#disclaimer: i go to a pretty small school and so i have the ability to talk to have really close relationships with every prof i've ever had | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

smgsecretsanta · 11 months ago

Text

A gift from @galaxyzone to @qusok!!!!

Text under the cut

A/N: I really liked the request for a summer camp fanfic, so I thought I would give that a go! Just a disclaimer that I haven’t written fanfiction in years, but I am very confident in my writing ability, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, this story is essentially a Summer Camp AU and is not tied to the canon game, as the characters are all about the same ages (except Charlie) instead of there being like a 6-year age gap between Erin and Kate, for instance. In this story, Jamie & Erin are 14 while Kate & Mark are 16. I also may have incorporated some of my headcanons about the characters, as well as some headcanons I’ve seen from other people because I liked them! Oh, I also have included a little easter egg referencing The Quarry if anyone happens to catch it. It’s very subtle but let me know if you find it! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it! <3

Jamie always hated these things. The stupid orientations on the first day of camp where the adults go over the rules & regulations, give sleeping arrangements, discuss the “itinerary” of activities instead of actually doing said activities, talk about the code of conduct, etc, etc. It was already hard enough for any teenager to sit still for a prolonged period of time and listen attentively while monotone adults droned on and on, let alone a teenager who already has difficulties with attention regulation such as Jamie. As the counselor moved on to talking about how meals would work, Jamie huffed and slouched even lower in her chair.

As she scanned the room, she recognized only 2 familiar faces. One was a man, one of the counselors, who was sitting up at the front with the other counselors, flipping through a stack of papers. Charlie was the director of activities, which Jamie considered a joke since she was pretty sure the man would lose his own head if it wasn’t already screwed on. Actually, Jamie questioned if it was even screwed on tight enough, or possibly even a little too tight. That would explain his constant stress responses to every little hiccup he encounters. The other face Jamie recognized belonged to a boy, another camper whom Jamie knew from both her previous 2 years at camp. He was wearing a well-loved gray hoodie and had his favorite camera strapped around his neck. During their first year at camp together, Jamie and Mark didn’t know each other too well. Jamie was extroverted and liked socializing and getting into trouble with the other kids, whereas Mark was more introverted and preferred keeping to himself and his camera. However, all of the kids that Jamie had hung out with during her first year did not attend camp the following year, leaving Jamie to make new friends. One of the only faces she recognized was Mark’s, so she decided to adopt him as her designated introvert, as many extroverts like to do. Even though they were different, the two of them got along pretty well and Jamie was happy to see that he was back.

Just then, the girl sitting next to Mark leaned over and whispered something to him. She had auburn hair and was wearing a beanie that looked almost as well-loved as Mark’s hoodie. Jamie didn’t recognize her. Was she someone Mark knew from school? Jamie shrugged and resumed slouching in her chair. She bent her head back, looking up at the ceiling, and heaved a sigh. These stupid things always dragged on.

After the orientation finally ended, Jamie quickly found her cabin and was surprised to already find another girl inside. She didn’t notice Jamie come in, she had her back turned towards the door and was rummaging inside her bag.

“Hey,” Jamie gently greeted the girl to get her attention.

“Oh!” The girl spun around, holding something in her hand. She greeted Jamie back with a small wave, “Hi.”

The girl was wearing a yellow t-shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt and a pair of headphones around her neck.

“I’m Jamie,” Jamie stuck her hand out for the girl to shake.

“Erin,” The girl replied as she softly took Jamie’s hand and gave it a gentle shake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Erin.”

“You too,” Erin gave Jamie a soft smile.

Their hands lingered a little longer than normal, still awkwardly and slowly shaking for a good couple of seconds before Jamie chuckled and retracted her hand.

“What were you looking for in your bag? You forget something?”

“Oh, no, I was looking for this,” Erin held up a blue inhaler. “There’s probably a lot of dust and stuff at camp, so I wanted to make sure it was accessible, because the last time I had an attack and didn’t have it on me, it was— well,” She stopped herself short. “I’m sorry, that’s probably too much information, i-it just helps me breathe.”

“You’re good,” Jamie gave a small, amused chuckle. “I don’t mind, I like learning things about people. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t care.”

“Oh, well that’s a relief,” Erin plopped down on her chosen bed as Jamie set her bag on the other bed and started to unpack. “I’m just so used to people getting annoyed with me for sharing too much.”

“Those people are lame,” Jamie said in such a blunt tone that caught Erin off-guard, but in a good way. She wasn’t used to other people immediately having her back in such a confident manner like the one Jamie exudes.

“Yeah,” Erin giggled. “I guess so.”

“Go ahead, say it.”

“Say what?”

“Say, ‘those people are lame.’ It’ll make you feel good, promise.”

“…Will it?”

“As someone who’s been saying it practically my whole life, yes. I guarantee.”

“O-okay… Those people are lame?”

Jamie stopped rummaging in her bag and turned to Erin.

“Mmm, no. Like you mean it.”

“But what if I don’t mean it?”

“Come onn, just say it.”

“Okay, those people are lame…”

“Louder.”

Erin looked around, unsure of herself, as she was a much more quiet and reserved person than Jamie was. It would appear that Jamie had found her designated adopted introvert for the summer.

“I won’t judge you,” Jamie encouraged her. “In fact, I’ll think you’re pretty cool. Go ahead, let it out.”

“Alright… Those people are lame.”

“One more time.”

“Those people are lame!”

Jamie chuckled, “Pretty good, does that feel better?”

“A little,” Erin admitted with a sheepish smile, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Good! Sometimes you gotta let that stuff out instead of letting it bottle up, y’know?” Jamie finished unpacking most of her stuff before she turned back towards Erin. “You wanna go look around?”

Erin looked up at her, “Don’t you still have to finish unpacking?”

“Eh, that stuff can wait, I wanna go see everything. Wanna join me? It’ll be fun!”

Erin, wanting Jamie to continue to think she was cool, shrugged and placed aside the book that she had gotten out.

“Sure, I suppose. Where are we going?”

“Anywhere! I wanna see what kind of activities they have set up.”

Jamie headed for the cabin door and Erin followed after her, inhaler in her pocket and headphones still around her neck.

At another section of the camp, Mark sat on a bench and pointed his camera at a small family of ducks floating in the lake across from him. As one of the ducks popped back up from the water and shook its head, Mark clicked his camera and took a couple of quick photos. After a short succession of shots, he took the camera away from his eye and reviewed them, determining which ones to keep. As he clicked through them, the auburn-haired girl strolled up to him.

“Get anything good?” She asked him.

“Just some trees and ducks,” He turned the camera screen to show her his favorite from the bunch, which was a snap of the duck shaking off the water.

“Looks good! Is that a new camera?”

“My mom got it for me for my birthday. She gave it to me a little early so I could have it at camp.”

“That was sweet. How is your mom?”

“She’s good. She says hi.”

“Ah, well, tell her I say hi back! You know… when you get back home, of course…” She trailed off before letting out a sigh as she sat next to him. Mark chuckled and turned towards her.

“For sure. You all unpacked?” He shut his camera off and put it back in his camera bag.

“Yup! Ah, so, Mark… I—”

“I’m really glad you could come along this summer, Kate. It’s a lot of fun and I’m pretty excited to finally share it with you.”

Kate gave him a soft smile, “Me too, Mark. I’m really happy we get to have a fun summer together. There’s just, um…” Kate looked at her hands, picking at the skin around her fingernails.

“Who knows, maybe if you enjoy it just as much as I do, we can come back next year and be counselors or something.”

“I thought you had to be eighteen to be a counselor.”

“Oh, yeah, you’re probably right. I just assumed that because sixteen was the cutoff for campers, that meant that seventeen was the eligible age for counselors. Although maybe there’s a junior counselor option? I don’t know, it was just a thought.”

Kate gave him another warm smile, “Well, you should definitely look into it, I think that would be really great for you. Maybe you could teach these kids about photography!”

“You think I could?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re a really good photographer, Mark.”

Mark couldn’t help but blush a little. “Thanks, Kate. Maybe you could teach them about journalism or something!”

Kate smiled at him again, although this time it was more of a sad smile. He was so excited and she was so happy to see him thinking about the future, especially since the Mark she’s used to usually just lets life happen. How was she supposed to tell him about her mother’s new job and about how it would take her away from him?

“Mark, I have to tell you about something—”

“Hey, Mark!” Kate was cut off by Jamie, who was waving and walking up to them with Erin at her side.

“Hey, Jamie, good to see you again!” Mark stood up and caught Jamie slightly off-guard with a hug.

“Oh, hey, yeah, you too!” She patted his back before they let go.

Mark, realizing he had to make introductions, awkwardly gestured to Kate, “This is Kate, we go to school together. She’s that friend I told you about last year.” He then turned to Kate and gestured towards Jamie, “Kate, this is Jamie, she was my friend last year at camp.”

Kate stood up and shook Jamie’s hand, “Nice to meet you, Jamie.”

“You too. Mark told me a lot about you last year. In fact, sometimes it seemed like he wouldn’t shut up about you.”

Kate looked at Mark, who opened his mouth to object, clearly blushing. “Really?”

“I— I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t shut up about you, that’s… an over-exaggeration, I just had a lot to say about… school, and… stuff…”

“Uh huh,” Kate smirked before turning back to Jamie. “Well he told me a good bit about you too, he said he had a lot of fun last year.” Kate then turned to Erin, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Erin.” Erin awkwardly lifted her hand, unsure of whether or not she should hold it out for Kate to shake. When Kate extended her own hand, Erin clumsily took it and gave it a small shake. “I’m just… Jamie’s roommate. Or, uh, cabinmate,” she said before she awkwardly folded her arms just so she could have somewhere to put her hands, which she was suddenly overly conscious of.

“I’m taking her around, showing her all of my favorite spots, telling her which places to stay away from, et cetera,” Jamie jumped in, taking the attention and pressure off of Erin.

“Did you show her the waterfall?” Mark asked.

Kate echoed, “Waterfall?”

“There’s this little lake that we all used to go swimming in, and above it there’s this stream that has a mini waterfall flowing into it.”

“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Jamie answered. “I was actually heading that way now when I saw you guys. You… wanna join us?”

“Sure! Kate, you wanna go?”

Kate hesitated. She knew that she shouldn’t put off what she needed to tell him, but she also knew that she technically had all summer. She figured it was best to not dump it on him right away, so she said, “Sure, that sounds like fun.”

“Alrighty, campers, let’s goo!” Jamie started leading the way, Erin right behind her, and Mark and Kate behind Erin.

When the four of them made it to the waterfall, they laughed and talked about everything they thought of, simply having fun getting to know each other. They splashed around in the water a bit, but Mark was resistant to getting his favorite hoodie wet while Erin was protective of her headphones, not wanting them to get ruined. They hung out for about an hour or so before a counselor came looking for them.

Later that night, after dinner, Kate knocked on Mark’s cabin door just as he was finishing getting unpacked. Because the doors had mesh windows on them, Mark could see Kate standing outside under the glow of the lantern that was mounted on the outside wall.

“Come in, Kate!” Mark called to Kate, and she opened the door to let herself in. Mark was organizing his camera bag for what Kate could only guess was maybe the fiftieth time since they got to camp that day. Mark’s roommate was sitting on his own bed on the farther side of the cabin, listening intently to something on his phone with earbuds in his ears. “Hey,” Mark greeted Kate, “What’s up?”

“Hey, Mark, do you have a minute?”

“Luckily I just finished unpacking, so yeah! Why?”

Kate shrugged, “Wanna go on a walk? It’s really nice out tonight.”

“Sure,” Mark finished crewing a lens on his camera. “Should I bring my camera?”

“I don’t know how good the lighting is here at nighttime.”

Mark looked down at his camera, contemplating what Kate said. “Good point,” he said as he put his camera back in its bag and zipped it shut. “Okay, let’s go!” Mark grabbed his gray hoodie and wrapped it around himself, zipping it up, before following Kate towards the door. Before leaving, Mark turned to his roommate and said, “I’ll be back, man.”

His roommate gave him a small thumbs up as an acknowledgment before Mark followed Kate outside and let the door swing close behind them.

“Where to, m’lady?” Mark asked Kate, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Anywhere, really, I just thought it’d be nice to look at the stars. It’s so much easier to see them here than back in the city.”

Mark followed Kate’s gaze up towards the sky, where he could indeed see more stars than he had ever seen back in Chicago. “Think you can recognize any constellations?”

Kate chuckled, “No, I’m not really familiar with any constellations.”

“You’re not?”

“No, not really. What makes you think I am?” Her tone wasn’t snappy at all, she was genuinely curious as to why he thought that about her.

Mark shrugged, “I dunno, I just thought since you’re into crystals, that you would be into all of that kind of stuff.” Mark gave her a sheepish smile, which Kate returned.

“Nah, not really my thing. I do like astrology and studying the zodiac signs, but I’m not really a constellations girl.”

Mark let out a chuckle and said, “Fair enough.”

The two of them walked in silence a bit longer, appreciating the night sky and the sounds of the crickets around them. They eventually made it to a little hiking trail that led away from the main camp. As they started walking down the trail, Kate looked at Mark, who was still admiring the night sky. Kate smiled to herself. She was going to miss this big dork a lot.

“Mark, I kinda have to tell you something.”

Mark looked back to Kate. “What’s up?”

“Well, firstly, nothing is wrong,” Kate reassured, not realizing how strange of a statement that was to start off with until Mark gave her a weird look.

“O-okay? Is everything ok?”

Kate was suddenly very aware of the cool breeze that was blowing through the trees around them.

“Y-yeah,” Kate let out a shiver. “Everything is f-fine.”

Mark, noticing Kate shivering, immediately unzipped his jacket and, without saying anything, removed it from himself and wrapped it around Kate’s shoulders. She gave him a sweet, grateful look before graciously taking it and putting her arms through the sleeves. What was she ever going to do without this big meatball? Once Kate had the hoodie on, Mark wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him so she could share his body warmth. Kate had always been one of those people who got cold pretty easily, and Mark was always more than happy to warm her up.

“What did you wanna talk about?” He asked.

“S-so,” Kate let out one last shiver before relaxing into his embrace. “You know how I told you my mom was looking for a new job?”

“Yeah, she wanted better pay and a better work environment, right?”

“Right… Yeah, so… She, uh, she found one.”

“Oh yeah? That’s great!” Mark smiled at Kate, who still looked nervous, which seemed strange to Mark considering the good news she just shared. “So how come you don’t seem happy?”

“The job is in Georgia.”

Mark stopped walking and loosened his embrace on Kate.

“What?”

“The job is located in Georgia, which means… We have to move,” Kate gave him a sad look. Mark dropped his arm and turned to face Kate fully.

“You’re moving?” Mark searched Kate’s face, looking for some type of indicator that there was hopefully some good news to balance out the idea of them having to split up. “When?”

“At the end of the summer. When we get back home, I basically have to start packing right away. Our flight is August 28th.”

Mark felt like someone had just jabbed a needle through his chest.

“So…” He started, trying to wrap his head around what he was hearing. “What does this mean, then? For us?”

“It, well… It means we have to break up,” Kate’s voice hitched as she said that. She hated the idea of them having to break up, but she hated the idea of a long-distance relationship just as much. “I’ve never done long-distance before, and to be honest, I don’t think I could handle it. I just think it would be even more painful than just being friends, which I don’t wanna do either, I want to be with you, I just… I don’t have a choice. Not until I’m an adult with my own job and can stand on my own feet.”

“You have a job.”

“I mean a real job, one that pays an actual living wage.”

Mark looked down at the ground, not wanting her to see the pain on his face. Mark was one of those people who hated the feeling of sadness so much that he would rather feel anything else, even if it was anger. To him, it was easier to be angry than it was to be sad. It was like an unhealthy coping mechanism designed to suppress his feelings rather than regulate them.

“Is this why you came to camp with me this year? Because you felt bad that you’ll have to leave me?”

“No, Mark, I wanted us to have a good summer before I have to go! I didn’t want to dump it on you right before we leave, which is also why I thought I should tell you now instead of at the end of summer. That way, I figured we could just focus on having a good time before, y’know…” Kate trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought.

“Kate, how am I supposed to have a good time when I know that it’s going to end when we go back home?”

“Because we can make the most of it, you know, knowing that it’s… our last few months together. We can go all out— water balloon fights, hiking, scavenger hunts, swimming, all that stuff!”

“But knowing that you’re going to leave doesn’t make me wanna do that stuff, it makes me just want to reverse time or find a way to keep you here. Or, well— not keep you here, at camp, but I mean— like, keep you in Chicago. With me.”

Kate gave him another sad look, not entirely knowing what to say. It wasn’t her choice to leave him, she very much wanted the opposite, but her mom needed this new job to better make ends meet.

“I’m sorry, Mark, I wish I had a choice. You know how much my mom needs this job.”

Mark sighed, feeling his anger wash away as soon as he looked into her eyes. From just one glance, he could instantly tell just how much this was tearing her apart. That was the thing about Kate’s eyes— they always did the best job at portraying her inner thoughts and feelings, even more so than her words sometimes. That was one reason she often wore sunglasses when she could— they allowed her to be mysterious whenever she was around people she didn’t fully feel comfortable letting in. Mark, however, was not someone she felt the need to keep a guard up around.

“I’m sorry, too,” Mark took Kate’s hands. “You’re right, I know that, and I know you don’t have a choice, I just…” Mark sighed again. “Tell me there’s a chance that it’s not goodbye forever?”

“Oh, definitely not, you know I couldn’t do that,” Kate pulled her right hand free and used it to cup Mark’s face.

Mark looked back down at the ground, feeling slightly overpowered by the emotion glistening in Kate’s eyes, afraid that he would fully break if he were to continue looking into them; but it was too late. A tear started rolling down his cheek, which Kate promptly wiped away upon feeling it reach her fingertips.

“Hey,” Kate said softly. “We still have all summer before we have to worry about it. Let’s have fun, okay? I want you to show me everything you love here, like Jamie was doing with Erin. I want to see all your favorite spots, I want to do your favorite activities, I want to do dumb, reckless teenager stuff before we have to deal with boring, shitty adult stuff. Can we please do that?”

Mark nodded, “Yeah, of course.”

Wanting to ease the tension a little, Kate joked, “Good, because I’m really looking forward to crushing your ass in a water balloon fight.”

Mark chuckled. “You wish,” he said.

“Is that a challenge? Alright, buster, well we’ll just see who crushes who then, won’t we?” Kate gave him a playful kiss, which Mark quickly melted into, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. The two of them deepened the kiss, not wanting to let each other go. They could have stayed like that for hours if it weren’t for their need to break for air. When they finally parted lips, they kept their faces close together and leaned their foreheads together. They held that position for a good minute or so, feeling more connected than they ever had before. Neither of them was sure what they would do without the other, but they both figured they would put that thought off for as long as possible. For now, they just wanted to be present together, keeping company in each other’s warm embrace.

Back at the cabins, Jamie and Erin were chilling in their respective beds. Erin was reading a book, while Jamie played with a baseball, bored out of her mind. She suddenly looked over at Erin, who was still wearing her headphones around her neck.

“I’m bored,” Jamie said, getting Erin’s attention. “Do you wanna do something?”

Erin, sensing that Jamie wanted her full attention, placed a bookmark in her novel. “Like what?” She asked.

Jamie pondered before suggesting, “I kinda wanna go back to that lake. You feel like swimming?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know. I’m not much of a swimmer.”

“Do you know how?”

“I do, I just… don’t do it very often.”

“Well, why not do it now? Did you pack a swimsuit?”

Erin wasn’t sure why, but she felt herself blushing at the question. Erin wasn’t the most comfortable person in swimming attire, especially not around someone she just met, and especially not around someone as intriguing and alluring as Jamie was.

“I-I, well, I— I mean, I did, but—” Erin stuttered.

“Okay!” Jamie popped off her bed. “Then let’s go!”

“Oh, uh, r-right now?”

“Yes, silly, that’s why I asked if you wanted to do something,” Jamie said in a light-hearted tone to let Erin know she was joking and not actually making fun of her.

“Oh, o-okay, sure!” Always the people-pleaser, Erin put her book aside and got up to get her swimsuit.

Jamie took a quick moment as she observed Erin rummaging through her bag. There was something adorable and charming about Erin’s awkwardness that Jamie couldn’t really explain. Jamie had been aware of her attraction to girls for a while now, but this attraction was especially interesting to Jamie because Erin wasn’t typically her type. She was used to being attracted by the girls who exuded even more confidence than Jamie did, but there was something about Erin’s soft and caring nature that Jamie couldn’t help but be drawn in by. Though Erin likely saw herself as an open book, she was somewhat of a mystery to Jamie, who couldn’t wait to learn more about her.

Once the girls both had their swimsuits on underneath their camp clothes, they started on their way back to the lake. They walked in silence for a few minutes, appreciating the nighttime ambiance, before Jamie noticed that Erin still had her headphones around her neck even though they were going to go swimming.

“Hey, can I ask you about something?” Jamie asked.

“Sure.”

“What are those headphones for? The ones you’re always wearing?”

“Oh,” Erin blushed as she looked down at said headphones, not even realizing she was still wearing them. “I guess I just get so used to having them on me, sometimes I forget to take them off when I don’t need them.”

“Have you ever fallen asleep with them on?”

“No…” Erin chuckled before a realization hit her. “Wait, yes…”

Now Jamie chuckled. “Yes?”

“Yeah, I forgot that one time I— well, it’s kind of embarrassing…” Erin trailed off.

“You can tell me,” Jamie reassured, “I won’t judge you. Trust me, I’ve heard plenty of crazy stuff from plenty of people, nothing really fazes me anymore.” Jamie and Erin both chuckled.

“Well, sometimes I use them for noise canceling. You know, to drone out overwhelming noise?”

“Yeah, lots of people like noise-canceling headphones.”

“Right, and, well… One night I heard… some people arguing and it just got to be a little too much for me, so I put them on and curled up in my bed, trying to ignore it, and I… eventually just fell asleep,” Erin let out a sheepish chuckle, not sure if she was sounding dumb or crazy or both.

“Ah, I’m sorry those people were arguing so much,” Jamie frowned.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

From Erin’s demeanor and tone of voice, Jamie could sense that the arguing wasn’t just annoying neighbors, but likely possibly coming from somewhere within the same house that she had been in. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, Jamie changed the subject.

“So, what do you wanna do when you grow up?”

“Me? Oh, I don’t know…” Erin pondered the question before replying, “Well, I like doing sound editing.”

“What does that entail?”

“Sound editing? Well, it’s kind of like how movie editors choose certain sound effects for their scene, or how they’ll balance their channels so that the music doesn’t overpower the dialogue or vice versa. I’ve been doing it for a little while by making edits and things, but I’m just getting into doing it for shows. This past year, I helped with the sound design for a show that the theatre department put on at my school. It was really fun, and they said they’re always in need of more tech people, because, y’know, most kids want to do acting, so I said that sounded great, and…” Erin suddenly realized she was probably rambling. Feeling self-conscious, she quickly finished her thought, “Anyway, yeah, sound design! I like it,” she let out another sheepish chuckle.

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Jamie smiled at her genuinely, allowing Erin to relax the tension she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I’m glad you’ve already found something you’re so passionate about, not everybody has something like that.”

“What about you?”

“Nah, not really. I kinda like art but I have no idea what I’d do with it, you know?”

“Well,” Erin started, “I think the thing about art, is you can do anything you want with it, really. What kind of art do you like?”

“I dunno… I like colors.”

“Have you thought about technical theatre at all? Maybe you could do lighting design. They use colors all the time, depending on the mood and atmosphere of the scene.”

“I hadn’t really thought about that, no. Maybe I’ll look into it,” Jamie smiled at Erin, who returned the smile.

When they finally reached the lake, Jamie stood up on a rock that looked much too slippery to Erin.

“Careful, Jamie!”

Jamie chuckled, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” She looked at Erin, who looked even more captivating under the moonlight shining through the trees. “You know, you’re cute when you worry about my well-being like that.”

“I just don’t want you to—” Erin cut herself off, realizing what Jamie had just said. “Wait, cute?”

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Jamie said, not backing down from her very true observation regarding Erin’s adorableness.

Erin’s cheeks suddenly felt very hot. “I— I don’t—” Erin stuttered, hoping that it was too dark for Jamie to see just how red her face had turned. “I don’t know what you’re—” Unsure of what to do with her body, Erin awkwardly shifted her feet, accidentally stepping on one of the wet rocks. “Oh!”

Erin suddenly slipped and stumbled forwards, into Jamie’s readied arms.

“Whoa! You okay there?” Jamie chuckled as she helped Erin get reoriented on her feet.

“Oh, y-yeah, thanks…” Erin started blushing even more, which she hadn’t even thought was possible. “Can I ask you something now?”

“Of course,” Jamie replied as she sat down on one of the drier rocks. Erin slowly followed suit, making sure to check that the rock was dry before sitting on it. When she was seated, she let out a small huff.

“How are you so…” Erin trailed, searching for the right word.

“Awesome?”

“Cool. I mean, like— chill.”

“You mean how am I so confident?”

“Y-yeah, I— guess that’s the word I was looking for.” Erin smiled sheepishly.

Jamie shrugged, “I don’t know, I guess I just learned how to fake it really well.”

“You mean, you… don’t actually feel confident?”

“Well, no, I do— but I didn’t always. I guess my dad kinda helped me with that. He’s an actor, so I guess it kind of runs in the family… even though I’m adopted,” Jamie cocked an eyebrow, realizing how silly it sounded for her to have inherited something from someone she wasn’t biologically related to. It was the first time that day that Erin had noticed Jamie double-guessing something she said, which made her seem a lot more relatable than she originally did.

Erin smiled at her. “That still makes sense, though, if he taught you.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Jamie returned the smile.

They both made direct eye contact for the first time that day and instantly found themselves looking into each other’s eyes for longer than anticipated. Neither of them could quite place their finger on just what exactly was so intriguing to them about the other person, but they were both experiencing the same butterflies and racing heartbeat. They weren’t sure what gravitational force was at play when they found themselves slowly leaning in, suddenly much closer to each other.

Jamie broke the silence, “Am I crazy, or do you feel something too?”

“I-I don’t know, I mean… I feel— something, I just— it’s new to me,” Erin admitted, having little to no experience with crushes or the like.

Jamie smiled at her. “It’s new to everyone at some point. I can help show you if you want,” Jamie said, not wanting Erin to feel pressured.

Erin blushed again. The idea sounded so daunting to Erin, but in a completely amazing and incredibly tempting way. She had never received this type of attention before and she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Not knowing how to respond, Erin simply nodded.

“Okay, only if you’re sure though,” Jamie reassured.

“Y-yeah, sure, I’m sure,” Erin stuttered, causing Jamie to emit a small chuckle.

Jamie looked back into Erin’s eyes, ensuring that she was good, before finally closing the gap and tenderly touching her lips to Erin’s. Erin quickly leaned into it, giving Jamie the greenlight to deepen the kiss on her end as well. Her hands swiftly moved to Erin’s face, placing each palm on a — still very red — cheek. Erin placed her hands on Jamie’s upper arms, not completely sure about what to do with them. The two of them both leaned into the kiss more, but Erin must have leaned in a little too far because she suddenly slipped off the rock she was sitting on and plopped onto the ground, breaking the kiss and catching Jamie off-guard.

“Oof,” Erin grunted as she dropped to the ground.

“Oh, are you okay?” Jamie asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.

“Ugh, yeah… I should have figured that would happen to me,” Erin said, chuckling at her own misfortune. Jamie joined in her giggling, slipping off of her rock and joining Erin on the ground.

“Maybe we can try again later, when we’re in a drier environment,” Jamie suggested.

Erin perked back up. “Y-yeah, that would be— great. Maybe there’ll be fewer rocks, too,” she joked, and the two of them giggled some more.

“Well,” Jamie said, leaning back on her hands and looking up at the night sky, “Maybe for now, we can just admire the stars and listen to the crickets.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Erin smiled as she joined Jamie in looking at the sky. “It’s so beautiful here. You can’t see the stars anywhere near this well back in the city.”

Jamie looked at her. “What city are you from?”

“Chicago.”

“Dude, no way, that’s where I’m from too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! We should definitely keep in touch after camp is over. If you want to, of course.”

Erin giggled, “Yeah, I think I’d love to.”

The two of them smiled at each other, both even more excited for the summer they were about to have than they originally were. After a moment, they turned their gazes back to the clear night sky.

Jamie pointed up at something she saw. “Is that a shooting star?”

Erin looked at where she was pointing and squinted before giggling. “No, I think that’s just a plane.”

“Oh,” Jamie said, disappointed, as she put her hand back down on the ground behind her. “Can’t believe I was just about to make a wish on a plane,” Jamie joked, earning an even heartier giggle from Erin, which of course made Jamie smile.

The two of them sat in quiet for a moment before Erin asked, “So, uh… Were we going to go swimming? I mean, like, did you still want to?”

‘Yeah, for sure, I mean… if you want to,” Jamie looked at Erin, who returned the gaze.

Erin shrugged, “I dunno, I mean… I’m pretty good just looking at the stars, but I don’t know about you.”

Jamie smiled. “I’m good with that too.”

Erin smiled back at her. “Cool,” she said before catching Jamie’s eye.

They both leaned in and shared another gentle kiss before pulling back, Erin feeling her cheeks get flushed once again. After a moment, they both gazed back up at the twinkling stars and sat there for a good while, simply enjoying each other’s company and the atmosphere around them.

#smg secret santa #supermassive games #the devil in me #kate wilder #mark nestor #markate #erin keenan #jamie tiergan #jerin

12 notes · View notes

jewwyfeesh · 1 year ago

Text

A Cup of Awakening

Writer: 日日日 (Akira)

Character(s): Isara Mao, Sakuma Ritsu, Anzu

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

Disclaimer: I translated this story from the CN version of the game, which means that it has been double translated (JP > CN > EN).

Mao: Ritchan! Hey! If you’re still alive, then reply me! Wake up!! You’re still alive, aren’t you~? I’m begging you, please…!?

Season: Spring Location: Yumenosaki Academy Lockers Area

Mao: Ooh, Transfer Student. Hello~ ♪

You’re really early – there’s still lots of time before classes start. See? The school’s practically empty ♪

Oh, you came to school earlier to do some self-study? That’s amazing… I didn’t expect you to be so hardworking.

Speaking of which, you transferred over from the ‘Regular Course’, right? You can only rely on studying on your own to fill up any gaps in knowledge you may have.

Then again, Yumenosaki Academy doesn’t give others the impression that it is a gathering place for idols – it’s a rather ‘strange’ school, no?

If there’s anything that you’re unsure of, please do not hesitate to ask me. I’ll help to the best of my abilities~ ♪

Subaru’s the kind of person who’d tell you “Don’t think about it! Just feel!”, while Hokuto… well, he’s quite the blockhead.

Should I say he’s from the elite, or that he’s born into a prestigeous family…? When it comes to people he’s not familiar with, he can’t quite comprehend the other party’s feelings.

But I understand your troubles~ It’s tiring dealing with both of them, right? I’m always exhausted ♪

Mm? I still have a whole bunch of Student Council work that I needa finish. I’ve been working in school since last night.

Even though I think I’m pretty good at my job, somehow, towards the tail end of it, it always devolves into a desparate struggle to finish~ ♪

Aah?! Don’t worry about it, you don’t need to help me move the paper boxes.

There are lots of files in there, which makes it very heavy. I can’t let a lady perform manual labour~

Ahh?? What are you doing? Don’t pull on my hand— what happened?

I understand. I’ll put the box on the floor first, don’t worry. Although I don’t really know what happened, I’ll still think of ways to help you out~

Aish… please spare me from any more troublesome things ♪

Location: Yumenosaki Academy Garden Space

Mao: W-woah. Wh-what happened~? Don’t pull~ I won't hide, and neither will I turn tail and run~

I didn’t expect you to be so rash. But… Why did you bring me here?

Eh? There’s a corpse lying around here? Legit?

If that’s true, you should’ve said it earlier… it’s not a small matter… Hhh, I don’t think I can deal with this on my own~?

What should I do– should I make a police report first? But if a murder really did occur on school grounds, the scandal would be enormous. As a member of the Student Council, I also need to think about how this matter could be covered up… Eh~?

Ritsu: …………

Mao: Ah. Turns out Ritchan’s our ‘corpse’. This guy, sleeping in the bushes yet again…

Ah, don’t worry about it, he’s not dead yet. He’s just snoozing~ ♪ He’s my childhood friend, we got to know each other when we were little.

He’s a pretty weird guy~ Sigh, if it weren’t for me taking care of him, who knows what would have happened… ♪

Yo, Ritchan. Don’t go sleeping in places like these, you gave the Transfer Student quite the scare~

You… When you’re fast asleep, your body temperature drops, very much like a wax figure; it’s also hard to tell if you’re still breathing. You really do look like a corpse you know~?

But uh, you’re not really dead, are you? Your face is a lot paler than usual…

Not to mention it’s been rather chilly these days… If you fall asleep out here… freezing to death mid-nap is a possibility…?

Ritchan! Hey! If you’re still alive, then reply me! Wake up!! You’re still alive, aren’t you~? I’m begging you, please…!?

Ritsu: Mmhh…

Yaaaawn… which idiot’s the one disturbing my nap this time…?

Mao: Ah, he really was just fast asleep.

Wakey wakey, Ritchan. The sunlight’s getting stronger, so if you continue on like that you’ll just damage your body~

Ritsu: Ah, Maa~kun… What happened? I was sleeping so soundly… you shouldn’t have disturbed me.

Mao: Don’t fall back asleep. Why are you always sleeping so much? Did you stay up all night?

Ritsu: That’s because I’m a nocturnal creature…

Ugh, how irritating. Don’t disturb me anymore, Maa~kun. You too, Transfer Student. Why did you bring him over?

Mao: Oh, you know the Transfer Student too? A rare sight for someone as socially awkward as you ♪

Ritsu: It’s because she’s the kind of person that’ll attract your attention~ She’s always running to and fro, always disturbing me when I’m trying to sleep… thus, I have an impression of her. But I won’t say we’re particularly close~

And, I’m not socially awkward.

Mao: You still have the nerve to say it… I’m practically your only friend. You should be more amicable~ After all, aren’t you an idol too?

Ritsu: Whatever. Even if I’m alone in this world of reality, I’m still crowned King in my dreams… yaaaaaaaaaawn ♪

Mao: Ah– And he fell asleep. Again.

Hey, Transfer Student. Could you help me buy a can of coffee from the vending machine over there? I’ll pay for it. I’d like one that will be able to kickstart the brain after just one cup ♪

Ritsu: Mmhh… While I do like the scent of coffee, I don’t like bitter things~

I like sweet things. Soda would be good… those that fizzle and pop… they’d wake me up in an instant~ ♪

Mao: Don’t be stubborn! Gosh… Ritchan, have you always been this hopeless?

Ritsu: Well, Maa~kun’s someone who likes to meddle in other people’s business ever since the very beginning… ♪

#enstars translation #! era sub/idol story #sakuma ritsu #isara mao

16 notes · View notes

inadaydream99 · 2 years ago

Text

For Forever

Seventeen Mingyu x fem reader, slight Wonwoo x reader, friends to lovers, fluff, angst, college au, slow burn

A/N - Ok this is a very long oneshot and I really did get carried away (I know I say that every time). Thoughts on a sequel/ alternative ending where the reader ends up with Wonwoo???

Synopsis: You always thought that the bond you and Mingyu shared was unbreakable. It’s survived all the challenges of adolescence so far. But what happens when feelings get in the way? Are you able to overcome all the pain you cause each other to build a stronger relationship for the future?

Disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes and does not represent any of the members in real life. Mentions of alcohol, drinking to suppress emotions and some explicit language. The relationships are a little toxic, always be mindful of how you treat others. Any others I’ve missed please let me know!

Meeting Mingyu was like listening to a song for the first time and knowing it would forever be your favourite. There was an instant connection between you, a gravity that kept pulling you towards one another instinctively; no reason as to why other than you just felt comfortable in the others presence. Your friendship has spanned from your early school years, through the teenage rebellion and into the first steps of young adulthood. You’re both sure it’s for a lifetime now and that nothing could possibly come between you to an extent that you’d lose the special bond you have.

Despite the first few years of college and figuring out how to navigate your newfound independence away from home, your close friendship with Mingyu has remained strong, with minimal turbulence in the way. Heck, your first two years of college have been pretty bliss; the freedom, the new friendships, the ability to take the next step in your life and figure out what you want for the future, to build a foundation for all of your hopes and dreams… it’s all been as exciting as it has been daunting. But with Mingyu by your side, you’ve never felt too far from safety.

You let out a deep sigh of relief as you exit the exam hall for the final time this academic year. Finally you can relax after the past eternity of studying and stressing out. It feels good to know that whatever grades you get now are no longer in your hands; although it doesn’t take away the niggling anticipation of results day.

“We’re free!” Mingyu envelops you in a back hug after rushing out of the exam hall just after you. You let out a surprised “umpf” as his strong arms wrap around your waist and seem to expel all the air from your lungs in one tight squeeze.

“Gyu! I can’t breathe!” You attempt to wriggle your way out of his hold.

Despite Mingyu’s resistance to letting you go, you eventually manage to ply his hands from you one finger at a time. The only problem being that, in the process of being so focused on getting out from his embrace, you don’t realise that his hold is the only thing keeping you up. That is, until you’ve thudded onto the sidewalk on your hands and knees.

“Sorry!” You hear Mingyu cringe.

“Dude, be more careful.” Wonwoo strolls towards you both casually, chastising Mingyu as he approaches. “I know (Y/N)’s small but she’s not a toy.”

“Ha. Ha.” Your tone drips sarcasm as you get back to your feet, no thanks to Wonwoo and his teasing of your small stature.

“Only joking.” You roll your eyes at him playfully before your attention once again gravitates back to the apologetic looking Mingyu on your other side.

“You’re just lucky I’m in a good mood.” You point towards your best friend, lightly jabbing your finger into his toned chest. The irony, Mingyu thinks. What would you be like in a bad mood?

It’s funny how he seems to shy into himself, like a small puppy does when being told off for misbehaving.

“And you.” You turn to point at Wonwoo, eyes narrowing in on him after hearing him chuckle in amusement at your reprimanding of Mingyu. Wonwoo’s laughter fall short, his eyes widening at your unexpected flip to call him out. “You’re on thin ice, mister.”

There’s a pause between you for a few seconds as your words linger in the air before you all burst into laughter together at how much of a parent you sound.

“And to think I was going to ask you to the SVT party this weekend.” Wonwoo sasses. Mingyu feels his chest tighten at Wonwoo’s flirtatious teasing towards you.

SVT is the biggest fraternity on campus, Wonwoo and Mingyu both being handsome and athletic enough to be a part of the notorious group; only the best of the best get accepted. And the SVT parties are out of this world. Everyone who is anyone attends. So Wonwoo’s insinuation to asking you out is a very big deal because to be asked out by one of the SVT members to their own frat party is practically unheard of.

“What makes you think I’d say yes?” You tilt your head, devilish smirk resting on your lips. Mingyu’s eyes dart back and forth between the direct gazes between you, seemingly having a conversation play out through looks rather than words.

“Why should I think you wouldn’t?” Wonwoo leans closer to your ear, whispering his words loudly before he smoothly begins to walk away.

“Guys!” Mingyu calls out as he watches you wordlessly follow after Wonwoo. He finally caves in and rushes to try and catch you up when he is met with silence. “The library is the other way!”

It’s safe to say there’s something going on between you and Wonwoo, Mingyu is sure of that much. But what hurts him the most is that you haven’t told him about it. He feels that there is more than enough mutual respect and trust in your friendship for you to be open with him about your feelings, especially if it’s for one of his SVT brothers.

“I’m being ridiculous, right?” Mingyu’s tone gives away his desperation for Joshua to agree with him.

He’d sought out Joshua the next day, wanting for someone with good sense and rationality to listen, and most importantly dispel, his worries. So when Mingyu had caught him alone in the kitchen of their frat house, he’d wasted no time in venting.

“I don’t think it’s impossible though…” Joshua trails off in thought.

Great. Just great.

“You know, I came to you for help. Not for this!” Mingyu complains, exasperatedly flailing his hands around in the air to show his frustration.

“I’m just saying.” Joshua holds his hand up in surrender. “It wouldn’t be the weirdest couple to ever happen.”

“Who wouldn’t be the weirdest couple?” Mingyu’s eyes go wide in horror as Wonwoo seems to so casually enter into the room.

He hadn’t realised Wonwoo was even awake yet, let alone going about his day. He really should have been more careful of any eavesdroppers… not an unlikely situation in SVT.

When neither Mingyu nor Joshua give a responce, Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. And it feels to Mingyu that the wide rimmed glasses Wonwoo has on seem to magnify his eyes as they stare at him in waiting.

“Well?” Wonwoo becomes impatient. The longer this silence lasts the more annoyed he becomes. “Ugh. I don’t have time for this. I’m meeting with (Y/N).” Wonwoo rolls his eyes, finally giving up on the strangeness of his friend.

“Real smooth Gyu.” Joshua chuckles as soon as Wonwoo is out of ear shot. But Mingyu doesn’t care for the jab fired at him. No, all he cares about is the fact that you’re hanging out with Wonwoo over him.

“(Y/N) told me she had a study group today.” Mingyu turns to Joshua. “You don’t think she’s hiding something from me?”

“I dunno, there is such a thing as a two person study group. Or maybe that’s their code name.” He shrugs. Damn, Mingyu really wishes he’d gone to one of the others, even if they are less likely than Joshua to take him seriously…

“Early as usual.” Wonwoo affectionately chuckles as he approaches you. You’re sat at a small rounded table in the back of the library, your head stuck in a book to occupy your waiting time.

“Late as usual.” You throw a cheeky smirk back at Wonwoo as he pulls out a chair for himself and takes a seat. “What took you so long, anyway?”

“I just got caught up in Mingyu’s strangeness. Seriously, what do you see in him?” Wonwoo lightheartedly snickers.

“I know.” You roll your eyes, playing along. “I just have a thing for the goofball.”

“Goofball!” Wonwoo repeats, finding amusement from the fairly accurate description of Mingyu. He is a goofball; loud, silly, but adorable.

“A hot goofball.” You nod, heat rushing to your face. You know you’re only messing around, and yet you’re unable to tame the affect this admission has on you.

“What about me?” Wonwoo raises a brow.

“What about you?”

“Am I a hot anything?”

“A hot mess maybe…” you ponder, avoiding eye contact as you try your best to control your expression. “Especially with your grades in econ last semester.”

“Hey!” Wonwoo cries. “You didn’t even take take that class!”

“But Jun did.”

He simply lets out a huff in response. That is the last time he tells Jun anything about his grades, the blabbermouth. But then it dawns on Wonwoo exactly how to tease you back.

“What about you and Mingyu, huh?” He smirks. “What about you blantantly trying to make him jealous all the time?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You attempt to come across unaffected by his accusations.

“Face it. You’re just as much of a hot mess as I am.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“But true.” The cockiness’s radiating from him is suffocating. “You want to make him so jealous he crumbles.”

“Pft.” You attempt to hide the truth. “What makes you think I want to make Mingyu jealous?”

“Because you’re in love with him.” Wonwoo states like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And you’re not going to lie, it makes you feel extremely self conscious.

You divert your attention onto flicking the corners of the book through your fingers as a way to keep yourself grounded.

“Don’t worry,” Wonwoo has dropped the teasing now, instead sending you a friendly smile. “He’s in denial as much as you are. I can prove it.”

What you’re about to do feels so wrong, your whole body trembling anxiously in anticipation. The problem you have is that Wonwoo could see right through the little game you liked to play when it was just the two of you with Mingyu. Although, Wonwoo has reassured you numerous times that there’s no way Mingyu can see past the internalised jealousy he gets as a result.

“(Y/N), come cuddle.” Mingyu opens his arms inviting you in. He’s looking at you with his best puppy eyes and pout; the exact expression that has a 99.9% success rate with you whenever he wants something. But this time is that 0.01%.

You’ve barely stepped into your small apartments living room, let alone had the chance to respond to Mingyu’s request, before Wonwoo has swooped in behind you and pulled you securely into a back hug.

Mingyu’s jaw practically drops to the floor.

“She’s mine now Gyu, sorry.” Except Wonwoo’s not sorry in the slightest and the proud smirk on his face says it all.

Mingyu’s eyes dart to yours, waiting for you to gently let Wonwoo down and to come racing over to him.

“Sorry Gyu.” You sympathetically shrug.

He can’t believe what he’s just witnessed. You’ve never let anyone stand in the way of his affection before… and Mingyu is determined to never let it happen again.

He tries. He really does give it his all. But it seems over the next few days and weeks that follow that every time he thinks he’s finally one upped Wonwoo, he is beaten yet again. You’re studying in the library together and Mingyu looks up to find Wonwoo with his arm wrapped around your shoulder, listening intently as you quietly read aloud a paragraph of the book you’re studying from. You’re having a pizza night and Mingyu triumphantly returns from paying the delivery guy to find you snuggled into Wonwoo’s chest on the sofa, movie chosen and intro already playing. You’re sitting in class together and Mingyu turns to ask you a question about the topic only to find you leaning your head on Wonwoo’s shoulder, fighting to stay awake. But the final straw is when you were all finally leaving said class.

Already not in the best mood, Mingyu is struggling to fight the raising distain he is beginning to feel against Wonwoo. There’s a massive part of him that doesn’t want to feel this way about his fellow SVT brother. But he feels like he’s being replaced by him and it hurts Mingyu deeply that you could ever, even unintentionally, preference anyone over him.

Mingyu’s eyes are glued to where your fingers are intertwined with Wonwoo’s. Gosh, Mingyu wishes it was him who was holding your hand instead. It all happened so seamlessly too, Wonwoo casually brushing the back of his hand against yours a few times before his fingers daringly took their chance and threaded through yours. Walking out of class behind you both, Mingyu had a front row seat to this interaction and watching it play out made something snap inside of him.

With a loud huff, Mingyu overtakes you. From his side profile he looks furious, your eyes going wide from the fury that radiates from him.

You look up at Wonwoo.

“Let’s catch him up.” He asserts, pulling you along as he also picks up his pace.

“Mingyu!” You’re practically running in order to catch up with him now. Damn him and his extremely long legs.

“What?” He suddenly comes to a halt, so abruptly in fact that you very nearly crash into his back. He turns around to face you, his eyes setting straight onto where your hand is still held in Wonwoo’s.

“What’s going on?” Mingyu’s gaze darts up, meeting Wonwoo’s harshly. But Wonwoo isn’t one to back down, staring back with just as much venom.

You stand speechless, watching the two battle out through stares.

“Had it not occurred to you to not make a move on my best friend in front of me?”

Woah. He really said it so bluntly.

Your eyes flicker up to watch Wonwoo’s reaction, mouth slightly agape from how the intense exchange between them has quite literally sucked all the air out of your lungs.

Feeling self-conscious, you begin to wriggle your hand from Wonwoo’s. But his grip only becomes tighter.

“I didn’t realise (Y/N) was your property. Isn’t she her own person, Gyu?” Wonwoo snares, broadening his chest and baring his amused grin. He’s not intimidated in the slightest by Mingyu.

“That’s not what I meant.” Mingyu seethes through gritted teeth. It’s frightening how low his voice is, controlled but incredibly powerful.

“What did you mean then?” You quietly ask.

And suddenly Mingyu’s dominating demeanour has done a 180 degree flip. He’d practically forgotten you were there until he heard your question and the restriction in your voice sent daggers straight through his heart. With softened eyes and shrinking stature, Mingyu struggles to find the right words to explain himself.

“Just that- you’re um- you’re…” mine is what Mingyu really wants to say. But his hesitation only makes you believe that Wonwoo’s assumption was correct and Mingyu is now left fumbling over his words, trying to come up with a believable enough excuse.

“Forget it.” You whisper, tugging on Wonwoo’s hand to signify for him to let you go. And the second you’re free, you waste no time in walking away, Wonwoo shaking his head at Mingyu before catching up to you.

Is this what getting your heart broken feels like? If not then it’s pretty damn close. You just can’t understand how the guy that you’d spent growing up with, the very guy that has been with you through everything, could cause you so much pain.

It’s taken everything in you to not answer any of his messages, and believe me when I say Mingyu really has tried to contact you on every possible social media he knows you have. Meanwhile, Wonwoo has been having to live in the same frat house as him. He doesn’t think he’s had a moment of peace from the guy since the whole ordeal. Although, to be fair, he gets the guilt that Mingyu must be feeling.

Wonwoo hates seeing two of his most treasured friends hurting each other so much, particularly when he can see how much they truly care for one another. He just wishes he knew how to get you both to see the feelings that are so clear to him, without him getting in the middle.

But then the slow creaking of his bedroom door opening snaps Wonwoo out of his thoughts. He chuckles under his breath as Mingyu’s head peaks through the small gap, pouting eyes silently waiting for his friend’s approval to enter.

“Have you heard anything?”

“Gyu, just go and visit (Y/N) if you want to know how she’s doing.”

Wonwoo doesn’t mean to sound so harsh, but it does get very repetitive when all Mingyu seems to ask him is the same questions over and over. Mingyu nods, mumbling an apology as he begins to leave.

“Wait. I just meant,” Wonwoo sighs, stopping Mingyu from leaving him in guilt. “You’ll need to face each other at some point, so why not now?”

Damn Wonwoo and his logic. But Mingyu knows that he is right.

He’s the one that hurt you because he was jealous, so he’s the one that should extend the olive branch and make everything right again.

So later that very same day, Mingyu nervously knocks on your door, ready to do everything in his power to amend your relationship.

You were a little surprised to see Mingyu, of all people, stood at your door. After so long of shutting him out and blatantly ignoring him, you thought he would have gotten the message and given up. But no, here he is with that irritatingly heart melting half-smile on his lips.

“Can we talk?” He speaks up, sticking his foot in the gap of the door so you are unable to shut it in his face. Not that you were about to do that to him.

“I don’t think there’s much to say.” Your voice betrays your internal desire to put up a wall, sounding soft instead of harsh like you’d wanted to.

“Not much to say?” Mingyu repeat’s, almost speechless by the numbness of your words. “I don’t think there’s even enough words to express how sorry I am for hurting you or to describe how pointless my life seems without you in it.”

Now you’re the one that’s speechless. But Mingyu takes this as opportunity to continue.

“I never should have been so jealous over your friendship with Wonwoo.” He stares as you sincerely. “I guess I’m just not good with sharing…” he lightly smirks, breathily laughing in relief as the first signs of a smile make their way onto your face.

You know, upon reflection, that Mingyu’s possessive jealously that day was partly your fault. You were the one to agree to Wonwoo’s plan to make him jealous in the first place. And you have been feeling guilty for taking his anger to heart and then blocking him out.

You wonder if Wonwoo has come clean to him about it yet? You assume you would have heard from him if he had decided to tell Mingyu.

…and you don’t think Mingyu would be here right now if he was aware…

“So…” Mingyu trails off somewhat awkwardly. You hadn’t realised he was waiting for you to say something. “Are we good?” He raises a brow.

“We’re good.” You nod, no longer trying to hide how happy him being here has made you.

When you’d accepted Mingyu’s apology, he felt like he was on cloud nine; like the universe was finally on his side again. It didn’t matter what had happened in the past, because he’s got you back in his present. And his future? Well, he’s got a plan.

SVT is hosting another party in a few days to celebrate the upcoming graduation of the senior members Seungcheol, Jeonghan and Joshua. And Mingyu is going to ask you to go with him.

He’s nervous as he watches you, waiting patiently as you order your drink beside him at the counter. He takes a deep breath.

“Make that two.” He intercepts before the barrister has a chance to say the total, smiling at the young guy. “It’s on me.” Mingyu turns to you with a pleased grin, winking.

Ever since you’ve forgiven and forgotten, you’ve noticed a change in Mingyu. He seems to be a lot more forward, and dare you even say, flirtatious?

You thank him, rosey cheeks and shy smile. And once you’ve both received your drinks and found a place to sit, you fall into your regular dynamic; good conversation and great company.

“So, I know you missed the last one, but the guys are having another party Friday.” Mingyu casually directs the conversation. You’ve been sat for around twenty minutes now and he has been waiting for the right moment to come about to finally ask you.

“Oh yeah?” Your eyes light up.

“Yeah.” Mingyu smiles. “And of course, you are a guest of mine… if you want to come?”

The hopeful smile that he sends you makes your heart flip. If it was possible to be any more adorable then you’d be dammed.

“I’d love to.” You smile.

When you arrived to the party, you’d instantly spotted Mingyu from across the room. He was stood against the wall, drink in hand, as his eyes roaming the room. You watched as they moved around, a wide beam breaking out across his face when his gaze finally gets to yours.

You begin making your way through the sea of people, not once breaking eye contact.

“Hey.” You greet, now stood in front of him. You drink him in from head to toe. He looks incredible dressed in all black.

“Hey.” Mingyu mirrors you, also lavishing the opportunity to take you in. He’s never been so mesmerised by someone’s beauty in the way that you capture him now.

Mingyu opens his mouth to speak, but your attention is snatched away by an eruption of cheering from the other side of the room. You both look over to see some of the more intoxicated SVT members chanting while Hoshi chugs a pitcher of beer.

“This party is insane!” You turn back to Mingyu, giggling over what you’ve just witnessed.

Mingyu can’t help they way he finds your reaction so adorable. It makes his heart somersault and leaves him utterly speechless. Settling you both back into a comfortable silence, spoken through daring stares and quiet observations of each other.

It’s clear there’s something more flowing between you. But you’re unsure if Mingyu can feel it too. If he does he doesn’t say anything about it. And so you both just stand together, pretending to be just friends, when all the while, it’s obvious that you are only existing for each other.

“Do you want a drink?” Mingyu nudges your elbow with his after a few minutes. He looks a little flushed, adding “I forgot to offer when you arrived.”

“That would be great.” You giggle, nodding when he tell you to wait where you are and that he won’t be long.

You aren’t exactly sure how long it’s been since Mingyu left to get you a drink. All you know is that he’s been gone for a very long time and you’re beginning to wonder if he’ll ever return.

“You look like you’re having fun.” You roll your eyes at the cheeky grin outstretched on Wonwoo’s face as he approaches you, drink in hand. “Where’s Gyu?” He mutters into the rim of his cup, taking a sip.

“You tell me.” You try to laugh off the feeing of disappointment that washes over you, accepting the drunk Wonwoo offers you.

“He’s probably got caught talking to someone else on his way to you.” Wonwoo tries to reassure. You nod, taking a sip of your drink to hide the light self consciousness.

“How have you been anyway? It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.” You force a smile.

“It’s been too long.” Wonwoo agrees. “It was probably for the best though. I think we pushed Mingyu far enough, without adding to that while you two weren’t on speaking terms.”

You nod.

“By the way, did you ever tell Mingyu about our plan to make him jealous?”

You watch in confusion at Wonwoo’s alert eyes and shaking head, hoping it conveys the message for you to stop talking. Except you’re too late to catch on.

“Your what?”

You gawk, panic shooting through you the second you hear Mingyu’s voice. It’s evident by his hurt tone that Wonwoo hadn’t mentioned it.

“Gyu, I can expla-”

“No need.” Mingyu sends a harsh glare from you to Wonwoo. “I’ve heard enough.”

“What have I done.” You hide your face in your hands, unable to watch Mingyu walk away.

“He can never stay mad at you for long.” You feel Wonwoo pull you into his side in order to provide you with some comfort. But you already feel so empty, your heart rapidly sinking to the bottom of your chest as Mingyu’s hurt expression replays in your mind.

It’s not surprising to say that you didn’t want to stick around at the party for much longer, but Wonwoo seemed deeply concerned about the thought of you walking back on your own in the middle of the night. So he proceeded to spend the next half an hour trying to persuade you to crash in his room for the night instead.

After multiple attempts to escape Wonwoo’s persuading (nagging) by weaving your way through the busy parts of his frat house, you had resorted to drinking as much alcohol as possible to drown him out. It seemed like the best option at that moment. But then you’d stumbled into a random room and found Mingyu kissing someone…

You’re not sure what broke your heart more: being reminded of the pain you’ve caused him, or seeing him kissing another girl. Of course, he’s completely unaware you’ve stumbled upon his little escapade, too invested in the moment. And it doesn’t take Wonwoo long, being hot on your tail, to catch up and usher you away from the scene quickly.

If you weren’t determined to drink away your emotions before, you definitely are now.

And that’s why you wake the next morning completely disorientated and regretting your life choices. Though, you’re going to blame heartbreak for your hangover… and, somehow, Wonwoo… Just as soon as you figure out where he is.

“Wonwoo?” You timidly call. You’re met with stark silence for a few too many seconds before you almost jump out of your skin from the arm that surfaces from under the covers beside you and blindly pats around on top of the duvet.

“Shit! What are you doing?” Your hand flies up to cover your racing heart, hearing Wonwoo’s amused laughter before he pulls the covers off of him to reveal his cheeky grin.

“Sorry.” He’s definitely not sorry. And you would find some humour in this moment if it weren’t for your throbbing headache.

“What happened last night?” You wince a little.

After dragging you away from Mingyu, Wonwoo had taken you straight up to his room. You’d managed to grab a bottle of alcohol as you passed the drinks on your way. And that’s where you’d proceeded to drink and drink until you became numb. It didn’t take long for you and Wonwoo to finish the bottle you’d snagged, both of you deliriously sprawled out across his bed, laughing over nothing.

But then a lull settled in and you didn’t realise what was going on until it was already happening. Maybe it was the fact that you were both drunk, or maybe it was because Wonwoo knew how hurt you must have been after seeing Mingyu kiss someone else. All he knew for certain was that he really wanted to kiss you. You’d both been staring at each other, somewhat seriously, and slowly edging closer and closer until your faces were millimetres apart and your lips were ghosting.

He could tell you felt the same too…

You’re not sure who caved in first and connected your lips. All you know is that it felt good kissing Wonwoo in the moment. He was gentle with you and made you feel like someone still cared.

“Did we really kiss last night?” You look down at him, now sat up on his bed properly.

“Yep.” Wonwoo laughs. “You’re welcome.”

You lightly slap his chest, rolling your eyes at his cockiness.

It feels wrong to admit that he was a good kisser, and even more so to think that if an opportunity like that were to come about again then you’d happily kiss him.

“You know,” Wonwoo catches your attention, his large hands now mindlessly playing with one of yours. “You and Mingyu are really made for each other.”

“How so?” You query, unsure as to why Wonwoo feels the need to bring Mingyu up now.

“Think about it. First, he hurts you and then you make up. Then, you hurt him, and instead of trying to talk it out you both go and kiss other people.”

“Isn’t that just a little bit toxic?” You sarcastically state, trying to mask the hurt in your voice with humour.

“Maybe a little.” Wonwoo shrugs. “But I’ve seen how happy you are when you’re with each other. The feelings you share are unparalleled, you’re both just too scared to say anything.”

“Huh.” You sigh, pondering his words for a moment. “Mingyu might be a wuss, but I am definitely not.” You pout. Wonwoo has to laugh at your response. Seriously, he’s trying to make you realise what you and Mingyu have and yet you remain focused on him calling you out for being scared.

“Prove it then. Tell him how you really feel.”

You’re not really too sure how to begin, or where to start. But, as you internally hype yourself up to find Mingyu, you find yourself thinking that maybe Wonwoo calling you a wimp wasn’t too off the mark in the first place. It also doesn’t help that you could bump into Mingyu at any second, having stayed over at his own frat house.

You find yourself sneaking glances into each room as if you’re trying to keep hidden. Maybe it’s the bubbling anticipation you feel from all the build up, or maybe it’s because you’re scared.

Finding that the kitchen is empty, you release a shaky breath and decide that it’s safe to grab a glass of water. After all, hydration is important, especially after the amount you drank the night before.

Having visited hundreds of times before, you know exactly the cupboard where the glasses are hidden and make a beeline for it. But then you remember that they are kept on the top shelf and you’re not quite tall enough to reach, even on tippy toes. It’s too risky to go back to Wonwoo and ask him for help for two reasons: 1. He’ll know that you’ve wimped out, and 2. It means you’ll have to rush back through the rest of the house and risk bumping into Mingyu.

Instead, you heave yourself onto the counter, balancing precariously on the edge as you reach up to retrieve a glass.

“What are you doing?” The sudden voice echos, making you yelp as you lose your balance and feel yourself begin to fall. It all happens so fast, squeezing your eyes shut as you brace yourself to hit the tiled floor. But that never happens… instead you feel a pair of arms wrap tightly around you from behind, catching your weight mid air.

“Ohmygod!” You exhale in one breath, panting from the adrenaline that courses through you.

When you finally open your eyes to see who had saved you, you feel your heart leap out of your chest.

“What you just tried to do was so dangerous (Y/N).” His tone is gruff, serious as he stares at you coldly. You feel pain course through you, nausea raising rapidly. But you don’t have time to respond before Mingyu has helped you back onto your feet and moved you out of his hold.

It’s cold without his warm embrace and the trembling of your shaky legs and goosebumps raising up your arms doesn’t go unnoticed by him.

Normally Mingyu would never let you out of his hold when something like this happens, which is surprisingly more often that you’d think because you’ve always been very clumsy. Instead he’d keep you firmly tucked into the safety of his warm chest, dipping his head down to whisper affectionate words of comfort into the crown of your head as you tuck your face into him.

It takes everything in him to not do that right now.

“Mingyu?” Your timid voice calls out to his back as he begins to walk away.

The concern that clouds his eyes as he looks over his shoulder at you makes you almost forget how to breathe. It feels like daggers piercing right through your heart.

“Thank you.” You manage to mumble. Mingyu sends a nod your way before leaving. All he knows is that he needs to get some fresh air as soon as possible.

Sitting on the cold stone steps in the back yard, Mingyu’s face falls into his hands. He’s glad he was able to save you from physical pain. But that doesn’t mean that the emotional pain was any easier to take, especially when he had held you so close.

His mind drifts back to the night before. When he left you to go get drinks, he’d sent you a wide smile and told you to wait for him. He then sped to the kitchen to get you a drink, but because he was in such a rush to get to you, he’d bumped into Jun on his way, spilling your drink over his friend.

That’s what had taken him so long, so by the time he was done cleaning up and getting ranted at by Jun, he found you stood with Wonwoo. Initially, he was happy you had found some company, and he also couldn’t hide the infatuated beam that broke out on his face from finally being able to spend time with you.

But then he overheard your question to Wonwoo and everything was ruined. He felt so betrayed…

Don’t get Mingyu wrong, it’s not like you’ve done the worst thing in the world. But, somehow, it hurt his feelings more than he thought it would. And that’s when he got in his head about you. Was he just some game to you? Someone you could wind up and mess with his emotions? It made him act out, seeking some form of distraction - which happened to come about in the form of the first girl that made a flirtatious advance toward him. He’s not proud of himself.

All he wanted to do was have some space from you. But the universe can’t even grant him a day. No. You had to stay over at his frat house. It had to be him that walked into the kitchen seconds before you were about to fall off the counter. It had to be him that wanted to hold you in his arms and never let you go.

“Can we talk?”

It had to be you that followed him outside…

Mingyu lifts his head away from his palms. He doesn’t want to say yes, but he also can’t bare the thought of pushing you away again.

“Gyu, you literally just saved me from getting hurt but you still won’t talk to me.” You sit by his side, peering around as you try to get him to look at you.

“Maybe that’s because I don’t want to have to be the hero for you to see me.” He mumbles so quietly you aren’t able to hear his words.

“Huh?” You lean into him further.

“I said, maybe it’s because I don’t want to be around you.”

The coldness in his stare makes you freeze. You can’t believe this is really your best friend sat beside you. It looks like him, but it definitely doesn’t sound like him. And, with the way he dealt with everything last night, it feels like he’s changed. You’ve never felt so distant from him, and he’s sat right beside you.

You look away after a moment, choosing to focus on your feet instead. You know you were in the wrong to try and make him jealous, but that doesn’t mean that you’re not hurting as much as he is.

“I got my hopes up.” Your hoarse voice speaks up after a minute of silence, watery eyes threatening to overspill.

“About what?” Mingyu asks.

“About you actually loving me back.” You find enough courage to finally look at him again.

Mingyu is a little shocked at how vulnerable you look. And despite him previously questioning your motives in how you truly feel, he can tell by the way you’re looking at him, without a doubt, that you’re being completely honest.

Just as you are about to get up, you feel his hand clutch onto your wrist, using his strength to keep you sat beside him.

“How could I not love you?” He pulls you into his chest, arms moving to snake around your waist to hug you close. “Everyone can see that I’m head over heals, stupidly in love with you.” Mingyu whispers into the crown of your head before placing a tender kiss there.

“Even when you’re mad at me?” Your question comes out muffled by his chest, making Mingyu laugh.

“Even when I’m mad a you.” Mingyu confirms, releasing his hold so you are able to look up at him. The way he smiles down at you is heart melting.

“What about the girl you were kissing last night?”

There’s a little hesitancy in your voice. But you can’t get the image out of your head, no matter how hard you try.

And it seems that Mingyu is equally as hesitant to answer, taken aback by the confusion that overtakes him. How did you know about that?

“I’m not proud of myself for it, I just wanted a distraction.” He sighs.

“I understand.” You softly smile. “I kissed Wonwoo last night too. And it’s funny, this morning he told me that we’re made for each other, me and you.” You laugh thinking back to that moment.

“He did?” Mingyu’s confusion makes his brows furrow. Why would Wonwoo say that after he had kissed you?

“Yeah, something about how we keep finding ways to hurt each other but there’s this connection that always draws us back.”

There’s no need for any further explanation, Mingyu understands exactly what Wonwoo means. It’s like, no matter how hard you might push the other away, there’s this unspoken promise between you, a force beyond your abilities to control, that gravitates you.

You don’t realise how close your faces have gotten until Mingyu breaks you out of your daze.

“I guess we really are made for each other.” He whispers, wasting no more time in colliding your lips with his.

You’re not sure how to describe the feelings that rush through you. It wasn’t like a first kiss because you knew each other way too well for that. But it definitely wasn’t like a last kiss because this was only the beginning. To put it simply, it was a kiss you spend your whole life waiting for.

You pull away breathless, gasping for air from the weight of it all.

With your foreheads resting together, you can see the pleased smirk on Mingyu’s face, his hand taking hold of the one you’d used to clutch onto his t-shirt while you were kissing and lifting it away enough for him to thread his fingers in between yours.

“We’re for forever you know.” He whispers, your eyes fluttering shut as he leans in and brushes his lips against yours.

“For forever.” You mutter back as Mingyu captures your lips in another slow kiss.

~ Epilogue ~

“I see you’ve finally confessed.” Wonwoo smiles, nodding towards where you and Mingyu are holding hands.

You chuckle affectionally towards him, watching as he seems to so casually lean against the kitchen counter, lifting the mug in his hands up to his lips slowly.

“Yeah, and I have a bone to pick with you.” Mingyu playfully points towards Wonwoo, who withholds from taking a sip of his drink in favour of raising an inquisitive brow in Mingyu’s direction.

“Don’t ever kiss my girlfriend again.”

You turn to look at Mingyu in surprise, heat creeping up the back of your neck when you see the cocky smirk resting on his face.

He turns his gaze onto you when he feels your stare.

“So I’m your girlfriend now?” You tease, tilting your head to one side.

The embarrassment that replaces Mingyu’s previously boasting stature is too adorable for words. Instead, you lean into his side, your free hand clutching onto his arm as you stand on your tippy toes to press a peck to his cheek before whispering into his ear:

“I really like the sound of that.”

#seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #seventeen oneshot #seventeen fanfic #seventeen drabbles #seventeen x reader #seventeen mingyu #svt fluff #svt x reader #svt oneshot #svt fanfic #svt drabbles #svt angst #kpop fluff #kpop angst #kpop drabbles #kpop fanfiction #kpop oneshots #kpop x reader

159 notes · View notes

vrabbiit · 3 years ago

Note

just some regular ol' vanessa headcanons i beg of you

of course anon! ik a lot of people don’t like vanessa but honestly i rlly enjoy her character! small disclaimer that this is about vanessa alone, not vanny! i’m still pretty unsure as to whether they’re the same person or not, so i wanna keep my options open;; if you want vanny headcanons, or headcanons of them as the same person, feel free to drop me another ask!

🔦 General Vanessa Headcanons 🔦

First off, this girl might be grumpy and a bit mean, but it’s because she’s absolutely exhausted. No matter what management says, there is no way one security guard can cover a complex as huge as the Pizzaplex, even with all the S.T.A.F.F bots. She’s constantly running from place to place trying to make sure nothing is going wrong, and people have been undermining her ability to do her job since she transferred, so forgive her for being a bit overzealous. If she’s angry or rude, it’s because she’s already thinking about how much harder whatever just happened is going to make her job.

She absolutely hates small children - she thinks they’re messy and troublesome, and the one good thing about her job being a night shift is that she doesn’t have to interact with them. I imagine that when she first got transferred to the Pizzaplex, she was very worried that she’d have to work day shift, and she was probably extremely relieved to find out otherwise. Still, sometimes there’ll be teenagers hanging around whenever she comes into work, and she has to shoo them away from loitering around often enough that she knows them by name and has a somewhat amiable relationship with them (you know, like the teacher that always told you off in school but you still regard with a bit of fondness).

She gets bored during all the long shifts alone (because you know damn well she’s not talking to the robots unless necessary), and sometimes has a go on the arcade machines to pass the time when she’s absolutely certain nothing is going wrong. She can’t escape the feeling that there’s always something, though, which makes it hard to relax, which makes her jumpy.

I feel like she’s the type of person to get home and just pass out for somewhere between 5 and 10 hours and be completely dead to the world. She’s constantly trying to fix her sleep schedule, but humans are by nature not supposed to be nocturnal and it’s a constant battle. She’s tried everything, but no matter how much she sleeps, she always feels tired.

#fnaf security breach #fnaf #fnaf headcanons #fnaf sb #fnaf security breach headcanons #security breach #fnaf sb headcanons #fnaf security breach hcs #vanessa fnaf #fnaf vanessa #vanessa a #fnaf vanessa hcs

134 notes · View notes

musette22 · 4 years ago

Note

Local museum volunteer Chris explaining all the items and history facts to teacher Sebastian and his 20 kids on a school trip or to single dad Sebastian and his twins (one who is really into it and ask a lot of "but why?" And the other one who just sticks his fingers up his nose and yawns lmao)

Okay so I was just on a walk and I started thinking about this ask again (I am so so so sorry for how long it took me to reply to this, I suck wow) because I couldn’t get that new pic of Seb looking like a literal DILF out of my head, but I couldn’t remember the specifics so what came out is slightly different from what you suggested but not much – hope you still like it (I personally screamed into my fist multiples times while thinking about this – I’m furious at how cute this little scenario is, thank you so so much for this!)

Disclaimer: I literally wrote this just now so it’s unbeta’d and probably riddled with nonsense, but I hope you guys like nonetheless! <3

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

“Hi, guys! Welcome to the Concord Museum. My name is Chris and I’ll be your guide this afternoon.”

Chris eyes the little family – a father and two young kids – standing in front of him in the entrance hall of the bite-sized museum, then makes a show of looking around the otherwise empty hall. “Seems like it’s a quiet one today, so you’ll have me all to yourself!”

The father smiles, his sparkling, blue-grey eyes crinkling in the corners in a way that Chris shouldn’t be thinking of as ‘adorable’, but does nonetheless.

“Fantastic,” the man says warmly. “It’s nice to meet you, Chris. This is Margot,” – he gestures to the girl of about eight standing next to him – “and this little guy here is David,” he adds, lightly bouncing the three or four-year-old, curly haired boy on his hip. David gives Chris a wide eyed look before promptly burying his face in his father’s neck. “He’s a little shy,” the dad says fondly.

“That’s fine,” Chris tells them. With a smile, he ducks his head to try and catch David’s eye. “You’re not the only one, kiddo. I’m a little shy myself sometimes, you know.”

“I’m not shy,” Margot pipes up.

“No,” her dad agrees with a chuckle, “you certainly are not.”

Chris turns his eyes back to their father’s face. “And your name..?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the man says, “I’m Sebastian.” He holds out his hand for Chris to shake, warm and dry with long, elegant fingers that fit nicely against Chris’s own, studier ones.

Sebastian, Chris thinks. Perfect name for a perfect guy. The term ‘DILF’ flashes unbidden through Chris’s mind – wildly inappropriate, given the circumstances, but oh so accurate. Sebastian has a sweet, charming smile, incredible bone structure, and dark, wavy hair, swept up in a quiff-like style that manages to make him look both sophisticated and a little boyish at the same time. There’s a hint of grey at his temples as well as in his beard that has Chris placing him at maybe two or three years older than himself.

“New York?” Chris guesses, as he reluctantly lets go of Sebastian’s hand.

“That’s right,” Sebastian nods. “Well, formerly, anyway. We just moved to the area, actually.”

“Oh, really? What brought you all the way out here?”

Sebastian runs a hand through his hair; a nervous habit, perhaps. “Oh, um. My ex-wife got a job in Boston last year, and I didn’t want to be too far from her and the kids, so I decided to follow suit. Only moved down here last month. This is my first full weekend with these guys at my new place, so I thought I’d take them out to do something cultural, learn a little about the local history, y’know?”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of that here,” Chris assures him. “In fact,” he adds sheepishly, “that’s kinda all we've got.”

Sebastian laughs, causing Chris’s brain to glitch, which is probably why the next thing that comes out of his mouth is – “Divorce, huh? I’m sorry, that must’ve been tough.”

When Sebastian doesn’t answer straight away, Chris wants to kick himself for running his big, stupid mouth. As usual. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes hastily. “That’s none of my business. Just tryin’ to make small talk, but I always seem to forget I’m really bad at that. Just forget I said anything.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Sebastian assures him, flashing Chris a quick smile. “Thank you. These things are never easy, but it’s better this way, you know?”

“They’re not fighting or anything,” Margot chimes in again, from a few feet below. “Mommy and daddy only got divorced because mommy’s a girl and daddy likes boys better than girls. Right, daddy?"

Well. Chris tries not to be too obvious about glancing at Sebastian’s face to see his reaction to that bombshell his daughter just dropped, but he’s not sure how well he manages.

Sebastian closes his eyes for a moment as if praying for strength. “That's right, sweetheart,” he says with a grimace. “But I'm sure Chris doesn't need to hear about all that."

Chris begs to differ – he’s actually extremely interested in hearing about all this, but before he has a chance to say anything in reply, Margot squares her jaw and crosses her football jersey-clad arms.

“Why not?” she asks defiantly. “There’s nothing wrong with that. Some girls just like girls and some boys like boys, it’s totally normal. It’s not prola- probu –" She sighs in frustration, looking up at her dad, who’s watching her with something like pride on his handsome face.

“Problematic?”

“Yeah,” Margot concurs, “not probametic.”

Chris hums in agreement. “It’s not, you’re absolutely right. I’ll tell you what,” he tells her conspiratorially, “I happen to like boys better, too.”

Margot’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “You do?”

“I do.”

Suddenly, Margot’s little face lights up, her shrewd eyes flitting to her dad’s face for a second, then back to Chris. “Do you like my dad?”

“Margot,” Sebastian cuts in, a hint of exasperation in his tone. “That’s enough, honey.” When he tuns back to Chris to give him an apologetic look, Chris can’t help but notice the slight blush coloring his cheeks. “I’m sorry about that. She’s gotten it into her head that she needs to find me the perfect man ASAP, or I’ll waste away or something.”

Chris laughs, throwing back his head in genuine mirth. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine,” he assures them, then claps his hands together to change the precarious subject. “So, who’s ready to learn a little bit about what living in Concord was like over a hundred years ago?”

******

Chris always enjoys volunteering at the museum – it’s nice to give something back to the community that’s been his home for his entire life, and to chat to visitors from all over who have come to visit the land of Little Women, among other things – but what Chris likes best is when he gets to show kids around the place. Some of them need to be won over (after all, a dusty old museum isn’t quite as exciting as a trip to Disney World), but others are instantly captivated by the strange objects and old-timey atmosphere – Sebastian’s kids, fortunately, seem to fall in the latter category.

There’s one room in particular that’s an invariably a favorite with kids – the one that houses the old children’s toys. Trains, dolls and dollhouses, most of them made from wood, all arranged in a colorful parade, with a few screens set up in front of the glass display cases on which kids can watch animations of the toys being used. To Chris’s delight, Margot and David are both immediately taken with the display, David pressing his nose against the glass while Margot fires off question after question that Chris answers patiently and to the best of his ability.

“You sure know a lot about them,” Sebastian remarks, not without a hint of admiration, once Chris has finished explaining the mechanics of the miniature train set.

“Ah.” Chris rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess you could say I’m something of a toy enthusiast myself. I’ve actually got a carpentry workshop – that’s my real job,” he explains. “I’m just a volunteer here – and I dabble in some toy making sometimes, too.”

Sebastian’s eyes widen. “You’re kidding. I used to want to be a toy maker when I was a kid, you know,” he says wistfully. “Probably just saw Pinocchio one too many times, but it just seemed like the best job in the world to me, at the time.”

“It kinda is,” Chris grins at Sebastian, getting lost in his dancing grey eyes for a moment. “So what did you end up doing for a living, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m a journalist. I love it, don’t get me wrong. It’s enriching, challenging. But there’s just something about working with your hands, creating something tangible, something useful…”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Chris nods. He bites his lip, hesitating for just a moment before deciding to bite the bullet. “Hey, I don’t know if you guys have plans after this, but my shift ends in a few minutes. I live pretty close, maybe a ten minute drive – if you want, I could show you my workshop? Maybe the kids can try out some of the things I’ve been working on, see if they’re actually any fun to play with?”

There’s an excited collective gasp from the kids, both of them immediately turning big, hopeful eyes on their father. “Oh, daddy,” Margot pleads, tugging on his sleeve. “Can we go see the workshop, pleaaase?”

Chris tries to ignore the way his stomach drops when Sebastian visibly hesitates.

“I don’t know, guys.” Sebastian looks back at Chris. “I don't want to intrude. It’s almost dinner time on a Saturday. I’m sure you’ve got plans, maybe with your partner..?”

Oh, Chris thinks, chest expanding with hope. He shakes his head. “No partner,” he says, holding Sebastian’s gaze. “Just a dog.”

“A dog?” Margot squeals. “Oh my god, daddy, he’s got a dog. We have to go.”

Sebastian chuckles, rolling his eyes. "They've been hounding me about a dog for months, excuse the pun. I want one too, but I'm just not sure I'm home enough.”

Chris nods sympathetically. “Yeah, it can be tricky if you work full-time, but there’s usually a solution for this kind of thing, in my experience.”

“What’s your dog’s name?” Margot interrupts, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.

“He’s called Dodger,” Chris tells her, unable to keep the pride out of his voice as he talks about his beloved, four legged-rescue.

From Sebastian’s other side, a small voice suddenly joins in. “Like the one from Oliver?” asks David. His big, brown eyes are wide as he stares up at Chris.

“That’s right,” Chris confirms, dropping to his haunches to level the playing field a little. “Exactly like the one from Oliver. You like that movie, huh?”

David nods, looping one arm around one of his dad’s long legs while clearly fighting the urge to hide behind him completely. “It’s my favorite,” he mutters, then quickly sticks his thumb in his mouth to signal the end of the conversation.

“Really?” Chris asks, beaming at him. “It’s my favorite, too!”

David actually smiles at that, doing an excited little wiggle on the spot. “Daddy, can we go see Dodger, please?” he asks his dad, not bothering to remove his thumb from his mouth.

From his spot on the floor, Chris looks up Sebastian too, probably looking just as hopeful as the kids are – maybe even more so.

Smiling, Sebastian shakes his head. “Sure, buddy,” he laughs, ruffling David’s hair. “How could I resist all these cute little faces, huh?”

There’s a chorus of cheers from the kids that gives Chris a much-needed moment to recover from the euphoria of hearing Sebastian call him cute. Well, sort of.

“Alright,” Chris says, getting to his feet again. “I’ll just go grab my things. Meet you guys in the parking lot?”

“Sounds good.”

Chris nods and is about to head in the direction of the staff room, when Sebastian halts him with a hand on his arm. Chris stops in his tracks, swallowing as he tears his gaze away from Sebastian’s elegant hand on his bicep, back to his face.

“Thank you,” Sebastian says, giving him a look from under his eyelashes that can only be described as coy. “I really appreciate this, you know.”

Holding Sebastian’s gaze, Chris lifts a hand to cover Sebastian’s with his own, giving it a quick squeeze. “It’s my pleasure,” he replies honestly. “Trust me.”

Smiling, Sebastian bites his lip, no doubt noticing the way Chris’s eyes flicker down to his mouth when he does. “I do.”

Chris’s foolishly romantic heart can’t help but skip a beat.

“See,” Margot says suddenly from beside them, breaking the moment and sounding awfully smug about it, too. “Not prolametic at all.”

Chris barks out a laugh while Sebastian covers his eyes with his hand. “Whatever you do, never have kids.”

“Oh, I dunno,” Chris chuckles, giving Margot a wink and David’s hair a quick ruffle. “I kinda like yours.”

Sebastian clears his throat. “Alright, guys. Let’s go find your jackets and we’ll go see what Chris has in store for us, huh?”

#evanstan #rpf #kid fic #minnie answers #my fic #my writing #Anonymous

349 notes · View notes

alicemitch09writes · 4 years ago

Text

first love

pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou x reader

summary: You never forget your first love.

author’s notes: This is what prompted the many angst fics to come in my repertoire. I’ll just to slowly transfer some of my one-shots that are reader inserts here on tumblr.

twenty one pilot’s cover of ‘can’t help falling in love’ really helped me in the writing of this fic. It’s a favorite of mine I keep going back to when writing fics. Reader is a musician, who plays the ukulele and violin and at the time when I wrote this (back in 2017), I was learning to play the uke, mostly for fun.

also available on ao3.

disclaimer: i own NOTHING but the plot.

Wise men say, only fools rush in

But I can't help, falling in love with you

They moved to Tokyo when she was 8.

And at a young age, she was pretty much a timid and shy girl, always hiding behind her parents whenever in the presence of new people, especially when she was being introduced. She wasn't very good with socializing, always wary and scared that she'd make a horrible impression. And of people, in general. People were generally scary, especially those she was unfamiliar with. She found solace in music, due to her father's influence, who was a music instructor at a university. "When words fail, music speaks." He'd tell her as they played 'Heart and Soul' together on the piano, her mother taking a video of them from the side. And a little while later, by some miracle, she made friends with the local kids – Tetsurou and Kenma. The two were an odd pair, given Tetsurou's loud and mischievous demeanor being a total contrast to Kenma's quiet and well-behaved and aloofness. Still, they were the best friends she could ever have.

Years passed, and the three were inseparable.

Over time, the two proved to be more trouble than they were worth – Tetsurou, with his never-ending schemes and provocation abilities, and Kenma, with his indifference to the world so long as he was playing his games.

Nothing's changed much of her, other than her ability to keep the dynamic duo grounded. Also, she had her flair for music. Still, she was terribly shy. Though she has a voice, she chose to stick to the background, wanting to be out of the limelight.

Tetsurou would scold her, saying that it was a waste because she had a good singing voice. In which, would make her blush. Kenma would say the same thing even without looking up from his game console. But Tetsurou's words resounded, her heart beating like a drum.

Shall I stay, would it be a sin?

If I can't help, falling in love with you

It was the clichest thing to happen – she fell in love with her childhood friend.

She fell for Tetsurou.

For all his cockiness, his mischievousness, his peculiar affinity with cats (ironic that they attended Nekoma), and his atrocious bed hair – she loved it all.

Of course, she'd never tell him.

She doesn't have the heart to.

Neither will she tell Kenma, being the perceptive boy he was.

Plus, she'd have to go against a throng of his admirers (who made up of about half of the female population, by the way). There was no way she had a chance. And besides, who was she to him but his ever dependable, timid and adorable best friend?

When he bought her a ukulele on her 16th birthday – he knew she had wanted to try to play it for the longest time, she knew that it was simply out of friendship.

For a while, she became the volleyball team's manager. And for a while, she was able to play it cool with her feelings. This was okay, she thought, its better like this.

"This is my best friend, (Last Name) (Name)." he says, wrapping his arms around her neck as he hugged her from behind, introducing her to two players from Fukurodani.

The shorter of the two – Akaashi Keiji, smiles. "Nice to meet you, (Last name)-san."

"Oh! She's so cute!" says the loud boy – Bokuto Koutarou. "Are you sure she's not your girlfriend?"

Tetsurou laughed, chin digging into her head. "I've known her forever, that'll be weird."

"Kuroo, you're hugging her too tight." Kenma says with a frown.

Best friend.

That's all she'll ever be to him.

Like a river flows, surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes, this love was meant to be

It was rare to find Tetsurou at his lowest since he was usually contented with whatever happened. But they lost, unable to secure a spot at nationals.

So when she found him all by himself at the gym, she knew he needed to be cheered up.

Taking her ukulele from her bag, she started playing. Tetsurou looked up just as she started singing. "You with the sad eyes don't be discouraged, oh I realize" she kneeled in front of him, watching him with careful eyes. "It's hard to take courage, in a world full of people; you can lose sight of it all, the darkness inside you, can make you feel so small."

She continued singing to him, feeling her heart beat faster with every line. It was so hard seeing this down, it was so unlike him. He rested his head on his folded arms, eyes closed as she sang. He always loved hearing her sing.

"And I see your true colors shining through," she wished her words reached him. "I see your true colors, and that's why I love you."

For a moment, she choked up. Not intending to say those words out loud, but they were part of the song, and the way she sang it with so much emotion that the look Tetsurou was giving her made her nervous. His golden eyes stared deep into her (eye color) – filled with so much emotion, but she focused on confusion, probably at why she had stopped.

Regaining her composure, she continued. "So don't be afraid to let them show, your true colors are beautiful like a rainbow."

Tetsurou cracked a smile, reaching out to ruffle her hair playfully. "When did you get so cheesy?"

"And when did you become this uncool?" she teased back, slapping his hand away. "Are you feeling better now?"

Sighing, he leaned his back against the wall, staring at the ceiling. "A little, but thanks for coming after me."

"It's not the end of the world," she tells him kindly. "and after all, there's next year. Right, captain?"

The look on his face was priceless – clearly not expecting that. But their senpai had already decided, Kai and Morisuke were on it too, as was Coach Nekomata – before it broke into a grin.

His grin was the biggest she's ever seen.

Take my hand; take my whole life, too

'Cause I can't help, falling in love with you

Tetsurou got mad at her, saying painful words to her face.

Furiously, he turned to face her. She took a step back in surprise, clutching her ukulele to her chest. Then her instrument slipped from her hand, landing on the ground with a loud crack. The words coming out from his mouth were hard to bear, and she could just stand there taking it all in.

He didn't mean it really, but the stress and frustrations were just getting to him. She knew that.

"You know nothing. I never want to see your face again." He seethed.

When all was said and done, he up and left.

It felt as though the life was sucked out of her. She couldn't feel anything, she felt too numb to move. It only came as a surprise that she was still there when she found herself sitting on the ground, rocks digging into her skin.

Picking up her ukulele from the ground, she was surprised to find that it was still in one piece. Except for the scratches on the surface, and crack on the rim of the saddle boards. Funny, they seemed like an allegory.

Despite it all, the pain in her heart and Tetsurou's harsh treatment towards her, she found herself smiling. Hot tears streamed down her face, teeth digging unto her lower lip as if to keep her sobs in.

But the pain of it all was too much, she was only human.

Hugging her instrument to her chest, she allowed herself to cry, sobbing loudly, body shaking violently as her heart broke into smithereens.

She heard that they had made it to the semi-finals, being one of the top four schools, which shouldn't be a surprise. Actually, it was secondhand information from Kenma. Right after what happened with Tetsurou, she decided to cut ties with anything associated with him, which was basically everything – the volleyball club, Kenma.

It was something she had to – no, something she wanted to do.

No matter how much it killed her.

"Hey, let's make a little bet. If I win, you go out on a date with me."

"And if I win?"

"You won't ever see me again."

Gentle strums silenced out the lull machines, the dripping of liquids. Faint scents of flowers and fruits hid the overly sanitized room, with walls too white and dull.

"But I can't help," her voice was quiet, low, eyes transfixed to her fingers on each string on her ukulele. "falling in love," a lone tear slips down her face, though a smile graced her lips. "with you."

In front of her, the television displayed the live coverage of the nationals - Nekoma won against Fukorodani, and then lost to Karasuno.

She smiled, hugging her ukulele as tears slipped freely.

The memory of the bet they made when they were younger came to mind, making her smile. That was such a long time ago, Tetsurou probably forgot all about that just as he forgot all about her.

"Don't worry, you won."

Now you won't ever see me again.

He was surprised when they came back to school, she wasn't there. She was the first person he looked for since she was absent during the whole finals match. But she wasn't anywhere to be found – not in the library, the music room, the club room.

He had a promise to keep, and an apology to make up.

So it came as a surprise to him when his classmates' expressions turned grim at the mention of her name. Some had begun to cry, some looked away, nothing was making sense.

But one word was clear to him – cancer.

He turned to his best friend, who met his gaze. For the first time in his life, he saw anger in those usually stoic eyes. He knew then that he knew, he always knew. There was also pain, pain for his best friend's condition. And for (Name)'s sake, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Without a word, he ran, as fast as he can, ignoring the calls from his classmates, teachers, teammates. He had to get to her. He had to apologize; he didn't mean what he said. He wanted to see her, hold her, tell her he was stupid and an idiot-

But he was already too late.

#kuroo tetsurou x reader #kuroo tetsurou #kuroo tetsurou angst #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! x reader #hq x reader #nekoma #kuroo x reader #haikyuu!! fanfic #hq fanfic #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! angst #hq angst #hq fic #hq angst fic #angst fic #alicemitch09 writes

131 notes · View notes

wrenhyperfixates · 4 years ago

Text

Secret Santa

Pairing: Loki x reader Summary: When you pick Loki’s name for Secret Santa, you are at a loss for what to get him. Some quality time with the God of Mischief sheds some light on the situation. Warnings: pure, unadulterated fluff; very long A/N: It’s almost Christmas now; less than a week to go! And a big thank you to my best friend @lokistan for writing the beautiful poetry for this story. I love you my bean! Happy reading all :)

Tag List: @lucywrites02 @frostedgiant @lunarmoon8 @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @thelokiimaginechroniclesficrecs @gaitwae

Disclaimer: Gif not mine

“Oh my gosh, thank you Nat!” you said, throwing your arms around her shoulders in a hug. She had been your Secret Santa and gotten you the expensive jacket you’d been wanting for months. “It’s perfect.”

Christmas Eve in the Avengers Tower was full of laughter and drinks as the team exchanged Secret Santa gifts. Tomorrow morning you’d be opening regular presents, so it was tradition to set this aside for the night before. It was more fun that way, maybe because you could focus solely on the excitement of learning who had picked your name.

“You’re welcome. I know you were nervous about being able to pull it off, but it’ll look great on you,” she reassured, hugging you back. “Ok, now it’s your turn.”

You shot a nervous glance at Peter, who flashed a thumbs up. Thor, who was sitting next to you, pat your back. You stood and picked up the carefully wrapped package, all decorated in gold and green. You were nervous about what you had picked, but whether the recipient liked it or not, you were happy that this anxiety of if it was good enough or not would be over. You’d rather know. After all, you’d been feeling this way ever since you’d picked the name a week earlier...

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

“Alright everyone,” Tony said, holding a stocking filled with little pieces of paper. “It’s time for Secret Santa. And remember, if you get me, cash is accepted.”

You gathered around with the rest of the team as they started to pick names. You said a little prayer that you would get Peter, your best friend, seeing as you already had about thirty different gift ideas for him. Wanda would be pretty easy, too, as you were also really close with her. In fact, looking around, you were able to come up with at least some scrap of an idea for almost everyone. Almost being the operative word. By the time Tony got to you, there was only one slip left. As you stuck your hand in the stocking, you made a silent wish that it wouldn’t be the one person you had no clue what to get for.

Please, you thought. Please be someone I know. Please don’t be...

Loki.

“And that concludes the name picking process,” Tony announced as you cast a dismayed look at the four-letter name on the paper. “You have a week to figure it out, so good luck.

“Remember, no swapping!” Steve added as the group began to disperse.

You looked around for the trickster, wondering why he was even participating. It’s not that you didn’t want him to, just that it didn’t seem like his kind of thing. From the way he was clenching his fists and scowling, you still guessed it wasn’t. Not like you really knew him all that well, unfortunately. When he’d come to the Tower, Loki seemed like he preferred the solitude. You often wondered if you should have made more of an effort to be his friend, wished that you had. There was this one time you were both reading Macbeth in a common area and had gotten into a very animated discussion about it. Nothing more ever really came of that, though, as he left for a mission the next day and didn’t return until two weeks later. By then, you’d both moved onto different books.

Later, you made a trip to the library, hoping to solve the enigma that is the God of Mischief. You were the only two people who went in their regularly and more than half the conversations you’d had with him had been held in that room. Granted they were all short, but you figured it was a start. In fact, you found yourself rather wanting to have a conversation with him right now. Yes, because of the Secret Santa thing, but also because they’d been getting more frequent recently. With every one, you realized how much you enjoyed talking to him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his usual spot by the crackling fire. You considered just leaving, but decided you should at least make some use of this trip. You’d seen him reading some works by James Joyce most recently, and you went to go look for the one he’d had last. Maybe seeing what he likes to read could give you some gift ideas. Your eyes scanned the shelves, but you couldn’t find it. It was possible you were just remembering the cover wrong. Just as you were about to give up, someone tapped your shoulder.

“Pardon me,” Loki said as you whipped around. “I think you may be looking for this.”

He held out the copy of the book you’d been looking for and raised an eyebrow when you just stared at him blankly for a second. Who could blame you, though? He was standing rather close, and he was... Well, quite frankly, he was hot. With his raven black hair framing his smooth, pale skin, and with striking blue-green eyes that stare into your soul, he was the most handsome man you’d ever met. Then again, he wasn’t really a man, was he?

“Oh, uh, yes. Yes I am,” you said, coming to your senses. “Thank you. Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much so. I have read it five times now. I apologize for that, if you were looking for it.”

“Don’t worry about it. You have nothing to apologize for.” He looked rather surprised that you would say such a thing, and you briefly wondered how many times people had made him apologize unnecessarily. “You could even just keep it if you want.”

“No, that is alright. At least, not until you have gotten to read it, too. Perhaps we could discuss it?” he said hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure if he was overstepping.

You looked at the title in your hands. Dubliners. You’d read a few of the short stories in high school and hadn’t enjoyed them much. But you were older now, so maybe your tastes had changed. Either way, you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have another conversation with Loki. That slight smile and those intelligent eyes were just too captivating.

“That’s a wonderful idea. May I ask what your favorite is?”

“A good question. I think I will have to say Eveline. The way she ends up trapped, the mere emotion in the implication... It’s exquisitely done.”

“Wow, Loki, you have such a way with words. You’re beautiful,” you told him without thinking. As his eyes widened, you realized what you’d said and tried to cover it up. “I, um, I meant that that’s beautiful. The, ah, way you weave words. Sorry, I obviously don’t have the same ability.”

“It is quite alright. They do not call me silver-tongue for nothing, you know,” he said, though he was blushing now. “Still, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. But for now, my dear mortal, I must bid you goodbye. I have a sparring session with my brother to get to.”

He swept into a small, princely bow that made your heart stutter. Hugging the book to your chest, you waved goodbye, feeling much more awkward than he had been. You were also about a hundred times more determined to get Loki a perfect gift. You looked at the book again. It was a special first edition, unfortunately, and you couldn’t really do better than that. Besides, you got the impression he appreciated books more when they were well-loved. So, you could scratch that idea off the list.

You sighed and headed to your room for the night. Maybe an inspiration board could help you figure things out. Unfortunately, that led to you having a poster board with pictures solely of Loki. You’d meant to add other things, but you’d gotten so caught up in how beautiful he looked with his soft pink lips and carefully styled hair and... Ok, maybe you had the slightest, tiniest crush on the trickster god, but it was silly. You’d hardly even been friends for half a year. And yet, he was very hard to resist. You ended up destroying your project, cringing at the idea of anyone finding it and taking it the wrong way.

The next morning you woke up just as idealess as you had been the night before. You had been hoping that you could figure something out if you slept on it, but to no avail. Frustrated, you kicked your blankets off and got ready to attack the day. You absolutely hated the fact that you couldn’t come up with a gift idea on your own, and the last thing you wanted to have to do was ask someone else.

Splashing some water on your face, you had another idea that you quickly shut down. You’d thought for a second that maybe you could buy him some cologne, but then you realized you had no idea what scent or brand he used. In fact, you weren’t sure he used and fragrance at all. The smell of leather, pine, and old books that he had just suited him so well you couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a natural thing. Either way, he always smelled so safe, so wonderful. You cursed yourself for letting your thoughts take that turn again. It was a lot easier to ignore this crush when you didn’t have to be thinking about him 24/7.

Traipsing into the kitchen, you found Peter and Thor having an animated conversation about what was better, pecan or pumpkin pie. You wondered if you could bake something for Loki as a gift, then you realized that still required knowing what he likes. You would get him tea, but you already knew for a fact that was what Thor had gotten him as a regular present. Plus it was a special Asgardian blend, so there was no way you could top that.

“Good morning, guys,” you greeted as you tried to decide what to eat for breakfast.

“Morning,” they chorused back.

You bit your lip, coming to a split second decision. “Can I ask you two a question. It’s about Secret Santa.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Peter said while you took a seat across from them.

“Ok, this is top secret, right? So don’t tell anybody.” They both eagerly nodded their heads. “I know you’re both friends with Loki, and well, I picked his name. I have no clue what to get him, though. Any ideas?”

“I have the perfect idea!” Thor declared as you motioned for him to keep his voice down. “Get him some causal Midgardian clothes. You have excellent taste, I am sure he will love whatever you pick out.”

You wrinkled your nose. “Are you sure that’s not just what you want for him? I mean, he seems plenty happy to wear his Asgardian clothes around the Tower. And there’s nothing wrong with dressing up when you go out.” You sighed when Thor just seemed confused by your words, not understanding that his brother had embraced the Midgardian style as much as he wanted to. “I’ll just consider that a back-up plan for now. What about you, Peter? Any thoughts?”

“What if we just went shopping together?” he excitedly suggested. “Then if we see something we think is good, we can just point it out.”

You hurriedly agreed, anxious to get the gift-buying out of the way. The plan was to head out right after your training session with Nat and Steve. Unfortunately, that meant you were distracted nearly the whole time, leaving you with a few more bruises than normal. You loved your teammates to death, but boy did they ever need to learn how to ease up a little in practice. You stayed a few minutes extra to do some cool down stretches, and in waltzed the trickster god who had been occupying so much of your brain space recently. The way he was flipping and catching his daggers as he walked was slightly mesmerizing.

“My apologies,” he said, noticing you. “I did not think there was anyone else in here. I can come back later if you still need the space.”

“No!” you shouted as he began to turn away. It was a bit louder than you had meant to say it, and you mentally kicked yourself. “I mean, I was just on my way out, so please, stay.”

He smiled and set his things down on the bench next to yours. You eyed the daggers that had just been wielded by his expertly trained hands moments ago.

“May I?” you asked, gesturing to them.

He picked one up and handed it to you. Turning it over in your hands, you noticed that handles were slightly worn, but it was still excellently crafted. The blade had obviously been sharpened a great number of times before and was looking like it might need to be again. You’d never personally used a dagger in battle, but the way Loki was so graceful with them made a part of you want to.

“To be very precise with such a weapon,” Loki began as if reading your thoughts, “requires great focus and skill. There is no room for error when used to block another’s attack, and to deliver a powerful blow, you must strike in just the right spot.” A shiver of excitement shot down your spine as he picked up his other blade and began adeptly demonstrating, moving like a flowing river as he sliced the air. “It is much smaller than most weapons, sure. However, it is just as deadly. And if the sword is an extension of your body, the same can be said for the dagger tenfold.”

You blinked a couple times, beyond impressed by his majestic, fluid movements. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. Now you just had to find a way to say that without sounding obsessed.

“Wow, Loki,” you finally gasped, unable to hide your amazement. “I don’t know how you do it, but you even make weapons sound beautiful. And you’re very talented, too. I could never,” you nervously laughed.

“You are too kind to me, my dear mortal,” he said, and you felt a spark of pride in your chest that you were making him blush yet again. “You are not kind enough to yourself, though. I am certain you would be excellent. Perhaps you just need to find a teacher.”

“Would you teach me?” you asked, oddly worried to do so. You tried to calm your swelling nerves.

“Well, I did not mean to imply that I should be your instructor, for I fear that I would not be very good at it.” He watched your smile falter just the tiniest bit and found himself rushing to bring it back to full strength. “However, if you so desire, I can certainly try. I must warn you, it will not be easy.”

“Loki, you’d really do that for me?” Your heart beat a little faster in your chest as he shyly nodded his head yes. “I would love to. And don’t worry about going easy; I want to be as good as you.”

“Excellent! We shall have out first lesson, say, at the start of the New Year?”

After the plans were set, you excused yourself so you could meet your friends for shopping. You were late as it was, and you still had to go freshen up. The whole reason for the trip was you, and you’d feel bad to keep them waiting much longer. Still, you stole one last glance at Loki before exiting.

Hours later, you still had no gift for Loki. You barely even had an idea, much to your dismay. Peter and Thor kept pointing out little trinkets, a couple of which you did pick up as a regular gift for him, but your Secret Santa gift had to be a showstopper. Something about him drew you in, and you wanted to give him the most amazing present you could. If only it weren’t so difficult.

You were walking down a street when you happened to notice the trickster god himself in one of the store windows. You waved your companions on with the excuse you wanted to check something out for one of them and entered the shop Loki was at. For a second you considered just watching him to try to get some ideas, but that was quickly dashed when he let out a sigh of frustration. He just looked so perplexed and adorably aggravated.

“Hey, Loki,” you greeted after clearing your throat. “Funny running into you here. Are you alright?”

“Hello, my dear mortal. Thank you for asking,” he said. “I am alright. It is just this blasted Secret Santa.”

“I know what you mean,” you replied before you could help yourself. “But I’m, uh, not going to say who it is. I mean, you can tell me if you want to, but I’ve already told so many people it’ll hardly be a secret if anyone else knows,” you covered your tracks.

“Ah, I see. It is supposed to be a secret, and I do so ever hate to crack under the pressure, but I find myself in dire need of assistance. Do you suppose you could help?”

You beamed at him as you realized you’d talked with him more in the past few days than you had in the last three weeks. If there was one thing you knew, it was you had better be careful, or you’d get addicted to the sound of his voice. You were on thin ice with this crush as it was, you really shouldn’t let it blossom into more.

“Sure! I’d love to. Who do you have?” you finally said, looking around the store. “Wait, let me guess. Steve?”

“Stark.”

“Oh. Well, he did say cash was fine,” you giggled.

“Believe me, I was tempted,” Loki chuckled along with you. “But I promised Thor I would make more of an effort this time around. I do not know what he is talking about, though. Bruce loved his socks last year!”

You slapped a hand over your mouth as your loud laughter garnered a few stares from other shoppers. Loki’s eyes held only soft admiration, though, and your hands got a little sweaty from how nervous that made you. You subtly wiped them on your pants as you calmed down.

“Well, it you want to get something more personal, I might have an idea.”

“By all means, do tell,” he urged.

“You know that tool set he was talking about the other day?” you questioned, but were met with a blank stare. “I’ll take that as a no, but he was saying he didn’t want to get them because he doesn’t actually need them.”

“When has that ever stopped him before?” Loki scoffed.

“I guess he’s trying something new,” you shrugged. “But anyway, if you got them it would show you were thinking about what he actually liked and stuff. Or maybe that’s dumb, sorry.”

“No, no, it is a splendid idea!” he was quick to reassure you. For a second it seemed as if he was going to reach out and touch your shoulder, but then he thought better of it. “You do not happen to know where they are sold, do you?”

You nodded and led him out of the store you were in, towards the place where he could buy them. You were waiting at a corner for a light to change, amicably chatting. Nothing groundbreaking, just small talk. Regardless, it made your heart beat just a little faster. Still engrossed in the conversation, you took a step out into the crosswalk when the light said it was safe to go. You didn’t notice the car speeding towards you until Loki grabbed your wrist and pulled you back into his chest. You gasped as he glared after the driver, who gave no acknowledgement or apology to you. The god’s arms were wrapped around you in a protective manner, and you looked up at his face, appreciating his beauty at this close angle. Given what had just happened, probably not the thing you should be focusing on.

“My dear mortal,” he fretted, looking down at you, not yet letting go. “Are you alright? You are not injured at all, are you? Shall I take you to the hospital wing to make sure?”

“I’m ok,” you reassured him, though a part of you didn’t want to. He seemed about ready to scoop you up and use his godly strength to carry you home. Alas, your moral compass decided that wouldn’t be very fair to him. “Just a little shaken, but you saved me. Thank you, Loki. That doesn’t really cut it, but thank you so much.”

“Do not mention it. I am just glad you are alright,” he replied, though his voice did still have a tint of worry to it. Maybe you were imaging it, but he seemed almost reluctant to let you go from his tight embrace. “Now, you may carefully lead the way. Carefully,” he emphasized.

With a giggle, you brought him to the store where the tools were. After browsing the aisles for a few minutes, the two of you found the shelf they were on. With a frown, you examined the price tag.

“Sorry, Loki,” you said. “I didn’t realize how expensive it was.”

“It is fine,” he replied, looking at the cost himself. “This is actually plenty within my price range.”

You waited outside of the busy store while he made his purchase and checked your phone. You felt a pang of guilt as you noticed a number of missed texts from Peter and Thor.

Sorry guys, you texted the group chat. Ran into someone I know and got carried away. Carry on without me.

Don’t worry, came Peter’s reply. See you back home :)

You pocketed your phone as Loki walked back out, giving you a smile. You looked at the ground to keep yourself from saying something stupid.

“I hope I am not keeping you from anything,” he said as you started walking back towards the Tower. “Is there any shopping I can assist you with?”

You lamented the irony of the situation. Despite the entire point of this venture being to buy a gift for Loki, you were still empty handed. It was tempting to try to ask him what he wanted, but you were sure he was far more clever than you were subtle.

“No, I’m good, thanks. But if you don’t mind my asking, how do you have so much money?” you asked to satisfy your curiosity. “I mean, Tony’s always complaining about how you use his credit card.”

“That, my dear mortal, is simply because I can,” he replied as you both laughed. “I have been around for much longer than you might imagine. I have amassed a certain amount of wealth in my many years.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cool, actually. You’re making me wish I was an immortal being,” you joked.

“And tell me, my dear mortal, if you were to treat yourself to something nice, what would it be?”

You thought about it for a moment. “Maybe I’d go to a nice restaurant,” you finally said. “It doesn’t have to be anything too far from home. Oh! Like, Nobu has really good sushi.”

“Well then, perhaps I will have to pay for us to have a meal there sometime.”

“Yeah! I bet the team would really like that.”

“Actually,” he sheepishly said, bringing you to a stop on the sidewalk, “I meant for just the two of us to go. That is, if you would like to. Maybe one day after we start our training. You are not obligated to say yes, though. The offer for me to pay is still open if you would like to take another friend instead of me.”

“Loki, no. That’s so generous, of course I’d love to go with you,” you reassured him, settling a hand on his arm. Though, admittedly, you were beyond flustered, especially when you realized how that last sentence sounded. “I mean as friends, of course. It sounds amazing, thank you.”

“Well then, I look forward to it.” He brought his hand to rest on yours, and goosebumps erupted on your skin, not only from his cold touch, but the wave of excitement you felt. “And speaking of our lessons, I was thinking you may want some daggers of your own. We do not have to get them now but-”

“That’s it!” you suddenly shouted, then apologized for cutting him off. “Can I borrow your daggers, Loki? To go get myself a pair?”

He offered to come with you, but you waved him off, saying you’d be fine on your own. It was a little suspicious, he thought, but decided to drop it. Handing you the weapons, he bid you goodbye. As soon as he was out of eyesight, you examined the daggers, trying to get a clear picture in your mind of what you wanted.

A few quick stops later, and after gaining permission from Tony, you were in the lab, carefully crafting Loki’s gift. It took a few days, and you were by no means used to doing this kind of thing, but you were finally satisfied with the finished product. You wrapped it and then hid it with the rest of your presents, just waiting to be given to their recipients. With only a few days left until Christmas Eve, you were filled with an anxious excitement to give Loki his gift. There was nothing left to do but hope that he likes it.

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

...You looked everywhere but at Loki as you approached him, nerves bubbling in your stomach. By the time you reached him, his mouth had curled into a soft smile. It occurred to you that you’d never seen him look that way at anyone but you. Building on the confidence that thought brought, you held out the gift.

“Here, Loki,” you told him, averting your gaze again. “This is for you.”

You perched on the edge of the coffee table across from him as he accepted the package with a thank you. There was some light chatter coming from the rest of your teammates, but it felt like the only people in the world at this moment were you and Loki, his fingers skillfully unwrapping the present. You sat on your hands to keep from fidgeting with them. It took all your focus to keep your eyes on Loki and not wandering the room in anticipation. As he opened the lid of the box and revealed what was inside, his mouth formed into a surprised “o”.

He picked up the gift, a pair of new daggers, each with a gold hilt. His name was engraved on it, and there was a band of emeralds at the top and bottom. You’d made them the same dimensions as his old ones.

“My dear mortal,” he breathed in awe, his eyes full of sincerity, coming up to met yours. “This is so thoughtful, so beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Loki. I’m really glad you like it.”

“I do. I love it,” he replied, taking your hand in his for the briefest of moments. He pulled away before anyone could really think anything of it. Neither of you said anything else, instead just staring into each other’s eyes.

“Ok, Reindeer Games,” Tony said, interrupting the moment you were sharing with Loki. “Now it’s your turn. So, who’d you get?”

“Well, actually, I picked your name, Stark. Here,” he said, nonchalantly handing over the gift. Though he seemed completely uninterested, you could tell he was a little nervous. “For you.”

“Alright, let’s see what it is. I swear, this better not be socks or-” Tony cut off, seeing the very thing he wanted. “Wow, Rock of Ages. This is really thoughtful. Thanks. I had no idea you actually listened,” he finished with a laugh.

“You are quite welcome,” Loki said, but he was more looking at you than Tony.

Later that evening, after all the gifts were given out, you were sitting by the fireplace, waiting for the flames to completely die out. You were curled up in the corner of the couch, your feet pulled up next to you, a blanket draped over your shoulders, and a book open on your lap.

“My dear mortal,” Loki’s voice suddenly said as he appeared in the doorway, pulling you from the words on the page. “I thought you were supposed to be in bed, lest Santa skip this house and move onto the next.”

“Yes, but I have to make sure the fire goes out so he can get in,” you laughed, playing along. “As long as I’m up, I wouldn’t mind some company. Care to join me?”

Wordlessly, he sat down, and you closed your book. The both of you just stared at the dying flames in a peaceful silence for a while. Your mind seemed to be content to be filled with thoughts of Loki; the way he was sitting so close, the way his hands kept brushing his hair away from his face every few moments, the way he’d looked at you earlier when he’d received your gift. After you weren’t sure exactly how long, he gently said your name, bringing you out of your thoughts.

“Yes?” you replied.

“I truly do your love your gift. It is beyond lovely, your generosity and thoughtfulness a true reflection of what is in your brilliant soul.”

“Loki, I can’t even express how happy I am to hear that. And thank you for your beautiful words.”

“Speaking of,” he nervously said, “the gift that I have for you, it is, well, my words. A poem. I am sorry to say, I would be a little self-conscious to give it to you in front of everyone else. Would I... Would I be able to recite it to you now?”

“Of course, Loki. Whatever you’re comfortable with. I’m just grateful that you’re willing to share it with me.”

“Alright then, my dear mortal. Here goes nothing.”

You shifted to a more position as he took a deep breath and opened up a journal. You waited with bated breath as he began to speak.

“From your eyes that shine as the brightest stars, to your smile that's a reflection of your radiant heart. From your gentle hands that fit as though they belong in mine, to your laugh that stops my perception of time. You've shown me kindness when I didn't feel I deserved it, you welcomed me into your world with a caring embrace and showed me I am not my mistakes. My heart beats stronger for you, the love that I feel couldn't be more true. If you will have me, I will show you the world, for you have shown me the universe, the place also known as your touch, as your mind, as your heart, as your soul. You, you are my universe.”

He looked at you expectantly, but with a hesitation understandable given what he’d just confessed. You wanted to tell him how you felt just as eloquently, but were dumbstruck that the feelings were even reciprocated.

“Loki,” you said, holding his cold hands in your warm ones. “That’s so beautiful and I-I love you, too.”

He seemed just as shocked as you that the feeling could be mutual. He squeezed your hands, at a loss for words for the first time since you’d known him. With no one to interrupt you this time, you remained lost in each other’s emotion-filled eyes. It was Loki who broke the silence.

“My dear mortal, I... May I kiss you?”

You answered by surging forward and pressing your lips to his. His hands came to cup your cheeks, and yours found his hair, tangling themselves in his dark locks. He tasted like heaven, and you sighed against his mouth. You could have stayed that way forever, and yet it could never be enough. Sadly, you had to pull away, but Loki was quick to pull you against him, holding you to his chest as if he didn’t believe you’d stay, didn’t believe he could have something so wonderful.

You stayed like that for a while, conveying things even words couldn’t say in the silence, just holding each other. Eventually, you began talking, enjoying the way a light conversation was flowing between you. Your eyes were drooping shut as you snuggled against his chest, the final embers of the fire going out. You glanced at the clock and saw that it read midnight.

“Merry Christmas, Loki,” you whispered. “There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, my dear mortal. I could write you a thousand poems, and still I would never properly express how much I feel the same.”

As sleep slowly claimed you, it occurred to you that you may have never even admitted how you feel without the whole Secret Santa ordeal. It seemed that it had revealed more secrets than you’d ever expected, and for that, you’d be forever grateful.

315 notes · View notes

canarygirl1017 · 4 years ago

Text

Ghosted - Chapter 3 (Teaser)

Pairing: Reader / Jungkook, Reader / Taehyung (past relationship, friends to lovers to friends)

Genre: College!au, fluff, angst, supernatural drama, smut, friends to lovers, emotional trauma, hurt/comfort

Length: 2, 933k words (partial chapter)

Warnings: language, episodes of anxiety, panic attacks, sexual themes in later chapters.

Summary: Living in a world full of things only you have the ability to see, growing up with Jungkook has been your island amidst the chaos. But when your best friend makes an impossible request, your friendship is fractured, and your sudden decision to cut ties and move abroad changes everything. Three years later, Jungkook is thriving at university as he begins his junior year. He’s a star athlete, member of a popular fraternity, and every girl’s ideal boyfriend. He tells himself that he’s long forgotten you and the friendship he never had a chance to mend – that is, until you show up on campus as a transfer student with new friends in tow. It’s been three years, and everything has changed, but the biggest change is you. Your new found determination to use your abilities to help the ghosts you used to live in fear of, no matter how dangerous it might be, makes Jungkook fear he’ll lose you before he has a chance to fix what he broke. College AU.

Disclaimer: Just for funsies, I don’t believe in real-life shipping. But I like to write, and I like fandom, so here we are. Please do not duplicate this work or repost anywhere else without permission.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Ghosted Playlist

Chapter 3

“You ready to go?”

You turned to see Taehyung leaning in your doorway. He was wearing flared jeans and a green paisley silk button-down shirt. The open butterfly collar revealed a vintage Chanel gold medallion, and he’d added light green sunglasses to complete his retro look.

Taehyung had picked out your outfit – a short, cream colored wrap dress with an abstract floral design and long flared sleeves. Knee high rust red boots and pin straight hair completed the look, and for once you felt like a match to his fashionable appearance.

You held up a finger as you opened your jewelry box, looking for the vintage garnet drop earrings you’d found to complement the outfit. You slid them in, moving your hair back to admire how they dangled and caught the light.

“Okay, I’m ready,” you said, turning to find him behind you.

“Almost,” he said, pulling a small box out of his pocket.

“Tae,” you said reprovingly as he opened the box and took out a ring. The antique gold setting was beautiful – an oval opal surrounded by a halo of garnets – and it looked perfect when he slid it onto your right ring finger.

“Now you’re ready,” he said, looking pleased as he stood back to check your appearance.

You raised a brow. “When did you even have time to shop for this?” Taehyung’s little surprise gifts were something to which you’d become accustomed over the last few years, and your attempts to discourage him were usually ignored.

He shrugged and as always, his sheepish grin disarmed you. You reached up and adjusted his collar.

“You look like you’re ready for a Vogue shoot,” you said, smiling back. “The poor girls at this party won’t know what hit them.”

“That’s why I have you to protect me,” he replied.

It was Friday, the final weekend before classes started, and the welcoming activities had ramped up in the last week. You and Taehyung had attended some of them and declined others, but you’d committed to the biggest events of the weekend – tonight’s Musical Eras mixer and tomorrow’s Movie Night on the Quad.

The mixer was being held at the Kappa fraternity house, something that had almost made you reconsider attending because you were certain to run into Jungkook again as you had for the last week. While your anger had cooled, you still felt that knot of anxiety in your stomach whenever you saw him, wondering if he’d still be angry or if he’d just pretend you didn’t exist.

So far, his attitude fell somewhere in the middle – when he saw you and Taehyung together at the supermarket, he tried to hide his reaction, but the little muscle ticking away in his jaw was a dead giveaway. A couple of days later, you saw him in the park while you were walking Yeontan and for once, he didn’t look big mad at the sight of you. You were alone and had considered trying to talk to him, but he was with friends. Not wanting to invite public rejection, you waved at the group and hurried away, noticing the little wrinkle between his brows as he watched you go.

Jin, Jimin and Jimin’s girlfriend, Ayeong, had all been by the house a couple of times. Sera had also visited with her mother, accepting Taehyung’s offer of a house tour since Sera’s mother was interested in how the historical home had been renovated. Jungkook was noticeably absent, though Jin seemed certain that he’d eventually come around.

You weren’t so certain of that. In all the years you’d been friends with Jungkook, you’d never seen him so deeply upset with another person. If someone upset him, he might avoid that person for a while, but he always got over it, and you’d never seen him blow up at anyone the way he had with you.

You always thought you knew him better than anyone, and he you, but now you had to acknowledge the reality of this situation – three years had passed, and the truth was, you didn’t know this Jungkook. Worse, he didn’t know you either and you had no one to blame for that but yourself.

________________

Stepping into the Kappa house was like stepping back in time. The large house had several rooms downstairs, each of which reflected a different decade of music, and everyone had taken their costumes just as seriously. You laughed when Jimin and Ayeong met you out front dressed as Sonny and Cher.

“Very nice,” you said, gesturing to Ayeong’s dress.

“Thanks, I love yours too.”

Thought it was still early, the party was already a crush of people circulating between the rooms. Younger guys, probably freshmen, circulated with drinks on trays which they offered to guests.

“Pledges?” Taehyung asked Jimin as he took a beer.

Jimin nodded. “They have to put in an hour according to a schedule and then they’re free to party. That’s as close to hazing as we get here.”

When Jimin offered you a glass of wine, you shook your head. “I don’t really drink much when I’m…” you paused, unsure how to finish the sentence without being weird. “When I’m out.”

You could see that Jimin understood what you meant. “Got it. We have a dry bar too if you want to call it that.”

Ayeong linked arms with you. “I’ll show her. I’m not really in the mood to drink either.”

The dry bar turned out to be pretty impressive, with lots of juice, sparkling water, club soda, and even fruits you could add. You settled for club soda with a splash of raspberry juice and slices of lemon, while Ayeong created a tropical drink.

“I know Jungkook is being… well, difficult. But I just want you to know that Jimin is so happy you’re back,” Ayeong said. “He said you were all friends since kindergarten.”

“Jimin was always one of the sweetest people at our school,” you replied. “It was really easy to be his friend.”

“Not much has changed then,” Ayeong laughed. “What about Jungkook? Jimin says he wasn’t always such a fuckboy.”

You choked on a sip of your drink. “Jungkook is a fuckboy?”

“Well, a nice one? I think he only hooks up with girls who want the same kind of no-strings fun, so there’s never any drama related to it. He’s not the type to get serious though, which is why I’ve told Erin she needs to move on from her crush.”

Fuckboy Jungkook wasn’t something you could really imagine, nor did you want to. You chose not to think too closely about why it bothered you so much.

But once you spotted him across the room talking to a group of girls, you couldn’t shake that image from your mind. He looked good. Really, really good. He was dressed in tight red pants, a black silk button down, and he’d completed his Michael Jackson Thriller homage with a red leather jacket trimmed in black. When he laughed at something one of the girls said, his dimples appeared.

“I’m surprised Jungkook is wearing a costume – he almost never does,” Ayeong commented.

“He kind of stopped wearing them by the time we were in high school,” you said. “But this kind of party, plus a Thriller homage, is pretty on brand for him.”

“Oh, that’s who he’s supposed to be! I’m really bad at guessing all of these costumes.”

You and Taehyung stuck with Jimin and Ayeong, who introduced you to people you hadn’t met yet. Everyone was welcoming, but two hours in you were starting to feel a little overwhelmed by the crowds and the noise. There was also the fact that ever since Jungkook became aware of your presence, you’d felt his eyes on you. You’d hoped his neutral response to you at the park was progress, but you could feel his judgmental stare like a brand.

Every time you glanced over at him, his impassive expression was contradicted by some blazing emotion in his eyes. You reminded yourself that you’d known this would probably be a struggle – that Jungkook would likely be angry with you for leaving. Emmie had even said that no one mentioned your name to him anymore.

You’d just underestimated how much it would hurt.

___________________

Jungkook almost skipped Movie Night on the Quad because he was in a foul mood after the Musical Eras mixer. Seeing you there with Taehyung in your matching costumes had made him inexplicably angry, something Jin called him out on.

“Shouldn’t we be glad that she has good people in her life?” Jin asked him when he stomped around the kitchen the next day, slamming cabinets as he fixed a late breakfast.

“He’s right,” Jimin said. “Plus you know that she and Taehyung aren’t together, right?”

That made him pause. “They look like they’re together.” Fucking matching costumes and all, he thought viciously.

“They dated, but Ayeong said y/n told her it’s been a while since they were together like that. At least six months or so.”

“Who the hell follows their ex-girlfriend to another country? And buys a house?”

“If you took the time to get to know Taehyung, you’d understand that he feels like y/n saved his life. He’s committed to helping her with the ghost hunting because of that, but he also genuinely cares about her. So do Namjoon and Chloe,” Jin said. “They’re all good people.”

“Whatever,” Jungkook muttered, shoving cereal into his mouth.

“Forget it, Jin. He won’t admit the real problem, and we all know his anger default setting when it comes to y/n is because of that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jungkook demanded.

“You’re jealous. You’ve always been jealous of anyone that got close to y/n,” Jimin replied calmly. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.

Jungkook grit his teeth. “I’m not jealous.”

“Really? So every time a guy expressed interest in dating her back in high school, and you very pointedly warned them all off, that was you just being what? A good friend?” Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Who? Like Lucas? You’re damn right I warned him off. He didn’t deserve her.”

“What about me?” Jimin asked, a challenge in his tone. “I told you that I liked her our sophomore year, and you shot down that idea so fast I was afraid if I pursued it, it would actually ruin our friendship.”

Jungkook stared at him, shifting uncomfortably. “Because you weren’t serious about it.”

“Says who? I was dead serious, Jungkook, and you know it. For that matter, I think even Lucas was serious about liking her. He never said a word about her that wasn’t totally respectful.”

“Yeah, because he knew I would beat his ass,” Jungkook said.

“You’re right – everybody knew that. Why do you think people steered clear of her? Why do you think Grace hated her so much? I told you that Grace wasn’t as nice as you thought she was. Yet you still held tight to y/n with one hand while you chased after Grace. And I figured it was just a matter of time until you realized how you really felt about y/n, so I let it go. But damn, Jungkook, you need to stop taking out your anger on y/n. Let her explain why she left.”

No one spoke for a moment. Then Jungkook asked, “Has she told you why?”

“I asked her,” Jin said. “But I think she’s waiting to talk to you first.”

Jungkook tried not to think about what Jimin said, but now that he was here on the quad, and you were just a few feet away, it was all he could think about. Jealousy.

He couldn’t deny he hated seeing how close you were to Taehyung. The way the other man touched you, or kept a protective arm around you, pissed him off. The way you smiled at him made him even angrier. Still, beneath the anger was something else – a yearning for the way things had been. No one had ever understood him the way you did, and he missed that connection with you.

It was his fault you left. That little voice in the back of his head kept reminding him that you weren’t the only one to blame for this vast distance between you now. He kind of understood why you’d left, but he didn’t know why it had taken you so long to return.

He kept stealing glances at you rather than watching the movie playing on the large screen set up on the quad. You’d been to the concession stand, and he wasn’t surprised to see you eating gummy bears since that had always been your favorite movie snack.

You looked pretty. Your hair was a little longer now than it had been in high school and fell in gentle waves around your shoulders. You wore another floaty little summer dress, the kind you had always liked, small feet encased in comfortable flat sandals. You and Taehyung had joined Jimin, Ayeong, Erin and Jin on a large blanket towards the front of the crowd.

Stubbornly, Jungkook had opted to sit with some of his friends from the baseball team. He was still close enough to watch you – to hear your voice – to just observe you while his mind sorted through his confusing thoughts and emotions. You had glanced over at him a few times, as if feeling his eyes on you, a silent question in your own. And somehow, he knew that you understood that he needed some time.

At the intermission between films, you went with Ayeong and Erin to the bathroom. Jungkook got tacos from a nearby food truck and when he returned, he noticed that you were the only one missing from the group. A few minutes later, Taehyung was frowning at his phone after making a call that had gone unanswered.

“I’m going to go check on her,” he heard the other man say as he stood up.

Jungkook hesitated for a few seconds before following him. Taehyung had his phone to his ear again, though again there seemed to be no answer.

“What’s wrong?” Jungkook asked as he caught up to him.

Taehyung turned and scowled at him. Then he sighed. “Ayeong said she stayed back because she got a call from her mom that she needed to answer. Maybe it’s nothing, but she’s been gone for almost twenty minutes, so I just want to make sure nothing happened.”

Jungkook nodded and then they were silent as they walked around the buildings that were still open. The campus was well lit, so it was easy to see the faces of people walking to the dorms or back to the quad. When they didn’t see you anywhere, Taehyung made another call.

“Chloe, I need you to ping y/n’s location and send it to my phone.” He listened for a minute. “Maybe nothing but I can’t find her and I don’t know – I’m getting a weird feeling. Okay, thanks.”

Taehyung’s unease was contagious, and Jungkook shifted from one foot to the other as they waited. Then Taehyung’s phone vibrated, and he studied his screen for a moment before gesturing for Jungkook to follow him. After walking for a few minutes, Jungkook realized they were heading towards a park where students often had lunch or relaxed between classes.

And there you were, a silent, ghostly figure swaying in the moonlight as you hummed a strange tune.

“Fuck.” Taehyung started running.

Jungkook was right behind him. When he reached you, he tried to take your arm to turn you towards them, but Taehyung stopped him.

“Don’t touch her,” he said, a note of warning in his tone. “She’s in a sort of fugue state, and it’s safer if she comes out of it herself.”

Rather than argue, Jungkook walked around to face you, but froze when he saw that your eyes were unfocused, and almost… glowing? It was clear that you didn’t see him, though he was standing right in front of you.

Jungkook’s heart was pounding now. “How do we make her do that?”

“There’s something else here,” Taehyung explained. “It probably tried to communicate with her. Sometimes, if she lets her guard down, or if the spirit is especially powerful, she gets sort of… pulled to the other side. It’s usually because they’re trying to show her something.”

Swallowing hard, Jungkook nodded. “Okay. How do we make her come out of it?”

“We can’t make her, and if we try, it can cause severe shock. She’ll already be in a state of shock when she comes to on her own, so we have to be careful. I’m going to go get the car. You wait here with her and just keep talking to her, okay?”

“Can I touch her hands?”

“Carefully,” Taehyung said. “Don’t pull her or shake her, and don’t try to make her move.”

“Okay.” Jungkook pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Jin, I need you to come to the park right now. The one behind the science building.”

You were still humming and swaying when Jungkook reached out to touch your hand. There was no response, so he carefully took both your hands in his.

“Jesus, your hands are freezing,” he said quietly. “You never dress right for being out at night. You know that you get cold even when it’s not that cold, right?”

He squeezed your hands carefully in an attempt to warm them up. There was no response from you, your eyes still fixed on something he couldn’t see.

A/N: I know it's been a long time since I posted, and I'm sorry about that. If you're still reading, I'll get the rest of the chapter up this week, and there is some fluff in the future as Jungkook and y/n start repairing their relationship. I hope I remembered all the people who asked to be tagged (and got the tags right.) If you’d like to be tagged for updates, let me know.

Tag list: @ggukkieland @jikooksgirl19 @waves-and-woods @kookiesbreaky @koochiekoo @monvieesdaebak

#college au #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #Jungkook smut #bts imagines #jungkook x you #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #ghosted

70 notes · View notes

yolkyeomie · 4 years ago

Text

Improv Game | Yang Jeongin

summary — maybe following the script of what’s ahead isn’t for you and a little bit of improv is all you need to make it better

word count — 1.9k words

pairing — gender neutral!reader x jeongin (ft. x hyunjin)

genre — high school au, transmigration(?) au, fluff, cliff hanger

disclaimer — this is VERY loosely based off of series like Extraordinary You and the awfully popular reincarnation webtoons i’ve seen like… everywhere. I JUST NEEDED SUMN TO WRITE OKAY?

You strained a smile at the boy in front of you, rhythmically tapping your fingers on the desk in hopes that he’d pick up your annoyed undertone. Though to no avail did he notice. He simply took it as your way of attentively listening to him speak and that’s all he would ever take it as, he was rather oblivious after all. You couldn’t exactly blame him for this unfortunate trait of his but you couldn’t stand it either.

“Oh, Y/N, if you don’t mind me asking…,” the boy began, leaning back in his chair as he held onto the desk for support. His eyes wandered from the front of the classroom then to the classroom window where the cherry blossoms were on full display to finally your eyes.

You didn’t mean to make direct eye contact with him but he caught your gaze a lot quicker than you could look away. With a deep sigh you stretched your arms out before turning your genuine attention to him, “What’s up, Hyunjin? Go ahead and spit it out.”

He cleared his throat for the moment, his eyes darting away from your connected gazes before mumbling something out of his mouth. The boy glanced at you to see if you had heard him and when you showed no signs of understanding, he cleaned his throat again. “I said if you’re not busy any time like… I don’t know— tomorrow? If you wanted to hang out? Like go to the park or an arcade or—“

“—like a date?” You questioned, raising a brow in suspicion.

Hyunjin immediately started to crumble, his face flushing a beetroot red and his ears practically steaming from your words. “No, no! Not a date! I would like… never ask you on a date! Unless you want it to be a date…? I mean if you don’t think it’s a date then it’s not a date—!” The boy continued to ramble, nearly forgetting about your existence as he tried to cover himself.

You were in a very… odd situation to say the least. One day you had woken in a room that wasn’t yours, in a house that wasn’t yours, with friends you didn’t know, going to a school you never went to. Only one could imagine the amount of disarray you were in as you tried to traverse the day struggling to get from one place to another when you didn’t have a clue of what was exactly going on.

You thought, maybe if you just get through this day, everything will go back to normal when you wake up again? As if this was all some sort of… dream your mind had created in your slumber.

But alas, that was definitely not the case. You woke up the next day in the nearly same situation you were in before. And the same in the next day, and the day after that. Soon days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. You were still living throughout each day as if you had never really woken up in the unfamiliar at all.

The kicker? You had quickly caught onto the fact that you were within a book, maybe even a comic who knows, and were walking around as the main protagonist. Well, quickly isn’t the right word per say. A week went by as if everything was normal until you interacted with a teacher who had asked for you after school.

The conversation was as normal as any conversation with an adult would go until you looked above their head and saw words in bold quotation marks detailing words that hadn’t been spoken yet. Without thinking, you read them out loud and the teacher responded exactly to what you had read out. You didn’t think anything of it at first until the routine you had adapted yourself to suddenly changed to fit the words you had read to him.

The world was shaping around the detailed actions and words the story was instructing you to take. Sometimes it would be something simple like helping your teachers with their work and other times if quite literally instructing you to get hit with a soccer ball in the face. You didn’t want to follow through when things like the latter were given to you, but they would just happen whether you liked it or not.

Oh and your main love interest? It was Hyunjin. You’d think having someone fated to fall in love with you and vice versa would be interesting and exciting to you, but you weren’t feeling it all.

Don’t get it wrong, Hyunjin is a very nice kid. He’s tall and handsome with a sweet personality, but he just… wasn’t your type? So trying to get your “character” to fall in love with him was hard. Especially when whatever author that was scripting your interactions together made them happen extremely frequently and in rather annoying ways.

Not a day goes by where you can get some peace and quiet. Whenever you thought you’d be free, Hyunjin would always pop up to greet you or keep you company or even pull you to the next step of your growing relationship when you really didn’t want to.

It seemed like the date-that’s-not-really-a-date-but-it-totally-is was the next step into pushing you two closer to each other. It had to be, given the fact that the next sentence that was supposed to come out of your mouth had appeared over his stressed out figure.

You concealed a deep sigh as you placed your hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. The boy immediately stopped in his tracks, turning to face you with wide and curious eyes. You flashed him your best smile possible, “Yes, let’s make it a date.”

The boy nearly popped a vein, blinking rapidly and his cheeks growing warmer and warmer at your answer. “You… Do you really mean it? Like… this wouldn’t be just two friends hanging out— this will be a whole date?”

“Do you even know what the definition of a date is? Of course it’s a whole date!” You recited, watching Hyunjin’s eyes begin to glow and his smile stretching from ear to ear.

A small hum of satisfaction left his lips as he jumped up from his seat, struggling to contact his excitement. “Okay then! It’s… it’s a date?”

“It’s a date.”

“It’s a date!” He exclaimed, catching the attention of nearly the entire class. Luckily it was a free period so you didn’t have to worry about interrupting the class instruction but it was still embarrassing. You practically sunk in your seat and covered your face to the best of your ability as Hyunjin hopped about the room in glee. “Jeongin, Jeongin! You’ll never guess what happened to me!”

Your head immediately shot up upon hearing the name uttered from the boy’s lips, your eyes glued straight onto Hyunjin’s back. The boy was jumping up and down in the door and his back was blocking the view of whoever was in front of him, but you didn’t exactly mind. You simply waited for him to stop moving before finally spotting the familiar dimpled boy in front him, his pretty smile and excited eyes on the main love interest.

Jeongin, the main love interest’s best friend and the device used to move the plot forward, that’s exactly who he was. Minus the fact that you liked Jeongin a lot more than you liked Hyunjin.

Your body so desperately wanted to move on it’s own, your eyes following the boy’s every move as he expressed his delight for the boy’s accomplishments.

The mischievous glint in his eyes every time was mesmerizing, the pretty tone of voice he had was exhilarating, and his unique features almost made him too good to be true. Not to mention how genuinely funny he was without even trying, he was much more your speed than the gullible and kind Hyunjin that you were paired with.

Unfortunately, the story you were placed in would never let Jeongin think of you more than a friend. He just wasn’t scripted that way. While Hyunjin may love you unconditionally because that was his purpose, you didn’t find it as appealing as perhaps a reader or any other normal main protagonist would be.

Plus, you had no idea how exactly you’d be able to break free from the plotline of you and Hyunjin getting together nor did you know what would happen if you did. You had always followed the path that was in front of you without question, the possibility of getting to the end of the story and escaping the book you were in had been the only thing you were reaching for.

But if you strayed from that somehow and got with Jeongin against the author’s wishes, what exactly would that entail for you? Would you still be forced together with Hyunjin? Or would the author somehow eradicate Jeongin’s existence altogether?

Big bold quotes appeared over Jeongin and Hyunjin’s heads, your next scripted words to continue the plot blasted right in your face like flashing headlights. You read them silently to yourself for a moment, glancing from Hyunjin to Jeongin with a skeptical frown on your face.

I can’t wait for tomorrow, Hyunjin!

What a simple phrase to repeat, a normal response in the situation you were in. You and Hyunjin were fated to be with each other, destined to fall in love no matter what odds were against the two of you. But… you just weren’t feeling it honestly. Who would have guessed that the obstacles that stood in between you and Hyunjin becoming a couple was yourself, the main protagonist, after all?

With a deep breath, you stood up from your seat and flagged down Hyunjin and Jeongin to get their attention. Jeongin was the first to notice, catching your moving figure in the corner of his eye and hitting the boy’s shoulder to get his attention. Hyunjin turned around shortly after, his hair whipping in the wind and landing perfectly on his shoulders thanks to his typical love interest privileges.

He smiled at you, his wide and grand smile that should have made any person fall out in adoration. You raised your hand to wave at the boys as you spoke, “Hi… Jeongin.”

Hyunjin’s infatuated gaze fell into one of confusion, his face twisting as he looked back at the friend you had called out to.

Jeongin looked just as confused as Hyunjin, unsure of whether or not he could respond to you. Though it was a little too late to not answer now, you had already made eye contact with each other. Not responding would be seen as rude to his friend’s future partner after all. “Hi, Y/N” He replied, his words seemingly unscripted from what the original author had intended. Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to say a word to you in this scene but that didn’t matter now.

You had taken the first step into straying off the path that was laid out for you since you woke up in this book’s storyline, and now you were going to run for it. Run as fast as you can to change the story to what you wanted, a story where you can have Jeongin all for yourself, and not what the author had intended for you.

After all, you're not the protagonist that the author had intended to write. You are you’re own person with your own wants and desires, you were going to get what you wanted whether the author liked it or not.

48 notes · View notes

swan-of-sunrise · 4 years ago

Text

Taking Care of Business (Chapter Eleven)

Summary: (Y/N), Mando and the child arrive on Nevarro and meet with the town’s magistrate and marshal, and (Y/N)’s time on the planet brings back difficult memories of the Rebellion.

Pairing: Din Djarin X Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: Brief description of a panic attack

A/N: I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Eleven The Siege (Previous Chapter)

“Okay, now ease down on the lever…”

While Mando piloted the Razor Crest through the clouds of Nevarro, he glanced over his shoulder at (Y/N) and heaved one of his trademark sighs of exasperation. “I thought I hired a partner, not a piloting instructor.”

“I’m sorry but out of the two of us, which one crashed a ship onto an inhospitable ice planet and then straight into a harbor?” (Y/N) asked, sarcasm lacing her words; the Mandalorian didn’t say anything as he turned back around and her smile only widened. “You know, it’s funny how I can’t see your eyes and yet I always know when you’re rolling them at me.” She looked down at the child in her lap, who was busy playing with his silver orb. “Mando’s pretty silly, isn’t he, little guy?”

The child squealed in delight when she wriggled her fingers at his sides and she laughed; she’d never been very good with children but the longer she’d been near the small green child, the more comfortable she’d become with him. To her surprise, the feeling seemed to be mutual; although he still preferred to be held by Mando, there were times when he’d practically demand her attention no matter what she was already doing. It was a little odd at first, to have another being want her around so much, but she’d grown used to it.

Despite her earlier teasing, Mando managed to land the ship as smoothly as he could at the outskirts of the small town; he took the child from her and waited for her to finish strapping her blaster to her waist before lowering the back ramp. It succeeded in lowering itself halfway before seizing up and after exchanging identical sighs of defeat, they both walked out onto the ramp and jumped the short way down to the ground.

A man and a woman, who (Y/N) immediately recognized as Greef Karga and Cara Dune, stood by and watched as they approached them. Karga was the first to speak, exclaiming, “Looks like someone could use some repairs!”

Mando firmly shook his hand. “How’s my credit around here?”

“I think something can be arranged. Isn’t that right, Marshal?”

Cara smiled beside him, reaching forward to affectionately stroke the child’s large ear. “I’m sure we can work something out.” When she straightened, (Y/N) caught sight of the tattooed stripes on her right bicep and instantly recognized them as the marks of a Rebel drop soldier; before she could say or do anything, though, she met Cara’s gaze and finally noticed the small Rebel Alliance tear tattooed at the corner of her eye. (Y/N)’s blood turned to ice at the sight; she’s from Alderran, she thought with dread, hoping with all her might that the marshal couldn’t detect her hint of a Mid-Rim accent and realize she was Naboo. Within the Rebel Alliance, those from Naboo were treated with resentment by the survivors of Alderran, as they blamed the planet for the rise of the Empire, and (Y/N) quickly learned to hide her planet of origin from other Rebellion smugglers. Thankfully, though, Cara only looked at her with a curious gleam in her eye. “I see you brought a friend, Mando. Aren’t you gonna introduce us?”

“This is (Y/N), my newest crew member; I brought her on to help with my quest. (Y/N), this is Cara Dune.”

“I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cara.” With a nervous smile, (Y/N) shook the marshal’s outstretched hand. “Mando’s told me a little about you.”

“All good things?”

“Oh, I’m sure; Mando’s our pal, after all!” Karga clasped her hand between his and grinned. “Greef Karga. It’s an honor to welcome any friend of Mando’s to Nevarro, but especially one as charming as you.”

While (Y/N) raised a brow at his compliment, Mando rested his free hand on his hip and tilted his helmet. “The ship, Karga?”

“I’ll get my best people on it.” Karga turned to a couple of mechanics working nearby. “Hey, fellas, let’s fix this man’s ship! I want it good as new!” In the crook of Mando’s arm, the child cooed and Karga’s grin widened. “And you. Come here, little one!” Karga lifted the child up and laughed. “Have Mando and (Y/N) been taking good care of you, huh?” The magistrate looked up from the child and shot them both a stern look. “Have you two been taking good care of him?” Hearing the child coo again, Karga chuckled. “Yeah? Yeah, he said ‘yeah!’”

Still talking to the child nestled in his arms, Karga turned and began walking back to the town; the three of them followed, (Y/N) with carefully concealed reluctance. Just as she was about to tell Mando she’d rather stay with the ship and oversee its repairs, Cara glanced over at them with narrowed eyes. “So, how long have you two been working together?”

“A couple of months. We met when she hired me to help her with a job and once I saw her piloting abilities, I asked her to join my crew.” Mando didn’t elaborate further and (Y/N)’s shoulders nearly sagged in relief; she suspected that her partner had picked up on her discomfort but she wasn’t positive until he rested a comforting hand on her lower back as they made their way through a bustling market. “Looks like you two’ve been busy.”

“I myself have been steeped in clerical work,” Karga called out over his shoulder. “Marshal Dune here is to be thanked for cleaning up the town.”

Cara merely shrugged, turning her attention back to Mando. “Your ship’s not lookin’ too good.”

“We had a run-in with the New Republic.”

(Y/N) bit back a smile at her partner’s purposefully vague explanation and listened as Karga muttered, “They should leave the Outer Rim alone. If the Empire couldn’t settle it, what makes them think they can?” They stopped in front of a large building and he reached for the door’s control panel. “Here we are.”

While Karga was busy pressing buttons, Mando tilted his helmet and let out a contemplative hum. “I’m surprised to see this place still standing.”

“Just wait ‘til you see inside.” The marshal smiled before turning and following Karga into the building.

(Y/N) and Mando trailed behind, standing beside the two and taking in the scene before them; they were inside of a school room, and she’d visited enough cantinas in her lifetime to realize what the building had formerly housed. Rows of children seated at desks were listening with rapt attention as a protocol droid pointed to a star chart and lectured about the galaxy, and (Y/N)’s heart warmed at the sight.

“A school?” Mando asked, and judging by the tone of his voice, he was also endeared by the peaceful sight.

Cara grinned and nodded as they looked on. “Things have changed a lot around here.”

“We’ll leave the little one here so we can talk business.”

Her brow furrowing in concern, (Y/N) held up a hand to stop the magistrate from leaving. “Wait…”

“Wherever we go, he goes.” Mando added, worry lacing his words as he glanced down at the wide-eyed child in Karga’s arm.

“Mando, (Y/N), please. Where we’re going, you don’t wanna take a child. Trust me.”

Karga glanced between them before turning and moving to place the child at one of the empty desks near the front, and (Y/N) nervously bit her lip as Cara quietly reassured them both; the magistrate walked back to where all three of them stood and gestured for them to follow him back out to the street. Mando hesitated, still looking over at the child, and (Y/N) grabbed his gloved hand to urge him along with her; he eventually relented, walking by her side out of the school room as she reluctantly released his hand.

They followed Karga and Cara through the busy streets to an administrative building; before (Y/N) could enter behind the two men, Cara’s hand shot out and grabbed her elbow to halt her. “I haven’t done anythin’ to offend you, (Y/N), have I? I only ask ‘cause you seem a little skittish here.”

Quickly shaking her head, (Y/N) met the marshal’s concerned gaze with an apologetic smile. “No, no, of course not! It’s just that…well, I saw your stripes and…I’m a veteran, too, I was a Captain in the Alliance Fleet,” She blurted out, instantly regretting her words as she hurriedly continued. “I’m just not used to seeing other veterans, that’s all.” Realization dawned on Cara’s face and she nodded in understanding, walking alongside (Y/N) as they entered the administrative building together.

“…Mythrol here’s taken care of my books since he was a pollywog. But then he disappeared one day after a bit of ‘creative accounting.’”

(Y/N) looked on as a nervous Mythrol seated at a desk tried and failed to smile. “Magistrate Karga was generous enough to let me work off my debt. Thank you, by the way.”

“Three hundred and fifty years but who’s counting?” Karga muttered darkly, shooting the Mythrol a hard look.

“Well, if he runs off on you again, let me know.” The Mandalorian beside her remarked, and she arched a curious brow; the Mythrol must’ve been one of his last bounties before retiring from the Guild, she thought to herself, no wonder the guy looks so nervous. Not that (Y/N) could blame him, of course. From the stories Mando told about his old bounty hunting days, she thanked the Maker that no one had ever hired him to bring her in; she knew she’d never stand a chance against such a formidable hunter.

The Mythrol chuckled nervously. “Let me assure you, I do not wanna spend any more time in carbonite! Still can’t see outta my left eye…”

“Can we talk business?” Cara interrupted as she made her way over to another desk, a grim expression on her face.

Mando glanced over at (Y/N) before curtly replying, “We’re only here for repairs.”

“Which will take a while, which means you two’ll have free time on your hands, right?” Karga exchanged a look with Cara before letting out a small sigh. “And we could really use some help.”

“Help how?” (Y/N) asked, already on-edge by the magistrate’s cryptic words.

Cara leaned forward and switched on a hologram projector resting on the desk. “This is Nevarro.” She pointed to a green-hued section of the map. “We’re here. This entire area’s a green zone, completely safe. But over on this side is the problem.” After tapping the map, they watched as she zoomed in on a red-hued area not far from where they were located.

“It’s an old Imperial base.”

“It’s where all those troops came from when we defeated Moff Gideon,” Cara elaborated and Mando tensed up at the mention of Gideon’s name; (Y/N) knew a little of Mando’s adventures on Nevarro, and she also knew why her partner was so wary of the dead Imperial officer. “This base has been here since the Imperial expansion. It’s got a skeleton crew but for some reason, it hasn’t been abandoned.”

Karga nodded. “There’s a lot of heavy weaponry in that place the black market would love to dismantle and get their hands on.”

“And you wanna mop up the last of the Imperial forces before they do.”

“Mando, I just want them off my planet,” The magistrate heaved a sigh and looked over at the hologram. “If we could take out that one last base, Nevarro would be completely safe. We could be a trade anchor for the entire sector.”

“And the planet would finally be free.”

The marshal’s compelling words stirred something within (Y/N), and she immediately thought of the school room that they’d just visited. Those children have a chance to grow up on a planet free of any Imperial influence, she thought to herself, and they could be the first generation to have the childhood that none of us got but had always dreamed of. She looked over at Mando and into the visor of his helmet, giving him a barely-discernable nod.

After a moment, Mando turned back to Karga and Cara. “What are we looking at?”

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

The journey across the lava flats of Nevarro was quick, much to (Y/N)’s relief; the Mythrol’s land speeder was small, so she sat sandwiched in between Mando and Karga in the backseat. Under any other circumstance, she would’ve been nervously excited to be seated so close to the Mandalorian, but all she could really think of was how uncomfortable it was to be squished into the backseat of a speeder beside a towering man wearing full beskar armor. Definitely not as comfortable as when you sat in his lap on Trask, she thought to herself, biting her lip as she remembered how his strong arms had wrapped so protectively around her body and how touchingly concerned his voice had been when he spoke. Giving her head a small shake, she returned her attention to her companions’ planning.

“…The whole base is powered by a reactor.”

Cara nodded from her spot in the passenger seat. “We sneak in, overload the reactor and get the hell out of there.”

“Let’s be fast, and keep the speeder running.”

(Y/N) bit her lip, silently agreeing with her partner as they turned a corner and approached the Imperial base. Once they parked the speeder, she clambered out and drew her blaster the moment her feet touched the hardened lava; she followed the others to an elevator door nestled into the rocky wall, her blaster raised as Mando examined its control panel.

After a moment, he stepped back with a frustrated sigh. “These controls are useless; they’re melted.”

The others began complaining about the poor Imperial craftsmanship, but (Y/N) was only half-listening. Her eyes were drawn up to the landing pad that was jutting out at the top of the cliff, and it might’ve been her imagination but she could’ve sworn she saw movement. Sensing that Mando had moved to stand beside her, she mumbled, “I’m getting the feeling that there’s more than a skeleton crew up there.”

“Yeah, me too; let’s check it out.” Tearing her eyes away from the landing pad, (Y/N) glanced over at Mando in time to see him holster his blaster and awkwardly raise his arm. “Um, may I?”

Her brow rose in surprise and she couldn’t help but smile. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve asked permission. Who says you can’t teach an ex-bounty hunter some manners?”

Mando tilted his helmet as he looked down at her. “Watch it, alor’ad, I could always drop you.” But as he spoke, his arm wound securely around her waist and he held her against his side while looking over at the others. “Hold tight.” Activating his jetpack, they shot up into the air and landed on the top of the cliff.

“Blast ‘em!”

(Y/N) pulled herself away from Mando and ducked down in time to avoid a blaster bolt, quickly drawing her own weapon and shooting the Stormtrooper that had missed her; another Stormtrooper jumped out from behind a pile of machinery and she shot him before he could aim his blaster. She glanced over in time to see Mando shoot one before kicking another off the landing pad and turning to look at her, and she could tell by his body language that he was just as surprised as she was. “I knew something was wrong about all this. Why would an empty base have armed Imps stationed at it?”

“I don’t know.” The doors of the elevator opened to reveal the others, their weapons drawn as they glanced down at the dead Stormtroopers. “Empty base, huh?”

Cara moved to peer over the edge of the landing pad while Karga stood beside the two of them. “The reactor should be set in the heat shaft. If we drain the cooling lines, this whole base will go up in a matter of minutes.”

Frowning, (Y/N) opened her mouth to voice her concern but was interrupted by the Mythrol, who excitedly called out, “Look, it’s a mint Trexler Marauder! You know how much we can get a lot for this on the black market?”

“And it’s gonna get vaporized like the rest of this base.” Mando snapped before gesturing towards the base’s entrance. “Now, let’s go.”

(Y/N) crouched behind the edge of the entrance beside Mando, clutching the handle of her blaster as the Mythrol opened the door. Parked inside were a handful of speeder bikes but no Stormtroopers, so they quietly began making their way through the hall to the base’s control room, holding their blasters at the ready while the grumbling Mythrol knocked out the security feed. Once they reached the control room, Cara hurried forward to take out the officer seated at a row of monitors while Mando and (Y/N) holstered their blasters and examined the controls.

“This should buy us some time,” (Y/N) mumbled, switching off all the different security feeds for the base. “Mando?”

The Mandalorian looked up from the monitor he’d been scrolling through. “I’ve found the heat shaft.” They drew their blasters as the others moved away from the dead Imperial officer. “Let’s go.”

Hastening through the hallways of the Imperial base, the five of them were on high alert for any Stormtroopers or Imperial officers. (Y/N) was on-edge as she fell into step beside Mando; she would’ve preferred a full-on assault to sneaking around, but she had faith in her partner’s plan. “The access corridor should be right past this junction.” Right as they came to the junction, Mando’s arm suddenly shot out and stopped her in her tracks just as a pair of chatting Stormtroopers walked by; she looked up into his helmet’s visor and nodded in silent thanks before following Cara down the now-empty hallway. They soon came upon a closed door and Mando gestured to the control panel beside it. “There, Mythrol, slice that door.”

(Y/N) anxiously kept watch while Karga quietly ordered, “Use the code cylinder.”

Moments later, the door slid open and (Y/N) turned away from the empty hallway, following the others through a second doorway and into the heat shaft. The first thing she registered was the strong smell of sulfur emanating from the shaft and when she moved to stand beside Mando, she looked down and saw the glowing orange lava bubbling down below.

White-hot flames. A village in smoldering ruins as people ran away screaming and crying. Stormtroopers raising their flamethrowers and blasters, leveling them at the retreating villagers and firing without hesitation…

“(Y/N)!” Two familiar strong arms wrapped around her waist and yanked her backwards, away from the edge of the heat shaft that she’d nearly toppled over; her knees gave out and she felt herself being dragged to sit against the wall as she realized that her body was shaking. In a flash, Mando was kneeling in front of her, his gloved hands resting on her shoulders. “(Y/N), what’s wrong, are you hurt?” Her voice wouldn’t work, so all she could do was shake her head and squeeze her eyes shut to block out the glow of the lava. “Osik!” He swore and she heard him hurriedly ask, “What do I do?”

“Captain. C’mon, Captain, I need you to look at me.” Cara’s voice was clear and strong in front of her, and (Y/N) forced herself to open her eyes; the marshal smiled and nodded in encouragement. “That’s it, Captain. You’re safe here, okay?” She glanced over at Mando beside her. “Stay here and try calming her down, I’ll cover Karga and Mythrol.”

Once Cara stood and made her way back to where the others stood, Mando scooted closer and held one of (Y/N)’s trembling hands between his own. “I’m here, alor’ad, but you’ve gotta snap out of it. C’mon, cyar’ika…” While she continued struggling for air, Mando took the hand he’d been holding and, without any hesitation, brought it up underneath the bottom of his helmet to rest against the skin of his face; (Y/N) blinked in surprise, unable to move her hand or look away from the visor of his helmet as he continued. “You feel that, ner cyar’ika alor’ad? I’m right here with you, no matter what, but I need you to pull yourself together so we can get the hell out of here, okay?”

Her partner’s words, spoken with such earnest conviction, combined with the grounding feel of his stubbled cheek gave (Y/N) the strength she needed to take a deep breath and nod. “I’m good, I’m good…” With Mando’s help, she eased herself up off the ground and held her blaster in her hand. “How’re we looking?”

A blaring alarm rang out and mixed with the sound of the lava churning more violently below, but Mando was quick to usher her out of the heat shaft before she could see anything else; from somewhere behind the two of them, the Mythrol called out, “All right, she’s gonna blow, let’s go! Let’s get out of here!”

The five of them ran down the hallways, their blasters still drawn and escape being the only thing on their mind. Beside (Y/N), Cara asked, “How long do we have?”

“Ten minutes at most!”

They ran faster, only stopping to flatten themselves against a wall when they heard a group of Stormtroopers running to their battle stations; at Mando’s command, they turned down a different hallway to avoid the soldiers. Soon, they rounded another corner and found themselves in a large room, where two Imperial officers stood before a computer monitor.

One officer drew his blaster. “Destroy it!” He shouted to the second officer before firing on them; (Y/N) fired back along with the others and allowed Mando to usher her off to the side for better cover. Moments later, both men were dead and the room was silent once again.

(Y/N) was about to turn towards Mando when a light-blue glow caught her eye and caused her to freeze in her tracks. They were standing in front of a wall of oval-shaped tanks, and floating within each of them were vaguely-humanoid creatures. This isn’t an Imperial military base, she thought to herself, her blood running cold at the gruesome sight.

“I thought you said this was a forward operating base.” Cara’s horrified whisper broke the silence.

“I thought it was.”

“No, this isn’t a military operation,” (Y/N) swallowed the lump in her throat and tore her eyes away from the tanks to look at her companions. “…This is a lab.”

Cara nodded. “We need to get into the system and figure out what’s going on.”

The Mythrol whimpered in fear. “What about the reactor?”

“Do it!”

Scrambling to comply with the marshal’s orders, the Mythrol hurried over to the computer monitors and began pressing buttons while they returned their gazes to the tanks. Mando stood beside (Y/N), his free hand clenching and un-clenching as he stared. “I don’t like this.”

“…replicated the results of the subsequent trials, which also resulted in catastrophic failure.”

They turned to see a hologram of a be-speckled man playing, and they slowly approached it as their words continued on.

“There were promising effects for an entire fortnight, but then, sadly, the body rejected the blood. I highly doubt we’ll find a donor with a higher M-count, though. I recommend that we suspend all experimentation. I fear that the volunteer will meet the same regrettable fate if we proceed with the transfusion. Unfortunately, we have exhausted our initial supply of blood. The Child is small, and I was only able to harvest a limited amount without killing him.”

(Y/N)’s mouth fell open in horror and she brought her free hand up to cover it. Based on everything that Mando had told her about his past adventures, she knew that the man speaking was Dr. Pershing, the man who’d briefly experimented on the child before Mando rescued him.

“If these experiments are to continue as requested, we would again require access to the donor. I will not disappoint you again, Moff Gideon.”

Her head snapped up just as Mando looked down at her, and she didn’t have to see his face to know what he was thinking. “This must be an old transmission. Moff Gideon is dead.”

Shaking his head, the Mythrol nervously replied, “No. This recording’s three days old.”

(Y/N) stared up into Mando’s visor, her eyes widening in fear. “If Gideon’s alive, then-”

Blaster fire forced them all to duck and take aim at the small group of Stormtroopers entering the room; (Y/N) shot one directly in the chest as her partner shoved her towards the wall of tanks for better cover, using his beskar-clad body to shield her as they continued exchanging blaster fire. Once all the Stormtroopers lay dead on the floor, (Y/N) pushed herself off the wall and moved to stand beside Mando, her fear for the child’s safety being the only thing on her mind.

“We need to get the kid.”

“Jet back, you’re faster that way,” Cara ordered, her blaster still raised as she nodded. “We’ll head back to the speeder and meet you in town.”

(Y/N) and Mando turned and ran out of the room, sprinting down the maze of hallways and blasting any Stormtroopers that got in their way. She realized that her partner was leading them back to the heat shaft but she set aside her discomfort for the sake of the child she’d grown to care for.

“Hold tight and don’t look down!” Mando called out to her over the loud churning of the lava as they skidded into the heat shaft. (Y/N) did as he asked, throwing her free arm around him and looking straight up at the shaft’s exposed opening high above; he held her tight and was about to activate his jetpack when a Stormtrooper appeared on the ledge across from them and fired his blaster, the bolt ricocheting off of Mando’s chest plate. (Y/N) quickly aimed her blaster and shot the Stormtrooper just as Mando spun her out of the way and shot at the two other Stormtroopers in the hallway behind them.

“Just go, I’ll cover us!” Tightening her hold on the Mandalorian, (Y/N) felt his body tense as they flew up the shaft; she quickly spotted two Stormtroopers standing at the top of the shaft and fired her blaster, killing them both with two shots. They landed harshly on the top of the cliff, and Mando let out a grunt of pain when another blaster shot rang out; she was quick to shoot the Stormtrooper and turn her attention back to Mando, who was clutching his side. “Mando! Are you hit?!”

“It’s just a graze, let’s go!” Before she could get a look at his wound her partner swept her into his arms, one arm holding her around the back and the other wrapping underneath the crook of her knees, just as he activated his jetpack again and flew them into the air.

They sped through the skies of Nevarro at breakneck speed, and all (Y/N) could do was worry about the child. Neither of them spoke, but she knew that Mando was just as anxious as she was; he kept urging his jetpack to go faster and she could feel his gloved fingers digging into her side. In no time, the town came into view and they were landing on the ground near the entrance gate.

Mando set her down and began backing away while he spoke. “Get the ship prepped for take-off, I’ll go get the kid!”

With a nod, (Y/N) turned and sprinted to the Razor Crest while he ran towards the town, her shoulders sagging in relief when she realized that the ship looked as good as new. Two mechanics tried calling out to her but she ignored them, dashing up the extended ramp and climbing the ladder into the cockpit. She threw herself down into the pilot’s seat, buckling herself in and preparing the newly-repaired ship for take-off; her experienced hands flew across the buttons and switches and in no time at all, the engines were rumbling to life.

“That’s it, baby,” (Y/N) muttered proudly, patting the side of one of the control panel’s and glancing over her shoulder in time to see Mando climbing into the cockpit, the child resting securely in the crook of his arm. “Thank the Maker!”

Mando set the child, who was preoccupied with the package of cookies in his hand, down onto one of the passenger seats and stood beside her as she slowly guided the ship upwards. “You booted everything up that quickly?”

Raising a brow at his impressed tone, she cockily replied, “I told you ex-smugglers were the better pilots. Now, strap yourselves in and let me show you how it’s done.”

The Mandalorian hurriedly secured his and the child’s restraints and once she was sure they were strapped in, (Y/N) engaged the thrusters and piloted the ship through the clear blue skies of Nevarro back towards the Imperial base. It didn’t take her long to spot their companions down below; they were in the Trexler Marauder instead of the Mythrol’s speeder and were being chased out of the rocky ravine by three TIE Fighters. The Imperial ships fired on them and began breaking away for another pass, but (Y/N) clutched the joysticks tightly in her hands and fired, shooting one ship down in one blast. The two remaining TIE Fighters broke off into opposite directions, so she pushed a lever up and followed the one on the right, climbing higher and higher into the atmosphere.

“You’d better hang on, little guy!” (Y/N) called out over her shoulder, smiling to herself when the child let out an excited squeal. As they reached the white clouds of the planet, she fired on the ship, managing to hit its wing and hastily swerve to avoid the exploding wreckage. The child giggled in delight as she switched off the engines, letting the ship fall backwards and stall in the air while the thrusters finished charging.

“Alor’ad…”

Grinning widely, (Y/N) slammed a lever up and steered the speeding ship into a corkscrew spin towards the third TIE Fighter; the small ship fired at them without landing a hit and with a simple squeeze of her finger, she fired their guns and watched with a satisfied smile as the Imperial ship blew up. After dodging the wreckage, she smoothly pulled out of their nosedive and leveled out the ship, switching the controls onto autopilot as she turned around to look at her passengers. “Not too bad, huh, guys?”

Mando merely stared back at her in stunned silence and while she flushed in embarrassment, the child blinked and threw up blue-tinted vomit onto his robe; quickly turning his attention to the guilty-looking child, her partner heaved a sigh. “Oh boy.”

“That was some impressive flying, Mando! What do I owe you?”

While the two of them used the edge of his cape to hurriedly clean up the child, Mando called out through the ship’s communication radio, “That wasn’t me flying, Karga, I told you I’d hired a hell of a pilot.” (Y/N) ducked her head to hide her bashful smile and he continued. “With the repairs, let’s call it even.”

“Can I at least buy you two a drink? I need to find out why an impressive woman like (Y/N)’s hanging around with a bum like you!”

“Sorry, we have some…onboard maintenance we’ve gotta take care of.” Seeing that the child was looking better, (Y/N) turned her attention back to the ship’s controls and switched back to manual piloting.

“Then we’ve gotta hit the road before Gideon catches wise.”

Karga sighed. “Well, good luck flying, my friends.”

“And Captain? May the Force be with you.”

(Y/N)’s hands stilled on the controls and the corner of her mouth curled into a small smile at Cara’s farewell. “And also with you, Soldier.”

The ship flew through the upper atmosphere of Nevarro and in no time, they were traveling through hyperspace towards their next big adventure.

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

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading!

Mando'a Translations: Alor'ad-Captain Osik-Shit Cyar’ika-Darling, Sweetheart Ner cyar’ika alor’ad-My darling captain

Chapter Twelve

Taking Care of Business Masterlist

Tagging: @remmysbounty @sinon36 @seninjakitey @thatonedindjarinfan @ginger-swag-rapunzel @mostclevermiss @momc95 @welcometothepedroverse @sarahjkl82-blog @zukoyonce @itsnottilly

#din djarin x reader #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin #the mandalorian #din x reader #mando x reader #grogu #the child #baby yoda #greef karga #cara dune

128 notes · View notes

lilyofthesword-writes · 4 years ago

Text

Kokkuri-san (Loki Oneshot)

Summary: You are on your way back to the Tower when you sense a strange energy emanating from it. Loki is there to help.

Pairing: Loki x F!Reader (established relationship)

Word Count: 1,718

Warnings/Disclaimers: Opens with description of being unable to breathe.

A/N: I tried to provide enough information for this to be a stand alone, but it does still act like a follow-up to Sorceress. And if you would like more information on the game Kokkuri-san, I highly recommend checking out the podcasts Kowabana and Toshiden both created by Tara A. Devlin at Kowabana.net. Just a heads up, this is NOT sponsored by anyone. I just enjoy listening to scary stories, and this became one of my favorites.

Masterlist

Molasses had seeped past your skull, compressing your brain uncomfortably. Or at least that’s what it felt like. A wavering darkness flowed around you as if you were underwater. Your lungs were sluggish to take in air, and it was getting worse. The longer you were forced to endure this pressure, the harder it was for you to focus, to breathe.

-up...

A voice muddled through the inky blackness.

Wa- up...

It sounded so familiar...

Wake up...

Nat, maybe? Were you asleep?

WAKE UP!

Your eyes shot open, unwillingly taking in the light of the Quinjet. The air you sucked in felt like gravel in your throat. Nat’s steely grip on your shoulders were beginning to ground you in reality.

“Wha- What happened?” Your throat burned as you spoke.

“Some kind of dream.” Her concerned eyes bored into you as you tried to blink yourself to full consciousness. “You were breathing heavily before you just stopped altogether. You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you half lied. You didn’t feel nearly as bad in the dream but it still felt like sludge was creeping across your mind. Whatever energy you were getting close to was some kind of nasty. “How far are we from the Tower?”

Nat released you from her hold. “About an hour out.”

The pressure on your head was only growing worse the closer you all got.

“Okay...” you sucked in a deep breath.

Sitting in the seat across from you, Nat eyed you wearily. “You sure you’re good?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, pulling out your phone. “Just going to break one of Fury’s rules. Something is going on at the Tower.”

An eyebrow shot up her forehead. “One of those sixth sense things, again?”

“You could say that...”

You pulled up Loki in the messenger app. You could astral project yourself to talk with him, but that could be more dangerous with whatever energy was infecting the Tower.

You: Hey. We’re almost back. What’s going on there?

Loki: Good evening to you as well, Darling. You can feel the energy from where you are?

You: Yes, it’s very... Palpable. ☹️

Loki: Well, we could use the extra help. It seems that the Ant-Man’s daughter played some spirit summoning game before joining him here for the summer.

You: And it followed her... Great... Is she at least okay?

Loki: She is unharmed. More spooked than anything.

You: Good, good. Did she mention any specifics? Like which game?

Loki: She did, yes. Although, she is unsure if she remembers it correctly. I believe she said it was Kakariko.

You: That can’t be right... That’s a village from a video game series.

Loki: So I learned recently with the Spiderling’s assistance.

You: Did she mention anything else?

Loki: She spoke of strange symbols as well as numbers being written in rows on a piece of paper. A coin was used as a conduit to pick each symbol.

You huffed and smacked your head in realization.

Kokkuri-san

Similar to a Ouija board in nature, missing or mucking up a step could be dangerous. Summoning spirits really should not be a game, something you concluded after cleaning up several messes on campus caused by the students who believed themselves master magicians despite their lack of experience. You couldn’t blame them too much for wanting to try since you had played a variety of those games in traveling with your family as a child. In Japan, Kokkuri-san was all the rage in schools.

Bumping your head on the back of the seat impatiently, you checked the time on your phone for the millionth time. You were about twenty minutes away now. Estimating the physical distance, you debated on just teleporting to the Tower instead of waiting in agony during the small amount of time.

Your phone pinged with a new message.

Loki: How are you faring?

You: Better than before. Energy barrier helps. How’re things there?

Loki: I have Lang and Cassie in her room with protection. The spirit cannot reach her there. However, it is lurking about. Stark is none too pleased.

You: He’s not blaming you, is he?

Loki: He tried. It did not last long.

You: Good. We should be there shortly.

Loki: I’ll be waiting, Dove.

Placing the phone in your pocket, you huffed.

“You know,” Nat chimed in, “We should be pretty close now. Just go already.”

Contemplating a moment, you answered, “I don’t know... I’ve only practiced long distance teleportation a few times.”

“And you were successful. Count this as extra practice. Now get out of here.” The harsh sound of her words was mitigated by an encouraging smile.

With a nod, you took a deep breath and teleported to the landing pad. You were about a foot away from the floor when you reappeared. Loki was already there to catch you. The god knew you too well.

“I dare say you might be getting the hang of this.” He held you close like he was making up for lost time.

You reached up and cupped his face to pull him in for a kiss. “Only because I have a very patient teacher.”

“I have missed this,” he breathed, his lips brushing against yours. “But I believe there is a young girl waiting for our help.”

Aside from Stark’s ranting about how ghosts weren’t real, setting up the library went off without a fuss. Between the salt, candles, charms, your spells and Loki’s seiðr, there was no way this could go wrong.

After confirming with Cassie that she had indeed played Kokkuri-san with a new friend who had recently moved to the States from Japan, you had coaxed the whole story out of Cassie. At their slumber party, they had started to play and were spooked by a sudden power outage and strange noises, causing them to let go of the coin used to slide over each symbol. With their connection to the conduit broken before properly closing the game, the kami/spirit latched onto Cassie and followed her here. The best bet was to re-summon the kami in a more secure environment and properly close the game. Luckily for all of you, she had kept the 10 yen coin her friend accidentally left behind, something you needed for all this to work.

You were quadruple checking the last set of charms when Loki snuck up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and nuzzling your hair. “Everything ready, my little sorceress?”

“As ready as it will ever be,” you huffed before turning on your heel to face him. “This always makes me a bit nervous.”

He pulled back to look at you while he spoke. “Everything will go according to plan. Besides, you have me here. Nothing could possibly go wrong,” he chuckled, a teasing grin painted his face.

“What an ego,” you exclaimed and lightly smacked his chest. You couldn’t help your own smile. “Just go get Scott and Cassie so we can get this over with.”

“As you wish,” he relented, teleporting away after stealing a kiss to leave you flustered. It was certainly one way to lighten the mood.

The summoning had gone well enough. Both you and Loki knew for sure just by the feel of the energy the right kami had come. It was getting it to leave that was the problem.

“Kokkuri-san, please return.”

The coin slid to いいえ/iie no matter how many times you all reset it to the middle of the board.

No.

While you and Loki both grew in frustration, Scott was busy keeping Cassie calm. As level headed and clever this girl could be, the repetition was getting to her. Loki decided another tactic was in order. A few unintelligible words under his breath that you barely heard and the kami was visible on the table.

A tall kitsune clad in white and red robes hissed and glared at Loki, but made no move to attack. It knew it had no chance with all the preparations you two had done. Its four tails flicked in annoyance and its white, almost silvery ears pressed back. You held back a sigh of relief. This kitsune was not as strong as it could be, having not lived long enough to acquire its maximum nine tails and its full power.

“What is it you desire, Spirit?” Loki spoke loud and unwavering.

“Same as Mischief God. Fun,” it growled through its broken English. Despite the ability to hear it now, none of you dared remove your fingers from the coin.

“Well, you certainly have had your fill. Now begone! Return to your realm,” he challenged.

The kitsune’s tails waved wildly as it contemplated its next move. Its eyes flitted to Cassie, softening almost apologetically as it gazed upon her. Similar to its Western Fae counterparts, it did not fully understand that its version of fun was not the same as it was for mortals.

“��かりました。/Wakarimashita,” it huffed, bowing as it turned its attention back to you and Loki.

Understood.

You felt the coin move again. This time it was to the top left of the paper to hover over はい/hai. Yes.

It then promptly glided to the torii gates drawn in the top center. The kitsune vanished from the table, the energy it left behind dissipating rather quickly. You all said, “Thank you,” in unison before pulling away from the coin.

“So... Is that it?” Scott asked with a mixture of confusion and the need to ensure his daughter was safe.

“Not quite,” you mused while picking up the paper.

“What do we do?” Cassie chirped.

Your raven-haired god looked to you curiously. You didn’t tell him about the next part.

“You don’t have to do anything,” you grinned, “The next two parts are easy.”

Picking up the paper, you began tearing it. You counted as you went until you hit forty-eight.

You held up the coin for all to see. “Now. Part two is going to be more interesting.”

“Do tell,” Loki purred.

“We have to spend this within three days.” Your grin slipped into a more mischievous smirk.

Cassie’s eyes sparkled with hope. “So does that mean...”

“Uh-huh. It’s time for a vacation. Who wants to go to Japan?”

72 notes · View notes