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lilyrachelcassidy · 3 years ago

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Birthday Cake

A/N: Suprise folks!!! *me laughing maniacally* The whole scenery for this fic somehow appeared in my head and I just COULDN’T let it slip away, so... My biggest inspo for that was @drawlfoy!! Remember her posting the fic where Draco and Reader work at McDonald’s and are total suckers in their job (arguing with the customers; preparing wrong orders; etc.)? Dee unfortunately, deleted this precious, but it’s stuck to my head ever since (lol lol, it’s the moment where Dee wants to get rid of something, but I kindly remind everyone it existed). Therefore I present to you the next Draco x Reader fic related to our fav fast-food rest. This time, however, they’re not working at the same workplace but... I'm going to stop here cuz I don't want to spoiler :P

**The second thing that triggered me to write this fic is the YouTube video I recently saw with a lady who orders the 'specials' appearing to be out of the menu list of McDonald’s, through the Drive-Through. She asked for a birthday cake, was laughed at a few times, but eventually got what she wanted. Applause for the attitude!!

About the fic (context, my bitches): ofc it’s the modern AU, non-magical world. Draco’s the worst boyfriend ever but always manages to turn things into their righteous place.

Summary: The birthday is upcoming, and Draco is in a rush to think up an idea for a perfect gift. His ingenuity fails, however, and leaves Y/N very unsatisfied with a disaster that has been forged.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: my brain playing a total psycho, language, alcohol, sexual undertones/allusions to sex, Pansy being too much of her self... deal...

Tags: @drawlfoy @eltanin-malfoy

Such an unrestrained desire to strangle somebody you hadn't felt in a long time.

Really.

Today was your birthday, which you had been widely announcing for almost a whole month to people you might have accidentally forgotten about it. Having your boyfriend, Draco, on your mind in particular.

You doubted he would have the guts to omit your big day, though as repeatedly as he had done for a few years back. But something between foresight and the second sense of prevention told you to keep reminding him every day of the upcoming event, with a heap of birthday-themed emojis and uppercases in the messages.

Everything was planned out in your head: him picking you up from your house with the sharp-red cabriolet that he used only for special occasions; him driving the two of you to the fanciest restaurant he could find in town; him bestowing you with a nice-looking, golden necklace or a different piece of jewelry you had been suggestively pointing out in the store's exhibition; him booking up a hotel room for you two to celebrate.

Either way, that was much beyond your expectations, as it turned out. And now you were sitting in the front yard of your house, waiting for him to show up.

'If he was going to at all.' This thought invaded your mind for the last hour, try as might to subdue it. An hour you had been sitting tight, hoping it was only a delay caused by a traffic jam or other irrational explanation he could come up with. But you were deceiving yourself, you eventually presumed -- you had been checking up your phone every one minute, only to see if any message notification popped up on the screen, other than birthday wishes from friends who actually cared for you.

2.02pm: Nothing.

2.03pm: Susan 'Happy birthday bitch!'

2.04pm: Instagram notif. (Someone liked your photo, which you had posted before leaving your room, posing in front of the mirror in the best cocktail dress you could find in the wardrobe.)

2.05pm: Nothing yet again.

2.06pm: Still... Peace and quiet.

"Fuck it...Enough," you muttered under your breath, an annoying disillusionment falling like a heavy mile stone on your chest. Tears suddenly started sprinkling in your eyes at the regret, and you were very reluctant to admit that your friends were right -- Draco Malfoy was an egoistic, negligent, self-absorbed pri--

"Hi." You heard the raspy, panting voice says. "Sorry for the delay."

You blinked slowly, stupidly. You raised your head to assure yourself it was him. That his expression actually corresponded to his words and showed some kind of remorse for standing you up. But no... There he was: standing in front of you, plainly confident and unashamed, with his cocky smirk provoking you to slap him.

Oh, how much you craved to slap him right now. "Where to the fuck have you been?"

"I've tried to pick this up," he explained, simultaneously lifting up the paper bag he'd been carrying in his hand. The big, exclaiming letters 'McDonald's' with the brand's logo were printed on its exterior, and it was fully stuffed with something inside.

Not quite comprehending, you furrowed. You attempted to hide the venom in your voice, but somehow it found its way to leak out. "Couldn't you do that in advance?"

"Nope..." It was his turn to furrow, looking almost shocked with the question. And thanks to all those years of your relationship, you knew it was his piss-poor estimation of time taking over. "It was a last-minute surprise."

"Sounds like it," you commented irritably. "What's that?"

"Your birthday present, sunshine," he drawled happily, ignoring your remark. He sounded positively delighted and satisfied with himself at surprising you with that because he saw a slight crease of shock painting on your forehead. "Here you go."

You took his deposit out of his grasp, still quite unsure. What if his gift would only make a situation worse? Can it get any worse with Draco's total lack of tact? Yes. But it was only one way to find out.

Without even stealing a second glance at him, you ripped off all of the packaging that had been folded around, protecting the contents. You tried to do it carefully and without any impact of emotions revealing the way you felt inside, but your hands were shaking with rage, and you couldn't quite contain yourself. You had been highly aware you shouldn't have expected much from him, but still...

You wondered if the universe was playing against you.

There was a moment of tense silence as you struggled to deal with all the wrappings. Rather unfortunately, you wished you hadn't put so much effort in opening your so-called 'gift' because as you finally did, it only angered you more, seeing as the disappointment laughs at your face. And yes, as a matter of fact, the universe was against you today...

"Are you kidding me?" you asked in disbelief, fury reappearing in your eyes. "A birthday cake?! From McDonald's?" Ugly, little cake with the creepiest smiley face of a clown. It wasn't even fresh, you realized, when you smelled it and felt a musty reek of a freezer, it probably had been kept in. A confusing sense of sadness in your chest couldn't reach any higher at this point.

"Don't you like it?" he asked, detecting the wrath in your eyes. At that, you felt the dumbest urge to laugh and never stop. "I thought it'd be something original."

"Oh, I love it," you said sarcastically, a faint voice of hope telling you it was only a very bad joke was still lingering in your head. But it wasn't a joke.

"It's not just--" He struggled to form a coherent sentence. "I've been asking Blaise and Theo about any ideas. I told them, what you had said to me -- 'you didn't want anything fancy.' So we decided it's... something."

"Of course I didn't tell you I want anything, you dolt!" Your voice raised up almost two octaves, and the pulse sped up so fast it entailed a headache along. A neighbor from the opposite garden who was watering the flowers looked at you, startled, and eyes widened your exasperated tone. You didn’t care. "It's how it works: you don't tell other people you expect them to buy something!"

"But I'm your boyfriend. You shouldn't -- er-- feel uncomfortable to tell..."

"Exactly! As my boyfriend, you should have known!"

"Well... I didn't. If that's what's bothering you, we can...we can..."

"Stop." Listening to him and his pathetic excuses was the last thing you were going to do now. "What – why would you even – " You sputtered out, unable to process or express exactly what you were feeling. There was definitely anger and indignation. Curiosity, for another, as to why Draco would even fall for such foolish and ill-considered idea, and -- to the top of it -- hope it would make a good fit. And possibly, the last and most satisfying part, was the wicked impulse to throw the cake directly into his arrogant face, letting him taste his own medicine he had been serving you for years on each failed birthday.

"You know, for once, you could pay more effort and try doing something nice for me," you told him firmly, deflating to calm down your buzzing nerves.

"I've been tr--"

"Do you realize how much it costs me to pretend to be happy when you forget about me? Last year, I organized a big-ass party for your birthday, inviting over all of your friends and buying the best booze I could find to celebrate it properly," you said harshly and pretentiously, as you intended. "The best part is, you didn't even thank me." You stared at him, wringing your hands and expecting to perceive any trope of shame in his eyes. For the first time, you actually did.

"Listen, about that--" he calmly attempted to cut off your monologue.

"No, you listen..." Did you really want what was upcoming next? Maybe it was about time. "Today, I decided I'm standing up for myself. So, for the last time, get out from my porch."

He bristled, the thunderstruck air hanging around him. "Because of the stupid cake?"

"What?! No! It's just... I feel like you don't give a damn about me anymore." Gulp formed in your throat, and the tears finally left your eyes at the consciousness of what was happening. "I think we both deserve some time."

Your eyes moved to his, and you almost wished you hadn't looked. He was watching you, with pursed lips and a pure mixture of every emotion: anger, sadness, resentment, pretension, dejection. The faintest of his flustered blushes appeared on his cheeks, and you suddenly wished you could hug him. "So you are putting us..." His finger pointed at him and you as if expecting clarification. "...on a break? Is that what it is?"

You were truly torn, to be honest. Becoming single on your birthday was the last wish you had for this day, but you felt a strong sense of adequacy and pride for building up the boundaries of tolerance. Besides, seeing as it was heading nowhere, it was only a matter of time that your relationship came to an end.

Although, it hurt. A lot. "Yes."

You darted your eyes from him, not wanting to study his reaction in case it caused you to meltdown and jump to his embrace, apologizing endlessly for your words. You loved him. But you didn't regret what you had just said.

Something like a dry chuckle of disbelief escaped out of his mouth. "Is that what you really want?"

'No,' your thoughts prompted you instantly before you could even contemplate. 'I want you to say so many things you're never willing to say. But you don't know.'

So instead, you lied: "Yes."

All expressed, you spun around without peeking back and rushed into your room, already knowing there was no more sense in strives to make this day any better; all of it would bring only bad associations. It would be depressing, even more than it already was.

God, was it how the break-up pained? Because if so, you wanted to be deceased. The world spun suddenly, and you sank to your knees, shaking madly and doing your best to find your way back to your bed, located a few mere meters from you. Part of you felt numb, but your head was wide awake and alarming you that something in terms of a disaster had just happened. Because it did. The clutching in your chest was unbearable, and tears were dashing out of your eyes like a living waterfall, which made you bury your face in your hands. Never have you ever wanted to be so drunk before.

And so many questions rung up in your head at once.

Did you make a good decision? What if you are going to miss him, yet knowing you could never call? What about college -- are things about to get awkward?

No answers.

But you knew someone who would be able to reply to them.

With the blurred by tears vision, you struggled but managed to find your phone in the purse, and then clumsily scrolled through and tapped in your list of contacts before holding the phone to your ear.

Please answer, you begged. Please, please…

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Pansy's voice roared from the other side of a line, as always, enthusiastic.

"Pansy." You tried to sound less brokenly than you were, feeling marginally worse at the reminder of your birthday. "Is Daphne around?"

"Ouch, you're a really nasty bitch sometimes, you know. I'm not goin' to point out today, but since you didn't let me end my wishes, I'll note that for the future reference." You were sure she was grinning at the teasing, seeing as much as she liked that. Normally, you wouldn't mind, but... "How--"

"Pansy, please..." you sobbed out, almost desperate to have someone to consult and share emotions with. Daphne -- contrary to Pansy, who could be very judgy sometimes -- was someone you had especially on mind now. "I need to talk to her."

You heard her sigh; the kind of sigh she used to either prove her resignation or concern. But, as much as it surprised you, she suppressed her curiosity and, without a second word, obediently handed the phone over to Daphne. At least, that's what you assumed because you heard a pause and subdued mutters in the background.

"Y/N?" the milder tone spoke up, and you felt suddenly very strange as if submerged in water of relief; relief to hear the familiar voice. That released you from keeping a distant attitude, and yet again, a sadness washed over you, triggering a loud wail to come out of your mouth. "Y/N, is everything alright?"

"No..." you sniveled, unable to collect yourself together. "I-I... We br-brok-e up."

"You and Draco?" Daphne asked, astonishment evident.

You nodded but then remembered she couldn't see you nor read your expression. So instead, you forced your vocal cords to work again. "Mhm..."

"What happened?"

Restoring the story in your brain again, you told her everything, still tearfully but much more coherently this time. You avoided the details, briefly skipping from one utterance to another, as your conversations had gone, and you were very much thankful she didn't press for more information about the prospect of the situation. If it hadn't been her sporadic gasps or loud inhales of breath, you would have almost presumed she wasn't listening. However, she was, and as soon turned out, Pansy was as well.

"That's bananas!" Pansy shouted somewhere from the back as you had ended, and despite your gloom, you giggled quietly at her comment.

"Shush," Daphne tried to silence her, covering up the fact she had put you on the speaker. You didn't mind because you knew Pansy, who would definitely expect Daphne to cite the whole conversation if needed. But knowing Daphne as well, you could bet she flushed more than she would want to at that point. "So it all started because of the cake?"

"And the delay," you added. "But it's not just about that, obviously. It feels like... he completely stopped caring. And I don't want to be stuck in a relationship where everything is about sex and having fun only. Draco wasn't looking for a commitment, which..."

"Sucks,"ended this time Pansy unhesitatingly, who wasn't now screaming from the other part of a room but openly participating in the discussion.

"Yeah," you agreed.

"As for me, I think he might love you more than you know, Y/N." It was Daphne talking again, and she sounded positively convinced about her view as for someone who had hardly exchanged any word with Draco for the past few years. As if reading your thoughts, she continued. "I've observed you a lot. I know he might seem unemotional, but it's you who discovered him. That must require a lot of trust, you know."

You contemplated, and some of the memories and images from your first encounter run across your brain, try as might to suppress it: spotting each other at the party; binging some whisky shots together; flirty teasing; the very masculine scent of cologne; and then... more spicy recollections -- eager lips pressing against each other; against each others' necks; against other parts of the body; stripping off the clothes in the passionate haste...

Receiving a long moment of silence, Daphne took a second chance and asked. "And what's with you? Do you want to end it?"

It felt like standing before the oracle of truth. Therefore, you couldn't deny it in front of yourself. "No."

"So what're you still doing there?" commented Pansy impatiently, and you could imagine her rolling the eyes. "Get out and find him!"

She was right. You will.

XOXOXOXO

"I thought I'd find you here..."

No. Actually, you didn't.

You had tracked Draco's phone with your own one with some help of an app that, as the two of you had established still in the relationship, would be a good idea in case of an emergency. That in itself proved to be more than helpful, believing that your argument may be pinned as something in terms of an emergency, right?

So having access to his location, you had found out he was in the park where he had taken you on the first date, shortly after dinner, to watch the sunset that, as he had described, 'was a typical cliche from every romantic movie.'

But you had fallen for that. So much.

You hadn't been aware the place had actually some meaning for him until now, and that... God, that he had even remembered it. Time showed, however, that it indeed did, to which your heart reacted with a happy jolting. But also with a nasty sting of nostalgia following shortly after.

Yet, that only had encouraged you to make up your mind and go looking for him, which hadn't been such a difficult task per se. He was sitting on the bench, in the shade of a tree, and hiding his a little too delicate skin from the sun rays. As soon as he had heard your voice, his gray eyes flew up to see you standing a few meters away.

"What are you doing here?" was the immediate question that tumbled out of his mouth. He arched his eyebrow, and to your surprise, he didn't even look angry or sad with you. Nothing near the edge; actually, almost something like the amusement was painting on his face.

"Aren't you mad with me?" you asked intrigued, completely forgetting about his question.

He frowned. "Why would I be?" His tone was so mild that you weren't sure if he was referring to the double meaning; but then he smirked playfully and said, "Besides, I knew you were coming."

"Wha-- How?" you asked, eyes dilating a fraction, in shock.

He smirked, pointing at his phone in an explanatory manner. After a moment, you finally figured out what he meant: the app must have registered he had been tracked and that your phone was trying to find his. At this notice, you reacted with a wave of flush, suddenly regretting your previous lie. His smile only widened at your expression. "Wanna sit? It's plenty of room here."

"Mhm..." You nodded, pleased to accept his offer, and walked over to the bench, doing your best to hide the evident embarrassment on your face. You felt strange he had taken you with such ease, seeing as merely two or three hours ago, you had burst at him like a cram-full volcano of unspoken emotions.

Draco shifted a package from his side, making more space for you to sit, and it took you a moment to realize it was a McDonald's cake from earlier. Everything started from that -- a stupid, little piece of cake which stood up between...

You shook the thought away, taking a seat next to him, close enough to smell his sandalwood cologne. "You didn't answer my question," Draco reminded you. "What's so important to make you track my phone?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" You rounded your face to him, flustrated, leaning at the backrest of a bench. "That's why I came. I wanted to apologize."

"Oh... Couldn't you call?"

You sighed. "I figured you wouldn't want to talk to me after...you know... our quarrel," you said half-despondent, half-desperate, watching your feet as if it were the most interesting thing to peer at now. "I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"I know," he said. Out of nowhere, he was gently grasping your palms which forced you to look up directly into his intense gaze. His eyes were swirling like molten silver at you. "But I should be apologizing, love. I made a mistake, okay?" His hands traveled all across to your tense shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "I know I should be more... affectionate with you. And this was...dumb. A dumb mistake. With that cake. But I'll try to be better if you give it another shot."

He looked so serious that you instantly believed him. You wanted to actually, with all force of longing, which grew up too rapidly in you when he wasn't around. Draco was a fool, you could easily say. But he was your fool, which was a thing you couldn't be more proud of.

Peeking slowly in the other direction, you asked, out of the topic, "You remembered the place?"

"Of course," he puffed jokingly, smiling. "Our first date. Officially our place from then on."

"Right..." You smiled back.

Honestly, the mere fact that he had called this spot 'yours' warmed up your heart, and you felt yourself grinning at his never-before-discovered emotionality. To assure yourself you weren't the only one caring, it was all you needed to hear.

The whole moment was intense, and now, you realized, is when you should have hugged him. Kissed him. Said something back at his sincere endearment.

But instead, spotting plastic cutlery next to your 'gift', you asked, "So what's the taste of the birthday cake?"

And you knew he had caught the subtext of your playful inquiry. And you knew that soon you would work things out again. But, as for now...

"I thought you would never ask."

XOXOXOXO

A/N: Looooooool. Such a drama-comedy, right? And I could easily say It feels like 50% Draco-x-Reader / 50% Draco-x-BirthdayCake... But whatever (2am is working like a drunken bud, folks). Happy beginning of August :)

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greenygreenland · 4 years ago

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Hope To Cling To: Zane x Reader

-requested by someone on Wattpad -I was struggling for a while but finally got this done -sorry, unedited because I’m actually really tired lol

Summary: Zane is dead after the fight with the Overlord. You search for him without help.

What was this feeling? Deep inside, you knew something was wrong, and it drew a pit further and further into your very soul. It had been days since you've seen Zane. Maybe even months. You weren't sure after all that happened after the Overlord's final defeat.

A part of you still clung to the hope that Zane was alive, wherever in Ninjago he was. Yoku never did see him die, and all that was left of him was a plate from his face.

"(Y/n)?"

You swallowed the lump in your throat and pushed back the odd feeling in your stomach. "Hi Cole." You didn't mean to soumd so offhanded, but with all rhe thoughts swirling in your mind, how couldn't you? "I'm a bit busy right now."

He leaned on the threshold and crossed his arms sullenly. "If it's Zane you're after, then I can't let you leave." You stuffed a gi into your bag and zipped it tight. "I'm not after Zane." you quietly grumbled. Cole raised a brow sceptically.

He knew what you wanted. After months of searching, you still hadn't given up on him. It was only a matter of time before finding him became your obsession, and that was simply something he couldn't allow. "You can't get past me." he stated. "Even Sensei said you should give it a rest. You have to learn to--"

"Let go?" You shouldered the bag and turned to the window. The low creaking of the Bounty offered in comfort to your running thoughts. You found it fueling your desire to leave, as if in its wooden splinters it knew you were on to something all along.

"I can't let go when there's a chance Zane's alive. If it were me, he wouldn't have given up on me."

Cole pushed off the threshold with a furious frown. "But you saw what happened! There was ice everywhere after the final battle! He may have been the Master of Ice, but even that--how can anyone survive that?"

"He's still the Master of Ice." you said through gritted teeth. "I know he's out there." Cole made his way into the room. His brows were knitted together tightly, and by the way his shoulders tensed, he was doing his best not to burst. "Where? If you know then why don't you tell us?"

"Because I have to trust my instincts! I don't know where exactly he is, but he's alive. I know it!"

"You can't trust a gut feeling like that."

"It's not your decision Cole," you retorted, turning to face him. "You may be my brother, but you won't boss me around like dad did." That hit a nerve and you knew it. The absolute look of betrayal in his darkened eyes made you fall short. His past at Marty Oppenheinmer was not something anyone brought up. It didn't matter how many times his relationship with dad mended--there was still a hole that couldn't be filled in his rock-solid heart.

You ripped open the window and met Cole's eyes one last time. "If I don't come back in five months, consider me dead." He let out a scream, made a run for it, but it was too late. You jumped out of The Bounty.

Cole watched as you flew through the air. A moment later, you opened your parachute and made a descent towards the ground. That would be the last time he saw you for a long, long time.

------

This was the last time you ever rented a cheap hotel for an overnight stay. You shouldered your backpack and pulled up your hood. The blankets, curled up into the shape of a body bag, was a nice final touch you were sure Zane would never approve of.

It served the hotel right. Your room was absolute rubbish anyway.

You made your way downstairs and nodded towards the receptionist. She took the key from you. "Thank you for booking your stay." You disappeared out of the hotel. The darkness of night made your veins pump with a newfound emotion you hadn't felt in forever: serenity.

"Zane would like this." you whisper to yourself. The trek was going to be long, but with the guidance of moonlight and stars, you didn't mind. The first few miles were fine. Then there was another three and your tired legs began to ache. This was a cycle you had endured for the past two months. Hotel hopping, living off scraps, and then making your way through back country during the dead of night.

Attention was something you'd rather not have in these trying times.

That was when the faint lights of a dojo caught your eye. You followed the light in a blind daze. The weariness of travel wasn't doing you any good, and frankly, seeking refugee wasn't a bad idea. "Maybe rest would be a good idea."

You hurried along through the grass, then up the front steps. "Hello?" You tapped on the front door. "Is anyone here?" Of course someone was here. The lights were on, the grass was groomed well, the large wheel churning through the waterfall still ran. This was a well-maintained place, there was no way anyone would just leave it.

A muffled voice came from the other side. "What would anyone want this late at night?" You knitted your brows together as it got closer. Maybe it was just you, but the voice sounded familiar. It was smooth, coiled, yet serene and rather kind despite the grumpy tone. The doors flew open and you wished you had continued your treacherous trek through the dark.

"Garmadon?"

His eyes widened. "Ah," he said rather softly. "If it isn't (Y/n), Master of (element)." There wasn't a drop of malicious intent in his voice, and that set off all your internal alarms like crazy. He isn’t evil anymore, you reminded. Even then, you weren't so keen on asking for his assistance.

He did help you and the ninja with all the nindroids though. And he also helped keep Lloyd safe from the Overlord.

"Is there anything I could help you with this?" he warmly inquired. You pursed your lips together uncertainly. Was it possible to make a run for it? No. Was it possible to disappear into the shadows and forget this ever happened? No. Was it possible to not ask for his help? Also no. A long sigh escaped your lips. "I'm in need of shelter, I've been walking all night."

Garmadon's brows raised. "All night?” He didn’t seem to like that. “And you’re all alone? Where are your friends?" You glanced at the wooden door as if it were the most interesting thing in all of Ninjago. "Oh, they're...away right now." Garmadon nodded in understanding. He looked like he wanted to say more, but with the tired look on your face, he thought better. "Come in," he kindly said. "You may stay as long as you need."

Your eyes widened. "Wait, really?" A chuckle escaped Garmadon's lips and it was everything gentle, fatherly, and kind. He wasn't the same man you once fought. That was a fact you had to drill into your mind.

Garmadon led you inside. "After all I've done to you in the past, this is the least I can do." You tried your best to smile in thanks, but it came out as a grimace. "I...thank you."

The dojo was a nice place. It reminded you of the monastery, but it it were stacked up in a three-story building. The calm of the running water outside helped to soothe your worries, even if it was briefly. You made your way up the stairs after Garmadon. There was a long hall on the second floor that stretched out for as far as you could see.

"The guest room is here." Garmadon slid open a large set of doors. Inside was a plain room with tatami mats, a futon, a nightstand tucked in the corner of the room, and a small lamp. "In the morning, I'll have breakfast ready, so you may join me if you'd like. The bathroom is down the hall to your right and yes, there is a shower there."

You didn't know how to articulate a polite string of words. It all stuck in your throat like glue. Thank you, you're very kind, you didn't need to. How were you supposed to say any of that? Garmadon was still your former enemy, the one who came for your neck and called you stupid insults like 'petty ninja' and 'insolent fool'. Now here he was. Smiling kindly.

The very thought of it was baffling.

"Thank you." you said. Garmadon nodded. "Good night, (Y/n)."

The moment you finished a quick shower, your head hit the pillow. You hadn't realised how tired you were until your eyes fluttered open and closed. "What a day."

You wondered where Zane was, or if he was safe.

"I'd better get some rest."

Had Zane gotten into trouble? It seemed to find him wherever he went.

“No, I can’t think like that,” you mumbled, tossing and turning on your futon. Zane was more than the Master of Ice, your lover, and your best friend. He was strong, intelligent, and sharp-minded. Rarely anything ever got past him. Including you.

When you offered yourself up to defeat the Overlord, Zane refused and did something he’d never done in his life. Push you away. But it was for the sake of Ninjago. What choice did that give him, or you?

Your thoughts buzzed like a restless animal to its prey. It swarmed your head until it hurt, and after sitting around in the darkness for what felt like centuries, you stood. With a shaky hand, you slid open the doors and made your way to the first floor.

The stairs refused to creak under your quiet feet. If it weren’t for the running water outside, you were sure the silence would have driven you crazy already. The open space of the first floor was a welcoming scene. In the moonlight leaking from the open window, your shoulders finally relaxed.

“Is there something wrong?”

You immediately took a battle stance. Your hands raised into fists, your feet formed a box, and you tensed. A voice deep inside screamed that you were in danger, that the final battle hadn’t ended and that nindroids were out for your blood. But then you met Garmadon’s eyes. They were kind, soft, and almost empathetic, as if he understood exactly what went on in your mind.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Your hands limply dropped to your sides. “Thank you for asking Sensei.” His brows raised. If they were any higher, they might’ve been able to fly. “I can’t say I believe that (Y/n).” You shrugged half-heartedly. “I’m just thinking is all.”

Garmadon motioned for you to follow him. “It’s high time I brew some tea. Do you have a preference?” You shook your head and he nodded. “Will chamomile do? It does wonders to calm a weary mind.”

The parlour was as traditional as Garmadon’s dojo could get. You settled around the wooden table, silently thanking the First Spinjitzu Master for chairs. If there was a low-table around, you weren’t sure you’d want to have a long chat. Your legs would go numb long before Garmadon got anything out of you.

“May I ask what you’ve been doing by yourself?” he inquired. You took a long sip of tea. “Nothing much. Just a bit of sight seeing.” That wasn’t a complete lie, but ti wasn’t completely true either. Walking across all of Ninjago for who knows how long allowed you the opportunity to meet various people, as well as see wonderful places you didn’t even know existed.

“Sight seeing?” Garmadon echoed. “I never thought you to be one for that.” You shrugged with a small smile. “Neither did I.” There was a short pause as Garmadon studied you carefully. It was as if he were taking you apart and reconstructing you like a puzzle.

“I don’t mean to be nosy,” he set his cup down, “but are you looking for someone?” You drained your cup. Garmadon graciously refilled it. “Uh, not necessarily.” you mumbled. “I’m just...”

He patiently waited for you to come up with an excuse. You weren’t sure if you could lie straight to his face like this, especially since he was offering so much to you. But then again, he did nearly kill you a couple times in the past, as well as turn Nya evil, steal the Bounty, cause trouble for Lloyd and...

You heaved in a tight breath. What if he could aid you? Garmadon was wise, as well as smart. He knew Ninjago just as well as the back of his hand. “To be completely honest,” you ran your thumb over the rim of the cup, “I’m looking for Zane. Or more like...hoping to find him.”

Garmadon didn’t look impressed. It was no secret that you and Zane had more than a simple friendship going on. He loved you like you were his life line, and you loved him back like he were the sun to your moon. A look of pain passed over Garmadon’s eyes. You wondered if he felt guilty. “How can you be so sure Zane is alive?”

“I have a feeling.” That wasn’t a lie. Every waking moment, there was a tug in your gut. It led you further and further around Ninjago like a guide. The more you traveled, the closer you knew you’d get to finding him. “Zane and I share a special bond. I can’t ignore what I know to be true.”

“And if it’s not?” Garmadon carefully offered. “If what you seek cannot be found, I don’t want to see you lose yourself.” He was speaking from experience. That wasn’t something you could easily brush off, much less blissfully ignore. You heaved in a breath and sipped your tea. “I can’t give up on Zane. If it were me, I know he wouldn’t sleep until he found me.”

“And that’s what you wish to do?”

You met his gaze with solid eyes. “Yes.” There was not an ounce of hesitation in your voice. What was this feeling deep inside? The one that churned again and made the blood roar in your ears? This time, it didn’t draw pit further and further into your gut. Instead, it made your heart flutter, and your chest blossom with hope.

Even if it was blind hope, you’d cling to it. Zane was alive. He had to be, and you’d scour every inch of Ninjago just to find him.

#ninjago zane #zane x reader #requested #ninjago #lego ninjago x reader #ninjago masters of spinjitzu #ninjago x reader #lego #ninjago garmadon #Sensei Wu #ninjago cole x reader #ninjago cole

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bee-cried · 3 years ago

Text

Blues Daydream I had recurringly over the past few days.

I've written some of the daydream down but I never really put together a coherent story, so I'm just retelling it from memory mostly. (Content warning for the mention of sex.)

It starts of with them at like ...13 (?) The RRB are neutral and have befriended the ppg. Bubbles has a crush on Boomer (she starts crushing on him when she's like... 8)

There's a porch swing in this really pretty picnic park that Bubbles likes to visit a lot. It's surrounded by lots of bushes and flowers. She usually sits there by herself until Boomer starts showing up. He usually joins her to show her the songs he's learned on his acoustic guitar (he doesn't have a special musical talent but i love the fanon idea of Boomer being a music fanatic. Its very fitting, so I always imagine that he naturally just ends up gravitating towards music). They'll stay there for hours (especially during the summer) singing songs they know or just talking.

He gets really comfortable with Bubbles and they look forward to seeing one another.

And this scene stuck out to me in my head specifically...

***

Boomer: "Bubbles, I have to tell you something. "

Boomer: *Kisses her on the cheek.*

Bubbles and Boomer: ...

Bubbles: "What is it that you have to tell me?"

Boomer: *laughs, blushing* "I only said that as a cover up to kiss you."

Bubbles: "Oh! Well I have to tell you something too then..."

Bubbles: *Kisses him*

Boomer: *surprised* " You just… kissed me on the lips…"

Bubbles: "I know…" :) "DON'T TELL THE PROFESSOR." (She panics)

Boomer: *Blushing and smug* "I won't. "

They both giggle. He strums his guitar.

***

Later in the daydream he asks her on a date. She tells the Professor, because she's over joyed but unfortunately, the professor doesnt approve because Boomer is a villain and he doesn't want Bubbles to date a "punk who'll just break her heart."

Bubbles is really upset (she cry's about it) and she ends up trying to sneak out. She tells Buttercup who doesn't really care (until Bubbles involves allowance money.) to cover for her. Later, Bubbles tells Kim, Mary and Robin and they agree to help her sneak out for her first date, saying they'll let her cover by telling the professor she's at a sleepover with Robin.

There's a scene I imagine where all the girls put together money to buy a really pretty spaghetti strapped dress that comes with a white, light material-like shawl that's also like a jacket (i hope you understand what i mean lol.) Anyway, it's really gorgeous and they sneak it in. Kim explains to Bubbles this technique she read in a magazine. She tells Bubbles when Boomer looks at her to untie the shawl "like this" and only wear the dress part.

Bubbles sneaks out on the date with Boomer. They go to like some fun kids place with an indoor trampoline and an arcadia.

***

The night was a little breezy but that was alright since Bubbles figured most of the night would be spent indoors. She saw the arcadia lights come into place and began to steer down. As she landed she spotted Boomer in the usual Hollister shirt and jeans- well actually those jeans looked sort of new. Maybe they were.

He turned to her and smiled at her appearance. She suddenly felt a smidgen bad for having to make him wait so long. If only she didn't have to stay out of sight from the professor. "You actually waited for me?"

"For you, I'd wait until the ends of the universe." He grinned. Her heart pounded.

She blushes as he leads her into the fun place by the hand. Entering her attention was instantly caught by the sounds of the indoor trampoline, ticket counters and all the acrcade games to play. Pop music played over the rush of kids and preteens like her running around.

She smiled in awe, "Wow," she said aloud, eyeing all of her options to play with.

"Pretty cool right?" Boomer said, smiling back at her. She'd felt the heat of their hands at his gentle expression. She'd just realized they were approaching a short line. "It's pretty new. I think it opened last month. I've been eyeing this place for weeks. " he said unable to hide his own excitement.

She blushed and giggled.

Soon they were routed to cubbys to put some of there belongings in.

"Really? Cubbys? It's like we're in fifth grade all over again." Boomer sneers as he sets some items inside. "Well I guess you don't have much to put in but your purse..." His words drifts off as he watches her excitedly undo her shawl, stuffing it into her cubby. "Uh...." He mutters before she grabs his hand.

"Yeah we're sooo old for cubbys now," she agreed grinning. He looks at her, blushing slightly. "Come on!" She exclaims as she tugs him eagerly along towards the trampoline.

***

They go to the trampoline, play games and he even buys her fro yo, they admit to each other that they're their first dates.

***

"So Harry and Julie are definitely dating now." Boomer comments as they watch their friends at the other end of the arcadia play games. Harry looked a little shy but Julie was very open and boisterous.

Bubbles giggled, "yeah, I guess they are." She said as she eyed them. She and Boomer were in the cafe part of the arcadia. They'd picked a table but there were also small booths and a stage at the front.

"I wonder what got them together." Boomer said thoughtfully. "They're so different from each other, I never would have guessed."

Bubbles ate a spoonful of her fro yo, "Maybe. You know what they say, opposites attract." She grinned. He turned back to her, catching her grinning and smiling himself. It was probably they're tenth time they did that tonight. Bubbles didn't know, she wasn't actually counting how many times, she just knew every time it happened it made her heart flutter.

"Y' know..." Boomer started, looking back at his fro yo. "You're the first girl I've ever asked on a date." He said tilting his head a little.

The butterflies in Bubbles stomach made her dizzy, "you're the first boy I've ever dated."

Their eyes met and the sound of the arcadia went fuzzy. She was looking for something else to say but her heart felt like it was caught in her throat-

A high-pitched blare sounded from the speakers, and they both jumped, blushing madly. A tall man took to the stage in front of them.

***

And whaddya know, it's karaoke night.

So Boomer asks her to sing a song on stage with him, even though she's extremely shy. They sing some pop song that's somewhat relevant in the year 2006 (I imagine 'Anything but Ordinary' by Avril but I dunno). It's the first time Boomer hears Bubbles sing and he's really shocked but RUH ROH the professor (and a very guilty looking Buttercup) appear admist the crowd of preteens and ... Yeah, she gets in trouble.

At home, the professor scolds her more (he has good intentions. He really just wants to protect Bubbles.) Bubbles ends up crying because the professor won't 'accept their love'. (There's a scene that plays in my head where Robin shows up and she see's Bubbles crying. Bubbles starts declaring that she doesn't care that Boomer is a Rowdyruff boy she 'loves him'...

***

Bubbles: "And I don't care what anybody else says, he's not that evil! He can't help who his parents are!"

Robin: "I know but... The Professor makes a good point. Are you sure you want to date Boomer?"

Bubbles: *looks at her with a 'really' look through her glossy eyes.*

Robin: "Oh yeah. I forgot. He's been your crush since you were 8 years old. "

***

The next day she goes to talk to him but he's like "uh... Yeah, I actually wanna... Break up." She thinks it's because of how the date ended (Professor was not a happy man when he retrieved Bubbles that night. Also she was wearing a spaghetti-strapped dress. It was too cold outside!) He reassures her its not because of how the date ended, he just... Sort of realized he wasnt really all that into her like he thought he was (?). Also, he has a growing suspension that the Professor hates his guts. And his explanation for why he's suddenly breaking up with Bubbles is ridiculous...

***

"It was more of like... How does Brick put it?" Boomer puts a thoughtful hand up to his chin, "a fleeting moment...?" He smiles in recollection. "Yeah, I think it was just a fleeting moment."

Bubbles looked down at the tile, her voice soft, "But I thought you liked me..."

"I do like you!" He justified, instantly. Then he looked away, a little hesitant, "I just... Just as a friend though." He looks at her, a bit guilt-ridden, "y'know?"

***

...but sadly that's all she can get out of him is that he just doesn't think they'd make a good couple.

Back at home, the professor talks with Bubbles again. He explains to her that he's sorry for berating her. He trusts her to make the right decisions and who she dates shouldn't be decided by him. He encourages Bubbles to date "who her heart says it right for her" but she stuns him by agreeing that Boomer is no good and that she doesn't want to date him.... Or maybe anyone else at the moment.

So going to that porch swing in the middle of the park is never really the same because she's either alone or Boomer is occupying it before she gets there (he's lowkey waiting for her but obviously Bubbles is not in the mood to entertain him anymore.)

Then high school happens and they're in a weird zone of 'we're exes, but are we really exes because we dated when we were 13 and that was only for one day, and we used to be so close before that.' Slowly, they start talking again (they share classes) and Bubbles starts having a crush on him again but then Boomer just HAS to be an oblivious goof and get a girlfriend. Some hot, popular girl from the cheer squad who everyone says looks like Meghan Foxes younger sister, so Bubbles is like "aw poo." But bubbles isn't heartbroken just slightly disappointed.

Well, Bubbles joins the cheer squad and Boomers hot, popular girlfriend who looks like Meghan Foxes younger sister isn't very fond of that. I don't know what Boomers gf name is but she's jealous of Bubbles, as well as, Bubbles relationship with Boomer (the school knows about their middle school fling.) Meghan Fox jr starts shit-talking Bubbles to Boomer or when Boomer is hanging out with her and her friends ("she's literally so weird, the other day I saw her talking to a squirrel." "Does she like *snorts* ever grow up?" "Omg did you see the outfit she put together the other day? She looks and sounds like an overgrown 6th grader") but "surprisingly" Boomer always tries to shut that shit down, and every time Meghan fox jr asks Boomer why he says it's because Bubbles is his friend.

Meanwhile, Bubbles meets this guy accompanying the porch swing one school evening, she goes over and it's Mike. He's been away from Townsville for some time and he's come back because his parents needed to move back awhile and you can sort of see where this is going...

Bubbles and Mike start hanging out a lot. Boomer is taken aback by the relationship Bubbles and Mike has because he starts gaining feelings for Bubbles again. Meghan Fox jr tries to isolate Bubbles from the cheer squad because she suspects her boyfriend is more into Bubbles than her. School dance happens, school dance shenanigans. There's a talent show in there somewhere that Bubbles agrees to perform a song with Boomer for their partners. Valentine's day shits. And other small scenarios... But through all this time Boomer is regaining those feelings he once had for Bubbles and he becomes a lot more jealous.

Meghan Fox Jr's antics become a lot more mean-spirited as well. (Especially during junior year The principal has to step in and Bubbles ends up leaving the squad on her own terms. ) and after that huge occurrence, Boomer is completely turned off by Meghan Fox jr. He breaks up with her.

Unfortunately, he's kicked from his friend group and a lot of rumors are spread about Boomer (most likely by Meghan Fox jr.) Boomer and Meghan Fox jr had a very.... Affectionate(?) relationship...

Basically, when your parents don't really care about what you do in your free time or who you hang out with, and you're young and curious and you have an attractive bf/gf, sex can happen. And sex was what made Boomer and Meghan Fox jr stay together. She uses that after they break up to harass him though.

Uhm, Mike's parents have to move again, so he and Bubbles agree it's best if they broke up before he moves away.

Okay. So back at square one. Bubbles and Boomer are single and they like each other- well really, Boomer likes Bubbles. Bubbles admires him, but now she's over the crush thing lol.

So now Boomer is set on Bubbles. He ends up revisiting that porch swing only to find Bubbles is there. (During his relationship with Meghan Fox jr. he avoids it. Partially because he's in a relationship and also because when Bubbles and Mike are together, they usually occupy the swing.) Again they swing and sit for hours like when they were younger.

He finds his new growing attraction is unbearable in the sense that, there is a constant attraction he has to her that he can't manipulate. He goes through a lot of inner turmoil trying to find out why he likes her even though she's clearly over him, so shouldn't he be the same? He's fighting the attraction, trying to ignore it but the more they hang out the more it grows. And that continues into the summer before they're seniors.

With a lot more free time, they spend more time together but it's usually outings with their friends (unless he meets her in the park on the porch swing). Their bond continues to build but Bubbles is unsure if he likes her, and he's unsure if she likes him and then my brain just skips to a night when they're on the swing...

***

Boomer strummed his guitar as the crickets sung around them, the swing light dim. He suddenly stops his strumming, "Hey remember when you kissed me? When we were 13?"

Bubbles laughed and covered her lips, her cheeks colored slightly, "that was so long ago." She turned her eyes to him, "when we were kids."

"Oh yeah. And that epic date I took you on." He recalled. She shoved him light-heartedly.

"You dated me for a day and left me broken-hearted for two months." She grinned smug.

Boomer's eyes widened, "2 months? You were that into a dumb kid like me?"

"Of course I was," she said her eyes, not on him but looking at the stars above them. The night was beautiful and warm. She drew her knees on the swing as she gazed up. " I always liked you... Ever since we were kids I kinda..." He watched as she giggled awkwardly and her cheeks became even redder. She finally shrugged and turned her gaze to him, "I kinda told my friends I was in love with you."

He thought this over as their eyes locked. His heart felt like it was going to jump through his chest.

She looked back at the stars, "I even told the Professor." Her eyes had a small shimmer in them. "It was-" she scoffed and dropped her head, shaking it, "it was so stupid honestly."

He wanted to touch her hand, but it was wrapped around her knees, holding them together. He thought of all the things he could do. He could rest his arms on the seat, almost on her shoulders. He could scoot closer until they were touching. He could fiddle with the shoelace of her shoe.

Instead, he scoffed as well and turned his attention to the neck of his guitar, hoping she couldn't tell he was blushing. "Yeah. We were pretty dumb."

***

They end up talking about their childhood and one thing leads to another and they kiss. But nothing interrupts them so it's just awkward and they say bye.

Eventually, they start dating and yeaaaaah... If this were going to be a fic, I pretty much spoiled it lmao. But i wanted to share that with you guys cause i know there are other blues stans out there and we don't get that much love in the "more serious" fanfic department so I know every little thing adds up 😌👌

I honestly wish i could stay committed to writing a fic but i have horrible self-discipline and initiative D: Sorry y'all but i hope you enjoyed it c:

#ppg #powerpuff girls #rrb #rowdyruff boys #powerpuffgirls #boomer rrb #bubbles ppg #blues powerpuff girls #ppg blues #boomubbles

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notdoingsohot · 4 years ago

Note

SORRY THESE ARE JUST SO GOOOD “don’t act like you know what’s best for me after you came back out of nowhere!” for any pairing!!! <3

Do not apologize! I had so much fun with these. I hope you like this one too!!!! <3 I took some creative liberties, as one does, lol. Thank you so much for sending these!! I changed the prompt up a little, hope that’s okay! <33

The original prompt from this angsty prompt list!

Title: ???

Pairing: Sam x Bucky

Bucky’s phone lights up silently from its place on the kitchen counter. Bucky sees the brightness bloom behind his closed eyelids even with the hall light on. It’s dark enough, the middle of the night most likely. He’d be worried about Sam texting him so late if he didn��t do it every two days for the last however many weeks.

Of course Sam knew Bucky wasn’t sleeping. The man didn’t seem to care much that Bucky was still trying though.

He doesn’t get up and check the notification. He lays there stubbornly and refuses to open his eyes until the sun begins to peak in through the windows.

Then he checks it. Then he ignores it.

He doesn’t want to ignore it, which is exactly why he does. He doesn’t want to be alone, which is exactly why he is.

And Sam is Sam.

He’s the last person who Bucky should be around right now.

At first it was because going out to lunch with Sam felt like extra therapy, like a chore, like an interrogation, a job interview for something he was vastly underqualified for.

Now it’s because going out to lunch with Sam doesn’t feel like that at all.

Sam is…

Too much like Steve, but not enough like Steve for Bucky not to feel the way he does, if that makes any goddamn sense.

It doesn’t. Why would it? Nothing in Bucky’s life makes sense.

Bucky checks his list like he does too many times a day to really want to think about, sighs when it remains unchanged from the last time he looked, and starts his day.

Not that he does much with it.

He feels lazy and bored, stir crazy just like his shrink says he will, isolated like he is, just like Sam says too, but Bucky can’t bring himself to cross this next name off his list, and he can’t leave New York until he does.

Sam texts Bucky twice more that day, which is unusual. Goes beyond the cursory check ins he’s been dealing Bucky for the last few months.

Bucky wonders if Sam might also be lonely, but then he shakes the thoughts away. Sam’s not lonely. He has his family in DC, he still has friends, a job, he visits Steve still.

Bucky doesn’t.

Bucky can’t even think about Steve without feeling like the air is gone from his lungs all of a sudden. Like the big blond punched him right in the chest, and really he might as well have for all Bucky saw it coming.

He’d wonder if Sam felt the same way, but Bucky actually knows that it’s true. It’s the one thing they managed to talk about that touched on feelings and that didn’t make Bucky shut down completely.

Mostly because Sam did the talking.

Bucky hates how good it feels to know he’s not alone in that. Hates how glad he is that Sam suffers with him. It’s why he stays away from Sam now.

Sam is good, the personification of America good, even according to Steve. Sam’s bright too, he smiles and it’s real and it’s contagious and that has nothing to do with Bucky’s feelings and everything to do with Sam being one of those people who light up the room. Sam is a hero. He’d be a hero even without the wings, even without the military. Sam would find a way to be a hero in any world, in any reality. He’d be a doctor or something. Save babies. He’s that kind of good.

He’s good and he cares which is why Bucky needs to stay away from him. He’s smart too. Too goddamn smart for his own good, really. One of these days he’s going to get in too deep trying to help Bucky out of this hole he’s been tossed in and they’re both going to be stuck.

Bucky’s head isn’t a safe place for anyone, fuck, not even his therapist deserves to have to listen to the things in Bucky’s head, and Sam? Sam likes to try his goddamn best to get into Bucky’s head and he just cannot let that happen.

Sam likes to show up unannounced at Bucky’s door, too.

“You weren’t answering my texts,” he says.

“I never answer your texts,” Bucky replies, not moving to let Sam inside, but the other man shoulders past him anyway. Bucky rolls his eyes and lets the door shut behind them.

Sam smirks, “But you read them,” he says.

Bucky shrugs, “Yeah, I guess. Make sure you’re not dying somewhere,” he says, going to the kitchen.

Sam’s eyes don’t linger on the neat pile of blankets in the corner of the room.

“You think I’d text you if I was dying?” Sam asks, and Bucky can tell he’s joking. Sam is a jovial person. He’s… playful. Bucky likes that about Sam, most of the time.

Bucky is not a playful person.

“No”.

“I’m not really looking for a sidekick,” Sam says.

Bucky rolls his eyes where Sam can’t see him, “Sure,” he says, getting a beer from the fridge and sliding it across the counter to him.

He tries not to think about why he keeps it on hand when he can’t get drunk. Hopes to god Sam doesn’t think too hard about it.

Sam has the audacity to look surprised, and then confused, and then says nothing but a nod of thanks. Bucky can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not, that Sam doesn’t know how much Bucky fucking thinks about him, all the damn time.

“Why are you here?” Bucky asks curtly.

Sam makes that smile that always comes with bad news, “Steve wants to see you,” he says.

Bucky can’t suppress the groan and eye roll then.

“Is this supposed to be an intervention then?” he spits out.

Sam shakes his head though, looking earnest but not surprised by Bucky’s tone, “No, I’m just the messenger. Steve can’t… can’t make the drive,” he says, and he’s frowning, looking sad and that makes something in Bucky’s chest tighten painfully.

Steve can’t make the four hour drive to New York from DC and Bucky feels gutted at the thought of Steve now all over again.

He wants to say something about it, about Steve, and it’s nothing good, but Sam already looks broken by it, so he just fucking nods and goes to pack his shit.

“Well that was easy,” Sam says with a little huff of laughter that doesn’t sound anything like Sam.

He wants to say it was Sam’s broken hearted expression, or that he’s only going so he can reel Steve out for making Sam look like that, but he says nothing instead.

They rock-paper-scissors on who drives, and when Sam wins with paper, he doesn’t have to cover Bucky’s hand with his own, but he does, and it really shows Bucky just how bad this school-boy crush has gotten that his heart flutters in his chest at the contact.

“How is he?” Bucky asks when they’re an hour out from Steve’s place.

Sam looks at him out of the corner of his eye, “Worried about you,” he answers.

“That’s not what I meant,” Bucky retorts.

Sam’s face loses some of its brightness, “I know,” he says softly.

Bucky closes his eyes to the rush of anger he feels. On Sam’s behalf… but also on his own.

He doesn’t mean to fight with Steve no matter what he’s feeling, no matter whose behalf. He doesn’t really hold this against Steve, it just… hurts. It’s the weirdest kind of grief, so opposite to the grief he feels for the loved ones whose lives and deaths he missed. He’s grieving Steve even as he’s looking at him, even as he’s hugging him, gentle, so gentle because he’s frail now, again, and it’s all these parallels and it’s nothing he can be prepared for so he should just stop trying.

Sam honest to god, waits in the car, rather than face this.

Bucky’s glad for it, even if it means he has to deal with Steve alone.

“You can’t be alone forever, Buck,” Steve says and he doesn’t even sound like Steve, except that he does.

Bucky rolls his eyes at Steve, “What do you expect me to do, Steve?” he asks.

“You shouldn’t be ignoring Sam, you two need each other,” Steve replies.

It’s probably the mention of Sam, but Bucky finds himself snapping at Steve then, “Don’t act like you know what’s best for me after you just left out of nowhere”. He feels something like indignation rise and fall, then taking a deep breath, “Sorry, I just…” he apologizes softer, “I don’t want to hear it, Steve,” he says.

It was just... how dare Steve try and tell Bucky who, or what he needs in his life after he left like he did? Left both Bucky and Sam in the wake of the end of the world to just figure it out alone. Bucky might be isolating himself from people, but fuck if Steve didn’t do it first.

He abruptly realises how childish that line of thought is and lets the anger dissipate, for the time being.

Steve is quiet for too long. Long enough Bucky gets suspicious because Steve so rarely thinks before he acts, before he speaks. Not when he knows he’s right, like he is now.

“If not because it’s what you need, then because it’s what he needs, Buck,” Steve says, “Please”.

Bucky shakes his head, feeling a lump form in his throat, “I’m not…” he tried, “I’m the last person he needs hanging around,” he says.

“Seems like he might want you though,” Steve says easily, and Bucky looks up sharply, too sharply.

Steve inclines his head in silent question, then smirks.

“No,” Bucky says, “No, get that out of your head right now, Rogers,” Bucky says seriously, “I don’t-- it’s not like that,” he denies, too loud, too fast.

Steve has that knowing look in his eye still when he agrees to drop it. When he tells Bucky to scram. When he sees Sam waiting outside for Bucky and they exchange a friendly wave.

Bucky doesn’t even feel bad when he hopes Steve’s degrading mind forgets that entire interaction. Well, he feels only a little bad.

“How’d it go?” Sam asks.

Bucky shrugs, “He said you missed me,” he replies, goading.

Sam looks at him for a moment before he starts the car, “You know,” he says, “I couldn’t actually tell if you were lying that time”.

Bucky’s heart does that stupid flutter again.

“Can you usually?”

“Every time, Barnes,” Sam answers, smirking.

Bucky glances at Sam out of the corner of his eye. “Good to know,” he says. He’ll need to get better at it if he’s going to be hanging around now.

#bucky x sam #tfatws #fanfiction #i don't know the fun ship name for these boys?#this is my first time writing them #but it will not be the last

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waynedunlaptheorgandonor · 4 years ago

Text

10.16: a certain doom

spoilers (both general and caryl) under the cut:

the episode iiiiiissss not super worth the six month wait (like in general, not vis a vis caryl)

it’s marginally more exciting than the penultimate episode

marginally

i think the problem is they utilized time poorly, so the attack on hilltop was Amazing, but then they accidentally forgot to make the end of the war suspenseful or interesting lol

that being said, it had its moments, so let’s break it down, shall we?

first off, caryl have a brief scene in the beginning in the stairwell where daryl is telling carol that michonne left, and he’s like “everybody leaves and then i never see them again :( “ and carol is like “...i haven’t left” and daryl goes “-sure jan-” and leaves carol looking like a hurt puppy bc she thinks he still hasn’t forgiven her/never really will, more on that later

lydia and carol have a scene where lydia is like:

and carol was like “that’s cuz you should hate me and shouldn’t try and look to me for advice, go find your own way in life” and lydia says “k i’m not asking you to be my mom, i’m asking if we can be bros, but w/e, i’m sure this conversation isn’t foreshadowing to an event that will happen later”

more on that later

princess & crew broke their bikes so they were running late to the rendezvous, and eugene was about to give up, but zeke gave an empowering speech about Never Giving Up (which is kinda weird coming from a dude with cancer whose wife left him and whose son got murdered, but w/e, you get on with your optimistic self, zeke) and convinced him to carry on, more on that later

(here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the scene tho:)

there’s a two hour long scene of our main peeps walking through the giant horde covered in guts, which would be more interesting if they didn’t do that all the time

beatrice got eaten which would have been more of a bummer if i remembered who beatrice was

it did get lydia involved in the fight tho, so that’s something

side note: negan gave lydia alpha’s mask as if it was supposed to be symbolic or something, instead of incredibly traumatizing to this little girl whose abusive mother just got her head chopped off, like couldn’t she have just put guts on like the other people? ok, my dude, way to be a surrogate father figure ig

while carol is still stuck in the horde daryl asks where carol is, which has been the majority of his lines this season

they try to lead the horde away by blasting talking heads, which is a little on the nose but entertaining nonetheless, but then carol had to go and say “protect the horses,” which is a guarantee that the horses will get eaten, bc it’s twd, so whomp whomp, they lose their apparently only plan for leading the horde away

(how have they not learned better by now?)

(better question: how are there any horses left??)

daryl has an unintentionally funny line where he’s like, “k so this is a super shitty idea, and i am aware of that, but let’s just go fucking kill all of the whisperers”

lydia then volunteers to go throw herself off a cliff to get rid of the horde, and daryl brushes her off, more on that later

anyway they go and just. kill all the whisperers ig? including beta? whose death took like two seconds and involved a brief flashback montage and was incredibly anticlimactic for how fucking badass he was (negan draws him away, daryl stabs him the eyes, which was kinda cool, and then he goes and stands in the middle of the horde and smiles wistfully while he’s eaten alive, like a normal person would do)

up at headquarters gabriel is about to get murdered by whisperers, but then maggie and her masked friend somehow make it past the entire horde and up the stairs in time to save him

sure

cut to lydia leading the entire horde to the cliff, but then carol jumps in and tells her to go and that she’ll do it, and is about to go for a fun tumble, BUT THEN lydia pulls her away and they have a brief argument about it

their whole plotline this episode is very:

anyway

what follows is what’s meant to be a heartwarming scene between the two of them where they put aside all their baggage and hug each other and realize they’re stronger together than at odds, and objectively it’s a good scene, but i couldn’t stop laughing bc they kept showing the walkers falling off the cliff and it looked SO STUPID, it was hilarious

they just. literally kept just stepping off the cliff and falling like bricks askdfljs

and then lydia went and threw alpha’s mask off the cliff and that Did Not make it less funny

idk, i’m probably just a bad person, but it was super fucking funny, anyway

maggie reunited with judith, which was actually very sweet, esp when you remember that she delivered her (in the most traumatic way possible)

the caryl scene was nice. i had to watch it a couple times before i decided how nice, bc like everything else in the episode it felt kind of rushed, but essentially carol and lydia return, and daryl is standing in the exact position he was standing in “no sanctuary”, bc apparently that’s how he leans on trees, and carol approaches him super warily, and they both stare at each other, and carol asks him if he’s good, and he is visibly trying not to cry when he goes “yeah. it’s over. right?” and she says yes, and he asks her if she got what she wanted, and she says no, and he tells her she still has him, and she’s like “yeah?” while crying, bc, per earlier interaction, she was p sure she was never gonna get him back entirely, and he says yeah, and then they hug, and carol makes a little sob noise, and daryl buries his face in her shoulder and is teary, too, and then daryl brings up new mexico, and carol says “maybe someday” and daryl deffo looks disappointed but agrees, and then carol has her “we still have things to do, i’m clearly saying this as a set up for dramatic scenes that are about to follow” line

cue dramatic things following

connie is alive (we been knew), but is banged tf up, and runs into virgil. or more like collapses on the ground and virgil finds her and they stare blankly at each other until connie passes out

and then we jump back to princess & crew, who are sitting there bummed out bc stephanie isn’t there, and eugene is like, “bc of zeke’s wise words, i am Not Giving Up, we set out to find and recruit people (did they? i literally don’t remember) and so that’s what we’ll do!”

and it’s a Big Moment of Solidarity and Strength

for all of five seconds, bc they are then accosted by stormtroopers, who presumably work for commonwealth. whether or not commonwealth is building a death star is unclear at this time, but i suppose we’ll find out soon

cue end credits!

so overall: the episode occurred. it wasn’t like, devastatingly disappointing, in that the penultimate episode didn’t really set me up for any sort of big anticipation, and also i had spoilers ahead of time. i wish there had been more time for things like beta’s death to be played out properly, but i wonder also if they were limited on what they could do bc of pandemic shit and trying to get it edited as quickly as possible

as it stands, even tho the whisperers are my favorite twd villains, i’m glad they didn’t do what they did with the saviors and have it drag on for ten million years for no reason

the bottle episodes should be interesting, and prob will lead us into commonwealth, which, again, not sure on the status of the death star, but i’m excited to see what happens regardless

on the caryl front i’m about where i was before, which is fully anticipating canon coming, and my guess is the season will really heavily set up their departure, which means we will have many more scenes to come

the end

as usual, stay hype, stan kang, and get daryl to call carol sweetheart 2k20 (i still have three months left, i’m not giving up yet, zeke wouldn’t want me to),

-diz

#caryl #caryl spoilers #twd #twd s10 spoilers #dunlap tp

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bts-ficrecs · 5 years ago

Note

Can you rec some fics series with good smut

Hi, hello! I’m ssooo sorrryyyy it took me foreeverrrr to reply to this. i don’t even know if the person who sent this ask still follows me lolol

I’m particular with my smuts and I know everyone has different tastes when it comes to that so hopefully these are to your liking!

As always I’ll first recommend stories I’ve read and then stories that I’ve yet to read. ^^ …also…just a warning. I have so many smutty series on my to read that I couldn’t just not rec them only because I hadn’t read it yet ssooo…

enjoy this v e e e r r y y long list of smutty fic recs lol (many of these writers have other smutty series too so check out their masterlists!^^)

Note: some of these fics have very flawed characters and may present potentially triggering content. Please review the author’s warnings/notes before you start the series just in case there’s something you’d rather not read.

Link to my other smut fic compilation

⚜ Accelerate by @dreamscript

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

Summary: There’s a new racer in town; he’s incredibly rich, hot, and talented. And you can’t stop staring.

⚜ A Detrimental Passion by @btspornfavor

Seokjin x Reader

discontinued series | 4 parts

Summary: Waking up next to a beautiful blonde boy would be any girls dream… But for a grown, soon to be divorced woman, its all but… Until he reminds you why you should allow yourself back into the dream.

Note: while this series may be discontinued, I still want to share it with you all. I know a lot of people run from incomplete series but please give this (and all other series) a chance ^^

⚜ A Friendly Favour by @baeseoul

Taehyung x Reader

complete series | twoshot

Summary: Your virgin friend asks a big favor from you: have sex with him to prepare him for his future love-making session with his new girlfriend.

⚜ All Too Well by @cupofteaguk

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | 10 parts + epilogue

Summary: You and Yoongi shared a loving relationship with one another until you both agreed to end things and pursue your separate careers. But two years later, Yoongi is a member of the ever growing Bangtan Boys, and you are a new makeup artist for their upcoming tour.

⚜ Bad by @thelillzmonster

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 9 parts so far

Summary: He was the cliché bad boy. He was the guy you couldn’t stand. He was the handsome, hot kid who made girls go weak in the knees. He was a brat. You had never liked him one bit, but you had also never gotten involved with anything concerning him. Until one day, when you were in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

⚜ Banter by @littlemisskookie

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | twoshot

Summary: Ironically, some of your best moments are with your archnemesis, the man who you literally fight every other day. But the two of you might be closer than you originally thought.

⚜ Bunbun by @jungkookienoona

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | twoshot + epilogue

Summary: You found an abandoned bunny hybrid on the streets and took it upon yourself to care for him.

⚜ Bunny Boy by @parkmuse

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 5 parts

Summary: Catching feelings for your sisters friend wasn’t part of your plan.

⚜ By Your Side by @sodoyouknowbts

Seokjin x Reader

complete series | 10 part + 1 extra

Summary: Jin is somewhat arrogant, overly confident and a tease. All the things you find infuriating in a man and he also happens to be your roommate. It’s a wonder how you two can live together without killing each other…but it’s not like you’re anything more than friends. Right?

⚜ Camellia by @kinktae

Taehyung x Reader

complete series | twoshot

Summary: Y/N is a strong-willed herbalist who knows exactly what she wants; she also happens to make some really good tea. Taehyung is a kind but rebellious prince who doesn’t really know what he wants but he knows that the commoner girl who makes fantastic tea can’t be this damn cute.

⚜ Dogboys by @imaginethisbts

Taehyung x Reader x Jungkook

complete series | 4 parts

Summary: Jungkook has only ever thought of his breeding clients as just that - clients, and he’s always quite indifferent to them since he only ever knows them for a short period of time. But then you come along, and he starts experiencing feelings that aren’t being manipulated by your heat. Real feelings, that he has never harbored before with anyone else.

⚜ Don’t Care If It Hurts by @hollyhomburg

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 12 parts + 1 extra

Summary: After a rival gang makes an attempt on your life, Your older brother, the infamous leader of Seoul’s largest gang; Kim Namjoon, gets you a guard hybrid; Park Jimin, The reigning champion of Seoul’s underground hybrid fighting ring.

⚜ Drug Wars by @plumblackjeon

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 5 parts

Summary: “She’s a babygirl Yoongi, and I think I’m in love with her.”

⚜ Forbidden by @btssmutgalore

Hoseok x Reader

complete series | 5 parts

Summary: Hoseok is your brother’s best friend.

⚜ Guarded Hearts by @gardentulips

Hoseok x Reader

complete series | 8 parts + epilogue + 2 extras

Summary: Your daughter’s dance teacher is always so kind both to you and your daughter.

⚜ I’m Sick by @kpopnlockit

Seokjin x Reader

complete series | 3 parts + epilogue

Summary: You work under the devilishly charming and handsome Dr. Kim.

⚜ I’m Not A Kid by @drquinzelharleen

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

Summary: Your boss’s son will not stop trying to get a date with you.

⚜ Inheritance by @jincherie

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | 7 parts

Summary: After your grandmother passed she left everything to you. Her house, her fortune, and apparently… her cat? The grumpy male hybrid you encounter at her house is anything but the tame housecat you’d expected to find. Fulfilling your grandmother’s last request to look after him becomes a lot harder when he seems to be avoiding you, and your dissatisfied relatives start stirring up trouble.

Note: ok, I debated whether or not I should add this since the smut is really only at the very end. but I just love this series way way too much and the build up of it all makes the smutty so worth it. trust me.

⚜ In Motion by @yoonia

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 8 parts so far + 1 extra

Summary: The rule is simple; you can look but you can’t touch. You’ve been attending the event for a few times but it was only when a certain boy arrives on one occasion did you feel the fire of lust burning inside.

⚜ Just Friends by @kinktae

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

Summary: Jeon Jungkook was many things. He was an asshole, a tease, and kind of an inconsiderate roommate. But most of all, he’s your best friend, and has been since you were 10. When he suddenly confesses his attraction to you and proposes sleeping together, you are smart enough to turn him down. You knew Jungkook; you knew how he moved from one girl to the next. You, too, were many things, but just another notch in Jungkook’s belt was something you’d never be.

⚜ Like Real People Do by @failaise

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 4 parts

Summary: The feelings for your friends with benefits are changing. Months pass, and you feel your gut telling you that you want more. You’re just not sure if he feels the same.

Note: link to part 4

⚜ Lust And Errors by @imaginethisbts

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 5 parts so far

Summary: Step brother, fuck buddy… They were one and the same now. But what started out as some mindless fucking game, quickly turns into something much more difficult and complex.

⚜ Miss Dial by @versigny

Yoongi x Reader

ongoing series | 8 parts so far

Summary: [11:31] You: okay so i’m texting you now like I promised instead of drunktexting yoongi and telling him how badly i want his cock tonight. Arent you proud? [11:32] unknown number: this is yoongi, hi

⚜ Monster by @neonlights92

Taehyung x Reader

complete series | 5 parts + epilogue

Summary: You live in a world dominated by monsters. Monsters who make it their life’s work to control everything around them. When you’re forced to marry Kim Taehyung - the indecipherable son of the leader of Bangtan, Seoul’s most feared gang - you are at first afraid of him. But as you learn what it means to be Taehyung’s wife you find yourself inexplicably drawn to him.

Note: the writer has also written for the other members in the same AU if you’re interested to read more ^^

⚜ No Strings by @kpopfanfictrash

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 10 parts + 4 extras

Summary: It started off as such a simple question. How do you find out if you’re bad in bed? Of course when you asked, you didn’t imagine Jimin would actually want to answer.

⚜ Off Limits by @floralseokjin

Seokjin x Reader

complete series | 8 parts

Summary: You’ve been lusting after your brother’s best friend for a while now, ever since you met him at a house party, flirting it up a storm as you failed to realise who the other was. That was months ago now and things are still awkward, but you can’t ignore the sexual tension that simmers between the two of you…and it keeps getting worse…

⚜ Piece by Piece by @underthejoon

Hoseok x Reader x Seokjin

complete series | 15 parts + 2 extras

Summary: A collection of drabbles where your love life is muddied up by two men – the one you love and the one that loves you.

⚜ Please Be Naked by @floralseokjin

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | 8 parts + 8 extras

Summary: You find it’s easy to become addicted to a distraction…

⚜ Sin City by @btssmutgalore

Jimin x Reader

ongoing series | 15 parts so far

Summary: After a run of bad luck, you can go back home and admit defeat or step out of your comfort zone and look for a job at Sin City.

⚜ Something In The Way by @tayegi

Namjoon x Reader

ongoing series | 2 parts so far

Summary: When your student debts stack up too high, you decide to apply for a position to take care of Kim Namjoon’s heat for three days…

⚜ Stealing The Bite by @wildernessuntothemselves

Taehyung & Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 6 parts

Summary: In a world populated by the supernatural, witches were the most despised and mistrusted of creatures. Everyone desired to make use of their powers but no one was willing to be seen openly conferring with them. And so there came to pass a heinous practice: Small covens of witches were isolated and kept under wraps in every kingdom, to be utilized when needed, and kept under close watch to prevent them from rebelling. Growing up in a kingdom ruled by werewolves, abuse and scorn were a fact of life, but you were determined to put an end to it. You devised a devious plan to gain power, and it involved a certain prince.

⚜ Talk by @httpjeon

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | twoshot

Summary: You find out your best friend, Yoongi, is really good at phone sex.

⚜ The Equation Of Love by @kookingtae

Yoongi x Reader

ongoing series | 9 parts so far

Summary: When you met Yoongi in a club, you thought it was fate that brought the two of you together. But after you walked into your college math class for the very first time, you weren’t so sure anymore.

⚜ Transference by @dark-muse-iris

Hoseok x Reader

complete series | 9 parts + epilogue

Summary: During a routine visit to the local bakery, you stumble upon an intriguing business card and figure, what the hell.

⚜ View From 4-B by @gardentulips

Hoseok x Reader

complete series | 7 parts

Summary: You teasing Hoseok didn’t stop after the night you shared together. In fact, it only encouraged you to continue your game of performing sinful acts with your curtains wide open, displaying your body to him to have him aching in his jeans. Except now, he’s more than aware of the temptation and he knows just how much you enjoy him watching you.

⚜ White Lilies by @plumblackjeon

Jungkook x Reader x Taehyung

ongoing series | 2 parts so far

Summary: People were attracted to sorrow, especially when it looked as good as Jungkook.

⚜ Zodiac by @joonbird

Namjoon x Reader x BTS

ongoing series | 2 parts so far

Summary: Not human, not animal. Caught in between these shifting worlds, the Zodiac hybrids are cursed by the animals of the zodiac.

��

⊱ Angel in The Darkness by @icyhobi

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 11 parts

⊱ Babydoll by @jungcock

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | twoshot

⊱ Behind The Lens by @gardentulips

Namjoon x Reader

complete series | 2 parts + 1 extra

⊱ Carpe Diem by fringesofsanity

Yoongi x Reader

complete series | 7 parts

⊱ Chained To You by @addicktjimin

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

⊱ Dive by @guktwt

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 2 parts so far + 7+ extras

⊱ Ego by @suga-kookiemonster

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 6 parts so far

⊱ For Science by @boymeetsweevil

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 7 parts

⊱ Handyman by @drquinzelharleen

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 5 parts

⊱ Heartbeat by @joonbird

Hoseok x Reader

ongoing series | 9 parts

⊱ Instant Gratification by @dovechim

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

⊱ Like Cats and Dogs by @the95liner

Jungkook x Jimin

ongoing series | 1 part so far

⊱ Love is a Dog from Hell by firecracker_chalk

Yoongi x Reader

ongoing series | 9 parts so far

⊱ one good purr (deserves another) by @jinpire

Taehyung x Reader

complete series | 4 parts

⊱ Piercings by @personawife

Namjoon x Reader

complete series | twoshot

⊱ Passionfruit by @joonbird

Namjoon x Reader

complete series | 4 parts

⊱ Plums & Melons by @winetae

Jimin x Reader

complete series | twoshot

⊱ Serendipity by @rohobi

Jungkook x Reader

complete series | 9 parts + epilogue

⊱ Shutter & Shiver by @pac-mang

Jimin x Reader

complete series | twoshot

⊱ The Proposal by @chimmy-joos

Jimin x Reader

ongoing series | 5 parts so far

⊱ Two Rotten Apples by @chickenkooks

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 4 parts so far

⊱ Until Next Time by @taeverie

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

⊱ Watch Me Watch You by @the95liner

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

⊱ Wishbone by @dovechim

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 3 parts

Note: links to two & three

⊱ Yes Mr. Park by @softjeon

Jimin x Reader

complete series | 8 parts

⊱ Yellow Calf by @cherrynochu

Jungkook x Reader

ongoing series | 3 parts so far

#anon #g recs #g replies

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itzagothamcitysiren · 5 years ago

Text

Welcome to the Family

So this chapter was a little harder to write. Its pretty action based and I’m still learning how to write stuff like that with it making sense lol. Hopefully this is as entertaining and good(?lol?) as the previous chapters lol.

Never Wanted to be Here Now pt. 6

The breath that found itself hitched in the back of Halley’s throat refused to release as she looked between her father and Dick. Her eyes eventually settled back to stare at the cold metal her father pressed against Jason’s head. Sure, the two didn’t get along, but she didn’t want to be the one responsible for his death. She felt a wave of relief when she saw that Dick was on the same page as her, standing a few steps before her. It faded quickly as the sudden hope appeared when her father spoke again,

“You have no idea how much it pains me to see you standing with him. You have no idea.” Her hands felt like they had pins and needles as she clenched and unclenched them, biting the inside of her check. Slade put his finger on the trigger, leaning in to rest his chin on the top of Jason’s head, “If you only knew what the Titans really were, you might not be acting like an ignorant child.”

Halley wanted to question what he meant but she was too afraid to speak. She’d grown into the habit of feeling safe speaking her mind but with Dick, not her father. She looked to Dick, seeing him visibly tense as her father spoke. She knew there was a reason why her father always hated the Titans but she never dared to ask. But the venom in his tone, the look he was now shooting Dick, told her that she was missing out on something big and she wanted to know. Looking at her father again, she found her voice, “Tell me then, help me understand why you hate them so much!”

Deathstroke chuckled, grasping Jason tighter. Before practically spitting as he snarled at Dick, “Why don’t you ask him? What do you say Grayson? Why don’t you tell her what you and your band of hero’s did? Ask him about Jericho.”

Dick let his shoulders slump forward. He had no way out of this situation and if there even was one, his mind was too clouded to see it. He turned to face the young girl he grew to care so much for, already knowing that this wasn’t going to end well. Dick had tried too hard to make up for his past sins and he thought helping her would be his clean slate but inside he just created even more of a mess. Now another innocent kid was going to pay for his mistakes. No wonder Bruce replaced him so quickly.

“Before we met,” Dick started, licking his lips. He ignored Deathstroke’s victorious look plastered on his face; he knew he was going to win. Dick could only hope that her time with them gave some chance of changing her and she wouldn’t go back to her father once she found out what the Titans did all those years ago. “Deathstroke was hired to kill one of the Titans and he succeeded. We wanted revenge. I-I began researching him; found out he had a family. A wife and a son.”

“Whaa-at?” Halley gasped, never hearing about any of this before. She glared up at her father, her nostril’s flaring. She didn’t remember going on a mission to kill a Titan, not a paid mission anyway. There were sometimes when he would go off on his own and leave her alone for some time. Sometimes he’d go for months on end or somethings just a couple of days. He’d leave her with his friend Wintergreen. She knew he’d take jobs without her during these times but it could be very well that he had been off as well with this supposed family of his. Running her a hand through her messy hair, she spoke again, “What is he talking about?”

Deathstroke stared at her without a response before prompting Grayson to continue, wanting to shift her anger and betrayal at him. Dick looked at her in pity, before shaking his head. He wasn’t going to do this to her, not here. He turned to Deathstroke, turning his hands into fists.

“You can just kill me. That’s what you want, we’re not doing this.” He said firmly, clamping his jaw.

“Coward,” Deathstroke laughed. “You see this, daughter? He can’t even tell you the truth. You think he cares about you but he couldn’t even tell you how he’s the reason why your brother is dead.”

“I did it to protect you,” he said, turning back to look at her with pleading eyes. “I was going to tell you when I thought you were ready. You were still healing, still adjusting.”

Halley looked in between the two, not knowing who to listen to or to even just look at. Her heart was pumping and could only chalk this all up as being a very bad, bad dream. She just wanted to close her eyes and wake up but the pain she felt in her chest told her that it’d just be a waste. This wasn’t a dream. She was angry and hurt towards both of them. They were both liars. Her father was many things but he never lied to her. And Dick? Dick was the last person she’d ever think would lie to her.

Sighing, she thought about how he did actually just lie to her about the team’s mission to go after her father. But that was different, he had just did that to protect her. Like how he just said he didn’t tell her about whatever this was in order to protect her. He introduced her to the man who is basically his father and gave her a home. She squinted at Dick, her face unreadable to him as she thought about the lengths he went to try and avoid this from even happening. He kept her in the dark about what sparked his and Deathstroke’s feud, sure. But he did it because he cared and he’s proven time and time again that he did in fact care for her. What the fuck was her father’s excuse?

Her eyes flickered to the ground. Her sight landed on her father’s fallen gun from when Dick disarmed him moments ago. Without warning she jumped for it, grabbing the gun. Cocking it, she aimed at her father, her stance steady and stern. Dick took a step towards her, not wanting her to take a shot. He didn’t want her to do it for her own sake but he didn’t want the situation to escalate with Jason still in Deathstroke’s hands.

She saw Dick move and quickly switch her target, pointing the gun at him. He raised his hands up, taking a step back again, “Halley-,”

“No, you shut up.” She ordered, jerking the gun forward for emphasis. Turning her head to her father she now brought her attention to him, “Let Todd go and I’ll shot Grayson.”

“No one gives payment until the job they want is done.” Her father smirked, scoffing. Her care for the boy in his grasps was sickening but somewhat enduring.

“Not this time.” She said firmly and her father felt like he was once again talking to the girl he once trained. “Let him go and I swear I’ll do it. Out of everyone in this room, I’m the only one who isn’t a fuckin liar.”

Deathstroke grinned, putting the gun back in its holster and shoving Jason away from him. He crossed his arms against his chest when the boy landed onto the ground. He looked up as Halley turned to face Dick, who still had his hands up but now wore a look of dread. He didn’t want to lose her to this but he also didn’t want to test her by talking again. But he had to defuse the situation.

“You don’t have to do this; you don’t work for him anymore.” His face pleaded with her along with his soft voice.

Halley just tightened her grip on the gun putting her finger on the trigger. Without giving her a chance to back out she pulled the trigger. The sound of Jason’s voice screaming out at her was almost muted by the cracking sound of the bullet leaving the barrel. Dick had no time to react, face frozen as the bullet flew right past his head. She missed.

“Opps, stupid me. Let me try again,” She spat, rapidly jerking her body towards her father now opening fire on him.

Deathstroke jolted backwards, the bullets impeding themselves in his armor. Dick used the distraction to get to Jason. Picking the boy up in his arms, he threw them behind a set of boxes for cover. He checked over his wound, ordering him to stay put as he put pressure on it. Jason was losing too much blood. As Dick fussed over him, Jason peered around the box, eyes wide in amazement as he watched the fight ensue in front of them.

Halley howled in rage, dodging and jumping out of the way of her father’s bullets, making her way closer and closer to him. She let out another shot, pulling the trigger and only hearing a click. Being out of bullets didn’t stop her though. Without a hesitation, she chucked the gun at him, smacking him dead in the face. He stumbled back, disorientated and giving her the chance to reach him. He felt proud when she reached for another one of his knives that was strapped on him.

“Was she my mother?” Halley spat, ducking out of the way of a punch.

Slade knew she was asking about his wife, the one that Nightwing barely mentioned. He had a look of amusement, taking a step forward. Grabbing her head, he brought his knee up to her face. Still holding onto her he let his fist hit her in the gut again before shoving her stumbling backwards.

“No.” Was all his said, his voice monotone.

Grunting, using the back of her hand to wipe the blood gushing out of her nose, Halley gripped the knife in her hand tighter before jutting forward. “Who’s my mother than? You say Nightwing is a coward; how he can’t tell me anything but either can you!” She spat in-between jabs.

Needing to teach her a lesson in obedience, he aimed his gun at her knees but her reaction time impressed him. His arm was pushed up just as he took the shot. As the bullet landed past them somewhere, he barred his teeth, “You don’t deserve to know. You haven’t proven you’re ready to meet her yet and if you keep this tantrum up you never will!”

Not liking his answer Halley used the hand grasping his wrist and twisted it, hearing a satisfying snap. Her father made a disgruntled sound before being forced to drop the gun. She kicked it away, using her other hand to dig the knife she held into the part of his forearm that wasn’t covered by armor. She kept pressing it in deeper and deeper, her father’s cries sounding like music to her ears.

“I’ll never be good enough for you!” She snarled, enthralled by his pain. “No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried to please you! I was never good enough!” She was going to kill him and she couldn’t wait.

All the years of torment and pain. All the years of being told she wasn’t enough. All the years he took away from her having a semblance of a normal life would be made up for in one moment. She took out the knife, swiping towards his neck as she did. Before the blade could reach skin, he used his good hand to entangle a hand in her hair, gripping tight. He always went for that, she cursed.

Even with his wrist broken from her he used it to slap the knife out of her hand. Ripping her back, she could only allow him to move her around like a puppeteer. He raised a leg up, landing a hard kick on her chest.

“Ungrateful child,” he sneered at her.

She quickly got her footing, standing up straight with her hands clenched into fists at her side. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it. There were at least a hundred other moves she could’ve used as an attack but they didn’t seem as satisfying. Hacking back, she spat at him, smiling when she saw the mixture of spit and blood slap him against his face. She didn’t regret it, even when he wiped it away with a truly fighting look in his eyes.

With an oof, she then hit the floor and was pinned there by a heavy boot on her neck. Gasping for air, she clawed at his ankle but he shifted his weight forward. He watched her eyes start to turn hazy from the panic and lack of oxygen. He looked up to where Dick had been hiding, seeing the idiot start to stand.

“Let a father teach his daughter a lesson in respect.” He turned back to his daughter. “You are in no condition to fight, Grayson.”

“Hasn’t stopped me before,” Nightwing winced, trying to keep up the charm he was known for. He took a step forward, ready to get back at it but jumped at the sound of broken glass. Looking up he smirked, “Bout damn time.”

Deathstroke looked up at the intruder from above. Batman landed gracefully but fiercely in front of the Wilsons. His eyes bore down at the girl who was clearly struggling to breathe. Back up to the father, Batman’s eyes still stood their normal stoic self’s but behind them held a look of pity and animosity. His stance didn’t falter when the assassin released his step on his daughter and began to circle the bat.

“That was quite an entrance,” Deathstroke taunted, holstering his gun and reaching for his sword again. “It mustn’t be that great for the knees though, I can imagine.” Deathstroke figured that Batman would show up eventually but he had at least hoped to be on schedule and one of the bat brats would be dead by now. No matter, he’d kill them all.

The pair engaged in battle, Batman shouting for Nightwing to get the two teenagers out of the warehouse and to the bat mobile. He didn’t have to tell Dick twice as he helped Jason stand, slinging an arm underneath his armpit and around his back to help him walk. Hurriedly, he made his way to the clearly distraught girl who was already reaching was her father’s discarded gun. Dick put his foot on it as she was about to grasp it. She shot him up a glare.

“You aren’t a killer. Not anymore.” He told her holding out his hand for her to take. “Let’s go home.”

She swatted his hand away, pushing his foot off the gun but failed when he pushed down on it harder. She stood up and pushed his chest. “I’m going to kill him!”

“No, you aren’t.” It was Jason this time that spoke. Halley and Dick were taken aback, looking at him, the sound of Deathstroke and Batman clashing behind them echoing over his voice. “That’s what he wants you to do and last time I checked you didn’t want to be his little minion anymore. You’re better than him.”

Halley faltered, looking at her father as Batman dealt a harsh punch to his face. She looked back at Jason, “But he has to pay-,”

“You’re such a fuckin’ dork.” Jason shook his head, the blood lose finally getting to him as he began to get dizzy. “Batman’s literally here to save you and you’re going to go try and kill someone? Around here that’s how you end up in prison or Arkham.”

A soft smile reached her face but before she could respond, Batman let out a painful grunt. He stood a few feet away from Deathstroke, the assassin using him as if he was a wall to kick off of. Batman stood watching and waiting for his next move, watching as Wilson reached into one of his pouches on his belt. Pulling out a small device, he smirked up at the vigilantes and his daughter. Without a word he clicked a button.

“You have a choice to make.” He said to his daughter, showing off the clock on the device that was now displaying a countdown. He had rigged this place to blow as a last resort. “Are you coming or are you staying?”

“Is that really even a question?” She spat.

Deathstroke nodded, with a twisted smile and shake of his head. What a disappointment she turned out to be. Looking up, he spoke to Batman now, “You can keep her; take your little birds, we’re done here.”

Batman watched as he backed up, moving to leave them. He thought about going back take him down but decided against it. Jason and Dick needed medical attention. And the building was also about to blow. He nodded towards Dick, before leading them towards an entrance he had scoped out before coming in from above. He passed Halley, noting the girl watching after her father as he disappeared into the shadows. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s go home.”

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd x oc #red hood #red hood x oc #dick grayson #dick grayson x sister!reader #dick grayson x oc #nightwing #nightwing x reader #batman fanfiction #batman #deathstroke daughter #deathstroke x reader #dc comics fanfic #batfam x reader #batbros

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kpopisthereasonihavenolife · 5 years ago

Text

Taboo Attachment

BTS

Park Jimin/Reader [F]

Genre: Demon AU, Arranged Marriage?, Copious amounts of fluff, Logically impossible tween stupidity, Incredibly dense adult Y/n, Jungkook’s a bit of an ass oops

Warning(s): Minor violence towards the end

Words: 18k

Summary: Young innocence and an unhealthily stupid-lack of common sense lead to you accidentally summoning a demon on your 13th birthday. Somehow agreeing and forming some contract with the said demon, they disappear and so does your memory of it. 10 years later and finally financially stable enough to start college, you wake up with an ash-grey ring in your right ring finger. Despite your efforts, the ring will absolutely not come off. Now, all of a sudden your demon returns and apparently 13-year-old you got yourself engaged to this demon man.

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a/n: WOWIE I finally finished this monster LOL. It only took me months of procrastination (and several compliments from Cam lmao). Pls love Demon Jimin, he just wants to get married

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@angeltothecore @jong-yixing @geekybookworm1993 @hobi-sunshineee @skytime092 @gingerpeachtae

-XXX-

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?

The demon perched in the shadows of your bathroom as he sat on the top of your glass shower door that was firmly shut. His spiraled horns breaching his skull as they pointed towards the heavens they will never belong. His black hair hovered over his crimson-dulled eyes as his fangs remained hidden behind his frown. His skin was grey and a thin, barbed ended tail sung and tapping your shower door ever so lightly that you didn’t even take notice. His skin darkened to a pitch, coal-black at his elbows to his hands and from his knees to his feet. Wearing only a cloak tied around his waist that hung loosely off his shoulders, he almost growled.

Why had he suddenly been summoned to a little fucking girl’s bathroom that was pitch black dark and covered in scented candles that made his nose burn? His claws black hand covered his nose and mouth, the scent of ‘Autumn Leaves’ absolutely nauseating. His single ash-grey ring was oddly warm against his skin.

Your scent was young, as your body was fragile and tiny. No older than 13 he guessed. It had been a while since he had seen a human, much less a human child. Wearing a tacky nightgown in the ugliest shade of yellow he had ever seen and socks up to your knee that hid under the length of your gown. Your hair was a mess like you just rolled out of bed. It was just barely brushing your shoulders with its short length.

You held what looked like a well worn down container of lipstick that you had used to scribble on the mirror in front of you. A lame excuse of a spell circle he saw in the uneven shapes and symbols. Lighting your candles on either side of the sink and even on the toilet tower. Was this some stupid prank? Were you a demon in disguise here to just jerk him around with your stupid little half-ass summoning?

You dropped the lipstick into the sink’s bowl as you squeaked and covered your mouth, quickly looking at the closed bathroom door. The demon’s head followed and watched as nothing happened. His barbed tail whipped as you let out a sigh of relief. You trotted to the door, locking it and flinching with the lock clicked almost too loud. Like it would wake up your parents.

The demon sat perched cupped his cheek in one of his hands, the other still cutting the smell of the candles off from his nose. He almost chuckled. Performing a summoning in secret at balls-ass o’clock behind mommy and daddy’s backs and your just now locking the door? God, children were so stupid.

The demon almost spoke up, but he remained silent. Obviously, you didn’t know you had already rudely awoken him from his slumber and dragged him here in his sleeping robe. You were completely clueless to the horned and fanged beast right under your nose- rather right above your puny little head.

When you left your sink cabinet, the demon peered some other objects in the sink’s bowl. There was a silver bowl, looking cheap and used like it came right out of your mother’s baking cabinet (it did). Inside the bowl was all sorts of objects that different demon’s could possibly fancy.

A cheapy made and obviously fake stone knife with hardly any edge or point on it. A salt shaker filled with salt with the holed top taped up so none would escape its glass spice prison. A doll that looked like a 45-year-old bling hag and sewed it together for someone she hated. It was too much like a cheap version of a voodoo doll, but hell if you knew that when you decided to add it to your treasure bowl.

The demon also noticed a piece of printer paper taped onto the sink’s countertop. Squinting his red eyes to get a better look at the words so far from him, he read your language of course as well as what he could assume was Latin. He’s heard it enough as he silently ran the words through his head.

He sat straighter on top of your shower door as he shrugged. Well, he had to give you some credit for trying. Of course, the summoning did work, he wasn’t something he really needed to stick around for. This demon- he- was a demon used in trade summoning. Summoning that only need to take place when the summoner will exchange something with the demon in return. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a true demon bargain unless there were a few rules the summoner would be forced to obey.

For example, the list of names he had stolen the souls of and dragged them down with him into hell was still growing. He had a pretty hefty track record of always giving his client what they wanted, as well as always securing their soul in life and of course in death. He’s done trades of service and of objects, he wasn’t picky. Work and work and with how long he’s been at it, it was all very dull.

Perhaps that’s why he stuck around watching this clueless, stupid teenager barely at puberty floundering around at 3 AM. You were something quite unique to the demon’s interest.

He watched you cup your chin as you scanned the paper that held the spell you chanted to get him here. He wondered if you even knew what kind of demon you were summoning or if you were just doing this blind for God-knows-what reason.

Human’s get more interesting with each stupid generation, he thought to himself as he let out another swish of his tail. Perhaps he should introduce himself he thought as he grinned to himself. His fangs showing as he swung his tail to hit the glass of your shower door, finally getting your attention as you turned around and made eye contact with your demon.

-XXX-

It was your 13th birthday as you woke up to the dreary cloudy sky outside. You sat in your bed, yawning and looking outside in a daze. You had to go to school today and you wished your parents would let you stay home since it was your birthday. It’s not like you had anyone to spend it with other than your parents.

You were only 13. The effects of puberty and social norms hitting you like a nuclear bomb. If you weren’t dressed in what was popular, you didn’t leave your house. You bought all the ‘very in’ school bags and pencils and books. You read on all the stupid gossip about celebrities and feigned a ‘starstruck’ crush on some over the top male teen idol.

Only 13 and you were desperate to have some sort of connection with someone. You hadn’t had many friends when you were younger. Too much of a tomboy and when you were in the 4th grade, someone accused you of feeding the class pet- a hamster- something bad that made it very sick and it eventually died. You knew it wasn’t you, but no one listened and the teacher scolded you. Everyone avoided you after that.

Of course, your mother and father were very generous people and treated you well, but when they worked all the time it wasn’t the same as what a friend would be. Their companionship was appreciated, but not what you craved.

Life was tough to a 13-year-old middle schooler. You just huffed as you flopped back on your bed, wanting to go back to bed when your mother knocked on your door, telling you to get up and get ready.

She always took you to school when she left for work in the morning. Though, you had to walk home. You didn’t have the guts to ride the bus. It was too cramped and putting yourself in a tiny space where everyone was forced to ignore you or snicker behind the stupid, uncomfortable leather seats wasn’t worth the hassle.

At least no one knew it was your birthday and you could go through the day normally. You pulled on your jacket, some t-shirt with a bigshot band and your jeans as you slipped on your shoes and grabbed your bag with all your completed homework inside.

Going downstairs, saying hello and receiving a warm happy birthday message from your parents, you loaded into your mother’s car and soon was staring at the neighborhood zoomed passed your eyes out the window. You watched people walk in groups or lots of kids waiting for their bus. Jealous, you closed your eyes and just wished the day would end.

It was in your history class that your teacher, instead of actually teaching today, turned on some random movie about a person who summoned a demon. The protagonist and this demon go on some sort of trip to achieve some goal, but you zoned it out as the solution to your solitude was right in front of you.

If you couldn’t make friends, you could just summon one! The rest of the day was filled with you sneaking your phone out in class and researching all sorts of demon summonings. You were confused by everything you read. Some articles didn’t take themselves seriously, others took themselves very seriously and some just contradicted what you read on a different site.

You came home in a rush and went to your room to read up more, even renting a book about demons from your school’s library. You were desperate and impatient, so you would cram as much knowledge in your brain as you could. You would be performing this summoning tonight, be it hell or high water.

Going to bed early and telling your parents' goodnight, you fell asleep before groggily waking up at the alarm you set for 2:45 AM. Trudging around your room, you grabbed the paper spell you printed before you tiptoed around your dark and quiet house. Loading up a bowl with all sorts of things you read about before going to your bathroom and shutting the door. The nightlight plugged into the wall was flicked off by you as you lit your candles and then began.

You panicked as you dropped your mother’s lipstick into the sick and ran to the door to lock it after making sure it was still absolutely silent in your house. Your bathroom was quite away from your parent’s room, so it wasn’t logical they’d hear you anyways.

You sighed as you walked to reread your paper. Maybe you chanted the spell wrong? You obviously weren’t very well versed in Latin. You were ready to maybe give it another go or give up when you nearly screamed at the bang behind you. Something hit your shower door and you whipped around.

Nothing was behind the glass, but when you looked up, you locked eyes with someone. No, something? It wasn’t human by any stretch. They hid well in the darkness, almost unseeable, but their glowing red eyes blinking made solid proof they were in fact there.

You heard whatever it was chuckle lightly before they jumped off your shower door and back into the shower itself. You saw their blurry silhouette stand behind the glass door. They were tall and you could see the outline of their horns stretching above their head. A vague shadow of something whipping around behind them was also visible in the dark room that your eyes had grown accustomed to.

You swallowed a lump in your throat as you stepped forward cautiously and grabbed the small handle of your magnetic shower door and lightly pulled it open. A small click of the magnetic detaching and the whine of the door as you slowly opened it. Revealing the grey-skinned demon in front of your large, teenage eyes.

You actually did it. You legitimately summoned a demon. Like, a real one? He looked authentic enough at least. Not some trick of the mind or some dream your desperate wants threw together in your head. No, he had to be real. He was almost terrifyingly so.

“Good evening,” he slurred to you. His voice was low and almost felt like it slithered like a snake. Smooth and unwavering like a single tone. “It’s not every night I get little one’s summoning me,” he coaxed. A shiver ran up your spine at his voice again.

You could hear your heartbeat in your ears as you held your hands together in front of your chest. The reality of the entire situation not sinking in. You had a demon you summoned in your bathroom at 3 AM after your birthday.

The demon chuckled as he folded his hands behind his back, putting on the most innocent smile he could muster. Children were so fragile. He couldn’t have you go and faint with his overwhelming presence and with how hard he could hear your heart beating, it could very well happen.

“What is your name dear?” He sang to you. You gulped. You remembered reading that if a demon asks your name, you must insist they tell you their first. You opened your mouth to ask him his in proper demon etiquette, but your throat was too dry. Swallowing and opening and closing your mouth as a way to make sure your lips still worked, you tried again.

“What’s-” you fumbled but regained your voice with a clearing of your throat. “What’s your name?” You mimicked his question back to him. He just smiled.

“So,” he began, obviously not going to tell you his name so easily, “you know the bare minimum of demon introduction at the very least. I’m impressed a little sprout like you can even handle summoning a demon with my power.” If he wasn’t a demon that looked like he could rip out your kidney and eat it like some creepypasta character, you would get mad at him for repeatedly calling you little.

He cocked his head at you, remaining his charade of innocence as you remained silent. Why was it always the children who remained so shell shocked at something they were expecting to happen? Sure, adults were too, but they were at least capable of screaming or throwing a fit or something. Children just stop functioning.

“Dear?” He tried again. You just shook your head.

“You first,” you were stubborn at least. He tutted his brow up as he unclasped his hands behind his back and placed them on his hips. His unearthly long claws catching your eye and making you swallow. With those, he really could rip out your kidney if he wanted to.

Tapping those dangerous fingers on his lips that seemed to be stuck in a permanent smirk, he finally put his hand back down. Letting it hang past his slim waist and playfully drumming his fingers against his thigh.

“Which name would you prefer, little one?” His voice teased. He has pulled you along with a game of guesses, not willing to answer you easily. He did have many names to be fair. From slurs of his world to nicknames, to his demon name and his original name before his demonic ways came to fruition. The demon moved to saunter far too graciously to your sink, placing his rear on the top of the counter and crossing his legs. “Did you not know my name despite you summoning me? That’s far too clumsy- for a child to make mistakes like that.”

He moved one hand, a clawed finger pointed at your heart. “Any other demon met with such an incompetent summoner would tear out your heart as payment.” He watched you visibly gulp again. Your hair stood up on end on your arm as your back held the best straight posture of your young life.

You shook your head. “I just wanted-” you cut yourself off. The demon arched a dark brow at you as he brought his hand back to rest lazily over his lap. Your voice turned shaky, fluttering with uncertainty and a sense of what he could almost call desperation. As if you were trying to plead with him to sympathize with you.

Demons could not feel sympathy. If they did, it would be a weakness and the first step to an attachment. That was the last thing any demon wanted. To become attached to anyone or anything.

“You just wanted what, child?” The demon’s voice changed. Altering just a bit. An undertone like a second voice layering over his original velvet voice. Like static or a low buzzing hum in the background.

You looked down at your feet covered in socks on your tiled bathroom floor. “I just wanted someone to talk to,” you pathetically whispered.

Your sporadic new-teenage hormones made you tear up. You sniffled as the demon lifted his hand from his lap and used it to push back his hair, making some of it stand up every which way. You sniffled again as you held your burning tears. The demon only looked at you confused.

This human child wanted someone to talk to so she summoned a demon? He thought to himself. You were the embodiment of a pathetic and lonely child. “Just go find some other rugrats to scuffle with. Don’t drag us demons into it,” his layered voice told you.

“No one likes me though,” you told him back. “Everyone thinks I’m mean and I try really hard to fit in, but- they just make fun of me.” The demon held a scoff back from escaping him. So, you really were a child. Trying to twist who you are to benefit those around you just for a chance of some sort of connection to another.

“Is your wish then to have a companion? Someone who will stay at your side and never waver? To fill that lonely void?” The demon pointed to your heart once more. Your heart that desired- craved- a connection. You found yourself nodding in agreement. A smile wormed its way onto the demon’s face. “Little one, I am a demon of trades. Do you know what that means?” You shook your head no. “It means, I’ll give you anything you ask of me, but I must get something back from you in return.”

You grew nervous. What could a demon want from you? Rather, what could you possibly even give demon? You were 13 for Christ's sake (hah)! The demon stared at you and felt something ripple in his chest. He smirked. He held his hand out, opening his palm from the finger he pointed and flipped it so his palm faced upward towards the ceiling and the shut-off bathroom light.

“I’ll give you what you want,” he started- gaining your attention. “What I ask in return is simple.” You opened your mouth but shut it again. You just shook your head.

“But, I still don’t know your name,” you whispered with a small scruff sound to your voice.

The demon chuckled again. If what he felt was indeed what he thought and if he were to follow through with this deal, then this deal would be his last. He’s had his fun with his world and he was bored anyway.

“My name- to you only, little one- is Jimin.” His name resonated with you in some way. You said it, testing it and he felt a jolt in his chest, making him laugh. You looked at him with a confused, almost judgemental, stare. “Don’t give me that look,” he jokingly said.

“What was it you wanted from me, Jimin? You never told me.”

Jimin held up two of his fingers. “I must first know your name back, don’t you think that’s fair?” He smiled, his black lips curling almost innocently.

“Oh, um. Y/n, it’s Y/n.” You gave it to him easily now. He nodded. The name was suited to fit you. Jimin’s hand was still outstretched to you. “What’s the second thing then?”

“Your hand,” he answered simply. “I desire your hand.” You easily gave it. Placing your puny hand in his black, clawed palm. His fingers curled around your hand easily engulfing it. “I am centuries old, but even I have rules. You’re far too young yet.” He brought your hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it as a symbol of him flashed over your skin before it faded. The mark was now gone and he smiled, knowing the spell was still there. “Our deal is complete, though it will take a long time for it to be carried out. You’ll have to be a strong girl until then.”

He gently dropped your hand and stood up from the sink and bent down to your eye level. His dark red eyes looked into your wide, childish ones. He could only imagine how they could mature and grow over time in your life. He chuckled as he smiled at you.

“Your soul now officially belongs to me. Don’t forget that, little Y/n.”

You bolted away in bed the next morning when your alarm went off. 6:30 AM and supposed to be getting ready for school. Had it all been a dream? You flung your covers off, kicking your legs free and ran to the bathroom. It was empty and clean of any demon summoning evidence.

No smeared lipstick on the mirror. No scented candles or your bowl of items in the sink. No evidence of you ever meeting the demon named Jimin. You held and looked at the hand he took and kissed as you went back to your room. Flopping ungracefully on your bed.

“It was only a dream,” you told yourself dejectedly. And, like a dream, you gradually forgot all about Jimin. Never aware of the swishing barbed tail and a pair of red eyes checking on you from time to time. Not noticing even every year on your birthday when those eyes glowed the brightest.

-XXX-

“Yeah, I know mom. Yes- I know. I’m 23 now, I think I can survive if you're not here on my birthday. Stay home with day and relax for once. Listen, I just got to work, I’ve gotta go. Yeah, I love you too. Bye, mom.” You cut the call that was playing through the speakers of your car as your music automatically resumed playing once the call disconnected.

You could really blame your mother for fretting over your birthday. She’d seen 22 of them and on number 23 she wouldn’t be there. You had moved out after slaving away at 3 jobs to get enough money to get an apartment and finally start college. Stable enough to get on your feet was all you really wanted to be at this point. And to take the burden of all your problems off your parents. They needed their own time at such an age.

Your miserable days in middle school remained and that negative strength lasted all the way into and even through your high school career. You still felt bitter, but you didn’t let it bother you anymore. You engrossed yourself in books and studying, ignoring those around you who tried to get under your skin. The only reason you turned down a scholarship offered to you was so you could stay at home a few years before taking another step forward.

Always better to practice the art of adulthood with more experienced adults at your left and right. Besides, going into college immediately after high school was something forced on young people by society. It wasn't the be-all, end-all. Waiting wouldn’t hurt you or anyone else for that matter.

Pulling into your parking space and hopping out of your car, you waltzing into your workplace. Greeted by the manager of the local coffee shop where you barista at along with her and her son, Seokjin. He wasn’t much of a coffee maker, but he kills it with his job with all the pastries. He was 4 years older than you and in his last year of college. Aiming for a simple bachelor's degree, he just wanted to get a better paying job to support himself and his mother. He and his mom live together and she’s told you before that she will never chase him out.

Seokjin’s father passed away years ago, and he felt so guilty anytime he had to leave for a long time. He knew his mother wasn’t alone per se, but he did love her. So, he spent his free time in the shop or at home with her. He’s even taken her on some ‘dates’ where he just spoils her completely rotten.

The close-knit family of 2 absolutely warmed your heart.

Besides, with a face like Seokjin’s, you never have to worry about business. IN fact, ever since he started working alongside his mother, there hasn’t been a slow easy-going day. A blessing for revenue and paychecks, but a curse for your lack of free time.

There isn’t much different today than usual. A rush in the morning, a slow break between 10 and noon and then the lunch rush hits. After that, it’s all hit and miss on when it will pick up. You were removing your apron and releasing your hair from the too-tight ponytail you created this morning when your manager approached you.

“You’ve started college, yes? How is it?” She was like some aunt of yours as she slotting into your life. Seokjin fitting right in as an annoying cousin role as he walked into the conversation, the counter free of customers until that front counter bell should ring.

“Yup. I started last week. Orientation was a bit boring, and of course, all the syllabi seems a bit unnecessary, but it’s moving along. We actually start classes tomorrow.” You smiled as the three of you talked. Soon, that bell rung before your manager rushed off, taking it before Seokjin could. He stood around, talking to you a bit longer.

“I’m in your college,” he told you with a hand on his head. You knew this already, but he wasn’t someone you expected to really run into. He was quite popular. “Hunt me down if you need anything, you’ve got my number.” He smiled.

“Mr. Popular running to my beck and call, how charming.” He moved his hand from your head as he cupped his chin.

“What can I say, my existence itself is charming.” You playfully rolled your eyes as you hang your apron up on the hook with your hand above it. “Seriously, it can be a bit overwhelming and I am pretty smart. If you have trouble, let me know. I can even tutor you some time if you need it.” He told you as you patted his shoulder and nodded. He worried and you appreciated it.

When you walked into your apartment that night, something felt wrong. You didn’t know what, but it just didn’t seem normal? You looked around and nothing was off and no one was here obviously. Maybe you were just psyching yourself out before classes tomorrow.

You plopped yourself on your couch as you closed your eyes, kicked your head back as you breathed. It was strange as you opened your eyes and looked at your right hand. It felt odd, a tingling sensation floating over and around it. Your finger felt numb as you opened and closed your fist. You just shook your head as you got up and went to take a shower. Maybe that would make you feel better.

You jolted awake with a heavy breath and a couch at nearly 3 AM. You panted as you pushed your bangs back, feeling a small sheen layer of sweat there. You felt like you just had a nightmare, but you couldn’t remember. Your chest was tight as you dropped your hand back to your mattress as you sit sat up.

Something felt tight around your ring finger on your right hand, and with it being too dark, you used your left hand to feel around it. It felt like a ring was strapped onto your finger? The ring was thin, metal and flat. It was warm like you had been wearing it for a long time or someone else had been before you. You knew it wasn’t yours, you didn’t own many rings.

Confused, you tried tugging it off, but it wouldn’t budge. Light panic sat in your chest as you twisted and pulled, trying to get the ring off. It wasn’t as if it would move and your finger was too thick to take it off, no. It just wouldn’t move period. It would twist in place, but it would not move up or down your finger. Like it was bound on or something.

You sighed as your tugging game was put on hold from your growing panic. You decided to forget it and you’d deal with it in the morning. Tugging your blanket up to lay back down and tuck yourself back in, something felt weighed down on your blanket. Tugging again, you stretched your foot and something was sitting at the foot of your bed, weighing your blanket down.

You were scared to move. Slowly grabbing your phone you flipped the flashlight on and looked at the foot of your bed. You screamed as you scurried up your mattress against the headboard, dropping your phone in your haste.

Picking it back up you held it as you sat, knees up against your chest as you pushed yourself against eh headboard the best you could. Sitting as far as you could from that thing at the end of your bed.

“Who are you?!” You screeched as they rolled their eyes. Red eyes, grey skin, black shirt and pants with a tail and horns. Who was this?! He didn’t even look human, but you were trying to convince yourself that some freaky cosplayer broke into your house. You did know that there were a group of some weird-ass people who read some internet interactive novel online from some posts you’ve read on social media. Maybe it was one of them?

There wasn’t a speck of color on the intruder. Be it skin or clothes. His shirt was buttoned and tucked into his pitch pants and he was shoeless, his black feet tucked under his cross legs. His tail barbed and swaying behind him as he smirked. His fangs were the only white thing on him. Even the ‘whites’ of his eyes were black surrounding his red iris.

“Human memories really are the most unreliable thing in the universe,” he spoke as you screamed again. He covered his ears as he grimaced. He stood on your mattress, his feet pushing into the covers as he walked over to you and bent his knees to squat to your level.

He looked into your eyes and something almost sparked in you. Like a recollection of something you’ve seen before, but can’t place your finger on it. He watched as your eyes searched is own, now quiet as you tried to remember something. He smiled as he saw the confusion in your human eyes.

You moved to look at his tail behind him as you gasped, almost screaming again. He quickly pushed his hand over your mouth, not wanting to hear another scream that pierced his ears. “We’ll talk in the morning, little one,” he smirked as he saw your eyes widen as you took in a shaky breath through your nose.

You shook your head, knowing there was no way you’d be able to sleep with this demon in your home. Your eyes darted around as he rolled his eyes and covered your mouth just for a moment. Just long enough to push his black lips onto your pink ones. You gasped as you closed your eyes, bracing yourself as he was unusually calm.

You felt your strength leaves you bit by bit as you soon relaxed and your tightly scrunched eyes eased up when you passed out. Slumping back, the demon held you and straighten your body out before pulling the covers over you and getting off your bed. Walking around your room and looking at your bags of books and notebooks, going through your style of clothing and all the small amount of jewelry you owned.

He looked over his shoulder before he smiled and joined you on your bed. Laying on the free side of it as he watched your sleep. “You grew up, just like I thought you would,” he whispered.

-XXX-

You stirred as you took a breath through your nose at what you could assume was early in the morning. You were still tired, and half tempted to forget it and go back to sleep. Even keeping your eyes closed, very close to just deciding sleep was worth it.

You had a distinct feeling something happened, or maybe you had some weird-ass dream last night. You felt more tired than you should for sleeping as much as you did. You breathed heavy when you felt a weight on your chest. The mattress around you was pushing down like something was on the mattress beside you.

Cracking open your eyes, you took a moment to process the grey figure looking down at you. Feet perched on either side of your arms, crouching and resting his arms on his bent knees, Jimin stared down at you. You blinked up to him, processing like a slow running computer before you shot up, shoving him in the chest and flinging him onto the floor. You scrambled out of the opposite side of your bed, throwing your covers onto his head to buy you some time as you run for your bedroom door.

You screamed when your blanket hit your back in a giant wad. Knocking you forward, you whipped around. Jimin was stood up, brushing off his arms and glaring at you. He looked so different in the daytime as you could see him clearly instead of standing in the shadows.

“You are the rudest human I’ve ever met. I can’t believe you threw a fucking blanket on me like I’d get stumped like some stupid dog,” he grumbled as he rubbed his head. “You could’ve damaged my neck, brat.” You inched towards your door, still wanting to at least leave your room, Jimin just walked over to you, standing in front of your door.

“I- uh,” you looked at him. Pointing at him then, your bed, before you groaned and started pacing back and forth. Jimin watched your pacing as he sighed and sat down, crossing his legs in front of your door. He pushed his clawed hand into his grey cheek as he looked bored. You suddenly stopped and looked down at him from across the room. “You... You’re not a human?”

Jimin looked at his claws, waving them teasingly waving them around as he then gestured to the spiraled horns on his head. Not to mention the barbed tail swishing around behind him like it had a mind of his own. “I think the skin color could speak for itself, but if you still have doubts, take a look at the fucking bones out of my forehead and devil’s tail.”

You stopped and marched over to him. Dropping to your knees you grabbed his cheeks between your fingers and pulled. Stretching his skin before letting go. You moved to quickly open his eyes wide and looked at his red eyes. You tugged on his hair, flicked his horns and opened his mouth to look at his fangs. He growled in annoyance as you poked and prodded at him. “HEY!” He shouted when you tugged on his tail.

“How are you real?! I thought you were a dream!” You panicked.

“Well, that sounds like a personal problem to me,” he smirked as his tail whipped around in a teasing, almost spunky manner.

“I was 13! What do you even want?” He pointed to your hand, more specifically to the ash grey ring you had completely forgotten about from last night. You looked at it. “This?” You showed it, trying to take it off once again. Groaning and making quite the embarrassing amount of effort to try and remove it.

“It’s not coming off. I charmed it so it’s stuck there unless I remove it,” Jimin told you, closing his eyes as if he just told you the most obvious fact in the world. Like how ladybugs are black and red. “Have you forgotten what our deal was?” He asked.

“I… I wanted a friend back then. So, you told me to give you my-” you stopped and looked at the ring on your finger, “-hand.” Jimin cracked open his eyes as he reached over and grabbed your ringed right hand, holding it close to his mouth.

That same symbol he marked under your skin 10 years ago showing up for a split second, like a pulse and making you gasp. Kissing your hand again, he looked at you. “You should always catch wind of double meanings in any and all demon contracts, sweetheart. Even if you were young, you did agree.”

“You tricked me! I was a kid!” Jimin shrugged.

“It's my job. You should be honored that you were my final assignment.”

“Final- what?”

“Do you know, attachment to clients is a taboo in the demonic society. Any sign of attachment is dealt with immediate termination of the contract. Though, there are some who decide to indulge in the attachment and decide that one job is more important than any other possible future ones.”

You sat in front of him as he still held your hand in his own. Dressed in a black suit with his dull gray skin and completely unnatural- well, everything.

“I formed my final contract 10 years ago at 3 AM to a silly, lonely little girl. You, Y/n, became my attachment. We’re officially engaged, sweetheart.”

-XXX-

“You haven’t been at work for three days because you were too busy getting engaged?!” You covered your ears as you roll your eyes at Seokjin’s initial reaction to your big news. Three days ago, when Jimin showed up in your apartment, you called your manager if there was any way you could possibly get the next few days off. You didn’t want to tell her the situation but promised to when you came back in. She was understanding enough and now, fast forward to now. Seokjin grabbed your shoulders, shaking you around. “How come you didn’t tell me?! I would’ve filmed it or something, you didn’t even tell me you had a boyfriend!”

You shook his hands off your shoulders as you straighten out your sleeves he crumpled up on your shoulders. “Look, what I do in my personal life really doesn’t matter, does it?” You told him as he just crossed his arms and pouted. You chuckled at him as his mother came around the corner, wiping her wet hands on her apron.

“What’s all this fuss about back here?” She questioned with a smile at seeing you and Seokjin back to your antics. It was almost too calm without you here for him to pick on.

“Oh, I was telling Seokjin here about why I had been gone, ma’am,” you told her with a smile. You then thought for a moment, she didn’t actually know yet. “I actually got engaged,” you told her with a nervous laugh and rubbing the back of your head.

In full honesty, after sitting down and talking it all out with the demon who is now your betrothed, even if you didn’t want to get married to him you had no choice. A contract with a demon is eternal binding and you would have to carry out your end of the bargain. As such, just as Jimin promised you all those years ago, you wouldn’t have to worry about every being lonely. So, in turn, you were his now.

He explained everything to you. He told you back when you made that contract, that when he told you he ‘wanted your hand’ he was asking for your hand in marriage. He told you he purposely said it like that so your stupid teenage self wouldn’t actually understand the double meaning. He explained how he watched you grow up and was there on every birthday, but you never saw him.

It actually almost embarrassed you how he had been there the whole time. He even admitted to being the tiniest bit jealous of all the boyfriends and girlfriends you’ve been in a relationship with before. He pouted when he brought up the fact that one past boyfriend was an obvious scumbucket of a man and claimed your ‘taste in human men was severely lacking’. He earned a kick in his shin for that one.

Jimin truly acted like he was attracted to you in all honesty. It’s only been three days, but he was as chivalrous as a proper gentleman. Not something one would expect from such a terrifying demon who literally hides in the corner when it’s too bright in the room at 6 in the morning. He isn’t a fan of morning sunlight, too bright and frankly from his whole appearance, it wasn’t shocking to learn this.

And because of his appearance, you had a little pitch fit before you left for work. Absolutely forbidding him from leaving the apartment because if anyone saw him, they’d probably call the cops or shoot him. Horns, bare feet, grey and black skin, he would stand out like a sore thumb.

Seokjin’s mother gasped as he grabbed your hands, shaking them up and down as she got as giddy as a teenager at the young romance blossoming from your engagement.

“That’s absolutely lovely, sweetpea!” He chuckled as she placed her worn, old hand on her cheek. Her wedding ring from her late husband still in prime condition as she still did love him so much. She was alright staying widowed; and with Seokjin, she didn’t seek another romance in her age because she wasn’t lonely. “I remember when my husband proposed to me. He had this elaborate plan all set up in the park we met at, but it rained right in the middle of it! It was clumsy, but so was he,” you smiled as she fawned over the memories of her youth.

She held your hand and looked at your grey ring place firmly on your finger. “It is quite the unique ring for a proposal,” she chuckled. She didn’t seem to dislike it though. In most people’s eyes, if you told them this grey and the simplistic metallic ring was your engagement ring, they’d probably start to berate Jimin for not ‘buying’ a more glamorous ring. However, when Jimin told you that this was the ring he’s had his entire demonic life and how much it meant to him, you felt almost proud that he gave it up for you.

Jimin was crafty, already charming his way into your heart after just a few days. You found it unfair because you weren’t all that desirable in your own eyes, yet here he was giving up life long possessions and sticking them on you and treating you like a legitimate fiancee.

“You’ll have to let us meet him. You’re practically family, sweetie!” You smiled, nervously laughing as you nodded. You scratched your cheek as you thought to yourself about how you would keep Jimin under house arrest for the rest of your life. “Does your mother know? I’m sure she’s just thrilled her little daughter is growing up!”

“Yeah, she knows. She nearly blew a gasket when I told her. I thought she was going to march all the way down here to interview him, but she just spoke to him over the phone and all was good,” you told your manager. Keeping the fact that the whole ordeal took nearly 3 hours to yourself. “She’s happy for me in the long run,” you said as you were also relieved of that fact.

Your parents knew that you didn’t have people beside you growing up, so hearing you’re engaged and set to marry at some point when you just started college was a shock. But, they seemed to support you in your path you’re setting and you couldn’t be more thankful.

“He’s not a shy fellow, is he?” You shook your head.

“Oh, not at all. In fact, he’s very outgoing and is always trying to find a way to get out of the house,” you weren’t lying. He’s been cooped up in that house of yours for three days, all he complains about if wanting to go out. You won’t even let him out at night where he can hide in the shadows without being seen.

“Does Mr. Right have a name, or what?” Seokjin cut in with crossed arms and a furrowed brow. “If I don’t get a face and a name within the next 48 hours, I will be forced to confine you here until he shows himself.” You and his mother looked at him as his face gave away that he was almost dead serious.

“What are you? My older brother? Sorry, but I’m an only child,” you told him as he rolled his eyes. “His name is Jimin,” you told him.

“Surname?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters, woman!” In truth, you weren’t sure if Jimin even had a surname. He was a demon, and he mentioned how many names he actually goes by. So, you decided to skim around the question and finally dropped the topic altogether when it was opening time.

Seokjin placed his two fingers in front of his eyes and proceeded to whip them towards you in a typical ‘I’ll be watching’ fashion. Making you shaking your head as you tied on your apron with the smallest smile on your face. Maybe all those years of solitude were worth it in the end after all.

-XXX-

“Jimin, you better still be in this apartment or else I’m gonna tie your tail into knots!”

“So much as touch my tail and I will bite you. Don’t test me!” You heard him scream back at you as you smiled. Shutting the door behind you and heeling off your shoes, you pulled your jacket off and walked into your living room where you tossed it onto the back of the couch.

Jimin sat in a chair, reading one of your books as his tail whipped around behind him and curled inwards when he saw you. The threat of you even touching it initially making him wince.

“Jimin, are you reading a cookbook?” He shut the book and looked at the front, seeing some sort of dish covering the front of it with the bold letters of ‘COOKBOOK’ staring at him. He looked back at you and nodded. “Why?”

“Because, since we’re going to be married and I’m living with you, I do need to learn how to live as a human.” That honestly surprised you. “Why is that so shocking to you?” You shook your head, sitting on the couch. Seeing him take this so seriously still throws you off and a part of you almost thought that when it actually happens, he’d rip your soul out or something. He chuckles at you. “Don’t you worry, dear. I won’t eat your heart or anything when we wed.”

Dismissing his stupid words he knew you were suspecting, you started a new topic. “My coworker and boss seemed glad that I was engaged.”

“You told them?” He asked and you nodded.

“Yeah, of course. I had to, I’d been gone for three days. I couldn’t just lie to them.” Jimin arched his brows. “Okay, I could but it wouldn’t feel right. They’re good people, so I wouldn’t.” There was a pause for a moment when you continued. “They want to meet you actually.”

“I’m sure a lot of people do. Your mother was hell-bent on a phone call, I’m half shocked she didn’t bust her way through the phone.” You sighed. “I want to clarify something,” he said as you looked at him. “If I didn’t look like this-” he gestured to his grey and clawed self, “- I could go out. I could meet people you work with and your parents, right?”

“Ideally, yes. You can’t just walk outside looking like that. You’d probably get killed or kidnapped and taken into the government for dissection or something.” He rolled his eyes. “Why?”

“No reason, just curious,” you shrugged it off as the rest of the day rolled around. The next morning, you were up late and rushing to leave your apartment to get to class on time. Driving over the speed limit and tapping in rage on your wheel when stupidly slow drivers got in front of you. You parked in a space that was far too far away from the door and ran. Running into Seokjin somehow on the way there.

He only laughed at you as he stuffed a donut hole in your mouth that you nearly choked on as you continued your sprint down the halls and soon slid into a seat in your university room. The room was set up like a stadium, semi-circular and stairstep sitting arrangement. You phone that sits on your desk lit up with a silent message.

You had gone out and got Jimin a phone so that he can at least have some form of communication with you. He was a demon, but he already acted human enough. He was a quick learner and if he did look the part, one wouldn’t even think he was a demon at all. Of course, even if you voiced to the whole campus your fiancee was a demon, no one would believe you.

[Jimin] When do you get out of class today?

[You] Does it matter?

[Jimin] Of course it does. I want to show you something when you’re free today.

[You] Uh, alright? I should be done around 3, so long as no lectures run long.

[Jimin] You got it. I’ll see you at 3 in front of your campus then.

You stared at your phone’s screen. Rereading what he said before your thumbs ran rapidly across your screen. If texting was a sport, you were sure you probably would’ve just earned the gold medal.

[You] You’ll what?!

[You] Jimin! Answer me!!!

[You] HEY. JIMIN I SWEAR TO GOD

[Jimin] Don’t offend me

You rolled your eyes at his comment back. Swearing to God in the case of a demon. He always smacked your hand lightly when you said that to him, saying that swearing to something he didn’t believe in or rather didn’t like was just mean. It made sense since he was a child of Satan or something.

Your day ticked by as slow as high-class torture. Time was picking at your fingernails as you tapped your foot and scribbled notes in such a frenzied fashion you’d probably end up with a magnifying glass later trying to decipher your words like some archeologist on a dig.

When your final lecture let out it was nearly a quarter past 3 in the afternoon. You scrambled to shove your books and notes into your bag as you picked up the strap and slung it on your shoulder, whacking it into your back as you wince. Taking off down the halls and skipping steps, half scared of tripping and tumbling to your doom down them.

You sped past staff and students, a few of them telling you to watch what you're doing or to stop running completely, but you just waved in apology and continued your pace. Making it outside, you slumped against the flagpole by the main entrance doors as you huffed out of breath. The sun was warm on the skin of your legs that were revealed because of your shorts. Your jacket was all disheveled as your shirt that was once tucked was now no longer so. Your shoelaces had even come undone in your plight of speed to get outside.

Looking around, you didn’t see a single grey demon walking around your front campus courtyard. Sighing, you dropped your bag onto the ground with a huff and knelt to re-tie your shoe. If you left campus fast enough, maybe Jimin wouldn’t come and cause a scene.

You were unaware of the low murmur of small gossip circles on campus and leaving the building. You were also unaware of the fact that fact of the murmur was coming towards you with his hand shoved into his pockets.

Making it in front of you, you saw a shadow at your feet and beside you as you looked up. The sun was too bright and blocked out the sight of who it was standing in front of you. You squinted as the person- a man- chuckled and bent his knees to be eye level with you.

You looked at him and he looked at you as he smiled. Looking into his eyes, a deep brown, you narrowed your eyes in concentration. You turned your head slowly, still keeping your eyes on him, as you opened your mouth in disbelief.

“Excuse me, but um- you wouldn’t have to be…” you pointed at him as he chuckled again. He looked to his left and right before he looked back into your eyes and you saw his brown flash to a black and red before reverting back. You gasped. This human man was- “Jimin?!” You screeched.

Jimin laughed as he fell forward on you, knocking you onto your ass on the concrete that warmed your cheeks from the afternoon sunlight. He continued to laugh and spill out his fits of giggles from his gut as he held your arms and put his forehead on your shoulder.

Jimin looked human. Lightly tanned skin, brown waved hair and brown eyes. A pair of jeans with a white shirt and jean jacket that matched his pants. His right ear had a long dangling earring pierced through it as his left had a small hoop. His shoes were flat and black. He had no horns, no fangs, no claws or tail. His skin wasn’t grey and his hands weren’t black as coal. He looked and sounded 100% human.

“You’re reaction was so worth it!” He laughed as he finally composed himself. You took notice of the murmur now, as it had slightly increased from small groups to larger cliques wondering what was happening. Normally, this was dismissed by the campus students as another couple being overly touchy, but of course, you just couldn’t fly under the radar this one time.

You lightly pushed Jimin up and off your shoulder as you looked around his face. He was handsome as a human too. Just as handsome as he is as a demon. The sun highlighted and added to the persona he put on and made your face the slightest tint of red. Jimin’s playful smirk was replaced with a wide smile as he saw you blush.

“W-when did you?” You just pointed at the whole of him. He grabbed your hand as he stood, pulling you up with him and straightening out your jacket for you. Tugging on the ends and straightening out the shoulders. He would’ve tucked your shirt in if you hadn’t of slapped his hands away from your stomach.

“Ticklish are we?” He teased.

“Just answer my question!” You whined. He pinched at your cheek, cooing as you were tempted to pick your bag off the ground and swing it at him like a pro baseballer aiming for a home run.

“I changed this morning. It’s not permanent though. I can change back whenever I want to. If I look like this, I’m okay to go outside, right?”

“I guess… I can’t argue with that? I said not as a demon- but as a human, I can’t say no to you, can I.” He smiled as he bent down and grabbed your bag. “Ah, give me that, it’s got all my books in it.” You reached for it as he just held it away from you, putting a hand on your stomach to keep you away from it. “Jimin!” You whined again.

“Let my first act as a human gentleman be carrying my fiance’s bag home, yeah?” You pouted as you crossed your arms.

“Y/n!” You heard someone behind you call for you as you almost panicked at seeing Seokjin strutting towards you. His bag on his hip and phone in his hand, headphones coiled around it, ready to be unwound and listened to. Jimin recognized him as you took the liberty of showing him photos of Seokjin, his mother and your parents to him. He walked up to you and Jimin. “I saw you running out of your class like a maniac, what was that about?”

“Oh, well you see I was just…” you looked around for an excuse before you looked at Jimin. “I was rushing out to meet my escort home!” You gestured to Jimin. Seokjin looked down at him. He stood taller than Jimin. “Seokjin, you wanted to meet him, right? My fiance?” Seokjin looked at you, mouth open in awe as he looked back at Jimin.

“This is your fiance?!” He accused, almost too loudly as you could see some people whispering and gasping that the gorgeous man in front of you was engaged to you of all people. You shushed him.

“Shut up! Let’s go somewhere else and talk, Jesus.” The three of you ended up at some burger joint not far from campus to talk. Being greeted by the staff, you smiled and waved as you took the two men in tow to a booth. Jimin slid in with you as he sat closer than you expected him to, your thigh touching his as Seokjin sat across the table.

You three ordered something to drink and just a basket of fries to munch on. Jimin didn’t exactly have money and you were kinda glad that Seokjin said he’d foot the bill of the fries and drinks. You didn’t want to explain that Jimin was unemployed because he was a demon.

“So, you’re Y/n’s guy?” Jimin nodded, reaching across the table for a handshake. Seokjin meeting him in a firm greeting.

“I’m Park Jimin, it’s a pleasure.’ You looked at him. Park? Did he decide that was going to be his surname? It was popular, so you didn’t see the harm in his choice. “You’re Seokjin, right? Y/n works with you and your mother.”

Seokjin purses his lips in an impressive manner. “You know me?”

“Of course! Y/n had talked about you and your mother quite a lot in the time I’ve known her. She really enjoys working with you both.” You thanked the staff member who placed your drinks and a basket of fries on the booth table as the two men talked back and forth. You sipped at your drink, straw between your lips as you were actually impressed Jimin held such a casual conversation.

You’ve been stressing over so much on what to do with Jimin when he was capable of dealing with all of it on his own. He seemed to genuinely be trying to earn Seokjin’s favor for something. Talking and acting so that Seokjin wouldn’t disapprove of him for some reason.

He was acting so human. Sweet and caring and kind. He laughed at Seokjin’s stupid jokes you scoffed at and took interest in his favorite kind of pastries. What to eat and where to eat it and told him about how he attended the same college as you and was set to graduate this year.

Seokjin excused himself for a moment to go to the bathroom when Jimin sat back in his booth and tossed half a fry into his mouth.

“Human food is actually way better than I remember it being,” he said as he ate the second half of the fry.

“Jimin?” He looked at you when you called him. “You- are you enjoying yourself?” You were curious is that smile on his face was real or if it was all an act because he was a demon contracted to marry you. He smiled softly as he grabbed your hand, setting it on his lap.

“I told you that I was attached to you, do you remember?” You nodded. He told you that when he first showed up. “It’s not easy for something like that to occur for my species. I won’t put up a facade around you, so don’t worry, okay?” You lowered your eyes as you nodded. He smiled, his teeth showing as his cheeks pushed up his eyes. He moved to kiss your cheek as you pushed on his shoulder for the sudden act of affection. He laughed at you as he tried kissing your other cheek, you erupting into a fit of laughter at him.

Seokjin stood behind the booth against the wall, watching the two of you from a distance. He smiled seeing you happy and how Jimin was a good guy after all. Open and kind like you said. He nodded to himself.

“I guess I can approve of him,” he said to himself as he made his way back to the booth. Sliding in and fake gagging at the PDA of the young couple.

-XXX-

It was two days later when your first workday since Seokjin met Jimin came. Jimin was stubbornly driving you to work (where he learned to drive you didn’t know). He even had a license that was legitimate and he wouldn’t tell you at all how he got it. Part of you almost believed he lived as a human the past year just to get accustomed to this kind of lifestyle. When you told him that, he looked at you like you uncovered some big secret. Of course, there was no way that was right… right?

“So, why are you driving me to work again?” You asked him as your purse sat in your lap as you were decked in your black slacks, white shirt, and non-slip shoes. Boring work attire. While he sat in black jeans, heeled boots to boost his height (he was almost self-conscious of it) and a white shirt with a yellow flannel over it. Looking rudely attractive.

“I met Seokjin, now I want to meet your boss!” He cheered as he pulled into the turn lane, stopping before getting the all-clear from those trust traffic lights to proceed onwards. “Besides, dropping you off means I get to pick you up and isn’t that just a husbandly thing to do?”

“You’re not my husband?”

“Not yet. Which reminds me, I guess we need to actually plan a wedding?”

“Yeah, with what money,” you scoffed.

“Well, how about a courthouse wedding? It’s way cheaper and way simpler. Just dress in your Sunday best, show up with family and close friends only. Get preached to, sign a paper, take some pictures and we walk out husband and wife,” he suggested with a small smile.

Honestly speaking, a courthouse wedding didn’t sound too awful. You wouldn’t need to get completely gussied up if you didn’t want to and it wouldn’t be some entire day deal. A few hours and it would be done. Plus it would be a life-saving act for your funds.

“You don’t need to think about it right now,” Jimin interrupted your thoughts. He reached across the middle console and grabbed your hand that rested on your bag. He bounced it up and down in his palm as he ran his thumb over your knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere, so take your time to think it over for yourself. Be it for 3 months or 3 years, I’ll always be here.” You nodded at him, missing the side look he gave you when your cheeks start glowing again. “Cute.”

Your boss cried in joy as you entered the still unopened cafe with Jimin in tow, his hands in yours. You watched her bounce around the counter and prance up to you both as Seokjin rounded the corner, a ziplock bag of frozen strawberries in his hand that was due to dethaw in some hot water in the back.

“Oh, lover boy’s here,” he announced. Jimin bowed to your boss as he introduced himself with a smile. You told her that Jimin was the man who proposed to you and was the man you were soon going to marry.

“My word, he’s stunning! You’re a lucky woman, Y/n.” You laughed at her excitement as Jimin disagreed.

“No way! Y/n is way out of my league. If anything I'm the lucky one here!” He exclaimed and it sounded like he meant it. That this wasn't all just a contracted marriage between human and demon. “I’m just happy I met her in the first place, now I get to marry her. I’m definitely the luckiest.” He, finalized, your boss swooning at him as her own cheeks reddened.

“You’re so fond. I do hope you both make each other happy.” Jimin nodded as he checked the watch on his wrist. He nudged you lightly, gesturing to the time. You squeaked as you unconsciously pecked him on the cheek and rushed behind the counter and into the back to clock in and strap on your apron. Jimin chuckled at you as your boss stood around longer. “Y/n is such a sweetheart,” she cooed.

“Yes, she is,” Jimin agreed. “She’s gone through a lot over her life, but I’m truly grateful that she somehow ended up at my side.” He bent down to get closer to the older woman and smiled at her, you on his brain. “I’m going to make her happy for sure! But, I don’t actually know her favorite kind of pastry. You don’t happen to know, do you?”

“I do! If you offer her one of my son’s cream puffs, she’s absolute putty in your hands' young man.” Jimin nodded.

“Thank you very much!” He cheered. He knew a lot about you, but not everything. He desired to learn everything he could. When he learned another fact about you or saw you smile or fumble around in a spaz, he could feel that attachment in his chest tighten. The sensation was nameless and addicting.

-XXX-

It’s been 4 months since Jimin showed up declaring himself as your betrothed. Since then, he somehow managed to get a job as a receptionist at a small little spa not too far downtown. With his looks as well as his sweet human personality, he was a catch. You wondered how he ever qualified for any jobs at all with him being a demon prior to everything. He flat out told you he lied and created fake documents of education and even past experience that you were 100% sure he didn’t have.

You had to admit that you admired his studious attitude when it came down to his work though. His ethic and willingness to learn and be trained so diligently was shocking for a demon. He read on spa therapies from skincare to massages to manicures and pedicures. From fact to fiction and when it came time to work on his own without a trainer, he did incredibly well.

As a demon, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his work. Plus, he often offers you shoulder massages when you're working it double-time between work and school. You were probably the most grateful for that.

His kindness continued to baffle you. Even after all these months, the way he smiled and joked and actually seemed to care about the world around you didn’t make him seem like a demon at all. You would often forget he wasn’t human, his origins slipping your mindscape until he would return to his grey-skinned, horned and clawed self. You remember him asking you if his real appearance ever bothered you.

“Hey, Y/n?” Jimin had just walked into the apartment from work as you sat cross-legged on the floor in front of your coffee table in the living room. Textbooks open and bookmarked, notebooks scribbled in and small doodles taking up space in any open corner when your concentration drifted off. You hummed at him as he moved to sit on the couch behind your back. “You don’t mind if I look like a demon when I’m inside, do you?”

You stopped your notes as you put your pencil down in the fold of the pages and turned at your hips to look at him behind you.

“Do I mind if you look like a demon?” He nodded. “Jimin why would you care if I care if you look like that?” He was still in his human appearance as he looked almost timid. Not making eye contact and looking worried like you would reject him if he looked devilish.

“I just- I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Jimin is by far the most respectable demon you’ve ever met (even though he’s the only demon you’ve ever met). You rolled your eyes as you turned back to our notes, Jimin ready to complain when you finally answered him.

“There’s no reason to be uncomfortable around you, human or demon. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” you told him. “And it’s not like we’re on the ground floor, no one will see you from outside, just don’t go out on the balcony like that.” You looked outside the two tall, sliding glass doors to your small balcony on the 3rd floor. “Besides, you’re pretty charming as a demon,” you tacked on. You were scribbling more notes down, looking back and forth between your textbook and notes to make sure you were writing in the lines in legible writing.

You felt Jimin moving behind you as he soon moved to slide off the couch to sit beside you. He put his head on the table, looking at you with his grey skin and small spiraled horns pointing outwards away from his forehead. He smiled up at you as you moved to look down at him, his fangs as white as ever.

“So, I’m charming?” His tail whipped around behind him as you just scoffed with a smile and went back to work. He quickly sat up. “I learned this really cool massage trick at work, wanna see!” He offered as you stopped him from reaching out to touch you at all.

“You will not attempt to massage anything with those hands. Last time you did, your stupid claws cut up my shoulders!”

“I’ll shorten them then!”

“What’s so funny?” Jimin, who sat across the middle console from you, asked. You both were currently sat in your car, suitcases packed for the weekend on your way to your parent’s house. After 4 months, they grew antsy on now actually meeting Jimin. Despite talking to him on the phone or seeing him when you would video call your mother, an in-person meeting was well overdue. Jimin didn’t seem to mind, you were a bit worried though.

You still weren’t sure how committed Jimin was in his role that 13-year-old you forced him in. He’s easy to be with and he acts like the ever-charming fiance that he was, but that was all that you thought it was. Him filling out his job and that made you nervous as you both got closer and closer to your destination. Making your hands tighten on the steering wheel as you drove the roads most familiar to you.

Jimin could smell your anxiety from a mile away, much less 2 feet apart in a confined space like your small car. If you weren’t pressing your toe on the gas, he was sure you’d be bouncing your leg in anxiousness. A habit he picked up on you did. Instead, he watched your tighten and loosen just to retighten your hands around the steering wheel.

He felt like he wasn’t doing enough. He’s been beside you for 4 months and you still seemed distant in some ways. You still didn’t feel comfortable enough for him to sleep next to you, so he was sleeping every night on your couch (at least it pulls out into a bed). He heard that you sometimes still had a choked throat each time you had to explain that he was engaged to you. And you hadn’t brought up the topic of a wedding since the one day he talked to you about it when he took you to work for the first time.

There was a lot of hesitation in your head and body it made him think he made possibly be doing something wrong. He knew that you were stuck in the thought that he was just working. You were a job and that’s what you keep telling yourself, convincing yourself that you really didn’t matter to Jimin in the long run. Despite him telling you time and time again that you were an attachment that was absolutely forbidden to him and his kind, you just couldn’t bring yourself to accept that.

You, plain simple and uninteresting you. You who waited two years for college and grew up alone. You who had only started living alone in your 23rd year. You who was so lonely as a child you summoned a demon just for someone to talk to and ended up bringing him into your small circle of loneliness.

You were an anchor holding Jimin in place and you thought of that as a burden. While that anchor that is you was something so important to Jimin. He just had to figure out how to drill it into your head that you were a blessing to him. Lucifer be damned, if you were an angel, he’d cut off his own horns and turn his back on his kind to be with you.

He watched as you turned the car, hands overlapping on the wheel. Bodies jostling on the road as the highway you drove on turned into the gravel of a backroad.

“They're pretty far from town, a lot of open areas and not too much to do,” you started, talking a bit louder over the crunching and grumbling tires of your car going over the rock and gravel. “But, we have a lot of land and a really neat garden and greenhouse my mom really likes to take care of. I’m sure we can find something to do,” you told him.

Jimin nodded. He wasn’t worried. If he was going to win you over, he’d have to start with the two who raised you. Winning your parents would be easy. He had a feeling from the many conversations he had with your mother, that she wouldn’t be a hard obstacle. Your father seemed a bit more skeptic. He had every reason to be, Jimin was a demon after all.

“A city detox is good on a demon. The fresh air so much better than breathing in all that city smog and smoke. Plus, the country smells better.”

“Yeah,” you laughed, “you have a point.” The rest of the trip passed and soon you were pulling into your parent’s driveway, your mother who sat on the front porch, reading a book on the bench swing. Setting it down, pages open and spine up, she stood as you turned off the car and waved to her from your windshield.

You couldn’t hear her, but she looked over her shoulder, shouting into the house that was behind her. Presumably shouting to your father that you and your new fiance had finally arrived. Jimin noticed you take your time unbuckling and working your way out of your car. Getting out after you, he watched your mother descend the few steps of the old townhouse. She was quick to hug you, embrace you returned with a smile.

Jimin had briefly seen your mother before. Whether it be from his routinely watches as a demon as you grew older, or through the crappy quality of your mother’s phone during a Skype call. She was a familiar face nonetheless. Just as he saw her, she was soon greeting him and waving him over from across the car.

“Jimin, darling!” She greeted enthusiastically. Swooping the man into a hug he wasn’t expecting. Patting her back lightly, she pulled away. He truly wasn’t used to any physical contact aside from you. You were the only human he allowed to even come near him in so long. Your mother examined jimin. Tilting his chin up and down, walking around him and humming. She was literally sizing him up and looking at every inch of him (not that there’s many).

“Mom! Don’t be rude to my fiance!” You screeched as she circled him like a hawk. You slapped your palm to your face when she turned to you with a small older woman giggle and a hearty thumbs up. Like she approved of the demon you were going to wed. Jimin laughed at both of your antics.

“Let’s not dilly-dally. Everyone inside, come on.” Your mother rushed you both up to the steps, claiming to get your bags out of the trunk later on. When Jimin entered, he found out how much the inside of your home looked so different in the daytime. The difference between your lit halls and the halls he knew when he visited at the dead of night was shocking to him. Then again, even as a demon, he never went and wandered around your house. More like quick peeks here and there.

You watched from the corner of your eyes at Jimin’s reaction to being in your home of 22 years in his human appearance. He’s only ever been here as a demon. It was obvious your mother had tidied up the best a mother could. Probably also employing the help of your father for some tasks that were a bit more herculean. The fact that the sofa had been moved in the living room was a dead give away for that.

As awkward as the first fiance and parent meeting should be, it wasn’t at all. Jimin slatted right in, sitting next to you on the couch. When spoken to he’d listen well and managed to keep eye contact with your father. Something he didn’t realize human men had problems with when meeting their significant other’s parents. He truly seemed engaged in all conversation and was all smiles and energy as he sat beside you. His hand occasionally find yours to hold behind the cushion you held on your lap.

The night, Jimin sat in the middle of your bed, legs crossed as you were in the bathroom changing. Despite the time he’s seen your change (once he was sitting on the sink when you got out of the shower and got a look at the goods before you threw a hairdryer at him), you still grew embarrassed about changing with him boring holes into your back.

He had relaxed his body. His horns poking out of his head as his tail lay on the mattress. His skin greyed out and claws extended. When you entered the room, you let out a small shriek and slammed the door behind you, locking it. You stomped across the room, pointing into his face.

“You can’t just change back into a demon here!” Jimin nearly went cross eyes at your finger at his nose.

“Why not?” He innocently asked, but the sly grin on his face gave away his teasing undertone. You stood back up, arms crossed. You huffed. “Oh please, if anyone besides you came in, I’d just hide and let your parents believe I took a shower with you.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“No, it’s not. Couples shower all the time together.” He cupped his chin in his palm as he watched your face flush. Taking a shower with Jimin was completely out of the question. For one, he’s a demon! Regardless of if you were going to end up with him as your husband or not, he was completely different and who knows what he’s packing. His anatomy is obviously way different than yours, or another mans given his horns and tail.

You shake your head, trying to disperse the thought of even beginning to imagine what or what isn’t hidden below his belt. Jimin stood as you internally panicked and he hooked his finger under your chin, making your concentration break and force your attention on him.

“It’s been 4 months, love,” he started. “Yet, I’m still capable of making your blush like the dawn.” His fang peeked out of hips dark lips as he pulled them back into a grin. His eyes lit up a lighter shade of red as the lights flicked out. You looked up to the bowl covered ceiling light before Jimin pulled your eyes back to him. “I’d appreciate it if you kept your eyes focused on me,” he bit.

“Jimin?” He seemed more possessive than usual. He was always someone who wanted attention, but at the moment he seemed more demanding for attention than usual. He moved to bite onto the side of your cheek as you squeaked. He let it go before he licked it.

“I used up a lot of energy staying human all day. I need to recharge.” Jimin spent the next half hour lavishing you in kisses and holding you. He’s done this before- becoming exhausted is something a demon needs treatment for when in the human realm. Whether it be human food, drink or affection. Jimin would cling to you when it happened, unable to revert to his human form. Jimin as his demon self would bask in your warmth until he grew better. It was alright because his cold body kept your burning one in check throughout the whole process.

-XXX-

After the weekend trip to your parents, you were relieved when both your mother and father decided not to veto Jimin- since they really couldn’t because of the contract. Accepting him and your decision to marry him your mother was hot on the ‘when is the marriage’ bandwagon.

Weeks later, Jimin had woken up before you had. It was early in the morning as you slammed the top of your alarm clock to shut off the first- of many- signs to get up and ready for school. You had grown used to feeling the dip in your bed that Jimin claimed or at the very least having him looping his leg around yours. But, this morning it was empty.

Sitting up, the sky had turned grey. Not yet allowing the colors of dawn to breach the black night sky. Jimin not being seen by you in the bedroom, you rubbed your eyes before you crawled out of bed. Wrapping your blanket around your shoulders as you left your room.

He wasn’t in the bathroom- he was fond of early morning baths. Not the kitchen and his shoes were still here so he hadn’t left. You found him standing in front of the balcony window, just staring outside. His barbed tail was hung low and his body seemed rigid as he stood like he was on edge. Moving to his side, you saw him looking outside like he was looking at something he deemed dangerous. He hadn’t even realized you were beside him. Looking at his hand, his claws were open and his fingers were tense like he was ready to tear through something.

“Jimin?” You whispered as he blinked and swiveled to look down at you. He saw your brow etched down and your small hands peeking out from under the blanket you held over your shoulders. “Are you alright?” You asked slowly as to not provoke anything out of him.

“It’s nothing,” he told you before he looked back outside. “I hope.”

When you left for school, he was constantly texting you every half hour or sooner. He was asking random questions, asking how you were- anything to get a conversation started. You thought maybe he was feeling some sort of weird demon-y way; maybe they start to miss their attachments after a certain period of time. You weren’t sure and every time you asked him about it, it brushed it off to changed the topic.

Jimin called you the moment you told him you had left class and were on the way to work a swing shift at work. Seokjin was busy studying for tests, so you had to pick up his slack; much to Jimin’s dismay. He stayed on the phone with you the entire ride to the cafe and refused to hang up until you had clocked on- even saying a quick hello to your boss before he hung up.

Jimin was on edge all night. He knew you were working, that you were busy but he couldn’t sit still. Something he felt earlier that morning made his skin crawl. A dark presence hung in the air in the city he had been living in as a human and he didn’t like how familiar it was.

He beat himself up over not being able to convince you to stay in today. Skipping one day of school wouldn’t be so hard to convince you of, but you would’ve fought him tooth and nail about work. He knew that you were going in today no matter what, but now it was reaching nearly 10 PM and he was biting his nails.

Being so tense that he couldn’t hold his human form and was stalking around the apartment fully demon. Black and grey robe fluttering at his brisk steps back and forth, bare feet and black hands curling and uncurling. His barbed tail whipped like a nail in annoyance as his fangs gnawed on his lips.

He verbally hissed, his eyes glowing and narrowing in the dark apartment (he hadn’t turned the lights on since sunset). He blended in with the dark and shadowed home of his when he heard rattled from the front door. He moved to jump into the air, sticking to the top part of the wall above the front door. Tucking his legs in to hide in the corner. He snarled at the scent on the other side that was certainly not yours. Whoever was on the other side of that door, they weren’t some household company. The scent he caught of them was too bloody.

When the door unlatched, the clicking of the lock opening, Jimin bared his teeth. When the door was opened and someone stepped inside, Jimin pushed from the ceiling’s corner and swung at the stranger. Claws ready to tear into their skin, but even as fast as Jimin was- this person had moved just in time to avoid him. Jimin skidded onto the floor, knees bent as he sat like a beast on attack mode.

The door shut behind the intruder as Jimin used the darkness to stay hidden. Only his eyes that burned red in the darkness could give him away. Even so, they were so narrow in defense that seeing them would be difficult. His ears twitched when he felt something come towards him, jumping back he heard a crash in front of him- where he was just sat.

Whatever was in here was just like him- not human. He looked to his left, his right and above him. Nothing seemed off in the shadows. Whoever was with him was no longer in front of him either. He gasped lightly when he felt something directly behind him. Finding himself in a back and forth scrap with something he couldn’t see became bothersome.

He swung and hissed at what could only be another demon in his home. Tail flicking, sending small thorns around him as a defense as he kept jumping from ceiling to floor to wall to avoid whatever was attacking him. It came to a standstill when the attacker flicked the lights on. Jimin flinched before he was jumping onto the coffee table away from a direct kick that could have knocked him right on his ass if he hadn’t moved fast enough.

The apartment was a mess. Cracks and scratch marks on the floors and tears in the living room furniture. Curtains from the balcony windows were torn and hanging on just barely to their rods. Jimin hissed, his hair seemed to stand on end as he stared at the attacker in front of him. Stood in a black cloak, hood pulled up and concealing their entire face.

The human colored tone of his skin that showed in his hand that was freely sticking out from the sleeve of the robe gave away that whatever demon he was dealing with wasn’t so powerful they could shift properly yet. Why would a demon who attacked another demon have human skin on, unless they couldn’t revert due to power struggles?

Jimin remained sat on the table, legs up and ready to move if the need arose as the hooded demon in front of him remained still. It was as if there were two statues in your living room and not too demons. Finally, the hooded attacker moved to reach into his cloak, Jimin baring his teeth at the movement. His face fell for a moment, his mouth opening with a drawn-out gasp when the hooded demon pulled from his cloak a black ring.

Jimin’s black ring. Your black ring.

Instinctively, he flicked his tail once again, thorns shooting at the hooded demon. “Where is she,” Jimin demanded in a growl. His voice coming out in layers, like a distorted evil. The hooded demon placed the ring back into his cloak. “That belongs to me!” He screeched, ready to tackle and possibly tear out the demon’s throat until they tossed their hood off their head. His face was painted in instant anguish seeing someone he knew so well in front of him. “J-Jungkook?”

“I’d recommend not trying anything stupid, Jimin,” Jungkook spoke as his face was as static as a TV screen. Jimin was speechless, seeing off all demons possible his brother. Jungkook and Jimin had grown up as demon’s together. They weren’t related by any standard, but they were brothers of another kind. Why did Jungkook have your ring, and why was he here? Did he track Jimin down, if so why? Jimin blinked as he looked down, running question after question in his head until Jungkook moved. Jimin, flicked his head back up, seeing Jungkook pull something from the sleeves of his robe like a magic trick.

Throwing it at Jimin, the horned demon caught it easily. A scroll was tossed at him. Jimin carefully held it, his claws threatening to puncture or tear the paper.

“Burn it,” Jungkook spoke. His voice was cold. Jimin shook his head.

“What?” Jimin looked at the scroll and how took in how warm it felt resting in his hand. “What is this, Jungkook?”

“Your contract with that human.” Jimin looked at it. The tied scroll was his contract with you. “You’ve already broken and defied enough rules. Coming to the human world and spending your time with a human woman, how can you stomach it all.” Jungkook’s distaste for humans was overwhelming and Jimin could feel his hate roll off him in electric waves.

“This has nothing to do with you,” Jimin told him. Finally standing up and stepping off the table, Jimin held the scroll at his side, gripping it tightly. Protectively keeping the scroll at his side with no intentions of burning it at all.

“If you burn that scroll,” Jungkook started, pointing at it, “I’ll return the human here and you’ll return to your duties after your trial. You won’t go unpunished for getting attached to something of this world.” Jimin’s calmed face immediately flared back up in anger, moving in a swift step to grab Jungkook’s color. He growled into his brother’s face.

“Where the fuck did you take her,” Jimin seethed. He asked no questions, only making demands. Jungkook gripped Jimin’s wrist that held him around the collar, the two shaking with how much anger was in their veins. For two very different reasons. “Where is Y/n. Tell me, Jungkook!” He screamed, fangs growing as Jungkook’s eyes shifted to violet as Jimin’s wrist began to burn.

Jungkook was a demon on toxins.

Poison laced his blood allowing him to create poison at any given time from any part of his body he wished. Jimin didn’t flinch even when his demon flesh burned under a dim green light that came from Jungkook’s hand. Jimin shoved his brother back, examining his wrist. Grey was shriveled up and charred only for a moment before JImin’s healing kicked in and his flesh began to reknit and become once more flawless.

The two brothers stood glaring at each other. Jungkook was angry at Jimin’s choices and Jimin livid at Y/n’s apparent kidnap.

“I won’t ask again, Jungkook. Where did you-”

“Just forget about the human!” Jungkook finally broke his static facade and twisted his face in anger, shouting at Jimin. “Forget the human, return to being a demon and burn your contract with her. I’ve already retrieved your ring and I’ll begin whipping her memory as well.”

“What?!”

Jungkook creased his brow. “What’s that look. You look angry. You can’t care about humans, they’re just a past time. So what if that human forgets you, just let it go and return with me back home.”

“This is my home and you’re invading and stealing it away from me.” Jimin seethed, his voice as toxic as Jungkook’s skin.

“This is no home for a demon!”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jimin said voice calm in anger. He shook his head, getting overloaded with too many emotions at once. Claws and fangs growing longers and eyes flickering with unstable reds that bled out of the iris into his scleras. Wind of his own began whipping around him, fluttering his silk demonic robes and his black hair. His horns spiraled higher out of his forehead, growing as his tail grew longer and wrapped around his waist like a belt of thorns. His grey skin began to completely blacken like his hands and feet.

Jungkook took a small step backward. He hadn’t seen his brother like this but once when Jungkook was the victim of some stupid social hierarchy demonic bullshit. Jimin tore his tormentors apart and if Jungkook wasn’t careful, Jimin seemed like he wouldn’t hesitate to tear him apart next.

He hadn’t changed in size, but when he stepped up to Jungkook and moved quick enough to clasp his hand around his brother’s throat, he seemed as high as a 50-ft building Jungkook was going to be dropped off of. Jimin’s tongue was that of a snake, split at the end and his breath was visible as he forced Jungkook to take him to you.

If Jungkook didn’t want to die, he’d listen to his older brother. It was his own fault if he died tonight.

-XXX-

You groaned and shivered before coughing. You opened your eyes, confused as to when you fell asleep in the first place. Flinching, you hissed in pain from the stinging on the side of your head. Touching above your ear, you felt something wet that had matted your hair. Pulling on it, you hissed again in pain. Sitting up from your laying position on what felt like a wooden floor, you gasped when your head hit something above you.

Reaching up, you felt nothing but wood above you too. Starting to panic, you felt around you. Nothing but wood on every side. Above, left, right and below. However, in front of you wasn’t wood, but instead iron bars. It was dark in what you could only assume was the cage you found yourself waking up in. Having no idea what was going on, you gasped when a cloth was ripping off the box, squeezing your eyes shut at the sudden light.

You screamed, scurrying back to the back of your caged box from the face of a dog in front of the iron bars. It wasn’t just a dog. It had 4 pairs of eyes, completely black as it’s tail behind it was split into to. Its teeth pushed past its chops like a sabertooth and its size was far above what a normal K9’s would be. It was purely demonic.

Demonic. Then it all came back to you.

Someone had suddenly collapsed outside of your work when you had just left. Worried, you approached them and knelt to offer any kind of assistance. Pulling out your phone to call the police or ambulance or whatever they needed, you squeaked when they suddenly grabbed your wrist. They held your hand to their face. They seemed to be examining your ring.

“What a pleasant looking ring,” they slurred. Their voice sounded of uncomfortable ringing.

“My- uh, my fiance gave me this ring,” you whispered.

“Fiance, huh?” You saw a smile grow on the person’s face. Something was wrong. You yanked your hand, trying to free yourself before the person tightening their grip. You yelped as your wrist began to burn. Falling from your kneeling position to crumbling on your knees, you whined. Looking up with tear blurred eyes, you gasped at the violet glow of the man’s eyes.

“You’re a demon?” You saw his fangs in the wide, sick grin of his.

“Correct,” he slurred before he hit you aside from the head and next you knew, you were in this cage.

You breathed quick shallow breaths, demon dog growling at you and barking. Making you pull your knees to yourself as much as you could. Tucking yourself into the corner of your prison.

You held your hands to your chest when you noticed you weren’t wearing Jimin’s ring. You gasped, as a tear left your eye.

“No,” you gasped lightly. Looking around your cage and feeling around for that familiar metal you couldn’t remove. Did that demon take it off you? You couldn’t take it off, only a demon could. You sputtered as you coughed again, working yourself up too much.

You sat against the back of your cage when the demon dog’s attention shifted from you to something behind him for a moment before being grabbed from its scruff. The demon dog whined and yelped as it was tossed aside and suddenly a loud crash sound from around you. You didn't know what was going on, screaming and holding above your head just in case something crashed through your cage.

Looking through the cage, you saw someone thrown onto the ground. It was that demon you found outside that kidnapped you. You were ready to start screaming at him, putting on a tough front of insults while you shook and hid your fear from him. Demon’s enjoyed the thrill of fear, so you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction.

You stopped yourself though. He looked beaten all to hell. Throat punctured and rolls of blood pulsing out of his skin as he held around his neck and gasped. He lay on his back, weakly attempting to keep pushing himself back and away from something. You couldn’t see what he was so afraid of until it came into full view.

It was like a black cloud of absolute evil. It made your throat dry and sweat drip down your neck. Something in that cloud was nothing short of the devil himself. Pure black and growling, thorns around it and stalking the demon on the ground like a high predator. Though it was demonic, you couldn’t help but think it was familiar.

The demon’s tail flicked around his waist, pinning your abductor to the concrete floors- thorns as tough as metal as the concrete split like it was nothing. Another step encroached on the kidnapping demon and you called out to it. The faded memories that were almost wiped clean restored in a clean swipe and burst of your voice.

“Jimin..!” It was a weak call, that fizzled into a cough. The black cloud of moved to snap it’s head around to see you. Imprisoned in a small cage. You crawled to the iron bars and reached out towards it, trying to grasp something of his. The cloud moved and before you knew it, it was knelt at your bars, as you felt the black cloud wiz through your skin like mist. The pure red eyes and more intimidating persona did nothing to hide the familiarity of Jimin you knew was under there. “Do you recognize me?”

You’d never seen him like this before. He looked absolutely feral, but it was till Jimin and when he moved to grab your hand in his overly demonic one, you just smiled. He knew who you were.

“Y/n,” his voice was deep and two-toned like there were two people talking in unison. “You are alright,” he seemed to sigh and calm down. The black cloud began to fade like fog and his body began to revert back. Horns and claws and fangs shrinking, his pitch skin dulling back into its grey, reeling back to only his hands and feet. You watched his eyes revert back to their oval red in the iris only. “Do you- do you remember who I am?”

His eyes were downcast as he held your hand, voice shaky. You felt your chest burn as tears dripped from his eyes. He let go of your hand to grab the iron bars that held you and ripped them clean out, throwing it aside with an ear-piercing echo of metal on the concrete floor.

He pulled you from your cage as he fell to the floor. You sat in front of him. His head fell, ducking down to your stomach as he wept, holding onto your hand with enough grief to last him the rest of his prolonged lifetime. You shed your own tears, laying over his back, basking in the presence of each other.

You gasped when you noticed a shadow over Jimin’s back. There stood your kidnapper, Jungkook and a knife of amethyst in his hand. He was ready and willing to stab his brother in the back and you couldn’t get a word out of your mouth, his eyes of violet canceling your voice. You tried pulling your hand from Jimin’s so you could shield him perhaps, but Jimin refused to release it.

Swing his arm down aiming for his brother’s back, you couldn’t even scream. Jimin remained motionless as his tears had stopped and he remained hunched over in your arms. He had known his brother well and he knew that if Jungkook couldn’t bring him back, he’d settle for killing him. It wouldn’t work, however; Jimin was too smart and Jungkook too reckless.

That’s how everything resulted in Jimin’s tail whipping at Jungkook’s arm and having him plunge the knife into his own stomach. You gasped when you saw the black blood pour over his lips as he fell to his knees behind his brother. Jimin sat up, letting you go before he moved to kneel in front of his dying brother.

“You killed yourself, Jungkook,” Jimin told him. Searching around his robe for his ring that he had taken back into his possession. “You died for nothing. I will not return and I will stay by Y/n until my life ends. I will convert into a human if I must. I will not leave her.” He lowered his eyes, looking solemnly at his fallen brother he did love once. “I love her too much,” he whispered in nothing short of pain.

Jungkook’s last emotions before he died were nothing but hate. Hate towards Jimin for falling for a human, for becoming attached to anything. Hate towards you for bewitching his brother into something that was no longer selfish and instead selfless. Hate towards himself for letting himself die as a result of attempting to kill his brother who had protected and raised him for centuries. He hated and he hated until he turned to dust and vanished.

Jimin looked over his shoulder at you. You looked confused and scared, as you should be- you were only human. He looked at the rin in his palm before he put it in his pocket and helped you to stand weakly. He held you to his chest, your knees not as strong as you wanted them to be.

“Let’s go home,” he told you, wrapping you in his robe before he dissolved into the shadows, the lights of the concrete room he was in bursting and the light vanishes. You were home before you knew it and Jimin was sitting you on your torn couch. “Jungkook came here,” Jimin started as he sat on the ground in front of you. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” he choked.

His lips felt chapped and stung, his breathing heavy and harsh.

“I’ve contemplated leaving.” He pulled the scroll Jungkook gave to him and set it on your lap. “That is the contact you formed with me,” you looked at it, holding it in your hands. It felt heavy, like the burdens of a 13-year-old girl who was lonely and just wanted someone to be with her. “I’ll let you make the decision. Y/n, you can burn that scroll. Tear it up and throw it out along with me- remove all the demonic pieces of your life I brought. Or, you can choose to allow me to stay.”

You sighed as you set the scroll aside, placing it on the couch cushions. You grabbed Jimin by his horns and tilted his head up, shoving it with a bit too much force as his neck pinched. You then picked the scroll back up and shoved it into his face.

“You’re a demon of trades, right. Well, I’m making a trade right now,” you told him. “I’ll give you back this scroll, the contract I made with you when I was just a kid. In return, you give me back my damn engagement ring.” Jimin blinked up at you.

“What?”

“Park Jimin, if you don’t become my husband like you promised and after you got me all wrapped around your demonic little finger, I’m going to be seriously pissed.” You set the scroll on his head, his horns holding it up like a rack as he huffed and took it off his head into his hands again. The warmth bringing him comfort. “That’s my promise in your hands, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t take your wife’s promise for granted.”

Jimin tossed the scroll aside, reach up to grab the back of your neck and pull you down to meet his lips. He breathed through his nose choppy breaths as he kept kissing you, sobbing almost as the relief of you allowing him to stay made him feel like he could float. He felt more like a blessed angel than an engaged demon.

Pulling away from you, he placed his ring back on your finger where it belongs. The weight of its return made you sigh in content. Jimin could feel his connection with it and you return and it was stronger than it was before.

“You do know that I’m agreeing to this because I love you, right?” You asked. You didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. The situation was terrifying, there was no sugar coating that. Not to mention the knot on your head from when Jungkook hit you wouldn’t be healing any time soon. But, that didn’t make you fear JImin or the consequences of who he was to you. You needed him to know you choose to do this because it’s what you want, not what you fear.

“Say, do you know what a bride of a demon is called?” Jimin asked as he moved to stand in front of your on the couch. Leaning down to cage you to your spot with his arms on the back of the couch behind you. You rose your brow. “A demoness,” he slurred with a smirk. Avoiding your question entirely as you frowned.

“Someones getting better at dodging questions,” you accused.

“Your human is rubbing off on me.”

“Well, your demon is rubbing off on me!” You retorted before he plopped himself down on your lap, trapping you entirely as his tail wrapping around your leg in his familiar, endearing habit.

“I love you too, my little human taboo.” Your wedding was 2 months later as your demon husband-to-be stood waiting for you at the small courthouse alter.

-END-

(tell me what you thought of this pls ily)

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 5 years ago

Text

10 things finishing my 10th book taught me

Hey People of Earth!

(I cannot believe I typed the title of this post!)

Today, I’m going to be sharing 10 things finishing my 10th book taught me, which means--as of 2:30 this morning, I have finished writing my tenth novel, aka MOTH WORK. I’ve written posts like this for my 7th, 8th, and 9th novels as well!

Enjoy this note no one asked me to write but that I wrote because I was sad:

I introduced this project on this blog back in June, but actually started it in the notes app of my iPhone (iconic) sometime in January of 2019. At this time, my mental health was *lackin* as I was stressed and in my final months of high school. I needed something to cheer me up, and so Moth Work became a place where I could dump my “bad writing” and also have fun. For more context, you can read more about Moth Work in my various writing updates HERE.

I didn’t intend for this project to become a novel, but thought I’d write it as a longer “for fun” story (prospective word count was 5k words). I chipped away at it for a few months, but didn’t really start picking it up as a serious project until around May/June. It was only once summer vacation hit that I, under the advice of my therapist to have a “reach goal” for the summer, decided to say fuck it!! I shall write this as a novel (prospective word count now 50k words). This novel has seen me graduate high school + almost finish my first year of university, and I’m so excited to share all the wonderful things I learned while writing it!

1. It is totally okay to take your “guilty pleasures” seriously.

I was in a mega dilemma writing this book. I’d wrapped up writing my ninth novel just after starting this project, and felt a need to write something that was more “serious”. Though I’m an advocate for writing what you want, when you want, even I struggled not to feel like I was wasting my time writing a project that didn’t have very much literary/craft merit (in my eyes, this changed eventually).

I am here to tell you--do NOT let anyone, including yourself, shame you out of writing what you like. Allow yourself to let loose and write “bad” things, and remember you don’t have to feel guilty/ashamed for writing stuff that seems “juvenile” or “bad”.

2. Processes change--embrace this.

I took about 4000 different approaches writing this book, and though I really wanted to stick to one (outlining, pantsing), eventually, I let my process be what it wanted to be. For example, I am a pantser and began this novel pantsing. Very quickly, I realized I needed an outline because I could not keep track of events (this book begins very plot-oriented). But, pre-determining events that would happen eventually stopped working as I began feeling constrained, and so I settled for outlining as I went so I could keep track of plot points.

I outlined 10 of the 15 chapters like this before I sort of... stopped doing this (though I will go back and fill it in just for future reference)! I went back to full-blown pantsing in the last four or so chapters, as what I’d planned would NOT pan out--and I think it’s so important to let your process be what it wants to be. Sometimes this book needed some planning--sometimes it really didn’t. This flexibility has really allowed me to be in touch with my projects more, and really listen to them/understand what it is they need.

3. Sometimes plans change. Don’t be afraid to follow your gut.

I did not plan for Moth Work to be a novel. But as the project developed, so did its final form. My gut was telling me what I needed to do (continue writing), and another example of this is when I sporadically made this a dual point of view book! I’ve never written a full-length dual POV manuscript, and haven’t written dual POV since I was 12, but I didn’t let that stop me from doing what I knew in my gut, was what the book needed.

I want to emphasize here--sometimes the vision you imagine changes. Allow this change to happen if you feel it’s right, even if it’s scary. I feel I’ve grown a lot as a writer by just allowing this of myself! It’s easy to beat yourself up for not following your plan, and I did this a lot. Understanding that sometimes plans turn into other plans turn into other plans etc, is the most freeing thing you can do for your writing!

4. Write what makes you happy!

This project began as a means to increase my serotonin lmaooo and I think sometimes as writers, we forget that yes, art is hard, but writing what you like can make that difficulty just a little more tolerable. This book started toiling toward disaster mode for a few chapters in the middle, and I really was not happy writing it. You can feel the difference in the chapters when I felt comfortable writing, versus when I struggled because I felt I “had to”. And so I took a step back and re-evaluated. Since this was not working/not making me happy, what would? This question solved my problems (not easily, but lead me on the right path). The artist! does not! have to! suffer!

Sometimes problems occur, and critically thinking through them is vital. I’m not saying just to do whatever every time something doesn't work because this isn’t a shortcut. However, my point is not to be afraid to change things up and write what will make you happier and help you finish the book if you feel that’s what you need. I wanted to write a cheesy romance about two boys who both need to chill, and so though I could’ve written something else, I wrote this because it genuinely made me happier! And I love that about this book!

5. Things can take longer than you expect. You’re not a bad writer because of this.

Y’ALL. I wanted to write 50k words of this book over one summer. One month! One! Month! Lots of folks can do this, but I did not! In fact, I hit 50k this month, which is half a year after I projected.

I think a lot of us constitute speed to being a good writer, and while speed and being a good writer can coexist, speed is not necessarily a determining factor in whether you can write or not! This book took me just over a year from when I started it (nine months from when I took it on as a full-time project), and while sure, I could’ve written it faster, I let it develop as it needed, and wrote it when I felt I could. I am not a professional writer with deadlines (that’s different)! While you gotta put in the time to improve, I think you also gotta look out for yourself! Use your gut, and take your time if that’s what you need!

6. Craft and play can coexist.

This took me so long to grasp, and I still struggle with this today! Craft and play can coexist. Say it with me y’all: craft and play can coexist!!

My manifesto for Moth Work initially was to have it be my dumping ground for shitty writing. While this took the pressure off initially, I then felt like I was regressing in my craft (which was untrue, I just didn’t realize it at the time). So, I decided to begin taking the craft aspect of this book very seriously, trying to write polished, delicious prose (every! time!) and the fact of the matter is that often, this did not happen.

I beat myself up over this! I was like: Rachel, 16-year-old you was pumping out better prose than this, what’s up? And I put so much pressure on myself to perfect the writing, even though this was only ever meant to be a “for funsies” project. Eventually, I came to understand that, okay, I really do want this to be a for funsies project, but I also want to enjoy re-reading it and not criticizing every aspect of it. I then began incorporating a few passes of line edits after drafting a chapter, until eventually, I stopped circling back to chapters to line-edit them altogether. You don’t have to be perfect on the first draft!

You also don’t have to sacrifice craft to have fun, just as the opposite is true. This book taught me a lot about finding this balance, something I’ve lacked in my writing process for years!

7. Your writing styles can differ from book-to book!

I couldn’t understand why my prose in this book felt “thin” (aka awful in my eyes), why the only thing I felt capable of describing was literally everything shining in some sort of way (glinting, glimmering, glowing lool) or overzealous descriptions of the moon. It was only about a month ago that I realized, after making a breakthrough with my litfic novel Houses With Teeth, that Moth Work was not sucking the life out of my prose--it was just a different book with a different style of writing.

And this makes sense! I was writing with two different characters, in two different perspectives, in a completely different POV than I’m used to writing in the long-form (third-present). Of course things were going to be different! I felt a bit silly realizing this, lol, because it felt so obvious, but I struggled with this for a long time (you can even see bits of this struggle in my video Problems I’m having with writing + solutions).

I thought I had regressed to being a bad writer because of this book, when in reality, the fault was on my inability to stop comparing a very different book to my very different past works. Sometimes you don’t even realize you’re working against yourself! Acknowledging this, and then letting it go was the best thing I did for this book and it allowed me to draft it much faster toward the end!

8. Writing is NOT linear.

I spoke about this in my Problems video, and I honestly was nervous to see how this hot take would be received. However, I was surprised to see that some folks thought this hot take was actually not a bad one, so I’m re-iterating it here!

I think, because we writers are often always practicing writing, we assume everything we write will be better than the last. Honestly, I feel like at least for me, this was my goal--to always be working linearly in terms of progress. It wasn’t until this book that I really came to realize that this is just not how writing works. The easiest way for me to compare this, also as a visual artist, is to say that sure, practice does make perfect, but I have sketches from last week that are worse than sketches I drew two years ago. Why is it that we expect writing to always be linearly better from one project to the next? My answer is that this is just not how writing works. I wrote some of my favourite paragraphs years ago, and may be embarrassed of a paragraph I write tomorrow.

I got caught up in this idealism of “I must be writing better each time I write” because I thought this was the most logical progression of my writing craft, but realizing that actually!! progress jumps around, was so important for me. Some days I’m better at writing description, some days I write dialogue worse than I did when I was fourteen! It’s okay not to always be uphill.

Y’all, if I step down a wrung on a ladder and then step up four the very next day, that’s how it’s going to be! Practice intrinsically will make you grow as a writer, but it doesn't mean everything you write has to be better than what you wrote before (though this can be the case, which is awesome). I feel like I don’t see this spoken about enough, so I do want to know if this is relevant to any of you or if this point is bologna!!!

9. The story wants what it wants.

This is heavily in line with some previous points, but is something that was driven home for me while writing this novel. If I can give one piece of advice, it would be to let the story be what it wants to be. If my story wants to be a YA fantasy trilogy, but I’m trying to force it to be a standalone pretentious character-driven coming-of-age saga (calling myself out), my writing may suffer! Of course, some writers can take control over their story and execute their initial vision perfectly! I am not! one of those! people!

I’m a firm believer that sometimes the story wants what it wants, and it’s often your best bet to follow this path. Write intuitively--if you know something feels wrong, or contrarily, feels right, follow that path.

I did not know how to end this book. I’d had an ending planned for a few months, though it eventually fell apart in the last few weeks. I didn’t know what I would do instead, but last night when I was drafting the last two chapters of the book, I felt in my gut that I was heading to the end. I wanted to stop writing for the night--I almost did, but instead, I kept at it because I knew I was on a roll toward the finish line, and I felt compelled to follow my instinct. This is how I landed at the end I wrote in, and it was a completely organic process.

Planning out your story is a great thing to do, and I’m not here to start a debate about whether plotting/pantsing is better because they’re both amazing!! But for me, it’s important to let the story breathe, and let it eventually grow into the shoes it chooses for itself. Taking a step back so I could stop trying to mould this story into a place it didn't want to be is probably the best thing I could’ve done for it because I finished the book. Any process is a good process if it gets you to the end healthily, and for me, allowing the story to be what it wanted to be and allowing it to take the lead helped me get there.

10. It’s okay to love your story.

I’m going to end this post on another hot take because it is probably what I primarily felt early this morning as I typed up the last paragraph of this book. I’m not going to lie--I cried finishing this book lol. I ached finishing this book. It *hurt* to finish this book. I didn’t want to finish this book. What I wanted to do was shut my computer, and pretend the end was not coming, and come back four months from now to finish it, maybe. I wanted to hang onto my story because it’s my story and I love it!

Y’all, this book is cringey. It’s melodramatic, juvenile in some places, comically serious in others. But it’s mine, and I love it. Sometimes I’m ashamed of the writing in this book--sometimes I think I’m getting worse. But it’s my story, and I love! it!

I think so many of us want to please other people! Or maybe that’s just me lol!! oh boy!! There were so many times I wanted to give up on this project because I thought others would find it cringey in places I too, thought were cringey, but simultaneously loved.

I’ve written for other people a lot in the past, and sometimes those ‘other people’ are just me--many critical versions of me. Don’t forget about how much you love a story (for its quirks maybe, its clichés, its “bad writing”) before you finish it. A first draft only comes once and finishing a first draft is so wonderful, and even more so when you love that story. We got enough hate y’all, lets give our stories some love.

So that’s it for this post! I still have five chapters to write writing updates for, so the party ain’t over til it’s over!!!

For my obligatory Oscar’s speech! A special thanks to @sarahkelsiwrites for reading about these trash people for five years, and for enthusiastically contributing to their trash decisions (#do it for the tea)! And for reassuring me that the prose in this book is actually not as bad as I believe because I would never have finished this book without that pep talk lol. To @imdisappointed for helping me crack some of the toughest plot problems!! You talk me out of problems and it’s magic! And to my MOM @shaelinwrites (for being my mom) and also for all the kind/insightful things you say! Y’all get me through it!!!

And of course!! I thank all of YOU for following this journey of drafting Moth Work. My community on here never fails to amaze me, and I’m a big stan of you all!! Please tag me in your stuff--I’d love to read about what you’re writing!

Here’s to finishing a book, but more importantly, to hoping I don’t make Moth Work a series lmaoo!!! *pops confetti*

--Rachel

#writing #amwriting #writeblr #writerblr #writingupdates #fostered #mothwork

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joonclouds · 5 years ago

Text

A space situation

You sigh heavily and shut your eyes. The man was so intelligent, but days like this you wonder if sometimes his brain took unpaid leave.

“My house is literally a third the size of your closet.”

If this wasn’t your house you might have found it a little bit funny. But it is your house.

Joon is your very rich very endearing sugar daddy but also very clumsy and sometimes rash in buying you whatever what he sees fit but it’s not very practical all the time.

Namjoon x Reader

Genre: It’s a fluff party guys

Word Count: 3k

Note: Quarantine can be inspiring lol

You don’t know you’re smiling, but it’s there. A tiny little smile lingering on your face as you watch the man in your kitchen from your crummy two-seater couch that barely fits into your living room.

It’s not a sight you’ll ever get used to seeing, you think, Namjoon with his designer suits and perfectly swept back hair, fumbling around in the drawers. He was wearing that new Dior shirt you had picked out for him last week.

When he’d came in to your dingy apartment, he’d removed his (probably very expensive) cufflinks and tossed them in your countertop dish.

“You shouldn’t treat your things so carelessly,” you chastised, taking them from the dish and moving them somewhere safer. Even in the cheap incandescent light, the large stones twinkle softly and you wondered how much they cost.

“They’re very pretty.”

‘What?” He’d glanced up briefly from his phone to see what you were holding. “Oh you like those? I can send them to my jeweler and get them set into earrings for you if you want.”

You nearly drop the cufflinks.

When he stands he bumps his head on an open cabinet.

He’s a bit befuddled for a moment and sends the cabinet door a look, but it quickly melts into a grin when he hears you giggle.

“Hey, don’t laugh. I’m six foot and this kitchen is literally made for someone who’s like five-nothing.”

God, you wanted to take a swim in those dimples.

You get off the couch and walk over, opening the second drawer to pull out a whisk and offer it to him.

“You’re the one who wanted to come to the dump which is my apartment, Joon.” It’s a matter-of-fact tone, but you can’t hide the twinkle in your eyes.

“I wanted to make you that dalgona coffee thing. But I don't have instant coffee at home. I didn’t know if it works with normal espresso.”

“You’re telling me you have a thirteen thousand dollar coffee machine at your place, and no instant coffee.”

Namjoon makes a face. “Instant coffee tastes like dishwater.”

You grab the bottle of instant coffee and shove it in his face.

“I love it.”

Namjoon shakes his head and grabs the glass jar from you, delivering a swift peck on your cheek.

“I love you.”

You blush, one hand going up to cup your face. To hell with butterflies in your stomach, this man truly gave the zoo a run for its money.

You’d met him while waitressing at one of those fancy fundraiser gala dinners. It paid the best, and between struggling to feed yourself and those overdue college bills, you were ready to swallow your pride and deal with the pompous crowd for a little while.

Namjoon had always thought it was a blessing he’d survived thirty three years not having broken a bone (well, he’s caused other people to break their bones, but that doesn’t count.) But that night, accidentally spilling his wine on you was the one time Namjoon ever felt truly lucky that he was a clumsy oaf.

You looked like a little deer, flustered and apologising, reaching for the nearest stack of napkins to fuss over the cuff of his jacket, when he should have been the one apologising to you. The two of you at a later point have recounted this first meeting and you still can’t believe he finds it hilarious that you were horrified, on the verge of tears because you thought he’d expect you to pay for his jacket.

Though you later understand why he’d find that funny. One thing more genuinely beautiful than his face was Namjoon’s heart. He’d insisted he book you a cab home (after understanding you didn’t have a spare shirt), and settled with your manager that you’d be taking the rest of the night off.

The next day he caught you by surprise, showing up on your doorstep in a cream cable knit sweater, and a black gift box adorned with a white camellia in hand (half out of apology, but also because he needed an excuse to see you). You’d opened the door, let out a strangled squeak and promptly slammed the door shut in his face. Later, he did get invited in when you didn’t so closely resemble a drenched version of Dobby, but it was unlikely you’d ever forget the horror of that moment.

Of course at first, your relationship was merely transactional - he paid you for your company, mostly at more of these fancy galas where he needed someone to distract the crowd while he really talked shop with the important people, and you.. well who were you, a mere mortal, to say no to that? It would get your bills paid, put food on the table, and Namjoon was kind, intelligent and not bad to look at.

Okay fine, he was great to look at.

Sure he’d been divorced once, but everyone has skeletons in their closets, right? Namjoon’s closet was three times the size of your apartment so there’d be plenty space to hide them. (Later, much later, you also become privy to the information that the guy could fuck you six ways from Sunday, but that’s besides the point… you think.)

After the parties on the way home you’d started to linger in his car. He’d walk you up the stairs of your dingy apartment complex. You hold hands, his large one dwarfing yours as the both of you walk as slowly as possible up the entire ten flights.

It was dangerous for you to walk alone, he said, but really, Namjoon wanted to talk to you a little while longer. You were nothing like he’d ever known. You were quiet. Listening. But really listening, not just waiting for your turn to talk. So different to the ditzy socialites in his circle who wanted only to talk about themselves.

Its not long before you're inviting him in for coffee - he drank your dishwater coffee quietly for the next three months before he suggested going to his place where the ‘real coffee’ was.

You fell fast, and you fell hard.

Not that you didn’t have your share of heated romances with people your age, but none of them really got you, listened to you as intently as he did when you rambled on about the inequality and hegemony of this world. You chalk it up to the fact that you’ve always been more mature than others - a result of circumstance. Not by choice, really, but it was what it was.

Namjoon always carried an air of introspection around him. Not intentionally. Many people took that for pride, but you realised quickly it was quiet confidence. He liked to listen and learn and observe.

On your coffee nights he begins to give you a glimpse of who he really is. Undoubtedly, he’s a Kim. That cool, nonchalant disposition was his battle armor. But beneath that you come to see the man who when you ask him about the telescope in the corner of his study, tells you he still entertains his childhood dream of being an astronaut. That on clear nights he likes to read Carl Sagan and look at the stars, wondering about the kind of lives they lead.

You learn he’s a great big klutz that breaks the handles off his cabinets ‘by accident’. You see the soft side that sometimes likes to read children’s books because ‘some of the best lessons in life are simple and humble ones’. And eventually the side that suddenly pulls you in closer in his sleep to his chest on rainy nights because he hates thunder. You always wake because you’re a light sleeper, but you’re glad you are, reaching up to smooth the furrow between his brows gently with a thumb before cuddling deeper into his embrace.

It’s also the first time he smiled at you. It was the week before his birthday, you’d given him a little resin keychain with little pressed wildflowers. He’d gone silent for quite a while and you didn’t know if he hated it or loved it.

“It’s a keychain.”

“Yeah.. It’s not much but I made it in a resin art workshop I went to, you have everything already and I hadn’t any idea what I could afford that you’d need-“

“You made this?” He interrupts, looking up at you.

You feel your gut shrivel. Jesus Christ. He hates it.

Immediately you move toward him to remove your offending gift. You were a Tiny Bit Hurt, but what had you been expecting with a cheap thing like that?

“If you don’t like it, it’s okay. You don’t have to use it! I just thought because you call me your little wildflower you’d like - “

You can’t finish your sentence because your face is smushed into Namjoon’s (very nice, very broad) chest as he pulls you into a crushing hug.

Horror takes over slightly and you struggle to move away. “Namjoon, I’m wearing so much foundation, and you’re in a cream Givenchy sweater - “

“I love it.”

You stop struggling. His warm breath tickles your ear, one large hand cradling the back of your head.

“You do?”

“I do. I love that you put in all this effort. You are my little wildflower. Always blooming in surprising places.’

You hug him back, nuzzling into his scent. The Givenchy sweater could wait. There was always drycleaning.

“And now I’ll have something to remind me of you wherever I go.”

When he pulls back to look at you he’s sporting not just one of those polite half smiles, but a full on beaming grin that make his eyes into smiling crescents. You get to see how deep his dimples actually are.

You swooned so hard you thought you might’ve given yourself an aneurysm.

Well, fast forward a year and here you are.

Watching the owner of a global business conglomerate make you some silly whipped coffee drink in the kitchen of your tiny apartment with water stains on the wallpaper, his diamond cufflinks sitting in a repurposed butter spread tray that held coins and keys on your countertop.

Watching your klutz boyfriends, ad he jerks the whisk at an odd angle and gets foamy coffee splattered all over the front of his white shirt.

'Joon, that’s Dior.” Your face crumples. Grabbing a towel out of the drawer, you wet it and try to dab the coffee stains off. That shirt was so expensive, it could pay your rent for three months.

You knew and had come to terms with the fact that money would always worry him far, far less than it worried you, but seeing such an expensive item go to waste would never stop making you a little bit unhappy. Well, there was more to it, but you shoved those thoughts away.

Namjoon sets the bowl down on the counter.

“It’s okay, love. I’ll just get a new one if the stains don't come off.”

You scrub harder.

After a silent moment, Namjoon puts his hands over yours to still them. “It’s not just about the shirt, is it?”

He waits for you, like he always does because he knows you need a little time. He’d wormed his way into the deepest parts of your heart, but there would always be a final little fence you had to decide to take down. He was okay with that.

After a minute, you nod. Gently, he takes the dishcloth from you and sets it aside so he can hold your hands properly. Times like these he just wants to hug you and hope that would be enough to protect you from the world. You taught him that money, as much as it solved problems, was not everything.

He puts a finger under your chin and tips it up so he can see your face.

“I just..”

“Go on.” He encourages.

“I know we’ve been through this before, but I can’t help but feel like I’m a… I’m a burden.”

Funny, considering how you two started out. The sugar baby/parent lifestyle just wasn’t for you. You were a Bad Ass Bitch who didn't need anyone, and it was important to stay on brand.

“Like, I keep being on the receiving end and sometimes I just feel like I can’t do anything for you. You spend so much money on me. The other day after we went shopping you bought me such lovely fruits to stock my fridge, and even got me a new heater for my room when it’s cold, and now you’re making me coffee because I sent you that post on Instagram and I just….

“If you didn’t have to come to my stupid old apartment you shirt would still be clean and I …“ You gesture vaguely at him and then at yourself.

“You give me so much. And well, I’m… just me.” You say finally.

Namjoon’s just been listening as you ramble, face unreadable. He;s got his business face on and you can’t tell if he’s angry with you or not.

“So you feel like you can’t do anything for me.”

You nod.

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding the topic every time I ask you to move in with me?”

You nod again.

“Look, _____. I want you to listen to me. Like really listen.” His hands move to cup your face, eyes now staring intently into yours.

“You give me something in this world no amount of money can buy. You make me feel whole. You make me feel excited that I get to do life’s most mundane things with you. Even if it involves drinking dishwater coffee.”

That last part gets a small smile out of you, so he knows you’re in the clear.

“I know you’re not used to receiving nice things, because the world hasn’t given you much of it. I hate that. What I do for you, I do with my whole heart. I will continue to want to do these things for you for as long as you’ll let me.

“And maybe if I keep doing them one day you will see how everything, everything I do for you pales terribly in comparison to what you give to me by just existing.”

You’re so overwhelmed with emotion so you just respond lamely “o..okay.”

In your head, your two braincells clap enthusiastically as they crown you honorary president of the Idiot Club.

Namjoon sighs and rests his hands on the countertop on either side of you so he can look at you eye to eye. You look so pretty like this, he thinks. Eyes vulnerable and lips soft, just like you should be. He hates the world for treating you so cruelly.

“And for the record, I insist on spending time here I noticed you’re more… yourself than at my place. I want you to feel comfortable.”

“That’s not true.” You raise your chin petulantly, because you’re slightly prideful that way and don't want to acknowledge that Namjoon sees through you clear as day.

“Don’t argue with me.”

Namjoon narrows his eyes fractionally, his gaze darkening, and suddenly you’re very aware that you’re caged in. Not that you were complaining but was it suddenly really hot in here?

“I’m not arguing.”

“Yes you are." He's lowered his voice and its taken on a huskier tone.

“You know that everything I do, I do out of love for you. And I will damn well put up with your apartment with no complaints if it means you will feel more at ease.”

This man was going to give you whiplash with the way he made the most loving words sound like filth.

You lower your gaze, just the way you know he likes, and look up at him through your lashes. Two could play that game. You see a spark ignite in his eyes.

“I know.”

“You know, what?”

“I know, sir.”

“Good. Now why don’t I finish making you that coffee, and then we can go back to my place and we’ll see what you really know.”

With that, he releases you to get the milk from the fridge, and you spin around to place one hand on the countertop and one hand over your chest. You suck in a breath you didn’t know you were holding. A few seconds longer and you’d have -

A sharp cracking noise from behind you quickly sweeps any indecent thoughts clean out of your mind.

You turn to find Namjoon looking at you with an incredibly apologetic expression, holding a black piece of plastic which what seems to be -

“Did you break the handle off my fridge?”

Three days later he’s sporting the same apologetic expression, the only difference is that you two are separated by a towering, stainless steel monstrosity that now sits in the middle of your living room, leaving you two to converse by having to look around the sides of it.

“I’m sorry, ___. I didn’t know it’d be this big.”

“That’s what she said.”

You peer around the corner with a cheeky grin. He gives you a look that’s half withering and half amused. “Mature.”

Reassessing the appliance in front of you, you throw your hands up in the air.

“For the love of sweet god, Namjoon. This fridge is ridiculous. I’m not feeding the entire village. You’ve seen my apartment, how did you think this was going to work?!”

“I dont know, okay? I just called my home decor guys and told them to send you the same fridge I have!”

You sigh heavily and shut your eyes. The man was so intelligent, but days like this you wonder if sometimes his brain took unpaid leave.

“My house is literally a third the size of your closet.”

If this wasn’t your house you might have found it a little bit funny. But it is your house.

You wait, but there’s just silence from his end, so you continue.

“What do you expect me to do with this monstrosity? Take a fucking winter holiday in it?! We can’t even -“ you kick the sofa for emphasis.

Pausing because he’s still unusually quiet, you stretch to look around the fridge again. He’s on his phone, tapping away in furious concentration.

“What are you doing?”

“Give me a minute.”

Oh no.

“What are you doing.”

“Relax, my love, I’m fixing the problem.” He waves you off nonchalantly. “Give me a minute.”

“Are you calling the delivery men to take this back?”

There is a genuinely confused look on his face when he looks up.

“What? No. Don’t be silly. I’m texting my real estate agents. They’re getting you a new house so this fridge will fit.”

#joonclouds #namjoon #bts namjoon #namjoon fluff #namjoon fic #bts fic

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lannister-slings-and-arrows · 5 years ago

Note

do #14 from the punch in the gut list! i like my drama with a happy ending!

Oh oh oh! This is something actually super similar to something I already had planned for my multi chapter Frankie fic! So you know. Enjoy the preview I guess? lol.

14. "I can’t keep pretending like I’m okay with being just your friend when I want you in my bed.”

“You trying to hit on me, Frankie Morales?” Molly asked, a bright smile on her lips, a laugh dancing in her green eyes. Frankie looked at the liquor bottles on the shelf behind the bar, and saw the reflection of the deer heads on the wall behind him in the mirror, shrugging slowly.

“And what if I am?” He flicked his eyes to her, as she sat next to him at the bar with an empty beer bottle in front of her and a shot glass full of whiskey in her hand. “You’re lookin’ gorgeous tonight; if you don’t want me sayin’ so, you shouldn’t wear those tight ass jeans.” Molly threw her head back and laughed, that rough nasally caw that he had grown to love nearly as much as the happy sounds that Veronica made in the mornings. She tossed the shot back and signalled to the bartender for another of both, raising an eyebrow at Frankie who shrugged again. She pointed at his near empty bottle and the bartender nodded.

“Bet you say that to all the girls,” she dismissed with another chuckle. “I suppose puppy eyes like yours even need some help sometimes.” She threw back the new shot and passed Frankie’s new beer to him and he wanted to shake her and to leave and never see her again.

She whacked his arm gently (Frankie suppressed a shiver only through the pure stubborn determination that had been drilled into him for decades in the special forces) and Frankie very deliberately did not look to see if his arm now sported a deep red burn in the shape of her fingers. It wasn’t real, just like every time she touched him and he felt that stinging, hot feeling soot through him from point of contact to the tight ball in his stomach that had started forming on that day in the parking lot of P.J’s. It was only in his imagination, just like every flirtatious smile she threw at him, and every lingering glance and suggestive remark. He was barking up the wrong tree, and it hurt.

“I haven’t seen you around the house in the past few days,” she remarked, hand still on his forearm. Frankie wished, desperately, that he hadn’t worn a tee shirt today. That he had sleeves to protect himself from feeling how strong her fingers were, how cool they felt compared to his skin. He wished that he didn't know that if he said that to her she would roll her eyes and pretend to be offended and say that ‘she didn’t have cold hands, he just ran too hot for this kind of climate’. He wished that he had been able to hide better at that table in the back of the bar by the ancient jukebox, that she hadn’t spotted him almost as soon as she sat at the bar and hadn’t grinned and nodded at the seat next to her.

“Yeah, uh, I finished with the porch and the door hasn’t come in yet, so I figured I should get started on the stuff that needs doin’ around the barn while I waited.” She squeezed his arm and let go to grab her new beer, and Frankie took everything back. He wanted that touch back. She swallowed and he couldn’t help watching the way her throat moved.

“Normally you come up to the house for breaks though, I was starting to wonder if you were mad at me or something,” she explained, laughing casually, eyes surprisingly serious as they finally caught and held his. “And then you’re holed up in that corner tonight, jeez Fish, you’re gonna give a girl a complex,” she admonished him gently, eyes not leaving his face, even as his dropped to the floor.

“Sorry,” he muttered. All confidence from earlier gone, all the hurt that he had been nursing since he had seen her get into Caden’s truck last week bubbling to the surface. “Just busy fixing up the ranch. Like you pay me to do.” Molly set her beer down with a thunk. “Listen,” he said, picking up his own beer and sliding off the stool and onto his feet, still not looking up at her. “Thanks for the beer, but I’m not really in a great mood tonight, I’ll just see you later, ok?” He started to turn away when she grabbed a handful of the back of his shirt and snapped,

“Ok what the hell Frankie, you’ve been blowing hot and cold on me for a week now, and I’m fucking sick of it.” He pulled against her hold gently and she yanked harder, forcing him to either rip his shirt or sit back down. He sat and she let go, instead putting both of her hands on his knees and squeezing gently.

“What’s wrong Fish? Is it the baby? Is she sick or something?” He shook his head and heaved a sigh.

“Nope, Veronica’s just fine.” Molly dug her fingers into his knees a little harder.

“Ok well then have I managed to step on some more southern toes again? I swear this time whatever I did was unintentional,” she tried to joke. Frankie didn’t smile, he just slid further back on the seat, forcing her to let go of his knees. He looked up briefly to find her staring at him intently, brow furrowed.

“No, you’re fine, I’m just tired, ok? I think I’m going to just head out.” He set the beer down on the bar and made to leave again.

“Fuck, Fish, I thought we were friends, if I’ve fucking pissed you off at least be a man about it and tell me so I can god damned apologize!” Molly was starting to get pissed now, Frankie heard it in her voice and he didn’t care, he was done, he couldn’t do this anymore, he was angry too, angry that one more good thing had popped into his life to merely wave on its way out. It seemed like every time he thought that finally things were starting to turn around something went to shit, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it. And if she didnt’t stop looking at him with those big green eyes, hurt and confused and mad, he was going to-

“Well maybe we aren’t!” Fish hissed back.

Do that. Frankie would do that. Molly sat back quickly, startled.

“Aren’t what?” She licked her lips and Frankie clenched his fists. “Aren’t friends? Well that’s fucking news to me, Fish. Last time I checked, it's your favorite brand of beer in my fridge not anybody else’s.” Frankie scoffed and glared at the chipped and stained surface of the bar, fingers going to the label of one of the empties near them to start scratching and peeling at it.

“Really? No one else's? Not even Caden’s?” Molly was silent and he told himself that he didn’t care. That this was fine and that he was going to get over this latest disappointment just like he had all the others. He had survived Redfly’s death. He had survived the loss of all that money, and Veronica’s mother leaving them, this was fine. It wasn’t like they were even together. Molly hadn’t ever made any sort of indication that she even liked him like that, it was all in his head and really, he should have known better, she wasn’t planning on staying anyways, this was better, this was fine.

“No, why would I keep beer in the house for him?” Molly asked quietly. Frankie tore half the label off and angrily rolled the freed piece into a ball between his thumb and forefinger. “What do you mean, we aren’t friends Fish? What’s gotten into you?”

He threw the ball at the garbage can behind the bar and missed entirely. He finally met her eyes and sighed, tapping his fingers on the brown bottle in his hand.

“I can’t keep pretending like I’m okay with just being your friend when I want you in my bed,” Frankie finally said, absorbing the surprise in her face with resignation. “And I saw you go home with Caden last week, you clearly don’t feel the same way that I do, and that’s fine, I just,” he paused and shook his head. Frankie let go of the bottle, now ruined for deposit, and stood. “I need some time. Probably a lot of time.” Molly looked like she wanted to say something and he cut her off. “I’ll see you around, Molls.”

Frankie turned away from her and walked out of the bar, heading to his truck and the joint he knew was in his glove box. He knew he shouldn’t, that the recertification agent could piss test him whenever he felt like it for the next two months but he needed to chill out before he drove home to his aunt and the baby.

He sat on the tailgate of his truck for the next ten minutes, listening to the faint sound of the country music from the bar he had left abruptly, smoking and staring at his boots as he swung his legs idly. He groaned and slid forward, intending to jump down and leave when a beat up Vans sneaker flew through the air and smacked him in the chest. He stared at it, sitting in his lap, and blinked slowly. That was a new reaction to pot. He was 99% sure that that hadn’t been one of those weird joints Pope had brought with him last time he came to visit. He should not be hallucinating things right now, that had to be a real shoe in his lap. He looked up slowly to find Molly standing in front of him, hands on her hips, scowl on her face, one foot shoe-less.

“You shouldn't walk around a bar parking lot barefoot,” he told her quietly, holding her tiny sneaker in his hand. “You’re going to step on glass or something and get tetanus” He jumped down and held the shoe out to her. She continued to scowl at him as she took it roughly from him and smacked his arm with it. He tried to dodge her but she just hit him again.

“What the fuck, you asshole?!” She shouted at him, dropping her shoe to the ground and stomping her foot into it. “What the hell is your problem, you big baby?! You just drop a bomb like that on me and leave?!” He knew as soon as he opened his mouth that he should shut it again and not speak but,

“Dropping bombs was kind of one of my specialties, remember? It's what your tax dollars paid to train me to do.” Molly looked like she was ready to gut him.

“Stop talking. You are just high enough not to have the self preservation of a goose, and I would feel bad if I killed you before I got to do this.”

And she leaned up and kissed him.

Frankie stood parade rest still, eyes wide open and watching her face. She pulled back and sighed.

“If you wanted something more with me you should have just said something, you fucking dumbass.” She leaned in to kiss him again and he stopped her.

“But wait, aren't you with-” She slapped her hand over his mouth.

“I said no speaking. I don’t know what you think you saw or what, but I proimise you, you’ll be the first guy I fuck south of the Mason Dixon line.” She removed her hand and kissed him again, hands knocking his hat to the bed of the truck and tangling in his sweaty curls.

#writing prompts #triple frontier #catfish x oc #catfish #frankie morales #frankie morales x oc #francisco morales #francisco morales x oc #catfish fanfic #triple frontier fanfic

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bangtan-gal · 5 years ago

Text

Torn Soul

Lee Minho x Fem!Reader

Gang!au powers!au post!apocalypse!au

A/N: the reader is in a psych ward—she doesn’t actually have any mental illnesses, but if that will still make you uncomfortable, I suggest not reading. But honestly if you’ve read the other fics in this series, you’ll probably be able to take it so yeah

Word count: 14.8k

Warnings: swearing, angst, graphic depictions of blood, abuse, mentions of past abuse, detailed sex scenes, fluff, unedited

You woke up with a shout, cold sweat clinging to you. The sheets were tossed on the floor and now the bitter air was burning into you. There was no clock in your room and you didn’t have a phone, but it didn’t matter what time it was: you weren’t going back to sleep. Images seemed to flicker across the walls around you, phantoms of nightmares creeping through the shadows.

A click sounded through the room as the lamp on your bedside flickered to life. Of course, it didn’t help. If anything, it enhanced the creepiness of your windowless, cement-walled room. Orange was cast over the gray and it created even worse illusions. You sighed, pulling your knees to your chest and letting your chin fall on top of your knees.

“They’re just nightmares. Only nightmares, what you see in the real world are illusions.” That’s what they constantly told you, that what you saw in the real world was fake. At first, you believed them, but that’s because at first they were only nightmares.

The tiger that stood on top of a mountain, roaring. The blonde boy with his white and gold embroidered mask. Snow blizzards, lightning storms, ghosts, and knives flying around plagued you every night. They shouldn’t have been real, but they were. You wouldn’t have ever believed it if you had never woken up that day, giant claw marks torn into your stomach. Random injuries continued to appear whenever you woke up; fingertips blue with frostbite, an unexplainable bite in your calf, a burn mark on your bedroom floor and a hole in the roof.

That was your first and biggest mistake: telling someone about it. You were stupid to think that anyone would believe you, especially when you yourself barely believed it. Your parents, who had always looked for an excuse to get rid of you, happily took the opportunity to send you to the psychiatric hospital and leave you there.

You looked over your body, checking for any mysterious wounds and then around the room for any damage. This was the third room you’ve lived in the five months you’d been here. The first one had been normal, with a window, drawing desk, and it’s own bathroom. The second didn’t have the desk or the bathroom, but it had the window. After that room had been destroyed by a wind storm—the same one that you’d seen in your dream that night—they sent you to a room with no glass.

There was for once, nothing. A sigh of relief escaped you as you relaxed into the bed, glad for just one night of peace. It was hard to explain to the doctors and nurses what happened every time you woke up with mysterious wounds. You couldn’t tell them the truth, they would just continue to brand you as crazy.

“Y/N.”

You jumped so hard, your head smashed against the wall behind you. A groan unconsciously escaped you. You pressed your fingers to the back of your head, pulling them back to see specks of blood dotting your skin.

You should’ve expected it, there was no way that you would have a peaceful night for once in your life, but it still scared you. Something or someone—you weren’t exactly sure—stood by your door. Correction: it hovered. It’s eyes were purple and there was no specific figure to it, but it seemed to be human. The creature didn’t move, it just sat by the door, watching you.

It’s mouth opened and you almost threw up.

Blood dripped from its mouth and fangs that weren’t attached to anything sat in its mouth.

“It’s Y/N, right?” The voice was familiar, but it was deep and raspy, an inhuman curl in its sound. You sat there silently, trying to place the voice to a person but you couldn’t.

“Yes…” you whispered, pressing yourself further back against the wall.

The creature made a sound that sounded like a sigh.

“I apologize for the appearance. I can’t always pick and choose what I possess,” it muttered, “but I’m here to talk about your ability.”

You couldn’t reply.

“Possess?” You squeaked out eventually.

If the creature was capable of facial expressions, it didn’t look very impressed.

“Look, I don’t have much time, I’m hundreds of miles away so the conne—”

It stopped talking to let out a hissing noise.

“—you’re in the V district, right? In a psych ward?”

You nodded wearily, unsure of where this was going exactly. The ghost—you decided it was a ghost—flickered for a few seconds and a few garbled sentences fell from its gruesome mouth. Then with a flash of light, it disappeared. You sat there, heart racing as you stared at the spot it had been. Blood sat in droplets around the floor where it had been.

That voice, that voice… it had been from your dreams. You were sure of it, the tone and accent were the same as one of the boys you’d briefly seen in your sleep. Were… were they actually real or was that just an after effect of one of your nightmares?

The overhead lights in your room and you sat up straight, eyes darting from the blood on the floor to the metal door. A face appeared in it: your doctor. Her red hair was in a bun and her glasses rested low on her nose. The door creaked open, an armed man standing beside her. She smiled at you as the guard surveyed the room, his eyes landing on the blood spots. He nudged her, nodding at it. When her gaze returned to yours, her face was full of disappointment. The gesture was completely comical of course, considering that the lady didn’t genuinely care about you.

As usual, you were dragged out of the room as a cleaning team was sent in. You didn’t fight this time, your mind focused on the conversation you’d had with the ghost boy. He’d asked where you were, which made you wonder if those boys from your dreams were coming for you. If they were, was that a good thing or a bad thing? You wanted to get out of this hellhole desperately, but who knew if they were on their way to rescue you? They could be coming to painfully slaughter you and leave your guts splattered all along the depressing cement walls of your room.

At least if that happened, you wouldn’t have to explain why there was blood everywhere.

“Y/N.” The doctor snapped her fingers in front of your face. You blinked and then sighed as you begrudgingly met her inquisitive stare. “I see you banged your head up.”

She unconsciously touched the same spot on her head as if injuries were contagious. You stared at her, keeping your face blank. You’d learned that remaining expressionless and talking as little as possible got you out of these rather quickly. She was your fifth doctor and she seemed more determined than the rest to “cure” you.

“Of course, there’s not much blood coming from that wound,” she muttered aloud, “so where did that blood on the floor come from?”

You shrugged and rolled your eyes.

A mandatory check was conducted on you. The doctor was baffled when she found no other wounds on you. She checked three times just to make sure and you had never seen anyone look so distraught. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind, but it probably wasn’t anything good.

“Are you sure you don’t know where the blood came from?” She asked slowly.

You smiled.

“Want the truth?”

She nodded.

“It was a ghost,” you deadpanned, leaning back in your seat. “He said that him and his pals are coming to save me from this hell. Nine of them actually. You won’t even know I’m gone until it’s too late.”

The lady obviously didn’t believe you as she raised an eyebrow and took notes. The notes were probably somewhere along the lines of ‘the psychopath thinks that nine ghosts are going to come and break her out. How cute.’ With that, she nodded at two guards, and they grabbed you, dragging you away. You let them willingly, your bare feet stumbling against the cold tile.

But then you stopped. A tiny little boy drifted along the hallway and his light blue eyes locked with yours. A shiver raced down your spine and you didn’t want to go in that direction, but they were forcing you to. He approached, clutching a teddy bear in his arms. One of the guards shouted at you and then you fell to your knees.

“Y/N,” he mumbled, standing right in front of you, “I’m almost there. Tonight. Be ready.”

The ghost disappeared and you stared at the spot in disbelief. Then a smile started to curl at your lips and you started laughing. You made eye contact with one of the guards and your laughs only grew louder.

“You”—you giggled—“you all are so screwed.”

Neither of them seemed impressed by your threat as they furiously dragged you the rest of the way. They threw you in your room, the frigid ground scraping against your elbows. You didn’t care as you sat up, grinning at the tiny window in your door. Unless you were actually crazy, your ass was getting saved tonight.

The rest of the day passed quietly, a sloppy lunch getting tossed into your room. You chose not to eat it, staring at the mush in disgust. You kept yourself busy as you scratched words into the walls. You continued writing until the lights flickered off and guards shouted throughout the halls for everyone to get to bed. A smile was bright on your face as you stared at the little message you’d left on your wall.

‘Lol bye fuckers!’

It was impossible for you to fall asleep that night. You tried multiple times, but your heart was trying to escape your chest and your mind was racing. This was the moment where it really proved whether you were a psycho or not. Shadows danced along the side of the walls and guards paced back and forth in the hallway.

You weren’t sure how you expected the boy to show up. Maybe he would blow up your room and march in through a hole in the wall. Or he would go guns blazing through the facility until he found you. What you didn’t expect was a boy appearing in your room. Silver and black specks floated around him and his eyes glowed silver in the dark room.

“Y/N?” You couldn’t reply, your mouth flopping open and close.

“We need to hurry,” he rushed out as he ran towards your bed. You nodded in understanding, slipping out of bed. His fingers wrapped around your hand and he wrapped his other arm around your torso. His mouth was close to your ear and shivers raced through your body as his breath ruffled your hair.

“This is gonna feel weird,” he warned briefly.

And then everything around you twisted and turned. You became everything and nothing; you were everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. A million different voices came for you, some loud and others soft. It felt like you were underwater, floating through murky water. The only thing you were sure of was the warm body pressed tight against you and the nervous, hushed breaths coming from the person.

When you blinked, everything changed. You stood in a different room, with wooden walls and red carpet. A plush queen bed was pressed against one wall and there was a window, with curtains framing it. It smelled of old cigarettes and laundry detergent.

“Are you okay?” You jumped, having forgotten that the boy was still there. You nodded, stepping away from him only for the room to spin. He caught you before you fell and carried you to the bed, setting you down.

“What was that?” You asked as he sat down on the bed. The boy titled his head at you, silver eyes glinting.

“That depends,” he murmured, leaning towards you, “what can you tell me?”

“Lee Minho, twenty years old. Abilities are teleportation and possession.”

You covered your mouth, eyes widening. It came from nowhere. Did you somehow manage to pick all that up from just your dreams? You didn’t remember any names or anything that specific being mentioned once.

“Correct.” Satisfaction spread over Minho’s face. He leaned back, watching you. You stared at him, hoping that maybe he would offer some explanation. He didn’t.

“Where are we?” You asked.

“A hotel.”

“And… you teleported us here?”

Minho paced across the floor and nodded. He kept brushing his hair out of his face, only for it to fall back into his eyes. He was lean with a tiny waist. His black hair contrasted his pale skin.

“Stay here and don’t answer the door,” he instructed, his hand landing on the handle. “I’m going to go get you some clothes… you can’t be seen in those or somebody might call people we don’t want to have a run-in with.”

Minho left before you could answer. Once the door was shut, you sank deeper into the bed, letting your eyes close. You let out a loud sigh and pulled the covers up to your chin. It was 2 AM and exhaustion was starting to pull at you. You tried to fight the sleep, but it claimed you quickly.

Your eyes opened to an empty parking lot. You sat up, looking around at your settings. A burnt down building sat at the head of the lot and debris was scattered throughout the place. Three boys stood in a circle, talking amongst themselves. They motioned with their hands and they looked to be arguing.

They all wore masks and hoods. They dressed in elaborate, expensive clothes and skin-tight gloves clung to their hands. You recognized one immediately, with blonde hair and the white and gold mask. He seemed to be the only one not talking, as his gaze was focused on something on the horizon.

Nothing was happening, which was odd. Whenever you had these dreams, someone was going full-on Avengers on someone. You weren’t complaining, of course, maybe this meant no injuries for once.

Curiosity got the best of you as you stood up and crept towards the boys. They didn’t notice you as usual. The two continued to argue between themselves while the blonde kept looking around for something.

Finally, the blonde spoke up.

“You two need to stop arguing, it is not going to get us anywhere,” he huffed, “Minho’s gone right now, so we can’t rely on him to keep people out of the way. Seungmin, maybe try putting some wind barrier up or something. Most people will leave that alone.”

“Chan… it’s really not that big of a de—”

“Don’t tell me what’s a big deal and what’s not!” The blonde snapped, “I’m doing this to keep us all safe and all you people do is drag your feet.”—he turned to the other one—“tell Woojin to find Minho, I want him back here as soon as possible.”

The two stood in silence while the other one hurried away. Chan let out a sigh before turning to Seungmin.

“Why was it that Minho went off again?” “A girl. He thought he found another one.”

Someone smacked your shoulder, hard. You woke up groggily, pain flaring through your left temple. Minho hovered over you and once he saw that you were awake, he threw a pile of clothes at you.

“Hurry and get dressed, we gotta go,” he explained. You sat up, glancing at the clock and whining when you saw that it was just barely five AM.

“But it’s so early,” you muttered, sliding out of the warm bed reluctantly.

“They’re here and unless you wanna go back to that hell hole, you better hurry,” Minho snapped. The boy turned his back to you as he threw off his shirt and pulled on a new one. You looked away with a blush and searched through the clothes he got you. There weren’t many options, but you grabbed a sweatshirt and shorts. You changed swiftly, not caring if he was staring. You hadn’t had any privacy for the past five months, always aware of the cameras in the corners of the room whenever you were alone.

Minho grabbed your hospital gown and stuffed it under the mattress. His hand wrapped around yours and he pulled you out of the hotel door. The two of you ran down the hallway and out the door. Your eyes strayed over the parking lot to where two cop cars and a white van sat with cops and nurses wandering about. You quickly saw the red hair and white coat. Your fingers curled and tightened around his hand, your pulse starting to race. She was here, looking for you: threatening your freedom.

“Why is she here?” You whispered, more to yourself than to Minho.

“She’s crazy,” he replied, stopping in front of a pickup. He quickly unlocked the car and motioned for you to go around. You listened, sliding into the passenger’s seat, your gaze still focused on the crowd of people. “Her job is to find people like you and experiment on them.”

You opened your mouth but found that you had no reply to that odd statement. Your mind replayed your dream, reminding you of what the brunette had said. “He thought he found another one.” What did that mean? Were you that one?

“Is this your car?” You queried as Minho rapidly pulled the truck out. The boy shook his head, keeping his gaze focused on the road ahead of him. He pulled out of the parking lot on two wheels and his foot flattened on the gas pedal, aiming for the highway.

“Stole it from the desk clerk,” he stated, “and I know you have questions, but I can’t answer those right now. Help me look for anybody that could be tailing us or any cops. We don’t need to run into anyone right now.”

You pursed your lips but accepted it. You looked at the rearview mirror and saw that there was only an empty road behind you. Minho’s gaze swept from side to side, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. The truck was going at least fifteen over the speed limit and the last thing you needed was to get a speeding ticket in a stolen car with a runaway psych patient.

“Slow down,” you demanded. For a second, nothing happened and he didn’t let up. Then he let out a slow breath and as he did, the car started to gradually slow down. You sighed, your head falling back against the headrest. “Are you sure you can’t answer my questions now?”

The black-haired boy glanced at you and then back at the road.

“I can, but I don’t know how much I can really answer. I honestly think some of the people I know would be better at explaining,” he murmured, “but ask away.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘people like me’?” You went for the one that confused you the most. He sighed and rolled his neck.

“People like you and me,” he said, “people with abilities.”

You went silent.

Minho glanced at you.

“Did she ever experiment on you?”

You shook your head.

“That probably means she hadn’t figured out what your abilities were yet or maybe she wasn’t entirely sure if you had any,” he muttered, relief spilling out through his voice. “The only reason I could find you was because I started sensing you. It doesn’t make sense, considering how far away you are from where I originally am from, but I could. My possession ability gives me the chance to look for specific people. That’s where I sensed your abilities.”

You shifted in your seat, staring at him.

“My dreams.” “What?” “I… I’ve always had these kinds of nightmares, that’s where I first saw you and the others,” you mumbled, “for a while, they were just nightmares… but then I started waking up with unexplained injuries and started having weird occurrences in my life. I think, I mean I’m not sure, but I think maybe I was actually there but you guys just couldn’t see me.”

Minho stared at you for a second, completely ignorant to the fact he was driving. The way his silver eyes burned into you sent nerves racing through your body. Finally, he looked away, focusing on the road in front of him. He bit his lip and his eyes were clouded over as his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

You drove along in silence for another hour. You kept your gaze on the window, watching the street signs blur past and looking for any familiar landmarks. You had no idea where you were or where you were going. This was a part of District V that you didn’t recognize.

“Where are we going?” You asked softly, staring at the large cottonwood trees that hung over the road.

“District 9,” Minho murmured, “we can keep you safe there until we know exactly who you are.”

You stiffened. “And the doctor lady?” “She won’t stop until she finds you, but she won’t be able to.”

“Shit.”

You looked up and saw what Minho was worried about. You were nearing the border and cop cars lined the street. Fear raced through you; this was it, this was where you got caught and sent back to hell. Minho’s hands tightened on the steering wheel and his gaze grew steely. The car pulled to a stop beside one of the policeman. Minho rolled down the window.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” The man said with a smile. “Can I see your IDs?”

You watched in confusion as Minho shuddered and his whole body seemed to shut down. Suddenly the policeman stiffened up and was blinking. His eyes turned silver and then he turned around and pressed a button in the manning station. The toll lifted.

Minho sprung back to life and gunned it out of there. You looked over your shoulder, eyes wide as nobody chased after you. You leaned back in your seat, trying to catch your breath. When you looked over at Minho you saw that his eyes were drooping and his body was slumping.

“Minho?”

He groaned and slowly started to pull the truck over.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered, his head falling back against the seat. His eyes were starting to flutter closed. “Don’t have enough energy and shit for th…”

He trailed off, his eyes closing completely. You sat there, your jaw on the floor. Had he just passed out? Slowly you unbuckled yourself and then did the same for the boy. You struggled for several minutes to get him out of the driver's seat and into the passenger’s seat. You had no idea where you were going, but you still started the car back up again and started down the road towards the Heart of District 9.

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

It was two hours later when you started to see lights and buildings. Skyscrapers and apartment buildings disappeared into the clouds. As you drove into the city, you watched as people milled about. It was noisy and crowded.

You glanced over at Minho and sighed when you found him still asleep. You carefully pulled the car into a parking lot and then slid out of the car. Your bladder was begging to be relieved. You hurried into the convenience store. Country music played on the overhead and the desk clerk didn’t pay you any attention as you shuffled into the bathroom.

You stared at yourself in the mirror, shocked by the gaunt look in your face. A sigh fell from your lips and you left the bathroom warily. Hunger gnawed at you as you made your way through the store, rows of snacks staring at you. You had no money so you left quickly, making a beeline for the truck.

Minho was gone.

Panic set in as you looked through the truck and then scanned the parking lot. Where was he? Did people take random sleeping dudes from cars here?

A hand wrapped around your wrist and you were roughly pulled against someone. You looked up, meeting Minho’s furious gaze. A baseball cap was pulled down over his hair and the only reason you were certain it was him was because of the cat-like eyes that glittered under the brim. Warmth raced across your skin when you realized just how close the two of you were standing. His lips were inches from yours and up close you could a tiny amount of freckles that dotted his skin.

“Where the hell were you?” He growled, his grip on your wrist tightening.

You blinked.

“Where was I? You were the one who randomly disappeared from the car!” You retorted, trying to pull back from him. He was stronger than you and it didn’t help that he looked ready to beat your ass any second.

“I woke up to find you gone! I didn’t know what happened—you could’ve run off or someone could’ve taken you! You could’ve been dead Y/N and you’re mad at me for running off in a hurry to find you?” Minho’s voice grew louder as he went. The few people that walked by looked over in alarm but nobody interfered. Minho pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Y/N, I can protect myself, you can’t.”

You couldn’t stop the snort of indignation.

“You fucking passed out for two hours after using one of your abilities for a solid two seconds!” You snapped back. “You think you’re anymore protected right now?”

He grew silent, his eyes studying your face. Then he smirked and pushed you away, shaking his head. You tried to stay mad but somehow your focus went to how good he looked with the sun beaming off his skin. You pinched yourself and turned away, walking back towards the truck.

“How far away are we?” You asked once the two of you were back on the road.

“Not far.”

That was the only thing you said for the rest of the ride. Thirty minutes later, he pulled up in front of a huge building. You were in a city, full of people and buildings all in a row. No one paid you any attention as you stepped into the building. You were blasted by AC and greeted by stairs.

As you trailed behind Minho, all you could think about was how you’d never seen so many stairs in your life. You’d climbed up seven flights of stairs so far and from the looks of it, there were plenty more to come. How many stairs could one building need? Did these boys really like exercise or something? “Can’t you just invest in an elevator?” You gasped once you’d finally reached another set of doors. Relief swept through you when he opened them to reveal an expensive-looking home.

“I normally just teleport up them,” he pointed out, “but right now I’m running low on fuel.”

It was quiet as you followed Minho deeper into the home. Exhaustion was starting to wear you down and the couch that you stood by looked rather welcoming. You sat on the arm of the couch, slouching down and letting your eyes close.

“Minho!” You jumped and stood back up, fidgeting nervously behind Minho. A white-haired boy approached, eyes widening when he spotted you. You watched as the two made eye contact and seemed to have a silent conversation. After a few tense moments, a tentative smile broke out on his face.

“We’re having a meeting,” he murmured, “I’m sure Chan will be glad that you’re back.”

Minho nodded and reached behind him to make sure you were following. As you followed him through the living room and down a glass hallway, you committed everything to memory. The layout was much different than any homes you’d ever seen in District V. It was nicer too; more modern and clean.

You stepped into a room after the two boys and looked around. Two of the walls were glass and the other two were a shiny gray. A long table sat in the middle of the room and seven boys sat around it. As you looked around at all of them, you found yourself recognizing them from your dreams. Chan sat at the head of the table, blonde hair curly and swept to the side. They were all staring at you, but something in his gaze was different.

He looked like a skeptical predator and you were the unworthy prey.

“Minho,” he murmured, not taking his eyes off you, “who is this?” “Y/N,” you replied, raising your eyebrow. “You’re Chan, right?”

The two of you stared at each other, sizing one another up.

His eyes momentarily darted to Minho and then back to you.

“Yeah…” he grumbled, “do you know why you’re here?”

“Minho says I have abilities.”

A soft murmur ran through the boys. Chan leaned forward on his elbows, his skepticism turning to intrigue. You steeled yourself, forcing yourself not to buckle under all the attention. Minho stepped closer to you and you were surprised by the small calm that washed over you.

“And what, exactly, are these abilities?” The blonde demanded. You grew silent at that question and bit your lip.

“I’m not sure yet Chan,” Minho butt in, “I think she can wander in her dreams and has like… an information well or something.”

The sentence made no sense to you, but it seemed to make a little bit of sense to the others because there were nods all around.

“Well, I suppose we could have Changbin and Woojin check it out… but the two of you look tired,” Chan murmured, “get some rest and then we’ll talk about this.”

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

You lay on the couch, your hands folded over your stomach as Woojin, Minho, Chan, and Changbin all hovered over you. It felt odd as they all stared at you like you were some unsolvable math problem. Finally, Woojin knelt down next to your head, his lavender eyes sweeping over your face.

“This might feel weird,” he warned. Your eyes fluttered close and you felt Woojin’s fingers press against your temple. There was a zing that ran through you, but other than that, nothing else happened.

You tried to stay as still as possible and stay focused on the task at hand, but your mind started to wander. You started to think about your supposed abilities—could you really wander in your dreams? How did you do it?

It felt like you blinked and then you woke up in a different place. You were still laying on a couch, but everything around you had changed. The boys were missing and you were surrounded by an overcast field of dead grass. You sat up, watching as images fluttered by like ripples of light. One of the images floated dangerously close to you and you reached out to touch it.

You did more than touch it. Suddenly, the image was swimming around you. You were staring out a window, watching as rain poured down on two people arguing outside. Your instinct told you that these were your parents and a fabricated sadness fell over you. This wasn’t your memory; these weren’t your parents. Without your consent, your gaze shifted to focus on the blurry reflection in the. A young boy’s face appeared, black hair falling over his eyebrows, overshadowing familiar lavender-colored eyes.

This was Woojin’s memory.

You reeled back, feeling like you were intruding on something. A mix of panic and confusion started to fill you: what was happening? Was this what Woojin meant to do? Something told you it wasn’t; whatever was happening right now was your own doing.

It almost felt like you were standing in a swimming pool full of panic. Your eyes widened as a storm started to brew above you and the grass withered away, turning into black piles of ash. The fear seemed to go into overload and it caused your own heart to start thundering. You covered your ears, begging for it to stop and go away. Your eyes pinched shut and you bit your lip.

The air around you warmed up and the wind disappeared. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself back on the couch in the apartment. Woojin no longer knelt next to you, but instead he was sprawled on the ground several feet from you. His eyes swam with fear and his breathing was sporadic. The other three’s gazes we’re switching between you and the blue-haired boy. Finally, Chan clapped his hands together and let out a loud sigh.

“Come on, let's go take a breather,” he murmured, holding out a hand to Woojin. The boy took it and the two left. Changbin looked at Minho and the two seemed to have a silent conversation.

After that, it was just you and the teleporter.

“What happened?” Your voice was shakier than you would’ve liked. Minho sat down beside you.

“As you know, Woojin’s ability allows him to enter and read minds. At first, everything seemed fine and then he just stiffened up… and then he jumped away from you and started freaking out. He kept mumbling something about how you were in,” Minho explained. His voice became softer and had a calming effect on you. His hand landed on your wrist awkwardly and his eyes strayed to the place, a debate obvious in his stare.

You cleared your throat.

“I-er-I think I was in Woojin’s mind,” you whispered, “I don’t know how I did it and I’m really fucking sorry if I hurt him. It-it just happened, I really don’t k—“

“Y/N, it’s fine. Woojin isn’t injured, he’s just shocked. Don’t blame yourself,” he said, his hand dropping to yours this time. His fingers were warm between yours and it caused your face to heat up.

Minho stood up, your hand slipping from his grasp. Changbin came back, his dark eyes watching the two of you carefully. He gave you the creeps, with his death stare and the weird aura that floated around him.

“Chan said that we’ll see what happens tonight, but we’ve seemed to come to a conclusion on her abilities. We just want to be certain,” he stated, sitting down on the coffee table. “But now Chan wants to talk to you, while you’ve been gone, we’ve been in some desperate need of your ability.”

Minho nodded and sent a quick glance back at you before leaving. Changbin turned to watch him leave and once the silver-eyed boy was out of sight, he turned back to you. He brushed his black hair from his face, showing off a scar that ran through his eyebrow. His lips turned into a frown.

You expected him to say something, but instead, the boy just perched on the table. It felt like you were having some weird staring contest as the boy refused to look away from you. You looked away and sat up, running a hand through your hair.

“So what’s the conclusion?” “You want to know?”

You narrowed your eyes and turned to him. “Why wouldn’t I? It’s my ability, isn’t it?” Changbin shrugged.

“Minho explained to us how you could randomly sprout information about him the second you met him. Chan and Woojin believe that it may be a side-ability to a bigger one. They… think that you can mock abilities,” Changbin said. He raised his eyebrows at you and tilted his head. “I told you one of my abilities… what’s my other one?”

You wanted to laugh in his face, but you couldn’t because the information rushed you so fast.

“Telekinesis,” you replied smoothly.

He nodded. “What are Chan’s?”

“Gravitation and Phasing.”

A satisfied smile curled onto his lips and it was rather disconcerting. For some reason, you could imagine this boy smiling while stabbing you. You couldn’t remember anything about him from your dreams, so you weren’t sure where you were getting this persona from. Maybe it was just your paranoia.

You hoped it was paranoia.

His eyes roved over you, curiosity burning in their depths. You could see the questions brimming. Then he let out a sigh and leaned away.

“You’re welcome to do whatever, we won’t be retrying until tonight,” he said. Changbin stood up and bid you goodbye and then disappeared to where the others had gone.

You sat in silence, looking around. You didn’t feel like you belong among the polished surfaces and clean carpets. This was the world for the rich and powerful. It was the opposite of what you had grown up in.

You spent the rest of the day wandering around the place and trying to relax. Stress was coursing through you, making your thoughts race and your skin tingle. There were a million things going on that were causing it. You were no longer in District V and now you were living with some notorious gang. Apparently, you had “abilities” and these boys would go to any means to discover what they were.

Night approached too quickly. After eating a bowl of cereal by yourself in their extremely clean kitchen, Minho came to fetch you. It didn’t help that he also seemed to be nervous, with his fingers constantly tapping against his thigh. Nothing was even happening to him.

“Y/N,” Changbin greeted you as you stepped into the room. A large queen bed with a blood-red bedspread was pressed against the wall. The walls themselves were a deep brown and the dark atmosphere wasn’t helping with your nerves. “Just go to bed for right now, that’s really all you have to do.”

“And then you’re gonna step into my dreams?” You asked as he slid from the room. The boy nodded and then glanced at Minho.

“It won’t hurt, I swear. Most people don’t even notice I’m there… although, it might be different for you. Just… try not to do whatever you did last time,” he murmured. Part of you knew that you shouldn’t have been hurt by what he said, but a pang ran through you at his words.

“Ok ok,” Minho spoke up, “let’s not stress her out now. Just sleep and do whatever you do. Let’s get you comfortable.”

He steered you towards the bed, his arm firm around your shoulders. You sat down nervously on the bed, watching as the boy shuffled away to search through the dresser across the room. Minho pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt and brought them over to you.

“Are these yours?” You asked, unable to meet his gaze.

“This is my room,” he pointed out and then he turned around. You changed quickly, muttering an ‘okay’ when you were ready for him to turn around. It felt weird to be sitting in someone else’s closing, especially his.

The articles smelled of him and you hated to admit that it calmed you down slightly. You slid into the bed and turned away from him, praying he wouldn’t see the red that was burning up your face. The lights turned off and your heart started to race as you heard his footsteps approach the bed.

“Are you sleeping here?” You whispered into the dark.

He didn’t reply for a moment.

“Would you rather I didn’t?”

You didn’t give yourself time to think before you answered.

“No, I’d rather you stay… please,” you mumbled. The bed dipped as and the sheets were pulled down for a second. Your heart should’ve been racing but as you took deep breaths, it slowed down to a steady beat. Minho stayed a good distance away, but warmth crept through the few inches between you.

And sleep claimed you quickly.

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

You woke up the next morning peacefully. There hadn’t been any dreams last night and it was the best sleep you’d gotten in a while. Minho was still dead asleep beside you, his mouth parted and his breathing was light. His arm was now lazily slung over your waist and his nose was just inches from your cheeks.

You sat up, staring at him for a second. His eyelashes were long enough to fall along the top of his cheekbones. His lips were a deep pink and they looked soft. Your mind ran on its own track as you ran your thumb over his bottom lip. The boy stirred under your touch and you jumped away.

The silver would never not shock you, especially watching them brighten as his eyelids fluttered open. He was still for a few seconds and after blinking a couple times, he looked up at you. A groan fell from his lips as he sat up and rapidly rubbed his eyes. The side of his face he’d been lying on was dusted red.

“Sleep well?” His voice was raspy. He licked his lips and squinted his eyes at the wall in front of him.

“Yeah. What about you?”

He laughed. “You’re really cuddly once you’re asleep. I have never been more terrified of being suffocated in my life.”

You stared at him, your mouth falling open. A grin split over Minho’s face and although he’d smiled before, there was something so different in his face, that it had you smiling just as brightly. It disappeared when his gaze dropped to your lips and sat focused there, his eyes glazing over.

The door burst open and Chan marched in.

“We have bad news,” he announced, his expression grim, “Doctor Lynn doesn’t plan to let Y/N get away that easily.”

You didn’t have time to throw on any different clothes as the two of you followed Chan to the meeting room. A TV flickered on the glass wall, paused on an image that had horror burning up through your system. It was your picture with the caption ‘Unstable Psych Patient on the Loose, Contact Police if Seen!’

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Minho muttered, stepping closer to you. You stared at it, your eyes widening.

“How do you know it’s her?” You asked, looking around.

“She did the same thing to me,” Changbin replied. He wasn’t looking at you as he stared at the screen, almost like he was reliving a bad memory. “The things that woman did to me were awful. The only reason I’m free and alive today is because of Chan.”

Despite the gratuitous statement, there was no gratitude in his voice. His voice sounded broken, dead. Your gaze moved from him and back to your own picture and you thought of the red-haired doctor. Was she really out for you? “I’ve already sent Woojin, Hyunjin, and Jisung out. She knows that we’re in District 9 for sure and I’m hoping they’ll keep her away from the Deep City,” Chan explained, eyes filled with worry as he glanced at you. “Unfortunately, we can’t stop everything just because some bitch is out on the hunt. The rest of you need to get to your stations and continue your jobs.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a frown spread over Minho’s face. His eyebrows furrowed and his hand swayed until it brushed against yours. You entangled your own fingers with his and squeezed tightly.

“One of us needs to stay with Y/N, it’s not safe,” Minho mentioned, “and I’ve already finished my part.”

Chan didn’t look happy but he obliged.

After everyone had filed out, you and Minho sat alone in the living room. Your mind kept fluttering back to that almost kiss in his bed. Your body was burning with pent up energy. You bit your lip.

“Minho?”

“Yeah?” He was barely paying attention as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. His thoughts were elsewhere, focused on the problems at hand. You frowned and glanced down at your lap.

“Are you… are you—” you cut yourself off and then shook your head. “Nevermind.”

The boy stopped his pacing and made his way over to you. His eyes were full of concern as he leaned over the counter. You looked away and cleared your throat. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by alarms blaring through the house. You stiffened and Minho raced away, cursing loudly. You slid from the chair and followed after him, watching as he turned on the TV. It wasn’t a basic stream, instead, the stairwell popped into view.

“Oh fuck!” He hissed, staring at the several guards dressed in all black racing up the stairs. You recognized those outfits.

“The psych ward,” you whispered, coming to stand beside him. “They’ve found us.”

Minho didn’t reply as he hurried towards the phone and quickly dialed it. Even from your place, you could hear the white noise crackle through the phone. He cussed again and then grabbed your hand. There was no warning as the same feeling as before washed over you; everything disappeared and new images raced past you. But when you came out of it you found yourself only two feet away.

A groan left the boy and he staggered against you. You caught him, struggling to keep him upright. His eyes were no longer silver, but a dark gray. You patted him and dragged him over to the couch, letting him collapse.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, running your hands over him in search of some form of injuries.

“No, the job Chan had me do… it completely drained me,” he grumbled and sat up. “We’re gonna have to use the back entrance, come on.”

Minho didn’t sound good at all and you doubted he had enough energy to keep going, but you didn’t stop him. He led the way up the stairs and then into a bedroom. He yanked open the window and slid out first and then helped you through. You made the mistake of looking down and nearly threw up. You weren’t sure how high up you were exactly, but it was super fucking high. The ladder didn’t look steady either.

“Hey,” you mumbled, staring down the ladder, “if we both die or something… I just wanna say that I really like you.”

You looked up and met his shocked stare.

Then he blushed and looked away.

“Uh… I really like you too,” he replied. You smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and then started down the ladder. He followed you and the two of you struggled down in silence. The metal creaked beneath your shoes and the wind battered you. Your palms grew sweaty and your grip tightened as you continued down.

You came to another landing and the two of you paused and looked up. Nobody was following you. For once, you were actually thankful for the millions of stairs this building had. The guards were probably in better shape, but it would still take them a while. Minho jumped onto the landing behind you, his face flushed white. Worry raced through you when you saw just how dim his eyes looked.

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” You whispered.

He wasn’t able to answer your question. Something whizzed past the two of you and hit him. He crumbled against you and you struggled to keep upright against his weight. Your eyes drifted down his body and your eyes widened when you saw a needle sticking out of his waist. You plucked it out quickly and tossed it away, but the damage had already been done. His eyes were starting to close and he mumbled something and then passed out against you.

A helicopter that you had somehow missed slowly hovered down. Your gaze met the red-haired doctor’s and rage swept through you. The helicopter was level with you and the door opened, two guards staring at you with blank expressions. Tears started to prick the corners of your eyes; you were so fucking screwed. Minho was hurt and it was all your fault. They were after you, not him.

“Y/N,” he rasped. You glanced at him, shocked to find him still alive. “Run, I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t just leave you,” you said, shaking your head.

You weren’t sure what happened next, it was like you blacked out, but you somehow saw everything that happened. You just couldn’t stop it. Your eyes blinked open to find yourself in a dirty bathroom, sitting on the counter. When you slid off the counter, you stumbled. Your legs felt like jelly and your head was pounding.

You opened the door and slid out of the bathroom, finding yourself in an empty gas station. The open sign was turned off and the parking lot was empty. Your gaze dropped to your hands and then you bit your lip, realizing exactly what happened. Minho.

You spent several minutes crying on the floor in the chips aisle, head buried into your knees. He’d sacrificed himself for you and the two of you had only known one another for a couple days. After a while, you forced yourself to stand up and wiped your tears away. Minho saved your life several times and now you needed to repay him and crying in a gas station wouldn’t help.

You grabbed a water bottle, draining it in a few seconds flat. The air was cold when you stepped outside. It was annoying, not knowing the place because you didn’t recognize any buildings or street signs. Either way, you started walking down the street, keeping your head down whenever a car zoomed past.

You were left alone for several miles down the street, but eventually a car rolled to a stop beside you. The window rolled down and a boy around your age grinned at you. His eyes ran along your body and he licked his lips. You grimaced.

“Need a ride somewhere doll?” You almost said no and then you smirked. The car smelled of smoke as you leaned in through the window, smiling at him. His eyes glittered and his smile gave you the creeps, but you forced yourself to stay in character.

“Uhm, actually I do,” you murmured. The door unlocked and you opened the door and stood outside it for a second. You balled your fists and then slid into the car. His eyes darted to the unclosed door and to you as you just stared at him. Then you smiled again and prayed that he had a soft face. You’d never punched anyone in your life, but the satisfying crunch that came when your fist connected with his nose sounded good. Your knuckles stung and you hissed, but kept moving.

You left him on the side of the road, trying not to smile at the blood that dripped from his nose. Then you slid into the driver’s seat and raced off. In truth, you had no idea what you were doing or where you were going, but how easy is it to hide a butt-ton of guards. Eventually, you started seeing vaguely familiar things. You zoomed down the main street of the city, keeping an eye out for anybody dressed in black or suspicious helicopters.

Nerves started to roil in your stomach because you didn’t really know what you were doing. What were you supposed to look for? You didn’t know how to contact Chan or anyone else and they wouldn’t be back the house for the rest of the day.

You were on your own.

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

Days passed and soon the car ran out of gas and you still had no luck in finding any sign of the psychos or Minho. You walked along the edge of the street, dirt sticking to your shoes and everywhere else. You were tired and lost and hopeless. You were forcing yourself not to cry, having cried so many times in the past days.

As you walked past an abandoned house, you froze. Your eyes zeroed in on the silver van that sat in the driveway. You’d seen that van plenty of times. It was the one the came to pick you up from your house and took you to the psych ward. You’d seen hundreds of them parked outside from your window.

“Minho,” you whispered.

You ran towards the side of the house, taking extra care to pay attention to the area around you. There was nobody in sight. A window was broken on the first floor and you poked your head in. Once again there was no one. It felt too easy to be just waltzing in there, but you had to take your chances.

Glass crunched under your shoes as you jumped onto the floor. That was when you saw the two guards. They leaned against the wall in the kitchen, talking and not even sparing you a glance. You scooted away from them and pressed yourself against the wall, out of view. You forced your breath to stay even and looked around. Minho had to be here. The place was so random and out of the way, that it made perfect sense for him to be here.

You moved towards a closed-door, figuring the best way to find him was to start opening as many doors as possible. It was just a coat closet. You opened the one next to it and found a tiny bedroom. You looked around and then slowly snuck from the room. The third door you opened lead to a staircase going down. Your stomach tightened and you stepped down. The stair creaked loudly and you stiffened.

“Did you hear that?” One of the guards muttered.

“It’s probably that idiot rocking his chair again.”

“Should we tell him to stop?” “He’s sedated off his ass, where is he gonna go?” The second one retorted. You stared into the dim room at the bottom of the stairs and made your way down as carefully as possible. It was dark and dusty, but as your eyes adjusted, you saw the silhouette of someone sitting in a chair.

“Please don’t be some creepy old lady like in horror movies,” you mumbled.

It wasn’t.

It was Minho.

You rushed to him, a sigh of relief leaving you. He was completely out of it, mouth slightly hanging open and head leaned back. His breathing was shallow and he didn’t look very good. You looked up, stiffening when you heard footsteps stomp along. You had to get out of here.

“We think you can mock abilities.”

Minho had teleported with you twice. You’d experienced his ability twice and if you really could mock abilities, what was to stop you from getting out of there? You wrapped your hands around his and closed your eyes, trying to remember the sensation you’d felt before. You imagined that you were back in the city. When you opened your eyes, you were still in the dusty basement.

“I can do this,” you muttered and then forced more confidence into your voice, “I can do this.”

You remembered the smell of the city and the feel of the air around you. You remembered people storming past you and cars rushing by. Your hands tightened against Minho’s, forcing the world around you to disappear. Then you felt it, a pulling in your gut. It snapped and then the familiar sensations flooded you like a river. You were everywhere and nowhere; everything and nothing.

When you opened your eyes, you were in the middle of the Deep City. Your head pounded and your vision swam. You crumpled to your knees, gasping. Minho’s hand was still tightly clutched in yours. Everything was blurry, but you forced yourself to focus as you looked around. You recognized the Miroh building and you struggled to your feet, pulling Minho up with you.

You fell again.

“Shit,” you whispered. You felt like you were going to throw up.

A pair of shoes stepped in front of you. Arms wrapped around you and scooped you up. Seungmin’s face came into view. He looked worried, but there was a smile on his face nonetheless. Black spots fizzled in your vision.

When you came to, you woke up in Minho’s bed. He lay beside you, bandages wrapped around his biceps and face pale. Woojin sat in a chair several feet away, reading through a magazine.

“He’s going to be okay,” he hummed without looking up, “considering you were worried?”

“Yeah.” Your voice cracked as you stared down at him. You wished that you had gotten there sooner.

“You can’t blame yourself, Y/N. From the looks of it, you did some amazing things,” he sighed. Woojin stood up and made his way towards you. His eyes worriedly ran over Minho before darting to you. “Of course, you’ll still need to tell us what happened.”

You slid out of bed and paused beside Minho. Woojin waited for you at the door. A shaky sigh escaped you as you ran your thumb over a cut on his cheek. Then you leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Woojin didn’t say anything as the two of you walked back to the meeting room. The seven other boys sat around the table, all of them seeming to have various injuries of their own.

You sat down and cleared your throat, fingers drumming against your thigh. You took a few deep breaths before you started to recount what happened. They all listened intently, not asking any questions, and you finished the story, even more nervous than before.

“It doesn’t make sense,” you piped up, “I mean… I didn’t even have any altercations with them.”

“That’s because they’ve set their eyes past you and to us,” Changbin sighed, “they talked to somebody who knows something. All of us who ambushed. It was a stupid move to leave Minho that unattended, but maybe they were confident that they wouldn’t need to guard him.”

For a second he was silent, chewing on his lip.

He stared at Chan.

“I think I know who it is.”

Chan nodded. “I believe I do too, although the question is if we really want to do with him right now.”

Then he groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“But we need to,” he mumbled to himself. Then he looked around. “Normally this is something I’d have Minho do… Woojin, can you go?”

He didn’t seem too thrilled with whatever he had to do. You fiddled with the edges of your sweater, debating what to do. You wanted to help, well actually, you wanted to punch whoever snitched and then toss them into a meat grinder. Minho was hurt because of them; all these boys were in trouble and injured because of it.

“I want to come as well,” the words tumbled out. Heads snapped in your direction, confusion evident in their eyes. You looked at Chan. “Please—this is my fight as much as it is yours. If anything, it’s more of my fight than yours but still... “

Chan looked ready to object, but Woojin interjected.

“Well then, let’s go get ready and then we’ll go.”

You walked back to Minho’s room and found him awake. He was lying there, staring at the ceiling and as you approached, you saw that his eyes were red. Your heart lurched and you swiftly walked over to the bed. Minho jumped when you came into view and then he smiled at you. You grabbed his head and knelt down beside him.

“Are you okay?” You whispered.

“I’m alive,” he croaked and then coughed. You wanted to know what they did to him, but you figured now wasn’t a good time. Minho’s gaze was sad as he watched you. His hand reached up and tipped your chin up, bringing you closer until you were inches apart. “This is really random, but I kind of want to kiss you.”

You nodded and let your eyes flutter closed. His lips were cold and chapped when they pressed against yours, but you didn’t mind. You pressed closer, hands gripping into the sheets beside him. His hand moved from your face to the back of your neck, pulling you closer. He shifted and tugged you forwards so you spilled on top of him. You pulled back with a gasp, nervously laughing and unable to meet his stare.

“I have… I have to go,” you muttered, remembering Woojin. It was hard to focus as Minho’s thumbs massaged circles into your hips and with his face really close to yours. “I’m—”

You found that you didn’t want to tell Minho what you were doing.

“Chan wants to talk to me about my abilities.” You cringed as the lie came out. You didn’t want Minho to worry, but lying to him didn’t feel right. His eyes searched your face and you had a feeling he knew. “I’ll be back, I-I promise.”

A sigh filled the air between you, but he nodded. He pressed one last quick kiss to your lips. You slid from the bed and then grabbed a pile of clothes off the wardrobe and disappeared into the bathroom. Your gaze met your reflection’s after you’d pulled your new clothes on. Your hands curled into fists, nails biting crescents into your palm and you steeled your nerves.

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

The sun set several hours before you arrived at the place. Woojin hadn’t given you any hint of where you were going or what type of person this guy was. It was a club that you pulled into. LED lights flashed through the windows and when you opened the door you were attacked by the smell of alcohol and tobacco. Your nose wrinkled and you glanced over at Woojin in disbelief.

“Believe me, I don’t how this guy became our problem,” he huffed, slamming the door shut. “Just stay close to me… people here are weird.”

The bouncer didn’t spare you a single glance as you walked into the building. Immediately your senses went overload trying to pay attention to everything that was happening. The lights were changing color rapidly, people were shouting, and sparkly strippers swung on even shinier poles. Waitresses wandered about, smiles out and chests out.

“Sora!” Woojin called as the two of you pushed past groups of drunken idiots. A girl dressed in green lingerie with blue hair and blue-colored skin turned to him. She smiled, not in a welcoming way, but the same way a predator would when an unknowing prey walks into their house. As she approached, you realized that her skin wasn’t actually blue, the high points of her skin just had blue highlight on them.

“New girl?” She asked, her eyes darting towards you. You frowned at her, feeling uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. “You never have a girl with you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like I’m a customer. We need to talk to Rio.”

Sora huffed.

“Kim Woojin!”

Another girl approached. She was dressed in a fiery red, tight skinned dress and just like Sora, the high points of her body and face were tinted a sparkly orange. Her green eyes sparkled under the lights and her smile was even more unnerving than the first girl’s. She didn’t spare you a single glance as she kept her stare leveled on Woojin.

“Here to see Rio?” She sounded like she was making fun of him.

Woojin gritted his teeth. “Yes, Vienna.”

She laughed, flapping her hand and then motioning for him to follow. You went to follow him, but a hand on your shoulder stopped you. Sora held tight to you and when you met her gaze, it only tightened. Your eyebrows furrowed and a grimace spread over your face.

“Please let go,” you murmured, trying to pull away.

“Rio only allows certain guests to see him,” she stated, “and you don’t seem to be one of them.”

It was like a natural reaction, an instinct that was buried deep inside. You grabbed her wrist and twisted it until she let go. The two of you stood nearly chest to chest and you sneered. She tried to pull back, but this time you were the one in control.

“Oh believe me,” you snapped, “I am one of them.”

You let go of her wrist and pushed her away. You chased after Woojin and Vienna, sending the same vicious glare Vienna’s way when she sent you a look of disdain. The three of you stepped into a room. It smelled awful and a man sat with his back to you. When he turned around at Vienna’s call, he wasn’t a good sight. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin pale, and a patchy beard was growing along his chin and neck.

“You Miroh bitches never leave people alone, do you?”

The room grew cold and the smell of alcohol and body odor was overpowered by the smell of something dead. Figures started to dance in the dark corners of the room and pairs of eyes and sharp teeth flashed. Ice crept through you and it felt like you were back in the psych ward, your mind playing tricks on you as you sat in the dark room for hours on end.

Rio stiffened at it and he muttered an apology. The creatures retreated and the cold lessened, but it was still there. Woojin walked around the couch until he stood in front of the disgusting man. You walked towards the back of the couch and your nose wrinkled as the stench grew stronger. The man’s blue eyes darted from you to Woojin and you saw a deep fear racing through his face.

“Who the hell did you tell?” Woojin asked. He didn’t move, his expression didn’t change, and the dead didn’t even shift. Yet Rio still flinched away, fingers drumming against his knees.

“Some lady,” he squeaked out, “red hair. Claimed she was working for the greater good or something.”

Woojin raised an eyebrow.

“And what did you tell her?”

Rio’s eyes cast downwards and he mumbled something. Woojin snorted and then backed up until he could lean against the wall behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the alcoholic in front of him. Rio paused for a second before looking back up at Woojin.

“She promised she’d get rid of you guys and I wouldn’t have to deal with you psychopaths anymore. You think I care how she does it? As long as you’re out of my hair, I couldn’t give two shits!” It felt like something snapped inside you. The whole statement peeved you off. Minho was hurt because this guy snitched. All nine of them were in danger because of her. She wouldn’t have known about their abilities or where they were stationed if he hadn’t said anything.

Your body moved without your mind’s command. Your elbow rammed into the side of his head and warm satisfaction ran through you as he crumpled. He let out a cry, grasping his head where you’d hit him. You leaned over the back of the couch, forcing him to meet your stare.

“You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to act like that while you fucking sit in here, drinking your life away, not doing anything but ruin others life. You’ve put these boys lives in danger because of your stupid mouth. They can’t really be that fucking bad can they? You used to live in a dump you pig and then they helped you out, even though they didn’t have to! The reason you’re so successful is because of them and this is how you repay them?” You snarled. Rio tried to look away from you, but you weren’t done yet. Your fingers digged into his hair and you pulled, snapping his neck back so he had no choice but to look at you.

“They’ve all been under extreme stress and they’ve been hurt because of your dumbass actions! If anything, you owe them, but you repay them by ratting their lives out to some random ass woman you don’t even know? A woman who hasn’t done a single thing for you? Minho could’ve fucking died because of your actions! He’s hurt and he doesn’t deserve it because he went out of his way to save my ass—a random girl he’d never met. He’s been nothing but nice and caring and you try to brush him under the rug like he’s not human?”—You didn’t even realize you were solely focused on Minho, you were seething and your mind was racing too fast for your mouth to keep up—“he doesn’t deserve it, you swine! You owe them your wealth and your life, and yet, you’d just let them die?”

You bared your teeth at him.

“Some piece of disgusting scum you are.”

You let go of his hair and shoved his head forward. He cradled his head, sobbing loudly and muttering apologies under his breath. Woojin stared at you with no readable expressions. You couldn’t tell if he was surprised or impressed. His eyes darted from you to Rio and then he frowned.

“What was her plan, Rio?” He asked. The other man was silent for a moment, still sobbing. You fought the urge to give him a real beating and tell him to man up. Woojin probably didn’t want your help again.

“I don’t really know,” he whispered, “she just said she was going to find you guys and separate you. Sh-she said that all her guards weren’t here yet and once they were all there, that there was no winning for you. I… I don’t really know, please, I swear. Don’t hurt me again.”

His pale blue eyes darted to you, not Woojin, and you realized that he wasn’t scared of Woojin anymore. You shifted uncomfortably, looking away and staring at the shadows that rolled along the sides of the room. Woojin cursed under his breath.

“We gotta go,” he murmured to and then marched towards Rio. His fingers pressed against the man’s temple and Rio collapsed. The two of you left quickly, racing across the parking lot to the car.

The car was silent for the first several minutes, both of you still struggling to catch your breath. You were suddenly really tired and you leaned your head against the window, watching as headlights zoomed by. Finally Woojin let out a soft sigh and out of the corner of your eye, you saw him glance at you.

“You really like Minho, huh?” He hummed. You looked away from the window to stare at him. His eyes looked black in the dark atmosphere. Your mind kept skipping back to the ghosts he’d summoned and how much it had reminded you of the occasional hallucinations you used to have.

“What do you mean by that?” You grumbled, scoffing afterwards.

“The majority of your speech was about him,” he pointed out, “I mean… at the end, you managed to wrap it up with us, but your main worry really seemed to be Minho.” Woojin paused as if trying to think of what to say next.

“The two times you really used your ability was because of him. You managed to teleport with someone else and go pretty far for the first time. You read Rio’s mind back there. Both times were motivated by him,” he commented, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. He pulled into the garage and turned off the car. The two of you stared at one another.

“Yeah… so?” He smiled. “Just make sure he knows that Y/N.”

Woojin got out first, heading towards the door. You slid out of the car a few moments later. The walk up the stairs didn’t seem as long as usual. Your mind was wandering, lost in emotions that you couldn’t even explain to yourself.

When you stepped into the house, you were greeted by Changbin and Chan. The two sat in the living room, playing a game of cards. Both of their expressions were grim and you figured that Woojin must’ve already told them what you found out. You didn’t stay to talk and instead made your way to your room.

Minho was coming out of the bathroom as you entered. Most of his bandages were off and a lot of his cuts were already healed. He stood in only sweatpants, wet hair falling into his eyes. He spotted you and smiled and you found yourself smiling back. His eyes were back to their regular color and there was a healthy pink tint in his skin. You didn’t question how he’d managed to heal so fast and ran towards him. You threw your arms over his shoulders and kissed him deeply.

He was surprised for a moment, but then his arms snaked around your waist and he kissed you back. You smiled against his lips and then pulled back, staring up at him. Minho stared back at you, cheeks pinker than before.

“I love you,” you blurted out. His eyes widened and so did yours.

He pouted.

“I wanted to say it first,” he mumbled and pressed a kiss to the corner of your lips. Then he pulled back and wrinkled his nose. “You smell.”

You laughed. “Thanks. I should probably go shower.”

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

The two of you had laid quietly in bed for an hour. You had just stared at Minho, just barely able to see him in the dark room. But it didn’t seem to matter how dark it was because his eyes were still bright.

It was an hour of purely nothing but cuddles and soft breathing. Then it changed quickly when Minho pressed a soft kiss to your jawline. When you hummed, it only egged him on and his mouth continued along your jaw and down your neck. He shifted over top of you, knee slotted between your thighs, and mouth desperately marking up your shoulder and collarbone. Whimpers were falling from you and you were grinding against his leg, eyes pinched shut. His hands ran down your sides and then stopped at the hem of your shirt.

“Are you sure this is a good time?” He gasped. You groaned, tangling your fingers in his hair and looking at him.

“Is it ever a good time in this life?” It was a vague sentence, but it was all he needed. Your shirt flew over your head and his warm mouth fell on your breast. You gasped, your back arching into his touch. His fingers were playing with your pants, testing the fabric between him and you. He switched his mouth to your other breast, rolling your nipple under his tongue.

In one fluid movement, he pulled down your pants and panties down. His mouth made a slow trail down your stomach and along your hips. He skipped over your core, kissing and nipping at your thighs. You mewled, spreading your legs further. Minho hummed against your skin and then your clit was sucked into his mouth. You squealed, thighs closing around his head.

It didn’t deter him. His tongue licked several quick stripes up your core, sending electricity bouncing along your skin. He sucked and nipped at your clit, distracting you from the movement of his hand. Two of his fingers entered you swiftly, pushing all the way up to the third knuckle. They curled against your tight hole, pressing right to the g-spot.

“Minho,” you moaned, head falling back against the pillows. “D-don’t stop.”

He added a third finger and his pace picked up. Lewd noises filled the air as your wetness grew. It felt like the room was spinning and too much was happening as he continued to suck on your clit and thrust his fingers in and out of your pussy. You tightened around his digits, squirming on the sheets and letting out nervous gasps as the dam in your stomach broke. Minho lapped at you for a few seconds longer and then pulled back.

“Damn,” he murmured, wiping his mouth.

You panted silently as he crawled back up beside you. He laid down, arms wrapping around your waist. You licked your lips and then frowned.

“Are you done?” You asked, voice weak.

Minho kissed your cheek.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you,” he sighed.

“What about you?”

“I’m fi—”

You grasped his hard-on through his sweatpants. He stopped his sentence, voice catching in his throat. You stroked him softly through the material, pulling a mewl from him. The two of you worked together to wriggle his pants down so you could grasp his cock with nothing between you.

It was mostly quiet as you stroked him, only occasional grunts and whimpers escaping him. You could tell he was trying to be quiet from the close-mouthed gasps that came from him. His hips bucked into your touch and he started to curl up, face burying itself in your neck. You rolled your thumb over the tip and squeezed his length.

“Y/N I-I—”

He cut himself off with a loud yelp.

He panted for several minutes, struggling to regain his senses.

“We need to clean the sheets,” he grumbled. He didn’t move.

“That can wait till tomorrow,” you sighed and then curled into his side. He pulled you close, pressing a kiss to your temple, and then slowly the two of you fell asleep.

⧪⧪⧬⧪⧪

You were woken up late morning by the sunshine spraying across the room. Minho laid on his back, face turned towards you and one arm stretched across your torso. A smile fell on your face as you stared at him, blissfully unaware of how pretty he looked without trying. You wrapped your arm around his bare waist and rested your head on his shoulder. The world had melted away and for once, there was nothing wrong.

“Why the hell are you two sti—”

You shrieked just as Seungmin did. He had thrown the hairbrush that was in his hand and now covered his eyes. You scrambled to pull up the sheets, pink spreading over your face. He kept his hand over his eyes and leaned against the doorway, trying to slow his breathing.

“That is…” he grumbled, starting to back away, “just get showered and come to the meeting room. Chan is trying to form a plan and he needs you two.”

Once he closed the door behind him, you sagged down in the bed, covering your face. Minho had woken up and was now laughing softly at you.

“Don’t worry,” he chuckled, sliding out of bed, “it builds character, he’ll be fine. Now, we should probably shower and hope that Seungmin isn’t screaming at the top of his lungs somewhere.”

He held out a hand and you grasped it, pulling yourself up. You took two quick, separate showers. Your nerves started to rebuild themselves when you realized that now was no time to pretend that everything was perfectly fine. She was still out there, trying to find you and tear you apart.

You completely forgot about Seungmin by the time you sat down in the meeting room, fingers tapping on the arms of the chair. Chan sat at the head of the table, eyes reading over the several papers in front of him. It was silent between the ten of you for several minutes before Chan started to talk.

“So… as I’m sure you all know, Lynn has reinforcements coming. We have no idea when she’s coming, although if I were her, it would make sense to strike soon. So for the next several days, I need everyone on top of it.

“Woojin and Hyunjin are going to do a mental barrier and Y/N…” he trailed off for a second, staring at you. Then he steeled his gaze. “If you could try to help Woojin, that would be great. Minho and I will work on trying to find them. The rest of you will just have to wait for the time to come.”

Chan reached under the table and grabbed a box, placing it on the surface. Minho looked uncomfortable as he stared at the box. The rest of them didn’t seem too pleased to see it either. He opened it and threw several small packets with silver powder in front of all of you.

“I know you guys don’t like it, but these exist for a reason. If you start feeling drained, take one,” he demanded, meeting everyone’s stare, “I don’t need one of you getting dragged off because you suddenly collapsed from exhaustion.”

Everyone took a packet, tucking it into their pockets and exchanging wary glances with the person sitting next to them. You frowned down at yours, wondering what it was. Minho’s hand fell on yours and you looked up at him, tightly smiling when you saw the worried expression on his face.

“It’s a… well, it refuels strength and energy. Using your abilities excessively take a lot out of you, so we have these for special cases,” he explained under his breath. “But only use it if you’re certain you can’t go any further.”

“Everyone know what they’re doing?” Chan asked. He didn’t give anyone time to respond as he stood up and dismissed everyone. You stood up, hurrying towards Woojin. Minho stood with you for a while and then grabbed your hand.

“Be careful please,” he whispered. You nodded and smiled when he kissed you quickly.

You followed Woojin and Hyunjin up to the roof. The two of them were looking around before they finally regrouped with you. It was a windy day and the building was so high up that there were clouds swirling around you.

“What’s a mental barrier?” You asked.

“It’s probably not the right term, but it’s how we describe this weird force field we made once. Hyunjin makes a light forcefield and I kind of… fuse my abilities with it so that I can automatically read whoever walks through it,” he explained, “and I think Chan wants you to try to use my ability so I won’t be the only one.”

You opened and closed your mouth before realizing you had too many questions.

Woojin smiled.

“We’ll just let Hyunjin do his thing and then it’s our turn, alright?”

You and Woojin sat and watched as Hyunjin put all his focus into the forcefield. A full hour passed and by the time it was done, he looked ready to pass out. You wanted to point out that this was when he should take the shady drug Chan gave you all, but when you saw his dead expression, you decided against it. Woojin stood up and walked towards the corner of the building, where if you squinted really hard, you could see a faint purple glimmer. He held out a hand to touch it and you did too, flinching at the cold feeling that rushed through your hand.

“It’s kind of weird, but imagine this thing has a mind,” he murmured, “and then try to read it.”

You closed your eyes, pretending as if the frigid, slimy thing was a human. Your head started to hurt as you tried to read its mind. You grit your teeth, forcing yourself to concentrate. Then the cold feeling disappeared and your stomach did a somersault. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself somewhere completely different.

The floor was soft under your fingers and the room around you was neat. There was a voice murmuring somewhere and you looking around the room, freezing when you saw who stood with their back to you. Red hair fell down her back and she was on the phone, quietly scolding the person.

You cursed internally and started to scoot backwards, pinching your eyes shut and trying to go back. This was just your luck. Your back pressed against a wall and you opened your eyes, realizing you weren’t going anywhere. The doctor started to turn around and she looked around the room and then her cool gaze fell on you. She paused, an amused smile starting to curl at her lips.

“Don, if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to take care of.”

She set the phone down and then stared at you.

“You came in rather quietly,” she purred, leaning against the wall. You stood up, pressing your hands against the drywall behind you. She lifted her shirt up and your eyes bugged out when you saw the pistol strapped to her hip. She pulled it out, the normally quiet click ten times louder as the safety was turned off.

“You’re not going to kill me,” you hissed, “you need me, don’t you?” She laughed and rolled her eyes.

“You? There’s nine boys with extraordinary, trained abilities and you think you’re still important? I only need one of them for experimentation, but I suppose I could keep the other eight as pets,” she mused, tilting her head, “I’d rather put your name on a plaque and call you the first casualty.”

She pointed the gun at you and your heart started to pound loudly in your head. Any thought of trying to teleport out of there left your head and panic started to set in. The bang was louder than you anticipated and you flinched back, holding your hands up as if they would stop the bullet.

The hit never came. Your eyes fluttered open, staring at the milky white sphere that glittered around you. The bullet shell lay discarded on the floor in front of it. The doctor stared at the shield in front of you, curiosity flaring in her green eyes. Only for her to chuckle when it started to flicker and then completely disappear.

“Cute,” she snorted, “real cute.”

“You’re one to talk, considering you only have a gun,” you retorted. The statement sounded stupid after you said it. She snorted.

“You know,” she started, “maybe I should let you live for a while longer. I can let you watch as your friends perish. Once I call my reinforcements, you’ll never see your friends again.”

She hadn’t called the rest of the guards. That was the only thing you picked up from it. You steeled yourself and grabbed the cactus plant on the shelf beside you, throwing it at her. Lynn side-stepped, but you were already moving towards her. You jumped over the desk between you, sliding across the surface, and tackling her to the floor.

The doctor was stronger than you anticipated, easily throwing you off her and re-aiming her weapon at you. A bang ricocheted through the room, but for a moment you were in control of yourself. You appeared behind her, pulling hard on her hair and ramming your knee into her back. She shouted, arching away from you and you kicked her legs out from under her. Her grip on her gun was lost and it skittered across the floor.

You reached for it, but were stopped as she kicked the chair at you.

“You bitch!” She shrieked, “you’ll die knowing your friends will perish because of your failed attempt.”

She got to the gun before you and this time when the trigger was pulled, you had nothing to protect yourself. Pain flared through your shoulder and you gasped, clutching the wound. Blood seeped out around your fingers, staining the gray shirt dark red.

She laughed. “I think I’ll let you bleed to death.”

You barely managed to dodge as she tried to knee your head. Your body was shaking and your vision was starting to swim. Heat was flaring from the wound, sending waves of panic throughout your anatomy.

“Poor you,” she cooed, reaching towards your face.

“Fuck you!” You didn’t realize what you were doing as the temperature in the room dropped. Frost started to curl at the edges of the desk and darkness started to swirl through the space. Shadowy figures crawled up from the ground and corners, groaning and shrieking. The redhead tried to back away from them, but they were coming from all angles.

“Yo-you won’t win,” you gasped out, managing to stand up. You didn’t watch as the creatures amassed around her, dragging her down towards them. You struggled away, the room spinning around you. Somehow you managed to make it out of the house into the cold air. The main road was mere feet away from you, wind cutting at your face as cars raced past.

“Holy shit—”

You collapsed to the ground, wondering if Minho would be able to find you before you were gone. Blood was dripping down your arm and side, staining the dirt you knelt on. You remembered his lips on yours and a small smile crawled across your face.

“Y/N? Y/N!”

Arms wrapped around you.

Your eyes rolled into the back of your head and darkness swarmed your vision

I love you.

So, i’ll just leave this open-ended for you to self-interpret

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myvelouri · 4 years ago

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I'm literally not coming back

You let me suffer badly when I knew something was wrong and knew you were being shady as shit. I knew it. You hid the truth, I knew that wasn't your friend calling. I knew it. And I begged and begged to see the phone and for you to flash the screen, I begged. You actually had the nerve to give me that disgusted "really?" Face that implied that I'm being invasive and shitty to your privacy, you literally tried to manipulate me there. You let me suffer. You came back from calling him back and I was there shaking in anxiety. And THIS visit to you was FOR you to COMFORT me cause I had a horrible day at work. You could have come clean

You did NOT. I REPEAT, YOU DID FUCKING -NOT- lie to me to PROTECT me or my feelings or because you thought telling me the truth would give me horrible Anxiety, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING YOU WERE CAUSING ME VISIBLE ANXIETY THAT WAS WORSE THAN HAD YOU JUST TOLD ME THE TRUTH

No, you lied for selfish reasons. Cause you wanted to talk to him. You cheated. You changed your ex's name to your girl best friend's name.

I'm not coming back to you. That's not even all you did. For a month you cheated. You said you went to Grandma's but really went to go see him. I knew everything was wrong, it was obvious, and the distance and how you would disappear for hours without any response. Totally unlike you. And I SUFFERED for months. At many points I caught you and you still lied. At one point I begged crying if you're seein someone else please just tell me and let me go because this is too much torture, this is too much, I can't take it, and I was begging and crying, pleading to be let go and given the truth! I wanted the suffering to end, it was pure brutal abuse.

All the lies. And then the lies on top of that. And when I straight up caught you you still lied and cried with me.... Soon to find out you lied about that too. I avoided you and you cried at work chasing me down. You kept up the same lie until finally over weeks later you finally told me the truth and that I was correct and you indeed HAD seen him by driving down to him.

And me talking to you each time you'd call me on your way back, I'd call you out saying I don't think you're coming from Grandma's. You lied. You kept that going. That story. Then I found out more. Correlated times and messages and finally told you it makes no sense. You continued to lie. Then finally spilled some truth and changed your story that you indeed saw him. Finally after weeks you, after making me suffer with lies and anxiety, you admitted I was right when I had to beg and persuade you for it. Every time, I had to use some kind of silver tongue to get it out of you and this happened for extremely way too many incidents and stories. You lied about all of them. So bad. And I caught on.

Then you lied about that night you actually cheated. After weeks of me pestering and knowing I know more, which I did, the truth came out. And you indeed went to a party to drink with your ex, celebrated your 4 year anniversary with him even though we been together the past year, you in fact DID plan to go see him and it wasn't that you HAPPEN to go cause you thought I broke up with you. That was such a farce. Totally manipulative. But I TOLD you I knew you were planning to go to that party anyway, I fucking asked you why you got all prettied up that literal day before you vanished.

And you let him kiss you. Your excuses being that you were drunk.

No.

Unacceptable

I am not coming back to you. You're crying, begging. I don't understand why.

You made me suffer way more than you're suffering now.

Especially the months where you were distant and suddenly stopped coming over and stopped calling so so much. You even started treating me like a piece of shit. And I knew something was wrong when every off day you had you "had" to go to "grandma's"

I'm only lucky I figured everything out because I'm smart. Smarter than you.

But.

What pain it is.

The giveaway was when I asked you where you were when I was on my break from work... Outside your house. And you said you were asleep... At home. Bitch your car wasn't even there.

Fuck you.

And I saw how much you were messaging your girl best friend. The thread you deleted upon me asking. Which was really suspicious.

I hate your fucking guts

I wonder how far you took the cheating

I'm not coming back

What disgusts me too is that one day I came to see you for your lunch. I picked you up and bought you fucking food, at the same time your phone was blowing up. And I was like oh it's your gal friend, you can pick up, I'm just ordering food. And you said no, time with me is "PRECIOUS" and you wantsl to spend it with me and will talk to her later. Every time? That's bull.

And you were texting him (saved under your girl best friend's name) non-stop while I'M BUYING YOU FUCKING FOOD. PLOT TWIST THAT I ASSUMED, YOUR GAL FRIEND ISNT YOUR GAL FRIEND, ITS YOUR EX WHO YOU CHANGED THE NAME TO A GIRL'S NAME. THAT'S FUCKED UP

I knew there was something sinister going on.

Anyway I buy you food. And suddenly a lil bit into the drive you step OUT and I'm like wtf? What's wrong? Get back in?? Your car is far from here.

I drove along side you walking....confused and worried...

So suspicious

I saw you get to your car. My hunch was to follow you and see you and to see if you're talking to someone. Sure enough you were animated and talking on the phone. I fucking knew it. And when you got out and went to work I was right there and you laughed at me and said "hahaha are you confused? I just wanted to fuck with you" and acted like that was a prank. You didn't know I saw you on the phone. You really tried to manipulate me by making me believe this was a prank. Sorry dumbfuck, I am smart as fuck. I called you out on it. And you asked "so were you confused?" And I said "no" and then said "I know why" and she said "what?" And I said you just wanted to call back. And she said what? What makes you say that? I said "I know you were talking to someone on the phone" and you replied "ohhh lol, I butt dialed" and I said "you never butt dial. Ever." And I asked "who?" And you said it was your girl best friend.

Dude.

I knew you were lying.

I actually had his number already, and I tried to get to your phone to see what her number was saved under. You're lucky I never got the chance. What's the point when I already know though. You still lied about it.

You lie so much. You lied about everything.

And that day I was freaking out from anxiety cause I KNEW you weren't really where you said you were and the first time I TRULY knew you were DEFINITELY cheating on me. I had to be sent home because I became incapacitated. That's how bad my anxiety got that day. You fucking bitch.

And I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I came over. You said your mom ordered Domino's and you picked it up. I slept with you that night..and you showed me the Domino's box all happy and said "see?? Look haha!" And I said yeah. Cool... And I woke up the next morning, you outstretched your arms and I leaned in... Right above you was the Domino's box... And on the box... Was... His name... And I jumped away from you so fast. You were confused. I was leaving..you stopped me and explained it was your ex who called and said to pick up with Domino's as a farewell gift. That he called and you should have let me know, it's what you said. But you didn't. We both cried and went deep into feels. And I trusted you. EVERYTHING you said and I believed you mostly. That you just wanted to keep it to yourself without hurting me. Which isn't okay. But I listened.

And then I found out that was a lie too. I used a love coupon you gave me and on it I wrote "the truth" and gave it to you. You said okay I'll tell you the truth. We sat in the car at lunch. You said okay, you actually did meet him up..it was just to meet for closure, for him. The last time you'll see him you said.

But that all turned out to be a lie too. You did not meet at this Domino's briefly. Finally weeks later I found out you indeed drove all the way to him and spent the day with him. You lying sack of shit

Why would I take you back?

I'm not even done.

I need to write a part two

I don't give a shit if my ex sees this or not. You were so upset at the thought of anyone reading this diary of mine.

You went behind my back and WERE texting your ex everyday. Obviously that's where the distance was emanating from. You were cheating since September. I felt it. You act like you only texted him now to comfort him. That's bull

You were talking talking.

Especially with all the lies.

As if I'd believe you.

And then finally when all this came to a head and most was revealed. I broke up with you and was trying to say goodbye forever and you cried and wouldn't let me. Outside your house. You chased me. We talked and cried for so long. You said you were going to spend the night at your gal best friend's house and get drunk

This was your last chance. We were talking normal that night. I said let's just take the night to ourselves but keep messaging. You chased me down to my car because you were fighting for me. It made me feel like, true love, I opened my heart for you again. And then I left. You drove to the park thinking I was there. Freaking out. Then you drove to my house, freaking out.. cause you thought I left forever. No. I was caring and said drive safe and text me. And I said I'll text your friend too. Just stay safe. good God, why am I this sweet and caring still after everything? And you're already saying you're going to get drunk so what I knew was going to happen, happened. You vanished. You disappeared..I said I knew it. And for hours and a day you spent the night who knows where. You kept saying you were with her. For days..you kept that lie. I knew it was. I found out that finally you did indeed go to a party and your ex was there. You make up that your friends kept him at Bay.

I think it's bullshit, you made me suffer thinking you died. You blocked my number that night. I called a lot. You always tell me to do that. I left a voicemail. When I asked to see your phone to see the voicemail since you were showing and explaining... I didn't see my voicemail..I asked if she saw it. It was heartfelt and had my final goodbye in it. And I scrolled down. I saw "blocked messages" and in it was the very voicemail I had been talking about. Wow. Your bitch ass blocked me when I was worried and crying. The reason I said I'd text your friend is because I was worried about you cause you were being suicidal a bit. I thought you died. The next day at work I cried freaking out but I totally had already assumed you betrayed my last chance and trust and spent the night with your ex, fucked, cheated, everything. And that same night you said let's run away for a night to Galveston or anywhere. I couldn't... I had work... Dude...

But I know you're still lying about that.

I am pretty sure you fucked up. Cause you admitted to it but then took it back because you say you only just said that because you say "it seems that's what you want to hear." No, you have a very real fear of losing me. So I think you KNOW I'll block you forever if you truly admit you fucked him. And you know what, until you admit the truth? I just.. I don't know

And this is all lies after you PROMISED no more lies.

I need to write a part two. This is so much already

#personal #relationships #heartbreak #heartache

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bgn846 · 4 years ago

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Worthy Chapter 5: Denial FFXV A/B/O Promnis

<Previous Chapter 4 “You think I’ve what?!” Ignis sputtered over his morning coffee. “That is preposterous. How on earth did you come up with that, Gladio?” He asked leaning forward over his neat but cluttered desk.

The shield smiled. “Sana and I were chatting last night, and she mentioned that Prompto may have imprinted on you.”

Ignis was still in shock by the very idea. He hadn’t heard of an omega imprinting on anyone in years. “That sounds barbaric,” he uttered finally as he retrieved his phone to open his calendar.

“Clearing your schedule so you can research imprinting, are we?” Gladio asked with a smirk.

Huffing, Ignis rolled his eyes at the shields antics. “You already know the answer: I must know what I’m dealing with so I can better prepare.”

Gladio furrowed his brow. “Um, what exactly would you be preparing for?”

“If I knew that, Gladiolus, then I wouldn’t need to research, now would I?” Ignis answered curtly.

The shield smiled. “Will you at least admit you acted differently around Prompto when he was here?”

Pausing and thinking on Gladio’s statement, Ignis did know he’d taken more care than normal in dealing the omega. “Yes, I will concede that I have been somewhat affected by Prompto’s visit. If my research proves Sana’s theory correct then I will . . . .” Ignis trailed off.

“Uh – you will what?”

“I will go rescue him from the frozen hell that is Niflheim and share my closet! Gladio, I don’t know! Go away, I need to work, and you’re filling my head with ideas of domestic bliss.” Ignis huffed.

This statement elicited a bark of laughter from the shield as he stood to leave. “Fine, I’ll leave you to it, but will you at least let me know what you find out? Honestly, I’m sorta jealous you get to experience this and not me.”

“Come now, Gladio. You and Sana are made for each other. I know you had a rocky start, but she loves you dearly. She’ll even be moving here in a couple months. That’s more than I can say for my nonexistent pack.”

“The invite still stands if you want into ours. Sana thinks you’re cute.”

“I have considered the idea, but I think your pack has the perfect dynamic right now.” Ignis smiled. “Now get out of my office.” He made a shooing motion in Gladio’s direction in hopes he’d leave.

As he watched Gladio go, Ignis felt a funny feeling tumble through his stomach. Was he actually getting butterflies thinking about Prompto? He promptly postponed his next meeting and hunkered down at his computer to find out.

“Noct!!” Prompto whined over the phone. “What am I going to do? I’ve ruined everything.”

“You haven’t ruined anything, Prompto. Stop freaking out. I swear to you, Ignis isn’t upset. You can still send a reply, and he won’t mind the delay. I promise,” Noct tried.

“But it’s been two weeks since he sent it! I was too scared to reply. How dumb is that? He asks if I’m okay, and if I had any trouble, and I ignore him.”

“I’ve known him most of my life, Prompto, and I’m telling you it’s fine. Send him a text back. He’ll answer you. What’s the worst that can happen?”

The blond couldn’t help himself as he blurted an answer. “He bans you from having contact with me, and I die lonely and depressed.” Prompto couldn’t help but be dramatic. It’d been two whole weeks since his return from Lucis, and he was missing it every day. It would absolutely gut him to not be able to talk to Noct. Having a friend helped ease the sorrow of everyday life.

“I’m going to have him call you if you’re not careful, buddy.”

“Wha – No! I’ll text – I promise, don’t have him call me. I’ll die for sure if he calls me,” he stammered.

“I expect a full report later on what he wrote back.”

Prompto sighed. “Now you are being silly. He won’t answer me.” He could hear Noct huff. It wasn’t like he understood what life was like as a male omega. Nothing went your way.

“I’ll remain optimistic for you, then. Hey, I gotta go; I need to attend some super stuffy council meeting. Can I call you later when I finish?”

“Yeah, for sure. I’m not going anywhere.” The call ended as they both said their goodbyes. Now to the matter at hand. What to write back to Ignis?

Opting to keep it simple Prompto, opened his messenger app to type out a reply. Glancing at the unanswered message from Ignis he winced. Why did he wait so long! The advisor had only wished to know if he had arrived safely.

Prompto Argentum 10:18AM: Thank you for checking in on me and I am safe.

Before he could chicken out, he hit the send button. Tossing the phone further away, he curled up on his bed and groaned. Why was this so difficult? It was conversation, pure and simple. A pinging noise made him bolt upright and stare incredulously at his phone. There was no way Ignis had texted him back. It must have been from Noct.

Reaching out slowly as if his phone might bite him, he flipped it over. A response from the Ignis Scientia was waiting. Prompto’s brain took this moment to spring into action. What if he was writing back to tell him he was not allowed to talk to Noct anymore? Fearful of what the text might say, he didn’t open it for another ten minutes.

Finally, though, latching onto Noct’s previous words of encouragement, he took a deep breath and opened the message.

Ignis Scientia 10:20AM: Excellent. I’m very happy to hear you are safe. Do let me know if you need anything in the future.

Prompto looked at his phone with wide eyes. Okay, he’d written back and left it open ended. Now what? Should he reply? He wished Noct was available so he could ask what to do. Was Ignis simply being polite or was he supposed to say something?

Shoving his phone away a second time, he got up and started pacing his room. A full thirty minutes later, he made the decision to answer back.

Prompto Argentum 10:50AM: Thanks I will. I hope your day is going well.

Again, he hit send quickly and waited. He knew his chances of having Ignis reply right away were slim, but he still held out hope. Apparently the astrals were being kind and granted his wish.

Ignis Scientia 10:53AM: Aside from sitting in a dreadfully boring meeting at the moment, my day has been splendid.

Prompto knew from Noct that Ignis usually attended the same meetings as the prince. Did this mean that Ignis was texting him while he was working? Did the meeting end early? Curiosity got the better of him, and he texted his friend.

Prompto Argentum 10:55AM: Are you still in your meeting?

Noctis Lucis Caelum 10:57AM: Yes, can’t talk yet. :(

Did this mean Ignis was in a different meeting, or was he actually trying to communicate while he was working? Worried his texting would get Ignis in trouble, he wrote back a reply.

Prompto Argentum 11:04AM: Did your meeting get out yet?

Ignis Scientia 11:06AM: I’m afraid it’s still droning on. I do have an amusing view; Noctis is struggling to stay awake. I would send you a photo, but it would blow my cover.

Prompto squealed out loud when he read the response. Ignis was at the same meeting, but he could text him and Noctis couldn’t! The blond wondered if it had anything to do with him being an alpha. He would have to ask Noct about it later.

Prompto Argentum 11:07AM: lol I wish I could be there to see it in person.

Surprisingly, Ignis texted him a few more times, and then things went silent. Either Ignis got in trouble or he needed to focus. Prompto hoped it was the latter. Ignis was so nice, and he didn’t want him to get reprimanded for texting a lowly omega.

The blond was about to text Noct when heard his mother call him. Wandering down the hall, he found her staring at a fancy invitation card.

“Dear, do you know who Lady Pravus is?” she asked curiously.

The memories of Noct’s story regarding Lady Pravus, from the night of the banquet, came flooding back. “Yeah – why?” he mumbled.

His mother seemed shocked that he knew of her. “I’ve never met her nor heard of her until now. How do you know her name?”

“When I stayed with Noct, he told me about her. She’s not very nice,” he added quickly.

“Oh, well, you don’t know that for sure,” she chided. “I’m sure she’s fine. Your step brothers aren’t that bad when it comes to judgement of character.”

This really confused Prompto. “Mum, what are you talking about?”

“Oh, sorry, I’ve just received this invitation to attend a dinner in celebration of the upcoming engagement for Alban.”

Prompto interrupted his mother, “Alban is going to marry that icky lady?! Oh no, that’s not good.”

“Prompto! That is no way to behave when you haven’t even met her.”

“No, believe me, mum. Noct told me stories about her, and she’s a really terrible person. Alban shouldn’t marry her. Bad things will happen,” he urged. “Please believe me.”

She sighed but maintained a knowing look. “I will wait to meet her before I pass judgement. You will have a chance as well, as you’ve been invited to come along.” Soliamare smiled. “A fancy dress party, how lovely. I do miss going out and getting dressed up.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mum was seriously excited about this evil lady coming to visit. “When is the dinner?”

“Tomorrow evening. I must make sure my dress still fits. It’s been so long since I’ve had occasion to wear it.”

Prompto watched his mum turn and happily go to her room to check her closet. Astrals, this was bad. He had to talk to Noct.

“Specs we have a problem!” Noct hissed as he shoved Ignis into a comfy armchair. “Remember that horrible woman, Saeva Pravus?”

Ignis visibly grimaced at the mention of her name. “If she is harassing you in some manner, I shall put a stop to it immediately.”

“No, its worse!” He huffed plopping down on the couch opposite his advisor. “I spoke with Prompto an hour ago and snaky is trying to marry his stepbrother!”

“Firstly, Noctis I would advise you to refrain from getting in the habit of using nicknames like that. You may accidentally let it slip in public. Secondly, which brother?”

“You have to ask? Alban of course, she wants to be queen.”

“Tell me everything you know,” Ignis requested with a look of determination.

Noct spent the next ten minutes outlining what Prompto had told him. The prince could see Ignis working through all the details as he went along. Finally, when he’d finished, he waited to hear what his advisor had to say.

“I dare say that is bad news indeed. You mentioned the dinner was planned for tomorrow evening, correct?”

“Yeah, what are we going to do?”

“Hmmfff, I don’t know that we can do anything at this point, Noct, aside from gather information.” Ignis stood abruptly and pulled out his phone. “I must go and think on this further. Call me immediately if you hear any additional information.”

“Hey! What should I tell Prompto? He’s not sure what to do.”

“Tell him to be very careful, and under no circumstances should he be alone with her. Do you understand?”

Noct nodded and watched his advisor turn to leave the suite. He thought back to one of the first times he’d met Lady Pravus. She’d cornered him several years ago at a party. He shuddered to think what would have happened if Ignis hadn’t saved him. He didn’t know about her methods for entrapping people then. He’d been too young.

Apparently, she would make a rather forceful advance in private. Then, depending on what she wanted, she would threaten to accuse her target of sexual misconduct. Heaven help you if you tried to shove her away - that would turn into one hell of a scandal.

He grabbed his phone to call Prompto. The prince wanted to warn him about her tactics. He didn’t care what happened to King Alban so much, but Prompto didn’t deserve that.

Prompto fidgeted with his cuff as his mother and he walked over to the party. The main government building didn’t have fancy dining facilities, so most events took place at the great hall inside King Alban’s residence. He was beyond nervous, especially after what Noct had told him regarding Lady Saeva. His plan was to stay glued to his mother’s side for the whole event. That way he would be safe.

He wasn’t even sure why he’d been invited; no one really cared if he was there or not. Then Prompto realized the truth: if he wasn’t there to escort his mother, then one of his icky step-brothers would have to do it. The real reason behind his presence made his chest ache; his mother didn’t deserve such disrespect.

He’d already tried to persuade his mother to bail, but she was adamant about attending. Prompto knew if he outright refused that she would go alone. He couldn’t do that to his mother.

The party was in full swing when they arrived, and Prompto could tell some of his step-brothers had started drinking early. Great, this was going to be interesting. Thank the astrals he didn’t have to sit anywhere near them during dinner. He was even spared having to look at Lady Saeva. She was seated on the same side as Prompto but at the opposite end of the long table. This didn’t stop his mother from craning her neck to catch a glimpse of the woman that seemed to have stolen Alban’s heart.

Alban stood up at one point to make a boring toast. He was a terrible speech writer, and Prompto didn’t understand why he never asked for help. Could someone be so proud that they’d rather look stupid? It was so strange.

Feeling a light pinch to his arm, the blond looked over to his mother. She had that look - the one that was silently chastising him for ignoring the king. Attempting to smile, he focused on looking cheerful. Alban stopped rambling shortly after, and Prompto bumped his mother’s arm. “The dinners over. Can we go now?” he whispered.

“No!” she exclaimed. “I wish to meet Lady Saeva.”

Groaning, Prompto frowned. “Why, I’ve already told you about her.”

“We’ve been over this already, dear.” Soliamare sighed. “Don’t test me.”

“Fine,” he huffed. Prompto reluctantly got up and followed his mother as she sought out the future queen. He had to give his mum credit; she did know how to part a crowd. Trailing in her wake, they were eventually standing in front of Lady Saeva. She was stunning in person, but Prompto was still scared to even talk to her.

She turned and smiled demurely to his mother. A useless conversation about dinner followed. Prompto watched in near disbelief as Lady Saeva laid on the charm so thick it was almost suffocating. His mother fell for it hook, line, and sinker. He assumed she would ignore him as everyone else did. However, she finally turned her attention to him.

The blond could have sworn he saw Lady Saeva’s lip curl ever so slightly. It was at this terrible moment that he realized Noct forgot to mention one very important fact: Lady Saeva was an alpha.

Shit.

He could see her nostrils flaring minutely; she was working to identify his dynamic. Figures Alban wouldn’t have given her any information before the party. Instead of approaching him to shake his hand, she kept her distance. It was as if she’d been expecting something else entirely. Lady Saeva was uneasy about something, and Prompto couldn’t figure it out.

Turning towards his mother, Lady Saeva spoke finally. “Oh my, I do need to say goodbye to my friends before they leave,” she announced. “Do forgive me. I’ll find you later and we can finish our talk.” The whole interaction reeked of insincerity.

Trying to calm his nerves was hard as Prompto waited for her to get out of earshot. “Mum, can we go please?” he pleaded in a hushed tone.

“What? No, I must stay. She wants to talk with me again,” she breathed excitedly. “Won’t it be nice to have another female around? I am terribly outnumbered these days.”

Prompto bit his lip. He really wanted to grab his mother by her shoulders and tell her that Lady Saeva was lying. She had found an excuse to leave and took it. There was no intent to come back.

“I must go freshen up while she’s busy. I’ll be right back,” Soliamare announced.

There was no time to even protest as his mother took off for the powder room. Suddenly, Prompto felt very anxious. He didn’t want to be here in the first place, and now he was alone. The idea came to him to hide in the ballroom across the hall. It wasn’t in use for the party, so he could rest in peace.

Scurrying to the corner of the room, he quietly slipped out the door and into the empty space. Finally, he could breathe. It was dark, but he could still see well enough with the moonlight filtering in through the large windows.

The sound of a door creaking open caused Prompto to turn in a panic. There in the soft light was Lady Saeva.

“I thought I saw you slip in here,” she crooned. “Come here so I can get a better look at you, omega ,” she ordered.

Prompto remained frozen in place. He didn’t want to go near her, and no manner of influenced alpha speech was going to make him.

“Oh, you’re going to fight me. I suppose then I’ll have to come to you.”

Finding that his throat had gone dry, Prompto watched her slowly saunter over. The future queen didn’t stop until she was a few inches from his face.

“I can’t have you disobeying me, omega. That simply won’t do. When I order you to do something, I expect you to act. Is that understood?”

Surprisingly, Prompto’s brain managed a nonverbal response despite his frozen vocal cords. A small shake of his head shook his blond locks.

“Oh, a rebel. How cute,” she breathed. “It doesn’t matter. I will break you, omega, and I will enjoy every second. Perhaps I’ll start right now,” she mused.

Prompto heard the rustle of fabric, and then something pointy was being held to his stomach. He was too scared to look down, but he was pretty sure it was a knife.

“Now hold still while I see what you taste like,” she hissed as she leaned forward to sniff his neck.

A small strangled noise left his mouth, but he didn’t dare push her away. She could easily stab him in his gut and claim he’d been the one to make an advance. Then a door slammed, and Lady Saeva backed away immediately, hiding her knife once more.

She turned to face whoever had come in. “Who’s there?” she demanded.

Prompto didn’t wait to find out and bolted. He couldn’t hear anything aside from his beating heart as he rushed out of the room. If Lady Saeva called after him, he didn’t hear it. He needed to go, but he had to find his mother first.

Soliamare was waiting just outside the main dining room, looking for Lady Saeva no doubt. “Oh, there you are,” she said cheerfully as he approached. However, when Prompto was closer, she furrowed her brow in concern. “Dear heart, what has happened to you? You’re shaking and have gone pale as a ghost.”

“I –I don’t feel good, mum, can we please go home? I might throw up,” he added, hoping it would make her act. Luckily, it did, and within minutes he was tightly gripping his mother’s arm and walking back home. He had so much to tell Noct, but what could his friend do to help? He was a kingdom away and had his own duties to handle.

Maybe he could lock himself in his room until this was all over, though he suspected his mother wouldn’t allow it. His mother ended up making him tea and sitting with him on the couch. He felt safe right then, but he was terribly concerned it wouldn’t last. He hadn’t breathed a word of what had happened, but he worried his mum wouldn’t believe him anyway. Instead, he tried to calm down and eventually drifted off clinging to her.

“He’s an omega! Why wasn’t I informed?” Saeva hissed as she paced Alban’s sitting room. “I refuse to marry you with him in residence.”

“Why? He’s harmless,” Alban defended. “What are you afraid of?”

“That blond haired brat could bear a child and threaten your claim to the throne! I won’t allow that to happen.”

“What, Prompto have kids? Nah, he’s not even got a mate.”

Saeva looked offended. “Astrals, that’s worse. He could produce bastard children left and right. Do you want an omegan whore associated with your family name? I would think not. You must deal with this.”

“How exactly should I ‘deal’ with it?” he huffed. “If I sent him away would that make you happy?”

“He’d still be out there, and he could come back anytime to threaten your title.”

“He’s thirteenth in line, Saeva. Even if he had kids, they wouldn’t ever be near the throne!”

“That’s not true! If none of your other idiotic brothers wed and we don’t conceive, then one of his offspring could inherit. That is unacceptable. I will not let your royal name be sullied by his likes.”

“I still don’t know what you want me to do about it.” Alban frowned. “What’s left? Death? Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”

Saeva narrowed her eyes at Alban. “I won’t marry you unless he’s gone . . . unless you’re too much of a coward to deal with that sort of thing,” she replied innocently.

“I’m no coward,” Alban shouted. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Good. Now, I’ve got a splitting headache, and I wish to retire early. Lunch tomorrow, love?” She smiled sweetly.

Alban grinned and bowed as she left. Now to figure out what to do about Prompto.

“Are you certain he didn’t see you?” Ignis asked for a second time.

“Yes, positive. No one saw me; I’m trained to not be seen,” Nyx replied as he leaned forward in his chair.

Ignis sat at his desk in deep thought. Nyx’s report had been very disturbing; Lady Saeva had made an open threat against Prompto. He had to work fast. Things were in motion that he had little control over. “She said that she’d break him?”

“Yeah, it was grade A creepy shit, Ignis. I had to work hard not to warp over and stick her with my dagger.”

“I would have found a way to make it work,” Ignis pondered quietly.

“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen after I slammed the door, but blondie took the cue and ran away like greased lightning. I made sure to follow him and the queen back home. They made it safely.”

“Nyx, I am eternally grateful for your help in this matter, and I fear what Lady Saeva’s next step might be. We may need to act in a slightly unorthodox method to combat her,” Ignis admitted.

“I’m all for unorthodox; sign me up.” Nyx grinned.

>Next Chapter 6

#ffxv #fanfic #prompto #ignis #promnis

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