T were already there to meet them, handing out oxygen filters. Hiyori tried to turn on her helmet, but the broken headpiece made it impossible. She accepted the filter. It looked like a newer version of Yato's.

"Wait," Hiyori said. She rushed over to Yato and dug around in his pockets. She pulled out the iPod, crushed, and some candy he must have stole from somewhere. Then she found it, happy to find the filter miraculously unharmed.

"Miss Eve, we have a newer one-"

"No," Hiyori cut off Kazuma, "it has to be this one." No one stopped her as she slipped the triangle over his bloodied mouth and nose. It shocked her how different he looked, how she'd forgot what a Wall-E looks like on Earth. He was so different when she first met him. She stared at him as a glass casing circled around his body and sealed in clean air. Hiyori looked at her own reflection for a moment longer, let go, and turned her boots on.

"Follow me," she said, and again no one argued. The door opened and natural light seeped in.  The outside air hit them like a slap in the face, they coughed as dust and pollution assaulted their lungs. Hiyori didn't even spare it a thought, taking off towards the west.

"W-Wait! Hiyori!" Yukine called. He helped Kazuma and the other escapees push Yato away from the city port and across the cleaned trash land. Masaomi and a nurse following behind in their chairs. Some of them looked around in awe at the massive cubes of compresses trash as they kicked up dirt along the ground. Hiyori lead them to the yard of truck trailers stopping when she noticed, closed up, they all looked the same.

"Hiyori?" Yukine looked up when her shadow stopped. The sun was odd, filtered brown and nothing like the yellow or white masses he's seen from the ship. Something in front of him moved. Yukine flinched. A creature? It's front was turned up towards Hiyori.

"Nora!" The Eve cried in relief, "Take us to your house, okay?" The creature, Nora, seemed to understand, and scuttled off to the left. Hiyori zipped after it and the rest followed. They passed massive rectangle containers- Earth houses? Before stopping at a larger one.

"Over here!" She called them over. Hiyori landed and flipped the switch, causing the box to whirl  and one of the walls to fall towards them. Kazuma stepped back and held an arm out in front of Masaomi, eyeing the contraption wearily. But Hiyori didn't even hesitate, stepping up the ramp and into the trailer.

"Bring him in here. Masaomi, do you have your kit?" Hiyori flipped on all the mis-matched lights as they walked past her. It was a tight fit, but as long as Masaomi and Kazuma could work, that's all that mattered.

"I never leave without it!" Masaomi held up the white box, patting the red cross. They pushed Yato into the center of his little home.

"I just processed the Auto's blue-prints from the captain. I have all the information I need to work with Yato's model." Kazuma's eyes flicked over his screens once more before holding his breath and nodding to Masaomi. The glass cover slid back under the stretcher, and the two got to work.

"Good. Yukine?" Hiyori looked over at the anxious Mo. He stood at attention when his name was called.

"You see that switch next to you?" Hiyori pointed to the left of his head.

"Yes?"

"I need you to push it when I say, and let go when I say stop." Hiyori tried her scanner, happy to see it still worked. Yukine hit the button, flinching with the rest of the occupants when the entire wall spun. She scanned the shelves and started pulling out random spare parts, passing them to one of the nurses that squeezed in the back.

"Kazuma, tell me what he needs." Hiyori looked at the Major General, who nodded. Yato was hooked up to a heart monitor and had a tube stuck down his throat. They flipped him and worked on a new mother board, working to save the memory chip. Meanwhile the nurse had Yukine help stitch and patch the skin around Yato's hooks. When those was done, Kazuma still looked grim, his glasses running a mile a minute as it preformed tests and scans. It seemed like they worked for days but what was instead only an hour at most. Kazuma relaying the needed materials, Hiyori yelling at Yukine to start and stop as she scanned for the needed objects.

Yato was being put back together like Humpty Dumpty, not a single reaction coming from him in any way. A new chip, speaker, laser finger, even re-fastening the hooks on his back. The captain, Kofuku, Diakoku, Hiyori's parents, Typ-Es, Wall-Hs, Secur-Ts, and the escapees all stood a couple feet outside the trailer. Quiet with worry as the group rushed to save the cyborg. Masaomi took his hands off, Kazuma did as well. He scanned three times before he looked outside.

"Outside! Move! He needs to charge right now!" Kazuma shouted as he and Yukine started to push. The crowd shuffled back as Yato was parked just past the ramp. Hiyori and Yukine held his arms at an award angle so the sun light completely cover his fore-arms' solar panels. Kazuma called over the Typ-Es.

"Stimulate the circuits with a small voltage, just to get it going." Kazuma whispered to Take. The cyborg nodded and pulled out a smaller dagger, clicking it on. Yukine tensed and eyed the offending object as it grew closer, taking Yato's hand in his. Masaomi held the Wall-E's head up as the cyborg waved the object up and down the back of Yato's neck. Small shocks crackled off and jumped around the naked chips and wires.

"Stop that's enough." Kazuma put a hand on Take's wrist. Everyone held their breath. After a moment or two, a beep was heard. Yato's speaker let out soft static as the beeping got stronger and more persistent. Everyone stood straighter when a long, higher pitched sound echoed. Yato's chest expanded in a deep sigh and everyone leaned in. After a couple moments, Yato's eyes opened. They looked clear. Too clear. Like they've never seen horror or known sadness, not the least bit dazed or confused.

"Yato?" Hiyori questioned as he sat up. He didn't answer. Hiyori's repeat was drowned out by the sound of cheering. The former passengers cried out and hugged each other, over joyed that the Wall-E that fought so hard was the last one standing. Hiyori looked across the table at Yukine, who also looked unsure. Yato turned towards him to slid off the table, not sparing anyone a glance. Instead he scanned the horizon, eyes fixing on something in the trailer.

Yukine let out a choked sound as Yato's hand slid out of his. The Wall-E brushed past his friends and made his way into his home. Hiyori called out to him, louder this time. The crowd's excitement hushed at the sound of the Eve and the Mo shouting out again. They followed him into the trailer. Hiyori felt her eyes grow hot, an impossible thought crossed her mind.

"Yato? Yato, I'm so sorry I got you involved in all of this. I didn't mean for you to get so hurt and I-" Hiyori flinched when Yato knocked down his treasures from off the shelf. Yukine tried to ask what he was doing, but Yato only stared at the floor. His arm came up over his shoulder, his hand grasping nothing. Hiyori put a hand up to her open mouth as she watched the hooks on his back open and close. The Wall-E scanned the room again, making his way towards the old television.

"Hey wait!" Yukine walked forward, grabbing his guardian's arm and stopping him from pulling out another compactor.

"This-This is your stuff, right? Don't throw it away!" Yukine pleaded, shaking his arm. The Wall-E blinked down at him like he just noticed the Mo.

"Don't. Don't tell me- your memory too?" Yukine's voice squeezed as he clung to older cleaner. Eyes looking up at him, wet and pleading.  

"My sensors have indicated the objects as pollution. I have been ordered to compress them." The Wall-E spoke in a frank tone, expression neutral. He grabbed the compactor and walked past Yukine without another word, leaving the kid with an open mouth and crying eyes. Hiyori stepped between the pile of capybara toys and Yato, fists curled at her sides as she fought to keep her lips from trembling. Yato stopped a foot away from her, looked her up and down, then bowed slightly.

"Excuse me, miss, there appears to be garbage by you. Please, allow me to pick it up." Yato asked.

"No," Hiyori replied, "Y-Yukine! The TV. Put the tape in and hit the power button!" Hiyori shouted in desperation. Yukine did as he was told, fumbling around the foreign machine. The screen flickered to life, the boy capybara and girl capybara safely on the island and leaning in for a kiss. It captured Yato's attention for a couple seconds, his eyes reflecting the dancing colors. Then he turned back to Hiyori. She held he breath as he looked at her.

"Miss, please allow me to clean up the mess." Yato tried again.

"No," Hiyori's chin tightened, "No, this isn't junk. This isn't a mess. This your stuff! You love this stuff!" Hiyori shouted at him, gesturing to the movie and the matching knick-knacks on the ground.

The Wall-E looked a little unsure as he straightend, but his attention drifted to the wall next to him. He reached for more of the objects, but Hiyori caught his hand. He looked down at it in mild shock, his eyes watching her naked hand intertwine with his.

"Yato." Hiyori whispered for his attention again. He looked back to her, not moving as she stepped in his personal space. She looked sad.

"My name is Yaboku, number 001-P," he spoke quietly to her. She let out a dry sob, his fingers flinching against hers at the sound.

"Yato," she said again. Hiyori brought her other hand up to his face, letting the pads of her fingers graze across a bandage on his cheek. He didn't move, and he didn't look away from her. She let his eyes look her up and down, this time slower and with more focus. He wasn't just scanning her for protocol.

"Yato, my name is Hiyori," she sucked in a breath, "and you named the Mo behind you, Yukine. You adopted him." Some tears dripped from her long lashes. Yato looked at them, he tried to bring something up in his scanners. She appeared to be in pain, but there was no sign of serve injury. In fact, the one in pain was him. Something was wrong with his chest but his sensors didn't have a reason for it. He kept trying, until her thumb traced lightly across his cheek bone and he forgot what he was doing. It was warm. She was warm.

"You did it," Hiyori continued, tears falling freely now with hiccups lacing her words, "You brought the humans back to Earth. You don't have to be alone anymore, Yato."

"You dont have to be alone anymore, Yato." Another voice echoed in his head. Brought up by the back-up save files. Suddenly, his mind was taken elsewhere. For a split second he wasn't here, but several miles in the city. For a moment he was on the ground and a woman was stubbornly telling him to let her help. For an instant there was blood on his hands and a warm body in his arms and a hand on his cheek. Things were dangerous here, his friend was hurt and where was his kid? His kid could be hurt too or alone somewhere if Hiyori wasn't there with him!

"I can't be alone cause then who will be with Yukine and Hiyori?" Yato shouted at the person in front of him. The Eve flinched back and Yato did too. He quickly went to apologize for yelling suddenly at a stranger. But the girl in front of him looked familiar.

"Hiyori?" Yato repeated dumbly, "Hiyori!" It clicked, the girl in front of him was Hiyori! Yato dropped the compactor in his hand and tackled her in a huge hug. She cried out and buried her tears in his chest, sobbing as he laughed. Something tickled the back of his brain, he turned around to see Yukine standing nervously behind him. The kid kept looking at him with painful anticipation, his face just as wet as Hiyori's.

"What are you waiting for, Yukine? An invitation?" Yato didn't even give his kid time to perk up, he reached an arm around the kid and pulled him in the group hug. Yukine spun and clung to him too, fist bunching the back of his clothes next to Hiyori's. The front of Yato's wearalls getting a thorough wash.

Yato looked over Hiyori's head, heart all but stopping at the sight of a mass of people standing outside his trailer. They were cheering and hugging, some were even trying to dance. Most of the chairs were no where to be found as the humans let their toes dig into the dirt, clean of trash Yato had long since picked up. His chest swelled and squeezed at the same time. He imagined this is what Heaven truly looked like.

"Well come on! What are we waiting for?" Yato looked down at the two sniffling people in his arms, "Lets go show them around!" He beamed at them, grabbing them by the hands and pulled them down the ramp towards their cheering friends. Kofuku and Daikoku came to hug them, followed closely by Kazuma and the other cyborgs and Hiyori's family.

"Oh honey," Hiyori's mother gave her daughter a hug, "We're so proud of you."

"You preformed your job to the fullest and never gave up. We couldn't ask for a better little girl." Hiyori's father clasped her shoulders.

"Thanks dad," Hiyori said, wiping a tear. To her surprise, her father turned to Yato.

"I heard it all from my son! Are you the boy that followed my baby girl across space?" He asked with a wide smile, his face squished under the clear mask he wore. Yato mirrored the expression and held out a hand.

"Yes I am! My name is Yato!" Yato stuck out a hand and waited patiently for her father to do the same. When he did, Yato grasped it firmly- but not enough to hurt- and shook it. HIyori's dad copied the action with vigor.

"Does this mean I can marry your daughter, sir?" Yato blurted out. Yukine and Hiyori's mom nearly fell over. Hiyori blushed a bright shade of red as her father and brother cackled loudly.

"I don't see a ring!" Kofuku called from the side.  

"Yeah?" Yato shouted back, "Well I don't see one on you either!" Yato grinned as Kofuku whined and Daikoku shouted profanities with a red face. Yato spun around and pulled the kid in close.

"Hey where's the ring?" Yato whispered to Yukine. The kid's face somehow got even redder.

"Wha-? Ring! You never said anything about a ring!" Yukine fires back. Yato rolled his eyes.

"Come on, a smart kid like you? There's no way you missed the chemistry Hiyori and I got goin' on. A true wing man would have had the good sense to pick one up!"

"Are you serious!" Yukine squawked, he grabbed Yato by the ears and started shaking his head back and forth. Yato cried out in mock pain as his kid roared at him. Something squeaked and chirped under their fight.

"Nora!" Yato cheered at the sight of his friend. The little cockroach had always been sneaky, somehow finding them through the new crowd. Yato saw she had a plastic milk jug ring, holding it up as high as she could.

"Haha! That's my girl! Way to follow the plan!" Yato grinned and plucked the thing from her, laughing as she jumped on his palm and scurried to his shoulder.

"What is that?" Yukine squinted at the thing, annoyed Yato talked to it like he talked to him but fascinated at the sight of a real live animal.

"She's not a 'that', her name is Nora," Yato explained. He plucked her off his shoulder, gently squeezing her sides despite her hissing and squirming. Yukine jolted when he dropped the creature into his hands.

The creature was extremely light and felt kinda hard. Yukine stared at the thin antenna as they inspected his clean skin, and marveled at the hard shiny shell that shifted over her many legs. She clicked at him and scrapped her arm against his palm, turning to shriek at Yato.

"Yukine, it's not nice to stare at a lady," Yato chided. Yukine gasped and sputtered out excuses. He then stopped short and wondered why he was trying to defend himself against something that was clearly not lady-like. Yukine scrunched up his face and glared down at Nora. The cockroach only chirped and flicked her antenna.

"Oh Hiyori!" Yato skipped back over to the Eve. She had wandered off to talk to the other Secur-T, but excused herself to turn and smile wide at Yato. He stopped and beamed at her, Hiyori walked a couple steps closer.

"Hey," Yato said.

"Hey," Hiyori copied, just as giddy. Yato blushed and coughed awkwardly in his hand. He then showed the ring in his palm, it clearly being too big to fit on her finger.

"So, um, I got a ring. Or, uh, should a say Nora got a ring, so I could, uh."

"Nora! I'm so glad she's alright!" Hiyori clapped her hands and look a little past the Wall-E.

"Where is she?" Hiyori already spotted the creature, making her way to Yukine. Yato looked down at the plastic band in his hand and after a brief moment, let out a sigh, and pocketed the thing.

"Hiyori!" Yato whined and followed after her. Trying and failing to grab her attention from the cockroach while Yukine badgered him to knock it off.

A cough interrupted their merriment. They turned around and stopped short. The captain stood, being helped by a long-haired Pr-T, with Bishamon. She held onto a rope which coiled tightly around the Auto, still unconscious and on the ground. The humans around them hushed at the sight.

"I've come to a decision," Tenjin addressed Yato, "but before it goes into motion I would like your opinion, Yato." Yato looked surprised, his eyes drifted to Bishamon, who stubbornly glared at the dirt that now soiled her boots.

"What?" Yato asked cautiously, his eyes dragging up from the limp Kuoto to the captain.

"I've decided to keep the Auto alive," he paused for the gasps of the crowd.

"You're kidding!" Yukine stepped forward, hatred lining his face. Yato put an arm out to stop him.

"What's that got to do with me?" Yato said after a pause. Tenjin cleared his throat around the filter.

"Well, he is driven and his systems are hardwired to follow orders. Now that his memory of The Crafter and A1-13 has been wiped, I was hoping to re-program him to be a protector of all living things. Someone who can oversee and regulate the activity, so that something like this doesn't happen again."

"We were hoping you could help with the programming aspect. Especially since your systems really are so similar." Tenjin watched Yato's face, impressed to find it so hard to read. Hiyori came next to him and grabbed his arm. She insisted he didn't have too and Yukine agreed. But of course, Yato nodded.

"I'll do it." Yato agreed. His eye brows raised when Tenjin hobbled over and stuck out a hand. Yato grasped it and they shook. Confirming a plan for the future.

Once things became settled, Yato took over the cleaning aspect, there still being much to do. Him and the Wall-Hs, now honorary Wall-Es, compressed the more difficult stuff. Humans handled the basic pick up and transport. The Mos were taught how to work the junk yard machinery and had a blast crushing large objects, and were planned to move to buildings further down the road.

The Secur-Ts and other service cyborgs worked on rebuilding the city to a more habitual and efficient living environment. The Pr-Ts oversaw designs and helped with keeping the humans clean. And the Eves were to continue monitoring the Earth for other life forms and were to catalogue their findings to the new and improved Auto (now called Word) along with his two guides, called Noras.

The creation of cyborgs halted, the information stored away and protected with the Noras, making Hiyori the last cyborg to ever be created.

The sakura plant made its home just to the side of a little trailer out side the city, roped off and under the strict care of a Mo, an Eve, and a Wall-E.

[peridot-gladioli]

Daredevil Fan-fiction (First Draft)

(AN: This is a Daredevil Prompt Meme fill for the prompt: past Elektra/Matt, eventual Foggy/Matt: Elektra had Matt's child after their Columbia liaison.

Post-DD Season 2; AU---Canon Divergence; AU from Season 02; Not Defenders Compliant; Not DD Season 3 Compliant.)

Chapter One

Afterwards. Two weeks and two days after Matt had last spoken to Karen, two weeks and four days after he and Stick had stood in a snowy graveyard and buried Elektra, and five weeks after the dissolution of Nelson and Murdock (although that was still on-going, untwining two lives from each other—the lease on the office, the business account, the start-up loans, the half-dozen pre-Castle clients who still owed on their bills—not being as simple as walking away from Foggy and his box of stuff: who knew?)

Daredevil still went out at night but, in the daytime, Matt Murdock curled up on his couch under a blanket and tried to remember how living worked. Only alive when he was Daredevil? No, not even.

The Hand had scattered and gone to ground, the Punisher had disappeared; purse-snatchers and attempted rapists were hardly enough of a challenge to get his adrenalin flowing. It was like he was sleep-walking through his fights. And he knew that inattention made it more likely for even an unskilled opponent to get in that lucky shot, even with Melvin’s body armour, but he could not really bring himself to care.

January. Bleakest month. The holiday season over (for the first time in eleven years, Foggy had not dragged Matt off to Christmas with the Nelsons; for the first time in eleven years, he and Foggy had not seen in the New Year tipsily leaning into one another for the countdown; for the first time in eleven years, Foggy had not smacked an exuberant kiss against his cheek at the stroke of midnight) and spring was too far away.

Grey skies and short days did not make much of a difference to Matt, but the cold ate into his senses, and layers of coats, gloves, and scarfs insulated him from his usual feedback of the world as well as from the cold. Snow muffled both scent and sound and ice underfoot made it hard even for him to get around without accident. The despair of the occasional howling storm—blizzard or ice-storm—certainly did not help.

Matt was no stranger to loss or grief or depression and guilt was a permanent partner but now, in the space afterwards, the past six months stood out in all the clarity of hindsight: The Many Mistakes of Matthew Michael Murdock.

He had been wrong. Over and over again. And his mistakes had gotten Foggy shot, Claire attacked at work (and her friend killed), Karen dragged from her home and held hostage, and Elektra killed. Even Brett Mahoney had been beaten up because of him. It was an impressive tally.

He had been wrong to get Claire involved with those kids he rescued from the Hand. He should have known that if they were important enough to be used for whatever ritual required drugging them and draining their blood, the Hand would try to get them back, putting not only Claire and her colleagues but every patient at Metro General at risk—and Met Gen patients that night had included Foggy. He deserved her cutting ties and walking away—just as Claire deserved freedom from all the bullshit that clung to and followed him.

He had been wrong to date Karen—especially with Elektra back in New York, messing with his head and his heart and turning him all around as effectively as she had done when he had been nineteen. Karen deserved better and he had deserved the sharp sting of her palm against his cheek when he had finally come clean to her about Daredevil and about the woman she had found in his bed and about his disappearances. Karen deserved the space from him she asked for as she rebuilt her life and career for at least the second time he knew of.

He had wronged Karen with Elektra: it had been emotional, if not physical, infidelity (and, his guilt said, were you really being physically faithful as you sat around with Elektra in your underwear, touching each other’s scars?). He had wronged Karen with all the things he told Elektra she meant to him and only she could understand—he had never given Karen a chance to understand, hiding his abilities and his violence from her.

He had wronged Elektra—after a lifetime of being manipulated and controlled by Stick and the Chaste, he had attempted to save her, redeem her, free her, by manipulation and control, telling her who she was and how she ought to be and condemning her when she wasn’t who he wanted her to be (“Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while all the time there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite!”)

He had wronged Foggy with making him an accessory after the fact to Daredevil; with secrets and lies; with the whole mess of the Castle case, especially effectively abandoning him to it; with flaking out on him and their responsibilities due to Elektra—just as he had done back in college, dear God; probably he had wronged Foggy by letting the other man befriend him back when they were still in their teens, though Foggy’s warmth and friendship had felt inescapable, like a gravity well or a magnet drawing iron filings.

He had wronged Foggy, too, with all the things he told Elektra about who he was and how only she got him.

In this Purgatorial space—working out his redemption by suffering, trying to make amends and trying do right by others by severing the ties that would drag them down with him and get them tainted, hurt, and killed by the poison and the violence he carried with him—he realised, at last, that Foggy’s friend was as important a part of him as Elektra’s lover. The fever and passion and excitement of the months he spent as one, did not negate the warmth and comfort and peace of the years he spent as the other. He was both. He needed both. Because if the loss of Elektra was an ugly gaping wound that would not stop bleeding, then missing Foggy was the loss of a limb or a sense.

In Foggy’s absence, he remembered the man who had taken care of him, who had run around Hell’s Kitchen trying to find him before the police did after Castle shot him. In Foggy’s absence, he remembered the friend who had tried to support him and understand him, even while he could not empathise with Matt’s need for violence. In Foggy’s absence, he remembered the friend who somehow forgave him for secrets and lies, and who left, but came back as soon as he had calmed down. In Foggy’s absence, he remembered the friend who had taken down Fisk with him—and put himself in danger. In Foggy’s absence, he heard Fisk saying “Franklin Percy Nelson” and the fear actually penetrated the clouds of depression and the numbness of too much pain.

Elektra was dead.

But Foggy was absent.

Stick had been right. Matt Murdock got people hurt and he got people killed and no matter how much it hurt him, he had to cut them loose, for their sakes. They were better off without him.

Foggy deserved the corner office and the good salary and assistants and recognition of his skills and Foggy deserved Marci (if she made him happy). Foggy deserved all the happiness.

Foggy had never deserved a “best friend” who was afraid to love him and could never acknowledge how much he meant to him and who had no experience or knowledge of how to be a friend. Matt had never deserved Foggy. And now Foggy was going to have his best life without the millstone of Matt Murdock tied around his neck.

But oh, God.

Matt had forgotten what loneliness felt like. Even those horrible few days after Foggy had found out about Daredevil, when they weren’t talking, had not felt like this.

The weeks After Elektra the first time (after Roscoe Sweeney, after coming face-to-face with his own violence and anger and their limits, after feeling as though he had lost his father all over again) had not felt like this. Because After Elektra had been Foggy, had been calm and comfort and encouragement and Foggy-hugs… Foggy had made him feel almost like his dad had made him feel. Like his dad putting a cool, damp washcloth on his forehead when he had been a kid and was ill.

Like someone holding his hand after a nightmare.

(Foggy had literally done that a few nights as Matt dreamed all over again of finding his dad’s body, the absence of breath or heartbeat, the smell of Old Spice and blood and gunpowder; or dreamed of smashing Sweeney’s face in until he killed him, blood and adrenalin lingering in his nostrils, hearing and smelling Elektra’s excitement beside him.)

Now, as then, Matt slept in the daytime—and as much and whenever he could—escaping into sleep, because he did not always dream about Karen or Elektra or Foggy, and even when he did, sometimes they were dreams of how things used to be and he dreamed he was happy, even if they were agony to wake from.

He tried to remember to eat once a day so he didn’t feel nauseous or pass out. (Though that was hard as he had no appetite.)

But there was no one to sit with him when the nightmares came and no one bringing him food that was easy or tempting.

He put on the suit and patrolled at night.

He tried to express his emotions through his fists: his anger, his grief. His love. His loss.

He wished he could cry but tears would not come.

He loved Elektra, passionately. Loved her still. Prayed for her. Bargained with God for her soul. Grieved for her, ached for her.

But he missed Foggy.

He missed Karen.

For the first time since Stick had taught him to compensate for his blindness, his life was defined by absence, defined by lack and he was lost.

He was pulled from his fugue on the couch by the buzzer. Someone being insistent on his buzzer. He got up and dragged his blanket over to it, answered, was surprised to find the guy on the other end actually did want Matt Murdock and wasn’t trying random apartments to get into the building.

Someone had sent him a Registered Mail package.

He let the—older, smoker, early stage bronchitis—man in, uncaring of whether or not it was true. Opened his door uncaring of the sweatpants and hoodie he had been getting in and out of every day for a week, uncaring that he had no idea about the state of his hair (his facial scruff was approaching full-on beard, he knew); the Matt Murdock who cared about these things was somewhere behind the fog.

He scribbled something with the stylus on the touch screen of the delivery guy’s scanner, took a sealed cardboard document wallet in return, shut the door and wandered back to the couch while pulling the seal-tab open and dipping his hand inside. Two envelopes within the outer one: a small padded one and a Legal-size open end. High grade paper: laid bond—rag, not wood-pulp.

Curious, he opened the Legal envelope first, fingertips finding the first line of braille on even higher-grade paper: The Last Will and Testament of Elektra Maria Natchios.

He nearly dropped the whole lot. May have staggered on his feet a little.

That cut through the fog.

Who would send him a copy of Elektra’s will? Why?

And the pain, like a knife to the chest, of the sharp reminder that she was dead. It did not reawaken his grief--that was a still-unhealed wound, raw and bloody and weeping--but it was a harsh touch against that wound. An added pain that made him shrink away.

He collapsed onto the couch, setting the paperwork in his lap, fingertips skimming the legal preamble of the will… And Evander Matthews, being my only child, a minor…

His mind exploded. Too many tracks, too many trains of thought.

Elektra had a child? Elektra had been a mother? Had she just left this child—boy—Evander—with staff in some property of hers, or boarding school, the way she had joked back in college about doing with their children?

Elektra had a son and she had killed a teenage boy without a second thought.

Did Stick know? When he dragged her into his war, when he had tried to have her killed, did he know he would be orphaning some young boy?

Jesus. Did the Hand know? Was the child of a Black Sky… something? To them? Would they be seeking this child out for their dark purposes?

Would Stick try to use this boy as he had used Elektra, or try to kill him, as he had killed that other boy, the one he said was a Black Sky?

Over Matt’s dead body…

And who was the father? Matthews? A coincidence, surely.

Why send Matt a copy of this will?

He felt down the right edge of the document and found what he was looking for—index tabs, presumably marking out the sections relevant to him. Followed the first one, and yes, there was his name… named as Guardian to this Evander.

He wanted to shake Elektra and explain that usually you told someone you had a child and asked them if they were willing to take care of him, before you named them as Guardian in your will.

And the next clause named him as one of the trustees of Evander’s trust fund.

And then left him money—fifty thousand US dollars, cash, plus stock investments worth as much again. A hundred thousand bucks. Dear God.

And property—the deeds to a house in the Hamptons. Jesus.

When did Elektra do all this? Why did Elektra do all this?

He put the will aside and felt for the padded envelope, nearly laughing when his fingers discovered “OPEN THIS FIRST” written on it in heavily indented ballpoint pen. The sort of thing that would have been instantly visible but which he had not noticed because he had not felt more than the edges of the envelopes before opening one.

Inside the padded envelope, a piece of cardstock—a password and bank details written on it, a safety deposit box key taped to it—and a thumb drive.

He got up, fetched his laptop, booted it up for the first time in days, inserted the thumb-drive and entered the password when prompted.

One file, audio, his laptop informed him.

Open.

“Hello, Matthew,” Elektra said.

Close.

He couldn’t catch his breath. He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. He could not sit here and listen to Elektra’s voice. Especially not talking about… this. Her son. (His son?) Her will. Why she wanted him to be Evander’s guardian. Why she left him money and stock and a house and a child. Not when he would never hear Elektra’s living voice again.

He needed a drink. He needed his questions answered. He needed Elektra here, with him, telling him this stuff in person and not leaving him to read it in a legal document and hear it in an audio file after her death.

He needed Foggy: his sharp mind, his generous heart, his clarity of vision. Foggy could help him make sense of this. But he had lost that right. He had driven Foggy away and Foggy had gone—and he had to remember that it was what was best for Foggy.

Matt was being selfish.

There was still something else he could do. The safety deposit box, the key, the address of a bank branch in Manhattan.

Probably not a good idea to go dressed like this.

So. Shower. Shave. Suit and tie.

Find out what else Elektra had left him. (Oh God.)

He could do that.

[baekberrie]

m i s t l e t o e - bbh ❄️7❄️

Winter AU, romance, fluff, angst

Pairing: Baekhyun x reader

Previous - Next

You found yourself tangled in the sheets, frustrated, excited, messed up. Frustrated because you felt sleepy at just 9pm, yet weren't able to fall asleep due to all the thoughts clouding your mind, keeping you from falling into slumber.  The thoughts ere many, though they were about the same one thing. Yes you guessed it, Byun Baekhyun.

With a sigh you rolled onto your back, your forearm resting on your forehead. It was pitch black  outside, the moon being the only source of light illuminating your room. The silence haunting you with the same words all the time, just as if they were the only things you'd ever heard:

"Go on a date with me this Christmas eve."

"Go on a date with me this Christmas eve."

"Go on a date with me this Christmas eve."

A silent squeal escaped your lips as you recalled the scene of him back hugging you, whispering ever so softly into your ear, his voice careful and sweet as honey, his touch around your waist so pleasing, the warmth radiating from his body to yours. Everything about that moment had been so perfect.

And now that it only was a memory, you couldn't help yourself but to endlessly replay it in your mind, trying to remember it as detailed as possible. Your heart tickled at the memory, giving you a strangely warm and fuzzy feeling spreading inside of your chest.

You wondered what Baekhyun was up to, if he was feeling as nervous as you for the date he invited you too. Maybe he was way more confident than you in these things? You find this situation a bit weird, you were positive about having some feelings for Baekhyun that were stronger than the friendly ones, some feelings you couldn't explain yet. Just like if they had to bloom yet.

What was odd to you was how calm you felt about Baekhyun, after Joohyuk and your past relationships, you were positive about being completely terrified of loving again, of getting hurt again. But towards Baekhyun, there was no such fear, it felt like no matter what he felt towards you, he would never hurt you.

Suddenly, your own words replayed in your mind, when you assured Baekhyun that everything was going to be okay. Was it really? Could you belive your own words after all? And did Baekhyun?

Slowly you stretched your arms slightly to each side, shut your eyes hard and sighed.

"Please dear God, don't let his family fall apart"                                                                                                

                                                                                             ***

The cold wind blew harshly, their breaths clouding up into small clouds as they let out small gasps. Hard gazes locked with each other, hatred and regret mirroring in their eyes.

"How can you even be that selfish." The younger one spoke, his cold eyes sending daggers through the blond boy standing in front of him. The words stabbed him painfully in the chest, just as they were supposed to do.

"It hurts okay? It hurts me to death and I can't do it any longer, I just can't stand it. It was hard enough to leave, please don't do this to me." Baekhyun spoke, voice harsh, yet pleading. The words made the anger of the younger brother fire up even more.

His fists clenched until the knuckled turned white, he took a deep breath.

"Can't you see how selfish you are!?" He yelled, not caring if people were staring, he was angry, furious, he could feel the steam radiating from his body as the blood boiled in full force inside of his veins.

Baekhyun's eyes widened a little taken back by the sudden outburst of his brother, though it didn't take long until his anger started bubbling up too.

"Is it so wrong for me to try avoid the pain of hearing them scream? Is it really that selfish of me? Am i forced to suffer under that kind of pain?" He yelled back, almost as loud, though his brother didn't even flinch a bit. Instead he just shook his head in disagreement, Baekhyun's words only making him more angry.

"What makes you think that you're the only one suffering? It hurts me too! And the fact that you left the house, that you left me behind, it hurts way more than it does to you Baekhyun! Because you don't have to hear their screaming now, but I do, and I have no one to rely on. I have to take it all alone, because you're not there when I need you, like this, our family is really going split!" He finally outburst, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes.

Baekhyun's mouth opened, though no sound came out of it, his brother's words cut hi, though they made him realize his mistakes, so fast.

"Baekbom I- I'm so sorry, please forgive me." He begged, his voice hoarse and breaking at the end of his sentence, eyes wide with shock.

Baekbom just squinted his eyes at the older brother, he sniffed and turned around.

"Save it." He muttered enough loud for the other one to hear. He wasn't that angry at him anymore, because the fact that he had realized satisfied him. Though he wondered if Baekhyun would care enough to move back in for his and the family's sake.

"Please don't let our family fall apart" the blond guy whispered, fresh tears building up in his eyes.

                                                                                                  ***

For maybe the 50th time you walked in front of the mirror, giving your reflection and insecure look. Baekhyun was going to pick you up soon and you were far from ready, mentally. You were nervous and could already feel your body tremble, legs like jelly.

"You look good Y/n!" You said encoragously to yourself and smiled sweetly at the mirror, you did look beautiful, and this night you couldn't even deny it yourself. A simple layer of makeup was enough to make you shine with beauty, and you were proud of it.

As the cherry on top you rubbed some perfume onto your wrists, and eventually patted them down the sides of your neck carefully, the sweet scent embracing your figure. A satisfied smile crept on your lips at the incredibly good smell, you couldn't help but wonder if Baekhyun would ever find it nice.

Later on, you rushed to the entrance as you figured Baekhyun would've been there at any moment, quickly you jumped into your coat and boots. Nervously you fidgeted with your fingers as you wandered through your house, many feelings overwhelming you at once, excitement, nervousness, eager and a lot more that you couldn't make out. The butterflies were tickling your belly and your legs had by now gone jelly-like.

You considered yourself and Baekhyun good friends by now, though you couldn't deny some other, definitely stronger feelings growing towards him. You were one that easily fell in love, though every time you would have a hard time admitting it. For the reason that you couldn't keep up with yourself trusting and loving so easily, and even that you had been hurt so many times that you had become afraid of facing love every time you had to. Though this time, you felt none of these insecurities.

It was different with Baekhyun. He was different from all the other boys whom had captured your heart. He had gained your trust on the first day you met, he had occupied your mind since the first day. The fact that he was so reassuring, sweet, and without even trying he had made sure to you that he would never hurt you like that, not even if his feelings didn't match yours.  And those were a few of the reason that you found yourself admitting it freely that you liked him as more than just a friend.

And you had some hope that he also did the same with you because otherwise, he wouldn't have asked you out, right?

To your surprise the bell finally ringed, waking you up from your deep thoughts. With a jump you snapped back to reality, composed yourself, gave a last fix to your hair and nervously wobbled to the door. With a deep breath you grabbed the cold doorknob and slowly opened the door, a genuine smile stretching on your lips at the view of Byun Baekhyun. His hair was as always nicely style, in a simple way, though it still managed to make him as handsome as possible, you were sure you had never seen someone as beautiful as him.

His cheeks were red from the cold, as well was his nose. This time there were no glasses decorating his eyes and you noticed it immediately. A single accessory could make him look adorable, and without it he looked ten times more mature. For the first time you noticed his high cheekbones and sharp jawline, damn if you said he had a strange effect on you, that would've been an understatement.

A sweet smile crept on his pretty lips, and despite staring at them you couldn't help but point out to yourself the way that his smile never reached his eyes. A sting traveled through your chest and you quickly shrugged it off, deciding that you'd make his smile reach his out this night.

"Merry Christmas." He sang, his eyes forming into crescent moons as his smile widened, and in no time your doubts stopped existing. A low chuckle escaped your lips as you greeted him a good Christmas back. He opened his arms suggestively at you, and without thinking twice you stepped into his embrace.

A nice feeling of warmth spread through your chest as his arms tightened themselves around you. His scent sweet, overwhelming you with butterflies tickling inside of you. The hug was meant to be quick but none of you broke it, and kept it for a bit longer.

The moment later you locked your door and headed outside with Baekhyun by your side. Excitement and happiness were strongly making their way to you. The snow was falling calmly from the dark night sky giving the perfect mood for a date out on Christmas Eve. Baekhyun and you chatted as you took a walk around town. You had no idea where you were heading or if Baekhyun had even planned something, though you couldn't care that much. Being with him was enough for you to feel satisfied, you weren't the fancy type of girl, and Baekhyun didn't look like one of those men either. You didn't expect a fancy dinner.

You walked close to each other, shoulders brushing together, sending electric thrills down your spine, your hands dangerously close. The heart was slamming loudly against your ribs and for a moment you feared that he could hear how loud your heart beat was at the time.

"Wow, there's a lot more people out than I expected." You stated, genuinely amused at the view.

"Apparently, many people like to spend their Christmas outside..." he said in a soft mutter, his index finger curling hesitantly around yours. An explosion of emotions traveled to every part of your body, just the simplest touch was enough to knock you off. You didn't know how to react, you felt way too dazed, concentrated on the way only one finger was tugging yours.

"I guess..." you said, it came out as barely a whisper, but you couldn't trust your voice that much the moment the rest of his fingers found their way through yours, intertwining them together. You felt yourself shiver with excitement, the way his skin was so smooth, how warm it felt, how perfectly your hand fit in his.

His grip around you was tight and you couldn't help but squeeze his head to reassure yourself that this was really happening.

"What are you thinking about?" He said, voice gentle yet able to wake you up from your dazed state.

"Just about... right now?" You said honestly, not too sure about what to say. Baekhyun raised an eyebrow questioningly at you.

"Right now?" He echoed, slightly confused.

"Yeah. Just that, I'm feeling nice. You know, like really happy." You admitted, shyly because you were basically saying that he made you happy, the blood was rushing to your cheeks. Both your words and the shy manner made him smile more, a content expression, as if he was agreeing with you.

"Me too."

"Huh?" You didn't know if you had heard wrong and you died to hear him saying it again.

"I like spending time with you too." Baekhyun said, this time more straightforward. You looked up at him with wide eyes and everything around you seemed to fade.

You took in his figure, soft blond hair, sparkling brown eyes, plump lips, this man was made out of beauty no matter how he looked and when. And the fact always shook you. He was so mesmerising that you often found yourself staring at him almost idiotically.

You had no idea how it had happened but suddenly the two of you were standing way closer than before. There was almost no space, though no matter the nervousness you couldn't mind it. In that moment you just wished him to be closer, as if any contact would never be enough.

Baekhyun's hand reached out for you, his long elegant fingers capturing a lost strand of your hair, gently placing it behind your ear. His fingers tracing the back of your ear, trailing to your jawline and chin. The spots he touched seemed to catch fire and you were sure that your legs would betray you in any moment and let you fall.

Your gaze dazed into his has he was slowly leaning forward, the whole world around you slowed down with you. The snow was still falling, the cold temperature was now nonexistent.

All you could was trace his features in your mind.

"Do you..." Baekhyun started when he was a few inches away from your face. His fingers curled around your chin as his eyes seemed to examine your lips tentatively, making any logical thought slip away.

"Do you like anyone...?" His voice was barely a whisper as the pad of his thumb brushed across your lower lip, your lips automatically coaxed open with anticipation for his.

You nodded slightly, your moves slow. And with that, you hoped he understood he was the one.

His gaze found yours once more before he dived dangerously close until there was less than an inch between you, you gripped his jacket for support and he tilted his head to the side, taking his time, his lips parting right in front of yours making you tremble. His breath fanning your face, his smell once more taking over your senses.

Your eyes dropped close and a short moment later you felt a soft pressure against your mouth as his lips landed carefully on yours. They were soft and sticky against your own. With eager you kissed him back, his hand slipped down to cup the frame of your neck and the other to hug your waist close to him.

The kiss was slow and enjoyable and you could only remark about how sweet his lips tasted. Your heart trembled at the way his mouth molded perfectly with yours. Suddenly his lips parted yours, inviting you to deepen the kiss, and not even once did you hesitate to do so.

The kiss wasn't hot and rushed, it wasn't needy, it was slow and soft, romantic and so many emotions were displayed through, it told much more than words could ever do.

Baekhyun broke the kiss after a moment, both of you were slightly breathless as he leaned his forehead on yours and stared dazed into your eyes. A little smile played on his face as his other hand found your neck.

"Look up." He said lowly, the sentence got muffled by his lips brushing against yours as he talked. You did as told and your mouth hung open with shock at what you saw.

Only now did you realize that you were standing under a sparkling mistletoe hanging above your heads. The biggest shock was the fact that Baekhyun oddly knew how much you had wished for a kiss in this certain way.

The realization hit you and you looked and at him with disbelief.

"Did you read my diary?" You whined and the smile on his face was sheepy almost guilty. Though instead of answering he leant down and placed his lips on the corner of yours, and then kissed them quickly for real. You pouted at him, a little betrayed.

He laughed a little. "I didn't read it all I promise, I just accidentally read the mistletoe part." He explained and you just huffed at him, his smile widened as he planted small pecks all over your face, one after one until he stumbled across your lips again, and by then you couldn't even feel angry at this guy anymore.

You couldn't help but giggle and hide into his arms as he hugged you close, he brought his mouth closer to your ear and whispered softly into your ear.

"Thank you for everything, really." The sentence wasn't elaborated or long, but those five words meant much more than just that. You shook your head in reassurance and repeat his words because you were also grateful to him.

Suddenly a slight feeling of guilt hot you in the pit of your stomach and you broke the embrace. Baekhyun gave you a confused look.

"Baekhyun, you should spend this day with your family. We had our date and it was amazing, but now I think that they also deserve your company on a day that should bring people together."

Baekhyun took your hands in his, and you felt relief wash over you when he didn't give you a hard look but instead smiled sweetly.

"You come with me."

______________________________ Hi angels💕 I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a good year even though hardships.

I wish you a happy new year full of love and happy memories. There will always be hardships but remember that you are can over come them💕 don't push away help that others offer you and take it gladly,  be grateful of all the gifts that God has given us💕 much love, pola💟

[manju-girl]

Letters to you [11] (Shigezane X MC x ???)

Pairing: Shigezane x MC (Aki)

GENRE: fluff, angst, comedy

One | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | eight . five | nine | ten | Eleven: Sometimes the way to ask for forgiveness are through erotic paintings and lovers guide

“Hm, let’s see. I think this color suits her, what do you think Umeko?

What did she do to deserve this?

This is such a pain.

She groaned. She has Umeko to help her get dressed. But it is still annoying. They had her put on some rouge on her lips, change her hakama and her hair done in a formal updo, with a number of kanzashi. Shigezane’s bride, Lady Ayame had insisted her to try on layers of kimono and some bridal robes. This is probably her seventh time trying on iro-uchikake and hiki furisode for the day. She was well aware of her duties: and that is to assist Lady Ayame and not to try things she asked her to wear.

"Lady Ayame, pardon me but you should try these things. Not me… I was only here to assist you in choosing– OUCH!” She felt Lady Ayame’s hands pinch her cheeks.l

“But look at you! You’re so beautiful, Aki!” She exclaimed, giving her a dreamy look. “Hah! Bet all the retainers or even Lord Masamune won’t be able to resist someone as beautiful as you!”

How did Masamune-chan’s name got into this? She raised a brow, unsure if she should take this as a compliment “This is not the time for this Lady Ayame, please cooperate and choose what you wanted.” Aki pleaded,

“Hm, alright! In one condition, as long as you wear those.” Lady Ayame winked,

She’s going to get along with Shigezane, they are the same in many ways, Aki thought, smiling faintly at Lady Ayame’s request. She felt at ease somehow, that Shigezane will be in good hands. For the past few days she"s been assisting the future Lady Date, preparing her for the Date’s wedding ceremony.

“Alright. But can I at least remove the accessories for now?”

Ayame briefly answered. “Nope!”

She felt the headache forming at the base of her skull. She is trying to be patient about this. She kept her cool, assisting Lady Ayame. The rows of kimono of the finest silks, and accessories in front of them. An expensive sight for her

“Milady Aki, it’s Matsuko. ” Matsuko announced herself outside Lady Ayame’s chambers. Aki asked for Ayame’s permission in which she agreed, before leaving she quickly removed a few of the heavy hair accessories, leaving only a cherry blossom hairpin. She hurriedly opened the shoji door, revealing a rather nervous Matsuko.

“What is it, Matsuko?”

“Lord Kojuro asked me to… make something for Lord Masamune but, I don’t think I can make it the same as yours so he asked me to ask you if you can take a break from–”

“I’ll do it.” Aki responded without letting Matsuko finish, forgetting that she’s wearing a furisode she walked towards the kitchen in a fast pace.

She can finally breathe. She starts to think of what she can make for Kojuro and Masamune. Then, her thoughts wandered on Shigezane, who is probably also preparing for the wedding.

She never had the chance to talk to him ever since they came back from the onsen. It’s been days and they never saw each other. What’s worse was that she never gave him an answer for his confession, and even agreed to something she knew he doesn’t want.

“…siiiigghh.” She’s making the green tea for them, when she heard a voice coming from the kitchen door.

“Uh, excuse me…” Aki turned around to see Lord Kojirou just outside the kitchen. “good afternoon lady. I just wanted to ask if you know Katakura Aki and have you seen her?” Lord Kojirou looked shyly at her, which kept her wondering why would he ask something like that when she is already in front of him.

She tilted her head, before walking towards Lord Kojirou, a smile in her face. “Lord Kojirou, it’s me. Aki nee-chan.” She ruffled his hair, chuckling at how adorable he is. He looks a lot like Lord Masamune, especially the innocent smiles.

“Aki… nee-chan? Woah… You look different today.” His eyes widened, she can’t help but giggle. “Well something happened today that’s why. But you can’t recognize me?” She asked

“It’s because you’re wearing a furisode and your hair…” he blushed lightly, she ruffled his hair once more.

“Ahaha, I see. It must be new to you since I always wear hakama and have my hair tied up.” She chuckled sheepishly, scratching ghe back of her neck. “Well then, shall we go and give these treats to your brother? You’re here to see him, right?”

Kojirou nodded, excitement in his eyes. It truly warms her heart, seeing how Kojirou adores his brother so much despite the fight for the leadership of the clan. She put the desserts in the plates and put them in the tray. A satisfied grin on their faces they went to Masamune’s office, chatting along the way like they always did.

They arrived at the office to see Masamune, Kojuro and… Shigezane. Their eyes widened at the sight of her and Kojirou.

Her eyes met Shigezane’s for a second, he gave her a small smile. This is the first time she saw him since his proposal, yet she can feel the coldness of his look. The pain still lingering in them. As much as she wanted to sulk about this, she can’t. She broke into a smile, trying to lighten the mood for Masamune’s younger brother.

“Good afternoon Milords! Kojirou and I brought you something to eat.” She greeted, setting the tray down. Good thing she made some Taiyaki along with their other favorites.

“Aki?” Masamune and Kojuro asked in Unison. Shigezane just fixed his gaze on her.

“Oh yeah. Why I look like this? I’ll do the explanation later.” She answered, smiling sheepishly.

“Aki nee, why are you dressed like that? Are you training to become someone’s bride?” Kojirou asked, his eyes fixed on her then to his brother. The question took the two by surprise, their eyes widened at Kojirou.

“Well, not really. I was just asked to wear this.” She munched on a dango,

“That’s a shame… I thought you would be Brother’s bride…”

The question finally got Shigezane’s attention.

“You what?!” The three men asked in unison.

“What? Aki nee-chan would be great as brother’s wife!” Kojirou cheered after eating some zunda mochi Aki prepared for them. “She’s good at everything, and I do think she’d make a great wife and she’s like an older sister to me. What do you think brother? She’s a perfect picture of beauty isn’t she?”

Masamune choked on the tea he’s drinking, blushing furiously at his brother’s suggestion. Earning a worried look from Kojuro and Aki, who tried to calm him by rubbing his back. Shigezane looked at Aki, searching for answers on her face.

Aki laughed, her eyes tearing up as if that was the greatest joke she heard in her entire life. “Lord Kojirou, it is an honor that you think that way.” She grinned.

“Was it a yes then? Are you agreeing to Kojirou’s suggestion?” Shigezane asked quietly, his brows knitted. A heavy silence took over the room. Aki was surprised to see him like this, he used to joke around like usual.

But in his eyes and his words are full of pain.

“Shigezane… did I make you mad?” Kojirou asked, worry was evident in his face as he tried to talk to his cousin

“Huh? No, kid ahaha. I was just messing around with your Aki nee.” Realizing what he had said, Shigezane laughed nervously. “Don’t worry about it. Sorry your cousin is just a mess today.” He tousled Kojirou’s hair. Kojirou grinned, while Kojuro and Masamune exchanged glances, worry in their faces. Aki looked down on her hands.

“I see, you should rest then! You must be really tired.”

“I should kid,” he tousled Kojirou’s hair one last time before excusing himself. Leaving them behind. The taiyaki left untouched, she felt like her heart had just been stabbed.

Her decision surely left them both in pain.

“Oh, brother… I should go too. Mother’s going to look for me. It’s getting dark.” Kojirou said, staring at the setting sun just outside the offi ce of his brother. “I’ll make sure to visit you soon again. Thank you for taking care of me today.” Kojirou bowed,

“Take care going home, Kojirou. Kojuro if you would?” Masamune asked him. Kojuro was quick on his feet to take Kojirou back to their chambers.

“Oh wait Lord Kojirou.” Aki stopped them,

“What is it, Aki nee-chan?”

“Can I embrace you?” She asked, smiling fondly at the boy. Kojirou nodded, happiness in his eyes.

Aki did not waste a minute to hug Kojirou. Tears at the corner of her eyes, and brushing his hair gently, she spoke

“Take care always, alright? Look after Lady Yoshihime and Lord Masamune. I know you’ll grow up to be a great man like your brother.” She held him tighter, “just remember Aki nee-chan always loves you. You’ll always be like my little brother.”

What she said surprised not just Kojirou, but Masamune and her Aniue as well.

“And I feel the same too, Aki nee-chan.”

Brushing his hair one last time, she finally let go. The warm smile finally back on her face.

She spoke like she’s going to be gone.

“Well! Lady Yoshihime was probably worried sick. Aniue, sorry for taking up your time. See you soon, Lord Kojirou!” She smiled, seeing off Kojuro and Kojirou.

She turned around to face Masamune, acting as if nothing had happened. She smiled at him.

“Masamune-chan, what do you want for dinner?” She asked.

“You can’t cook looking like that, can you?”

“I can’t. This is so heavy, dear. Lady Ayame is going to kill me by making me some sort of her doll.” She groaned, holding the hem of the furisode. Masamune chuckled lightly, his visible eye showing amusement at how she handles it.

“Hm, you think this is amusing don’t you?” She added

“Well, I’d like to know how her training goes. Have dinner with me Aki, but go and change first.” Masamune chuckled lightly.

She widened her eyes, “Woah, you serious?”

“Yes.” He answered, giving her a small smile. “Also, I would like to discuss something with you.”

She nodded, walking to her chambers to change to her hakama. Her thoughts still wandering on Shigezane’s behavior towards them. It worries her.

She made something for Masamune that night, tempura and some side dishes. She served him his dinner a little late than usual. They spent eating dinner together, chatting about the upcoming wedding.

“Aki, I have a matter to discuss with you. Aside from Shigezane’s wedding.”

And so, Masamune started talking. Her eyes widened at his suggestion, her body froze in place.

* She decided to retire early for the night, exhaustion and confusion already making her want to go to sleepm she stretched her back, yawning while walking back to her chambers.

She saw a silhouette just outside her chambers, she narrowed her eyes to see.

“Taiyaki?” She called him, she can make out his features even when only the moonlight is illuminating his features.

“Matchaki…” he finally faced her, she sat closer to him. Good thing she had her peace offerings for him in hand, she can smell the sake coming from him. He’s drunk, and she had no idea why he is outside her chambers in the middle of the night.

“It’s cold out here, let’s go inside.”

“I hate you.” he mumbled, his face a few inches from hers. He’s pouting, his cheeks flushed red. Aki raised a brow, lightly flicking his forehead.

“You made Kojirou worry, you jealous taiyaki.” She munched the dango she brought for her midnight snack. He took the dango and brought it close to his lips, taking a piece and munching on it.

“I hate you, always choosing dango over me.” He said again. “What does the dango have that I don’t have?”

She can’t help but chuckle. “Are you even serious? Hah, so you are mad at me. Care to explain why?” She asked, taking the skewer from him.

“Maybe i can accept that you can’t love me the way I love you but, you to actually help in making the wedding happen?” He snorted, “unbeliiieevaaable Aki. I really hate you right now. you can at least help me in running away right?!”

“No you can’t run away. And, it is a direct order from Masamune. I can’t simply ignore it, no?”

“I hate you still.” He took a stick of dango from her plate.

“Are you sure you still hate me after I give these precious copies?” Aki waved the copies of the newest erotic novels and paintings from Shigezane’s favorite author and artist, and there’s also the last copy of the bestselling Lover’s Guide: Limited edition.

“…” shigezane stared in disbelief, for a short while. “How did you even get your hands on those?!”

“It’s a secret. So… do you want it or noooott?” She scanned the pages in front of him, teasing him. “Hm, these illustrations are really detailed! And I even heard there were only at least ten copies of the latest lover’s guide released.”

“Let me take a look before I accept your peace offering!” Shigezane said, snatching the copies swiftly from her hands. She chuckled, knowing he can’t resist those books.

“Still hate you.”

“Why are you acting like a woman now? Seriously…”

“I don’t want any of that if I can’t do it with yo–”

“I’ll kill you.”

“I was just kidding.”

Silence. Shigezane put the books and the paintings aside. He stared at her profile, he noticed that she had gotten thin. Her jaw more prominent than before and her complexion, pale. He scooted closer to her, resting his head on her lap. Like he always did. “You know… just tell me, Aki.” His hand reached for her face. “Just tell me, not to continue this wedding. Just tell me.”

She can’t tell him the conversation she had with Masamune earlier that night. She smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

“I can’t ask something like that, Shigezane.” She said quietly,

“I know that, and yet… I just…”

“Shh. Just go to sleep. Alright? You’re drunk.” She hummed his favorite tune once more, lulling him to sleep.

“Aki…” he called her, “Aki,”

“Mm?”

“But I can’t do this, this wedding” He whispered, I don’t see myself marrying anyone, except you, he wanted to say. He ran his thumb across her cheekbones, “I’ll never get tired of telling you how much I love you. I already decided, Aki. I won’t let you go that easily.” His voice hoarse, a look of pain in his eyes once more.

“I love you.” He leaned close to her face, lightly kissing her at first, gentle as he can. She can only close her eyes. Before she knew it she was pinned down on the floor, the light kisses turned to passionate ones, she can feel her kimono sliding off her shoulders, his lips trailing down from her lips, to her neck.

“Mmn…!” He bit a sensitive flesh over and over again, leaving a mark that she won’t be able to hide the next morning. Her voice were like music to his ears, he wanted more.

She was weak under his touch. She clasped a hand over her mouth. Shigezane then removed the ribbon that ties her hair, she wanted him to stop yet at the same time she doesn’t want to. She was already drunk by his scent and his kisses. He held the back of her head, his kisses now deeper.

Then, she remembered his bride’s face, Ayame. How excited she is for the wedding, Inuchiyo and lastly, the reason why she can’t accept his confession. She gathered all her strength and resolve to push him away, to stop him.

“Shigezane… this is not… right.” She whispered.

Shigezane was clearly surprised of what she said, and what he did. They’re both sweating and he can see Aki catching her breath, he fixed her kimono and handed her the ribbon, regret in his eyes he apologized.

“I’m sorry…” He said, raking a hand through his hair. She kept quiet, touching the mark he left behind. “I’m really sorry, doll.” She looked down, unable to fully process what almost happened between them.

“It’s…” It’s fine, was what she wanted to say, but the words won’t come out.

“Please forget it.” Shigezane said.

An awkward silence.

“Why do you always have to kiss me when you’re drunk?” She chuckled.

“Because that’s the only time I get the courage to do so.”

“…” she kept quiet. They stared at each other, waiting.

“Aki, will you… l-let me hold you…?” he asked, looking bashfully at her. Aki looked down to her lap, conflict clear in her face.

“Shigezane…”

“Aki, why?” He asked, “Can you tell me why we can’t be together?”

She took a deep breath, answering his question in a whisper.

“I’ll tell you… when the fall comes. I’ll tell you how I feel. Until then, let’s just keep on doing what we must do.”