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anotheronechicagobog · 4 years ago

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Crockett Marcel x reader D’accord (Oneshot)

Written by: @anotheronechicagobog

Warnings: Mature themes, America has HORRENDOUS gun laws, seriously as a Canadian I get second hand anxiety about your gun laws/judicial system (even though Canada’s is far from perfect)/healthcare system, April is not written well here but I’m gonna do a nice fic for her soon, pardon my French (literally, quite a bit of this fic is in French with translations)

You’d been surprised to find another Francophone in Chicago. After you’d moved there from Quebec, you weren’t expecting much. Only a couple of “Oui, oui,” and “hon, hon, hon”’s from some unintentionally insulting Americans. So when, during your fifth shift, you swore in your native tongue “merde!” you’d been pleasantly surprised when Crockett had responded without missing a beat.

You’d shown him French-Canadian food, he’d shown you Cajun food, and you had each gained a confidant at med. And you’d both needed it. You were in a new country with very different social customs and laws, and April had kissed him while Choi was deployed leaving him a magnet for gossip. You’d both just needed someone to talk to, and speaking French with each other was just an added comfort.

“What did Doris say this time?”

“I don’t care that people are talking about me, I really don’t. Gossip is just part of hospital life and that’s fine, but I am so tired of being glared at and avoided. People aren’t even bothering to get to know me. I am just so tired about having to fight for a basic level of confidence in my colleagues for something that I didn’t even do! She kissed me, she just walked up and kissed me, how is this my fault?”

“I’m sorry Cherie.”

“I know. How was your day?”

“Anderson pretended to shoot at me again.”

“Seriously? You should report him to HR.”

“I don’t know, I don’t want to be overreacting.”

“He is pretending to have a gun and waving it at you on a daily basis because he knows that you are from a country with decent gun laws. What about the day he comes in with a real gun? And loaded? What if he actually shoots you? You need to report him, Cher.”

“Okay, I will. At the end of the day.”

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

You sat at Molly’s away from the main group, shunned by your colleagues. “It was just a joke, Y/N, can’t you take a joke?” But it didn’t feel like a joke. Not to you. You already felt like you should be wearing a kevlar vest on a regular basis; you didn’t need to be made fun of for your very real fear. You were busy moping when someone plopped down in the stool beside you. “Mon journée a sucé. Dites-moi que le vôtre était meilleur.” (My day sucked. Tell me yours was better)

“Voyez-vous la foule de gens qui me regardent et qui parlent de moi là-bas?” (Do you see the crowd of people looking at me and talking about me there)

“Zut. J'espérais vraiment que ça irait mieux.” (Damn. I was really hoping it would get better)

“Moi aussi.” (Me too)

“The hell are you two speaking? Swedish?”

“... It’s French, Hermann.”

“If you say so Y/N... You guys want another round?”

“Yes, please, kind sir.” Trying to make a joke with the man everyone said had a heart of gold and a belly full of laughs at all times.

“Well, okay then. French people are weird.” Both you and Crockett sucked in a breath. Explaining was always the hardest part. “We are not French people. Crockett is Cajun, and I am French-Canadian.”

“Okay, I don’t know what Cajun is, but isn’t French-Canadian just a Canadian who speaks French?”

“Mon Dieu.” (My God)

“Sacre bleu (Damn it), Hermann. No, a French-Canadian is not just a Canadian who speaks French, and unless you want to start a war in a country you don’t even live in, I advise you to refrain from speaking in that manner again. And just for the record, a Cajun person is someone descended from Acadia settlers in Nova Scotia who left for Louisianna to flee the British.”

“... Okay. I’m sorry I asked.” You just held your breath as Crockett swore under his breath. You opened your eyes, grabbed your glass over bourbon and downed it. “Je sais que je viens juste d'arriver, mais je veux déjà partir.” (I know I just arrived, but I already want to leave)

“Allons-y alors.” (Let’s go then) Marcel threw cash down on the bar before you could argue and helped you put your coat on. “Avez-vous déjà mangé des tapas? J'ai entendu dire qu'il y avait un super endroit à quelques pâtés de maisons d'ici.” (Have you ever eaten tapas? Heard there is a great place a few blocks from here)

“Montrez le chemin.” (Lead the way)

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There was a new hot button topic of gossip the next day at MED. You and Marcel. Of course, no one was that cordial. ‘He couldn’t have a nurse so he went for an intern?’, ‘What, she thought being an intern is too difficult so she’s hooking up with a doc so she doesn’t fail?’. None of anything they were saying was true. First of all, April kissed and then rejected him all while she was dating someone else, second, he wasn’t even your attending. You did your ED rotation before he got here. You were on your pediatrics rotation, and kicking ass at it. Third, he didn’t know anyone here besides you thanks to April, so who exactly was he gonna say ‘give her a pass for me’ to? You just rolled your eyes and continued working. At the end of the day, that was what would speak for you.

You hadn’t been very close to April, or anyone in the ED really, they’d all had their own drama going on the entire time you were there, so you just faded into the background. But now, April was making an effort to talk to you. You would have found it odd, had it not been at the time the rumours were really flying, and if you hadn’t seen the burning question behind her eyes. She was jealous. She damn well wouldn’t admit it, but she was. And you were angry at her, and at least you were grown up enough to admit that. She had hurt Crockett. Damaged his work relationships and reputation before he’d even started. So you acted like you enjoyed her company. You talked about literally anything that wasn’t Crockett Marcel. You watched as her questioning eyes grew more and more desperate. If she was going to come to you acting like a jealous girlfriend she should have had the decency to be honest. But she wasn’t. And Crockett was paying the price. So you tortured her a bit. It wasn’t that bad, honestly. Plus, what made her think she had any right to know about relationships you may or may not be in? But her feelings did become noticeable. To the other nurses, doctors, interns. Suddenly everyone was aware that she had kissed Crockett, and that Ethan wasn’t the only doctor she had feelings for. You felt bad for Crockett, he’d gotten sucked into a wormhole before he even knew his feet were leaving the ground. The same thing could be said for Dr. Choi’s fist.

You pushed back the curtain and marched over to Crockett who was too busy arguing with Maggie to notice you at first. “Have you gotten a CT done yet?”

“Oh- Dr. Y/L/N. Uh, let me check. Uh... Here.” Maggie handed you and a skeptical Will the tablet with Crockett’s head CT already loaded. The black and white image should have comforted you. It looked good, no injuries or anomalies. But you kept looking, you kept gripping the tablet no matter how much your knuckles, and fingers, and wrists were starting to hurt. “Cher?” You slowly looked up, Maggie and Halstead had left the room at some point. “You seein’ something Halstead didn’t?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t have the voice to. Instead, you regarded his face intently. Choi had only gotten in a single punch, thankfully, so there was only bruising around his right eye. You moved to stand in front of him, standing in between his legs which were dangling off the side of the bed. “Cher?” The bruise was already purple, the section around the forehead turning black. Your lips pressed into a firm line. After setting the tablet on the end table you gently took Crockett’s face in your hands. Ignoring the rest of him, you gently drifted your fingers around the bruising. Your stomach sunk the more you looked at it. It wasn’t inflamed, there wasn’t any bleeding, his CT was clear. But you just couldn’t shake the weight in your gut. You didn’t even know what you were looking for. But you kept looking. “Cher.” No inflammation. “Cher.” No bleeding. “Cher.” Clear CT. “Cher.” Keep looking. “Cher.” Crockett delicately grabbed your wrist, finally grabbing your attention, bringing more than the bruise on his eye into your focus. “I’m okay, Cher.” His eyes were boring into yours, pleading for you to listen to him. He moved his hand from your wrist up overtop of your hand before intertwining your fingers together and leaning his face into your clasped hands at the side of his face.

“D’accord?” (Okay?)

“D’accord.” (Okay) He smiled gingerly. Still looking at you with soft eyes that made you melt he opened his mouth, you could tell that words in his native language were on the tip of his tongue, when the curtains in the room were pushed back suddenly. April stood, tall, strong, and with a look of utter betrayal on her face. No one in the room said anything, no one in the room breathed. Slowly, as if she were avoided a cornered coyote, April backed out of the room, her chest starting to shake, her eyes watering. Soon you were left alone in the room, your hand still wrapped in Crockett’s. Now in full view of the entire ED staff and gossip mill.

#One Chicago #chicago med #crockett marcel #crockett marcel x reader #april sexton x Crockett Marcel #april sexton #maggie lockwood

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echotrinityme · 3 years ago

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Regretful Chapter 8: An Angry Confession

Rupert was still watching them from the helicopter when he heard Calvin spotted some Toppats and was panicking.

He did expect Calvin to panic but what he did not expect Calvin to do is to kiss Henry, he and the others were quickly surprised.

Victoria's and June's mouths were agape, Hank's and Hayden's eyes widened, and Konrad was trying hard not to laugh.

They all turned to see Rupert's reaction and it's not pretty, he was trembling with rage, and his eyes looked red as if he was possess by a demon.

He gripped the tablet he was holding to keep track of Henry and Calvin, he was still shaking with rage.

Victoria was worried for him as she made her way to hil and tried to make sure he's okay, "Hey, Rupert?" she asked, gently. "Are you okay."

He didn't replied to her, he didn't even look at her. He was reeling over the fact that Calvin basically kissed Henry without his permission.

Rupert's POV

I'm going to kill Calvin Bukowski.

What the fuck was he thinking? He had no right to kiss Henry, why would he do that anyways?

I felt an huge amount of anger building inside of me, how dare of Calvin to kiss Henry like that!

I heard a voice but I didn't listen cause right now, I just want to slaughter Calvin.

Henry is supposed to be mine, not his!

Wait...did that just came out of my mouth?

Man...I'm jealous of Calvin kissing Henry...I need to tell my feelings for Henry before I lose him to Calvin.

Victoria's POV

Wow, I never seen Rupert so angry before. I mean he's always had anger issues but not like this.

I saw him tighten his grip on the tablet and he shaking with anger, he looked he wanted to explode.

I feel sorry for Calvin now but hey, that proves my theory on him having feelings for Henry.

No One's POV

Victoria gingerly poke at Rupert which made him jumped in the process, he glanced at her and he quickly glared at her.

"What?" asked Rupert, angrily.

"Are you okay?" questioned Victoria, tentatively.

"Yeah, why?" lied Rupert.

"You don't look okay."

"I said, I'm fine."

"Are you trying to convinced me or yourself?"

Rupert groaned in frustration and put the tablet down, and he put his face into his hands. Victoria raised an eyebrow at him and had an idea.

"Are you jealous?" asked Victoria, slyly.

Rupert froze for a moment and didn't speak.

"Of what?" replied Rupert, lowly.

"Of Calvin kissing Henry."

Rupert bristled at that statement and he growled lowly but Victoria heard him and she recoiled from him in fear. She turned to June, Hank, Hayden, and Konrad who were watching them in keen interest.

"Ahem." said Galeforce, firmly.

Everyone was startled by the General, who was looking very annoyed at the drama that was happening to right now. "We have a mission to deal with." he said, in annoyance.

Everyone went back to where they were doing and the General muttered something about youth under his breath.

Meanwhile with Calvin and Henry, Calvin let Henry go and he grabbed his hand to move to an unoccupied room. He was still panicking but Henry was not pay attention, he was still reeling over that kiss. Why did Calvin do that?

"Hey, Henry. We got to focus." said Calvin, nervously.

"Yeah, right." replied Henry, distractedly.

They went out the room and saw the remaining Toppats still at the same spot, they were talking about Calvin's and Henry's "makeout" which made Henry's face red. Calvin was too busy trying to figure out a plan to get the Toppats.

Calvin turned his earpiece on and talked to Victoria, who was giving him instructions. Calvin nodded while he was listening and glanced over to Henry, he was standing next to him, staring blankly into space.

"Ok." said Calvin.

He grabbed Henry's hand again and silently sneak past the Toppats, they stopped at a spot a few inches away from the Toppats. They both waited and pretended to talk nut Calvin was the one who was doing the most of the talking. Henry on the hand, was still thinking about the kiss from earlier.

Henry's POV

Why did Calvin kiss me? I don't like him that way, and Calvin certainly doesn't have feelings for me that's for sure.

I know I should be focusing on the mission but I didn't ask for a make out session with Calvin! I was listening to him talking with Victoria and I kept an eye on the Toppats, I wanted to kill the rest of the Clan but refrained myself.

I don't want to get into trouble, it's just...I miss Charles so much and they were the ones that caused his death in the first place. I sighed heavily as I listened to Calvin talk to try to keep up appearances.

My mind went to Rupert, I wonder how's he doing. I actually miss him even though he's miles away from me, if I wanted a kiss it would be from Rupert. I have a crush on him and I want to confess to him but I'm afraid.

What am I afraid of? I'm afraid of rejection and to lose him. Ever since Charles' death, I had been having trouble letting people until Rupert was sent to watch over me. After that, I had gotten close to him and unexpectedly fall in love with him.

Maybe I should confess to him after this mission.

No One's POV

Henry was still thinking about his feelings for Rupert when Calvin exclaimed in happiness silently, he glanced at him in alarm. Calvin was grinning widely and he was giddy, Henry started to frown and crossed his arms.

"Why are you so happy, all of sudden?" asked Henry, he was tugging Calvin's sleeve.

"The Toppats finally spilled some stuff we can use to expose them." replied Calvin, enthusiastically.

"Wait! When ?"

"While you were busy daydreaming about Rupert."

"No, I wasn't !"

"Yes you were. That's why you weren't paying attention."

"How do you know I was daydreaming about Rupert? "

"Cause."

Calvin's short response made Henry more annoyed and Calvin giggled lowly. Calvin explained the information to Henry and it made Henry smile a little, Calvin quickly informed the others and the General ordered everyone to go break up the party. He also ordered other soldiers to come help.

It was complete chaos after that, the Government busted the gala and everyone was in shock and panic. They managed to get the remaining Toppats in cuffs and the other guests went home or started complaining about the Government. Henry was off to the side, watching the Toppats being arrested.

He should be feeling happy but he's not, the Toppats were gone but at what cost? Charles was still dead and he was the one who had the most beef with them. If Charles was here, he will be celebrating the defeat of the Toppat Clan.

He felt tears started to brim and he covered his mouth as not to cry, he jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Rupert with a worried look on his face, he led him out the mansion.

Once outside, Rupert led them to a quiet area and they both sat on a rock.

"Thanks." said Henry, smiling faintly.

"Yer welcome." replied Rupert, also smiling faintly. "I noticed that you were getting overwhelmed so I decided to get you out of there."

"I should be feeling happy but I'm not."

"Is it because of Charles?"

"Yes. He's not here to witness this."

"I'm sure he's proud we have taken down the Toppat Clan."

"Yeah."

They both stayed silent and they were both wondering if they should talk about their feelings but before they can, the General came over them. Victoria, Konrad, and Calvin were with him, the General congratulated Henry and Calvin which made them red in embarrassment.

"You boys did great." praised Galeforce, smiling.

"Thank you, sir." said Calvin, proudly. He was saluting him.

"Mmhm." said Henry.

"You guys did awesome." said Konrad.

"Yeah." added Victoria.

Everyone was praising Calvin and Henry except for Rupert, who was glaring at Calvin. Henry noticed this and was about to ask what's wrong but Rupert interrupted him.

"Why did you kissed Henry?" growled Rupert, lowly. Everyone was startled by his behavior.

"Uh...well...I." replied Calvin, anxiously. He was struggling to answer Rupert's question.

"Well!" demanded Rupert.

"I don't know!" defended Calvin. "I was panicking! I didn't have a plan so I wing it!"

"Why?"

"I was not thinking clearly."

"Oh sure."

Rupert and Calvin kept bickering making everyone worried, Henry was worried for Rupert while Konrad was worried for his brother.

"Do you have feelings for Henry?" questioned Calvin.

Everyone turned to Rupert who paused at that question, Henry's eyes widened and waited for Rupert's answer.

"I...I..."

"Well?"

In a fit of anger, Rupert snapped.

"What if I don't! Why would I have feelings for him!?" shrieked Rupert, not thinking rationally. "After all, he's the one that caused Charles' death in the first place! If it weren't for him he would still be alive!"

"Rupert!"

"Price!"

Rupert finally stopped his shouting when he heard Galeforce and Victoria called him, he looked around and saw everyone's reactions. Galeforce and Victoria were in shock, the twins' mouths were agape, and Henry's was...devastating.

Rupert realized what he just said and he before he can say anything, Henry bolted away from the group. Everyone tried to call him back but he didn't listened, they all turned to Rupert and glared at him.

Rupert hid his face in shame and guilt, "God, what the fuck is wrong with me?" he said to himself, angrily.

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threads-of-trust · 4 years ago

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robot.. hooker..?

“Oh my fucking god-! Ivy! That fucking robotic bitch!” Miu spat at you, looking beyond annoyed that you needed an explanation. She walked straight over to said girl’s lab and began banging on the door with her fist as loudly as possible. “Open up, you emotionless cunt!”

Ivy was rounding a nearby corner, on the way to her lab. It was rather strange, seeing Miu banging on the door. “...since when were you so interested in seeing my lab, Miu?”

Miu turned her head, gritting her teeth at the fact she just looked like an idiot banging on the door with nobody home. “Fuck your lab! I’m looking for you.” She hissed, stomping over and practically shoving her tablet in Ivy’s face, pressing the play button as all-too-familiar images flashed over it. “What the fuck is this!? And why are you trying to hide it, huh!?” She demanded.

Ivy’s eyes went wide. “...what...? They...they got footage of Æsir-Fest?! No, there’s no way. That happened in my world! Since when could-!” Ivy cut herself off, realizing what could’ve happened. Her hands clenched into fists. “...my memories. My fucking memories. They went through them. Probably Vanessa’s, too. It’s the only explanation.” She groans in frustration, turning away from Miu, letting her hands relax. “...I hid that information because it holds no relevance in this world. Why talk about something that technically didn’t even happen?”

“I don’t care what god damn multiverse it happened in! You got a shit load of people killed, do you get that!? People died! Because of you! You-! You might as well be labeled a mass murderer!” Miu growled, her anger growing now that Ivy wasn’t looking at her. “What!? You don’t like hearing the truth? Look me in the eyes, you fucking coward!”

“You think I did that just to hurt people!? Miu, you clearly don’t know me very well. I hate hurting people. Æsir-Fest was meant to collect a large amount of data about emotions in a short amount of time. I didn’t know the side effects until it had already took place! How was I supposed to know taking memories from people in virtual reality would do that to people?!” Ivy turned back around sharply, grabbing Miu’s collar and pulling her close. “Don’t you dare call me a fucking coward. I spent years trying to save Vanessa. I broke into high-security buildings, stole highly confidential data, and gave my own life in the process. You? You’re just as broken as I am. Putting up masks to hide your own faults, your insecurities. We both did things that we regret. The only difference is: I’ve already experienced the downfall. Perhaps that’s why we both got each other’s secrets.”

“You-!!” Miu shrunk at being yanked forward by the collar, wanting to cower but pushing through. Her eyes shrunk with panic at Ivy’s last sentence, pulling herself away violently and stumbling while doing so. “You already experienced the downfall...? Meaning I haven’t, h-huh?” She forced a strained laugh out. “I went into a coma. I ruined-! I hurt... you think I don’t sit here and think about how I hurt him!? You think I don’t blame myself!? Is that not punishment enough!? I work harder than anyone else to make up for it every fucking day. Just because I don’t have blood on my hands, doesn’t mean I didn’t suffer, you stuck up bitch!” She yelled, but it’s easy to see tears forming in her eyes, just from the thought of someone knowing her secret.

Ivy tilted her head. “Oh? Are you truly without blood on your hands? Hm.” She let go of Miu’s collar, reaching into her hoodie and pulling out the video she got. Holding it out for Miu to take. “You know, I initially thought you wouldn’t remember. At least...not to the level of detail that I saw. Your reaction, however...well, let’s just say I’m not terribly sure now.” She forced a smile for a moment, before sighing, finding the effort unnecessary. “...I don’t hate you, truthfully. I never did, and I probably never will. I’ve never been able to really...stay angry at anybody for very long. Don’t really know why.”

Miu tumbled back in a huff at being released, snatching away the video and throwing it on the ground with all her might. It didn’t shatter, it hardly did anything actually, the videos were near indestructible. Which only made the inventor more angry. “It’s the only fucking thing I remember from being a kid! That it’s my fault, right!? That I caused the stupid fucking crash! W-What the fuck was I supposed to do, huh!? He was drunk! H-He handed me the keys! I-I... I was only a kid!! I didn’t know how t-to drive or what to do! It’s my fucking fault, no matter what anyone says! I could’ve p-prevented it if I was just-! If I’d-!” She shook like a leaf in a storm while yelling and trying to stomp the video into pieces. “I gotta get out of here, I have to. I-I haven’t made it up to him yet! I can’t fucking die here. I-I won’t-!” She proclaimed with a shaky voice.

Ivy watched as Miu tried to destroy the video, only to suddenly step on the tablet between her stomps and kick it backwards, away from Miu. "...Miu, I get it. I feel the same way over Æsir-Fest. We both did things we regret. Not a moment goes by without me...thinking about what I could've done differently." She turned around, moving to pick up the tablet and stow it away in her hoodie. “Grief is...a strange thing, isn’t it? The way it takes on different forms, with different causes... well, it certainly intrigues me.”

“Can you act like a normal person for five fucking seconds? I’m having a g-god damn breakdown!” Miu sniffles, wiping at her eyes. “Grief isn’t interesting, it’s miserable, you wignut! How am I supposed to trust you now? I don’t even what you are. You’ll take my m-memories for your stupid Fuck-Fest too, won’t you..?” She asked, naturally aggressive but more vulnerable with her words now.

“Miu, I have no need for that anymore. The emotion samples were for Vanessa. She’s perfectly fine now. Æsir-Fest wasn’t the goal, it was a means.” Ivy sighs, making her way towards her lab. “And honestly? I don’t expect anyone to trust me. When you’re a robot who’s been infiltrating human society for over five years, trust has a steep price. Normalcy is a luxury.” She opens the door to her lab. “...I have a sculpture to finish. If you wish to speak to me again, you can wait for me in the lobby. Unlike Aditi, I can’t exactly drown my sorrows in alcohol.”

“......” Miu looked out off by her emotions being so thoroughly dismissed. What else should expect from a robot? Even Pixel acted this way at times, despite the emotions function she added onto her. Ivy wasn’t any different. And now, the inventor looked like a fool for trying to confide in her. She glared at the ground before turning her back and huffing. “Whatever. Go carve your fucking ice, I guess. It’s fine... what the fuck ever...” She scoffed before walking off, completely red in the face and indignant.

“...” Ivy didn’t respond, softly closing the door behind her as Miu walked away. She sighed, taking off her hoodie and hanging it up on a convenient hook near the door, before leaning against the door, letting herself slide down to the floor. Something definitely struck a nerve...

#🛠miu iruma: ultimate inventor💖#❄ivy: ultimate ???💻#✉woven messages: ask🧵#🎭frayed threads: anonymous❓

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bananxjin · 4 years ago

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Trophy Wife || 6-1

↦ Coworker!Seokjin x Reader

↦ WC: 7,830

↦ Drama || Angst || Fluff || Slow Burn

↦ Trigger Warnings: Light swearing, Brief mentions of a dead family member, Brief mentions of infidelity

↦ Tagged: @lysannnnaa, @vanillanjin

↦ Summary: You thought you knew what you wanted – You were sure you knew what you wanted. You thought the be-all and end-all was a loving, domestic marriage with your fiance, Touru Kim; the love of your life, the future father of your children, and the man of your dreams, but things happen. Events begin to unfold, and the relationship falls apart. You see the true colors of your husband-to-be, and you realize that maybe he’s not what you built him up to be. With everything laid out in front of you, you knew the be-all and end-all was a loving, domestic marriage.

Just not with Touru.

✨ Masterlist ✨

The weeks that followed your late arrival home were uncomfortable to say the least. If you thought Touru was overbearing before, you clearly weren’t prepared for whatever new attitude he’d come equipped with this time.

The following morning, you woke up early enough to shower and take some extra time to get ready for work. You didn’t get much sleep, and you were still upset from the night before. Not only that, but Jin had the next few days off, so you wouldn’t have any pick-me-ups from the walking ray of sunshine himself.

Then again, it’s not his job to pick you up everytime something goes wrong.

Touru was sitting in his usual spot at the kitchen table when you emerged from the bathroom, sipping coffee and going over something on his tablet with a focused glint in his eye. You took a deep breath and smoothed your blouse out, passing him in a silent stride so you could make yourself some coffee.

“Did you sleep well last night?” “Mhm.”

You bit the inside of your cheek at his curt response. The animosity in the air was something akin to the calm before the storm. You hated the anticipation that came with waiting. You could handle the arguing and the aftermath, but this silence was almost too much for you to bear.

Nevertheless, you waited. It was all you could do. With shaky hands, you carefully cupped your mug and tilted it against your lips. Inhaling through your nose as you tried to make the best out of a bad situation until Touru finally spoke up.

“About last night…” “Yeah?”

He set his tablet down and turned around in his chair so he could see you. His stern glare already told you so much about what was to come, but still you held onto hope. Held your ground with a sturdy shield as you awaited his next words.

“I want you to start sending me updates when you’re not home.”

You furrowed your brows in a silent accusation. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He mimicked your tone. You set your coffee mug down so you could grip the edge of the counter. “I always text you where I’m at; who I’m with--”

“Except for last night.” “It was one time, Touru. And I apologized for it.” “I don’t care.” He said, forcefully standing out of his seat. “I had no idea where you were at-” “You knew I was with Yuna!”

No you weren’t.

You prayed a silent plea to your guilty conscience to just please be quiet. Just this once. It took some reaffirmation on your part before you could straighten your shoulders and look him in the eye again. A weak spot in your confidence that wouldn’t go amiss by him.

“Do I know that though, (Y/n)?” He demanded in a low tone, his nostrils flared in defiance. The question was enough to catch you off-guard. A dent in your armor that forced you to back down, and he took the opportunity to keep going. “How do I know you weren’t with him, huh? How do I know you didn’t shut your phone off so you could enjoy your evening with another man?”

“Touru…” You frowned, unable to come up with the right words to reassure him. You already struggled enough trying to convince yourself that you were allowed to find balance with your relationship and Jin’s friendship, but when you stopped to consider how you might be making your fiance feel, that all came crumbling down because deep down, you knew. You knew part of him was right to be suspicious of you, and you had no defense against that.

“I. Expect. Updates.” He enunciated each word carefully. “And if I text you, I expect you to text me back. I shouldn’t have to try to call five or six times just to make sure my fiance is okay.”

You frowned and clasped your hands in front of you, looking down at your feet instead of him. “Touru, you know I can’t be using my phone when I’m on the job--”

“Then I expect phone calls during your breaks.” He hissed, walking closer to you. “You’ve been acting awfully suspicious lately. I swear, sometimes it feels like I don’t even know the woman I’m living with.” He spat with an exasperated sigh. You couldn’t say or do anything. Once again, he’d struck down your confidence; your defiance with a sharpened spear. A reminder that he has the upper hand in this relationship, and it’s going to stay that way.

“I just… I want to know that we are secure in our relationship. It’d make me feel better to hear from you.”

“Right.” You breathed. “I understand.”

You bent for him just like you’ve always done. With the hope that things would gradually get better over time. By the end of the week at the latest, you were sure everything would be fine.

But as the days turned into weeks, Touru’s protective ways only grew stronger, and your patience grew weaker. Eventually, you started having to keep your phone in your pocket as Touru’s messages came in aggressive waves with passive-aggressive undertones.

Being part-time, your schedule wasn’t always the same, and it took some time for Touru to understand that. You found yourself having to explain on several occasions how your breaks had been scheduled for you, and just because you had a break at noon today doesn’t mean it’ll be at noon tomorrow.

Somehow you’d hoped the phone calls would be comforting in a way, like maybe having the opportunity to speak to each other would ease some of the stress, but you were sorely mistaken. Oftentimes, you’d find yourself rushing to the backroom just to avoid the brunt of his interrogation. The sooner it began, the sooner it could end.

If you didn’t call him first, then he’d call you, and god forbid the phone call went through to voicemail the first time. Just a couple days ago, you’d switched breaks with Kyla. She’d been feeling unwell, and you insisted she took hers first. It’d already been a busy day, plus you were picking up some of the extra slack for the Home department, so it completely slipped your mind to tell Touru you wouldn’t be on your break for another hour. You ended up with ten missed calls and a couple of very angry voicemails, and another night of sleeping on the couch.

The calls never lasted very long. He kept you on the line long enough to ask where you were and who you were working with that day. Occasionally he’d ask if you’d seen Seokjin if you hadn’t mentioned him. As time went on, you tried to make the calls feel a bit more personable. Cutting in with just enough time to ask if he was having a good day, or if he’d eaten lunch, but his answers were always short and curt. It took a week of consistent calling before he finally started responding when you’d tell him, “I love you”. You never told him how much that hurt you. Not since all this started, and you couldn’t shake the constant reminder that it was your fault.

Some days, he’d pick you up from work. Most days, he’d let you know, but there were a few times he “surprised” you. Although the ride wouldn’t be any more comfortable than chatting over the phone. He’d keep a straight face the whole ride home, asking about your day as soon as he saw you, and then silence. You could officially add this to the list of things you felt guilty about. Making the trip into town only made his drive home that much longer as your work was out of the way for him. It probably was a chore for him to come get you, but he never complained. Still, you couldn’t tell if he was doing this to make a point or just to make himself feel better.

On top of everything else, Jin had become seemingly worried about the new habits your fiance had picked up. As much as you appreciated Jin’s concern, it was well and truly the last thing you wanted to talk about when you weren’t having to deal with it.

“You’re sure everything’s okay?” “Yes, I’m sure, Jin!” You snapped with a strained smile after he’d asked about it for the third time, “I’ve just been picking up more hours recently, and we’re kind of busy outside of work, too. Touru’s just worried about my well-being is all.”

You didn’t feel any better about lying to Jin than you did to Touru, but what else could you do? You didn’t want Jin to see the rough edges surrounding your relationship. Not because he was an outsider, but because you were scared of what he might think if he found out. You couldn’t bear the thought of him trying to sympathize with you, or even worse, trying to fix the problems like Dahyun does. What you were afraid of more than anything was letting Jin find out how Touru feels. What he thinks about a man he’s never even met. After watching it happen with so many other friends in the past, you’d convinced yourself that Touru’s less than friendly attitude would absolutely run Jin off, and you weren’t going to let it happen. You were perfectly capable of juggling your relationship with Touru and your friendship with Jin. You were determined to do it.

Enjoy it while it lasts, you reminded yourself. Because one day, you won’t have him anymore.

Valentine’s day, and you were working the closing shift. Not that it mattered since it’s never been a holiday you and Touru celebrated as a couple. “A corporate scam” is what he always called it. Always annoyed that people were so willing to pay the price markups for chocolate in the name of romance when you could celebrate your relationship at any other time of the year, and without all the gaudy decorations.

You always understood why he wouldn’t want to celebrate it. Doesn’t mean you didn’t want to indulge in some of the cliche sappiness that came along with the holiday itself, but you weren’t about to add onto the already growing list of reasons why you and Touru shouldn’t get along.

You sighed, making your way back to the breakroom. It’s not like it was even that big of a deal this year anyway. You worked most of the day away, not to mention your relationship had been strained for nearly a month now with little petty arguments every other night. It’d been one of the longest fights you two had ever been through, and you were beginning to worry about whether or not it was ever going to end.

At least you got to enjoy it a little bit, though. Irene and Seulgi left little chocolates in the associates lockers and surprised everyone with an additional associate discount which ran through the rest of the weekend. You took some time to browse some of the Womens clothing while you were on your shift, but you didn’t see yourself getting much shopping done in the next two days.

You’d reserved this weekend to go visit wedding venues with Touru, but due to the lasting fight, he ended up cancelling two of the showings. One because he “Didn’t have the time”, and the other purely out of spite, only further dragging out the argument especially after you found out about the outrageous cancellation fees he forked out.

The thought alone had you frowning as you turned the coupon over in your hands to read about the promotional offers. Yeah. Who were you kidding? You probably wouldn’t be in the mood or even have the time to do any shopping this weekend. Oh well, you thought as you tossed the coupon back into your locker. It’s the thought that counts.

As you began pulling your belongings out, you were surprised to find a folded piece of mini cardstock fly out of your locker, and onto the floor. You raised your eyebrows in surprise as you picked it up. It was pink with white lace trim. On the front was a cartoon style picture of a s’mores with, “I need s’more friends like you!” printed underneath in an adorable font.

You couldn’t help the stupid grin spreading across your face as you opened the card up. “Happy Valentine’s day! Thank you for always being so kind to me!” Signed Jin with a little heart next to his name. It was such a simple little gesture, but one that had your heart pounding in your chest as you continued to stare at his name at the end. What a dork, stealing your signature style.

He must’ve slipped it in after you’d clocked on…

“I see you got Jin’s annual Valentine’s day card.” Kyla giggled as she opened up her locker beside yours. “Oh, yeah! He gave one to you as well?”

“Everyone gets one. He’s snuck them in our lockers every Valentine’s Day for the last three years.” She giggled, “I don’t know. I think it’s a sweet little gesture.”

You frowned looking back down at the pink paper in your hands. Of course he did this for every associate; that’s just the kind of person he was after all. “It is a pretty sweet gesture, isn’t it.” You agreed softly in response, checking to make sure Kyla wasn’t looking before you slipped the card safely into your bag.

“Yeah, but you should’ve seen the way he went all out for Seulgi last year. He left like a legit Valentine’s Day card on her desk with a pack of her favorite mini candy bars and bought her coffee. Like he did a lot.” She giggled.

“Wait, what?” Her sudden confession left you feeling a little dumbfounded. You almost knocked your head into the door of her locker when you turned to look at her. “Oh, he hasn’t told you?” She sounded equally as surprised as you did, giving you a look as if to say, “Oopsie!”

You just shook your head. “Ah, well you didn’t hear it from me, but Jin has the biggest crush on Seulgi.” She leaned in close as she explained. As if you two weren’t the only ones in the breakroom. “Well, he used to like her anyway. And I’m pretty sure they were fooling around for a period of time, but…” She shrugged. “All I know is something happened between those two. They would flirt when they thought no one was looking, and Jin would occasionally spend his lunch with her. Then one day, it all just stopped.”

Kyla continued to struggle with her backpack in her locker as if everything she was saying was completely normal. Almost like she didn’t just tell you one of Jin’s biggest secrets. You tried to conjure up a response, but you couldn’t. Your head felt like it was spinning, and your breathing had turned shallow. Almost like there was a rock sitting on your lungs “I… Did either of them ever talk about it?”

Kyla shook her head no. “Well, kinda. Not face to face with any of us. I only know what I know because I heard them talking once when I was coming out of the bathroom. Seulgi said something about “You’re coming back to mine, right?” and Jin asked if her boyfriend would be there this time.”

“Wait, did he ruin her relationship?” “I don’t think so.” Kyla responded, giving you a hard look. “No, anyway I brought it up to him, and he begged me to keep it hush. He just said him and Seulgi were doing each other a favor.” She rolled her eyes. “I told him I’m not as innocent as I look; he can just tell me they’re fucking, and he was surprised, but he just kinda brushed it off. Told me he felt like it was more than that.”

You nodded and looked away, wondering how in the hell you were supposed to process all of this. You really wanted to ask Jin all about it, maybe even force him to explain it to you because Kyla’s retelling certainly didn’t leave you feeling confident. Maybe you gave him more credit than he was worth.

Playboy Seokjin, huh?

That doesn’t sound like your Jin.

“Anyway,” Kyla sighed, hauling her backpack over her shoulder before slamming her locker door shut. “I’m gonna head out. I’ve got a big project due Monday. Enjoy your weekend, okay?”

You smiled and nodded. “You too! And good luck!”

The world seemed to right itself once you were alone in the breakroom. The air felt normal, and you could breathe. Maybe focus on getting home.

But it wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal. First of all, how could Kyla drop an absolute bombshell of a rumor like Jin’s affair on your shoulders? Second of all, Jin being a homewrecker? Jin being someone who would screw around with his higher-ups? That didn’t sound like him at all.

Then again, the guy you know could very well just be a persona, and very thought of it left you with a heavy feeling both in your heart and the pit of your stomach. It left you questioning every interaction, every compliment, everything you’ve had with Jin. That’s not to say you’ve had very much with him, but it was enough. His words, although soft, always hit you hard, and they stayed with you.

He almost kissed you…

What if he wasn’t really playing with you? What if he was just trying to get you into bed with him?

You still probably would have. Oh god, you would have, but it would’ve hurt so bad the next morning to find out he wasn’t a committed man. It was a bittersweet realization that left your heart yearning for something it couldn’t have. Even if you weren’t with Touru; even if you’d allow yourself to explore these feelings, you don’t actually believe Jin would return them.

You smiled sadly and closed your locker. It’s probably a good thing to know what you know now. It hurts like hell, but hopefully it’ll be enough for you to get over him.

It was early Saturday morning. You and Touru were on the way to some ritzy little country town where you’d be getting the grand tour of…

Well.

You weren’t really sure what the place was called. You didn’t really care either. Of all the venue tours to get cancelled, you were sure this one would top the list. It was some exclusive golf club retreat with poolside service and horseback riding. Very fancy. Very opposite of what you’d ever dreamed of.

They only had one slot left today at nine O’clock in the morning. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but it was nearly a two hour drive through the countryside on a two lane highway, and after the hellish month you’d been subjected to, you really weren’t looking forward to this extended downtime with Touru. If you were being honest with yourself, all you wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep your day away.

At least you had tomorrow to look forward to -- A long awaited brunch with Chae and Dahyun. They recently went on a trip to one of the Disney parks, and they only just got home earlier that morning. Dahyun sounded overjoyed when you called her the other day, insisting she couldn’t tell the story over the phone, and it had to be in person. As happy as you were to see your best friends, you couldn’t find it in yourself to express any of that joy for the time being.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Touru sighed, resting one arm on the driver side door while he controlled the steering wheel with the other. “We haven’t had time like this together in awhile. I’ve actually been looking forward to this drive, and seeing this venue.”

You hummed in response. Your hands lay crossed in your lap as the scenery outside your window was passing you in a dull blur. “This place is rumored to be one of the hottest wedding venues in the area! It’s really popular, and they treat the newlyweds like royalty.”

“That’s really nice.” You murmured, turning briefly to give him a small smile. “Hopefully it’ll live up to our standards then.” The two of you fell silent once again with only the soft sound of smooth jazz to fill the silence.

Your bag felt like a dumbbell lying in your lap. Knowing the Valentine’s day card still lay in there, or the way Jin’s comforting voice was just a phone call away.

He’s at work right now. It’s not even like he’d be able to talk to you.

You frowned to yourself. If he’s not busy with work, then he’s probably busy with Seulgi.

“You know I was thinking, after the tour is over, we could go to this little seafood buffet,” He chirped, “It’s right across the street, and their food is so good. I’ve been there plenty of times. You’ll love it!” He went on and on, looking over at you to see your reaction, but you looked as sad as ever. Touru forced out another sigh, one much heavier than the last after seeing you weren’t nearly as enthusiastic about today as he was, much to his disappointment.

“I’d really appreciate it if you could drop the attitude before we get to the venue.” You frowned at him. “I don’t think I have an attitude.” You replied. “I’m just tired, Touru. I worked over thirty hours this week, then I closed last night, and I had to wake up early this morning.” You explained softly, “Surely you know how I feel right now?”

He didn’t respond for a moment, taking a moment to switch lanes before focusing back on the highway in front of him. “Well,” He breathed. “You already know where I stand. You can quit whenever you’re ready.” He replied bitterly. “You’re only hurting yourself at this point anyway.”

You had no choice but to turn away as your face contorted in anger. You couldn’t bear to speak or even look at him right now.

The venue tour lasted much longer than it needed to. The venue in question, which you learned was Silver Soul Country Club upon stepping into the vicinity, was every rich man’s wet dream. Including your rich man.

There was no denying the beauty of it all. It was like a shared mansion with the patrons walking around dressed to the hilt in fancy clothes. Even the staff wore beautiful uniforms that looked like they were probably hand washed and ironed every morning. The tour guide was incredibly kind, explaining to you and Touru not only what you should expect the day of your wedding, but the discounts you’d receive if you chose to join their club before or the day of your wedding.

Despite how chilly it was, you witnessed some of the club members on the backs of horses, enjoying their day. A couple of men were out on the golf course who Touru was happily chatting up, laughing and discussing bits of their personal lives. Touru even introduced you to them as “My future wife”.

You didn’t enjoy it.

It was a little after one O’clock once you and Touru finally sat down to eat at the buffet. Sat across from Touru, you took a moment to check your phone while you ate, leaving Jin’s messages for last.

Jin: [Image] Augh! We’re so busy today!! I wish u were here to help me )): Jin: You had that venue showing today, right? Lmk what it was like!! Eventually I’m gonna get married one day, and I trust you to make only the best wedding decisions! ^^ Jin: Fucking christ. I’m working w/ Mark again today. Jin: It wouldn’t be such a big fucking deal if he didn’t have to stop me everytime I walked past him to tell me about the semester he spent in france. Jin: Like. Dude. I don’t give a shit. Half the time I don’t even believe the shit he’s saying, it just makes him sound pretentious. Jin: [Image] Be honest: Would I look good in this shirt?

You smiled, using one thumb to respond quickly.

You: Would’ve rather worked today. We just spent almost three hours watching rich people have fun //: You: -10000/10 Do Not Recommend You: Go easy on Mark! I know he drives u nuts, but he’s still a kid )): Probably just wants to impress you. Ur basically like the superstar of that place after all! You: Yes, of course you’d look good in that shirt! You look great in pink! ^^ You: Hope ur day is going better now!! What time do u get off?

With your phone now lying face down on the table, you wanted to try eating at least a little bit. You ended up skipping breakfast, and the tour left you hungry, but you didn’t feel well. You were a little too worried about what Kyla told you last night. Your mind raced with thoughts of Jin and Seulgi together. The image of them holding hands or him kissing her cheek. It was almost enough to make you queasy.

You tried thinking back on the times you saw them together at work; tried to remember if they acted any different around each other versus when around other people. You’ve told Jin so much about yourself -- More than what you’re comfortable sharing with most people. Surely if he was in a relationship, that’s something he would’ve told you? Then again, sleeping with the boss may not be something he wants to put on blast. It’s not like he was ever gonna introduce her to you as his girlfriend.

Now that you thought about it… He hasn’t introduced you to Yoongi or Hobi either. Actually, when you guys dropped by his apartment to pick up his belongings, you noticed neither Hobi nor Yoongi were home. Jin did mention that Yoongi was making some preparations since he’d be studying abroad come the fall, but what about Hobi?

You frowned, knowing Jin didn’t have to really introduce you to anyone in his life if he didn’t want to, but the thought of it only further cemented the facts in your mind.

Why do you want Jin to want you so bad? You’re getting married soon, and you’ll have a family with the love of your life.

…But are you sure this is what you really want?

“I was actually thinking…” Touru interrupted your thoughts as he was pulling his napkin away from his face. “After we get married, we could probably get a place out here.”

Your eyes went wide with terror as his mere suggestion sent a shiver down your spine. “But we’ve barely lived in this house a couple years!” You reminded him, “I thought this was supposed to be the house we’d raise our children in. They’d be close their grandmother, and--”

“But isn’t this place so much nicer?” He interjected in a whiny tone. “They’d really only see her over the holidays anyway. Not to mention if we move here, I can start taking the railway to work. It’d cut down my travel time so much. Then you’d be able to use the car for the children.”

You frowned at the thought. Move way out here? Away from everything you know? Away from your mom, and your friends?

Away from Jin?

“I guess, but… What about my job?” Touru rolled his eyes. “You need to let that go. You’re not going to need it after we get married anyway. We’ll be starting our life together, and you’ll be too busy with the kids.” He went on as he broke open one of the clams on his plate. “You’ll have better things to worry about rather than dealing with the public.”

You stared down at the liquid in the bowl in front of you, having completely lost your appetite. You knew Touru was just trying to do what was best for the relationship, but your heart wasn’t in it this time. If anything, your feelings were hurt by his dismissive attitude. You remember the day you and Touru signed the lease for that house. How the tears sprung in your eyes as he kissed you in the midst of his excitement talking about, ��One step closer to our little family, baby.” You’d been thrilled to hear those words. Thrilled that he was so ready to go above and beyond for you. For your future family.

Everything felt so surreal at the time. It felt like you guys were a real couple with real goals and a strong relationship. You really thought the planets had aligned perfectly so that everything was just falling into its natural place. Finally, after years of hardship and heartbreak, you really felt like you were being rewarded. You’d get the domestic bliss you’ve always dreamed of having. You’d live out the rest of your life as happy as could be. With your husband and children by your side, and your mother's unconditional love and support.

One, big happy family.

Looking back on all that almost felt like some kind of fever dream, or maybe like you’re watching a fool dive head first into the deep end of one enormous mistake. Were you making the right decision rushing into something like this with your high school sweetheart? What happened along the way that’s made you feel like everything’s gone terribly wrong? Did you miss something?

The deep-rooted sadness sat like a heavy weight on your shoulders, and it was starting to feel like it wouldn’t be letting up anytime soon. All these questions, and no one that could answer them. Why couldn’t you just be happy? You wanted to scream. You wanted to tell him things were moving too fast, and you wanted to stay at your little retail job just a little bit longer. That you wanted to get your degree and spend this time doing things as a couple you haven’t gotten to do yet.

But this was always the plan, wasn’t it? It’s why you left nursing school. It’s why this dumb retail job was only temporary. It never was a means to an end. It was so you’d have something to do while you waited for your real life to begin. And now that it’s just over the horizon, you’re… Scared? Nervous?

You have no reason to be. As long as you have Touru by your side, everything will be okay.

Right?

The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air as the waitress walked by your table. She offered refills to you and your friends, who were giggling away in the midst of their story. Seeing your trio in such a fit of excitement, she offered to come back later, and continued on her way.

“So after all that, Dahyun was pulling me by the hand in that cute way, ya know… Wait, I think I still have the photo!” Chae giggled as she went looking for the picture on her phone. Dahyun smiled at her, “The sun was starting to set, and I’d asked Chae like a million times if she was getting tired because we’d been there almost all day, and I wanted her to be excited--”

“Here it is!” Chae exclaimed, cutting her fiance off as she shoved the phone at you from across the table. You took it in your hands, smiling down at the screen. She was right, it looked like one of those cliche pictures of a girlfriend pulling their partner towards their next destination. You took in the little details, like all of Chae’s cute bracelets and how her nails were painted white while Dahyun’s was painted pink. Dahyun’s long hair, which had been deep blue at the time was curled, but it looked a little wind-whipped from all the rides they’d been on.

“I really wasn’t expecting it!” Chae laughed. “But she pulled me to the wishing well in Magic Kingdom and she picked me up and sat me on the edge of it--”

“She looked adorable, too! She was sitting there with her legs crossed one over the other, and her hands clasped in her lap!” Dahyun sighed, “She actually looked like a princess.”

“Your princess.” She giggled, kissing Dahyun’s cheek.

“So, she set me up there, and took my hands in hers. And she was like, ‘Chae…’,” She sighed her own name dramatically, looking over at a smiling Dahyun. “And she goes, ‘You know I love you with all my heart, right? The last seven years have been some of the happiest of my life-”

“Stoooopp! You’re making me sound sappy!” “It’s because you ARE sappy!” She laughed as Dahyun leaned all of her body weight into her, burying her face in her fiance’s thick hoodie. “But she finally got down on one knee, and she asked me if I’d marry her-”

“And she started laughing!” Dahyun yelled, looking back at you. “She was laughing and crying at the same time, and I was so confused! And then she reached into the back pocket of her shorts and pulled out her own ring!”

Little tears of joy pricked at the corners of your eyes as you smiled at them. “Why am I not surprised.” You snorted, but the girls didn’t say anything, they just kept laughing at the situation. The rims of Dahyun’s eyes were even beginning to turn pink like she was on the verge of crying.

“Awe, Dahyunnie!” Chae smiled, holding her fiance’s head against her shoulder. “I love you so much.” Dahyun whispered while Chae pressed kisses to her head. “I love you too.”

You smiled, bringing your latte to your lips and turning to look out the window situated at your booth so you could give the couple a moment of privacy.

You and Dahyun had been friends since middle school. You grew up together. She was there for you even more so than Touru was when you found out about your father’s passing. You were the first person she told she was a lesbian at fifteen years old, and you were there for her, holding her hand one year later when she told her parents. You’ve watched her relationship with Chaeyoung as it bloomed, becoming what it was today, and you couldn’t be happier to be here celebrating their engagement with her. With both of them.

“Sorry,” Dahyun laughed, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. “I uh… I have allergies.” She snorted. “Yeah! She’s highly allergic to being in love with me.” Chae stated proudly, gently poking and prodding at Dahyun’s side until she was laughing, begging her to stop.

You leaned your chin into your hand. The sunshine reflected off Chae’s deep black hair as she laughed at another one of Dahyun’s antics. They were lost in their own little world, the playfulness that shined in their eyes and sprung with joy in their laughter, it was a bittersweet feeling that was left crawling up the back of your spine. You couldn’t pinpoint why until you started thinking about all the questions you’d had yesterday. Then you realized…

You envied them.

You looked on intently as the couple continued their back and forth until finally, the question you’d been wondering just slipped out. “Have you two ever had doubts about your relationship?”

Both girls stopped instantly to look over at you, although they seemed confused, their smiles remained the same. “I mean, that didn’t…” Your face shone with embarrassment as you cleared your throat. “Would you take any of it back is what I’m trying to ask.” You offered awkwardly. You didn’t want to come off as bitter after they’ve just shared such wonderful news with you, but they both knew you better than that.

Dahyun snorted at your question. “Of course not! I wouldn’t, at least.” She looked to her partner with a loving smile. “Have you ever doubted our relationship, babe?”

Chae hummed, popping a chocolate covered strawberry into her mouth before leaning into Dahyun’s side. “Not for a second! I mean we’ve had our fair share of arguments and there were some major problems we had to work through, but we always came out on the other side stronger.” She giggled before leaning up to kiss the other girl on the cheek. “I couldn’t be happier with Dahyunnie.”

You gave them a faux smile as you mulled over their words. You’ve been with Touru for nearly as long as they’ve been together. You’ve been through hell and highwater with him, and you know you’d do anything for him, so why were you suddenly getting cold feet?

“Are you perhaps projecting, Ms. (Y/Ln)?” Chae giggled suddenly, but her unexpected question caused you to choke on your coffee. With your face now painted a light shade of pink and a dribble of coffee, the couple laughed at your demise while you dried your chin and cheeks.

“Of course not!” You exclaimed defensively. “I just wanted to ask because…”

Why did you ask? You were not projecting, were you? You couldn’t come up with a clever answer quick enough before Dahyun was chiming in. “Weren’t you just texting me a couple weeks ago about helping a certain Jin move into his new apartment?”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” You rested your forehead in the palm of your hand as if you were expecting to nurse an oncoming migraine.

“Didn’t end the way you wanted to?” She pushed further as she wiggled her eyebrows, causing you to shriek in absolute shock. “Guys! This isn’t funny!” You whined, but they obviously thought otherwise.

“Do y’all think… I don’t know, that Jin is trying to ruin my relationship?” “Honey, I don’t think Jin’s trying to ruin anything for you.” Chae sighed. “I think he may have feelings for you. Either that, or he just really enjoys teasing you.”

You wrung your fingers together in your lap, unable to look her in the eye.“I just feel like sometimes it’d be better if I quit hanging around him, ya know?”

“But…” Dahyun interjected, arms crossed in front of her chest. You glanced at her sheepishly before training your eyes on the food in front of you.

“But I’d really miss him.” Chae frowned and reached across the table to take your hands in hers. “I’m sorry, beloved. The heart wants what the heart wants.”

She’s right, and you knew she was right. You just didn’t want to admit it. “Not to sound cheesy, but I think it was love at first sight.” Dahyun stated casually as she looked down at her freshly manicured nails.

“Excuse me?” You retorted, giving her a look, but she just shrugged at you. “I mean it’s entirely possible. Think about it: He’s this insanely good-looking guy with a friendly disposition. You, a woman who’s already spoken for wants to find some kind of flaw to protect yourself--”

She rolled her eyes, making a circular hand gesture as if that was going to take her words back. “Let me rephrase that: To convince yourself he wouldn’t be right; wouldn’t be any better a lover than Touru, but maybe you need to face facts… I don’t know. The way I see it, he’s the kind of man you wish Touru would be.” She explained effortlessly, leaving you utterly shell shocked.

“And to put the cherry on top: He cares about you. I mean, he really cares about you. Anybody with a brain and two working eyes can figure that one out.” She snorted, “He’s clearly attracted to you, and by the looks of it, you’re attracted to him, too. You should leave Touru for him, I certainly think you’d be happier that way.” She made her final declaration before popping one of the last few chocolate covered strawberries into her mouth.

You sat there in awe staring at her, trying to comprehend the MLA essay that just tumbled out of her mouth. You were almost impressed with Dahyun’s mind. The way she could overanalyze you, and get it right on the first try, but having it explained to you in such an obvious way was a real wakeup call. Now that they had you alone, she and Chae were going to force you to acknowledge how you felt.

”You only say all that because you don’t like Touru.” You responded weakly in the faintest hope that maybe the subject would be dropped.

“Yeah?” Dahyun spat. “You and I both know -- Chae knows. Jihyo knows. Your mom knows; my mom knows! Everybody and their grandparents know!” Dahyun dragged on and on, only coming to a sudden halt when she caught your look of unamusement.

“None of us like Touru. Not even a little bit.” She sighed, falling back into her seat.

“He’s a decent lover--” “Okay, but you deserve better than decent. You deserve an amazing lover!” Chae exclaimed, “Someone who’s going to cherish you! Someone you’d be hurting for if you let them go!”

“Kinda like Jin!” Dahyun added, giving you a knowing smile. You just looked back out the window, feeling more conflicted now than you had this morning or even yesterday.

“I'd hurt if I had to let Touru go…” You muttered stubbornly. “You guys just need to get to know him better.”

“Sweetie. We’ve known him since you started dating him five and a half years ago.” Dahyun deadpanned, “I don’t think there’s much more we can learn.” Chae nodded in agreement.

“I know this probably isn’t the best advice, but have you considered…” Chae sighed, “I don’t know… Having a bit of a fling with Jin? Just to see how he’d make you feel?”

“How would that solve my problem?!”

“I mean if he’s nice and then he’s also good in bed, it would only be more incentive to leave Touru’s useless ass in the dirt!” Chae pushed. You shoved your back harder against the suede fabric of the booth, hoping it would swallow you up and you would no longer be forced to be involved in this dumb conversation.

“Wasn’t the whole point of us going out to brunch to celebrate you guys?!” You shot forward like someone had just launched your body out of a slingshot and nearly sent your coffee tumbling across the table. Bless Dahyun and her sharp reflexes.

“We’ve celebrated enough for one brunch. We’re talking about your love life now.” Chae reminded you.

“Or a lack thereof.” Dahyun snorted. “You can’t tell me I’m wrong! I know how much of an asshole he is-”

“Guys.” You sighed. “Look. Even if I wanted to… Entertain the idea of sleeping with Jin,” Your voice was soft and shy as you took a quick glance around the restaurant. No way in hell you were gonna let him show up unannounced and insert himself into the party while you were discussing the idea of fucking him.

“Someone told me he was probably already seeing someone. Or even if he’s not seeing her, he’s crazy about her, so I don’t think I’d even have a chance with him.” You gave them a quick rundown of what Kyla told you -- Taking quick, paranoid glances over your shoulder every once in a while just to be safe.

“But they don’t act like this anymore?” Chae asked curiously.

“That’s what Kyla told me.” You sighed, “But they could’ve just… Gotten caught? HR could’ve said something? Some workplaces don’t allow couples to work together, much less where one partner is in a position of power I could imagine.” You tried to reason, but she just rolled her eyes.

“Honestly, it sounds like a thing of the past. I wouldn’t worry about it.” Dahyun shrugged. “Okay, well what about him apparently coming between Seulgi and her boyfriend?”

“You don’t know if that’s true.” Dahyun fired back. Her patience was deteriorating, but you could tell she was trying to keep her cool. The conversation was quickly turning into an argument. Maybe not with Chae, but Dahyun was ready to knock some sense into you, and lord only knows her fiance would back her up. Not to mention how much it bothered you that they could make all these assumptions based purely on what you’ve told them. Aside from that one night with Dahyun at the bar, they’ve never even met the guy.

“I really think you should go after him if you’re in love with him. What good is it doing either of you, hurting? Ignoring the tension that’s clearly there?” Chae insisted.

“Nobody is in love with anybody!” You retorted in defense. No matter how much you tried to deny it, their advice did sound tempting. Sounded like something that you’ve wanted for a while now, but it was one thing to confirm those feelings for yourself. To know you’re crushing on one of your best friends and coming to terms with it. You could accept it and live with it. Albeit painfully so, but you could do it.

It was a matter of voicing those feelings to the world; to the man on the receiving end of those feelings. You’d be putting so much at stake. Not just with your marriage, but with Jin himself. If Touru’s bad attitude towards Jin wouldn’t run him off, then asking him to have sex with you would.

“I’ve come to terms with it, you guys.” You sighed. “Jin’s a kind man and everything, but imagine if he actually were dating Seulgi. I could never come between them. I wouldn’t even want to.” You regarded them with a small smile. “Besides, I can’t hurt Touru like that. We’ve been together for so long, and I still love him. We’re just under a lot of stress right now is all.” You nodded to yourself.

“It’ll be okay.”

Dahyun’s lips stretched into a thin line, the tip of her tongue faintly outlined in her cheek. Your answer clearly wasn’t the one she wanted to hear, but she knew how stubborn you were. Knew there wasn’t much she could say to sway you one way or the other.

That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t try.

“Fine.” She bit back with a cat-like glare, “Do what you want, but I’m telling you For a Fact: Touru isn’t good for you.” Her hands were tightly clenched into fists on the table until her wrists went limp, and her arms slunk down beneath the surface.

“He’s a controlling man who’s looking out for nobody else but himself. If you don’t want to go after Jin, fine. You do you. But you need to take a step back and see Touru for who he really is, and I’d suggest doing it before you’re stuck with him for the rest of your life.”

#bts #bts x reader #kim seokjin #seokjin x reader #jin x reader #magicshopnet #non-idol au #retail au #slice of life au #slow burn #bts series #Infodump the chapter!#so yeah; none of the pieces in this chapter felt long enough to be standalone chapters so they've all been crammed into one #sorry about that; I hope y'all don't mind )):#next update might take a minute #maybe not as long as this one but...#next update; y'all are getting two chapters for the price of one!#spoiler for anyone who reads the tags hehehe #just because the next two chapters go hand in hand #and I don't want u guys having to wait as long as u did between chapter 5-1 and 5-2 #that was ridiculous on my part and I'm not playing that nonsense again #as always; the chapter will be queued up a couple times over the next day or so #so hopefully it hits all crowds!#thank you for reading!! I love you guys <3 #y'all would never believe it but... writing toxic relationships is super draining #did y'all know?? I had no idea #im not even bullshitting; i was dreading writing this chapter #and there are a few others im dreading too because of t^uru #probably shouldn't say that as the author aslkharkjhsdf

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ariadnelives · 5 years ago

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Chapter 17 -- The Pros and Cons

[Missed earlier chapters? Go catch up here! Otherwise, welcome back! Oh, and make sure to join our discord server! Chapter can also be found @ ao3”]

“Your objections have been noted, Sweettalk,” Ariadne addressed the crew about 25 minutes later, give or take, in front of the whiteboard once again, “and none of us likes having to work with this slimeball—”

“—Can I raise an objection?” Prescott cut in.

“All objections have been noted,” Ariadne spat back, “but the information Prescott’s carrying is too valuable to our cause to pass up.”

“And what is our cause, exactly?” Sweettalk asked, “because, I mean, I get that this cult is bad news, but, why is that still our business?”

“Would your conscience allow you to let Vi’s sisters stay locked up?” Ariadne replied casually.

Sweettalk considered this. “It… ugh, it would not…”

“Besides,” Ariadne continued, “and this is a totally selfish reason, but as long as they’ve got one of the impostors, they can keep posing as me and ruining my good name.”

“Your good name as… a wanted criminal…?” Prescott interjected.

“This is now the fifth time someone has told you to cram it,” Sasha pointed out. “I’ve been counting.”

“Do you want our help or not?” Ariadne offered in assent.

“I’m getting your help regardless,” Prescott smirked, “remember, my information is ‘too valuable to pass up.’”

“What information do you have?” Pilar snapped, “God, sorry, it’s hard to keep this group focused sometimes.”

“Thank you, Ms. Pilar,” Prescott smiled at her.

“Don’t get friendly. I still hate you. Keep talking.”

“Must have been raised in a barn, I swear,” Prescott muttered. “No matter. I have extensive information on the cult leader known as The Zealot. I’ve already told your captain enough independently verifiable information to prove that I’m not full of shit, but given our track record thus far, I understand if you still don’t exactly trust me, and believe me, the feeling’s mutual.”

“Prescott and I have worked out a deal,” Ariadne explained. “He needs our help retrieving some valuable artifacts from a casino in Lohnausfall where he believes his girlfriend—”

“—ex-girlfriend,” Prescott snapped.

“Shock,” Ariadne replied sarcastically, then continued, “a casino where he believes his ex-girlfriend fled to with the bag of church artifacts he stole from the Red God compound.”

“Church artifacts are valuable?” Alicia chimed in from the crowd.

“These ones are,” Prescott explained, “The Zealot, see, he’s bartered, stolen, and even killed to get just about every ancient text, every holy artifact, basically anything the Catholic Church wanted to keep under wraps. He learned how to establish a religion using primary sources on some of the most powerful churches of all time. I’ve got nothing against people of faith, but, he took something good and twisted it to his own ends, which obviously I appreciate. One of the reasons my security company never sold those compounds out is because we knew they were sitting on a fortune bigger than any sticker price we could’ve given a buyer, and we could just quietly slip in any time, take one document, sell it to fund our operation for a year, and if they ever noticed it was gone, they’d just chalk it up to an archaic and confusing filing system. In that duffel bag alone, among other things, there was an original manuscript of the Gospel of Judas, one of the nails purportedly used to hang Jesus on the cross, the true shroud used to cover his body, and enough documentation to prove the authenticity of every bit. In the right hands, each artifact is worth millions, maybe more.”

“Okay, so, it’s obvious Prescott is a slimeball who’s attempting to exploit humanity’s cultural heritage for his own profit,” Ariadne began, “I think we can all agree on that—”

“I can’t!” Prescott scoffed.

“Everyone whose opinion matters can agree on that, but, given his history, I wasn’t exactly comfortable helping him out with no guarantee that he won’t throw us under the bus and make a mad dash to save himself. So, we came up with a little arrangement. Prescott wrote everything he knows about the Zealot on a tablet which will be entrusted to Sweettalk, the least likely person in the universe to ever help Prescott—”

“Yo,” Sweettalk said, making a thumbs-up to indicate that she was absolutely game to be unhelpful where Prescott is concerned.

“—and, to ensure that we don’t just take the information and drop him out the airlock on the way to Lohnausfall,” Ariadne continued, holding up two small memory drives, “these are the two decryption keys. I coded them myself. Even I can’t hack my way into that tablet without both of these, so if either of them are missing, the tablet is useless. One will be on Prescott’s person, the other in Pilar’s. Both of them need to return for this to work.”

Sweettalk raised her hand.

“We’ve established that this is not a classroom, Sweettalk, ask your question.” Pilar sighed.

“What’s to stop him from taking his key and booking it once he has what he wants?” Sweettalk asked.

“I hate that she makes such a good point,” Pilar asked.

“Oh, you’re gonna like this,” Ariadne grinned, and, without warning, quickly tackled Prescott to the ground.

There was a quick scuffle, the sort you might expect when one person abruptly throws their entire weight onto another person and knocks them to the floor, but after a few seconds it resolved itself into Ariadne twisting Prescott’s arm behind his back and attaching a heavy-looking black manacle to his wrist.

“THERE.” Ariadne said, slotting one of the drives into a small notch in the manacle, which closed behind it.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Prescott bellowed.

“I like it already,” Sweettalk laughed. “What is it?”

“I call it The Jumper,” Ariadne said, “I invented it a few months back and I’ve always wanted a chance to use it. It’s got a small, long-range teleporter inside it, hardwired to our receiving pad. Only I can unlock it, although I have no manual control over it. It activates automatically if it leaves a 1-kilometer range of my person, or if any of our crew’s vitals go critical for more than 30 seconds. If he attempts to flee, or harms any of us, the Jumper will automatically return to our station.”

“And what’s stopping him from leaving Spacebreather in the back of some cop car, so having his key back doesn’t do us any good?” Sweettalk asked, “Sorry, Spacebreather, I’m not doubting you, but we can’t afford to underestimate how much of a snake in the grass this guy is.”

Ariadne released her hold on him. “I’m right here, you know,” Prescott said, sounding somewhat offended.

“OH, ARE YOU?” Sweettalk asked, “I WASN’T SURE, I WOULD’VE SAID SOMETHING MORE INSULTING.”

Ariadne jumped in at this point, hoping to keep the crew focused, “the Jumper is programmed to return to our station. It is also designed to take the wrist it’s attached to with it, and do so in such a way that ensures the wearer will bleed out within minutes.”

“So, we know he can’t screw us over again,” Sasha started.

“Don’t count on that,” Sweettalk interjected.

“But, do we have a plan to actually extract the target?” Sasha finished.

“The security at the casino is lax,” Ariadne explained. “Big Top Casino is owned by the Rizzo crime family. Now, I’m told they used to be a big deal, and the head honcho Harry ‘Big Top’ Rizzo is a force to contend with, but their wealth has waned in recent years, which I’d bet is why they wanted these artifacts in the first place. They’ll have a lot of goons on the ground, but the main threat they’re there to guard against is hit jobs by rival families. They don’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try to steal something out of the safe in Big Top’s office, which is where the target will undoubtedly be.”

“Can you crack the safe?” Pilar asked.

“I’ve never met a safe I couldn’t,” Ariadne said, “all I need is to make sure I don’t get caught cracking it. So, we’re going to need to divide into two teams. Diamond Team, that’s Spacebreather, Deathsbane, Sweettalk, and any available Whiptals, your job will be to stage a robbery on the casino floor. Make a big show of it. You don’t actually need to get anything out of the robbery, just make it believable enough that security thinks you’re the threat and comes running, and most importantly, don’t get killed.”

“Do we really think that Deathsbane—” Pilar began.

“I don’t want to hear any arguments on this,” Ariadne cut in, “we need a field medic on site for any dangerous missions from here on out. If you’d like Deathsbane to take on an apprentice, we can talk about that when we get back, but in the meantime, we’ve only got one medic and we can’t afford to be away from her.”

Pilar let out a somewhat angry-sounding sigh. “Fine, whatever.” Sasha smiled and Sweettalk smiled wider.

“Easy enough,” Sasha shrugged, “I’ll prep a few auto-capsules for the regen serum that’ll monitor our vitals and inject us in the event of any sort of trauma. They’re one-use only, though, so try not to get hit, and if you do, go down and play dead so they don’t shoot you again.”

“So, we’re the diversion,” Sweettalk mused, “but what happens when you’ve got the safe? Do we have an exit strategy?”

“Fastwing will keep the shuttle cloaked nearby with a receiving pad idling. As soon as I give her the signal, we flee as quickly as we can and she flies us the hell out of there.”

“What will I be doing during all of this?” Prescott asked.

“Other than cramming it?” Sasha proposed, and Sweettalk quietly high-fived her.

“You’ll be with me,” Ariadne said flatly. “If you’re seen on the casino floor this ex-girlfriend of yours will know what we’re there for and the diversion will be blown. For all your faults, you’re a pretty good liar, and that’s going to work to our advantage. You’ll be our lookout, wearing your security guard getup. If anyone catches us red-handed, your job is to get us out of trouble.”

“You’d trust him to do that?” Sweettalk asked incredulously.

“I’d trust him as far as I could throw his grubby little severed hand and a bag full of blasphemous goodies,” Ariadne replied casually.

“Fair,” Sweettalk nodded.

“So, anything else we need to know?”

“One thing,” Prescott interjected, “Don’t underestimate my ex, Nicks. She may look harmless, but she might be the most dangerous person I’ve ever met.”

Pilar looked moderately offended.

“Ego still a little bruised from the breakup?” Sweettalk offered.

“I’m not kidding,” Prescott insisted, “maybe it’s from growing up with the rest of the Rizzos, but she has this, like, Bonnie and Clyde thing, she lives for danger and that’s more important to her than her own safety or anyone she loves. There is no risk she’s unwilling to take, and no consequence great enough to give her pause. Call me biased or jilted or whatever, but if she confronts you, don’t bother firing a warning shot. She can’t be intimidated, if anything, it’ll just encourage her. Shoot to kill.”

“Noted.” Ariadne rolled her eyes. She was sure they could handle whatever squeaky-voiced rich brat who was airheaded enough to find Prescott attractive, and she didn’t need to know him for very long to know you couldn’t trust a word out of his mouth. “If there’s nothing else, let’s saddle up and get this heist underway. I don’t want to spend any more valuable time helping Prescott, whom I hate, than we need to.”

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almaasi · 6 years ago

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reaction post typed while watching SPN 14x08 “Byzantium”

*insert gif of me with raging fireballs for eyes and a huge smile, throwing flowers everywhere*

03:45pm

WHooo a meredith glynn episode!!!!! my fave

i always hear the 10th doctor saying “byzantium” and i can’t even put my finger on why. i guess he said it once. followed by the word “crystals”. probably what powers the tardis tbh

brb gonna get a lil snackaroo

04:04pm

okay a whole mealaroo, same difference

LET’S WATCH THE THING

04:06

i like that this recap is mostly women saying important things, quoted from multiple episodes

the stars have aligned

04:08

sam: “tell them yourself, they’ll get back in a minute”

oh no the pain in sam’s eyes

i lowkey forgot jared could act

04:10

jack: what happens next, for someone like me?

sam: i don’t know

jack: then it’s gonna be an adventure

he is THE PUREST SOUL

04:11

sam: “he’s gone”

WHAT??? NO?????!?!?!

WHAT??2RF

JDFG?

/????????

NO? I WAS 0% EXPECTING THIS

WHAT THE HELL

EXCUSE ME I WANT A REFUND FOR THIS EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT

SERIOUSLY I 100% BELIEVED HE’D BE OKAY

WHO ALLOWED THIS

/frowns and continues watching because nope this will be FIXED

at some point

undoubtedly

04:14

oh nooooo

does cas always check with dean’s emotions so he can reflect them, or because he wants to check if dean’s okay before allowing himself to feel his own emotions?

because he always does this

04:16

also i wanna know why this is clearly affecting dean so much more than cas or sam when they all cared about him like parents

does he just take things to heart way more, or is jack specifically linked in his mind to something he did wrong and the guilt is overwhelming?

also i totally would’ve loved to see them all bawling their eyes out tbh

04:18

why is cas the one holding everything together

dean’s in pain, cas helps him

sam’s in pain, dean lets him be but cas wants to help

but how is cas feeling

04:21

would fresh wood even burn???? i thought you’re meant to get dead, old wood

or maybe i know nothing and you’re meant to chop down poor, innocent trees

04:24

dean: “tonight? we get loaded”

and now i’m crying ;~;

04:25

fuk u

04:26

it’s obviously misha but it’s also canon cas now and he’s smiling and i’m sobbing and i can’t handle this

okay dean needs to kiss that lil bit of caramel off his lip RIGHT NOW

100% the reason the editors used that shot

04:28

okYA THAT RIGHT THERE/ THAT’S DRUNK JENSEN

NESNEJ, IF YOU WILL

I KNOW THAT LOOK ANYWHERE

THAT’S JENSEN LOOKING AT MISHA WITH DRUNK HEARTEYES

they must’ve used real liquor somewhere in this, either that or jensen is REALLY good at acting drunk with his eyes

AND FUCK THAT’S ALSO DEAN LOOKING AT CAS WITH DRUNK HEARTEYES

SHIT

this episode is just a list of things i did not fucking expect to see right now

04:33

tbh jack’s heaven is probably very close to my idea of heaven too

endless team free will/destiel soft fanfiction where nothing is wrong and they like me

04:35

how does he look SO. GOOD.

04:37

honestly right now as they’re having this conversation about angel tablets, my bladder is straining in sympathy for dean’s

please somebody let him leave to use the bathroom

i cannot imagine how much liquid is inside him right now AND AT THE SAME TIME HE MUST BE THE MOST DEHYDRATED

save this boy

04:41

oooh is jack gonna meet his mom in heaveeeeeeennnnn

04:44

dean: “psycho ex-angel killer”

um dude everyone you know and love has murdered angels

04:50

oooohhhh yes i did recognise the black inky skeleton thing but didn’t place it until now

04:50

duma: “what does it want?”

naomi: “the boy”

unsure if that counts as a bechdel test pass but it was close

duma: “so what do we do?”

naomi: “give it what it wants”

okay THAT counts