#he excuses it as the villagers already disliking him for being a bastard so they piled their other prejudices onto him

[justaz]

s1ep10 where everything is the same except theres a few other kids around merlin and the gangs age in ealdor and they have the most passive aggressive beef ever

merlin (explaining the tensions while covering his ass bc the villagers may not know about his magic but they know and he cant let arthur find out): and thats mary. she threw rocks at me when i was younger so i shoved a fistful of dirt in her mouth. i just didnt realize there was a worm in the dirt until she was spitting it all out and coughed up a worm. it had the effect of someone coughing up a frog. it fueled a bunch of rumors about me being a sorcerer

mary (after greeting the prince very respectfully): merlin. youre back. how lovely.

merlin, smiling: mary!! yes, of course i am. when i heard that ealdor was in danger i just had to come back and help. you know ive always had a knack for worming my way out of trouble so i thought if anyone can help, its me.

mary: how hopeful. i dont think ive ever seen you wield a sword. or any other weapon. you seem to keep to your…talents.

merlin: we never spent much time together so i cant fault you for not noticing my many other talents. contrary to what you think, i do like to get my hands dirty.

[dark-elf-writes]

Thinking about the third teammate in sharing the sharingan and how their life shaped them. I picture them as an orphan who's parents were disgraced and the dead last of their graduating class, it’s the reason they were put on the team with both geniuses. They passed by the skin of their teeth after years of barely passing but she passed. She, the dead last failure has become a shinobi. Even better she’s put on the team of The White Fang. One of the greatest shinobi alive, surely under his tutelage she’ll become more than the failure everyone looks upon with distain right?

But her team isn’t what she imagined, her teammates are close, already knowing each other so deeply and sensei loves that there already a pack, a family and quickly becomes a father to them all. But she’s still the outsider, she doesn’t share their strange pack mentality, isn't as strong as them and fails to understand her teammates. (How do they handle being hated? Don't they care?) And while the boys soar and become powerful she’s barely keeping up, barely making chunin, scraping by jonin, becoming strong but never getting the recognition she wants from her team or the village as a whole. (Why can’t she be as good as her teammates? Why can’t she be as skilled or strong? Is she really that bad of a shinobi? Why is she always one step away from being a failure? Or is she already one and she doesn't know it yet?)

Then that mission happens and her beloved sensei (Who favoured her teammates more than her, why wasn’t she right for the wolf contact? Or was that just an excuse because she’s weak and he doesn’t want her on his contact?) becomes a pariah and she can’t handle it because she was disliked before but this, this was too much. She fought with her teammates (her brothers) about abandoning sensei but they refused because who cares about reputation? (She does, she cares so deeply she just wants to be recognised as good, why is she always in her teammates shadows? Her parents shadows? Why can’t she be good enough?) Then when sensei dies (Kills himself oh god her father is dead and the last thing she said to him was so horrible) and the village (the village that has always looked at her as a failure, a bastard child who shouldn’t exist) scorns her even more she breaks.

After years of struggling she breaks and leaves the village but is chased by her teammates, who try to bring her back but she cant go back because if she goes back she’ll be more than just a failure. She’ll be the traitorous failure and she can’t take the scorn anymore. Can’t take being so hated, so worthless anymore. So when she knows she can't escape (She was never going to beat them, they have always been better than her no matter how hard she tried) she decides to just.... let their jutsu hit her. To die by her brothers hands is probably the best end she could hope for. She closes her eyes, feels the pain and then when she opens them again she’s in front of a fire with her sensei. She breaks downs crying as her dad hugs her and tell her how wonderful she is and how he sorry he is for never making her feel like it no matter how hard he tried and there she stays till all three of her brothers join them years later.

Just a girl who wanted a place to belong, wanted to be loved but was surrounded by hate and the love she had couldn't pull her out of her own suffering. A sister lost, leaving behind three brothers who wished they could of saved her.

God yes so much yes I am screaming I am crying I am gnawing on this like a dog with a bone.

—

None of them tried to make her feel excluded. All of them in their own ways tried to reach out, tried to pull her closer, but they were all just so different that even when they tried it never felt like enough.

The boys were kind of course, knew just as she did how it was to be made other, but they were forever entangled in their word dynamic, one soul in two bodies, the closest someone could be to another person without cracking their chest open to crawl inside (she wondered one day if one of them would. Would take that final step to rejoin their hearts until they were one whole being again.) they had taken different approaches to the hatred of others, in the end. She had bowed to them, had let that hatred wash over her and change her like the tide wearing away a rock over the years. The boys had chosen to hold their heads high and roar back at that hate, had clung to the other half of them with one hand and heals the world at kunai point with the other. They were the closest she ever had to older brothers (“It’s two months!” “Sounds like something the baby would say!”) but no matter how much the three of them reached they never understood.

Sakumo was always there with a smile and a hair ruffle, rough hands that were capable of so much violence always so gentle when they ran over her head or clasped her shoulder. The head of the pack (“Alpha wolves don’t exist in a true pack. They are a family.) with his sharp smiles and constant praise. The boys earned that praise more often. Didn’t have to bleed and sweat and work for it like she did. Everything just came so naturally to them. Everything always came so naturally to them. The head of the pack, but she was never made for a pack. Not like the boys were. She had been so alone and so apart for so long she could never give herself fully to them. Couldn’t break down that wall. (Not when the village glared at the boys like they flared at her. Not when she would still get the most of their ire because she was the smallest. The weakest. The most worthless. She couldn’t bring them down with her.)

Kakashi, weirdly enough considering he was a child, was the one that understood her the most. The little pup also stood apart, sometimes eyed the others with those judgmental little looks when they did something truly ridiculous. Would slot himself against her side in the quiet moments and share the more peaceful air while the boys tried unsuccessfully to tackle sakumo into the dirt again. Still, even he slotted into their pack, the sharp tongued pup who was already flying through the ranks threatening to overtake her too.

(She shouldn’t care about that. She couldn’t not care about that.)

Then it all came to a head. Then the last piece that kept her from being a true failure (“They placed her with the White Fang? The other two I get but…”) and she… couldn’t.

A sword will only bend so far before it breaks.

And she shattered, catching everyone in the shrapnel.

The last things she says to her brothers, cradled between them with their hands trying desperately to slow the blood that all of them knew could never be stopped in time, are the two most simple. The only thing she could tell them in the end.

“I’m sorry. I love you.”

She hears them sobbing when the blood loss finally takes her. One final failure in a life of them.

She wakes up at a fire. Wakes up with a familiar face looking down at her with so much sadness and love. She would have hit the ground, would have fallen to her knees and put her forehead to the dirt and begged for his forgiveness, but Sakumo doesn’t give her the chance. He pulls her practically into his lap (like he used to for Kakashi and even the three of them when they were just little genin, hurting and scared and trying to figure out which end of the kunai to hold) pulls her face against his throat (vulnerable. So vulnerable with her. Did he know? Could he know? He was dead)and said the very things that had been her last words.

“I’m sorry. I love you.”

Time didn’t have much meaning in their space between. The fire never burned out. They never ate. Never slept.

Still, she was pretty sure she spent days clinging to Sakumo’s shirt and sobbing in his lap like a child. For the girl she was. For her father she had turned from. For the brothers she had left behind.

She stands back from the fire at first when the boys finally meet them (too soon. Far too soon) but kakashi spots her in the dark just like he always had. And what chance did she have not to be buried under the weight of her brothers (what were they all eating that they had gotten so damn tall. Never mind she had died still a teenager and never truly got to grow into her awkward proportions) when they had toppled the great White Fang? The boys clung to her, crying, telling her they loved her, apologizing and she

She finally didn’t feel so alone.

[versadies]

Hello! Can i request scaramouche x reader with bunny ears and tail fluff?

scaramouche with gn!bunny hybrid!adventurer!reader

penpal: hope you don’t mind me making this into a scenario hc of where the reader is a badass person!

warning/s: ooc scaramouche (?), scaramouche being a lil shit, swearing, suggestive theme from one sentence (* wink wink nudge nudge *)

sypnosis: what it’s like for scaramouche to be with a badass reader, who has bunny ears and tail.

note: reader is gn and a badass adventurer

-> scaramouche heard winds of a certain traveler who doesn’t hesitate in bringing down fatui agents and take their insignias away. obviously he thought this “certain traveler” was the infamous honorary knight so he didn’t bother.

-> however while on his way to the qingce village to investigate the meteors that puts people to deep slumber, he came across to an innocent-looking person walking around guili plains. at first the man was supposed to walk up to you in his fake persona and asked about the meteors - but then he saw treasure hoarders surrounding you.

-> might as well play a hero too, scaramouche thought with an annoyed sigh before running towards you.

-> what happened next shocked him.

-> as soon as one of the hoarders tries to attack you, you suddenly started fighting them, surprising the harbinger. scaramouche stood nearby as he watches you kick ass against the treasure hoarders, bringing one by one down until no one but you stands.

-> what made it even more surprising was the fact that you weren’t using a vision at all nor a weapon.

-> the moment you were finished, scaramouche was clapping while laughing in amusement, catching your attention. “and here i thought i’d have to save you from them—”

-> “stand down, harbinger.”

-> eh? scaramouche stopped clapping, looking at you with furrowed eyebrows. “excuse me?” he asked.

-> “i know who you are, balladeer. i won’t hesitate to bring you down like what happened to your subordinates.” you explained.

-> and here my friends is when scaramouche, the 6th of the harbingers, is hooked.

-> at first, it’s just scaramouche secretly stalking you around whilst investigating on the meteors, mainly because you’re the only thing that made his trip more interesting. call him impressed or fascinated by the fact that you managed to bring down many of his subordinates without a vision.

-> it’s not until when you decided to confront the cheeky bastard and threaten him to tell you why he’s been stalking you. it will take scaramouche a longass time to convince you that he means no harm and won’t hurt you (not yet at least). you’d give in and be like “fine you can come along with me as long as you don’t try to kill me in my sleep”

-> i’d honestly think you two would have an amusing relationship. with scaramouche tagging along trying to find out information about you (since his poor subordinates failed to do so) while you annoyingly have to suffer with his company.

-> of course he’d only tag along to your adventures if you’re somehow around the area while he’s busy investigating on the meteors.

-> if you’re also investigating on the meteors (due to commission purposes), scaramouche won’t tell shit about what he knows. you’re not part of the fatui and he knows the tsaritsa won’t be happy if she finds out that he’s been hanging out with the person who’s been beating the shit out of her people. besides, the last thing he wants is his investigation being intervened.

-> i can guarantee you that he’ll never stop asking to touch your ears just because it looks fluffy. unless you tell him that you’re uncomfortable with him always asking to touch it, then he’ll stop. he may be an asshole but he knows when to stop.

-> as soon as he stops asking about your ears though, he’ll immediately go to asking questions about your bunny features - he’ll be like “do you eat like them? does your nose do those twitching stuff like they do?” trust me, he gets more annoying than he already is to you.

-> what will make him want to be close with you is when he finds out that you’re a loner too. either because you always go one place to another or because you dislike people is up to you, either way, he’ll relate to being alone.

-> scaramouche doesn’t even know why he wants to tag with someone like you and you don’t know why you let one of the most dangerous people to be with you instead of making him go away. (they’re in love, your honor)

-> when he realizes that he loves you is when you first laughed at him when he accidentally got hit by a branch. just seeing you laugh made him notice that weird feeling in his stomach that’s been bothering him ever since you came around. he wants this feeling though so he’ll try to get more of it. though he won’t embarrass his own ass just to make you laugh, he can do other ways that doesn’t hurt his pride.

-> he’ll find your instincts from your bunny side endearing. just seeing your ears go up at the sudden sounds of the bushes nearby moving and look around just separates your usual demeanor.

-> this man will lose his shit if you pull an “innocent” move on him. like, if you try to act like “i didn’t do anything wrong though 🥺”, he will lose his mind because what the fuck stop that shit, that’s kinda hot - not as hot as you kicking ass though.

-> ofc bickering is a thing between you two - though your reasons aren’t that much serious. a lot of people would think you’re like an old married couple from bickering much to you two’s embarrassment.

-> not much is different when you two are dating, other than the fact that he’s more expressive? or perhaps shyly affectionate. he’ll lowkey hold your hand and be like “my hands are cold, let me hold yours to keep it warm or whatever 🙄”

-> he’s also your “cheerleader” when kicking treasure hoarders’ asses. what i mean by him being your cheerleader, i mean by him cackling and making fun of your opponents as you beat the shit out of them. it’s his way of showing support i suppose.

-> you have never seen scaramouche in action. like, you never saw him using his vision or what he’s like in the fatui. he never speaks of it. either because you didn’t ask or because he doesn’t want to talk about it is still a mystery because you didn’t bother asking. you’ll probably have to be persistent if you’re curious about his line of work and want to hear from him about it.

-> either way, i don’t think he’ll ever explain it. that doesn’t mean he hates you, he just doesn’t want you to be involved with something such as the fatui and he very much does not want you to beat another fatui agent due to the fact it can bring you trouble by the tsaritsa - and you both are very aware that he’ll kill you if the tsaritsa wishes him to do so. and that is the last thing he wants, his lover’s blood in his hands.

-> anyways, more on your bunny ears and tail - he will laugh evilly if someone immediately assumes you’re an innocent person because you and him definitely know that ain’t true (especially in bed 😉). you’ve gotten used to people constantly thinking you are helpless or prey-like due to your kind while that shit annoys scaramouche a lot cause like wow how judgmental of them... just wait till my bby fucks their shit up 😇

-> let’s not forget your strong legs. you are scary as fuck with your legs. you can knock people down just by one slam from one of your legs and scaramouche be like i wonder what it’s like to be wrapped by those legs—

-> you also do that stomping when mad or upset, it’s the only thing that confirms scaramouche whenever he thinks you’re mad or upset because you always have that rest bitch face that he can’t tell if you’re serious or just chilling.

-> oh and whenever a fatui agent comes up to the harbinger while he’s hanging out with you, rip to them because the only thing they’ll see is his wrath. he’ll literally make you go somewhere else and then start being aggressive to the agent for ruining his time with his favorite person.

[wiypt-writes]

Too Loose And You’ll Lose It

Ch7: Old Habits Die Hard

Part 1

Co-Written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Summary: The Losers head to Mexico for Pooch’s wedding but there’s something wrong with Stella…

Pairing: Jake Jensen x OFC Stella Stevenson

Warnings: Bad language and a whole heap of angst.

A/N: So this chapter is a LONG one- so it’s split into a number of parts, to be posted over the next week or so. A LOT going down, and we really hope you enjoy it as it’s our favourite one to date for these pair of dumbasses.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. We do not own any characters in this series bar Stella Stevenson and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

TLAYLI Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

 April 2008

Clay, Roque, Cougar and Jake arrived in Mexico on a glorious Thursday morning, two days before Pooch's wedding and wasted no time in settling into their hotel and kicking back with a few drinks, soaking up the sun and taking the chance to relax. Cougar was in his element, being in his native country and an area which he knew particularly well. That evening he took them away from the resort of Cozumel to a little village fifteen miles or so inland where they visited a few back alley bars he knew, meeting up with a couple of his friends. The Losers then found themselves roped into several games of poker, all of them losing a fairly substantial amount of money until Clay, rather sensibly, called time on the gambling to avoid Future Mrs Pooch going thermonuclear at them for gambling away any future Mini Pooches’ inheritance money. They somehow made it back to the hotel and managed to deliver Pooch safely to his intended. The man could hardly stand by the time they got back thanks to the copious amount of Tequila he had consumed, something Clay, Roque and Jensen were quick to blame on Cougar when an irate Jolene opened the door to their suite, a furious look on her face.

As it stood, the hangovers they were all suffering on Friday morning were clearly their penance for leading Pooch astray. Jake had woken up with a mouth like he had been eating sand, and had stood in a cold shower for fifteen minutes solid trying to find it in him to function like a normal human being. He headed down for breakfast ten minutes before the hotel was due to stop serving and spotted Clay, Cougar and Roque sat at a table on the outside balcony, all sporting sunglasses and looking as bad as he felt. Jensen helped himself to as much as his plate could handle from the buffet and tucked in. He was beyond thankful that the food went someway to actually settling his churning stomach as opposed to making it worse. As he downed his fourth orange juice of the morning, he felt his mobile buzzing in his pocket and he pulled it out, his lips quirking into a smile as he read the message.

"It's Stel." He announced to the table. "She says ETA about forty minutes."

"How come she isn't here already?" Roque asked and Jensen rolled his eyes.

"Agent Shit-name was working, apparently. Meant they could only fly out early this morning." He swallowed the bite of toast he had rather viciously taken at the thought of Stel’s asshat boyfriend.

"Touchy subject." Clay looked at Roque. "Pooch is still low-key pissed she missed his Batchelor party."

Roque said nothing, simply raised his eyebrows as Jensen leaned back in his chair, massaging his now full stomach. "The guy is a dick." He spat venomously.

"Yes, but there's gonna be no trouble." Cougar turned to him, tipping his hat up slightly so he could see him.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter, Cougs." Jensen grinned and Cougar gave a snort, shaking his head.

They finished breakfast and after several more coffees were eventually ushered out of the restaurant by a very harassed looking waiter. As they wandered back through the hotel lobby, Clay stopped and waved, causing Jensen to turn and look, a smile spreading across his face as he saw Stella walking through the door pulling her suitcase. He frowned at the fact asshole wasn’t carrying it for her, but as Stella approached them he realised that Evan was nowhere to be found.

“Where’s agent Shit-Name?” He blurted out by way of greeting, and Stella responded with a filthy glare, otherwise ignoring him completely. She turned instead to greet Roque and Cougar before she gave Clay a huge hug.

“Good flight, Arty?” Roque asked and she smiled at him, popping a shoulder.

“As good as it gets. But they didn’t have tomato juice. Would you believe it?”

Clay gave a huge laugh. “Since when have you drunk that stuff?”

“It’s not that bad, plus if you drink alcohol on a plane you get severe dehydration.” She replied.

“You’re making that up.” Jake looked at her and she turned her attention to him, giving him an appraising look.

“I read it in Science.” She quipped back. Jake blinked, before he burst out laughing and she grinned and shook her head. “I’m just joking. I had several gin and tonics and glass of wine. I’m good.”

Roque looked at Clay. “What just happened?”

“They do this.” Clay answered. “Have you not noticed yet?”

Roque rolled his eyes and then Cougar asked the question that all of them had been dying to know the answer to. “Where’s Evan?”

Well, all bar Jake that is as he couldn’t have cared less.

Stella shifted a little, rubbing her neck, Jake instantly spotting her discomfort. “He errr, he couldn’t make it.”

“He bailed on you?” Roque frowned at the same time Clay blurted out.

“What do you mean he couldn’t make it?”

Stella licked her lips and at that point Jensen jumped in. He could see her flustered and despite his dislike of her boyfriend, he hated seeing her like that so he offered her a way out. “Work?”

She nodded, shooting him a thankful look. “Yeah, something came up.”

“Of course it came up.” Clay grumbled loudly. Whether he had meant for Stella to hear or not, hear she did. And what was more, it was apparent he didn’t believe Evan’s excuse any more than she did. Stella swallowed, she had always trusted Clay’s judgement and it was unnerving a little to realise exactly what he thought.

She took a deep breath. “I’m gonna go check in.” As she reached for her bag, a hand softly batted hers away as Jensen grabbed the handle.

“I got it.”

As soon as the two of them were out of earshot, Cougar turned to Clay as Roque shook his head

“Bastard.” Clay spat. “He’s not come and left her to pick up the flack and explain to Pooch.”

Cougs mumbled a swear word in Spanish as Clay’s eyes flicked to Stella and Jake before he pulled out his phone.

“’m gonna make some calls. Meet you at the pool bar in a while.”

*****

As they stood in the queue for the reception desk, a bunch of people all having descended to check in at once, Jake turned to Stella and took a deep breath. “Wanna tell me what’s really going on?”

“Nothing is going on, Jake.” Stella’s tone was level but firm, an indication she didn’t want to discuss the topic.

But Jensen never had been one to take heed of warnings. “I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you should.” She turned to face him, raising her brow a little. “Tell me, any Mexican chick fallen at your feet yet?”

He sighed, throwing his head back and giving a low groan. “C’mon, Stel, I thought we were past this?”

“Past what?” Her tone was innocent but Jake could tell she didn’t dare look him in the eye. Instead, she concentrated on searching for something in her purse.

“Holding out on one another.” He answered, looking at her. “You’re still my best friend.”

“Well, forgive me if I sometimes forget.” She rolled her eyes as she produced her credit card.

“Okay okay, you don’t wanna tell me then fine.” Jensen rubbed at his eye before pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Whatever.”

Stella looked at him before she gave a little sigh, and hung her head slightly. “Ev’s busy, okay? Something last minute came up and he...”

“Let me guess.” Jake rolled his eyes. “He asked you not to come without him and when you told him to fuck off you had an argument.”

“No, actually.” Stella fixed him with a glare, narrowing her eyes “He told me to come. It’s nothing like that at all.”

“Stel...”

“Jake, just drop it okay!” Her voice grew louder. “You couldn’t be further away from the truth if you tried.”

Jensen raised his hands in surrender, knowing it was time to drop the subject. “All right, all right. I really don’t wanna know.”

Before she could shoot back a response, she was called forward to the desk. Jake moved off to the side with her bag, watching her as she spoke to the guy behind the counter.

His hands dropped to his slim hips as he studied her, wracking his brains. Despite her protestations there was obviously something more going on, he knew her too well. The only thing he could think of was that for some reason they’d had an argument, a big enough one for Agent Shit-Name to leave her to come on her own. And, considering Jake knew he had told Stella to stay away from him, it must have been pretty serious for him to say he wasn’t coming.

As Jake watched Stella signing her name on the paper the guy behind the desk slid over to her, he saw her give a little smile before she tucked her hair behind her ear. He took a deep breath, shaking himself out of his thoughts and decided that he was going to make her forget about Asshole for a couple of days and enjoy herself. Being the Stel he’d always known and adored.

She nodded and said something to the receptionist before she turned towards Jake, heading over to him and he smiled. “All sorted?”

“Yeah I’m on the 4th floor

“Hey, cool! Same as me and Cougs.”

“Are you guys sharing?” She asked and he shook his head, giving a snort.

“Hell no. The Cougar is on the prowl, apparently. He’s a couple of rooms down.”

“Well I’m in 415.”

“422, Sweetheart.”

“Good to know in case I’m attacked by a spider in the middle of the night.” She grinned and Jake chuckled.

“Well, if you want I’ll do a sweep before you go in.” He looked at her seriously. “I am a highly trained killing machine after all.”

“So am I.”

“Yeah but I ain’t afraid of spiders... well, okay, not the little ones that is.”

Stella laughed. “Course not. But, that aside, I could use your help with my suitcase.”

“You don’t need to ask.” He said gently, picking it up. “I was already gonna bring it.”

She smiled and they made their way to the elevator which by some twist of luck was already on their floor. The door opens and they stepped inside, Stella turning to select their floor.

“Alright, I gotta ask.” Jake spoke and Stella turned to him as he gestured to the large case now by his feet. “You’re here for what, three nights? You bring your whole wardrobe, Stelly?”

She scoffed “I need all three nights’ outfits and daytime clothes as well. Toiletries, make up, underwear...bikinis.” At the last word she shot him a wink and Jake’s head dropped forward, his hands on his hips.

“Stop it.” He groaned playfully and she laughed.

“You don’t wanna hit the pool then, Jakey?”

“Is this a trick question?”

“Why would it be?”

“Well this feels like the part where I’m supposed to make some rude comment only I’m not sure if you’ll laugh or slap me.”

“You’d never know if you don’t say it.”

Jake looked at her, he was utterly confused now and hadn’t got a clue what was going on. He licked his lips, swallowed before he sighed and rubbed his beard. Thankfully, he was saved from responding at all as the elevator stopped, the doors sliding open as they’d reached their floor.

****

Once the slightly awkward but friendly first time introductions to the rest of the guests that the boys had met the day before, Stell felt herself really beginning to relax. She had been on edge since arriving if truth be told, not least because her friends had hit the nail on the head, there was something going on with Evan. But, she didn't want to think about it. Not now. Instead, she settled herself on a sun-lounger, peeling off her little sun-dress to reveal a yellow bikini and Jake flopped onto the one besides her, whipping off his white wife-beater. They talked and laughed and joked. It felt good, just kicking back, not a care in the world. Soft, holiday themed music was playing, the atmosphere was happy, and Stella had a constant supply of cocktails thanks to the team persistently plying her with them.

She must have fallen asleep at one point, as when she turned Jake wasn't there, but it didn't take her long to find him, his distinctive laugh ringing out over the pool area. Stella led back in the sun, glasses covering her face, no one able to see her eyes as she watched him sat on the edge of the pool, one of the bridesmaids next to him, their legs dangling in the water. His broad shoulders and back muscles twitched as he talked with his hands, as usual, emphasising whatever it was he was saying, one large arm reaching up to brush through his short hair. The girl laughed and tipped her head back and Jake grinned before he said something else and stood up. Stella shifted a little as he headed towards her.

"Stel, you want another drink?"

She pulled her glasses down, and peered over them as she smiled up at him. "No, I'm fine JJ thanks."

"Cool, just, you know, ask me if you need anything."

"I’ll be fine Jake." She insisted. "Just enjoy yourself or... whatever."

He gave her a little smile before he turned and walked away. Stella watched him go, and it didn't escape her just how many heads turned in his direction. She took a deep breath then suddenly a shadow blocked her sun. She looked up to see Cougar stood beside her, hands on his hips, bright blue swim shorts and a plain grey tank covering his toned upper body.

"Enjoying the views, Arty?"

She rolled her eyes, then smirked at him as she spotted his ever present headwear. "Even round the pool you’re wearing the hat?" She sat up slightly, nodding towards it.

"Well it keeps the top of my head cool and shelters my eyes from the sun." He shrugged. "And helps maintain my youthful complexion."

"You gonna be wearing it for the wedding?" She grinned as he perched on the lounger next to her, before he led back over the top of Jake's towel, swinging his legs up to recline a little.

"Of course I am." He looked at her like she'd asked a dumbass question. "I’m making a fashion statement, Honey!"

At that she laughed. "Well, I look forward to seeing that!"

"I'll save you a front row seat!"

As the two of them continued to chat, over at a table a little further round the pool, Roque and Clay were sat deep in conversation. Pooch made his way over, flopping down heavily into a seat, shades covering his eyes.

“All right, so someone wanna tell me what happened to Shit-Name?” There was no disguising the bitterness in his tone. He was still pissed over the whole stag-do incident as Stella hadn’t gone, and the blame for that lay firmly at Evan’s feet.  “Not that I care, in fact I’m glad not having to see him around but-“ he nodded to Stella “-well I don’t like her being upset.”

Clay took a deep breath and blew it out harshly. “So, I made some calls. Pulled some strings and…”

“What?” Roque took a pull from his beer and turned towards the Colonel. Clay simply shook his head and Roque rolled his eyes. “Spit it out, Clay.”

“The guy is not on duty this whole week.” Clay looked at him, and then to Pooch who pulled a face.

“The whole week? I thought she was flying in today because he had some work to finish before taking a couple of days off?”

“So did I.” Clay shrugged.

“So what? He’s been lying to stop her coming for more than absolutely necessary?” Roque frowned. “That is fucked up, Clay.”

“I don’t get it though.” Pooch shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. “Why is he not here? If he’s so hell bent on keeping her away from us, well, specifically Jensen, why the fuck has he let her come on her own?”

“I don’t know.” Clay looked over at Stella before turning back. “But I don’t like it.”

“Don’t like what?”

The three of them turned to see Jensen stood by their table, pushing his shades up his nose a little.

“Your swimming trunks.” Roque was quick to quip. “Pink? Really?”

Jensen grinned “Gracie got me these! Special present for being her coolest Uncle.”

“Yeah, you see she’s six, Jensen.” Clay grinned, taking a drink of his beer. “Her taste is debatable.”

At that Pooch snorted. “And besides, man, you’re her only Uncle! Not like she has anyone else to compare you to.”

“Oh yeah?” Jensen shot Pooch a look. “Fine, watch this.” He cleared his throat and looked over the pool area towards Stella. “Yo, Stel!” She glanced at him from where she was sat with Cougar and gestured with her head for him to continue speaking. “What you think of my shorts?” He gave a grin, twirling on the spot with his hands out to his side.

Stella arched a brow as she pulled down her glasses and looked over the top of them at him. “I’ve seen you in worse.” She called before she turned back to Cougar, a slight smile on her face.

Jake grinned and looked back at the men round the table, pointing in her direction. “See, that’s a compliment.”

“Yeah, by worse she means naked.” Pooch snorted. Roque and Clay both burst out laughing and the three of them clinked their beer bottles together.  

“You can all laugh but let’s face it, none of you could pull off this colour.” Jake sniffed.

“Who says you’re pulling it off, Jensen?” Clay arched his eyebrow.

“Well, he’s gonna need to as no one else is gonna pull em off for him.” Roque sniggered.

“Well, actually, Jolene’s cousins have already asked if he was free.” Pooch raised an eyebrow.

“They blind?” Roque shot back as Jensen grinned, ignoring him.

“Really? Which ones?”

“You were sitting with one of them earlier.” Pooch informed him.

“Oh, the red headed chick?” Jensen glanced around, and his eyes once more fell on Stella who was now sat up, turned towards Cougar as they talked about something. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, she’s not really my type. In a bit fellas.” With that he slapped Pooch on the head and wandered over to join Cougar and Stella.

“We cannot tell him about Evan.” Roque stated as Jensen sat down on the sun lounger next to Stella, leaning back a little on his hands.

“Nope." Clay agreed.

“Absolutely not.” Pooch affirmed with a serious nod.

*****

Stella was in her room’s bathroom, leaning over the counter to check her mascara hadn’t left any unwelcome blotch around her eyelashes when there was a loud knock on the door followed by the two softer ones that, ever since they met all those years ago, announced Jake Jensen’s presence. She gave a last glance at her appearance on the mirror, adjusting the thin straps of her pale pink dress to her shoulders, before she went to open the door for him.

“Damn, Stel. You look amazing.”

It was all Jake could express when he recovered from the shock of seeing Stella all dolled up for the first time since what seemed like forever. Maybe the last time being when Jane and Rob got married and they were still together and waiting for their military training to be over. She looked stunning in that outfit and he couldn’t fail but to observe it was Stelly all over. Her pale pink dress was covered in delicate lace flowers and flowed down her curves, the deep v neckline doing nothing but highlighting her gorgeous breasts which Jake so damned well knew and had cherished once upon a time.

Fuck, his mouth was dry…

“Thanks JJ.” Stella chimed, making Jake blink and shake his head. “I need a quick minute…”

As she turned to go finish getting ready he followed her in, closing the door behind him.

“Hey, you’re not gonna say anything about my slacks and this fancy waistcoat I’m wearing.” He asked opening his arms for her to take in his appearance which she did when she turned, looking him up and down. She took in his dark blue plaid tweed waistcoat, matching trousers, along with his pale blue and white striped dress shirt and matching tie and she grinned.

“No jacket?”

“Fuck that shit, Stel its too hot out!” He snorted. “I’m gonna boil to death enough tomorrow in my suit.”

Stella laughed, looking him up and down again before she took a deep breath. “You could almost pass as a grown up, Jake.”

He pouted though he was slightly amused at the comment as it clearly meant her brain had also taken her to the last time they both had worn such elegant outfits, as they had been basically babies then.

“Rude, Stel. You used to like this look on me when we were.... ummm.... did you change your perfume?” Jake suddenly asked in an attempt to change topic after almost sliding dangerously down memory lane.

“No it’s the same it’s been for years.” Stella rolled her eyes at him and turned to rummage in her make up bag.

“Yes. Right….” Jensen replied somewhat awkwardly but relieved she was busy with something else. “So Cougs is coming down with us, he’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She said as she finished putting her lip-gloss on before grabbing her sandals and sitting on her bed. “So like, is there a huge group of us tonight then?”

Jake stood there, his brain having a hard registering Stella’s question, his hands on his trouser pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet and blushed furiously because, from where he was stood,  as Stella was bent over doing her sandals up, he could see right down her dress and the line of her breasts. But when he finally did realise she’d spoken, he swallowed hard and tried to play it as cool as possible.

“I guess pretty much everyone invited who’s here already, it is a rehearsal dinner after all. Hey, did you know Clay’s chick is landing tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow morning? Stella frowned. “Cutting it a bit fine, isn’t it?” She asked standing up and readjusting her dress.

“Well, better late than never.” Jake muttered, more to himself than anything but Stella had clearly heard it as she was glaring at him.

“Don’t start.”

“Sorry, my bad.” Jensen raised the palms of his hands in surrender. But before he could continue apologizing there was another knock on the door. “That will be Cougs.” Jake took a hasty retreat as he went to open the door to Cougar who raised an eyebrow on seeing his friend’s flustered expression.

“Don’t look at me like that, Cougar.”

“What the fuck’s wrong with you, Jensen?” Cougar whispered but then his eyes landed on Stella who was coming towards them and looked at Jensen again as he mouthed. “Wow.”

On an impulse Jake dug him in the ribs with his elbow which made Cougar shove him hard on the shoulder in turn just before Stella stopped by their side and looked at them. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

“Playing tag.” Jensen blurted out.

Stella narrowed her eyes at him just as Cougar looked at him wondering what the fuck Jensen was dragging him into. Jensen gave him a look and Cougar rolled his eyes.

“I told him he’s buying the first round tonight and the jerk said he wouldn’t.” He turned to Stella, trying not to sound too eager or false.

Stella shrugged. “What else is new?”

“Hey, I’m not paying ‘cause it’s a free bar. All the rounds are on Pooch and future Mrs Pooch.” Jensen nodded lightly at Coug, rolling with it.

Stella grinned as they step out of the room and she shut the door. “Well boys, ” she linked her arms into theirs as they were at either side of her, “in that case let’s see how drunk we can go get for free.”

Jakey and Cougar both cheered loudly at the idea and she laughed heartily.

“And you’re walking into the party escorted by two of the most eligible bachelors in this resort, Sweetheart.” Jensen added cheekily.

“Yeah?” She asked as she called the lift and Jensen saw her eyes shine with mischief before speaking again. “You taking me to meet them? Are they downstairs?”

Cougar snorted but Jake wasn’t gonna let it die there. That was the playful Stella he so adored, his Stelly. They could go on at this type of banter for hours if they were in the mood.

“Face facts, I am desirable as Pooch told me before. Bridesmaids already asking for my number. How many asked for your number, Cougs?”

Cougar just smirked and tip the brim of his hat. “They only need my room number, you loser.”

At that Stella let out a huge laugh and the elevator arrived so she stepped in followed by Cougar, Jake behind them.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll give you that one.” Jensen admitted as the elevator doors closed and they headed down.

***

When they got to the big room where the rehearsal party was taking place, the bride and groom were already there greeting all their guests and Stella was immediately introduced to everyone in Jolene’s extended family who hadn’t been at the pool earlier that day. The drinks and conversations were flowing when the wedding planner, a woman with a thick Mexican accent, announced dinner was being served in a few minutes and politely asked them all to find their seats.

The Losers were set to share a table with Pooch’s brother and his girlfriend and a couple of Jolene’s bridesmaids who happened to be her cousins too. The food was delicious and by the time dessert had been served, Stel could swear her dress had shrunk in size but she was damned if she was going to say no to those sinful Tamales. The chocolate on her taste buds, together with all the tequila and cocktails they had consumed during the meal had her in good spirits. She could honestly say she was having a great time and was enjoying herself, only one thing casting a shadow over her jolly mood.

Jolene’s cousin Shanice, secretly renamed by Stella as Corpse Bridesmaid, who was sitting at Jake’s other side, insisted on flirting shamelessly with him, to the point it was embarrassing. So, when her piercing laughter at some of Jake’s shitty quips got everyone at their table startled, Stella shared a glance with Cougar who was sat at her other side and excused herself. Instead of going to the ladies restroom, she went outside, deciding some fresh air would do her good. She wandered out onto the beach a little and sat down breathing in deeply,  taking in the peacefulness of the sea in front of her.

Her head was swimming but not just from alcohol. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but it was jealousy. She was jealous of Jake and Corpse Bridesmaid when she wasn’t supposed to be. Right? She wasn’t supposed to be and she didn’t like the feeling either.

And then there was Evan. She knew he was lying about having to work. He’d just used that as an excuse not to come to cover up the real core of the issue. Although he still insisted he was stuck at the office she knew he didn’t have to be there, and that evening, when they had talked on the phone, he had been cold and curt, their conversation mainly made of void questions and monosyllabic answers. Stella breathed in shakily at the memory of that conversation and pulled her phone out for the umpteenth time that night. No messages, no missed calls. Nothing. She sighed and chucked it back on her purse hastily.

“A watched phone never rings, Arty”

She hadn’t heard him approach, absorbed as she was in her own thoughts, but she made no effort to turn around as Cougar was already sitting on the sand next to her.

“Any luck with the blonde bridesmaid, Cougs?” She asked with a soft smile. “Maybe she’s the type that calls.”

“I told you before, I don’t need her to call, just knock.” He joked before turning his head to look at her, studying her features. “What’s going on Arty?”

“Nothing Cougs, just getting a little lightheaded in there.” Stella explained as she nodded her head towards the muffled voices of the party inside.

Cougar nodded. “And I’m assuming it’s not only because of the drinks.”

Stella didn’t reply, she simply looked away not trusting herself to say anything without her voice breaking.

“You know I won’t tell anyone, right? Especially not Jensen.”

Stella sighed and lowered her head as her hands fiddled with the flowers of her dress.  “I don’t believe Ev is working. I think he was making excuses not to come.” She finally spoke, before lifting her eyes to meet Cougar’s.

“And why would he be making excuses not to come with you?” Cougar frowned. “I thought he always wanted to spend time with you. That’s why you haven’t been hanging out with us so much anymore, huh?”

Stella raised her eyebrows. “He does. We kinda had an argument about it, well, not really an argument just a discussion about him crowding me and stuff, how he acts about Jake and you guys... and he admitted he was a little full on but said it was because he loved me.”

“Oh, so he threw the big L word there. That’s good, right?” Cougar asked, looking at her confused and a bit concerned as she had looked somehow embarrassed to admit Evan had said he loved her.

Stella looked at him. “Not really Cougs, because when he said it I was paralyzed and then realized I couldn’t say it back.”

“Oh.” He grimaced. “That’s not so good.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “You don’t love him?”

Stella shrugged, feeling calmer now, almost relieved she had finally got it off her chest and shared it with someone. “I thought I was sorta getting there you know, told myself it would happen in time but we’re almost six months in now. And each week I can’t see beyond the next, there’s no long term view there for me, Cougs and…”

“That’s a hard no disguised as a not yet, Arty.” He observed when he noticed Stella was trailing off. And she didn’t reply but looked at the sand instead as there wasn’t really a suitable response to that, least of all because he was right, she knew that much.

“Come here.” Cougar sighed, waving his hand for her to get closer before wrapping an arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss on the top of her head. “What you gonna do about it?”

“Finish it I suppose. That’s the right thing to do isn’t it?” She answered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess it’s certainly the most sensible thing to do, anyway.”

“Well I’m a very sensible person.” Stella chuckled causing Cougar to snort.

“You spent years dating Jensen, I beg to differ.”

“Not my most sensible time.” She quipped.

Cougar laughed, shaking his head in agreement, and when he looked down to watch her he saw she was looking at the sand again, only this time she was smiling as she was clearly remembering something about the time he spent with Jake.

“He still loves you, you know? Jensen I mean.”

Stella’s eyes darted up at him and she scoffed. “You’re insane, Coug? You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Oh I know exactly what I’m saying. And more so you know it’s true.” Cougar stated as he tipped the brim of his hat and winked at her.

****

“Fuck, no, no more!” Jensen waved his hand as Roque grinned widely and held his hands up cheering loudly as Jensen grimaced. Both men had spent the last thirty five minutes doing shots while being cheered, as could not be otherwise, by Corpse Bridesmaid.

“All right, all right, you win Roque. I’m out.” Jensen admitted defeat as he turned around, scanning the dance floor. He frowned when he realized he couldn’t spot Stella, granted he was a bit drunk but he really couldn’t see her anywhere in the room. So he stood up from his seat and blinked twice as everything was a little hazy.

“Hey Clay, you seen Stel?” He asked when he finally steadied himself, brushing his hand through his hair before he pushed his glasses back up his nose. They’d gotten a little too close to falling off whilst he’d been doing those damned shots.

“Nope, it’s been a while since I last saw her.” Clay replied, glancing up at him from where he was sat on his spot at their table talking to Pooch’s brother.

“She went outside a while back. Didn’t say goodbye so I assumed she was coming back but…” Jolene, who had come searching for her cousin, offered but then someone Jensen couldn’t quite place tapped her shoulder so she turned round to talk to them and they left together a few seconds later, leaving him a little puzzled, without answers.

“Okay, I’ll go find her myself. You guys are useless.” He sniffed as he loosened his tie and turned to leave.

Clay rolled his eyes and looked at Roque who shook his head and snorted. “Whatever Jensen, just keep an eye on that tie. Too loose and you’ll lose it.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Jensen.” Clay warned him, earning a frown from Pooch’s brother and causing Jensen to stop in his tracks.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” He asked, turning to look at Clay.

“It means you’ve drunk a lot with Roque and she’s got a boyfriend who is clearly making her upset.”

“I’m fine I…” Jensen began to protest but he immediately paused as Clay’s words registered. “Hang on, what do you mean Shit-Name is making her upset?” He frowned as Clay groaned, realizing he had said too much “Do you know something?”

“Well he’s not here, isn’t he? That should be enough.” Clay tried to brush it off.

Jensen looked at him for a moment before he turned and left the room, contemplating what Clay had just said. Despite the colonel’s attempt to brush it off as an innocent comment, he had once more raised the point that Shit-Name wasn’t here, and none of them really knew why. There was also the fact that Stella had been uncharacteristically flirty with Jake that day, more than their usual good natured quips…was it possible they had split up? But, if they had, surely she would have told him right? But then again, maybe she wouldn’t have told him, not wanting to cloud Pooch’s big weekend with her issues?

The thought was enough to make Jake grin, but the grin disappeared as fast as it had come and he couldn’t help but groan at this train of thought. Nothing would make him happier than that dick to be gone for good but he also didn’t want Stella to be upset and heartbroken. That was part of the reason that, despite his vow on New Years’ Eve to Clay in his parent’s dining room about fighting for her, he’d really tried to behave. He’d watched as her and Evan had gone from, what appeared to be, strength to strength, and, if he had to be honest, he was just grateful they were on good terms and wouldn’t want to jinx his recently fixed friendship with his Stelly for all the gold in the world. Plus, he just wanted her to be happy, she deserved that at least.  And, until now, he thought that Agent Shit-Name was making her so…

All those noisy thoughts were clouding his alcohol intoxicated head when he finally made it outside after a quick stop at the restroom. As soon as Jensen’s feet landed on the soft beach sand, he spotted Stella in the distance but she wasn’t alone as Cougar was sitting next to her on the sand with his arm round her.

“What the fuck, Cougs?” He whispered to himself, his jaw twitching a little. “Seriously, you’re going there?”

Both figures wheeled round and looked at him as he drew closer, his constant groans about tripping over on the sand alerting them to his presence. And when they did turn, Jake could see Stella had been crying.

“Stel, what’s going on?” He asked her softly.

Stella hastily wiped her tears and sniffed before speaking. “Nothing, I’m fine. It’s just….” She trailed off as she looked at Cougar with pleading eyes.

“I was telling her stories of my childhood here in Mexico.”  Cougar looked at Jake.

“Yeah…” Stella nodded eagerly. “… and it just got me thinking a bit of dad and stuff.”

Jensen glared at Cougar as he squatted beside them both, not for a minute believing the bullshit he had come up with, but then Cougar shot him a look and shook his head gently. Jensen’s frown deepened a little, before he looked at Stella who was now watching the ocean again. He knew she was lying, she had been lying about Evan and about them being fine since she had landed in Mexico that morning, but he also knew now, from Cougs, it wasn’t what his tequila mushed brain had thought some minutes earlier.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed all that to the back of his mind and fixed a smile on his face.

“Well, Stelly, I think the only thing to do here is come dance your sorrows away.” He tried to lighten the mood up a bit as he knew his Stelly had always loved dancing.

She looked at him like he was a moron before she burst out laughing and he shot her a cheeky grin.

“Yasss, come on, Sweetheart.” He pressed as he stood up, helping her up in the process and once they both were standing on their feet Jensen turned around and bent a little. “Jump up! We’re going dancing.”

“You’re not carrying me, moron!” She shook her head as he turned to look at her. “And it’s just one. I had an early morning and I need some rest.” She bent slightly, brushing the sand off her dress, giving Jensen another front row view of her cleavage line and without even looking at him, he nudged Cougar to stop him staring, sending the man sprawling over onto the sand, a string of Mexican expletives escaping his mouth.

“That’s my Stelly.” Jake grinned and she took his hand as she put her sandals back on before Jensen dipped and slung her over his shoulder.

“JJ put me down you ass!” Stella squealed.

“No can do Stel, don’t trust you not to run.” He said amidst laughter.

“Don’t mind me…” Cougar quipped as he remained sprawled on the sand.

“We won’t.” Jensen shot back as he strode up the beach to the bar with Stella over his shoulder, laughing as she slapped his back.

“Jake my boobs are gonna fall out of my dress!” She shouted, slapping his back harder once they were almost reaching the sliding doors that led to the room where the party after the dinner was now in full swing.

“I see no issue with that.”

“God, you’re a dick!” Stella scoffed and Jensen chuckled, eventually putting her down on the bar and looking at her chest. “Hey, my face is up here.”

“I was just… erm…” Jensen gave a goofy smile as he made a grabbing hand gesture in front of her boobs “…checking the twins are still in place and you’re good.”

Stella rolled her eyes at him as she rearranged her dress. “Pervert.”

All in all, and as Jensen had expected, Stella stayed for a little more than one song as she was letting herself go and forget everything. The pair of them just enjoyed themselves, and it was almost as if no time at all had passed, and they were still at some sort of crummy, homecoming or end of year dance at their school’s over decorated sports hall.

Just as they were winding down a rather energetic dance to some form of Nineties dance song, the name of which, Jensen had no idea, Pooch cut the music and stepped up to thank everyone for coming, before he started talking rather drunken and lovingly about Jolene. As Roque and Clay began to heckle, telling him to save the mushy ‘I love yous’ for tomorrow, Stella zoned out a little, thinking about what Cougar had said earlier at the beach. If she was honest, whilst she’d been able to push it away for large chunks of time as she’d been dancing, it had been in the back of her mind all night. Because Cougar had hit the nail on the head, she didn’t love Evan, she didn’t think she ever would, and she couldn’t keep fooling herself. She needed to finish it.

Almost as if he had read her mind, she felt Jake gently take her hand and give it a squeeze and that was it. It all became too much to handle again, and she turned to him giving him a shy smile.

“I’m gonna go Jake, I really am tired.”

Just as she had anticipated, he tried to get her to stay but she refused, declining his offer to walk her back up to her room. She kissed his cheek softly, gave him a smile, and headed off to say goodnight to everyone.

***** Jensen watched her go before dropping his head in defeat. He took a deep sigh, hands on his hips, before Cougar appeared at his side, thrusting a beer he hadn’t even asked for into his hand.

“Thanks.” Jensen whispered, taking a large swig as he studied Cougar. “So what really happened at the beach?”

Cougar hesitated, looking for the best way to give his friend a comforting answer without betraying Stella’s confidence, and it was proving a really difficult task. “She… umm, she told me Evan had said he loved her.” He answered a second or two later, hesitantly.

“What?” Jensen asked, swallowing hard. His beer suddenly felt a bit sandy.

“She didn’t say much more but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions how the whole thing went from how she’s been and the fact he isn’t here.” Cougar shrugged.

Jensen glared at him before taking another sip of his drink. He couldn’t think clearly, it wasn’t time for mind riddles and someone had definitely added that fucking sticky beach sand to his beer, plus, now he was pissed and his mind started spiralling.

Fucking Shit-Name dropping the fucking L word!

But then again, how could he not love her? It was impossible once you knew Stella, and he should know, he had tried it.

And what the fuck? Why hadn’t she told him when he had asked, instead of avoiding the topic all day long and then telling Cougar instead?

And yeah, Cougar could fuck off as well. With a final glare at him, he thrust his beer bottle back into Cougar’s hand and left without as much as a goodbye word.

What might seem common, rational sense to everyone else was never that common or sensible in Jake Jensen’s fucked up mind, least of all when it came down to Stella Stevenson. So, as he headed back to his room and passed hers on his way he stopped and turned back, making her way to her door. He stepped forward, ready to knock, but he dropped his knuckle when it was still mid-air and with a shake of his head and a heavy sigh he carried on.

And now he was also pissed at himself. Great.

******

Chapter 7 Part 2

[codedredalert]

Provocation [Golden Kamuy, Tsuki/Ogata] -- part 1/2

Tsuki/Ogata || could-be-canon pre-series || 3,254 words

Second Private Ogata is nothing but trouble, and no end to infuriating. Tsukishima is determined to treat him fairly nonetheless.

(GK fanworks exchange prompt 27: Ogata dealing with the "wildcat" jokes and consequential reputation in the army, Tsukishima somehow protecting him.)

Warnings: canon-typical violence

(On Ao3) (part 2 on tumblr)

===/\==

.

Tsukishima isn't meant to hear it, but he does. He pulls two men aside to warn them for being late, and as he is walking away, he hears one mutter, "that shitty wildcat, this is his fault".

"Wildcat?" Tsukishima asks, because predatory animals near the camp are a significant concern.

"It's nothing, sir," Second Private Nikaido (he's not sure which one) responds after a moment too long and a shared look with his brother. In hindsight, that look is why Tsukishima remembers.

.

.

He doesn't think much of it until he walks into the main tent just as a fight nearly breaks out. There's shouting that abruptly cuts off as the men catch sight of him and turn to salute instead of throwing punches. Still, the tension in the air is palpable, and almost everyone is throwing dirty sideways glances at one man in particular. He's not new, but somehow, Tsukishima has yet to speak with him. His face was both familiar and less familiar than it should be, with big, dark eyes and eyebrows that turn down at both ends. He's built on the smaller side, though still taller than Tsukishima himself.

Tsukishima sighs and gestures for the men to stand at ease.

"There will be no punishment, but I need to know what happened here," he says. Most of them bow slightly in acknowledgement, though the newer men look apprehensive. No one volunteers, of course, so Tsukishima is forced to single someone out. "The Second Private in the sheepskin vest, what's your name?"

The big, honest-looking man, one of the new reserves, steps forward.

"Tanigaki Genjirou, sir."

"Second Private Tanigaki." Tsukishima nods. "What happened here?"

"I'm afraid I was not following the conversation, sir. I can only say that it appears that Second Private Ogata and Superior Private Tamai have had some disagreement."

Tsukishima turns to Superior Private Tamai expectantly.

"Second Private Ogata is just being his usual offensive self, sir. His words are not worth repeating."

"Ahh," interrupts the man with the big, dark eyes. His voice is soft with a slight rasp, almost like a purring cat. "The Superior Private and Second Private Tanigaki are giving me too much credit. I only said that having more snipers might give us more tactical options, and it's a pity that no one else in our unit is suitable. Superior Private Tamai took that as a criticism of his leadership or marksman abilities."

A collective rustle of discontent goes through the men, but no one says anything further and Tsukishima dismisses them. Then all at once, noise and movement return and it seems the men can't contain themselves anymore, speaking in agitated whispers.

"He really is a wildcat, did you hear him?"

"What a liar!"

"Shhh, the Sergeant can hear you."

"Forget the Sergeant, that bastard Ogata might hear you."

… so that's what they meant. Tsukishima thought of one particular cat back in the fishing village he once called home. A cat with a hanging belly that belonged to no-one, meowing pitifully to beg for food. Tsukishima had fed it until one fisherman had laughed at him, and told him "that cat isn't pregnant— he's just fat, and a good fraud."

He finds himself staring, and Second Private Ogata looks up and smiles.

.

.

He soon learns that there's more to it than that.

The nickname catches on with unusual speed and enthusiasm. Outside of formal channels, Second Private Ogata is almost universally referred to as "wildcat Ogata", "that wildcat", or a mix of expletives. It's compromising the order and morale of the men. Tsukishima has more pressing things to think about, but there are enough rumours that it earns its place as an item on his mental checklist of problems to deal with.

One night, when intelligence indicates that an attack by the Russians is unlikely, an air of cautious optimism pervades the camp, and men and officers alike take full advantage of the respite.

"Sergeant Tsukishima, you're slow to the party!" Someone calls to him from a group seated around a fire. "Come drink with us, Second Lieutenant Hanazawa just donated his share of sake."

Tsukishima takes his seat with them, more than readily takes the sake passed to him—he's long learned not to refuse anything that might ease the weight and reality of war— and joins them in raising a toast.

"To Yuusaku-san! May you have a long life, so your generosity can continue to bless us!"

"Empty the glasses!" someone roars amongst the cheers and uproarious laughter. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" Tsukishima echoes, raising his drink and nodding to Second Lieutenant Hanazawa. The handsome young officer laughs along with everyone, waving away the thanks modestly. That just gets him another round of cheers, and even some pats on the back.

"Yuusaku-san, you're really amazing! Brave and generous and virtuous. Your father, the Lieutenant General's blood really shows!"

A chorus of approval and agreement, indistinct. The atmosphere of relative safety and normalcy, the comfortable warmth of the fire, his accumulated fatigue, and the sake all softened the noise and going-ons around him until Tsukishima heard someone say: "Eh, no, no, that can't be right, otherwise that wildcat would also have some good qualities instead of fucking around all the time."

And then the conversation suddenly related to A Problem, and Tsukishima was too dutiful to ignore it. Holding back a sigh, he dredged up some willpower to pay attention.

"You're right, it must come from his mother's side. Or Yuusaku-san must have taken all the good parts from the Lieutenant General."

"It's true, how are they even related?"

"Simple! The child of a wildcat... must also be a wildcat!" The man who says this pronounces it with a dramatic sweep of his arm and a great deal of pride at his own cleverness, the others burst out in drunken laughter, all except Tsukishima and Second Lieutenant Hanazawa. This doesn't pass unnoticed. Not wanting to exclude their benefactor, Lance Corporal Takahashi slings his arm around the Second Lieutenant, and with all the social acumen of an injured bear, he helpfully explains.

"Ah, of course our dear flagbearer wouldn't know! Wildcat here means geisha, especially of the sort that… is willing to take some extra appointments, if you catch my meaning."

He leers so lecherously that his meaning is completely unmistakable. Second Lieutenant Hanazawa blushes, and then very rapidly goes pale. He looks like he wants to say something, but the flag-bearer's duty to camaraderie and harmony of the troops shackles him.

The same did not apply to Tsukishima.

"It does you no credit to speak ill of your fellow soldiers or their heritage," he says sharply, "—or to imply ill of your Lieutenant General."

Tsukishima speaks like the sergeant he is, so his voice carries, even if he's not trying to be particularly loud. Most of the noise in the group dies instantly, and the people at the fringes quickly quieten as well as the ones near them nudge them to lower their voices.

The Lance Corporal who was speaking does a double take, swaying slightly, drunk but not drunk enough to miss the sudden uncomfortable hush and Tsukishima's obvious disapproval.

"Ahh Sergeant, it was only a joke, a joke."

"A poor joke in bad taste," replies Tsukishima and the person's smile becomes visibly more strained, but Tsukishima doesn't care about popularity, he's a dead man returned to life by a man who outranks everyone present. Even if he were shot tomorrow, it was all borrowed time anyway, as far as he was concerned. The funny characteristic about people when they've already made their peace with death was that they cared very little about what the living think of them.

"—but—" Lance Corporal Takahashi starts to argue.

"It is also an insult to the Second Lieutenant, which is a poor way to repay him for his generosity," Tsukishima adds and as expected, that is what makes the Lance Corporal stop, glancing to the side where the Second Lieutenant is smiling uncomfortably.

"And in any case," Tsukishima continues, "it hardly matters when we're all here fighting and dying in the same war for the same country."

The mood instantly sobers, the temporary illusion of warmth and normalcy dropping away, the weight of the war they were on the front lines of returning tenfold

Tsukishima is suddenly more tired than when he first joined the group. So much for having a bit of respite this evening. He should have gone straight to the baths and stayed there.

"I've said everything I have to say and I'll stand by it, with all the authority I have. But it's late now. Excuse me, I'll take my leave." He turns to the Second Lieutenant, gives a shallow bow, probably more shallow than is polite but his body is too heavy for him to care overly much. "Thank you for the sake, sir."

He leaves. Behind him, he hears Second Lieutenant Hanazawa softly taking his leave from the table of now subdued officers. Footsteps follow him, and the young officer's voice calls out, "Wait!"

Tsukishima stops and turns, and Second Lieutenant Hanazawa jogs to meet him.

"It is good to see that the high praise I have heard about Sergeant Tsukishima is well-founded. Thank you for your defense of my elder brother."

"Second Lieutenant Hanazawa, you're being far too kind. Anything I said was merely for satisfaction of my own principles."

Tsukishima wants to turn and leave, but the Second Lieutenant looks like he has more to say, and the mix of decorum, rank, and actually not disliking the young man keeps Tsukishima standing there.

"I thought they might treat him better if they knew we were related," confesses Hanazawa, "but that provoked people's curiosity. In the end, I seem to have made more trouble for my elder brother."

From the little Tsukishima is aware of, he rather thinks that Second Private Ogata makes most of the trouble himself— there couldn't be that much smoke without even a spark of fire— but as with most situations where he doesn't know enough, he keeps his mouth shut.

Suddenly realising that he was keeping Tsukishima standing in the cold for a personal conversation, Second Lieutenant Hanazawa startles.

"I've said too much." Second Lieutenant Hanazawa bows again. "I beg for your discretion with this information."

"Of course, sir," Tsukishima replies. When Second Lieutenant Hanazawa smiles widely in relief, Tsukishima doesn't have the heart to tell him that he is just closing the doors after the horse has bolted.

.

.

That conversation haunts him, annoyingly mundane amongst the greater horrors he has to deal with. It invokes memories of his home being mocked as unclean, a murderer's dwelling-place, and the murder of a kind girl for no reason other than the appearance she was born with and the misfortune of his affection. Tsukishima takes the old nightmares in stride, as he takes everything, but every time he sees the cloaked figure of Second Private Ogata huddling near a fire or brazier, the thought returns to him, an incomplete task.

It doesn't sit well with him.

The gods give him his chance a few days later, when Second Private Ogata walks by and gives him the mandatory salute. Again, Tsukishima is struck by his big dark eyes, true black catching a small gleam of light, intelligent and strange. If all-seeing eyes existed, they must be like his. Ogata glances over Tsukishima, but his eyes don't settle, don't even linger, like he's seen all there is to see and has already dismissed it with a flick of dark eyelashes, already looking for something else.

He is a sniper. Tsukishima had looked at his records. An unnaturally good one too. It made a man wonder what those eyes could see.

"Second Private Ogata."

"Sir."

"It has come to my attention that these 'wildcat' references are an insult to your private matters and parentage. I don't stand such things. If they bring up that distasteful joke again, let me know."

A blink from those big dark eyes.

"I can deal with it," Second Private Ogata starts to say, but Tsukishima cuts him off before he can go on to make the obligatory polite refusals. He's in no mood for the song and dance of social niceties. The memory of dark hair in unusual curls and a murderer called father are too close to his thoughts today.

"This is a matter of principle. Insulting a person for their heritage has no place in this regiment." Tsukishima surprises himself with how forcefully the words come out, though that is probably not noticeable to someone who does not know him well.

"If it's not about me, then I wonder why the sergeant decided to talk to me?" Ogata's tone, normally flat with disinterest, curled ever so slightly with curiosity now. "Just make an order or punishment, as you please. Sir."

He makes a point, and somehow Tsukishima does not like the question. Still, he answers.

"An order might confirm the information and disservice you and Second Lieutenant Hanazawa more. But if that's what it takes, I will make the order and enforce it with my own two hands if I must."

Something changes. Ogata's eyes feel like they finally focus on him, even with the strange sensation that they are too big and taking everything at once, at least now that includes him. Ogata comes to some decision, lifting his chin.

"I can deal with it, sir. No need to trouble yourself."

His eyes are unreadable.

.

.

The atmosphere in the regiment becomes more vicious. As Tsukishima investigates, small misfortunes start making sense.

Superior Private Tamai's rifle sight rusts on a perfectly dry night. Second Private Tanigaki's uniform buttons go missing. Lance Corporal Takahashi's trigger finger is shot off.

No one knows for certain that it's Second Private Ogata, but everyone knows.

.

.

"You wanted to speak to me, sir?"

Ogata reports as he is required to, but from his carefully blank expression, it's clear he doesn't intend to cooperate. Tsukishima looks up from where he is writing a report and puts down his pen, sits back, more upright.

"I was under the impression we had an understanding," he says grimly, "that you'd come to me regarding those insults if necessary."

"It was not necessary," replied Ogata, just this side of insubordinate, and with a very neutral expression he goes on to say, "But I appreciate the Sergeant's special attention."

"Then it would befit Second Private Ogata to show his appreciation via his conduct."

"What conduct do you suggest?" he asks blithely with an innocently straight face and his too-big eyes and his purring voice. He's far too aware for that ignorance to be genuine.

How irritating.

"Report to me instead of acting on your own," Tsukishima says forcefully. "Or if you don't wish to bring the matter to me, you are free to go to the Second Lieutenant if you prefer. He is more than willing to help you." That gets the first involuntary reaction he sees from Ogata, a definitive rise in his shoulders, a slight lean away from Tsukishima, as if he could physically avoid the suggestion.

"If I don't go to the Sergeant, how could I go to the Second Lieutenant?" asks Ogata, insulting while somehow still staying just this side of appropriate enough to avoid penalty. "As I said, I can deal with it. There's no need to trouble yourself, sir."

.

.

Three more men trade their trigger fingers for a ticket out of the regiment.

There is no evidence that it is Second Private Ogata.

There is no evidence that it is not Second Private Ogata.

.

.

This time, Tsukishima does not send a missive, he pulls Second Private Ogata aside himself.

"I told you to come to me," Tsukishima starts without preamble.

"I don't know what you mean," says Ogata with a straight face.

It takes everything in Tsukishima not to react visibly to that.

"Antagonising our own unit members is bad for morale," replies Tsukishima flatly. "And some actions are outright sabotage, or treason."

"Is Sergeant Tsukishima suggesting I would do such things?" Ogata has the gall to look surprised, and even slightly offended. Tsukishima doesn't buy it for a second.

"I am trying to be fair to you. Stop putting me in a position where I have to punish the people you provoke."

"Mmm, Sergeant Tsukishima has been very patient and generous, all for me." The words in themselves are perfectly polite, but something in the way he says it twists it to mockery. It stops all sound but the blood rushing in Tsukishima's ears.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Tsukishima challenges. A spark lights in Ogata's eyes, and he tilts up his chin, looking down his nose at Tsukishima.

"Obviously the sergeant doesn't care that much about me. So the sergeant must be personally invested in this type of insult, right?"

The protest "I'm not" dies unsaid in Tsukishima's throat as patently untrue. He looks at Ogata, unable to find something to say in the varied mess of emotion struggling to resolve into something comprehensible. Disbelief, irritation, anger, sadness, profound regret, longing, something a little bit of all of these and yet none of them.

Ogata looks at him as Tsukishima's silent struggle grows, and at length, Ogata speaks.

"You already know how the unit talks about me," Ogata says. He is unbearably smug and insubordinate despite the formal address. "So this show of yours must be because you want to make sure they don't talk about you behind your back. Do you want to know what they say about you? Or is that too 'inappropriate'— it's true that I can take it better than you, just judging from your reaction."

Tsukishima's emotions resolve decidedly into fury, which he holds back for a moment before thinking — why not and swinging, landing a good hit right in the face. His fist crunches into Ogata's nose satisfyingly, makes contact with the hard socket and soft tissue of Ogata's eye. His knuckles sting slightly from the impact, tingling with the blood in his small capillaries, with the satisfaction of justified anger finding a deserving target.

Ogata's eyes have a victorious gleam of malicious amusement for a passing fraction of a second as Tsukishima swings, then he goes staggering into a tree.

"You really bring out the worst in people," Tsukishima mutters under his breath, not intending for Ogata to hear but Ogata's expression turns even more smug and even more infuriating. Tsukishima has met the worst of men, has the blood of one in his own veins even, but Ogata is something else— he thinks he's invincible and untouchable and the only real thing. He's vicious for sport and everything is a joke, even in the middle of a war. He wants to watch the world burn.

He's a liability.

With this realisation, Tsukishima knows what he must do. He looks down at Ogata where the man lays on the floor and doesn't even attempt to get up, and Tsukishima tells him, "Your attitude has become too big of an issue. I will have to bring your matter to my superior officer."

"A big issue," Ogata repeats slowly, smiling at the words as if Tsukishima had just cracked a joke instead of informing him that a disciplinary matter would be escalated. He sits up, and looks up to Tsukishima, blood dripping from his nose, the beginnings of a bruise already showing around his eye. It'll be swollen shut before tomorrow. "Please mention me favourably then, Sergeant Tsukishima."

.

===/end of part 1\===

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[onceabluemoonwrites]

Cursed Kiss - Chapter 3: The Cursed Love

Title: Cursed Kiss Chapter 3: The Cursed Love

Author: OnceABlueMoon

Rating: T

Pairing: Bianchi/Chrome Dokuro

Tags/Warnings: There is some violence

Prompt:  Cloud day: royal au  for @khrrarepairweek

Summary: The tale of Kuromu Dokuro is an old one, perhaps preceding even the existence of the monster hunters. To think the woman in the tale- the monster she became- is here, in front of her? Bianchi shudders to think of it.

Still, she has no choice. Her grip tightens on the knife in her hand, but before she can start to make her move, Kuromu- Chrome?- raises her hand, shaking her head. ‘’No need to fight your way out, darling, if you want to buy your brother’s freedom. All you need to do is take the geas on in his place.’’

~~

Monster hunter Bianchi bargains her freedom for her brother’s and has to stay in the vampire Chrome’s castle. But the horrors within are not the shadows that whisper and follow Bianchi wherever she goes- no, to the contrary, the horrors are inside the mind of her captor.

AO3 link

Chapter 3: The Cursed Love

It wasn’t, Bianchi thinks later, when her mind is clearer, that she did not want Chrome to take her hand. She had desperately wanted to take her hand, to feel what it would be like to squeeze it, or to simply take it, softly hand in hand, skin to skin.

Somehow, the thought of it makes her ears and cheeks go red and warm. She doesn’t really know how to interpret that. Her entire relationship with Chrome is already complicated enough without the warm feelings in her belly interrupting, let alone the butterflies whenever she thinks of the lovely woman, vampire or no.

It's why she’s staying, now, even when she doesn’t have to anymore. The geas is gone, and it confuses her so much, because if geas wasn’t what was holding her here anymore, then what was? It’s clear as the sun breaking through the clouds. It’s Chrome. Chrome, all by herself.

Bianchi likes Chrome. She really does. She likes their little games of property destruction that are actually just them training side by side in inappropriate places. She likes the way a drop of wine so often clings to the corner of her mouth at dinner. It makes Bianchi want to go up to her and lick it off her face. She likes the way her eyes follow birds like she’s hunting prey. She likes shooting at them with her.

She’d just wish she’d be able to reconcile the hunt of birds of prey with the way Chrome’s obviously hunted humans before too. But that’s the thing too- before. Bianchi’s not sure if the preying on humans is actually a thing of the past, but she hasn’t seen Chrome do anything of the sort in the past few months she’s lived with her, and she doesn’t quite know what to do with that. Does she not hunt humans anymore? And is there even a way to ask Chrome that without immediately ruining Bianchi’s romantic prospects with her?

It makes Bianchi laugh at herself, high and mean. Romantic prospects? Who is she kidding? She knows she hurt Chrome a lot, that night when she told Bianchi about her past. Bianchi would be lucky if she’d be able to salvage their friendship at this point.

As much as she’d like to say the opposite, while Bianchi likes Chrome, she’s not sure she likes her monstrous nature. And that isn’t fair to Chrome, not fair at all, because it’s simply who Chrome is. That’s not something you ought to judge a person for, except what Chrome is eats humans and Bianchi… Bianchi is frustrated and angry and a little sad to because she just doesn’t get what she’s feeling right now.

It helps, that Hayato writes to her. Every week, a hawk arrives at her window. She reads his letters  dutifully, like an older sister ought to, and writes back. He writes of his friends, all vividly described long before it comes out just what they are. Yamamoto, she already knew of. The witch, who enchants right and left. Hibari, the taciturn vampire who protects his little town with fevour. Tsunayoshi, who Hayato is so, so weak for. Bianchi startles when she finds out he’s a goddamn mountain lion shifter. Ryohei, loud, so loud, his caterwauling often described before she is told he is a siren, though one that’s rather bad at his job. Mukuro, who Hayato dislikes, but can’t help but respect, a mage that has mastered the art of the illusion.

His tales soften her heart towards them, make her life vicariously through him. Her life isn’t bad. Far from it, even. She enjoyed her peaceful days here, together with Chrome before Bianchi let her down, but sometimes she did wish for a little more excitement.

It doesn’t matter, she tells herself. It doesn’t matter, because she’s alright here with the stupid mess she made of her own feelings, and Hayato is free and happy. She might not trust all monsters, but she has accepted that not all of them are bad, and if his friends are as good and true to him as Hayato describes them, then surely he is well protected. He’s fifteen, by now. She has missed his birthday. He’s an adult now and he has the right to roam wherever he wishes.

She misses him, though. She misses him terribly.

Thankfully, Chrome is very good at distracting her. There’s been a wall between them since the incident, but when Bianchi pulls her to the kitchen one evening before dinner, Chrome doesn’t protest. Bianchi starts handing her ingredients to chop before she gets the fire going. There are no words between them, not about why Bianchi’s still there, despite the geas being gone, nor why she’s doing this.

Bianchi doesn’t explain.

Chrome doesn’t ask.

The cold regality in both her demeanour and posture reminds Bianchi of Chrome’s past as princess. That hurts. But it shouldn’t. It really, really shouldn’t.

Chrome is a person so lonely that she placed a geas on the entrance of her castle, as if catching herself a companion with a geas was the best option she had. It worked, of course, but that’s another issue all together.

When they bring their dinner to the table, it’s been perfectly set by the shadows already. Bianchi pets them when they leave them be, her quiet love for Chrome’s strange servants warming her inside out and lending her courage.

Eating the food they’ve made together, Bianchi’s dawdled enough. She needs to put her big girl panties on and talk to Chrome.

After dinner, for the first time that week, she takes Chrome by the hand and leads her to the huge stuffed chairs in front of the hearth. ‘’Get us some wine, please,’’ she asks the shadows. They comply immediately, getting the hint.

Chrome is looking at her. Her eyes are no longer wary, like they were before, but they’re… Soft, almost mellow in the low light. Possibly because she knows Bianchi is still here even though she doesn’t have to be. Because that means something, even if Bianchi has a hard time saying it.

She swallows as she receives the wine glass from the shadows, Chrome getting one as well and the bottle being deposited on the table. Bianchi clears her throat. Chrome watches her calmly, which isn’t good for Bianchi’s nerves at all. ‘’So,’’ she starts, ‘’I know I’m not the best at being… emotionally available at times.’’

Chrome snorts.

‘’Ouch. But I can’t deny I deserve it after our last talk about feelings and our pasts. You told me about your issues and I reacted badly. I’m sorry about that.’’

Chrome doesn’t make any excuses for Bianchi, and Bianchi loves her more for it. She doesn’t need others to excuse her actions. She needs to learn from them.

‘’Go on,’’ Chrome says, ‘’I suppose you’re going somewhere with this?’’

Bianchi nods. ‘’You told me about your issues, now I’m going to tell you about mine.’’

Chrome takes a sip of her wine and peers at Bianchi over her wine glass. Bianchi takes that for a go ahead.

‘’So the first thing you’ve got to know is that I became a hunter because I’ve dealt with monsters before. That includes the monster that killed my family, but also the human monster that was my family.’’ Oh god, this is hard to talk about. But she has to, if she wants Chrome to understand.

‘’When I was seventeen, I found my mother floating in our well the night after a were attacked our village. He’d killed countless amongst our neighbours. My mother most likely just searched for a place to hide as the were went to town on them. She drowned after not being able to swim more after hours and hours of hearing the onslaught above her go on.’’ Her chest hurts and her voice is thick, but she soldiers on. Chrome reaches for her hand and Bianchi squeezes it, thankful for the warmth the skin-to-skin contact brings her.

‘’Here’s the thing: I hate my mother. Hayato’s my half-brother, you know. She hated him. And I can’t understand how anyone could want to hurt Hayato, let alone kill him, drown him in that very same goddamned well. I wondered whether it was karma when I discovered her corpse in it. I remember that so clearly. So vividly. It was bloated, her body. So bloated, as she was floating on top of the water.’’ She stares into the fire, the only thing grounding her the pressure of Chrome’s hand in hers.

‘’I hate the woman who did that to Hayato. I do. But I also love the person who sang me the very same lullabies I sang for Hayato later, who tucked me into bed, who rocked me through my every nightmare. The woman who kept my milk teeth in a box because every part of me was precious to her. I love the person I remember her being before Hayato.

But then again, I loved Lavina, Hayato’s mother, too. Thinking of her is painful. I was too young at the time to really understand what was happening, but I remember the look of betrayal on mt mother’s face the day my father came home with a bastard and the news that my baby sitter- Hayato’s mother- had died.

Sometimes I wonder, you know,’’ Bianchi stares into her wine glass before taking a gulp. ‘’Sometimes I wonder if Hayato’s conception was even something Lavina consented to. I mean, I’m not a nine year old snot anymore. I’m older, hopefully a little wiser and definitely a whole lot more jaded. Lavina became a bit of a social outcast among the adults when she got pregnant. Nobody knew who the father was. There used to be lots of children at her house during the day when their parents worked, but there were a lot less after that. She never really seemed like the kind of person who would sleep with a married man to me. At least not if she knew he was married- and Lavina knew, without a doubt, as the one who minded me.

The last memory I have of her is actually of the very same day Hayato was born and she died. I and the other children had no concept of the scandal she was, seeing our age, so we loved listening to her stomach, pressing our ears against it trying to hear the child’s heartbeat. We loved touching her stomach too, if she let us, trying to feel the kick of the baby’s little feet. Of Hayato’s little feet.’’ She gulps down the rest of her wine, before turning her head and looking straight into Chrome’s eyes, watching the strange shadows the flames in the hearth cast upon her face and her curious purple eyes.

‘’Chrome, I loved my little brother before I even knew he was part of my family. But that was a weak love. But that day, seeing my awful father thrust my baby brother on my mother so callously, drove something home to her if no one else would love this little ugly creature that my mother hated so, then I would.’’

Bianchi is tearing up, the tears starting to roll down her face, but she can’t stop now. She has to ask, otherwise it will always remain in between them, an invisible wall of unasked questions and hurt that cannot be spoken of.  ‘’I can’t condemn you for your nature, but I also can’t let me tear myself apart further with not knowing. Please tell me: do you still hunt humans?’’

Chrome looks up. ‘’Not innocent ones.’’ And then, because Chrome is cruel, as much as she is beautiful, she says: ‘’You can’t say that about your hunting of my kind.’’

And that hurts, but Bianchi swallows the lump in her throat and says: ‘’Yeah. Yeah. That’s more than I can say.’’ Her voice cracks on the last word.

Then she cries into Chrome’s shoulders until she falls asleep, warm against her side. Chrome lets her, snot and tears be damned, handing her a handkerchief to clean herself up.

It feels like an absolution.

~~

She wakes up in a rather uncomfortable position, with her neck in a crick. She groans, massaging her neck as her eyes slowly blink open. Violet eyes are staring at her directly. She blinks again. No, Chrome’s still there, pressed up against her in the very same chair. They’re lucky the furniture was large enough to allow for it. Bianchi’s slid down to Chrome’s lap at some point, feet over the side of the chair, Chrome staring down at her. She has the most longing expression Bianchi’s ever seen on anyone’s face and her breath catches in her throat.

The small hitch in her breathing seems to shake Chrome out of her reverie. The expression leaves, once again gone behind her mask, but it doesn’t change that it had been there. Doesn’t change that Bianchi has seen.

With her heart beating in her throat, Bianchi reaches up, wraps her arms around Chrome’s neck and pulls her down to kiss her.

It is soft. It is warm. It is beautiful.

It’s all Bianchi ever needed

~~

The cooking together becomes a regular thing, but with a lot less coldness, more talking and a lot more kisses sneaked in between passing each other cooking utensils. There is laughter and love in the halls of Chrome’s dark castle, and even the bare stone doesn’t seem as cold as before. Bianchi catches Chrome humming a cheery tune in the hallways when she thinks no one is there, and the whole thing is so sweet she has to kiss her for it.

Bianchi has started growing flowers, both of the poisonous and the non-poisonous varieties, and they brighten up the gloom of the castle. Were the shadow’s whispers used to be haunting, they are now almost never found without their giggling. This is both wildly annoying and pretty endearing, the exact same category as Bianchi knows from experience little siblings fall into.

She’s thinking of inviting Hayato to the castle. She writes a letter, with a proper map and all to the castle, sending it his way. Do NOT enter through the main entry has been underlined twice, despite the fact she knows Chrome removed the geas sometime ago. There are undoubtedly still spells on it, though, so she doesn’t want to take the risk.

Another new addition to her and Chrome’s daily routine are the walks. The moonlit walks, where they leave the gate and roam the land. One of these days, Bianchi wants to take towels with them and go skinny dipping, though she hasn’t quite told Chrome that yet. Perhaps it will be a surprise.

How far can she tempt Chrome before Chrome devours her alive? A year ago she would not even have thought of such a thing, especially not in combination with a vampire. But Chrome is her vampire, and that makes her giddy and happy and oh-so reckless.

Just how reckless is clear when they are ready to depart on their walk for the night and the beating against the castle gate starts.

Bianchi startles. ‘’What- What’s going on?’’ But she hears the voices outside the gate and she knows. ‘’Oh my god, they’re here. My former colleagues- the hunters, they’re here. How?!’’

Chrome stares up at the gate. ‘’I smell the blood of your hawk.’’

Bianchi presses her hand against her mouth as if to keep herself from vomiting as her stomach begins to roil. ‘’Oh my god, I sent Hayato instructions as to how to get back here to visit. They shot Queen down and found the fucking map. This is my fault!’’

The banging upon the gate is like a heartbeat. It’s so consistent, the battering ram colliding with the wood and steel, the precision almost inhuman. It would make Bianchi laugh, if the fear didn’t close up her throat. She reaches down, taking Chrome’s hand, not taking her eyes off the courtyard before them. ‘’They won’t take you.’’ She says it with desperation colouring her words. ‘’They won’t take you, I won’t let them!’’

She promises it with all that she has in her. It has been so long since she’s felt actual happiness. Now she has it, she won’t let go of it so easily. She’ll fight to the death to defend it, to defend Chrome, if she must.

Chrome laughs and it startles Bianchi. She’s so much older in soul, and yet her body seemingly younger than Bianchi’s. Her gothic dress swishes around her feet, showing her pale, naked feet as she lets go of Bianchi’s hand and begins to circle her, as if taking her in.

Bianchi feels naked. She hasn’t worn her armour in almost a year now. It hadn’t exactly been meant for anything more than hunter raids, far too stiff for the necessities of daily life. It had to be, in order to be strong enough to defend against the monsters of the night. The dresses that Chrome had stored in the castle weren’t exactly the kind that could be worn to battle, but they’d been good enough for a quiet life here. Good enough for spars with Chrome and writing letters to her brother.

God, Hayato. What is she going to tell him if she dies here tonight? He won’t understand. He never did.

Or, perhaps, he is the only one who can understand. Nobody loves monsters as much as her brother, after all, and even if it landed her here, in this moment, she can’t resent him for it. She loves him. She loves him, just as she loves Chrome. Tears well up in her eyes. She hates herself a little for that. This is no time to cry. This is the time to fight.

Chrome quits circling around her, to stand on her tippy toes to reach up to her. ‘’The thing you keep forgetting, Bianchi,’’ Chrome breathes into her ear, a hand creeping up her sides, caressing her chest, ‘’Is that before there can be hunters, there must be prey.’’

And with the soul of a hunter far older than any kind of human hunter, she pounces as the gate breaks apart in pieces.

Their enemies never even make it past the threshold.

~~

There are, Bianchi muses later that evening, definitely perks to having a vampire girlfriend. One of them is her tearing apart your enemies, which is way too hot and probably also illegal because of the murder. Not like anyone’s going to be able to tell, though. The castle is hidden far too well for that.

Chrome returns to her, dripping in guts and all kind of gory bits, but Bianchi doesn’t mind. She leans down and kisses her, deeply and with tongue.

Chrome laughs when she lets go. ‘’What did I deserve that for?’’

‘’Being amazing!’’ Bianchi smiles back.

‘’We’ll need to get the location of the castle to your brother,’’ Chrome says, leaning her forehead against Bianchi’s. Bianchi sighs and leans into it, closing her eyes. ‘’After all, I can hardly marry you properly if I don’t even know your family.’’

Bianchi’s eyes fly open, meeting mischievous eyes. ‘’You!’’ she slaps her arm, but the pleasure in it is evident.

‘’This time,’’ Chrome states, ‘’We’re bringing him the letter ourselves, though.’’

Bianchi fully agrees with that.

Hayato and all his monster friends come to the castle for the wedding.

[kurara-black-blog]

Terror Of The Ancient Noah Mask

Date: 02/12/18

Words: 2048 *snorts*

Warnings: Klance, Inuyasha AU, Crappy.

Tag: @moonsworllld ; @xarphay ; @skydisneylover ; @mutantgurls ; @spooky-the-owl

A/N: I love Inuyasha, I love Voltron. I love Lance. his is not very good, but I really wanted to write it~

This is episode 11 of the anime!

With his bicycle ready to go, Lance carefully looked around him, trying to spot any red in the middle of the green forest. He was alone, thankfully, no signs of the hothead nearby. With a short relieved sigh, he started pedaling with everything he had, which was a lot, mind you, in direction of the well.

Sadly, Lance didn’t have much luck.

“Wait a second, idiot!”

Lance was able to stop before he rolled over the boy, although a part of him told him he should have just rolled over that annoying dog. Said dog was standing there, looking like the angry bastard he was, violet eyes flashing with a temper.

“You’re going back to that weird world?! Are you trying to run away?! We have shit to do!”

“Oh, out of my way, mullet dog! I have exams to take and I can’t afford to miss them!”

The fact was that Lance had to keep his grades up if he wanted his Exchange Program to go on without any difficulties. He was already risking a lot by not attending class for so long, and maybe Mr. Shirogane was destroying his reputation with all the weird diseases he used as an excuse. Because life couldn’t be hard only in Feudal Era, no, it had to be hard in his world too.

“Well, fuck that! I’ll destroy this so you can’t run away anymore!” Keith—the half-dog—grabbed a large rock, ready to destroy the wooden well. Lance didn’t hesitate.

“Keith, sit!”

Keith stubbornness was no match for Lance’s consecutive commands of “sit”, the boy falling face first on the floor, the rock falling on top of him. He groaned, cursing Lance in between his groans of pain.

“Who said I’m running away, dog?! I’ll be back in three days! Stay here!”

With that, Lance was gone inside the well.

“Why didn’t you bring the dog man with you?”

“No way, that mullet head is impossible to deal with! It was a bother to even come here without him stopping me!” Shoving the last bit of food in his mouth, Lance huffed, “Talking about coming back, Mr. Shirogane, I am glad you worry so much, but can you not throw sake in my head next time?”

The old man only laughed heartily, petting the family cat, Black. Lance smiled softly, it was hard to be angry with the man. He reminded Lance of his own grandpa, all wise eyes and cheekily knowing smiles. Finishing his meal, Lance thanked Mrs. Shirogane, Mr. Shirogane’s daughter, for the food, messed Tsuna’s hair, Mrs. Shirogane’s son, washed his dishes and went to his room to put on his uniform.

It would be a long day at school.

At least his hair didn’t smell like sake anymore.

After a very embarrassing conversation with his friends about his really bad health, and an even more embarrassing encounter with who could be the cutest boy in school about his very poor health, Lance could say with absolute certainty he was done.

“You’re dating Inai?!”

“No.”

“I think he likes you!”

“I know, Taira.”

“Well? Don’t you want to date him?”

“I’m not really interested in dating right now.” It was a complete lie, of course. It is not that Lance didn’t want to date, it is because how could he explain to his boyfriend or girlfriend the reason they couldn’t go out in the next month it’s because he has to go back in time to collect pieces of a super powerful glass ball?

Yeah. No.

Ushijima Amari, Akagawa Taira and Yuhara Natsumi were three kind and funny girls that were glued at the hip even before Lance came in the picture. They had promptly welcomed Lance in their group, and he was forever grateful. He hated feeling like a fish outside water.

Staring at the honestly horrendous slippers Inai Hachiro gave him, Lance wondered if the boy was somehow related to Mr. Shirogane, remembering the old man’s weird medicines and whatnots.

“Could it be… that you are already dating someone?”

“No, no, no! Nope. Not dating. Single as they come.”

“Then, then! What’s your type?”

Lance sighed, knowing they wouldn’t shut up unless he gave them something to satiate their hunger for gossip. He loved the girls, but they could be pretty annoying when they wanted. Not as annoying as Keith, but almost.

“Someone who’s not violent or selfish… Also, someone accepting and affectionate.”

The complete opposite of Keith, go figure.

While Romelle prepared some herbal medicine for a sick villager, Keith grunted. Hot pain pierced his spine every time he tried to get up. That rock really did a number on him.

“Keith, stop laying around and go find information of the Jewel fragments.”

“Shut up, you old witch! Go eat some grass!”

Keith swore that day, laying on the floor of the old priestess’ house, that he would punch Lance in the face as soon as that boy came back from his world.

“Can I sleep here today?” Tsuna asked, interrupting Lance’s studies.

“Of course, if you don’t mind the lights being on.”

That day could, at the very least, be called weird. A sudden fire in one of the deposits, Mr. Shirogane getting hurt and being found passed out with sacred seals all over his face and even inside his mouth, then suddenly one of the firemen trucks taking off like a madman was driving it. As if it wasn’t enough, Mr. Shirogane had recovered the conscience for enough time to mutter some random words about the Meat Mask and how no one should touch it.

Lance surely didn’t blame the boy for not wanting to be alone.

“Something weird is happening, I think. Grandpa wouldn’t do something so weird.”

The older boy opened his mouth to agree, but the sudden noise made him change his plans. Grabbing the flask were he kept the Jewel fragments—it was an instinct to immediately search for them when something happened—, Lance threw himself on Tsuna, protecting him from pieces of what once was a wall.

The basket of a firetruck was struck inside his room, and from it came out something. A creature made of melted blackness, with no defined form. It seemed to leak away and yet gravitate towards its center, that center being a white mask in the middle of the blackness. Painted eyes stared at Lance, carved smile sending shivers down the boy’s spine. The creature’s voice came, smooth and monotone.

“The Jewel… give me… the Jewel…”

“A demon! In this time?” Lance thought, eyes widening, “Must be the jewel’s presence!” As soon as he reached that conclusion, the boy lifted Tsuna in his arms and ran. He had to get out of that house. He had to get Keith. He had no means to fight at the moment, dressed in his cotton pajamas and comfy slippers. He should’ve brought his bow.

He would do that if he survived to see a next time.

Lance did not stop running when the monster attacked, dogging to the best of his abilities. He was glad Mrs. Shirogane was visiting her father in the hospital, he really didn’t want to think what would’ve happened if she was. Stopping for a moment, he put Tsuna down. His bleeding hand-when had he cut himself?—left a trail of blood on the boy’s shirt, but they didn’t have time to worry about it.

“Tsuna, I need you go to the well and get Keith.”

“And you?”

“I’ll distract it until Keith gets here. Please, Tsuna! Go get Keith!”

With that, Lance started to run in another direction, attracting the monster’s attention to him. All he could do was to hope for Keith to come quickly.

If anyone asked, Keith was not anxiously expecting Lance’s return while staring intently at the bottom of the well. He was not.

“How about of going after her instead of staring at the end of the well?”

“Shut up, stupid fox, isn’t it time for you to go to bed?”

“I’m just saying, you should go after her, you know, actually be productive?”

“Pidge, you have five seconds before I kick you back to where you came from.”

The damn fox just smirked, amused by the dog’s temper. Keith opened his mouth to growl out some insult when his nose picked up a familiar smell and his head snapped to look back at the bottom of the well. Pidge looked at him puzzled.

“I can smell… Lance’s blood.” Pidge widened her eyes, staring at what to her was just a normal well. Keith didn’t waste time, preparing to jump inside, “Pidge, go back to Granny Romelle, I’ll go find Lance,” Without giving her time to answer, he jumped.

“… That idiot is so in love with Lance.”

If anyone asked, Keith would admit being a bit surprised at finding the boy that Lance lived with crying while trying to open a hole in the well’s floor. Not sure how to deal with kids, Keith smiled cockily, hoping his show of self-confidence would somehow calm the boy down.

“What’s the matter? You seem troubled.”

In a few minutes, he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the boy on his back. He could smell Lance’s blood clear as day, even with the overall weird smell that world had. The hanyo disliked the smell a lot, Lance’s smell wasn’t made to be tarnished with blood, his own or otherwise. Keith could feel a growl trying to rip through his throat, whatever made that boy bleed would bleed twice as much.

He almost sighed in relief when he saw the boy alive and relatively well.

“Sankon Tessō!”

With his claws he opened the way by slaying the strange glob monster in half. Getting near Lance, he let Tsuna get down, who immediately hugged the blue-eyed boy.

If anyone asked, Keith was not glad the boy was ok.

“Don’t worry, Tsuna,” Lance said, trying to make the boy stop crying, “Keith will help us now.”

“Dunno about that.”

“What do you mean, mullet?” Lance soft gaze rapidly turned into a glare.

“I may help if you apologize.”

“Apologize? For what?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot!” Keith pointed accusingly at him. “You almost destroyed my back with your sit command and now you’re asking for help as if nothing happened?!”

“Oh, that! Well, I’m sorry.”

“You aren’t being sincere!”

“Just help us already, mullet dog! That thing has a fragment and I can’t fight right now, so stop whining like a kicked puppy and fight!”

“Who are you calling a kicked puppy, stupid boy?!”

Their fight was cut short when the monster’s body came together again. Lance informed Keith about the mask being the center of the creature, the half-demon taking out his sword, ready to fight despite his last fight with the Cuban. It’s not like Keith was actually planning to leave the humans to fight the demon alone. The mask did had a fragment of Jewel.

“I am the Meat Mask… centuries ago, I was carved from the tree trunk that received a fragment of the Jewel… I have been devouring people since then… I want a body… a body that won’t deteriorate quickly…”

Lance shuddered, muttering about creepy masks and stupid glass balls. Keith let a growl finally get out at seeing the boy’s fear.

“I don’t know how many people you’ve devoured until now, but you’re way too fat!”

To think all it took was a swing of the Tessaiga to end it all. The mask was gone in a flash of light, the fragment falling in front of them. Lance was quick to grab it and put in the flask with the rest of the fragments.

“Hey.” Lance turned to look at him, bluest blue eyes soft and thankful, “You okay?”

“Thank you, Keith.”

“Tch, whatever.”

If anyone asked, that was not a blush on Keith’s cheeks.

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Hm?”

“Take us home? I have exams to take and Tsuna has to go to school too.”

“What am I?! Your horse?!”

“Oh, c’mon, mullet dog! Just take us home before I get late!”

“No!”

“Keith!”

Tsuna could only watch as Keith begrudgingly let Lance hop on his back, the two still bickering.

“Tsuna, come on!”

“I’m coming!”

[waitinginthedarke]

BIGBANG - MAFIA!AU - SERIES 3

A BIGBANG FANFICTION

Summary: The saying goes, ‘the mafia is family, the mafia is home’…but even if ‘the mafia is home’…is it really the right place to raise a child?

Masterlist (including series one and two)

Disclaimer: Mentions of (familial) physical abuse.

Chapter 7

20 years ago

‘When’s your curfew?’

‘I don’t know. I think my dad said 8.’ Seunghyun replies, shouting over his shoulder to his friend as the two of them speed down the country road on their bikes, grinning as the wind whips against his skin and he dodges the potholes in the cement.

‘Its already 8:15 now! Shouldn’t we head back?- He’ll shout at you again!’ his friend calls, tiny, cute, pre-teen face creased in concern, his voice growing more distant as Seunghyun speeds down the road that lead into town, his heart racing at the prospect of the city lights and the energetic locals.

‘Seunghyun! Come on! Your Dad scares me! I don’t want him to shout at me too! ...Seunghyun!!-‘

‘He wont shout at you, you scaredy-cat! Besides, we’ll go back in a little while! I just want to see-‘

‘SEUGNHYUN! YOUR FATHER WANTS TO SEE YOU RIGHT NOW!’

He skids to a stop in his surprise at the sudden voice just behind him, his scrappy brakes almost causing him to go over the handlebars before he manages to pause and look over his shoulder at the guy who’d called to him out the window of the car that was pulling up alongside him.

‘Who says?’ Seunghyun retorts, knowing exactly where the demand had come from, but being frustrated that his plans had been forced to a stop so soon. He looks behind himself to see his friend having paused a little ways up the road, staring with wide, innocent, eyes at the car, but seeming to recognize it as something to do with Seunghyun’s dad as when he turns to look over at him, ending up simply shrugging apologetically, before turning his bike around and speeding back down the road toward home.

Baby.

‘Your father is running riot because you weren’t back on time, so I suggest you turn around and head back, young man…you know what happened last time.’ The guy in the car says, the expression he shoots Seunghyun pleading with him to just do as he was told so as not to suffer from his father’s hand again.

‘Fine.’ Seunghyun mutters, before angrily skidding his bike round in the opposite direction to town and beginning the dreary ride back, leaving his hopes of seeing the lights behind...

‘I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN THE VILLAGE- TO BE BACK BY 8!- WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, BOY! I SWEAR BY ALL THAT IS HOLY-‘

Each hit with each word fell on a numb body, Seunghyun having learnt from a young age that even if he protested against the fist beating down on him, it would only lead to more beatings, and more pain afterwards.

‘YOU SELFISH BASTARD! WHY WONT YOU EVER LISTEN-‘

‘Sir?-‘

‘WHAT!?’

Seunghyun’s thankful for the break from the constant battering, glancing up from his place knelt on the floor to look at the man who had just walked in the door to pass some information onto his father, nodding subtly to him in thanks when he sees the quick glance the man makes in his direction and the apologies hidden in his eyes for Seunghyun’s father’s action.

‘Take him to his room and make sure he doesn’t leave. I’m not done with him yet, but he’s going to have to wait.’ His father suddenly mutters to the man after he’d received whatever information had been passed on, sneering at Seunghyun over his shoulder, before stalking past the man out of the room, his father’s absence allowing him the opportunity to sit up properly and stretch, hissing at the newly re-bruised muscles along his back.

‘Come on, son. The sooner you’re in your room, the sooner you can relax…before he comes back.’ The same guy who’d passed on the information states, smiling sadly down at Seunghyun and holding out his hand to help him to his feet.

As much as Seunghyun hated being pitied by his father’s men- especially when they did nothing when the man was actually hurting him- he still appreciated the false sense of security he felt when he was left with them, taking any piece of comfort they offered him and indulging himself in it whilst he could.

‘Thanks. …can you check if my friend got home okay?’ Seunghyun asks quietly as he proceeds to get guided through the house to his room, the regal décor making him scowl at the lost childhood spent being forced into a regime without fun and filled with his father’s anger, whilst he worries about the well-being of his friend. 

‘Sure thing, bud. I’ll send someone out.’ The guy murmurs, looking down at the young boy and settling his hand on his shoulder for comfort, the sad smile he sends toward him thankfully going unnoticed, as the man thinks back to the joyful smile he’d seen Seunghyun sporting as he’d ridden his bike freely before…

And the way he’d shouted happily to the empty road behind him…

Present Day 

SEUNGHYUN

He couldn’t move.

For the first time in almost 20 years, Seunghyun couldn’t speak…couldn’t move…could barely even think.

Was this some kind of sick joke?

‘Would I be able to have a moment with Seunghyun?’ the man in the doorway asks, the question that sounded so obtuse in Seunghyun’s mind immediately being rebutted by Kyungil, who stands from the seat at the side of the bed before he could even say anything himself.

‘Im not leaving him.’ Kyungil states, hand fisted at his side, and something about his confident challenging of the man who was assuming to be Seunghyun’s father has Seunghyun smiling behind the stone expression of blankness he was currently sporting.

‘I don’t believe that is your decision to make, young man. And when you address me it will be by-‘

‘He’s not leaving.’

Those three simple words had everyone turning to look at Seunghyun, the cold man before him staring him stoically in the eye for almost an entire half a minute, before Seunghyun averts his gaze to Kyungil and nods at him in thanks, signalling for the man to fall back slightly, standing closer to Seunghyun in the process.

‘Seunghyun, im sure you’re confused by the situation-‘

‘That’s an understatement.-’

‘-Will you let me finish?’

The coldness to the man’s tone, as icy as ever it had been, has Seunghyun glaring at him momentarily before nodding for him to go on, Seunghyun perching on the edge of the bed in a faux-calm façade as he listens to the bullshit that he knew was going to leave the man’s mouth, his memories of the time before making him biased in his dislike for the man.

‘Im sure you’re confused about the situation…but I haven’t brought you here to demand anything of you... or to try and convince you to join my mafia over the one you’re currently in- however, abysmal it may be-‘

‘I think you should watch your tongue when you’re speaking about my family.’ Seunghyun cuts in icily, continuing to stare at the floor as he speaks, and glancing up at his ‘father’ momentarily to make it clear he was serious, before he watches him straighten up, clearly affronted by the term he’d used.

‘How ironic.’ is all he murmurs as he smirks unamusedly, before going on.

‘I’ve brought you here because I think we need to settle some things. I’ve been able to watch you grow from afar over the years- after you decided to leave-...but its only been made clear to me recently just how much I’ve missed out on by not having contact with my own son-’

Seunghyun’s snort cuts off the man’s explanation, the sound signalling his boredom over the subject of family ties, and its as Seunghyun stands, deciding he’d had enough of listening to pretend excuses to attempt to recruit him, that he finally speaks.

‘It’s a bit late for family reunions don’t you think? You seem to be under the impression that you and I have some family history…but im afraid you’re greatly mistaken; I never had parents, and the only family I have are more than likely waiting for me to return right now. So, im afraid whatever offer you’re about to make, I’ll be declining. …If you’ll excuse me-‘

‘Seunghyun, sit down.’

The command has Seunghyun’s bones rattling and his blood running like ice through his veins, the way it sounded exactly the same as all those years ago having his senses sharpening to a point as he awaits the attack…

…but it never comes.

And that was the most terrifying thing for Seunghyun.

‘No.’ he says simply back, keeping a careful lock down on his expression as he silently challenges the other man, and not taking his eyes off of him as he subconsciously reaches back to grab Kyungil’s arm, making to pull him from the room as the need for escape begins to burn through his veins.

He makes it past his father and half way down the corridor, before the words the man calls after him, has him stopping in his tracks.

‘I don’t suppose you’ve spoken to the boy recently, Seunghyun?’

THE MANSION

‘Hyung, will you just calm down for one minute?-‘

‘Shut up, Seungri. I’ve not got time for your rambling right now-‘ Jiyong hisses behind you as you hold your phone your ear where you were stood quietly in the corner by the window, all 3 of you having moved to the office with the revelation of what had happened to Seunghyun.

‘I’ve driven about a mile back, but Minhyuk has his sights on the building they took him into beside me, we’re watching from the rooftop of-‘

‘But what about the trainees, they’re expecting-‘

‘Does it look like I give a shit about the trainees, Seungri? What importance do they hold over the longest serving member of this gang? Huh? Exactly! Now shut-‘

‘-the law firm. Jiho is only partially aware of the situation, but after I told him it was by request of you, he’s become more interested- he’s on his way up to speak to me now-‘

‘Dont tell him anything…not yet.’ You cut Mark off quickly without a thought, instinctively glancing up to see what Jiyong was doing as you realize the room had dropped into silence and feeling your blood run cold when you see him having turned to look at you, his expression guarded as he realizes something was going on that he didn’t know about.

‘I’ll be there in 20.’ You murmur before hanging up, sheepishly looking down at your phone as you go to slip it into your pocket, and feeling your heart begin to race as you tap in to how tense the room had become.

‘What was that about...?’

Why did he have to sound so angry already?

‘It was just Mark.’ You state, steeling yourself as you straighten up and lift your head to look at your lover, matching his gaze and feeling like everything would be okay…until he lifts one eyebrow and begins to make his way over to you, shoulders rolling like a panther.

As much as you weren’t scared of Jiyong, you never enjoyed it when he became so tensely focused on you.

‘Can I ask what he wanted? You sounded pretty tense at the end there-’

‘He told me where Seunghyun has been taken.’

The way his eyes flash at your blunt statement has you both watching each other carefully, his muscle jumping in his cheek revealing one of two things; 

he was very seriously contemplating how to react...

...and his anger levels were through the roof.

‘We need to go, NOW.’ He states eerily calmly, holding your gaze for only a few more seconds, before turning and marching to his desk where he opens his side drawer sharply and pulls out a handgun, checking its loaded, before slipping it into his waistband at his back and grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair.

‘Are you two just going to stand around all day?’ he asks, not even bothering to look up at you and Seungri, and your own anger beginning to build within you at his passivity of the situation has you stalking to the door without another word, beginning to walk down the corridor without waiting for them, and only hearing the sound of their footsteps following after you as you head for the stairs.

‘Hey, Y/N, what-‘ Youngbae goes to ask when he suddenly emerges from the kitchen corridor to see you stalking across the main reception area, cutting off into silence when he presumably catches sight of Jiyong behind you, and his footsteps join the procession out the door without a question. For a moment you hear Jiyong muttering something into his phone as you stalk toward the car and unlock it, but almost instantaneously its explained by Daesung jogging over from the prison barn, expression appearing serious before you turn to open the driver’s side door.

‘Uh, Y/N, do you want me to-‘ Youngbae goes to ask, gesturing toward the steering wheel as he tries to ask if you wanted him to drive, but he’s cut short by Jiyong who just nods his head at his friend to gesture for him to get in the back, before slipping into the passenger seat as you see Seungri pull his motorbike out from the shed across the yard.

Its silent as you shut the door and slip on your seatbelt, only glancing at Jiyong once but still not being able to meet his eyes before you’re turning to start the engine, and just as quickly you’re pulling out of the parking lot as gravel spits from your tyres with the acceleration, Seungri speeding off ahead of you.

‘How long has he known?’ Jiyong asks suddenly into the quiet of the car, his voice still guarded and filled with tension, but something about the way he words the question reveals a slightly softer edge than before, and you feel some of your anger leave you in response as your grip loosens the tiniest fraction in its vice like grip on the steering wheel.

‘I called him the day after we found out he’d disappeared.’ You murmur, overtaking a car on the road and swerving to quickly re situate yourself in the lane, seeing Jiyong’s hand clench on his thigh where he’d been surprised and feeling lighter with his obvious protectiveness.

‘Did he know about the fight this evening?’ he asks, flexing his fingers on his leg and struggling to maintain the unaffected façade he was holding up as he carefully tracked your route, giving away how frustrated and impatient he was about the situation with the way he turns his head to look at you, prompting an answer.

‘Yes. He said the same think Seungri did; Kyungil was on a suicide mission-‘

‘I swear to GOD, when I get my hands on this brat I will kill him.’ Jiyong cuts you off, and it takes you a moment to realize he’s on about Kyungil and not Mark, the deadly tone to his voice making you swallow thickly with nerves as you push your foot down on the accelerator.

‘Pull over.’ He mutters a moment later, his no-nonesense tone having you following his orders without question, not wanting to provoke him in this mood and wanting a chance to try and calm him, despite the rush you were in.

The second you pull up the handbrake and jump out of the car, you jog to switch with him, the two of you meeting near the trunk as you change seats, but the second you grab his arm to make him pause so that you could talk to him, you watch him spin on you dangerously, his presence towering over you where he was so full of rage at the danger his friend was in.

‘Ji, please just calm down- we don’t know whats going on yet-‘

‘EXACTLY Y/N.’ he hisses, hand grabbing your own wrist and causing your heart to thunder with adrenaline as you try not to pull against the death grip he had on you, knowing it would only make him more upset when he realized how he was treating you because of his anger.

‘We don’t know whats going on, and im terrified that this time we wont get Seunghyun back. I don’t know what or who he’s been lured in by- any number of things could be happening to him right now-... and all I can think, is that I’ve been SO pre-occupied with wanting a kid, with wanting you to be happy, and not wanting to push you into anything, despite how much I fucking want this,...that I haven’t given a single shit about how Seunghyun has been feeling- how he’s probably felt so unwanted by me that I pushed him to leave in the first place! AND NOW, now he’s with this bastard, whom would be the last person I’d ever trust, I-‘

The last words are spat at the sky, the hopelessly desperate rage that he shouts them with causing your heart to cry out and the tears that had built in your eyes to spill over, your hand fisted at your side weakening in the protest that had been building up within you, and so all you can do is watch him as he releases your arm and slams his fist on the back of the car, bracing himself there for a moment, before shaking his head and dragging himself up again, proceeding to head for the front seat; concluding that the conversation was over.

But for you, that was far from the case…you just didn’t want to argue right then.

‘Get in, we need to go-‘ he goes to say, glancing at a car as it passes, before snapping his head to look at you when you speak up.

‘I’m not coming with you.’ 

You lift your head to look over at him where he’d been just about to slide into the front seat, watching him laugh shortly and without humour, before glancing over at you.

‘Don’t do this now. Just get in the car.’ He states, his eyes daring you to refuse, but by the way his fingers tighten in their grip on the car door, he already knew that you’d made your decision.

‘Now isn’t the time to argue, Jiyong. …but we also cant be together right now.’ You say calmly, hating the way your chest was radiating with pain from the prospect of separating from him, but refusing the aching advances on your heart as you continue to watch him steadily, seeing his face drop of its Boss facade momentarily as he realizes you were serious and his fear of being without you takes over.

‘Go and save him... I’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry-‘

‘Y/N, just get in-‘

‘Go…Jiyong. Save him… I’ll be right behind you.’ You cut him off, smiling gently at him to reassure him that it was alright and seeing the conflict waver in his eyes; trying to decide if he should stay to convince you, or just do as you say and leave, but the second Jihoon rides up on the motorbike- having been sent by Mark to help with directions, parking up beside you and removing his helmet to see what was going on- Jiyong simply nods, taking a moment to look at you with longing in his eyes, before disappearing into the car with a scowl and you watch as your family speeds away without you.

‘What happened?’ Jihoon asks, looking confusedly over at you where you stood watching the car disappear around the curve in the road, before you turn to look at him, dragging in a deep breath and stalking over to swing your leg over the bike. You climb on behind him and accept the helmet he passes you without a word, Jihoon opting himself to go without to make sure you were safe- before he starts the engine once more and you finally answer him.

‘I just sorted my priorities out.’ You say, more to yourself than to him, before tapping him on the shoulder and pointing in the direction that lead back to the Mansion.

‘Step on it.’

(T.B.C)