#his body is filled with BEAN BAG BEANS which I did not expect
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blujayonthewing · 1 year ago
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MY SON!!!
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echantedtoon · 1 year ago
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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch9 Travels To Hulbury
(This chapter will contain a small time skip of events as well as a past fight between y/n and her mother in the story.)
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You swore you needed both a doctor and a nice bed to sleep away the pains of soreness racking your body.
Ever since you four left Turffield it had been like the time you left Motostoke except a bit longer. Walking, camping at night, taking time out for resting between walks and gathering food. Mostly from berry trees or snacking from whatever nonperishable foods Leon had given you. Some night Victor managed to make one form of curry or another. Mostly bean or apple curry which you didn't mind too much but the apples tasted a bit strange in the curry sauce, so you fed them to your sobble which you noticed had now taken a habit of laying in your lap any chance you were sitting and expected to be fed whenever you held any kind of food. Oops. You might have ended up spoiling it a bit. Oh well. You didn't mind too much. It's smiles and noises were pretty cute, and at least Gloria was able to add a few more curry entries to her book. After what had happened at the pokemon Nursery back in Truffield you decided to fill in Gloria and Hop about the mysterious band of rock star wannabes, but they seemed to be as confused as you were about who they might've been working for and who they were. Hop even suggested that maybe the eccentric costumes were disguises to they're real identities, which seemed a bit farfetched but hey. You were transported into the video game world of pokemon, traveling along with a few of the characters, and for all you knew could still wake up at any moment to your mother scolding you for being late for college. It wasn't really too out there to rule out yet. While you four traveled every so often you'd rest and Hop and Gloria would scamper off to have a battle or more likely try to catch some new pokemon from where you were at. So you weren't all too surprised to find out Gloria caught herself a wild Dottler and Hop's Grookey evolving from the....seventh or eighth day now as you four traveled. You lost count or couldn't remember how many days had past after seven or eight. You were mostly tired now a days with a heaping dab of soreness in your back and neck from your uneasy sleeping schedule and the rocky ground poking you from the floor of the test. Or the fact the only thing you had for a pillow was your backpack, but you never complained. If it meant getting to Hulbury faster then you could deal with it. It was like when your mother insisted you stay up a few extra hours to study or when you had to work late at the radio station after that. You yawned more, movements slowing a bit, and you had gotten noticeable bags under your eyes. Buuut the three teens must've noticed because on what was the ninth day Gloria decided to point it out to you.
"Hey, Y/n. I really didn't want to say anything but are you feeling ok?" She pointed at your face. "You've been yawnin' ever since we left Turffield like a week ago. And you've gotten bags under your eyes big enough to carry luggage for a full week's vacation. "
In response you yawned again before looking to her. "M' fine. Jus a bit tired I guess." You stretched out your back as you walked making it pop. "Haven't really gotten much sleep just laying on the ground like a rock."
"Hey. I have good news." Victor all of a sudden held up his phone. When did he pull that out? And held it up to all of you. "There's a small town up ahead about another day's walk. It has a convenience store, hotel, and a few other things." He looked at you. "I think we should stop by. We can restock up on supplies and rest for the night at the hotel. That might help out Y/n's situation and prevent her from dropping from exhaustion anytime soon."
"Hey. I-I'm not that tired," you lied stifling another yawn....But the promise of a bed tho- "But you're right about needing some more supplies. I don't know how much food and necessities we have left, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by and restock."
The food Leon lent would only last so long anyways. It was best for all parties involved. So it was decided the four of you would stop by the upcoming small town. It took another day and night of walking and resting (giving you another night of uncomfortable sleep) and then shoving off he next morning for the town. It took half the day but the four of you managed to happen upon the small town. And you do mean small. It couldn't have been much bigger than Postwick actually. There was around maybe twenty buildings and most of them were homes or doubled as homes as well as stores. As the four of you walked through the small town a few people walked by or waved, and you could hear a few children laughing. It certainly was very peaceful wasn't it? The peace made you even more tired- You were shaken awake when your sobble chirped loudly and smacked you with it's tail, making you stumble as you walk and if it weren't for the two boys catching you you would've faceplanted the road again. Which ended up in the three kids making up a decision for you.
"Let's go find the Inn first."
The inn turns out was one of the first buildings you came across when you took the small side road off of Route 5 here and the only building in the town that had three stories. It was more like a tall house than an Inn when the three of you entered, Gloria helping to steady your sleepy self. The inside looked very similar to Professor Magnolia's house. Very homey and welcoming. The elderly lady looked lightly surprised when the four of you came in with you fighting to keep awake for a little longer. Ok. So maybe the little sleep over nine or ten days was starting to get to you a little bit you haven't been this tired since studying for college entry exams in high school.
"Oh my. Are you children alright?," she ended up asking lightly standing from her seat seeing you lightly sway a bit.
You waved her off. "I'm fine. Just really tired."
"We'd like to book two rooms please with double beds," Victor explained to the lady throwing you a worried look. "Do you have any available?"
"Oh. Yes, we do. Come. I'll show you to your rooms. By the looks of your friend there, she's in dire need of a good rest." Whelp. No argument there. Luckily the rooms she had the four of you follow her towards a long hallway a little aways from the front desk before stopping and opening one door. "Here's the young mens. Bathroom's through the door on the left. And as for the two young ladies." She turned to a door right across from Hop and Victor's room and opened it. The room was pretty much as you suspected. A simple large room with two beds on each side of it, a shelf, window looking out onto a field, Tv, and a white door that you supposed led to a closet. "This'll be yours." She pointed at the door. "The bathroom is through there. We also have a laundry mat attachment in the adjacent building to the left if you youngsters need it. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask."
"Uh yes actually. Do you happen to know where your town's convenience store is?,'' you heard Victor ask but you were too busy to deduce what else was said.
You managed to stay awake enough to take a quick shower and change before walking to the closest bed to you and just flopping face first on it. The soft cushions hugging your tired and sore body, and it was natural for you to fall asleep almost as soon as you hit the mattress. So it was no wonder that by the next time you woke up it was night time. Confused and dazed you managed to sit up blinking confused at the darkness around you, the only source of light coming from the moon shining through the window outside. Vaguely in the dark you could just barely make out Gloria's sleeping form on the other bed on the other side of the room. Her baby toxel at the foot of her bed. Your body was still tired with it being night so it was easy for you to fall back into slumber when you slowly laid your tired self back down, barely registering your sobble squirming next to you as you fell back asleep. And came to a strange sight. A sight you witnessed before in your life. One you were all too familiar with too. ....You...You were back in your room. Well a younger you at least. You were about sixteen then just minding your own business sitting there and playing games. Couldn't remember which one just that you were enjoying yourself playing and sitting on your bed playing the day away. Until younger you looked up at footsteps approached your room, the next thing your younger self knew your door flew open with a bang and it started the younger you so much you ended up dropping your old switch on your bed jumping from the sound. And there she was. Your mother standing there with an angry scowl on her face.
"You're playing those stupid games again!?," she snapped at younger you, stomping over and quickly wrenching the switch from your bed.
In an instant your hand was reaching out for it. "HEY! Give that back."
But instead of that, your mother only held it up higher with her angry face. "Is THIS what I work to provide for you!?"
You had stopped. Frozen in surprise at the words foaming at your mother's mouth and the game she waved at your face.
"Is THIS what you think is fair to me!? I work day and night to provide a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and clean running water for all you do is to sit on your behind and play these mind rotting things!? To make the electricity bill higher than Mount Everest with you staying up all night playing this day in and out!?"
"M-Mom! C'mon! I'm sorry," younger you backpaddled.
"You should be! I'm not raising you to be lazy and unresponsible!" The game was tossed back onto the bed with a small thump before she pointed at you. "Work and studies should be your number one priority right now! I don't want to catch you slacking off wasting time again! Do I make myself clear?"
Younger you looked at your mother's angry face for a long moment before looking away and nodding. "Yes, Mom."
"That's good. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Alright, Y/n?"
.....
...........
"Hey, Y/n!," a distant girl's voice called, "Are you awake?"
"I dunno. Maybe we should just let her sleep? She was really tired when we got here yesterday," a young boy's voice said worried.
"Hop's gotta point, Glory. Let her sleep in. She'll need all the rest she can get for traveling."
"Ah. You guys are no fun."
Silently the world of younger days faded away to black and the voices became murmurs in the dark abyss that was sleep until you finally woke up from your now dreamless slumber. Which wasn't too long. You slowly woke from your sleep and was greeted with the sunlight making your tired eyes blink as you rubbed them and blinked at the surroundings around yourself at the simple room that wasn't your younger self's from the dream. What the-....Where were you? Did you finally wake up from the pokemon world dreamland you formed up? Were you back home? Did you move into the college dorms and forgot you did? Is that why this room looked strange to you? That hope was all but dashed in a moment when movement under the blanket next to you caught your attention and you looked. A small lump under the blanket the size of a small cat moved around until it moved towards the end of it near your arm and your sobble poked it's head out blinking tiredly and gave out a yawn crawling the rest of the way out. You gave a sigh, shaking your head before smiling and holding out your arm and letting the sobble crawl into your hands. You were still tired but rather than go back to sleep, you opted to tossing the blanket off yourself and got up with your sobble in your hands holding him up to your face.
"Well, I guess it's time to start the day huh?"
You managed to get a few things done. Morning shower, got dressed, and made your first stop the laundry mat across from the hotel after asking the elderly woman at the front desk for directions. Just something to do to help take your mind off the strange dream that had happened. You had started to wonder where the three children had run off to now but it was only after you were coming back with your now cleaned clothes and your sobble curled upon your shoulders did you run into them. Or Hop at least. He was just walking past the door when you opened it and almost ran into him. Thankfully stopping at just the right moment as he paused and blinked.
"Oh. Hey, Y/n!," he greeted with a smiling and shifting the box in his hands, "Glad to see you're awake now."
"Hi," you greeted back before raising a brow at the box he held. "What's that you're carrying?"
"Oh this?," he asked holding up the box and you nodded. "The old lady needed help clearing out her old storage room. She offered to pay me to help out so Im taking this to the broom closet down the hall here. Glory and Vick are doing some Pokejobs too." The confusion must've doubled on your face because he seemed to take notice. pokejobs?? What the heck are pokejobs?! "OH! Right. There's no possible way you could've known what those are. I keep forgetting you're not native to Galar. Pokejobs are jobs people upload into the rotomis."
".....Say what?," you asked still totally confused to what Hop was even saying.
He sighed. "Pokejobs. How do I describe them?....It's kinda like how newspapers have ads. If someone has a job they need help with they send a post to their rotomi profile, then if someone wants to make some money they can look on the Pokejobs Rotomi Forum for a job in their specific area. There was a few listed in the Rotomi at the town's covience store." He held up the box again. "Like this one. We figured it wouldn't hurt to make a little bit of money in case of emergencies too."
"That...sounds like a great idea. But where are the other two now?"
He shrugged. "Glory took a job that involved babysitting and I think Victor's helping someone here with a garden."
Well that sounded like a good way to earn a bit of money while you were waiting. As to pass the time you decided to help Hop once you had finished returning your clothes to your bag. The elderly woman seemed rather grateful for the help provided. In the manner of speaking it wasn't too difficult work. Most of the boxes were pretty light mostly filled with cleaning supplies or old blankets. That explains why she was having Hop move them to the big supply closet down the hall. When you asked about it she explained she had wanted to turn it into another bedroom for the busier traveling seasons, makes sense. One extra room to rent means one extra way to make some money. You helped rehome the boxes and cleaned it out by dusting and sweeping to pass the time away. When it came to paying you declined the money offered and made sure Hop received it instead. After all it was originally his job, you just helped to pass time, and it'd be wrong to piggyback on his hard earned money after all. But you did however accept the free room service for later when she offered instead. Free food was a reward you had no trouble accepting, especially considering you hadn't eaten anything since you woke up and all the exercise you had done in helping to clean out the room. Hop though was thankful for your help and expressed so as much. It was when the two of you were heading out did you finally bump into said twins. Gloria was carrying two large paper bags but you had to do a double take when you noticed Victor looked....well remember how dirty you were after being bowled over by Milo's wooloo? Victor looked like he got ran over by ten wooloo during a sand storm.
"Whoa. What happened to you?"
He grabbed his hat and shook the grey beanie out letting dirt fall to the ground. "Well. As it turns out the ad for 'helping to remove unwanted weeds and debry from the garden' also happened to include a wild munchlax who didn't want to leave. I had to half wrestle half chase the thing out."
"Oh wow. Glad to see you got paid tho."
He huffed but Gloria smiled holding up the bags in her hands. "But on the bright side we managed to stock up enough for the rest of our trip to Hulbury! Glad to see you're up and feeling better too, Y/n!"
You nodded. "Yeah. Feeling better thanks-"
"OH! That reminds me!" You were cut off when Gloria suddenly shoved one of the bags into your arms as you blinked. The inside held food and other things you'd have to use in order to get to Hulbury. She went digging through the other bag, eventually pulling out a rolled up, sleeping bag looking thing that must've made up half that bag's weight. "Here! I noticed you probably weren't sleeping well cuz you didn't have one of these here. Turns out the convivence store is also a supply store, so I was able to get you one of these."
You slowly took the rolled up sleeping bag from Gloria and gave it a look over before looking back to her. "I-...Thank you. But you didn't have to get me this. I would've been fine without it."
"I know but you would've just kept getting bad sleep if I didn't, and it won't hurt me from what I earned from winning against Milo's anyways. Besides, I can now call it even from when you saved our hides back in Postwick."
You smiled and decided to accept this gift with a nod. "Alright. We're even. But have you decided when you wanted to leave yet?"
"First thing tomorrow morning. After seeing you stumble 'round like a zombie with a headache, we decided to let ya sleep in since you were so tired. But since it's getting later anyways, we figured we'd spend one more night here and leave early in the morning."
"Oh that's a great plan cuz Y/n got us some free room service from helpin' out around here."
Gloria's eyes widened at her friend's words. "Wait. REALLY!?"
"How about we let Victor get cleaned up first before we do anything?"
The four of you did just that for the night. Packed away all the goods they brought back with them. Hopefully it'll last enough for the rest of the very long walk to Hulbury. And after everyone was done packing their share and Victor was cleaned up, you ate. No surprise it was more curry but you chose to accept that at this point that curry was a very important part of Galar's culture and hey. Free food was free food. Nothing to complain about here. And if Gloria could fill in more of her Curry Dex book then it was good enough for you too. Luckily it seemed with the new sleeping bag things might get easier for you when you all start traveling again. Which is exactly what happened. The very next morning the four of you set off as soon as Victor paid for the two day stay at the front desk, and it was back onto Route 5 the four of you went walking. And walking and walking. It was basically the same as before until night came and the four of you set up camp in a small clearing, giving you the chance to use the new sleeping bag Gloria had gotten you. And it worked like a charm. You still had to use your arms as a pillow but otherwise it was much more comfortable to sleep now. And then the next day the four of you were at it again. This time listening to Victor's adventures traveling around since he had started his own journey at least a year before Gloria's. Mentioning of all the different places and events around Galar he had been so far and you were impressed at his tales of capturing so many wild shiny pokemon in his photos, going so far to show you all a few places he took photos of. One being the giant clock tower back in Motostoke.
"So does that mean you've been to Halbury before?," you asked curiously glancing at the pictures in his hands.
He nodded. "I've been there once, but not for long. I did see the Hulbury Water-Type Aquarium and Research Center. They have every water type pokemon you could imagine, some of them are from different regions as well. That's where I got most of the photo's of water type pokemon I gave to Glory. Nessa was a huge sponsor for it's development. It's also a research department to study water-types as well as their environments and biology." He hummed and looked up. "I think it's also where most Professors get their sobbles for starting trainers."
You gave a look to your sobble. "You hear that? Looks like we're heading to your home town." In response it smiled and gave a small chirp. "Does that mean you've seen Nessa before?"
He shook his with a sigh as you all walked. "Sadly no. But I've heard she's so busy between her modeling and gym leader duties she'll only do one gym battle a day due to her busy schedules, and that's considering if there's nothing important going on for her."
"So depending on the time and amount of trainers heading for Hulbury right now, we could end up waiting longer than we did for Milo's gym battle."
"Ah man!" Hop leaned back putting both arms behind his head. A habit you learnt he did whenever he was annoyed or thinking about something. "That could take forever then....but considering Nessa's Gym would've been one of the farthest from the Turffield Stadium, I'd like to bet not a lot of people would go for hers first and instead went back to Motostoke to challenge Kabu or someone else who was closer....Hm. I wonder if that's why Mr. Milo suggested we go see Nessa after our battle with him. We haven't run into any other Gym Challengers yet. Route 5 is less trafficked."
"Or those rockstar blokes," you thought as you gave another look around at the half field half forested areas you four were traveling past. But that was probably a good thing you hadn't seen them. You wouldn't want them causing you more trouble.
"There Hop goes all smart again!"
"H-Hey! Im just makin' an observation!"
"Well make an observation on that map. How much longer until we get there?"
Hop answered that after pulling out his phone and turning it on, pressing a few buttons. "...About two and a half weeks left."
This...Was going to be a long trip.
And you weren't wrong. Most of the trip was the same day in and day out. Eat, sleep, make camp, walk lots, stop for breaks, maybe a battle would happen every once and a while between Hop and Gloria or maybe they'd try to catch a pokemon every now and then. And you watched her start to carry around that baby Toxel more, usually in her arms like a cat but sometimes in her bag too with his little head poking out looking around. Victor making the comment that now the both of you would be pokemon taxis. It took quite a while of this old routine before you four even got to another town, with a train station. Breaking out of a small wooded area there was clearings now of flat land and Route 5 lead you all to a crossing across the railroad tracks and lead into a small town...Well you weren't sure if you could call it a town per say. It was more like a few homes a little bit a ways from the obvious train station the four of you took refuge in for a break. In the mean time Victor took out his phone once more and decided to flip through the rotom phone he had on your four's location.
"......Hey!," he shouted making you all look at him as he held up the phone all towards you. You leaned closer to get a better look at the screen he pointed to. "According to the map we're a four day walk away from Hulbury. Nearly there!"
"Oh thank Arceus!," Gloria sighed, "I was getting so tired of just walking around like a migrating murkrow."
"And you wonder why I was worried about you rushing into your journey."
"Hey!"
The next few days weren't very eventful or memorable. Just the same rinse and repeat scenarios your small group had been experiencing for the past month or so, until you FINALLY saw it. Well smelt it first would be more accurate. You all were walking up a steep hill that the path was connected too and that's when you smelt something like salt air. You had only been to a beach a few times but there was no mistaking it. Saltwater. And then you heard a very loud horn. It was loud enough to startle your Sobble into ducking behind your head and you perk up. If one had to guess, you would've said it sounded either like a train's whistle or a boat horn. Blinking as shadows flew overheard, you realized they were wild wingulls. ...Wait. Weren't those bird pokemon always like close to water?? You blinked. Shaking your head and hurrying your pace up the hill until the four of you finally made it. From the high point the view was high enough to let the four of you look a good ways ahead and still far but much closer now, maybe a day's travel. What was unmistakenly the glistening blue of the ocean as far on the horizon as you could see, that lead to the coast that clashed with the beginnings of it. The horn you heard was most likely one of the many boats you could faintly make out on the glistening blue and the unmistakable town that was nestled up against it all. It wasn't too big by the looks of it. Definately not Motostoke size, but it was definately bigger than Turffield and Postwick and you could make out the unmistakable structure of a stadium way over there.
Victor pointed with a smile towards the faint town. "There's Hulbury! We're nearly there!"
"Good. Let's get stepping before it gets too dark. If we hurry we'll be there by tomorrow."
And indeed you all were. Traveling until it was sundown, and you decided to set up camp for the night, only to pack up quickly and leave at the first sign of light the very next morning. It was somewhere around ten in the morning when you all finally made it. Seeing the town and beautiful ocean coming into view and getting closer, and closer the more and more you walked. Until you all finally arrived. First walking under a bridge connecting between two large hills, on top of one hill leading to a train station, the familiar pink building of the pokemon center greeted you next as the dirt path of Route 5 changed into concrete streets. Another loud horn shot off to the right of you and as you all looked over there was a giant port with as you suspected lots of ships and boats. Bigger than in game you imagined too. You inhaled a long sigh, the taste of salt on your tongue. If it wasn't for the many boats near the port and other people, you wouldn't have minded just standing there for a moment in the road. But since you didn't want to waste anymore time you sighed and turned to Gloria.
"So." She looked at you and blinked. "What's the plan here?"
"We go to the gym-"
"We head to the hotel-"
Both twins looked at each other for a moment, before Victor cleared his throat.
"I think we should head to the Hulbury's residential hotel first. Just in case one of us have to wait for a gym battle to open we'd have somewhere to stay tonight."
"Well I think we should head to the gym before anyone else gets here," she countered back one arm holding her Toxel and the other placed onto her hip. "It's still pretty early in the morning. If there's a chance no one got there yet one of us could get a spot! Right Hop?"
"Actually, personally I'm kinda hungry and wanted to check out that famous restaurant Hulbury's supposed to have." he mumbled but got ignored by the scowling twins.
You sighed again shaking your head. Teenagers. "How about this?" You held up a hand catching the three's attention. "We'll split up." You suggested. "If we do that we can get things done faster. You two can check out the gym and your brother can get us situated for the night because personally I'd like to take a break from camping, and then Victor can check into the gym as well. Then we can meet back up and get some breakfast..." You looked up towards the sky. "Or lunch depending when we're done."
Victor hummed. "...That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually and it could actually save us time. Now that I think about it, we're probably low on supplies anyways. While we're doing that Y/N can take a list of what we need and get it from the local super market here."
"I like that plan! We can meet up at the Light house."
And so it was agreed. After going through your inventory, and having Victor quickly scribble down a list of things you all needed, the four of you split off. Victor heading in the same direction as the other two with his phone's map out (you guessed the hotel and the stadium must've been down the same road) and you towards the docks list and borrowed money in hand. In all honestly you were just as hungry as the others but that could wait. It didn't take you too long to find Hulbury's local convenience store, it didn't take you all long as well to fill up the considerably large bags of travel foods and start carrying them off back off towards the direction of the light house. ....Only...there was one problem. You had absolutely no idea which direction the lighthouse was in, and with the giant bags of supplies to be split between the four of you obstructing your view, it made it harder to see by all accounts as you tried peeking around and over the large bags. Stumbling a bit and almost bumping into a few people walking past you, they gave you an odd look before carrying on. Certainly didn't help when your sobble gave a small chirp before literally climbing into one of the bags to which you panicked a little. The last thing you needed was him eating the food you just bought especially since it wasn't bought with your money!
"Hey! Bad pokemon!," you shouted jiggling the bags a bit, "You get out of there right now! You're not supposed to be in there!" The sobble peeked itself out over the edge of one of the bag's hearing it's master's voice as you frowned, and you didn't see where you were walking as you walked. "I'm serious! You can't just crawl in there! Out no- Oof!?"
"HEY!?," shouted a woman's voice.
You rammed into something or someone solid and you stumbled back, by some miracle not dropping the bags, and up righted yourself for a moment. Blinking you turned sideways to look at who you bumped into and were met with another woman who was looking at you with a bewildered look like everyone else who saw you walking around like this. The woman had a dark skin complexation with dark black hair with pretty blue streaks and eyes that were bluer than the ocean. What looked like a sports uniform adorned her body. She blinked at you as you stared before you seemed to blink and shake your head.
"Oh. Sorry about that, Miss," You apologized shifting two off the four bags in your arms. "I didn't see you there."
"Uh..Yes, I could tell." She ran an eye over the two bags in your arms and the other two hanging off your elbows. "That's a lot of groceries you're carrying there." Her eyes stopped at the little blue pokemon poking out of the top of one of the bags as it shoved a blue berry into it's mouth.
"Oh. It's not just for me actually. I'm traveling with some others and we needed this stuff." You followed her gaze and you gained a frown when you saw the sobble shove another berry into it's mouth. "HEY!" It fell back into the bag startled with a chirp....but slowly peeked the top of it's head and eyes back over to look at your scowl. "I said NO. Now you get out of there right now! If you're hungry I'll get you something else."
"Oh. Is this little one yours?," both of you looked over as the woman attempted to reach out and pet the sobble. Which resulted in your sobble giving off a sound of fright and immediately scuttle out from the bag in a hurry.
"HEY-" You leaned your head back as it jumped on your head and clung to your hair giving the other woman wide eyes of worry. You grumbled...but sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. He's not used to strangers I guess."
With a smile, the woman placed a hand on her hip and studied the two of you. "Most sobble are, but it seems this one has become very attached to you."
You blew the sobble's tail from your face. "Believe me you don't know the half of it. Say. Could you tell me where I can find the lighthouse? I'm supposed to meet my friends there."
"Sure. I was actually heading towards the stadium actually. The light house is right next to it," she gestured to your bags. "I could even help you if you'd like."
You gave a relieved sigh. "Really?! Yes, thank you. That'd be a huge help."
You happily let the woman take two of the bags you were carrying and you followed her as she motioned for you to follow her. Gloria and Hop were most likely already waiting for you as they had first gone to the stadium and possibly Victor if he hadn't gotten side tracked or anything. As the two of you walked you took the chance to look around at the town. Seemed like the beach down you had gone to before the few times you went to the beach. As you glanced at the woman helping you out you couldn't help but...notice something. Did she seem familiar to you somehow?....You shook your head. Nah. Must've just been your imagination. She must've just looked like someone you've seen before. That's all. The both of you walked from the docks, past what looked like a restaurant of some sort, back towards the Pokemon Center before taking a right and heading down the same path the teens took when the four of you parted ways. From that point the two of you walked down a road with houses on one side and a fence overseeing the ocean on the other. There was a LOT more houses than you remembered in game so it took a good twenty minutes before you even saw the stadium as both of you passed a flight of concrete stairs leading up the hill towards the train station. You looked up and at the stadium as it's shadow loomed over you as you both walked past it. Unlike Milo's stadium this one seemed rather quiet right now even if it was as HUGE as his was. The gym leader mustn't be battling anyone right now where ever she was. As you two continued to walk past it, you blinked seeing a tall structure up ahead which was unmistakably a light house, letting you sigh in relief. FINALLY!! You sighed in relief at seeing the structure and sped up your pacing a bit as the two of you rounding the corner the path lead towards the lighthouse and that's when you noticed the figures standing there. One or two strangers were there taking a picture next to the statues or the ocean view, but there was three you recognized easily as the twins and Hop. They all seemed happy to see you at first. But soon those happy faces turned into surprised and shocked ones the closer you walked. Victor even shaking his head and blinking as you approached.
"Uh...Hey, Y/n. Whatcha got there?"
"Our supplies," you replied arms all sore and tired from the long walk over. Victor blinked as you shoved the two bags you were holding into his arms. "Here. Take these. Im beat." They continued to stare at you even as you turned to the woman and take the other two heavy bags from her. Your brow rising as you turned and saw their wide eyed looks. "....Are you three alright? You all look like you've seen a ghost."
"...Y/n. Do you even know WHO that is?!," Gloria asked pointed towards the woman and you turned to look at her again..before shrugging.
"She helped me out. Thanks by the way."
She nodded. "It was my pleasure."
"Don't you even know who that is!?" Gloria groaned at your utterly confused face as you blankly stared and as a result pointed right at the smiling woman next to you. "You literally don't know!? THAT'S NESSA!! Like the Gym Leader Nessa! The person we traveled all the way here to see!"
You blinked before looking back to Nessa as she glanced at you. "...Oh. Thanks for the help again. It was very nice of you."
She nodded again. "Your welcome. And you." She glanced over to Gloria who still stared in disbelief at her. "You must be a gym challenger right? You're one of the ones endorsed by Leon right?"
Gloria stared at her a little longer before Hop nudged her making her flinch. "HUH!? I mean- Y-Yeah! O-One of them." She gestured to Hop next to her. "And he's one o' the other ones."
"Hello, Ma'am." Hop smiled and waved. "I'm Hop and this is Gloria and that's Victor. You uh...Weren't at the stadium when we went there."
"My apologies," Nessa apologized as you turned back to her. OH! Now you could recognize her easily. She was on the cover of that magazine Gloria showed you and you vaguely remembered seeing her back at the entrance ceremony. "But I just got back from a boating shoot and I've already promised someone else a battle for later today. But I must say, you've become something of a hot topic among the gym leaders."
"Wait. We are?"
She chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Leon never stops talking about how awesome his little brother is and how he's just the smartest kid ever to come out of Postwick."
Hop coughed and scratched at his head in embarrassment. "Well...I wouldn't say that."
"I mean. He's not wrong. You're pretty smart."
"Glory! Don't embarrass me like Mum please!," he begged red faced.
You decided to help give him a break. "I had no idea he spoke so highly of Hop." You spoke to Nessa. Although you wouldn't be surprised considering how hyped up Hop got about Leon, and how loving Leon was to them.
She chuckled again before reaching behind her and pulling something out of her pocket. Well two somethings. "Here you go, Ms. Famous. I already heard about you, so you should learn more about me too." She held out what you made out as cards to Hop and Gloria as the two wide eyed teens took them in disbelief.
"OMG! Another League Card!! Thank you so much, Ms. Nessa! Does this mean you'll be able to battle one of us tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Sure. Just speak to one of my staff at the stadium and we can schedule a battle in the next two days for three." She then pointed behind her. "But I had better head to the stadium. I can't delay my scheduled battle anymore than I've already had."
You nodded in understanding. "We understanding completely, Miss. Thanks again for the help."
She nodded towards you. "I love fishing, but I love pokemon battles even more and I'm itching for a battle with you. Hopefully we'll get to battle real soon." With a wave towards you four, Nessa turned on her heel and began to walk away.
You waved back before turning back to the three teens staring back at you. ".....What?"
"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHO THAT WAS WITH YOU!?,'' Gloria shouted gesturing to where Nessa walked off to which you shrugged again.
"Sorry? I was a little busy with something more important at the moment and I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to her. But she seemed very nice. But how did your guys' lil trip go?"
"I managed to book us a hotel here for a couple nights," Victor answered before gesturing his head over towards the other two. "And we're all set up to fight, but someone already beat us for a spot today."
"Oh. Who?"
"The Mareep Head!," Gloria huffed one hand one her hip and the other waving the small League Card in the air. Mareep Head- OH! She must've been referring to Bede. He must've been the one Nessa was rushing off to battle then. "We just waltzed on in and there he was acting all smug like he jus' won the whole challenge already. He even asked if I "Got Hatenna's good side' on camera. Psh! He's such a stuck up mudbray!"
You could only nod juggling the groceries in your arms. "I...see. Well since there's nothing we can do right now for the moment, why don't we just go back to the hotel Victor mentioned and take care of these?"
Victor nodded in agreement tugging his own bags along as you both turned with Gloria mumbling behind you all the way to the hotel.
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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 2 years ago
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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch9 Travels To Hulbury
(This chapter will contain a small time skip of events as well as a past fight between y/n and her mother in the story.)
You swore you needed both a doctor and a nice bed to sleep away the pains of soreness racking your body.
Ever since you four left Turffield it had been like the time you left Motostoke except a bit longer. Walking, camping at night, taking time out for resting between walks and gathering food. Mostly from berry trees or snacking from whatever nonperishable foods Leon had given you. Some night Victor managed to make one form of curry or another. Mostly bean or apple curry which you didn't mind too much but the apples tasted a bit strange in the curry sauce, so you fed them to your sobble which you noticed had now taken a habit of laying in your lap any chance you were sitting and expected to be fed whenever you held any kind of food. Oops. You might have ended up spoiling it a bit. Oh well. You didn't mind too much. It's smiles and noises were pretty cute, and at least Gloria was able to add a few more curry entries to her book. After what had happened at the pokemon Nursery back in Truffield you decided to fill in Gloria and Hop about the mysterious band of rock star wannabes, but they seemed to be as confused as you were about who they might've been working for and who they were. Hop even suggested that maybe the eccentric costumes were disguises to they're real identities, which seemed a bit farfetched but hey. You were transported into the video game world of pokemon, traveling along with a few of the characters, and for all you knew could still wake up at any moment to your mother scolding you for being late for college. It wasn't really too out there to rule out yet. While you four traveled every so often you'd rest and Hop and Gloria would scamper off to have a battle or more likely try to catch some new pokemon from where you were at. So you weren't all too surprised to find out Gloria caught herself a wild Dottler and Hop's Grookey evolving from the....seventh or eighth day now as you four traveled. You lost count or couldn't remember how many days had past after seven or eight. You were mostly tired now a days with a heaping dab of soreness in your back and neck from your uneasy sleeping schedule and the rocky ground poking you from the floor of the test. Or the fact the only thing you had for a pillow was your backpack, but you never complained. If it meant getting to Hulbury faster then you could deal with it. It was like when your mother insisted you stay up a few extra hours to study or when you had to work late at the radio station after that. You yawned more, movements slowing a bit, and you had gotten noticeable bags under your eyes. Buuut the three teens must've noticed because on what was the ninth day Gloria decided to point it out to you.
"Hey, Y/n. I really didn't want to say anything but are you feeling ok?" She pointed at your face. "You've been yawnin' ever since we left Turffield like a week ago. And you've gotten bags under your eyes big enough to carry luggage for a full week's vacation. "
In response you yawned again before looking to her. "M' fine. Jus a bit tired I guess." You stretched out your back as you walked making it pop. "Haven't really gotten much sleep just laying on the ground like a rock."
"Hey. I have good news." Victor all of a sudden held up his phone. When did he pull that out? And held it up to all of you. "There's a small town up ahead about another day's walk. It has a convenience store, hotel, and a few other things." He looked at you. "I think we should stop by. We can restock up on supplies and rest for the night at the hotel. That might help out Y/n's situation and prevent her from dropping from exhaustion anytime soon."
"Hey. I-I'm not that tired," you lied stifling another yawn....But the promise of a bed tho- "But you're right about needing some more supplies. I don't know how much food and necessities we have left, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by and restock."
The food Leon lent would only last so long anyways. It was best for all parties involved. So it was decided the four of you would stop by the upcoming small town. It took another day and night of walking and resting (giving you another night of uncomfortable sleep) and then shoving off he next morning for the town. It took half the day but the four of you managed to happen upon the small town. And you do mean small. It couldn't have been much bigger than Postwick actually. There was around maybe twenty buildings and most of them were homes or doubled as homes as well as stores. As the four of you walked through the small town a few people walked by or waved, and you could hear a few children laughing. It certainly was very peaceful wasn't it? The peace made you even more tired- You were shaken awake when your sobble chirped loudly and smacked you with it's tail, making you stumble as you walk and if it weren't for the two boys catching you you would've faceplanted the road again. Which ended up in the three kids making up a decision for you.
"Let's go find the Inn first."
The inn turns out was one of the first buildings you came across when you took the small side road off of Route 5 here and the only building in the town that had three stories. It was more like a tall house than an Inn when the three of you entered, Gloria helping to steady your sleepy self. The inside looked very similar to Professor Magnolia's house. Very homey and welcoming. The elderly lady looked lightly surprised when the four of you came in with you fighting to keep awake for a little longer. Ok. So maybe the little sleep over nine or ten days was starting to get to you a little bit you haven't been this tired since studying for college entry exams in high school.
"Oh my. Are you children alright?," she ended up asking lightly standing from her seat seeing you lightly sway a bit.
You waved her off. "I'm fine. Just really tired."
"We'd like to book two rooms please with double beds," Victor explained to the lady throwing you a worried look. "Do you have any available?"
"Oh. Yes, we do. Come. I'll show you to your rooms. By the looks of your friend there, she's in dire need of a good rest." Whelp. No argument there. Luckily the rooms she had the four of you follow her towards a long hallway a little aways from the front desk before stopping and opening one door. "Here's the young mens. Bathroom's through the door on the left. And as for the two young ladies." She turned to a door right across from Hop and Victor's room and opened it. The room was pretty much as you suspected. A simple large room with two beds on each side of it, a shelf, window looking out onto a field, Tv, and a white door that you supposed led to a closet. "This'll be yours." She pointed at the door. "The bathroom is through there. We also have a laundry mat attachment in the adjacent building to the left if you youngsters need it. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask."
"Uh yes actually. Do you happen to know where your town's convenience store is?,'' you heard Victor ask but you were too busy to deduce what else was said.
You managed to stay awake enough to take a quick shower and change before walking to the closest bed to you and just flopping face first on it. The soft cushions hugging your tired and sore body, and it was natural for you to fall asleep almost as soon as you hit the mattress. So it was no wonder that by the next time you woke up it was night time. Confused and dazed you managed to sit up blinking confused at the darkness around you, the only source of light coming from the moon shining through the window outside. Vaguely in the dark you could just barely make out Gloria's sleeping form on the other bed on the other side of the room. Her baby toxel at the foot of her bed. Your body was still tired with it being night so it was easy for you to fall back into slumber when you slowly laid your tired self back down, barely registering your sobble squirming next to you as you fell back asleep. And came to a strange sight. A sight you witnessed before in your life. One you were all too familiar with too. ....You...You were back in your room. Well a younger you at least. You were about sixteen then just minding your own business sitting there and playing games. Couldn't remember which one just that you were enjoying yourself playing and sitting on your bed playing the day away. Until younger you looked up at footsteps approached your room, the next thing your younger self knew your door flew open with a bang and it started the younger you so much you ended up dropping your old switch on your bed jumping from the sound. And there she was. Your mother standing there with an angry scowl on her face.
"You're playing those stupid games again!?," she snapped at younger you, stomping over and quickly wrenching the switch from your bed.
In an instant your hand was reaching out for it. "HEY! Give that back."
But instead of that, your mother only held it up higher with her angry face. "Is THIS what I work to provide for you!?"
You had stopped. Frozen in surprise at the words foaming at your mother's mouth and the game she waved at your face.
"Is THIS what you think is fair to me!? I work day and night to provide a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and clean running water for all you do is to sit on your behind and play these mind rotting things!? To make the electricity bill higher than Mount Everest with you staying up all night playing this day in and out!?"
"M-Mom! C'mon! I'm sorry," younger you backpaddled.
"You should be! I'm not raising you to be lazy and unresponsible!" The game was tossed back onto the bed with a small thump before she pointed at you. "Work and studies should be your number one priority right now! I don't want to catch you slacking off wasting time again! Do I make myself clear?"
Younger you looked at your mother's angry face for a long moment before looking away and nodding. "Yes, Mom."
"That's good. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Alright, Y/n?"
.....
...........
"Hey, Y/n!," a distant girl's voice called, "Are you awake?"
"I dunno. Maybe we should just let her sleep? She was really tired when we got here yesterday," a young boy's voice said worried.
"Hop's gotta point, Glory. Let her sleep in. She'll need all the rest she can get for traveling."
"Ah. You guys are no fun."
Silently the world of younger days faded away to black and the voices became murmurs in the dark abyss that was sleep until you finally woke up from your now dreamless slumber. Which wasn't too long. You slowly woke from your sleep and was greeted with the sunlight making your tired eyes blink as you rubbed them and blinked at the surroundings around yourself at the simple room that wasn't your younger self's from the dream. What the-....Where were you? Did you finally wake up from the pokemon world dreamland you formed up? Were you back home? Did you move into the college dorms and forgot you did? Is that why this room looked strange to you? That hope was all but dashed in a moment when movement under the blanket next to you caught your attention and you looked. A small lump under the blanket the size of a small cat moved around until it moved towards the end of it near your arm and your sobble poked it's head out blinking tiredly and gave out a yawn crawling the rest of the way out. You gave a sigh, shaking your head before smiling and holding out your arm and letting the sobble crawl into your hands. You were still tired but rather than go back to sleep, you opted to tossing the blanket off yourself and got up with your sobble in your hands holding him up to your face.
"Well, I guess it's time to start the day huh?"
You managed to get a few things done. Morning shower, got dressed, and made your first stop the laundry mat across from the hotel after asking the elderly woman at the front desk for directions. Just something to do to help take your mind off the strange dream that had happened. You had started to wonder where the three children had run off to now but it was only after you were coming back with your now cleaned clothes and your sobble curled upon your shoulders did you run into them. Or Hop at least. He was just walking past the door when you opened it and almost ran into him. Thankfully stopping at just the right moment as he paused and blinked.
"Oh. Hey, Y/n!," he greeted with a smiling and shifting the box in his hands, "Glad to see you're awake now."
"Hi," you greeted back before raising a brow at the box he held. "What's that you're carrying?"
"Oh this?," he asked holding up the box and you nodded. "The old lady needed help clearing out her old storage room. She offered to pay me to help out so Im taking this to the broom closet down the hall here. Glory and Vick are doing some Pokejobs too." The confusion must've doubled on your face because he seemed to take notice. pokejobs?? What the heck are pokejobs?! "OH! Right. There's no possible way you could've known what those are. I keep forgetting you're not native to Galar. Pokejobs are jobs people upload into the rotomis."
".....Say what?," you asked still totally confused to what Hop was even saying.
He sighed. "Pokejobs. How do I describe them?....It's kinda like how newspapers have ads. If someone has a job they need help with they send a post to their rotomi profile, then if someone wants to make some money they can look on the Pokejobs Rotomi Forum for a job in their specific area. There was a few listed in the Rotomi at the town's covience store." He held up the box again. "Like this one. We figured it wouldn't hurt to make a little bit of money in case of emergencies too."
"That...sounds like a great idea. But where are the other two now?"
He shrugged. "Glory took a job that involved babysitting and I think Victor's helping someone here with a garden."
Well that sounded like a good way to earn a bit of money while you were waiting. As to pass the time you decided to help Hop once you had finished returning your clothes to your bag. The elderly woman seemed rather grateful for the help provided. In the manner of speaking it wasn't too difficult work. Most of the boxes were pretty light mostly filled with cleaning supplies or old blankets. That explains why she was having Hop move them to the big supply closet down the hall. When you asked about it she explained she had wanted to turn it into another bedroom for the busier traveling seasons, makes sense. One extra room to rent means one extra way to make some money. You helped rehome the boxes and cleaned it out by dusting and sweeping to pass the time away. When it came to paying you declined the money offered and made sure Hop received it instead. After all it was originally his job, you just helped to pass time, and it'd be wrong to piggyback on his hard earned money after all. But you did however accept the free room service for later when she offered instead. Free food was a reward you had no trouble accepting, especially considering you hadn't eaten anything since you woke up and all the exercise you had done in helping to clean out the room. Hop though was thankful for your help and expressed so as much. It was when the two of you were heading out did you finally bump into said twins. Gloria was carrying two large paper bags but you had to do a double take when you noticed Victor looked....well remember how dirty you were after being bowled over by Milo's wooloo? Victor looked like he got ran over by ten wooloo during a sand storm.
"Whoa. What happened to you?"
He grabbed his hat and shook the grey beanie out letting dirt fall to the ground. "Well. As it turns out the ad for 'helping to remove unwanted weeds and debry from the garden' also happened to include a wild munchlax who didn't want to leave. I had to half wrestle half chase the thing out."
"Oh wow. Glad to see you got paid tho."
He huffed but Gloria smiled holding up the bags in her hands. "But on the bright side we managed to stock up enough for the rest of our trip to Hulbury! Glad to see you're up and feeling better too, Y/n!"
You nodded. "Yeah. Feeling better thanks-"
"OH! That reminds me!" You were cut off when Gloria suddenly shoved one of the bags into your arms as you blinked. The inside held food and other things you'd have to use in order to get to Hulbury. She went digging through the other bag, eventually pulling out a rolled up, sleeping bag looking thing that must've made up half that bag's weight. "Here! I noticed you probably weren't sleeping well cuz you didn't have one of these here. Turns out the convivence store is also a supply store, so I was able to get you one of these."
You slowly took the rolled up sleeping bag from Gloria and gave it a look over before looking back to her. "I-...Thank you. But you didn't have to get me this. I would've been fine without it."
"I know but you would've just kept getting bad sleep if I didn't, and it won't hurt me from what I earned from winning against Milo's anyways. Besides, I can now call it even from when you saved our hides back in Postwick."
You smiled and decided to accept this gift with a nod. "Alright. We're even. But have you decided when you wanted to leave yet?"
"First thing tomorrow morning. After seeing you stumble 'round like a zombie with a headache, we decided to let ya sleep in since you were so tired. But since it's getting later anyways, we figured we'd spend one more night here and leave early in the morning."
"Oh that's a great plan cuz Y/n got us some free room service from helpin' out around here."
Gloria's eyes widened at her friend's words. "Wait. REALLY!?"
"How about we let Victor get cleaned up first before we do anything?"
The four of you did just that for the night. Packed away all the goods they brought back with them. Hopefully it'll last enough for the rest of the very long walk to Hulbury. And after everyone was done packing their share and Victor was cleaned up, you ate. No surprise it was more curry but you chose to accept that at this point that curry was a very important part of Galar's culture and hey. Free food was free food. Nothing to complain about here. And if Gloria could fill in more of her Curry Dex book then it was good enough for you too. Luckily it seemed with the new sleeping bag things might get easier for you when you all start traveling again. Which is exactly what happened. The very next morning the four of you set off as soon as Victor paid for the two day stay at the front desk, and it was back onto Route 5 the four of you went walking. And walking and walking. It was basically the same as before until night came and the four of you set up camp in a small clearing, giving you the chance to use the new sleeping bag Gloria had gotten you. And it worked like a charm. You still had to use your arms as a pillow but otherwise it was much more comfortable to sleep now. And then the next day the four of you were at it again. This time listening to Victor's adventures traveling around since he had started his own journey at least a year before Gloria's. Mentioning of all the different places and events around Galar he had been so far and you were impressed at his tales of capturing so many wild shiny pokemon in his photos, going so far to show you all a few places he took photos of. One being the giant clock tower back in Motostoke.
"So does that mean you've been to Halbury before?," you asked curiously glancing at the pictures in his hands.
He nodded. "I've been there once, but not for long. I did see the Hulbury Water-Type Aquarium and Research Center. They have every water type pokemon you could imagine, some of them are from different regions as well. That's where I got most of the photo's of water type pokemon I gave to Glory. Nessa was a huge sponsor for it's development. It's also a research department to study water-types as well as their environments and biology." He hummed and looked up. "I think it's also where most Professors get their sobbles for starting trainers."
You gave a look to your sobble. "You hear that? Looks like we're heading to your home town." In response it smiled and gave a small chirp. "Does that mean you've seen Nessa before?"
He shook his with a sigh as you all walked. "Sadly no. But I've heard she's so busy between her modeling and gym leader duties she'll only do one gym battle a day due to her busy schedules, and that's considering if there's nothing important going on for her."
"So depending on the time and amount of trainers heading for Hulbury right now, we could end up waiting longer than we did for Milo's gym battle."
"Ah man!" Hop leaned back putting both arms behind his head. A habit you learnt he did whenever he was annoyed or thinking about something. "That could take forever then....but considering Nessa's Gym would've been one of the farthest from the Turffield Stadium, I'd like to bet not a lot of people would go for hers first and instead went back to Motostoke to challenge Kabu or someone else who was closer....Hm. I wonder if that's why Mr. Milo suggested we go see Nessa after our battle with him. We haven't run into any other Gym Challengers yet. Route 5 is less trafficked."
"Or those rockstar blokes," you thought as you gave another look around at the half field half forested areas you four were traveling past. But that was probably a good thing you hadn't seen them. You wouldn't want them causing you more trouble.
"There Hop goes all smart again!"
"H-Hey! Im just makin' an observation!"
"Well make an observation on that map. How much longer until we get there?"
Hop answered that after pulling out his phone and turning it on, pressing a few buttons. "...About two and a half weeks left."
This...Was going to be a long trip.
And you weren't wrong. Most of the trip was the same day in and day out. Eat, sleep, make camp, walk lots, stop for breaks, maybe a battle would happen every once and a while between Hop and Gloria or maybe they'd try to catch a pokemon every now and then. And you watched her start to carry around that baby Toxel more, usually in her arms like a cat but sometimes in her bag too with his little head poking out looking around. Victor making the comment that now the both of you would be pokemon taxis. It took quite a while of this old routine before you four even got to another town, with a train station. Breaking out of a small wooded area there was clearings now of flat land and Route 5 lead you all to a crossing across the railroad tracks and lead into a small town...Well you weren't sure if you could call it a town per say. It was more like a few homes a little bit a ways from the obvious train station the four of you took refuge in for a break. In the mean time Victor took out his phone once more and decided to flip through the rotom phone he had on your four's location.
"......Hey!," he shouted making you all look at him as he held up the phone all towards you. You leaned closer to get a better look at the screen he pointed to. "According to the map we're a four day walk away from Hulbury. Nearly there!"
"Oh thank Arceus!," Gloria sighed, "I was getting so tired of just walking around like a migrating murkrow."
"And you wonder why I was worried about you rushing into your journey."
"Hey!"
The next few days weren't very eventful or memorable. Just the same rinse and repeat scenarios your small group had been experiencing for the past month or so, until you FINALLY saw it. Well smelt it first would be more accurate. You all were walking up a steep hill that the path was connected too and that's when you smelt something like salt air. You had only been to a beach a few times but there was no mistaking it. Saltwater. And then you heard a very loud horn. It was loud enough to startle your Sobble into ducking behind your head and you perk up. If one had to guess, you would've said it sounded either like a train's whistle or a boat horn. Blinking as shadows flew overheard, you realized they were wild wingulls. ...Wait. Weren't those bird pokemon always like close to water?? You blinked. Shaking your head and hurrying your pace up the hill until the four of you finally made it. From the high point the view was high enough to let the four of you look a good ways ahead and still far but much closer now, maybe a day's travel. What was unmistakenly the glistening blue of the ocean as far on the horizon as you could see, that lead to the coast that clashed with the beginnings of it. The horn you heard was most likely one of the many boats you could faintly make out on the glistening blue and the unmistakable town that was nestled up against it all. It wasn't too big by the looks of it. Definately not Motostoke size, but it was definately bigger than Turffield and Postwick and you could make out the unmistakable structure of a stadium way over there.
Victor pointed with a smile towards the faint town. "There's Hulbury! We're nearly there!"
"Good. Let's get stepping before it gets too dark. If we hurry we'll be there by tomorrow."
And indeed you all were. Traveling until it was sundown, and you decided to set up camp for the night, only to pack up quickly and leave at the first sign of light the very next morning. It was somewhere around ten in the morning when you all finally made it. Seeing the town and beautiful ocean coming into view and getting closer, and closer the more and more you walked. Until you all finally arrived. First walking under a bridge connecting between two large hills, on top of one hill leading to a train station, the familiar pink building of the pokemon center greeted you next as the dirt path of Route 5 changed into concrete streets. Another loud horn shot off to the right of you and as you all looked over there was a giant port with as you suspected lots of ships and boats. Bigger than in game you imagined too. You inhaled a long sigh, the taste of salt on your tongue. If it wasn't for the many boats near the port and other people, you wouldn't have minded just standing there for a moment in the road. But since you didn't want to waste anymore time you sighed and turned to Gloria.
"So." She looked at you and blinked. "What's the plan here?"
"We go to the gym-"
"We head to the hotel-"
Both twins looked at each other for a moment, before Victor cleared his throat.
"I think we should head to the Hulbury's residential hotel first. Just in case one of us have to wait for a gym battle to open we'd have somewhere to stay tonight."
"Well I think we should head to the gym before anyone else gets here," she countered back one arm holding her Toxel and the other placed onto her hip. "It's still pretty early in the morning. If there's a chance no one got there yet one of us could get a spot! Right Hop?"
"Actually, personally I'm kinda hungry and wanted to check out that famous restaurant Hulbury's supposed to have." he mumbled but got ignored by the scowling twins.
You sighed again shaking your head. Teenagers. "How about this?" You held up a hand catching the three's attention. "We'll split up." You suggested. "If we do that we can get things done faster. You two can check out the gym and your brother can get us situated for the night because personally I'd like to take a break from camping, and then Victor can check into the gym as well. Then we can meet back up and get some breakfast..." You looked up towards the sky. "Or lunch depending when we're done."
Victor hummed. "...That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually and it could actually save us time. Now that I think about it, we're probably low on supplies anyways. While we're doing that Y/N can take a list of what we need and get it from the local super market here."
"I like that plan! We can meet up at the Light house."
And so it was agreed. After going through your inventory, and having Victor quickly scribble down a list of things you all needed, the four of you split off. Victor heading in the same direction as the other two with his phone's map out (you guessed the hotel and the stadium must've been down the same road) and you towards the docks list and borrowed money in hand. In all honestly you were just as hungry as the others but that could wait. It didn't take you too long to find Hulbury's local convenience store, it didn't take you all long as well to fill up the considerably large bags of travel foods and start carrying them off back off towards the direction of the light house. ....Only...there was one problem. You had absolutely no idea which direction the lighthouse was in, and with the giant bags of supplies to be split between the four of you obstructing your view, it made it harder to see by all accounts as you tried peeking around and over the large bags. Stumbling a bit and almost bumping into a few people walking past you, they gave you an odd look before carrying on. Certainly didn't help when your sobble gave a small chirp before literally climbing into one of the bags to which you panicked a little. The last thing you needed was him eating the food you just bought especially since it wasn't bought with your money!
"Hey! Bad pokemon!," you shouted jiggling the bags a bit, "You get out of there right now! You're not supposed to be in there!" The sobble peeked itself out over the edge of one of the bag's hearing it's master's voice as you frowned, and you didn't see where you were walking as you walked. "I'm serious! You can't just crawl in there! Out no- Oof!?"
"HEY!?," shouted a woman's voice.
You rammed into something or someone solid and you stumbled back, by some miracle not dropping the bags, and up righted yourself for a moment. Blinking you turned sideways to look at who you bumped into and were met with another woman who was looking at you with a bewildered look like everyone else who saw you walking around like this. The woman had a dark skin complexation with dark black hair with pretty blue streaks and eyes that were bluer than the ocean. What looked like a sports uniform adorned her body. She blinked at you as you stared before you seemed to blink and shake your head.
"Oh. Sorry about that, Miss," You apologized shifting two off the four bags in your arms. "I didn't see you there."
"Uh..Yes, I could tell." She ran an eye over the two bags in your arms and the other two hanging off your elbows. "That's a lot of groceries you're carrying there." Her eyes stopped at the little blue pokemon poking out of the top of one of the bags as it shoved a blue berry into it's mouth.
"Oh. It's not just for me actually. I'm traveling with some others and we needed this stuff." You followed her gaze and you gained a frown when you saw the sobble shove another berry into it's mouth. "HEY!" It fell back into the bag startled with a chirp....but slowly peeked the top of it's head and eyes back over to look at your scowl. "I said NO. Now you get out of there right now! If you're hungry I'll get you something else."
"Oh. Is this little one yours?," both of you looked over as the woman attempted to reach out and pet the sobble. Which resulted in your sobble giving off a sound of fright and immediately scuttle out from the bag in a hurry.
"HEY-" You leaned your head back as it jumped on your head and clung to your hair giving the other woman wide eyes of worry. You grumbled...but sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. He's not used to strangers I guess."
With a smile, the woman placed a hand on her hip and studied the two of you. "Most sobble are, but it seems this one has become very attached to you."
You blew the sobble's tail from your face. "Believe me you don't know the half of it. Say. Could you tell me where I can find the lighthouse? I'm supposed to meet my friends there."
"Sure. I was actually heading towards the stadium actually. The light house is right next to it," she gestured to your bags. "I could even help you if you'd like."
You gave a relieved sigh. "Really?! Yes, thank you. That'd be a huge help."
You happily let the woman take two of the bags you were carrying and you followed her as she motioned for you to follow her. Gloria and Hop were most likely already waiting for you as they had first gone to the stadium and possibly Victor if he hadn't gotten side tracked or anything. As the two of you walked you took the chance to look around at the town. Seemed like the beach down you had gone to before the few times you went to the beach. As you glanced at the woman helping you out you couldn't help but...notice something. Did she seem familiar to you somehow?....You shook your head. Nah. Must've just been your imagination. She must've just looked like someone you've seen before. That's all. The both of you walked from the docks, past what looked like a restaurant of some sort, back towards the Pokemon Center before taking a right and heading down the same path the teens took when the four of you parted ways. From that point the two of you walked down a road with houses on one side and a fence overseeing the ocean on the other. There was a LOT more houses than you remembered in game so it took a good twenty minutes before you even saw the stadium as both of you passed a flight of concrete stairs leading up the hill towards the train station. You looked up and at the stadium as it's shadow loomed over you as you both walked past it. Unlike Milo's stadium this one seemed rather quiet right now even if it was as HUGE as his was. The gym leader mustn't be battling anyone right now where ever she was. As you two continued to walk past it, you blinked seeing a tall structure up ahead which was unmistakably a light house, letting you sigh in relief. FINALLY!! You sighed in relief at seeing the structure and sped up your pacing a bit as the two of you rounding the corner the path lead towards the lighthouse and that's when you noticed the figures standing there. One or two strangers were there taking a picture next to the statues or the ocean view, but there was three you recognized easily as the twins and Hop. They all seemed happy to see you at first. But soon those happy faces turned into surprised and shocked ones the closer you walked. Victor even shaking his head and blinking as you approached.
"Uh...Hey, Y/n. Whatcha got there?"
"Our supplies," you replied arms all sore and tired from the long walk over. Victor blinked as you shoved the two bags you were holding into his arms. "Here. Take these. Im beat." They continued to stare at you even as you turned to the woman and take the other two heavy bags from her. Your brow rising as you turned and saw their wide eyed looks. "....Are you three alright? You all look like you've seen a ghost."
"...Y/n. Do you even know WHO that is?!," Gloria asked pointed towards the woman and you turned to look at her again..before shrugging.
"She helped me out. Thanks by the way."
She nodded. "It was my pleasure."
"Don't you even know who that is!?" Gloria groaned at your utterly confused face as you blankly stared and as a result pointed right at the smiling woman next to you. "You literally don't know!? THAT'S NESSA!! Like the Gym Leader Nessa! The person we traveled all the way here to see!"
You blinked before looking back to Nessa as she glanced at you. "...Oh. Thanks for the help again. It was very nice of you."
She nodded again. "Your welcome. And you." She glanced over to Gloria who still stared in disbelief at her. "You must be a gym challenger right? You're one of the ones endorsed by Leon right?"
Gloria stared at her a little longer before Hop nudged her making her flinch. "HUH!? I mean- Y-Yeah! O-One of them." She gestured to Hop next to her. "And he's one o' the other ones."
"Hello, Ma'am." Hop smiled and waved. "I'm Hop and this is Gloria and that's Victor. You uh...Weren't at the stadium when we went there."
"My apologies," Nessa apologized as you turned back to her. OH! Now you could recognize her easily. She was on the cover of that magazine Gloria showed you and you vaguely remembered seeing her back at the entrance ceremony. "But I just got back from a boating shoot and I've already promised someone else a battle for later today. But I must say, you've become something of a hot topic among the gym leaders."
"Wait. We are?"
She chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Leon never stops talking about how awesome his little brother is and how he's just the smartest kid ever to come out of Postwick."
Hop coughed and scratched at his head in embarrassment. "Well...I wouldn't say that."
"I mean. He's not wrong. You're pretty smart."
"Glory! Don't embarrass me like Mum please!," he begged red faced.
You decided to help give him a break. "I had no idea he spoke so highly of Hop." You spoke to Nessa. Although you wouldn't be surprised considering how hyped up Hop got about Leon, and how loving Leon was to them.
She chuckled again before reaching behind her and pulling something out of her pocket. Well two somethings. "Here you go, Ms. Famous. I already heard about you, so you should learn more about me too." She held out what you made out as cards to Hop and Gloria as the two wide eyed teens took them in disbelief.
"OMG! Another League Card!! Thank you so much, Ms. Nessa! Does this mean you'll be able to battle one of us tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Sure. Just speak to one of my staff at the stadium and we can schedule a battle in the next two days for three." She then pointed behind her. "But I had better head to the stadium. I can't delay my scheduled battle anymore than I've already had."
You nodded in understanding. "We understanding completely, Miss. Thanks again for the help."
She nodded towards you. "I love fishing, but I love pokemon battles even more and I'm itching for a battle with you. Hopefully we'll get to battle real soon." With a wave towards you four, Nessa turned on her heel and began to walk away.
You waved back before turning back to the three teens staring back at you. ".....What?"
"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHO THAT WAS WITH YOU!?,'' Gloria shouted gesturing to where Nessa walked off to which you shrugged again.
"Sorry? I was a little busy with something more important at the moment and I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to her. But she seemed very nice. But how did your guys' lil trip go?"
"I managed to book us a hotel here for a couple nights," Victor answered before gesturing his head over towards the other two. "And we're all set up to fight, but someone already beat us for a spot today."
"Oh. Who?"
"The Mareep Head!," Gloria huffed one hand one her hip and the other waving the small League Card in the air. Mareep Head- OH! She must've been referring to Bede. He must've been the one Nessa was rushing off to battle then. "We just waltzed on in and there he was acting all smug like he jus' won the whole challenge already. He even asked if I "Got Hatenna's good side' on camera. Psh! He's such a stuck up mudbray!"
You could only nod juggling the groceries in your arms. "I...see. Well since there's nothing we can do right now for the moment, why don't we just go back to the hotel Victor mentioned and take care of these?"
Victor nodded in agreement tugging his own bags along as you both turned with Gloria mumbling behind you all the way to the hotel.
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peachyysugaa · 3 years ago
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troublemaker
― dancer youtubers!lee heeseung x gn!dance major!reader
sparks fly when the top two dancers on youtube collab!
genre: slow-burn fluff, s2l
wc: 3.9k (omg i'm sorry) + 2 twitter pics
warnings: probably some wrong dance terminology, slightly suggestive (the dance is just 😳), short timeskip, it's cheesy please bear with me
part of my youtuber enhypen series, the fifth upload! feel free to read on its own~ ♞──────────────────────────♞
you finish off your last move with your arms wide open, your chest heaving up and down from lack of breath. smiling nevertheless, you know you absolutely love the feeling of getting your breath taken away after dancing because you know it meant you did your best. you walk towards the camera lens and peek at the comments through your open laptop.
"did you all enjoy that?" you ask breathlessly grinning. the flooding comments are filled with compliments from your cover of nct u's boss. however, one comment, in particular, caught your eye as others seemed to reply to it.
heeseung ✔ 2s ago wow that was amazing do you wanna do a collab sometime? 😊
line break insurance you've failed me 5x already
your eyes widen as you let out a gasp. "is that the lee heeseung?" you accidentally say out loud. you wince at the realization of your mistake. the comments are both praising you for your success in getting noticed by the other top dancer on youtuber and relating to your remark.
heeseung ✔ 3s ago haha yes it's me dm me if you want to hear more about it 🤍
"oh wow... this is really cool..." you state before blinking to get you out of your stupor. "well everyone, that's going to be all for y/n's motion of dance today! thank you so much for tuning in, love you!"
you wave goodbye for a few more moments and then shut off the broadcast, closing your laptop as soon as you do. you blink twice and suddenly let out a scream.
you stop with a gasp and cover your mouth with your hands because you cannot believe you forgot that your dance studio isn't the most soundproof of places. "sorry, other dance students..." you whisper to them but more for yourself.
taking a look around your escape, your passion, you can't believe you've made it to where you are, being praised as one of the top dancers on such a vast social media platform like youtube. if anything, you guess it runs in your family, after all, you are related to choi yeonjun, who is considered 4th gen's it boy.
though people were skeptical of you at first when you came on the youtube scene as a dancer after your older brother started taking more to modeling and acting, you quickly proved them wrong by showing them your talent and bloomed from then on. of course, you can't forget to mention the person who skyrocketed just around the same time as you.
and that was the aforementioned lee heeseung. you sigh as you finish packing up your clothes and things to head back to your dorm, glancing out the window to see the sun beginning to set. it seems today was a rare early finish for you.
"i could go for a coffee... i need to finish my classics essay anyway," you mumble to yourself, throwing your bag over your shoulder before hitting the showers and changing into a more casual set of clothes. the finishing touch is a baseball cap that sits snug on your head. tightening the strap on the back and grabbing your backpack and dance bag, you finally take your leave of your beloved dance studio and return the key on the way out. fresh air meets your face, allowing you to take a whiff of the cherry blossoms that have been blooming for a month or so as you make your way to the campus café.
ding ding, the coffee shop's calm doorbell welcomes you as your nose is hit by the sweet smells of freshly ground coffee beans. "welcome!" one of the servers calls at the counter, smiling at your figure that walks closer to order. "what can i get you?"
"hi, may i have..." you scan the menu quickly for a familiar drink. "a honey cinnamon iced latte please?"
"of course, name please?"
"choi y/n," you reply.
if they recognize you, they don't make any notion of it, simply scribbling your name on the plastic cup as you make your payment. you're grateful for the normal interaction and the peacefulness of the café, especially after a surprising stream. "i'll call you when your order's ready, choi y/n-ssi," they inform you with a warm grin.
"thank you," you smile back before going to find a seat. spotting a relatively private area close by with only a pair of boys sitting at the booth, you decide to take the booth two spaces away from them. one boy, you notice, sits taller than the other, but his face is covered by a baseball cap. the other looks like a freshman, his cheeks accentuated by a pair of deep dimples.
as you take your seat, you can't help but think the boy with dimples looks rather familiar but can't seem to place your finger on it. shrugging, you simply begin preparing to write your essay by taking out your laptop and notes from your classics ge. the moment you finish is when you hear your name being called.
"choi y/n-ssi, your honey cinnamon iced latte," the server's voice calls. on your way to receive your awaiting drink, you can finally hear the voices of the two boys sitting two booths down from you.
"did your crush just say choi y/n?" the one with the hat says.
'yes, that's me,' you think to yourself nonchalantly.
"weren't you just watching their stream, heeseung hyung?" another voice says as you pick up your latte and thank the server.
wait, heeseung? as in lee heeseung? it's when you turn around with your drink in hand that you notice the two males looking straight at you. now you're able to make out the features of the boy with the cap, and there's no mistaking it.
"lee heeseung?" you mutter out loud at the same time he speaks out yours.
well, maybe that wasn't what you were expecting today, but hey, life is full of surprises, even if they are one after the other for you. after that unexpected encounter, you and heeseung acquainted yourselves, he invited you to sit with them, and now you're sitting at their table, awkwardly sipping on your latte.
"right, so should i leave?" the other boy, who you found out is studytuber and vlogger yang jungwon (which is why he looked familiar to you), blurts out. you chuckle as heeseung shakes his shoulder lightly. "what? you two clearly have to talk about something, i need to study."
"yea, yea, lover boy. make sure you say bye to your crush on the way out," the male dancer teases, causing the younger one to turn bright red.
"don't call me that, hyung," he mutters before picking up his bag and leaving the booth. sure enough, you watch as jungwon passes by the counter and erupts into a nervous mess the moment the server beams at him.
"ah... so he likes them?" you think out loud.
"yup, it's been almost four months now. i'm the reason he even knows this cafe and that server exists," heeseung mentions, making you nod courteously. he turns his attention back to you with his hand placed under his chin. "but their relationship is besides the point. let's talk about us."
"d-did you have to put it that way?" the forwardness catches you off-guard, and you suddenly have a harder time swallowing a sip of your coffee.
"sorry," he says with a teasing smile. "i just think the collab i mentioned would be good for both of us, and it'll be really fun too."
"i agree, people who like you will come to me and vice versa," you nod. "but do you know what we would be dancing to?"
"so does that mean you're in?" he asks, smile starting to grow on his face. wordlessly, you roll your eyes and hold out your hand for him to shake. that's when his full smile comes out, causing your cheeks to heat up as you think about how much more handsome it makes him look. taking your hand, heeseung shakes it with his vigorously. "alright, dance partner, we have a deal."
after much deliberation and research, the two of you finally agree on troublemaker by the duo hyuna and hyunseung. heeseung suggested this song, stating that he always wanted to do the choreo with somebody and that it's destiny that both males have a name that starts with h and ends with seung. quite frankly, it's not like you could find much anyway, besides some cool music bank mc stages, it is cool that troublemaker was originally an opposite-gender duo in the korean entertainment industry.
the choreography however is an entirely different story. at many points, hyuna's body is touched by hyunseung and vice versa, but if they can do it and stay professional, then you believe you can too. besides, dancing will always be just dancing. heeseung also assures you that if you want, the two of you can just have your hands hovering, which makes you feel relieved to have an understanding partner.
hours pass by, and you and heeseung decide to meet at your usual dance studio daily after all your classes, which wasn't hard because he also frequented the same one.
"i still can't believe we attend the same university," you say aloud as the both of you pack up your laptops and supplies.
"i know right, you would think one of us would recognize the dance studio we go to 24/7, right?" he laughs. "although, i've seen you use a different one sometimes."
"do you really watch my covers and streams often?" you ask baffled. he and you wave the workers goodbye and make your way to the brisk evening air waiting outside as the staff sends you off.
"i do, is that so hard to believe?"
"a little," you reply sheepishly.
"well, let me walk you to your dorm and prove to you how much of a choi y/n stan i am," he boasts, and you let yourself laugh freely as you walk beside him to your destination.
it's strange, knowing a famous youtuber you watched also knew and followed you, but then again, you're not exactly nobody either. when heeseung drops you off, he admits that he actually lives a few floors above you and that you two can walk home together after each rehearsal. it's even stranger, knowing a famous youtuber literally has been on your campus, in the same dorm building as you, and this whole time, the two of you have both been clueless as to the other's existence as an ordinary college student.
speaking of which, he can't be a dance major, right? otherwise, you would've already seen him! these thoughts keep you tossing and turning to the point you don't register when you fell asleep. when you wake up, you feel as if you didn't get any sleep at all, but get up and ready nevertheless, going through another regular day as a dance major.
by the time your classes are over, you walk out of the studio yawning about to stop by your dorm to freshen up and maybe fit in a nap. you're holding a hand over your mouth mid-yawn when a voice starts talking to you.
"good thing i stopped by to get coffee." you open your eyes and close your mouth to see lee heeseung holding two cups of coffee. he's dressed in an oversized white shirt and grey sweatpants, a common dance practice outfit, so why is your heart skipping so many beats. "yo, choi y/n."
"heeseung," you say, still shocked. he hands you the coffee, which is actually the same flavor you got yesterday. "thanks."
"no problem," he replies coolly. "maybe we should take a break before we get to it?"
"i'll be fine, how about we can start watching the choreo?"
"they're always ready to dance," he nods with an impressed smile. "as expected of a dance major."
the two of you walk inside and book a studio for a few hours as you raise an eyebrow at him. "wait, what major are you?"
"music production."
"that makes so much sense!" you say relieved, stepping into the studio room for the umpteenth time. "i was racking my brains wondering what major you were."
"so the famous choi y/n is curious about me?" he smirks. you groan and facepalm in response. "i'm kidding, i'm kidding. let's watch the video on my tablet?"
nodding, the two of you watch carefully, eyes glued to the screen at your respective roles. you hold your breath at some touchy parts but also notice that both idols were able to shine in their solos.
"a few tweaks here and there, and it'll be perfect," heeseung comments once the video is over. "but let's go over some boundaries, yeah? let me know what you're comfortable with and what you're not."
"right," you agree, once again relieved to have such a safe and understanding partner like him. "well, i think i'm okay with you touching my arms, shoulders, and hips like hyunseung did to hyuna. i just need some time to get used to it."
"alright, that sounds good," he says nodding with a hand under his chin. "then for today, i'll just hover my hands over the places they need to be."
"what a gentleman," you tease.
he rolls his eyes playfully at you. "let's start marking."
and so that's what the two of you start on. with the video on the tablet, you go through the motions with the speed lowered, eventually picking up more moves until you're able to follow at the normal speed. as expected of the top two dancers on youtube, the two of you are quick on observing and learning the dance and get done with basic marking within 20 minutes or so.
after marking, you take a quick water break to watch the video again in full detail, officially beginning your first real practice. as promised, throughout the entirety of marking, heeseung has kept his hands to himself, but you've become comfortable enough to have him do a little more.
before you start practicing for real, you decide to speak with him. "hee," you call him as he puts down his water bottle.
"hm?" he confirms that you have his attention, looking up with his large doe-like eyes while wiping his mouth off from some excess water.
"uhm.." you fidget with your top a little before mustering up some courage. "you can do light touches now for the choreo."
"really? are you sure?" you nod at his question, causing him to come up to you and ruffle your hair lightly. you bat his hands away with a pout, smoothing out the mess he made as he laughs at you. "that's great, y/n," he says with a bright smile, unknowingly making your heart beat a little faster as you nod again. in your head, you rush to cover up the physical reaction with an excuse that it's just from the amount of exercise you've done.
the two of you stand in front of the mirror, ready to go. before the music starts, heeseung turns to you and says, "just let me know if i make you uncomfortable at all."
"i'll be fine," you reassure him with a small smile. that's when the song begins, and the sparks start to fly. every move flowed like water, yet every touch between the two of you was like electricity as if the two elements were working together instead of fighting. even though the touches are light, they still put chills up your spine, in a way that you can only describe with the phrase "meant to happen."
was fate moving its course to put this match together, or were you imagining it? you're not sure, but you grin while catching your breath once the first practice is over. falling to the floor softly, you sit with your hands splayed behind you and let out a relieved sigh. "ahh... dancing is so... great!"
heeseung chuckles at your reaction and offers a hand to get you up. "i'm glad you think that because we got a lot more practice ahead of us, partner."
"yup!" you say with a widening smile. the moment you took his hand, you felt an electric jolt that almost made you let go. getting up, you shake it off and barely catch the expression on your dance partner's face. "is something the matter?"
he blinks a bit before he's shaking his head with that charming smirk of his. "nope! let's practice!"
practice, practice, practice. that's how the next few hours go. and just like the day before, heeseung walks you to your dorm building, this time the conversation about how excited the two of you are for the recording.
that's basically how the next four or so days go, now that heeseung came into your life. your daily routine of wake up, eat, class, dance, repeat was shaken by him, because now he was a part of it. it's an indescribable feeling, hanging out with him. the best word, or phrase actually, is the same one you used while dancing with him: meant to be.
so when you finally get to the day of recording, you almost don't want it to end. at least, that's what you're telling your best friend and makeup artist, kim sunoo.
"friend, you're telling me that you and this guy have been following along to..." he tells you to look up as he curls your eyelashes. "a dance like that for four days and you've been getting shocks this whole time?"
"i mean, yeah?"
"y/n, i love you, but you're missing a little something, aren't you?"
"wha-!?"
"pucker up, sweetie, we're making your lips look kissable," sunoo commands. you do an eye-roll but do as he says. "if you don't ask him out or do something by the end of this, you can at least kiss your best shot at a boyfriend goodbye with luscious lips."
he finishes applying the color and asks you to rub your lips together and make that pop sound. "perfect," your best friend compliments. "go out there and get your mans."
"thank you, sunoo!" you say, gazing at your reflection in the mirror and loving the way he accentuated your features. "by the way, you're all talk. you should ask your celebrity crush out when they appear on your channel."
"i'll get there when i get there!" he whines and starts pushing you out of his dorm room. "just go get 'em, tiger."
with that, you make your way to the dance studio where heeseung is waiting for you, dressed in hyunseung's iconic suit with the leopard-patterned blazer. your heart quickens, seeing how much more handsome he looks dressed up, hair slicked back and some makeup done. he looks up upon hearing the door open and his mouth slightly hangs open as well.
the both of you are silent as you approach him, in your equally bedazzling outfit, sheer to mimic hyuna's stage dress. "you look amazing," the two of you say at the same time. stunned at the simultaneous sentence, you two immediately start guffawing at how this was unlike your usual interactions.
"that was so awkward!" you blurt out, unable to contain your laughter.
"yea, not like us at all," he admits while he wipes a stray tear from laughing too hard away. smiling at each other, you admire the way his eyes reflect your image and sparkle. "you ready to get this show on the road."
"ready as i'll ever be." the two of you get into your positions on the opposite ends of the room, and heeseung starts the camera and the music soon after. you take each step slowly to meet him in the middle as he takes your hand and brings it up to his lips to give it a kiss while smirking. you keep your face professional as the two of you take a few steps forward, the back of his fingers curled over the front of yours.
starting back-to-back, you walk forward a bit before the beat drops and heeseung's part begins. you're on autopilot as you dance your fingers from his chest to his shoulders, and then the chorus comes. hips swaying, you're able to feel his hands' light taps on your body as the two of you lose yourself to the music you've danced to hundreds of times this week.
then, it's your killing part as you lipsync hyuna's rap and take bold steps around heeseung's body, ending up behind him to bring your hands over his shoulders and make a scratching movement across his chest. you step towards his side, do your thing, and walk away as if playing hard to get.
you wait for his part during the bridge and make a side glance towards him before moving towards him and performing the hip-heavy part of the chorus together. your partner moves his face up along your arm, taking it in like you're a statue. you then act like you brush him away when heeseung gets close enough. after this second chorus, you're leaving him to do his big solo, watching carefully as he makes his every move precise and crisp yet flow well.
it's the last chorus now, and this time, you can't take your eyes off each other as you finally face one another. you stay drowning in his shades of brown without a single misstep until you have to walk away from him. you wait for him to come towards you, back slightly turned away as he jaunts forward, making his way to be captured by your hand behind his neck.
the last breath of the song is the one where you're supposed to turn your head away as his own chases yours, but this time, you brave forward and lean in close. the music fades away, but all you hear is his breathing, feeling it against your own.
you stay like this, ensnared in each other's arms, forgetting about everything except the person wrapped close to you as you feel his every breath against your lips and every inhale and exhale under your hand. he searches your eyes, looking for some kind of sign. "do you mind if i—"
that was all you needed before you're pressing your lips against his. it only takes seconds for him to kiss you back, moving his hands from their previous position on your hips to hold your face. becoming breathless from dancing was one thing, becoming breathless from kissing heeseung was another thing entirely, it was in a league of its own you note as you pull away and rest your forehead on his.
"we'll have to edit that out," you say after what seemed like ages of taking each other in while chuckling.
"i have a better idea than editing."
"oh, and what's that, handsome?"
"look at you getting all bold, troublemaker," heeseung replies with that smile of his. he shakes his head, moving away from you and taking your hand in his. "how about we go on our first official date as youtube's top dancer couple?"
"that does sound like a better idea," you agree, your own smile widening.
"then let's make it happen, sweetheart."
bonus! - click for full images
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taglist: @cha-raena @imjustme-things @misoiishi @rikitaiyaki send an ask to join the taglist! :3c permanent taglist: @fiantomartell
a/n: wow this was a long one!! i'm not sure if i detailed all the movements well, but i hope you all enjoyed it nevertheless <3
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sleephyjhs · 4 years ago
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When You’re Expecting (Taehyung Headcanon)
pairing: taehyung x pregnant!reader
warnings: mention of fertility & pregnancy complications
note: i’ve been craving to write a bts x pregnancy series for a while so here we go !! if there’s a specific member you’d like to see next, shoot me an ask :)
m.list
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FINDING OUT
even before finding out you were pregnant, you both had so much love for your child
there was nothing either of you could have wanted more than a baby
it was always at the forefront of your mind how much you wanted a little human of your own
it was approaching a year since you began trying seriously
a few false hopes and two miscarriages later, fertility drugs were looking to improve the chances of conceiving
the raging hormones which came with the drugs were all worth the positive test
early september - sickness had hung around your throat for days
headaches lasted longer than usual, and crying at the most mundane things had become an unwelcome habit
in the bathroom cabinet, you’d collected a small stockpile of electronic and stick pregnancy tests
one of them would eventually show positive, right?
taehyung sat on the bathroom tiles with you
waiting two minutes felt closer to waiting two months
he crossed his legs, bouncing his knees impatiently
your knees came to your chin; high hopes weighed heavily on your heart
the alarm set on his phone beeped quietly
your heartbeat rose suddenly to your throat
taehyung reached out for your hand as you turned to read the results
two blue lines - as clear as day
they became less clear as your eyes coated with thick, salty tears
he began to chuckle as his happiness trickled down his cheeks
“we did it baby! we’re gonna have a baby!” he whispered, choked up by his own anticipation
no words were left swirling in your mind
your jaw hung open as though the hinges were faulty
shakily, you lifted the electronic test to triple check
pregnant.
as you crashed into taehyung’s open arms, memories of the past loomed in your mind
it was only inevitable
a positive test was a familiar joy to you both
however this familiar joy had only ever been followed by crippling devastation
as much as you tried not to think about it, you couldn’t help but retain maternal caution
however, this time also felt different
taehyung’s spirit, your spirit - it was as though fate didn’t want to disappoint you any more
someone out there decided it was finally your time to grow a mini human to bring into the world
of course, no time was wasted in contacting the maternity clinic
seeing your baby on a screen was now a top priority
just to see their little head, maybe even hear their heartbeat
just to know they were okay
just to know you were keeping them cosy and safe, that’s all you needed
taehyung couldn’t hold his excitement
from leaving the house to reaching the hospital, his toothy grin never wiped from his cheeks
he never said anything at the time since his main focus was always on comforting you
but losing his babies near enough tore him apart
even when you tried to comfort him, taehyung restricted himself just to protect your wellbeing
of course, the worse had already crossed his mind
but it wouldn’t get the better of him
it couldn’t.
you soon learned you were already 6 weeks pregnant
the midwife had to point out where your little baby was hanging out; they were such a tiny thing after all
briefly, you took the opportunity to hear their heartbeat
it was faint over the machine, but fast
there really was a life within you.
“there’s something else, if you just look over here...” the midwife prompted, turning the monitor so you could grasp a better view
taehyung leaned slightly over your chest to peer closely at the smaller monochrome screen
with the mouse, she circled a second bean shaped figure
“the fertility drugs increase the chance of twins. looks like you guys got lucky!”
twins. you were having twins.
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THE PREGNANCY
like with most pregnancies, you were advised to wait until the 12 week milestone to begin announcing your impending delivery
and even though he understood the importance of patience right now, taehyung could hardly contain his excitement
it didn’t help that a little bump had already begun to grow
keeping a secret was much more difficult when the evidence was near impossible to hide
already, taehyung spent early mornings talking to his little angels
telling them stories he seemingly made up on the spot
or even borrowing some from his own childhood
“you know they can’t hear you yet? it’s about 7 weeks until they’ll be able to, honey.”
“i know, i’m just practising for when they can.”
of course, you wouldn’t admit that you did the same when you were alone
you attended more midwife appointments than other expectant mothers might
the pair of you much preferred being on the safer side
in the car, when on a quieter, less congested road, taehyung often reached over to cradle your still-growing bump with a free hand
you slotted your fingertips between his for additional sappiness
“you two have so many people waiting for you here, hmm? many people are already so in love with you both. me and mummy included.”
on a sleepless night, you’d made a small pact with tae
it was a rash decision, but sincere nonetheless
“no matter what, they are always going to know how wanted they were. always.”
taehyung hardly needed reminding of this, but it was still a weight off your shoulders
as you tried to conceive, the pregnancy diet had already been implemented into your daily routines
however now that you were carrying two precious babies, there really would be no more ‘cheat’ days for you
no more extra half cups of coffee on slower mornings
although you usually took over the role of head chef in the house, taehyung dedicated extra effort into preparing you both healthy and yummy foods
sautéd rice with green vegetables and lean meat/tofu appeared to be his go-to
but you still opted to supervise just in case
finally being able to announce your pregnancy was another heavy weight lifted from your mind
the other members were over the moon for you both
particularly when they reminded themselves of the struggles you had experienced previously
and also remembering the utter devastation of their taehyung when he had to break it to them
all of them kept their eye out for little gifts and outfits
each week, taehyung came home with a new stack of pale rompers or neutral-tones teething toys
these babies would have the best uncles; at least that much you could be certain of
announcing your pregnancy on social media was a looming task, but one he was determined to pull off perfectly
for filler content between schedules, the members had been asked to film a 5 minute vlog of their daily life
well, what a perfect opportunity!
towards the end, taehyung made sure to include some shots of your now protruding bump overlaid with some more vintage camera settings
safe to say, that day you had broken the internet
love, congratulations and blessings poured in from every corner of the earth
a few comments complimenting how much pregnancy suited you touched you especially
self image is commonly effected by the progression of pregnancy, and you were no exception to that
although it was amazing how your body grew and made a little home for your tiny babies, it was still quite strange to see yourself changing so quickly
your favourite clothes didn’t fit around your doubled bump anymore
and your skin seemed to hate sharing nutrients with two extra people
but for the days where you struggled to love yourself, taehyung easily filled in the gaps for you
sneaking up behind you in the bathroom
(although the mirror kinda gave him away)
he’d wrap his arms around your just-moisturised bump and carefully rest his chin on your shoulder
“tell me all your worries honey.”
you gushed over how much you missed wearing your favourite jackets
and how strange it was to look at yourself in such a new and confusing way
“i know it’s normal, and i know i have to do it for them. but i guess it’s just weird - i don’t look like myself anymore”
he sighed and planted a kiss on a spot of bare skin
those small kisses still tickled you like they always had
“well, you definitely look different,”
you really hoped there was a second part to that sentence, mostly for tae’s own good
“but why does that have to be bad? not gonna lie, it actually kinda makes you hotter. maybe we should make babies more often!”
“make~?”
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LABOUR AND DELIVERY
originally, you had wanted to try and stick to the natural route for as long as you could
but after a few contractions, that idea was immediately out of the window
to help steady yourself and wait out the pain, you held onto the kitchen island and swayed to your own pace
eventually, taehyung joined you
copying the same movements while timing your contractions
“they really must be desperate to come out, huh?”
“well do you think they could hurry it up a bit?!”
the pair of you had been prepared for this for over a month
the hospital bag was ready by the door with all of your essentials packed tightly inside
not forgetting the pots of instant ramen taehyung insisted he must bring in case of an emergency
just as he was readying to back out of the driveway, taehyung took a mental stock check of everything packed in the back
“do you think we have everything?”
“i love you but stop talking please.”
thankfully, he understood well that the sheer pain made you cranky
so long as he assured himself that it was ‘just the contractions’, he’d be just fine
as much as he couldn’t wait to announce he was about to become a father to everyone, he kept himself grounded when walking you to the maternity ward
one corridor in and you’d suggested that a wheelchair might be a better mode of transport
breathlessness and contractions didn’t sound like a favourable mix to you
the assessment of your fast dilation granted you an immediate spot in the labour ward
you’d picked this suite specially due to its expansive space
the option of a birthing pool was still available if you so needed it, but the mood lighting and access to aromatherapy was what attracted you to the room in the first place
a serene paradise for your angels to be born into
it was perfect
taehyung explored while you adjusted to your new surroundings
of course, it didn’t take him long to find the birthing ball
“what’s the difference between a yoga ball and a birthing ball?”
there obviously was none, but you took a few seconds to try and be smart with him
“well, sit on that and you might have a baby the size of a watermelon come out of you soon.”
taehyung cradled his torso and pulled a shocked expression, which was enough to make you giggle and cause another contraction
less than a few hours passed, and you had already attempted to scream the building down once or twice
“get these babies out of me. no i’m serious, i need them out.”
realising your deadpan expression, taehyung soon attended to you at the head of your bed
stroking your slightly sweaty head and patting a ice cold flannel on your clammy forehead
he braced himself for a crushing hand grip which came about sooner than he’d prepared for
you weren’t the biggest fan of commotion, and so being surrounded by nurses and doctors was close to being your worst nightmare
taehyung focused his voice into your ear, trying to minimise the tension coming from below your pelvis
his motivational words were broken up by short bursts of pushes
many of which were followed by a string of curse words which just slipped out
and then, there it was.
the first piercing cry belted across the room
a tear or two may have happened to slip from your eyes
finally the moment you’d waited for, nearly two years in the making, was here
the first of two, a little girl who already had a head full of the most luscious black hair
taehyung wanted to hold back his happy tears in order to show some kind of strength
but you and him both knew he’d never hold it back for long
within the space of 4 minutes, the second baby was born into the world.
but this time, there was no immediate cry
the whole world seemed to slow down in that moment as you waited
and waited
midwifes gathered around the new infant, looking for any kind of obstruction
but, soon enough, your son said his first hello to the world
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bangteamhyuk · 4 years ago
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Seesaw (I)
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Genre: Mature/Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Neighbors with benefits/Fuck buddies, Producer! Min Yoongi, Fuck girl! OC Y/N, Neighbors AU (a Spin-Off to “Moving On”)
Warning: NSFW! alot of kissing (torrid, soft, neck, and down under😉), protected sex (you can never go wrong with a rubber on, kids!), oral sex, mentions of alcohol, mentions of nipple pierce (pls don’t kill me 😣), mentions of cheating, appears to be pwp but i swear there’s a plot in this..so bear with me please😖, elevator buddies (lol. thanks ggukieland for mentioning this) to eventual lovers. I’m ending this in good terms 😌
Synposis: His outfits are always in black, and if not black then it must be in dark muted tones. You pressed the button on the elevator floor, and positioned yourself at the edge. You watched his back from a distance, and turned away if he moved his head. You were always the one who start your small conversation with him: From “good day” to “good night” to “that’s interesting (whatever it is you find ‘interesting’ from him, even though you were interested in him more than the item)” and other things. You and your little crush to your neighbor who lived on the 18th floor.
Until one rainy night, all drenched and cold, and your eyes smudged all over with kohl, you found him waiting for you inside the elevator. His body slacked on the edge, hair unkempt, his jacket barely settled on his shoulder while holding on to an empty bottle of scotch.
“Rough night?” he asked while you moved to the other side of the lift,  pressing the button from the elevator immediately closing its door.
“Yeah, seems you had one too?” you watched him attempt to position himself upright in amusement.
He drank from the empty bottle before he replied and realized straightaway that it’s been drained.
An idea came up to you suddenly and you asked: “I have more of that in my place. Wanna come over?”
A/N: Yoongi have been tormenting me of his visual for weeks and I just have to. Also I owe Producer!Min Yoongi to be happy. :( I hope you’ll enjoy “Seesaw” as much I enjoyed writing it. I decided to make it a mini-series because ideas are just piling up for the two.
And yep, mood song is “Seesaw” by Suga 💖
Word count: 7,190k
“Good morning” you said upon entering the elevator. You walked past him and placed your back on the steel wall for support.
“Good morning”  he replied, eyes blinking.
You opened your insulated tumbler to drink your freshly brewed hot coffee you made before leaving your apartment, when you noticed something particularly interesting from the lone stranger you’re with inside the lift. “Nice bean hat” you complimented.
“It’s a gift from my friend” he looks up at the elevator screen, monitoring what floor you two are currently in before it hits the ground floor. “That coffee smells nice, Ethiopian beans?” he turned his head a little to your direction, but wasn’t trying to look back at you particularly.
“No, Tanzania Peaberry” you took a sip and levelled your eyes to the decreasing number before the elevator digital screen until it hit ‘Lobby’. “Well, have a good day!” you smiled at him as you walked past his side. Yoongi let you leave first, like a true gentleman that he is.
It was always the same dry and small conversation. Always the same feeling whenever he is around. Your little crush on the man living on the 18th floor.
——
It started about two months ago when he was running towards the closing elevator, asking for you to wait for him before you could push the close button on the lift. Normally you would mind, and would even subtly push the button hard (about once or twice) so the lift would close quickly before the other person could even enter.
But not this guy, no. The way his eyes looked at you for a second, there was something behind it, something you couldn’t pinpoint exactly. When he reaches out for the door, you knew from that moment on, it was already over. He finally came in and pushed the ‘close button’ before you.
You were charmed.
“Thank you” he panted, as he tried to catch his breath from running and crouched down on his knees right when the elevator door closed. He was wearing a black oversized hoodie and dark blue fitted jeans and black canvas shoes, but were all dripping wet.
“Didn’t expect the rain too” You pulled out your gym towel from your bag. The one you didn’t get to use because, Matt, the cute guy your friend introduced to you during her wedding day, suddenly sent you a message asking if you had any plans for this afternoon.
Naturally, you cancelled your ‘gym day’ to trade it for one steamy workout session with him inside his car. Which leaves you now with your gym outfit and other stuff perfectly unused,  including your towel.
“Here” you handed it over to him, feeling sorry for the situation he was in. Wet and dirty from running outside the street. He turned to you, confused, unsure whether to accept the towel you were offering or not.  “Oh don’t worry, that’s a new one. I didn’t get to the gym today so it’s not used, like at all…” you smiled.
“Thanks” he bowed a bit and gently wiped his neck and face as he pushed the 18th floor button. He shook his raven short hair a little to his side and tapped it with the towel, hoping to reduce the water trickling from the ends of his straight hair.
You pushed 17th.
“New here?” you asked.
“Yeah, I just moved two weeks ago” he gently wiped each side of his cheek for warmth.
“Has anyone ever welcomed you here?” you took a quick glance at him and furrowed your eyebrows  then retracted “Well, besides the management and the security guard?” you snickered, eyes still fixed at the elevator buttons and its screen.
He chuckled at your query “No, unfortunately.”
“Bummer. Well, let that towel be the ‘first welcome gift’ then. From a neighbor” You shrugged then turned to face him and smiled.
The elevator bell rang, ‘17th floor’. You put your feet forward near the elevator door, arguing in your head whether you should ask his name or not. Usually, you don’t ask strangers for their name, especially the ones you just met. You barely knew anyone in this building, except your next-door neighbor who frequently complained about the noises you make at night.
And It’s not like he owes you anything either, so you didn’t expect that he’ll do it so casually… and yet here you are, hoping.
At least, maybe he could ask you a thing or two about you and say ‘thanks’ one more time? That’s just wishful thinking though. You suddenly remember that you did mention the towel was a gift, despite not bothering to ask if he wants it or not.
You began to worry even more, and wanted to ask if he really wants to even keep it. So, you turned around to meet him the eye and “Ah w—”
“Thank you, neighbor” he smiled and held the towel to his ear. The elevator door closes before you, stunned to see him smile. Yes, that damn smile. The kind where you forget where you live for a second, and you just nod. Leaving him behind.
“What’s your name?” you asked no one, and sighed. “Whatever… you’re welcome, neighbor” you turned away from the closed door in frustration and walked along the hallway.
——
Boys are like games. You liked it when they made you scheme so that they could find you interesting, and then trap them once they took the bait. And leave when it becomes dull.
Every so often, you try to lure in guys that interest you so that you could spend about a week or two with them, to fill in the gaps of your own boredom. You despised monotony, the way you hated commitments.
Though you were not always like this before, you once believed in ‘true love’ and ‘fairytales’, until you’ve had your heart broken a few times (mostly due to one-sided love) and then that was it. You’ve had enough. Back then, you were still young and naïve, thinking men will come and save you from this cruel world. You’ve seen it in movies, tv dramas and heard countless songs play about it on the radio, you were hopeful.
Yet no one came to save you, not even one. You came to realize that only you could save yourself from making your life any more tragic. Men are never the key to happiness. Love is not the formula in living a good life.
You looked at your own reflection and marveled at the beauty you created for yourself. And that was the thing, you saved yourself way too perfectly that you just don’t believe in love anymore. And out of nowhere, men were starting to line up.
Not like the teen romance kind of stuff, where they literally line up for you because you started to look like Gal Gadot overnight. More like, you don’t seem to care whether you get asked out or not, either way, men like you because you are a challenge. And who doesn’t like a challenge?
Because men are dying to see one day, that all the walls you’ve built for yourself would fall for them. They wanted to see a damsel in distress behind that wall.
Because men always like their ego stroke, and they always want to have the bigger prize. Unfortunately for everybody, it’s not Princess Peach who they want to save on top of a tower, they just want the game. That’s it, they want to see whether you’d fall for them or not. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s why you never let it. You refused to get too personal and you renounced commitments. You’re too proud.
Because for you, commitments are the epitome of prison. For you, commitments are just a disguise for convenience. In the same manner, convenience is a sugar-coated word for validation, caramelized to perfection.
And for whose validation? For men? Maybe then, they could make you do their laundry, cook them food, satisfy their lustful desires? Are those really an act of love or selfish desire to make their lives easy?  Clearly, your choice to keep yourself free from commitments isn’t an act of rebellion against sexims and double standards. It’s actually letting yourself be free from nuisance, which is what they call “love”.
That is why you remain in your stance, that you want men for your own pleasure. Nothing more, nothing less. That you want to see them admire you, kneel if they must, before you. Cry desperately for your touch. Because you’re not giving any, not until a man who thinks the same way as you do, the ones who are smart enough to knock on your door and present to you his pure intentions.
Evidently, that’s impossible, with the way men are in this god-forsaken city? The closest thing you could ever meet to a perfect man is the cardboard stand of Park Seojun, smiling at the entrance of a restaurant beside you right now.
You pat the fabric from your dress, after looking at your reflection from the glass window. Joe, your officemate, from the Design Department, finally asked you out for a ‘little dinner nearby’.
“Y/N, you sure you want to eat here? We can go to some place fancier” he asked while he folded his long sleeves.
“Two seats please” you ignored his query as you grinned over the lady who took on the customer cue. She rolled her eyes upon seeing you again with another man.
Joe went to you close and whispered “Do you have any beef with the lady?”.
“Nah, we’re good. It’s her term of endearment for saying ‘welcoming back’. I’m a regular customer here” you winked at her “so I’m sure she’s delighted to see me every time” she groaned in annoyance and let you in. She remained polite by guiding you both to an empty table.
——
Obviously that’s a lie, because next thing you knew, you were already making out with Joe inside his car, barely reaching his apartment.
“Mmm” you shifted to his seat, knees in between his legs, as he unzips your dress on your back. You helped him pull the fabric down from your shoulder, exposing your lacy lingerie, exclusive for this occasion.
“Can’t you wait until we get into my place?” he parted, panting, leaving him breathless after that torrid kiss.
“I just wanted to give you a little preview with what I can do” you smirked, as you began to kiss his ears and traced it down his neck. “Will get there, don’t worry” you gently bit his ear lobe which made him groan in pleasure. Until, someone came knocking on his window. Joe moved from his seat to see who it was.
“Lara!” he immediately stopped and pushed you away.
“Lara?” you turned to face where he was looking, and to your horror, you saw Lara. Lara, your officemate and your best friend. Lara, who perfectly knew your history and the list of men you slept with. Lara, who stood by you even after office hours and saved your ass multiple times from your mercurial boss.
You didn’t have any slightest clue she was seeing this Joe from the Design department, yet you feel like you’ve done something terribly wrong.
You quickly pulled your clothes up, while Joe immediately left you in the car to talk to Lara.
“I can explain,” he pleaded, shutting the car door hard.
“I don’t need it” Lara shook her head and took a step back.
You pulled down the headboard mirror to fix your hair and lipstick for a moment and let the two do the talking first. You listened to them argue, rather faintly from the inside of his car while you tried to put on your heels.
After you gently pat your lips with your finger, you finally decided to leave the car and went to Lara so you could take on her side and put more misery over Joe, the canker cheater. Besides, isn’t it Joe’s fault that you are all in this muddling position?
“I always knew I shouldn’t be friends with a slut like you!” she spat a disgusted look on you.
Your mouth went agape, bewildered at her reaction “Excuse me? I didn’t know Joe’s seeing you”.  You were expecting that above all, she would understand the current situation, that it was Joe and not you who started out all this mess. Why does it feel like you’ve put gas in to the fire? When the one who deserves all these words is Joe.
“So, is it my fault now? That I didn’t tell you I’m seeing Joe?!” she scoffed and folded her arms. Now she’s starting to piss you off too.
“Because I don’t know Lara? We’re best friends? We’re not supposed to hide secrets?” you gave her a sardonic smile, which peeved her even more.
“Of course I should, the way you sleep with everyone’s boyfriend without being sorry? I definitely think I should” she bit at you, barely quivering from the words she chose against you. You must admit, that definitely hurt. Not the words she chose, not the way she barely quivered, but because it came out from someone you trust.
Lara, was the least person you thought who could inflict a burn to your already-distorted ego.
You sighed, forestalling the tears that were slowly looming around your eyes “Right, well at least I learned something about you tonight. Have a great night with Joe, I hope you two sort out things…” you pulled your bag from your shoulder and walked away but then you remember something.
You wanted to slap Joe in the face so bad right now, that the only thing that’s stopping you is the idea of an eventual ‘Physical Harm Outside Office’ complaint against you from the HR Department, well if you were careless enough to actually do it.
“There’s a thong hidden underneath your seat, which isn’t mine by the way. I only wear Kiki De Montparnasse, don’t I Lara? Well, those are Victoria’s. You know I dislike Victoria’s ” you declared, before leaving, not turning your head to face them one last time.
“We’re over Joe!” Lara screeched, as Joe pleaded even more, their voices turning inaudible as you moved farther away.
Of course, that was a lie. There were no thongs left inside Joe’s car. Just the friendship you lost with Lara.  And you wanted to retaliate hard, to put everything on equal footing. Except, it didn’t feel that way, because Joe took something away from you forever: Trust.
——
Someone knocked from Yoongi’s studio. “Excuse me sir, but Mr. Park and his fiancé are waiting for you at the lounge area?” one of the staff asked, sticking her head out from the door.
“Right, tell them I’ll be there in sec!” he pushed a few buttons on his keyboard and then left his seat to meet his visitors.
“Hyung!” Jimin stood up from his seat to meet him, together with his fiancé… Yoongi’s ex-girlfriend.
“Hey there kid!” Yoongi went to give Jimin a brief hug, and gestured to them to return to their seats. “Hey there” he nodded and smiled weakly to his ex, not that he’s sour or hostile towards her, but he was just in a tight position seeing the two of them together in one room.
“Hyung, I’ve been really meaning to ask you, but I know it’s pretty awkward considering the two of you well, you were once, you know” he scratched the back of his neck, trying to find proper words but decided to continue anyway “together… and I know this is sudden too, but we reserved a seat for you on our wedding day tomorrow, and hopefully as one of my groomsmen…”
Be there on their wedding day? Tomorrow? As one of his groomsmen? Is this a joke? He was baffled for a moment, but his face remained stoic. “I can’t. I’m sorry…” he nodded coolly.
Yoongi saw how she quickly held on to Jimin’s hand tight, to give Jimin comfort from the rejection they expected from him.
“We understand” Jimin breathed and faced the ground.
“It’s not like that” Yoongi lied. “You know that contract I just had for a soft drink commercial? Well apparently they wanted a full revision on the song, so I just had to finish it before the weekends”
“Oh” Jimin smiled shyly “that’s unfortunate…”
Yoongi turned to face his ex, who knew him fluently. He gulped and smiled weakly, hoping the message would come across to ‘Not tell Jimin’. She nodded, fully understanding what Yoongi had in mind.
He wanted to save everybody (especially her family who knew him for years, and their common friends who’ll come by) to see an uncomfortable scene on their special occasion: An ex on a wedding day.
Hours passed, and Yoongi politely offered to see them leave the office building while bidding them good luck for tomorrow.
“Excuse me, I just need to get this” Jimin took his phone to his ears and left them to receive the call from his manager. “Yeah, they’re there? All areas secured? Yeah, thank you. Hopefully, we can avoid paparazzi and obsessive fans at the wedding venue tomorrow…” Yoongi heard him say, his voice turning faint as he walked far.
“Yoongi” she quickly but subtly held his hand “Just say it…” she shut her eyes and pleaded him.
Yoongi knew what she meant, and even if he still feels something for her, he had to do it. “Don’t do this… I know it’s probably just wedding jitters, and maybe we really haven’t had a proper closure when we broke up, but Jimin is a good guy. He’s better. Please, be with him” he said softly, resisting to meet her eyes.
“I’m so sorry for leaving you that night, I should have stuck out to you then, and understand you, I really lo—“ she started to talk fast, while her eyes glistened.
“Stop” Yoongi, moved back, pulling his own hand away from her. “You made the right decision, and I also made mine. Everything falls perfectly, where it should be”  Yoongi bit his lip, maddened to hear her regret. For what? What good does it make to agree with her and run? To destroy a relationship right before their wedding day? He’s not dumb to take the bait.
After years of being left behind, years of putting him in the dark after she left, years of hoping that the two of them can get back together. Only to find later, by chance, that she was already dating his colleague, Jimin. “Stop!” he repeated, taking another step away from her.
Jimin ran back to her side, clueless of what just happened between her and Yoongi. “I’m sleepy, love” she yawned, trying to mask her teary eyes that started when she pleaded Yoongi to take her back.
Yoongi nodded “I’m sure you two are tired from all the planning. I really appreciate you two for visiting. Take care! I need to get back to the studio, client’s calling too!`` He quickly turned away and left, digging his hand in his pockets to hide his shaking palms. The thought of almost agreeing to take her back, right on the night before their wedding, sends shivers down his spine.
He needed a drink.
——
You fumbled on your wallet and realized that you left your transportation card on the office desk. Honestly, you thought you wouldn’t need it when Joe offered to drive you home. “Please, at least a change, at least a change…” you mumbled it like a mantra, praying something helpful would appear, but didn’t.
Even when you dug deeper in your bag, there was no spare change in sight, only your credit card. You didn’t expect the night to turn out so bad. Even worse, it was starting to rain. It didn’t have an umbrella either.
You paused in the middle of the street to cry, not being able to comprehend the series of unfortunate events. You watched the rain flushed down your makeup from a convex mirror hanging on a pole. Your eyes were starting to look like raccoons. Your favorite dress is already drenched and filthy from street dust and smoke. Yet you remained walking, hoping that if you continued to raise your hand every so often, a taxi would come by and let you in.
But even after an hour, no one bothered to let a rain-drenched woman into their dry and pristine car. Until it took you long enough to arrive at your apartment lobby, and you sighed in relief. You shook your head when the security wanted to ask what happened, and declined when the service staff offered you a seat to wait on the couch and bring you a towel. You just wanted to get to your home quickly.
And there he was, inside the elevator, your little crush who lives on the 18th floor.
You saw him drink the last drop from his bottle before he pressed a button, when his eyes widened upon seeing you in a poor state. You walked towards him.
In an attempt to look sober in front of a stranger, Yoongi fixed his posture and quickly pressed the ‘open door button’ and waited for you inside.
“Rough night?” he asked while you moved to the other side of the lift and watched you press the ‘close button’ from the elevator, immediately closing its door. His body fell almost instantly on the slight movement of the lift that shifted towards the upper floors. His body slacked on the edge, hair unkempt, and his dark denim jacket barely settled on his shoulder while he held onto his empty bottle of scotch.
“Yeah, seems you had one too?” you watched his attempt to reposition himself again upright, in amusement.
He drank from the empty bottle before he could reply and realized straightaway that it’s been drained.
“I uh” he gulped “I met my ex a while ago, and she pleaded with me to take her back right before her wedding day” he drunkenly confessed, and giggled to hear himself say it.
“That’s rough buddy…” you folded your arms and watched the elevator screen, as usual.
“What’s your sob story?” he asked, blinking as he tried to mask his insobriety.
“Oh this?” you momentarily look at your drenched clothes. “Well I found out the guy I was out with, ‘double-dipping’ me and my best friend”
“That’s even tougher” he chuckled as he peered on to his empty bottle, wishing that a drop would magically appear out of nowhere.
“I think we’re even” you watched him silently, trying hard not to laugh to see him in his drunken state, until an idea suddenly came up. You asked: “I have more of that in my place. Wanna come over?”
——
The moment you two stepped out of the elevator, you found your bodies pressed together.
Lips knotted on each other, wet and tacky. You moved back while he pressed you forward along the hallway. He then moved to force you up against a wall, pressing himself to you even harder.
Yoongi didn’t waste a minute and pushed his tongue in between your lips, and you reciprocated. You roughly brushed your hand towards his hair, and pulled him even closer to you and deepened your kiss. Whatever it is you two were doing.
He parted and pressed kisses on your throat, his fingers reaching down to your waist and clutched your bottoms.
It was so sudden, so fluid, that you almost forgot that you were still outside from your place.
“Oh, bless you two!” your 60 year old next-door neighbor cried, who just went out of her door. Fidgeting while she tried to close it and ran towards the empty elevator.
“I’m definitely going to receive a house complaint from the management tomorrow” you chuckled. You parted for a moment, and stopped by your apartment door. You quickly entered your password on your lock screen, while he continued to press kisses on your neck. You didn’t mind if he saw it, since you were pretty sure he’s too intoxicated to remember every number.
Upon entering your door, he quickly discarded his jacket and left it on the floor, he kicked the door close. You didn’t dare break the proximity between you and him, even if it bears as a challenge to move back while taking off your shoes from the threshold, and still manage to wrestle with his tongue.
He cut the kiss briefly to remove his own shoes, but quickly as a fox.  Like a clockwork, he continued where he left, back to hungrily pursuing your lips. You parted and watched your lower lip leave gradually from his soft bite. You smiled at him and began to trace kisses on his neck.
He closed his eyes and revelled from your touch. He then carried you over to your bare dinner table and hurriedly pulled your dress up, exposing your lacy underwear, while you helped him pull his shirt off exposing his pale chest. You pinched your lip, stared at him for a moment, all pleased to see him bare.
“What?” he nervously asked.
“Just thinking how I’ve always fancied seeing my neighbor naked come to a reality” you tilt your head, while your eyes remain focused on his chest.
“What a coincidence, I was thinking the same” he finally realized that you had a zipper on the back and pulled it down a bit.
“Careful, this one’s from Lanvin” you alerted him. He obediently followed and carefully pulled it down your waist. You gently pushed it away and threw it on the carpet.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if you had your dress in Versace?” you laughed at his remark.
“Oh, so you could sing that Bruno Mars song? Kinky”
He chuckled at your retort. You then realized how charming he looks up close, his gums flashed before you as he grinned.
“Uhuh…” and just like that he swiftly changed from cute charming to a seductive one, as he shifted his position and watched you react to his finger pressed beneath your cloth that was keeping a barrier between your skin down below and his fingertips. “You’re wet”
You breathed at the sensation and nodded “You know for a neighbor, you are pretty friendly. Yet I never get to know your name” you whispered in his ears and unbuckled his belt. You help him pull down his pants from your seat.
He smiled, seeing you fairly repay his effort by finding your hands gently brushing his length beneath the fabric of his underwear.
“Yoongi” he replied, a bit groaning. You felt his flaccid length grow stiff at your touch.
You turn to look at it, then his eyes “Y/N” you smiled as you pulled it down and began stroking it bare. Nice and slow.
“Nice to meet you… God… that’s it” he shut his eyes and breathed, as he unclasped your bra and began cupping your breasts.
“Nice to meet you too Yoongi…” he opened his eyes, his right hand shifted to lick his fingertip and stick it between your lacy fabric down to your nub, brushing it quickly yet soft.
“That’s… yes…” you shut your eyes at the sudden contact. You were sensitive. “You know we are 3 steps away from my bedroom, why don’t we continue from there?” you gave him a peck on his lips and pulled his hand away from you. You jumped out from the table and waited for him to follow you to your bedroom door.
He just stood for a while and watched you slip your panty down, he gulped at the sight and immediately followed.
——
“Yoongi!” your toes curled, as he pulled you even closer to him. You heard him growl a little underneath you. His hands under your butt cheeks, caressing it gently while he sticks his tongue out for a taste. Seeing stars was underrated, if you must describe how wonderful his tongue techniques were when you are receiving him.
“Yeah, that’s pretty” He parted and licked what’s left of you on his lip while watching you shiver beneath him, slowly coming undone. You lost count how much you orgasm with his tongue alone. He then pushed two fingers in you and slowly stroked it in and out, and watched you unfold for the nth time to his touch.
God, you almost forgot that he’s been pleasing you for almost an hour that you forgot to return the favor. “Yoongi, stop… lie down” you gently pushed him to the side, letting him relax on his back, and began rubbing his length.
“Y/N, it’s okay. I want in” he stopped you before your mouth received him.
“Right now? You sure?” you asked, as he chuckled at the query.
“I’m fully erect, Y/N. What’s there to be unsure of? Lie down…” he commanded, and you gladly obliged.
“The condom is on the bed side table, first drawer on the left.” You pointed. He opened the drawer, and found one. He gently opened the golden foil as you helped him pull the rubber out and placed it on him.
He moaned to the cool sensation “Mmm…” he placed both your ankles on each side of his shoulder as he slowly moved inside of you.
You shut your eyes and opened your mouth wide, surprised to feel something fairly sizable and immense. He rests for a second, letting you adjust to him.
“You okay?” he asked worriedly.
“I’m tough, and I like it rough” you panted.
He chuckled momentarily, but his face turned earnest when he began to thrust inside of you slowly. From a steady placid pace, it gradually accelerated, penetrating deeper into you as he moved further. He wasn’t just hitting your sweet spot, he was unearthing everything within you. To say you’re pleased is an understatement, he definitely did more than that. “God!” he started to move fast to an inconsistent pace and finally came.
You followed.
He pulled out, and rested on your chest.
You gulped and found your throat dry from all that just happened “Want something to drink?” you sat on your side of the bed.
“No more scotch, just water. Know what? Fuck it” he pulled you back to the bed. Swiftly changed his soiled rubber to a new one. He took another condom from your bed side table and immediately entered back into you.
Turns out, the night ended unexpectedly great.
——
🎵 Love me special… love me special… love me special🎵
Your alarm resonated all over your apartment. “Alexa, stop” you commanded, as you shift from your bed and was surprised to see a motionless body you don’t recognize on the other side of your bed.
You slapped your forehead upon realizing who it was on the other end. Your little neighbor crush, now with a name: Yoongi. The song continued to play, stirring the stranger from his sleep “Nngh” he lazily scratched his neck in annoyance.
“Alexa, stop the alarm!” you exclaimed, blinking at the thought of rousing him further from his slumber. You didn’t want the idea of little chit-chats on the morning after sex.  You disliked being demanded to answer questions like “how did I get here?” or “was sex good?”and etc., conversation like those are a total drag.
Regardless who it was, whether it was one night stand or a regular fuck buddy. You wanted to casually forget it by the day, then crave for it during the night. It is how you put up with stress from your work. You separate your professional life to your personal life, that’s how you endure having to face bullshit for years.
He turned around to see you put your clothes back. “Oh shit” he shut his eyes the moment his memories stirred him from his stupor.
“Morning. Look, I’ll go ahead? I’ll be late for work. You can stay as long as you like… but not too long… Whatever, just, don’t forget to take all your things on the way. I know where you live so don’t do anything funny” you put on your bra and underwear then quickly move to your open rack to take your satin robe with you to your bathroom.
“Wine” he sluggishly replied.
“I’m sorry?” you asked, you peered from the wall separating the bedroom and the baths.
“You were playing ‘Wine’. I made that.” He snickered lazily.
“Made what? Wine, this song?” you pointed to your speaker “It’s sung by a girl named Suran? Wait, are you still drunk? I have Tylenol inside the drawer– ” he smiled at the thought of you being kind and considerate. He then shook his head.
“No, I meant I produced that. I’m glad you like it enough to make it your alarm” he pulled down the duvet, exposing his bare chest. He sat up, but the brightness from your window made Yoongi squint his eyes.
“What are the odds”  you chuckled, but only for a while, because when you took your phone and typed in the song on your search bar you found his name, well his other name that is.
“Suga? Are you Suga? Who named you that?” you smiled, as you turned away from him towards your shower but stopped midway.
“You produced a song for Jimin?! THE Park Jimin? the famous idol? The one who won KMA, MAMA, and Daesang… you made those songs?” you swiped further and saw a ‘breaking news’. You narrated it out loud “Look, you know about this? ‘Park Jimin just married his long time non-celebrity girlfriend’…” then paused. You remember the conversation you had with him last night, suddenly grasping and putting things together “Shit, she’s the ex, isn’t it?” you went back to face him, waiting for his response.
“Yeah” Yoongi sat up, eyes still listless. “Isn’t it Dispatch worthy?” he asked sarcastically.
“No,” you replied dryly.  “You know what is?” you rested your arm on the doorway from your bathroom and watched him react “Park Jimin, has a piercing on his left nipple. That’s why you never see him wear a fitted shirt” you raised one of your eyebrows and smiled.
His eyes, which looked formerly lethargic, became wide and lively.
“Wait, what? How? When?” he opened his mouth in shock.
“He was still a rookie then I guess? Anyway it’s been years… and was very single at that… He loves that left nipple a lot, you know? That he came by too soon. He wasn’t that great to be honest, you were better, well more than better to be precise… and I guess that’s what made your ex regret her life decisions?” you shrugged as you watched him laugh hard at your remark. “So don’t be too bummed, okay? You were definitely better, and you deserve the best out there” you smiled and left him there on your bed.
“Thanks” he spoke softly as he watched you close the bathroom door.
That was the very first time you talked with someone you slept with, the morning after. And  the funny thing is, you never regret doing so.
——
You didn’t want to come, but you have to, it was such a horrible position to be sitting beside your now ex-best friend while you two try to remain professional at work.
It was the first time you weren’t left with a sticky note with a smiling face, nor placed a freshly brewed coffee for her, first thing in the morning on her desk. You were both working fine, but the relationship was beyond repair.
That night after work, you found Yoongi waiting in line to get a cup of java in one of your favorite cafes.
“Hey neighbor” he smiled. “Fancy meeting you here?”
“Well I was on the way home. Then I saw you. Have you eaten dinner?” you asked, you went beside him on the line.
“Is that an invitation or are you asking me out?” he squinted his eyes towards you, as you rolled your eyes.
“It’s the former. I thought it’s around dinner time by now, maybe we could share a meal? There’s a promo on one of the restaurants nearby…” you took your phone out to show him a copy of an electronic voucher they were giving for free online.
“Sure, I like promotions. The ones that don't require me to shell out a lot” he remained stoic, despite genuinely liking the idea of cutting regular priced foods.
“Exactly” you winked at him.
——
You brought him to a BBQ place, and saw him turn ecstatic to see them actually serving Kobe Wagyu Beef.
“I must admit, you know the perfect places to eat” he affirmed.
“Of course, I’m very particular in choosing my meat” you stared at him for a second, as he watched you chew a piece, your eyes still fixated on him. He gulped.
“Wanna come over to my place, after?” he asked.
——
UPDATE: Chapter 2 is HERE!
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qianinterprises · 4 years ago
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Bundled Joy {Part One}
Pairing: Kun x Reader
Genre: fluff, crack, minor angst, pregnancy au
Warnings: pregnant reader, yelling, teasing, overprotective Xiaojun, teasing YangYang, slight explicit language
Word Count: 2.9k
Synopsis: You have a secret that somehow, all of the boys discover before you have time to tell the father. Now, you just have to fight them to tell Kun first.
Author's Notes: I started writing this honestly because I was bored and needed something to do. I didn't expect to finish it, much less post it, so it's going to be pretty different from most of the things I have written in the past. With that said, I have also decided to make this a series, but, as this was just meant to be fun, I cannot guarantee that I will update regularly, but I will try. Also note that this is my first ever series so I hope it's ok! Please enjoy!
Part two coming soon
Tagging: @treasuretaeil
Movie night with WayV happened about once a week, usually on the weekends when the boys either had a day off or didn't have to get up so early. Most of the time, you were invited to movie nights because, in Hendery's words, "movie night just isn't complete without mom and dad together!" It, however, had been a while since you had enjoyed movie night with them, having been too busy with work. This weekend, however, you had decided to join them after not so subtle but ridiculously persistent badgering from both your boyfriend and the other members, particularly YangYang.
Kun had texted you earlier in the day and asked if you'd pick up dinner, something you were only slightly surprised at. Typically, Kun cooked and, if you were over, you often cooked together. However, with deadlines and schedules, you weren't surprised that he was a little too tired to cook a huge meal for six bottomless pits. So, after ordering food online and picking it up, you showed up at the door carrying 10 pizza boxes, four two-liter sodas dangling from your arms in plastic bags because you were sure they'd want something besides water.
As you were struggling to ring the doorbell, having no arms left to reach the door knob or fish your keys out of your pocket, the door flew open to reveal a grinning Hendery who looked more interested in the pizza's that your presence.
“Can I-” he didn’t finish his sentence, looking greedily at the boxes.
“Yes,” you said, almost exasperatedly, though you were glad to be free of the burning boxes.
He grinned gleefully and took the boxes from your arms, hurrying into the kitchen where Lucas and YangYang were already waiting, each holding their own plate.
With a small laugh at the antics of the boys you’d come to love, you stepped into the dorm, only to be greeted with arms wrapping around your waist and a small kiss placed upon your lips.
“Hey babe,” Kun said, smiling softly as his eyes washed over your face.
“Do you guys really have to do that in front of us,” Ten whined, making a disgusted face as he grabbed his own plate.
“At least we have the decency to go somewhere else for our extracurricular activities!” Kun retorted.
Ten was notorious for bringing guests back to the dorms and making poor Hendery snuggle with a reluctant Xiaojun in a small bed.
“Not every time,” Sicheng pointed out, his own face morphing into disgust.
You rolled your eyes. One time to Ten’s twenty, that seemed fair.
“It was one time! And we didn’t even do much!” you argued.
“It would have been different if he had been giving you some… special attention! But instead of seeing boobs, we saw the dick we see all the time!” Xiaojun complained.
“Why do you want to see my girlfriend's boobs?!”
“Better question, why is it so normal for them to see your dick?”
“Kun-gi likes to change in front of us!” YangYang yelled, sounding scandalized.
“We all do!”
“Oh my God! Can we just watch the movie and eat?!” Hendery begged.
With that, Kun handed you a plate of food and sat down on the couch, pulling you snuggly into his side as YangYang started the movie.
~
It was late when the movie finished and Kun insisted you stay the night, something you would have denied if you hadn’t been too exhausted to think.
It wasn’t unnatural for you to stay over, and it wasn’t that you didn’t want to, you quite liked sleeping with Kun. He liked to hold you while he slept, which was part of the problem. You knew you’d be needing to untangle yourself from him at some point early in the morning and, if you intended to keep your secret, you’d have to do so without waking him, which wasn’t an easy thing to do. However, you agreed anyway, letting him lead you to the bedroom he shared with Xiaojun and YangYang. He wrapped his arms around you and, just like that, you were both sound asleep.
And there you were at 5am struggling to remove yourself from Kun’s hold without waking him up as your stomach churned and half-digested pizza threatened to crawl up your throat.
After a struggle that took way too long for someone needing to rush to the bathroom, you finally, successfully, pulled yourself from the bed without waking up your boyfriend, however, the early morning struggles didn’t stop there.
Stumbling through the dark, your feel suddenly got tangled up in a pair of stray shoes (most likely YangYang’s) settled precariously on the carpet, causing you to stumble and nearly lose your balance, catching yourself on the bunk bed.
Cursing, you paused your movements to listen for any wakefulness, swallowing thickly to push down the creeping bile as YangYang simply rolled over and resumed his quiet snores. Surging with relief, you quickly, but quietly, rushed from the room, not noticing a sleepy Xiaojun sitting up, watching you disappear into the hallway.
You stumbled blindly down the dark hallway until finally, you reached the bathroom, dropping to your knees immediately and hurling into the toilet, holding your hair back until someone suddenly appeared behind you, taking your hair in their hands, allowing you to clutch the toilet as your body shook with the force of the retches.
You assumed it was Kun until Ten’s voice met your ears as a hand settled on your back, rubbing soothing circles.
“Let it all out,” he said softly.
You didn’t have time to question his presence as your body shook through a new wave of nausea. His soothing motions didn’t cease, even though you knew he was probably disgusted.
When you finally finished, you weakly reached up to flush down your sick before turning around. Ten helped you settle against the wall as you struggled to catch your bearings. However, when your eyes floated up from the floor, you were met with a tired, but concerned Ten standing near the sink and a sleepy Xiaojun peering in the doorway.
“What are you guys doing up?” you asked, voice hoarse from exertion.
“I was entertaining a guest when I heard someone barrelling down the hall,” Ten explained, turning his attention to the male sleepily leaning against the door.
“When you hit the bunk bed you woke me up,” he explained through a yawn.
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and turned his gaze on you, eyes filled with concern.
“Why didn’t you wake up Kun?” Ten asked.
You sighed. You’d have to come clean now, because if not, they’d badger you until you did and then Kun would find out before you were ready.
“I didn’t want him to know yet.”
“Know what?” Xiaojun asked.
One glance at Ten and you could see the gears turning in his head. You simply let your eyes rest on his face, waiting for the question he was working on generating, steeling yourself when he opened his mouth to speak.
“Are you pregnant?”
Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Xiaojun’s face morph, eyes growing as wide as saucers, lips parting into an ‘O’ at the sudden, accurate question.
You simply nodded before speaking.
“But you’d better not tell him if you both value having dick’s!” you warned. “I already have something planned out and you two better not spill the beans before I have a chance to tell him!”
“We won’t! We won’t!” Ten promised, a giant grin spreading across his face.
“I’m going to be an uncle!” Xiaojun piped.
You rolled your eyes and shifted off the wall to get up when Xiaojun suddenly appeared at your side, half picking you up, eliciting a small yelp from your lips.
“What the hell are you doing?!” you hissed, voice reaching a volume that would likely, accidentally, wake someone else up.
“You have to be careful now! You can’t hurt the baby!” Xiaojun exclaimed as if it should have been obvious.
With a roll of your eyes, you let him continue, crossing your arms over your chest as Ten cackled.
“Looks like you’re going to be dealing with an overprotective Jun!”
You let out a huff but resigned yourself to the fact that this was probably going to be the new normal, at least until you told Kun.
Xiaojun carried you from the bathroom and placed your feet down on the soft carpet of his bedroom floor. He slowly escorted you past YangYang’s shoes to your side of Kun’s bed where he lifted the blankets and tucked you back in. Almost instantaneously, Kun’s arms wrapped around your form, hugging you to his chest.
~
It was the next morning when the amazing scent of breakfast wafted into the room, stirring you from sleep in the best way possible. You rolled over, feeling Kun’s side empty and threw the blankets off your body, the cool morning bringing goosebumps to your skin.
Slowly, you threw your legs off the side of the bed, letting out a yawn as you scanned the bunk beds across from you, finding both beds empty.
As you stood up, your stomach shifted and grumbled, although you weren’t sure if it could handle Kun’s delicious breakfast.
Still, you made your way from the bedroom, meeting a grinning Lucas outside the room. He was standing outside the door, almost as though he was waiting for you to step out. His grin was a little more than slightly creepy and, as soon as he saw you, he began rocking on the balls of his feet like a puppy getting ready to pounce on its owner, something that wasn’t unusual for Lucas to do.
“Lucas?” you asked cautiously, already bracing yourself for the weight of the gentle giant.
“I wanna be the favorite uncle!”
At his words, you let your arms fall by your sides, a groan rising from your throat.
“I’m going to kill them,” you mumbled. “Which one of the boneheads told you?!”
“Your squeal last night woke me up, and then I heard Ten mumbling how amazing it was walking past my room!”
So your screech had woken people up. Great.
“Who else knows?”
With Lucas knowing, it was only a matter of time before the whole world did. If there was one thing Lucas couldn’t do, it was keep a secret.
“Pretty much everyone except Kun. Xiaojun said you threatened our dick’s if anyone told him.... But with as many hints and YangYang keeps dropping, it’s only a matter of time before he figures it out.”
YangYang. You loved the boy. You really did. He was so precious when he was crawling in bed between you and Kun on the nights nightmares woke him up from sleep. Or when he was crying as his legs cramped painfully. The times when he really showed just how young he was.
However, despite your love for the boy you thought of as a little brother, he truly could be a thorn in your side.
You pushed past Lucas and speed-walked into the kitchen where YangYang was, as Lucas promised, dropping hints.
“I want baby carrots and swaddled pigs in blankets for dinner!” He was saying cheekily.
“That’s a lot! Maybe I can help with that!” you said enthusiastically before grabbing the younger's arms and all but yanking him from the room.
“What?” he asked, as if he had done nothing wrong.
“I swear Yang, if you rob me of the joy of telling him, he’s going to be a dad, I will personally remove your gonads with a rusted spoon!” you hissed,
“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. “Good luck finding a rusty spoon without searching Jeno’s bedroom.”
You shoved him lightly, glaring at him as he walked back into the kitchen, you hot on his trail.
“Good morning sleepy-head,” Kun greeted, seemingly noticing you for the first time.
He placed a soft kiss on your lips and wrapped an arm around your waist, a greeting you loved but would never get used to.
“That’s exactly the kind of thing that got you into this situation,” Hendery piped.
Kun turned around, arching an eyebrow at the male as you sent Hendery the harshest glare you could muster. He bit down on his lip, trying, and partially failing to hide a sinister smirk.
You were going to end up killing them all if you didn’t tell Kun soon, but you wanted him to find out your own way, not because six boys couldn’t keep a secret!
“Babe? Do you think we could go out today?” you asked.
“Ooooo!” all six boys cooed, nearly in unison.
“Ok, what’s going on?” Kun asked, placing his hands on his hips.
It killed you how perceptive he could be.
“You’ve all been acting funny all morning!”
His tone was sharp and commanding, the kind of tone that sent trembles down your spin and heat rushing to your core with need.
“Oh! He’s using his dad tone! He must be-”
“Yang! Shut up!” you snapped, voice raising as tears gathered in your eyes.
His eyes widened as a tear slipped past your eye, trailing down your cheek.
“Y/N… I’m sorry!”
“Why can’t you guys just accept that I want to tell him in my own way! Stop messing around before he figures it out! Because if he does, I will never forgive any of you!” your voice shook with emotion as you spoke, hands balled into fists at your sides.
You were expecting a snarky comeback about being a crybaby, but no one said anything for a good few seconds before Kun broke the silence by clearing his throat.
“Where did you want to go?” he asked.
“To our special place in the park… for a picnic…”
He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to your head.
“Let’s go back to your place to prepare then,” he said.
With that, you sent one more look at the boys before following Kun back to his room to adorn yourselves in anything other than pjs.
Part of you was reluctant to tell Kun yet, wanting to wait just a little longer, but with the boys’ inability to keep anything held within the confines of secrecy, you knew you couldn’t wait any longer if you wanted to be the one to tell him.
~
After preparing a nice picnic while Kun was playing with your cat, Kun took your hand and led you to the park where you both had said “I love you” for the first time.
As you reached the grassy area, you separated yourselves from the playground where kids were playing and screaming, finding a nice shady spot near the hiking trail where Kun spread the old purple and brown blanket you’d fished out of your linen closet. You placed the brown wicker basket in the center and sat down on the blanket, pulling your legs in and curling them. Kun sat down beside you, pulling out the plates as you grabbed the plate of premade sandwiches and cucumbers, your heart pounding in your ears.
“So… how do you feel about... sitting on a picnic blanket with… more than just us?”
It was vague, you knew, but you didn’t know how to just come out and tell the truth.
He gave you a puzzled look as he retrieved a sandwich from the plate.
“Like… the boys coming too?” he asked.
Dense. Kun, WayV’s leader. The group's father. So damn dense!
“I mean like… children…?” you mumbled, heart pounding harder.
“I’d love to have children with you one day!”
“What about soon? Like… now?” you asked.
He raised an eyebrow and took a bite of his sandwich, swallowing before replying.
“Are you telling me you want to start trying?”
You sighed, resigning yourself to the fact that Kun was just too dense to get it without you spelling it out for him.
“I’m pregnant,” you whispered finally, the words coming out softly as a weight lifted off your chest.
The truth will set you free.
Kun was silent for a long moment. So long, in fact, that tears of rejection were gathering in your eyes and you prepared yourself for the “it’s not mine” or “I can’t have a baby right now” speech.
However, as you were about to get up and apologize, a huge smile broke out across his face and the next thing you knew, you were being tackled back, back hitting the grass as Kun held himself on top of you, grinning like a madman.
You were too caught up in the moment to care how the moment might have looked to any onlookers. It was none of their business anyway.
“I’m going to be a daddy?” he asked.
Tears of his own were already falling down his cheeks.
You couldn’t bring yourself to speak, your throat choked up from the happiness of his reaction. So instead, you gave a simple nod, your own smile mirroring his.
He rolled over into the grass beside you and pulled you into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
“I’m going to be a daddy,” he whispered this time, almost as if to assure himself of the fact one more time.
As soon as the words left his lips, your ears were met with a surprisingly on key chorus of “awwww’s,” seeming to come from behind the bushes before a hyperactive Bella was jumping into Kun’s lap, licking his face in delight.
“Wait… why did everyone else find out before me?!”
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andromedasstarship · 4 years ago
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are you free tomorrow?
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pairing - spencer reid x gn!reader
warnings - nothing! just a sweet & cliche ‘first meeting’ story  :)
summary - midterms are coming up and all the good cafes on campus are filled, maybe the sweet looking curly haired guy in the back will share his table with you?
a/n - for my valentines day oneshot series! 'every table is full, but i really need to study, is there any way we could share?'
-------
Stressed, was a simple way to explain the current state you were in. The semester had snuck up on you, moving faster than you had ever expected. As the fifth week was coming to a close, you were getting dangerously close to the storm of midterms you had waiting for you in the sixth week. And you desperately needed to study. The only thing stopping you- surprisingly not your own procrastination-, was that it seemed as if the rest of campus was also in the same predicament as you. 
This was the third cafe on campus that you had entered that was absolutely filled. 
Your eyes scanned around the room, hoping to catch someone in the middle of packing their things. Nope. You considered circling back through the other two cafes you’d just been in or maybe even just going off campus. Except you couldn’t justify wasting more time by circling the same few cafes over and over, nor could your college student budget justify paying for coffee when you could just use your allotted campus cash. 
Just as you were about to give up and leave- begrudgingly deciding that studying in your room would have to be good enough-, you spotted a man sitting alone towards the back of the cafe. He sat at a large table with plenty of space; even though he had one of the largest stacks of papers you’d ever seen one individual possess. 
You weighed your options, internally debating if it’d be worth potentially hurting your pride by asking him to share the table and getting rejected. Seeing as the other option was definitely hurting your pride by hovering the same cafes like a hungry park bird, you tightened your grip on your tote bag and started walking towards him.  
Whatever he was reading must’ve been exciting, as his focus didn’t stray even for a moment nor did he notice you at all until you were right up against the chair across from him. You awkwardly cleared your throat to catch his attention, giving him a tiny wave when he looked up at you. 
“Hi!” 
“Hello?” 
“I’m really sorry to bother you, just every table is full and I really need to study and I know it’s not the best, but could I share this table with you?” You asked anxiously, holding your breath as you waited for his answer. 
As he opened his mouth to respond, you quickly added. “I swear it’ll be like I’m not even here!”  
He gave you a ‘please calm down’ look and you felt some of the weight dissolve from your shoulders as he nodded his head. “Take a seat, no worry at all.” He told you, adding a kind smile as he looked back down at his stack of papers and pulled them closer; giving you more room at the table. 
You let your bag fall off your shoulder and hit the ground with a thunk, relieved to no longer be carrying the physical weight around. You clasped the top of the chair in front of you, leaning towards him just so. “Thank you,” you said, giving your best gracious smile, “let me get you a coffee or something?” 
He looked almost shocked- or was he flustered? you weren’t sure-, quickly shaking his head in response. “No! You don’t need to do that at all.” He assured you, but you weren’t so quick to back down. 
“It’s the least I can do, please?” You pressed, giving him a very exaggerated pleaaaase look, “with all those papers you must need some serious caffeine.” 
You thought he was going to continue this little back-and-forth with you, but you watched as his body relaxed ever so slightly, signs of what you hoped was him conceding. “Just a black coffee.” 
"Just black?" You countered, raising your eyebrow, leaving it unsaid that he was just choosing the cheapest drink they had.
"Room for cream? I'll fix it up myself." He replied.
----
From the line, you had your first opportunity to really give this guy a look. The papers in front of him had sucked him back in as soon as you stepped away from the table; meaning you weren’t too worried about him catching you in your little…, creeping moment. The student population was large, but it was still small enough that you found yourself repeatedly seeing the same strangers. Yet, you’d never seen this man before. And you were sure you would’ve remembered this man, had you seen him before. What? He was undeniably attractive. There was something about the way his hair just perfectly curled around his face that made you just want to reach out and ruff- that’s weird. Even his little sweater-tie-button up outfit was doing it for you. Maybe today won’t be so bad. 
The line moved quickly and you found yourself carrying the two drinks back over to the table in under five minutes. You set his cup by him, taking care to put it away from the massive stack of papers. You set your cup down next, sliding in the chair diagonal from him. 
“You know,” you started, hefting your bag up into the chair next to you, “I never got your name?”
“Thank you,” he quickly got out, holding up his coffee as he did so. “I’m Spencer, uh…, Spencer Reid.” He told you, a faint red creeping up from under his collar. 
You gave him your name in return, a bit distracted as you pulled more of your things from your bag. From the corner of your eye, you saw him hold his coffee up again, nodding his head towards the cream and sugar station before walking off to fix his drink up properly. 
In his absence, you pulled out the rest of your books, debating which subject you should tackle first. You were glad you were finally towards the end of your college career, meaning the majority of your classes were specific to your interests rather than a four hundred student gen-ed; not that it made you any more excited to study for this exam. 
When Spencer came back he set his coffee down with a slightly shaky hand. “Did you know coffee is actually classified as a fruit?” He asked, as he slid back into his seat against the wall. 
“I didn’t know that.” You replied, shaking your head. 
“The coffee bean itself grows on a bush and they’re actually the pit of a berry, which is what makes them a fruit. They come in two main varieties, green and red.” He rambled, as if reciting from some magic book stored in his brain. As soon as he was done he clamped his mouth shut, remembering how most people reacted to his ramblings. 
You raised an eyebrow at him, but your face didn’t show any signs of annoyance. “Big coffee fan Spencer?” 
“Big fan of facts.” He corrected, giving you a sheepish smile.
“Oh yeah? Well you seem pretty smart then, which class should I study for first?” You asked, holding up two of your textbooks.
He looked at both books curiously, trying to take a guess at what your major might’ve been. He pointed at the one in your left hand. God’s, Monsters and Mortals. 
“Are you an…, English major?” He guessed, wondering if the book was some supplement for a unit on the Iliad. Not to mention the other book you held up was quite literally called ‘Literature Through The Ages’. 
You shook your head, putting the book he chose down on the table while you returned the other one to your bag. “Close! Classics,” you said, giving him a sheepish grin, “I know, it’s a bit niche, kinda ridiculous, but there’s something about how we immortalized memories of ancient times through literature that are just fascinating. There’s something about the lessons of the past that I think a lot of people are ignoring today, ya know?” You replied, quickly closing your mouth before you’d go on some incredibly long tangent about your interests and studies. Didn’t you say it’d be like you weren’t even here?  
“No, no!” He hurriedly said, shaking his head. “Understanding the lessons and patterns of the past and how they’ve morphed humanity today? That’s cool!” He assured you. 
“Well what about you, Spencer Reid? What’s your major, you must have some horrible professors, if that stack of papers is the norm.” You joked, liking the way the corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. 
“I’m uh…, a professor here.” He responded, his face cringing ever so slightly as he watched your mouth drop open simultaneously as your eyes nearly fell out of your head. 
“You’re a…, professor?” You repeated, extremely confused as to how someone who looked only a few years older than you was somehow employed to such a degree. 
“Just a visiting one!” He clarified, clearing his throat. “I’m on a sort of, uh, sabbatical from work.” 
“Isn’t a sabbatical when someone gets away from academia?” You countered, smiling to show you meant no actual aggression. 
“Big fan of facts, remember?” He repeated plainly, but you caught the joke in it and you smiled wider at that. 
“No offense Professor, but you look a bit young to ya know, be one.” You said, hoping he’d give his age in response. 
“I’m 29.” Ah, only four years older than you. 
“29 and already a professor at a university like this? What, do you have like 20 Phds. or something?” You asked jokingly, laughing a bit as you said so. 
“Three actually.” He replied, a mix of shyness and pride across his face.
Your mouth dropped back open again, trying to wrap your mind around the man in front of you. “What are you? A genius then?” 
“By some standards, yes.”  
The two of you fell into a comfortable silence after that. Him paying special attention to each paper he graded- you wished all your professors cared about student work the way he seemed to-, while you were busy deciding which parts of the taught units were the most important. 
After what you imagined was nothing short of four hours you felt your head begin to throb and your eyes were starting to go fuzzy. In that time, the two of you had downed at least five coffees each, going back and forth over who paid for them. You had managed to create an individual study guide for nearly all your upcoming exams and a quick glance told you that Spencer still had a few papers left. Unbeknownst to you he could have finished those papers hours ago, even with the in depth comments he entered into the computer for each one; there was just something about you that drew him in.  
He wasn’t sure whether it was the funny unfiltered comments you’d make sporadically while you worked or the way you actually seemed to be interested in every little tangent he had gone on whenever one of his students brought up a particularly good or amusing point in their papers’. His therapist had recently recommended that he engage in conversations with those not already well acquainted with him and it seemed like the world had lined up perfectly to put you in front of him so soon after. 
You loudly slammed your textbook shut with a groan and let your head fall against the table. “Why does academia have to be so boring?” You asked rhetorically, bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose. “Is it some requirement to get published? Your work needs to put college kids to sleep?”  
“The works that you’re reading are quite literally ancient, in their defense. The term ‘academia’ itself comes from the school of thought taught by Plato himself in ancient Athens.” Spencer explained, putting down the paper he had been grading. 
“And now, all these years later I have to suffer because Plato was such a bore.” You sighed dramatically, rolling your eyes. 
“You said you were studying the downfall of Icarus weren’t you?” He asked, once again unbeknownst to you, he remembered everything you had said today. “It’s one of my favorites of ancient Greek mythology. The power of the mind of man, yet how quickly that very power could be taken away if man oversteps. Really makes us wonder if we’ve overstepped as humans yet, if we use Icarus’s fall, quite literally from grace, as a lens for other devastations we’ve seen across history then-” 
“Spencer, are you free tomorrow?” You asked, effectively cutting him off. 
He looked a bit like a fish, the way you had stopped him mid sentence and his mouth hadn’t yet closed. His eyebrows turned up, head tilting with them. “Tomorrow? The 14th?” 
“Yeah, are you free tomorrow?” You repeated, holding back your nerves. 
“Oh.” He said, eyes going wide as you assumed he finally connected the dots, “Oh!” 
You were about to speak again, retract your question completely before he could reject you, suddenly wondering why you decided to go out on whim like that at all. But he beat you to it. 
“Yes, yes I am.” 
------
happy valentines day (almost) i love yall!!
tagging a few people who asked + a few mutuals i think might like this (no pressure!!) - @hqtchner @ssahoodrathotchner @kylorendrip @feverdreamreid @homoose 
permanent taglist - @sunflowersandotherthings
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preferredrealty · 4 years ago
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My Love - A Draco Malfoy Imagine
Let’s give our man Draco a redemption shall we?
I was 10 years old the first time I ever watched Harry Potter, that was 10 years ago and now that I’m 20 I’m beyond thrilled that Tom Felton is getting the attention he deserves!! Anyway here is my first ever Draco imagine I hope you enjoy
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Draco watched from across the courtyard as (Y/N) stood with an stern face, her eyes glaring straight at Voldemort, her eyes refusing to meet Draco’s.
Neville was yammering on about how they hadn’t actually lost Harry tonight but all Draco could focus on was (Y/N) and for a fleeting moment she met his gaze. His heart clenched as he realized tears were streaming down her cheeks, making two lean lines in the dirt that coated her face.
Suddenly every memory he had with (Y/N) flashed through his mind.
X
Draco smirked as the sorting had barely touched his head before it shouted Slytherin into the Great Hall, a eruption of cheers coming from the students wearing green and black.
Draco sat with a proud grin as other students got sorted, suddenly a small girl with a bright smile and wide (Y/E/C) eyes. She skipped happily up the steps taking her place beside Professor McGonigal.
The hat was hovered over her head. Draco took a second to look at the shine in her hair as the hat seemed to debate with itself.
“Slytherin!” It announced to the hall as Draco and the rest of the Slytherin house clapped and cheered.
The girl walked with a skip in her step until she got to the empty space on the bench next to Draco.
“May I?” She grinned gesturing to the seat.
With a nod Draco held out his hand.
“I’m Draco, Draco Malfoy.”
The girl shook his hand as she sat.
“I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N)”
(Y/N) walked up the steps of the girls dormitories into the Slytherin common room just as Crabbe and Goyle ran past her both clutching their head.
“Those two are acting funny.” She hummed throwing herself down onto the leather couch as Draco moved towards the fire.
“Idiots the pair of them.” He snapped while tossing something green from his pocket into the fire.
(Y/N) shifted to make room for him to sit on the couch with her.
“How was quidditch practice?” She asked pulling a packet of Bertie Botts Beans from her pocket offering some to Draco.
He tilted a few into his hand, tossing one in the air catching it in his mouth.
“It was good, that broom is a speeding machine.” He bragged.
(Y/N) hummed as she chewed her own bean, groaning when she realised it was a nasty flavoured one. “What do you think of this whole Chamber of Secrets nonsense. I recon Granger will be the next to have her blood on the walls. Filthy mudblood.” Draco snarled, snapping his head to glare at (Y/N) as a bean hit him on the head.
“I warned you about speaking like that around me Draco Malfoy!” She glared back. “You may not like them and your family may disapprove of procreating between Muggles and Witches or Wizards but some of my best friends are ‘mudbloods’ and I will not have you speak of them in such ways!” (Y/N) snapped as she stood up ready to leave.
“Woah, woah wait I’m sorry!” Draco stammered as he grabbed onto (Y/N)’s robes. “I won’t do it again I promise.”
(Y/N) sighed as she dropped onto the far side of the couch throwing another bean in her mouth. Munching angrily on it.
“Hey.” Draco nudged her while holding up a bean. “Catch.” He tossed it in the air laughing as (Y/N) missed it, causing it to bounce off her forehead.
She giggled tossing one at him, which he caught effortlessly in his mouth.
Draco clapped his hands together and threw them in the air with a cheerful yell.
X
“Ooooh!” Draco teased Harry along with other Slytherin’s as he wiggled his fingers in a mocking way.
Hermione grabbed Harry dragging him away making a face at Draco.
(Y/N) rolled her eyes from where she leaned against the tree next to Draco, reaching over to the slap the back of his head.
“Hey how dare yo- Oh.” He paused as he looked at (Y/N) knowing he was in trouble for tormenting Harry.
“Honestly Draco grow up.” She huffed, turning her attention back to the class as Hagrid started to show off Buckbeak.
Draco gave a sarcastic smile as he leaned an arm above (Y/N)’s head on the tree looking down at her.
“Careful (Y/N/N), I’m starting to think you fancy Potter.” He reached out playing with the green and silver tie hanging loosely from her neck.
She looked away from Harry who was not stroking Buckbeak towards Draco. “And I’m starting to think your Jealous.” She smirked at him.
Draco’s cheeks tinted pink as he opened his mouth to make a comeback he was cut off by Harry yelling and the galloping of hooves.
“Oh wow.” (Y/N) whispered as she stepped away from Draco watching the Hippogriff soring through the air.
Draco stared at (Y/N) as she lifted a hand to block out the sunlight. She had grown quite a bit over the last summer, her curves had started to fill out and her hair had gotten longer, seemed more silky than usual. She was even starting to wear a little make up now.
He was brought out of his thoughts as classmates started to cheer, including (Y/N) as Hagrid helped Harry down from Buckbeak.
‘I could do that.’ He thought as he watched (Y/N) clap.
He stormed forward pushing through classmates until he was in direct line with the Hippogriff
“Yes, you’re not dangerous at all are you? You great ugly brute.” He spoke confidently as he approached Buckbeak.
Hagrid started to protest as Buckbeak reared back, striking Draco’s arm.
“Draco!” (Y/N) yelled as she gently moved students out of her way. Hagrid lifted Draco at Hermione’s request, his large body moving in the direction of the school. (Y/N) not far behind.
“You’re gonna regret this!” (Y/N) heard Draco mumble. “You and your bloody chicken.” At that she couldn’t help but giggle.
-
She paced outside the hospital wing waiting for Madam Pomphrey to let her in.
The two large doors cracked open and out stepped the schools nurse. “Dramatic one that one.” She said to (Y/N). “It’s nothing but a small break! Will be fine in a few days with my special brew!” The woman seemed to talk to herself before reaching out to open the door. “Go ahead dear, although a professional diagnosis for you, do not baby him. His ego doesn’t need it.”
(Y/N) shook her head with a laugh as she stepped in, spying Draco laying flat on his back, his right arm propped on a pillow and in a sling.
As she got closer she rolled her eyes seeing him with his eyes shut and a look of pain on his face.
“Poor baby.” She teased pushing his hair back from his forehead. Draco kept his eyes shut. (Y/N) smiled as she pulled a chair up to his left side of the bed. “I know you’re awake Draco.” She reached over to flick his nose gently.
Draco’s eyes shot open as he reached his left hand to his nose. “Ow! Kick a man when he’s down why don’t you?” He muttered
“Ha! Man? Where?” (Y/N) looked around jokingly. Draco mad a move to grab for her, forgetting about his arm for a moment before he released a yell of pain, left hand coming to cradle his right shoulder.
“Easy Draco!” (Y/N)’s joking expression dropped as she stood, leaning over to gently adjust his arm on the pillow. Draco stared at her as she leaned over him. His eyes lingering on the small gold chain he had given her for Christmas the year before, a dainty ‘D’ hanging in the middle.
Settling back in her seat (Y/N) got comfy.
“You’re the best thing in my life you know?” Draco asked out of the blue.
“What did she give you?” (Y/N) teased as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Draco made a move to sit up causing (Y/N) to reach forward putting a hand on his chest. “Okay Draco I believe you.” She smiled, taking his left hand in hers. “You’re one of the best things in my life too.” She gave his hand a squeeze.
Draco grinned as he entwined their fingers, raising her hand to kiss the back of it.
X
(Y/N) leaned her back against the tree as Draco and Harry got in each others face. Again.
“And you look pathetic.” Harry snarled as he turned to walk away.
Draco glanced back at (Y/N) who had now gotten comfortable on the ground leaning against the tree.
“Pathetic?!” Draco snapped reaching for his wand.
Professor Moody appeared from no where – charming Draco to turn into a ferret.
“Professor Moody, is- is that a student?” “Technically it’s a ferret.” Moody quipped as he pulled Crabbe’s robes open, placing the white ferret in his pants.
(Y/N)’s hands cupped her mouth as Goyle reached into Crabbe’s pants, jumping back when Draco bit him.
The surrounding students laughed as McGonigal turned Draco back into himself. (Y/N) stood up as he scrambled to his feet, whipping around to glare at Moody.
“My father will hear about this.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes sick of hearing him spewing the same string of words.
“If that a threat?” Moody yelled as he hobbled his way towards Draco – faster than (Y/N) expected him too.
A shriek left Draco’s mouth as he sprinted past (Y/N) around the tree. Moody hot on his tail.
Draco ran from the courtyard while McGonigal stood with her wand in Moody’s face threatening him.
Sighing (Y/N) reached for her bookbag, sliding it on her shoulder as she walked past McGonigal, who rested a hand on her shoulder.
“Check on Malfoy will you please dear?”
With a nod (Y/N) was on her way to find the white haired boy.
-
“He took off after we got here.” Goyle sighed as he sat on the couch of the Slytherin common room examining the bite on his hand. (Y/N) stepped forwards reaching for his hand inspecting the bite, pulling her wand from her robes she held up his hand. “Episkey.” She pronounced, patting the back of Goyle’s hand as the bite healed.
“If only there was a spell to heal a damaged ego.” She teased, rushing to her dorm, sliding into her emerald green one-piece bathing suit putting her robes back on over the top and to get her bag of toiletries knowing exactly where Draco would be.
Taking her time to get to the fifth floor she passed Boris the Bewildered statue, pausing at the fourth door before looking around to be sure nobody was watching.
“Pine Fresh.” She whispered, the lock on the door clicking open allowing her to slide in.
The tell tale sound of the many water taps running confirmed her notion that Draco had come to the prefects bathroom to relax. Since the beginning of their third year Draco had been sneaking into the prefects bathroom for baths – claiming it was the best bath in the world, (Y/N) had joined him on a few occasions.
Sliding off her robes leaving her in her swimsuit (Y/N) walked towards the bathtub.
Draco sat with his back to her, hands threading the mountain of bubbles in front of him.
“Mind if I join?” (Y/N) teased as she stood by the edge.
Draco jumped, whipping his head around to see her.
Despite the large windows, the room was dull colour as storm clouds gathered outside.
Holding his hand in the air, he shivered as (Y/N) placed hers in his, stepping carefully into the bath sitting next to him.
There was a easy silence between them as the sound of running water continued, the occasional whistle coming from the windows as the wind picked up.
“Suppose everyone’s talking hm?” Draco asked as he lifted a hand in the air, watching the droplets fall back into the pool.
Of course they were, but (Y/N) felt the need to cheer up her best friend. “About you? No. They’re more occupied laughing at Moody being threatened by McGonigal.
Draco hummed as he looked at (Y/N). The water sloshed around them as (Y/N) sunk a bit lower only the top of her shoulders and head above water.
“I love this.” She grinned. “I love the feeling of being under water.”
Chewing on his lip Draco watched his best friend trying to sift through the sudden tsunami of thoughts that occupied his brain. Groaning he leaned forward running his hands over his face.
(Y/N) placed her hand on his back, taking a moment to look at the slightly defined muscles there.
“Thoughts screaming again?” She whispered, her hand now moving the play with the slightly damp ends of his hair.
He nodded, a head ache starting to form as the thoughts continued to swirl, so many at once he couldn’t understand a single one.
(Y/N) was suddenly in front of him.
“Come here.” She held out her hand, slowly moving backwards into the water.
Like a swimming pool the bath gradually got deeper making (Y/N) have to tiptoe to keep her chin out of the water, Draco chuckled slightly, him still standing flat on his feet, shoulders and head above the water.
“Trust me?” (Y/N) asked as she grabbed his other hand too. “With my life.” Draco whispered, coming out more serious than he was expecting.
Giving a shy smile (Y/N) started to sink into the water, Draco following her lead.
Fighting back the sting Draco watched as (Y/N) came to a sit on the floor of the bath. He frowned but did the same.
His eyes met hers with a questioning look to which (Y/N) shook her head, reaching out to smooth the frown lines from his forehead. (Y/N) gestured to her head then made a silencing gesture with her lips before closing her eyes.
Draco frowned following her instructions, for a second he felt angry that it didn’t work but then he felt (Y/N) fingers tracing patterns on his arms. He focused on the sensation, shivers running up his spine as she gently traced her nails along his arms.
His chest started to burn from the lack of oxygen but he was convinced he would rather take his last breath right now than return to reality above the waters surface.
Opening his eyes, he looked straight at (Y/N) who seemed to be having the same debate with herself.
Uncrossing her legs, (Y/N) pushed herself to surface. Breaking through with a gasp she pushed her hair back as Draco came up too his eyes still locked on (Y/N). They had drifted slightly deeper (Y/N) was now kicking her legs to stay a float.
Draco laughed as his hands found her hips, pulling her closer so he was holding her above water.
“Did it help? It always helps me to go underwater when it all gets too much.” (Y/N) smiled pushing white strands of hair back from his forehead, almost resembling Draco’s first year hair.
Inhaling a sharp breath Draco licked his lips, looking up into her eyes.
“I don’t think it was the water that helped me.” Draco whispered, eyes flickering back and forth between (Y/N)s.
“Draco.” She whispered as he brought her closer, bodies now pressed together. (Y/N)’s legs came around him, ankles crossed at his lower back.
He leaned in slightly, his nose nudging against hers. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, trailing them slowly towards her lips.
“Draco.” (Y/N) gasped as he was suddenly staring into her eyes, a deadly serious look in his eyes.
He cupped her jaw with one hand, the other still looped around her waist keeping her close. “I’ll stop if you want me to.” He whispered licking his lips, eyes now staring at (Y/N)’s lips as she bit her bottom one nervously.
“Please don’t.” She whispered
Draco leaned forward, his lips finding (Y/N)’s in a gentle kiss. His heart beat sounded like a drum beating in his ears as he moved against her. The kiss was innocent, barely more than just their lips touching. (Y/N)’s hands came up around Draco’s neck as she pushed her lips a bit harder against his.
Pulling back Draco grinned at his blushing best friend as she leaned her head forwards, hiding her face in his neck.
“(Y/N)?” He whispered, the hand on her jaw now tracing shaped on her back.
She hummed in response, eyes closed as she cuddled into him.
“Will you go to the Yule ball with me?”
Pulling back (Y/N) giggled. “Of course I’ll go to the ball with you Draco.”
X
“Oh would you lot grow up!” (Y/N) snapped as she tossed a snowball at the back of Draco’s head, he stopped dead letting the second year himself, Crabbe and Goyle had been teasing go.
Crabbe and Goyle ducked their heads in shame, almost like they had been scolded by their mother.
“Sorry (Y/N/N).” They both whispered before taking off leaving (Y/N) and Draco alone in the snowy courtyard.
He walked towards (Y/N) hands grabbing the ends of the Slytherin scarf he was certain was his and pulled her closer. “It’s harmless fun (Y/N).” He grinned leaning in to kiss her. Only to be stopped by her glove covered hand cupping over his mouth.
“Fun for you. Hell for the kid.” She glared at him then sighed with a tired expression. “You promised me over the summer that you would stop this Draco.”
(Y/N) had spent almost the entire summer at Malfoy Manor with Draco and his family. Although there was some hesitation from them regarding (Y/N)’s ‘blood traitor’ status they still became rather attached to the girl.
Draco licked him lips and nodded. “I’ll try harder. I promise.” He kissed her forehead frowning at the ice cold skin.
“You’re freezing. Let’s go to the common room and get you warmed up.” He grabbed (Y/N)’s hand in his, walking at a slow pace with her through the corridors towards the dungeons. Thankful that it was a Saturday and quite a lot of the students had gone shopping to Hogsmeade.
The common room was empty save for a few younger students who sat silently at the wooden tables by the windows studying.
The roaring fire instantly began to thaw (Y/N)’s cold skin as Draco helped her remove her coat along with his own before falling back onto the couch, (Y/N) laying next to him with her head on his lap.
Draco’s hands traced the outlines of (Y/N)’s face as she lay with her eyes closed.
The younger students packed up their things and quickly left, intimidated by the two older Slytherins.
Continuing his movements Draco’s thoughts suddenly shifted to what life would be like after Hogwarts. A home with large windows came to mind, bright and warm on the inside a total contrast to his current home at the Manor. A black dog, a hyper little thing was also in his thoughts. Suddenly a thought so strong it almost felt like a memory came to his mind making his heart skip a beat.
He has just walked into the house, placing his briefcase and coat in the cupboard by the door. The wild dog ran towards him with it’s tail whipping back and forth. “Hello darling.” He cooed, the sound of music and dishes clattering in the background made him walk down a hall, past a set of stairs.
(Y/N) was swaying her hips to the music, a white summers dress swaying around the tops of her knees as she cleaned up the dishes, freshly baked cupcakes sat on the counter.
She turned her head, a vibrant smile making Draco smile back. “Hello my love, how was work?” (Y/N) giggled, casting a quick incantation to finish the dishes as she rushed across the kitchen her bare feet tapping against the white marble floor.
“It was great love, I just couldn’t wait to get home to you.” He grinned scooping her up in his arms, placing her on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Her feet crossed behind his back pulling him closer as she pressed delicate kisses along his jaw.
“Do I distract you Mr Malfoy?” She teased running both hands up his chest. Draco smirked, dropping his head to place a kiss to her lips, his hand grabbing her left, tracing the diamond ring on her finger. “Always Mrs Malfoy.”
Draco was pulled from his thoughts by a hand on his cheek.
“Draco?” He looked down at (Y/N)’s worried expression. “Are you okay love? You were dazed for a bit.”
Looking at her left hand that lay on her stomach Draco’s stomach sank when there was no ring there.
He suddenly ducked down kissing her.
(Y/N) gasped, the hand on his cheek moving to his hair as his lips moved passionately against hers.
He pulled back, his face moving an inch from hers as he grinned.
“I love you.” He whispered.
(Y/N)’s eyes widened as she stared at him. A wide smile broke out on her face as she internally squealed.
“I love you Draco.” She whispered back, giggling as he dived down to kiss her again.
X
“He hasn’t spoken to you at all this year?” Pansy asked with a frown, taking in (Y/N)’s exhausted expression.
The bags under hear eyes were turning a darker shade by the day and her hair was tossed messily into a ponytail. Her jumper had become a size too big as the weight seemed to drop off her.
“Not since the train ride here.” (Y/N) whispered as she walked down the hall with her arms crossed over the her chest. The only reason Draco was even brought up in the conversation was because Pansy had told (Y/N) he was in the infirmary.
Pansy’s cold hand grabbed (Y/N)’s as stopped just before the stairs to the Slytherin common room.
“He’ll come around. He’s mad about you.” She whispered. (Y/N) nodded glancing around the hallway as tears filled her eyes again. “Look um – I’m gonna take a walk.” (Y/N) told Pansy as she turned to walk towards the Astronomy Tower. “It’s almost curfew! Be safe.” Pansy called after her.
-
(Y/N) was sitting under the wooden gangplanks suspended in the astronomy tower. Hidden in a dark corner, the wind whipping around her as she twisted the golden necklace around fingers.
A sudden whoosh from above made her jump.
“We need to get you to the hospital wing sir.”
She recognised Harry’s voice. She shifted to look through the cracks in the wood as Dumbledore begged Harry to get Professor Snape.
The sound of the Astronomy door opening alerted the three of them, causing Dumbledore to insist that Harry hid.
(Y/N) stepped out of the shadows as Harry whipped around to aim his wand at her. She raised her hands in the air, her heart sinking.
“Good evening Draco.” She heard Dumbledore speak causing her to snap her gave towards them from under the globe. She was about to call out to Draco but Harry launched forward, his hand covering (Y/N)’s mouth. Her back to his chest.
Static rang in her ears as she watched Draco, her mind not processing what he and Dumbledore were speaking about.
“He trusts me!” Draco snapped. “I was chosen!” He pulled up the sleeve of his to show a Dark Mark.
(Y/N)’s body shook with silent sobs as Harry held her tighter, her body growing weak as her knees gave out.
The door opened again causing Harry to back up, he hid (Y/N) behind a concrete post. Her body still in shock as she looked through the cracks again.
“Don’t you understand? I have to do this! I have to kill you or...he’s going to kill me! He’ll kill her!”
The Death Eaters surrounded Dumbledore as Bellatrix shouted in Draco’s ear to kill him.
A creak made (Y/N) peak around the post to see Snape shushing Harry.
She felt some hope grow in her chest for Dumbledore...and for Draco.
“No.” Snape states as he stepped up behind Draco.
“Severus...Please.” Dumbledore said.
The mood light broke through the clouds above, a ray of light shimmering off (Y/N)’s necklace catching Draco’s eye.
He looked down through the cracks, his eyes locking with hers as silent tears fell down her cheeks.
“Avada Kadavra!” Snape threw the curse at Dumbledore, sending him over the edge of the tower.
Draco was grabbed and pulled away, his mind stuck on (Y/N)’s tear filled eyes.
X
This was the first time Draco had seen (Y/N) since that night in the Astronomy Tower
“Harry died for us! For all of us! And it’s not over!” Neville yelled as he pulled the sword of Gryffindor from the hat in his hand.
Potter suddenly rolled from Hagrid’s arms to the ground, limping to his feet.
Draco’s eyes locked with his as Death Eaters around him began to run away.
He could fix this.
He could get that house with the big windows.
He could have the black dog.
He could marry his (Y/N).
He could be good.
“Potter!” Draco yelled as he ran forward tossing Harry his wand in the process.
The courtyard moved in slow motion around him, a explosion of fireballs to his left made him flinch but his eyes set on (Y/N)’s who was standing in shock, eyes locked on his.
He was almost with her when heard it. Words that made his body turn to ice.
“Avada Kadavra!” Voldemort’s voice rang over the chaos.
The flash of green light flashed past Draco’s head, striking (Y/N) in the chest.
“No!” He cried as he reached her. Catching her body from hitting the cold concrete. “No! No! Please!” He screamed, his right arm cradled (Y/N) to his chest, his left arm hovered over her. Trying to find a way to fix this.
“No. No love please!” He sobbed his head falling back as sobs ripped from his chest.
A shadow stood over him, causing him to tilt his head. Through blurry eyes he made out Voldemort standing there with a snarl on his face.
“You traitor.” Was all he said before rearing his arm back.
Draco tucked (Y/N) closer to his chest, both arms holding her tight as he tucked his head into her hair. “I love you.” He whispered.
“Avada Kadavra!”
.
.
.
.
.
“Love wake up!” (Y/N) shook Draco who was coated in sweat. “Baby it’s a dream!” She placed her hands on his cheeks as his eyes cracked open.
He shot up, arms curling around (Y/N) as he pulled her into his lap.
“You’re okay.” He whispered. Kissing all over her face making her giggle. “You’re okay.” He sighed as he dropped his forehead to her chest, feeling the cool metal of her gold necklace on his hairline.
“I’m okay.” (Y/N) confirmed for him. Her hands playing with his hair.
Something cold and wet nudged Draco’s arm making him pull back. (Y/N) giggled as she reached out to scratch the black Labradors head. “Sorry Willow, did we wake you?”
Draco glanced at the dog, reaching out to stroke her head before flopping backwards, sinking into the pillows behind him.
Willow made her way to the foot of the bed, laying back down as (Y/N) lay by Draco’s side, her left hand over his heart which was still beating hard.
He reached for the hand on his chest tracing the ring on her finger with a smile, it was the exact one from his dream. “Want to talk about it?” She whispered looking up at him. Draco shook his head, leaning to kiss her forehead.
“I just want to lay here with you.” (Y/N) smiled getting comfy. “Well I won’t say no to that.” 
~Feed back?
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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago
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Murder, He Wrote
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Part 3 Co-Written with @southerngracela​
Summary: It’s Thanksgiving, but when you’re being held hostage by Hugh Ransom Drysdale there’s really not a lot to be thankful for, is there?
Warnings: Bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader
A/N:  So this is Part 2 to our submission for @Jtargaryen18 ‘s Haunted House 2020  Challenge. Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.
Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and by writing it does NOT mean I agree with or condone the acts contained within. This fiction is classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar reader and any other OCs that may or may not be mentioned. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Murder, He Wrote Masterlist // Main Masterlist.
Part 2
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You could feel the chill of the outside seeping into your space, your bones, through the vented window following your shower. The way it crept in made you realize just how far along through fall you were, maybe it was even approaching the onset of the holiday weather. Either way, a storm seemed to be outside. At least it felt like it. Once dried, you found yourself wrapping up tighter in the thick cardigan you’d chosen before you dried your hair, and allowed yourself a quick squirt of perfume before settled into the reading chair in the corner of your room, your journal on your lap.
The little, leather bound book had been in your handbag which had been given back to you earlier that morning as the latest reward for behaving and as you ran your hand over the deep brown cover, you couldn’t help the air of excitement you felt at having been given your treasured little note book, despite the dreary sky you could see from the porthole above your chair.
It had actually surprised you that Drysdale had kept it and not disposed of it the same way he had your phone and your car. But for whatever reason, he’d held onto it, and for that you were grateful. Grateful that you had something of your own from before this imprisonment to anchor too. You’d expected him to want some kind of favour in return but he hadn’t demanded any sort of sexual gratification, simply informed you he would be out most of the morning and would be back mid to late afternoon. As soon as he had gone you had eagerly tipped the contents of your bag onto the bed, almost crying at the sight of your half empty bottle of Coco-Mademoiselle, the Mac Lip-gloss, NYX Eyebrow pencil, Mont Blanc fountain pen, a full tube of mints and your treasured journal. With teary eyes you’d put everything away in its new place, apart from the book and pen before padding into the bathroom for a shower, deliberately sorting yourself out for the day. All you could think of was taking the time so you could savour the moment when you could hopefully make some sense of the jumble in your head by spilling it onto a page.
You opened the cover and flicked to your last entry, the morning of Halloween. A rambling rant about Mick-The-Prick filled the page and you paused, tears in your eyes, as you’d give anything to be stood in his office thinking about ingenious ways to kill him and get away with it. Ironic, really considering that was exactly what your captor had done; committed murder and gotten away with it.
You went to jot the date down in the corner of the page and realised that actually, you didn’t have a clue what it was. Down here, night bled into day, day bled into night…and soon it all bled into weeks. However, given the fact your cycle had been and gone a week ago you figured that it was maybe four weeks since Halloween. Of course, you could ask Hugh, but the less you had to ask him the better as far as you were concerned. You hate the fact that he had this hold on you, that you had to ask for and ‘earn’ things by being ‘good’. And whilst it made you sick to your stomach, you’d fast learnt it was easier to comply than rebel. The night he had left you tangled in your sweater had hurt. It had taken you a good twenty minutes to muster the strength to work your way out and drag yourself into a bath, your body shaking with the trauma, sobs wracking your frame. Your body ached for days, your mind in a post-traumatic cloud of despair. And whilst it hadn’t broken you per-say, it had certainly made you realise exactly what the bastard was capable of, and you had no intention of finding out just how much further he was willing to go.
So, in summary, it had taken Ransom Drysdale two days to break you into compliance.
You’d become passive, so to speak. You gave into his whims, let him use you as he saw fit, did as he told… for the most part anyway. There had been a few other incidents post the sweater one where you’d forgotten yourself and protested, fought a little and he’d gone hard on you, but nothing like that second night. Your passive behaviour was mistaken by him for compliance, and as such you had earned a number of rewards. The bistro table where you took your meals, a book or two which just so happened to be by his grandfather, a gesture you weren't sure was him purging or pressing an agenda onto you. And more recently and most preciously, your bag. But, the strange thing was, that whilst he wanted you to give into him physically, he seemed to enjoy the fact that you were in no way, shape or form compliant to him in others. You openly sassed him, bit back, called him out and he actively encouraged it. He’d started spending a little more time with you in the mornings and afternoons, not just visiting you to toy with you or fuck, but to engage in these little tete-a-tete’s, and the sickest, most perverted thing about it was that you were almost glad. The loneliness was crippling, and you craved company. Even if it was his.  
All things considered, you’d rather ask him for as little as possible so instead, you flicked to the front of the book and crossed off the days on the small calendar inside the cover. Deciding that the date it led you to was as accurate as it was going to get, you turned back, jotted it down in the top right of your page and stared at the blank lines, looking to sort your thoughts for your next entry.
The saying used to go, what's in a name, however as I sit here thinking back on the last few weeks I wonder now what's in a day. My days consist of imprisonment. Held by a captor I have met once before. He's smart, almost too smart. Displaying forms of abuse and aggressive behaviors any FBI analyst would love to dive deep into. But that's not my job, no, my job is to please and satisfy him. Answer to his whims of gratification at any call of the day. I have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. But if I behave, he lets few things get by. I miss home, my bed, my life. I miss Mick, which is saying a lot all things considered. I don't know still what he wants from me, other than the obvious sexual gratification with little to no room for anything else. I'm a toy, a means to an itch. I don't know how long exactly I've been here, I can only guess it's been about a month. Nor do I know how long I'll have to stay. The answers are blurred like my vision, marred by tears and the low light inside. I haven't seen outside since the day he took me. I haven't been anywhere outside this room. I can see from the small porthole window above this stupidly soft leather chair the season has changed. It feels like deep fall, and as a storm comes outside, what little sky I see is bleak and dark, clouds covering the bluest of skies, angry and ready to open up, raining down water to wash away the sins of the day. I wish I could do the same. 
Before you realized, time had obviously passed, for the sound of the door bolts unlocking had you guessing it was late afternoon or early evening. A glance up at the porthole behind you confirmed as much. The sky was dark and rain had been beating on the window for a little while. 
In came Drysdale, hair a bit wet, a strand slightly out of place, wool pants and maroon sweater. He carried a plate of food in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He looked irked, like he'd wasted time on something, a look you were now able to decipher after weeks of seeing it. 
"Happy Thanksgiving," he said, setting the plate down on the bistro table with its two accompanying chairs, waiting for you to join him. 
Instead of biting back, you simply whispered, "it’s Thanksgiving?" You checked the inside cover of your journal and see the date again. You were a day off and it now dawned on you. It was the fourth Thursday of the month and indeed, Thanksgiving. You glanced back up at Ransom and a deep sadness washed over you. Closing your journal and setting it on the table by your chair, you stood, moving towards him and the plate of food. You took a seat and looked down at the plate, full of the holiday dish basics; turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, diced not candied yams and roasted green beans. It was gourmet and nothing near what he'd been serving you or managing to try. "Thank you," you said softly, rolling your fork through the potatoes. You take a bite but it's about as bland and tasteless as your despair. 
"I brought it back from the country club, I met my father there," he looked under your gaze again, as if willing your eyes to his. "Do you not like it?" 
Finally, your gaze met those cold cerulean orbs, setting your fork down and you took a drink of water, "No, it's fine." Then you picked up your fork again and took another bite, this time of the turkey and gravy. You didn't have it in you for an argument or it's physical ramifications. 
"Are you not hungry?" Ransom pressed. 
"I guess not as much as I thought," you repled further poking at your food, your voice cracking a little as you try to keep your composure. The sting of the holiday has you broken, far more than you'd expected. Normally, today you'd be helping your mother in the kitchen, settling the final touches on the side dishes and listening to your father tell your uncle about some a-typical dad joke he'd heard. Your sister would be giddy over the wine while her boyfriend of the month received death glares from said uncle and your father. 
Ransom outwardly sighed and you wait for what you were trying to avoid. "Are you alright?" 
The question threw you off guard completely and you struggled to hide the shock from your expression. He never cared about your feelings before. Maybe he thought you were coming down with something. You braced yourself to answer honestly. There was no point in lying, he'd see through it. 
"I'm fine, I'm not sick if that's what you're thinking," you answered, a deep restraint on your tone to keep yourself in check. "I hadn't realized what day it was. I didn't know it was Thanksgiving." You swallowed the lump in your throat and blinked hard. "My mom, my sister and I, we used to all help make dinner as a family. My dad and uncle would talk a bunch of shit around the fireplace while shooting death glares at my sister's flavor of the month."
He looked at you like he was confused. You scoff, "Of course you wouldn't understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He squint his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. His body language completely changed as he leaned forward on his forearms, popping one shoulder up higher than the other. 
"Nothing," you backed down immediately. 
"Tell me," he pressed. 
God, he was relentless. You pushed your plate forward and leaned on your own elbows. You looked at him with a raised brow, "am I going to be in trouble if you don't like what I have to say?" 
"Depends," he popped a shoulder smugly. 
You matched his expression and his demeanour falters just a fraction. You saw it, but you didn't hold back. "Then I'd rather keep it to myself. That's what you want isnt it? Me to comply, be obedient? Frankly, I'm not in the mood." 
He failed to hide his smirk and you noticed that too, "Sweetheart." It wasn't laced with teasing, rather his pet name for you on his tongue held a cautious venom. 
"You hate your family. You know nothing about love and what it takes to give love. Hell, I don't doubt that for a minute you've ever felt loved. It's all an act. Self-preservation even. I don't know you or your family outside of the hours of research I did and the mere forty five minutes I listened to you drone on about your 'predicament'. But, the cold hearted truth of it is, you don't know how to love." You watched him run his tongue along his teeth as he continued to glare at you, but you weren't finished. "And that's what family is, it's what they do. They love, they are the embodiment of love at its deepest root. Maybe, just maybe somewhere along your life, your parents loved you, but judging by the Thrombey-Drysdale standards, none of you know what love is outside your selfish tithings and flashy cars. It got lost along the way, more than likely long before you ever were born."
"Wow," he raised his brows and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "That's good, that's really good."
You're fear receptors suddenly spiked as recognizable flash of anger in his eyes flashed through his irises. But there was something else there that you couldn't put your finger on it. Your breathing quickly up-ticked as you felt your palms begin to sweat.
He inhaled a deep, almost centering breath, "that perfume in your bag, I like it."
As if he'd grown a second head, you blinked hard refocusing on him. Had you heard him right? You'd just broken a rule, laid out an unspeakable truth for him and now in a blink he's, God forbid, complimenting your scent? Who the fuck was this guy? Was he on meds? Because he should be or he should at least probably share. It might make life here more bearable. "What?" 
"The perfume from your bag, you're wearing it. It smells good," he lamented. 
Alright, now the 'of sound mind' argument might be worth something because he sure as shit wasn't now. You swallowed and picked up your fork, taking a bite of the cold food just to buy yourself some time as you tried to process the scene before you. You had no remark to make. Confusing jumbled any thought of a coherent word you could utter. 
"Maybe if I'm out, I can pick you up a new bottle. I noticed you were near empty," Ransom offered. 
This was starting to make your stomach turn. If he'd gone through your bag, because why wouldn't he at this point, smelled your perfume, had he read your journal? You made a mental note to go back through and see if there was anything he'd read that he had used against you thus far or could use to corner you in the future. You looked around the room, waiting to see if you were being Punk'd. Just who the fuck is this guy? Without your expression giving too much of your confusion away, you nod at him in reply. "Thank you, I'd like that."
"Hmph," he paused, a dramatic effect he seemed to know that your heart rate up in anxiety. "Well, then why are you looking at me like I have two heads, Y/N?" 
Tread lightly, you thought to yourself. He didn't call you by your first name often, in fact, the last time he had, you were very much smarting back and it resulted in a forceful situation that left you raw and sore for a few days. It was always 'Sweetheart'. 
He baited you, you knew it, but you couldn't back out now. So you sighed, "I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but, I don't even know who you are right now. Do you? One minute you're giving me food and being gentle, the next you're allowing my opinion, and now you're ready to flip this table. That's as close as two heads as it gets." 
"Careful, Sweetheart," he now glared at you. There it was, you were in for it. The approach of choice, you weren't sure of, but he was done. You'd learned the different tones in his voice by now, the cues he gave. You were definitely in trouble. You dropped your eyes to your plate. The food stone cold and no longer even appealing in its slightest measure, a wave of nausea washing over you. You further pushed your plate away, "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."
His broad frame rose from the chair, "you weren't to begin with," his left hand reaching for the plate and holds it in his hand, "Third drawer down in the armoire. Pick something, I'll be back."
You watched him leave, the familiar click of the door shutting and snap of the lock sounded around the small apartment and you exhaled loudly, your head dropping into your hands. This wasn’t the first time he’d requested that you ‘dress for the occasion’ so to speak. With a deep breath you stood up and crossed the room, opening the drawer of requirements, seeking out a negligee for him to no doubt remove. Your fingers roamed over the fabrics and selection. La Perla, Agent Provocateur, Carine Gilson, Coco de Mer and Fleur of England were just a handful of the expensive, high-end brands that filled the space. Your fingers smoothed over a black macrame and tule underwired long line bra and the matching thong that was folded neatly under it. Plucking it from the drawer, you headed for the bathroom. You slipped out of your casual tee, duster cardigan and leggings, the bra and panties you'd had on. You sighed as you took a good look at yourself in your naked form. 
While you hadn't lost a ton of weight over the last month, you could tell you'd grown thinner. You weren't gaunt but your lack of a daily Dunkin' Donuts macchiato had seemed to thin you out. Your captor made sure you were fed, but you didn't always eat. The plump of your cheeks had receded and your little pooch brought on by happy carbs was sucked into your frame. There were a few bruises still seen, near green, an indication of their final healing stage. The pock mark from a hickey he'd given you still a bit scaby as he'd broken the skin just barely. This was your life now and it made what few bites of Thanksgiving dinner in your stomach nearly lurch forward back up your throat.
You swallowed it down, pulling the long line bra straps up your arms and clasping it behind your back. Your legs slipped into the thong panties and you pulled the material up your freshly smooth legs. Your shaky fingers plucked at the hair tie that fastened the end of your brain closed, nails raking through your hair to loosen your tendrils. He always wanted your hair loose. You looked at yourself in the mirror, you were ready. 
***** Ransom tossed the un-eaten food into the garbage and dumped the plate into the sink to be dealt with later. Turning so that his lower back was leaning on the edge of the kitchen counter he ran a hand over his clean shaven jaw, his mind ticking over the events of the day so far. A pain-in-the-ass Thanksgiving meal with his father had been made bearable by the fact he knew he was coming back to her, and because he hadn’t wanted to be a complete monster he’d made the effort of bringing her a nice dinner back too. But she’d hardly touched any of it.
And what disturbed him most about it, was the fact that instead of wanting to punish her for being an ungrateful bitch, he instead felt a deep rooted sense of concern. She’d lost weight, her face was pale, her hip bones more pronounced, and frankly the last thing he wanted was her passing out on him. Whilst he wanted her compliant, necrophilia really wasn’t his bag.
He had thought by giving her back the bag she’d had on her the night he took her he might have seen a lift in her spirits so to speak, a little gratitude, but instead she’d been meek and reserved until he’d coaxed that familiar sass out of her. And even then she’d been reticent.
It should have pleased him that she was learning her place and becoming more subservient. But if he was being honest with himself, he almost missed her fighting and arguing back. It had been exciting in a way, and he had thought it would have taken longer than it had to break her so to speak. Maybe he had overestimated exactly what a fighter she was, maybe she wasn’t the right muse for his writing after all. Because, let’s face it, writing a tale about a woman who was captured and broken into submission within two days, merely becoming a puppet for her captor’s whims was hardly going to win him any accolades was it? He needed more, needed something that he could spin a good story from. He knew now that when he went back down to her he had to try a different tact so to speak, he needed to coax her mind into reacting not merely her body.
Because if he couldn’t do that, there was no point in keeping her.
He allowed her half an hour or so before he headed back down the stairs and found her sat on the bed, dressed in one of the sets he’d purchased, her hair loose round her face and shoulders the way he liked. She jumped to her feet and he had to actively supress the groan that was rolling in his throat as his eyes scanned her up and down, and he didn’t miss the slight bruises that dotted her skin in various places where he’d marked her as his own. She’d long since stopped trying to cover herself up. Instead she stood stock still, her eyes focussed on the floor.
With long strides he walked into the room and stopped in front of her, tipping her chin up with his finger so she was looking at him, her eyes wide with trepidation and he gave a smirk as he reached up, brushing her hair off the side of her face and neck, dropping his head as he did so.
“You smell so good, Sweetheart.” He inhaled against her pulse point, lips pressing into her there. He felt the gasp of her breath, the way her skin pricked with chill bumps. He smirked to himself, he’s found her spot. And he filed that away, committing it to memory. 
“I like this…” he practically purred as he toyed with the straps to the bra, a long, thick middle finger outlining the strap against her skin, lips following pursuit.
“You should, you chose it.”
He chuckled, ignoring the snark behind her words. “Like I chose you, huh?”
Like I chose you.
His words echoed around your head, reminding you exactly why you were in this fucking situation. Because he had decided you would be. He wanted you, and just like with everything else in his life that Hugh Ransom Drysdale wanted, he simply took. But what worried you the most about all this was whether or not you would be discarded the same way he no doubt discarded the other possessions he lost interest in.
You took a deep, steadying breath as his hands moved from the straps of your bra, long fingers moving to caress the back of your neck, but there was no grabbing, no force. He was being positively gentle.
And it scared the crap out of you.
“Are you afraid of me?” He asked, his breath hot and wet in your ear as you trembled under the further graze of his fingers against the macramé of your set. 
“You know I am," you swallowed nervously. You weren't new to this, this wasn't your first time, but the way he was being soft, a stark character change to his a-typical stance with you was what had you crawling in fear in the inside. Was it a game? Was it some sort of ploy? Was this his idea of foreplay now before he turned it up and went hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to make you cry?
A flat palm ran down your abdomen, already taught in fear. But not before a thumb grazed along the underside of your breast. Agonizingly slow, his hand, still splayed over you, dips into your matching macrame panties, dipping into your wet folds, thumb lightly pressing against your clit. 
“You’re so wet, considering you’re scared.”
You didn't answer, just swallowed hard, the lump stuck in your throat as it fought against a little whimper. 
His mouth once more latched onto your neck, the kisses gentle as opposed to the bruising ones you had become accustomed to. The fingers in your folds matched his slow nature, teasing you in such a way that when you closed your eyes and focussed your mind elsewhere, you could almost believe you were somewhere with a man you’d given permission to touch you in such away. But when his lips moved to your jawline and you took a deep breath, the heady scent of his cologne hit your senses and your eyes flew open as you were reminded just whose lips and hands were violating you in such away.
You swallowed as Ransom pulled away, his hand gently grasping your chin once more as he issued a simple instruction.
“Strip for me, sweetheart.”
You took a deep breath, swallowing down the bile that had once more risen up your throat as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his legs bent, hands resting on his knees as he watched you the way a lion watched its prey. You undid the clasp on your bra, your eyes remaining locked on his as you slid the straps down your shoulders and dropped the garment to the floor. Your captor took a deep breath, his eyes flicking down your body as you moved to shed the bottom half, wondering what on earth had been the point of wearing it in the first place. But even as you asked yourself that, you already knew the answer. It was a bout power, another way for him to remind you just who you belonged to now. How he could strip you bare in more way than one without even lifting a finger.
But lift a finger he did, curling it in mid-air as he beckoned you towards him. You took careful steps over the floor until you were stood in between his legs. His large hands smoothed up the outside of your thighs, before he pulled you towards him, his nose brushing the skin of your abdomen as he took  a deep breath, fingers curling round your thighs.
And then, in a flash he stood, taking you with him, and before you could so much as utter a squeak or noise of surprise he had you naked, laying across the bed, the sheets cold against your skin, a contrast to the heat emanating from the body against yours. The look in his lust blown eyes was overwhelming. You didn't know what you were in for but as his body, still clothed in the frayed maroon sweater and wool slacks sunk into the mattress between your legs, you felt a chill course through your veins, your skin, again, pricking in bumps all over. His hands, with their thick fingers, trailed long lines up and down your thighs, Ransom's full lips kissing at your sensitive inner skin, a nip or two here and there as he went from your knee, upward. 
He could smell your arousal, see it glistening as it dripped from your core. "Someone's ready," he quipped. He watched you swallow hard, a literal lump in your throat bobbing the skin. Your eyes never left him. "No cumming until I tell you. Do you understand?" When you didn't answer immediately, he swiped his tongue over your wet lips, tasting the honey your body gave him, your back arching away from sheets. "Do you understand?" 
And there it was, your punishment finally arriving from your little moment before over dinner. As you still had your wits about you, you uttered a single word response, in the hope that the more submissive you were, the more accepting you were of your chastisement, the less hard on you he was going to be.
"Yes." 
His mouth expertly devoured every inch of you, from your inner and outer pussy lips to the depths of your walls, tongue fucking you like you he was starving, the lavish holiday meal he'd partaken in not filling enough. His thumb pressed against your engorged nub, causing you to writhe but a firm arm over your abdomen kept you in place. The same thick fingers that traced lines up your thighs, two were now buried deep inside you, his tongue working away any juices that seeped out. As he gave you a third, stretching you more, you felt your walls start to tighten, that burning coil in your belly flare and your hands gripped the sheets tighter. 
Ransom could clearly feel you flutter against his fingers as he stopped his assault and looked up at you.
"What did I say?" 
Your chest heaved, your stomach taught and you fought to obey. When you managed to calm yourself, he began again, almost from square one, slowly, tantalizingly slow. 
The action was torture and you were desperately willing yourself to remain grounded as again your body fought to ride over the edge building inside you. When his mouth was over you completely, tongue deep, thumb pressing again into your clit, you felt the urge to cum. But he pulled away, slowly, his thumb stopping the pressure, his tongue slowly dragging out of you. 
"I said no. This is your punishment for your smart mouth over dinner."
"Please, I need to, I'll... I'll make it worth your while, please just let me." Your voice sounded alien as you spoke, the words leaving your mouth in the desperate hope he’d take pity on you but to no avail. Your attempts at bartering served only to frustrate him, anger him even and he Ransom backed away, roughly pulling you to the edge of the bed before stripping out of his sweater and undershirt, the undeniable outline of his hard cock along his thigh strained against his wool slacks. 
Harsh in his grip, he repositioned himself between your legs, your thighs across his shoulders, ass dangling above the floor as a heavy arm kept you still. His flat tongue, hot and full of your sex was eating away at you while his final throws of resolve ate away at him.
“I’m done playing fucking games.” he growled against your aching cunt “I should have gagged you, stuffed my cock deep into the back of your throat, something, anything to shut you up.”
You barely had time to register his words before once more you were flat out against the mattress, trying to regain your breath and calm yourself down when he backed away, tore open his flies and smirked down at you.
"Oh no, Sweetheart, we're not done yet."  He kneeled beside you, his chest heaving, hair completely out of place, anger and wait, was that pain, flickering in his eyes as he stuffed you with a hard thrust of his length. "Now you’re gonna cum on this dick."
He thrusted hard and within a few slams of his hips against yours, he allowed you the release you were begging for, "that's right, Princess, cum on my cock." 
You wept at the feeling finally freeing you, cries of pleasure spilling from your lips as you squeezed around him. Your chest heaving against his, skin to skin. The fabric of his wool pants hot and itchy against your inner thighs. He was still thrusting but now it had slowed to a roll, slow and calculated. Your muddled mind was buzzing and rapidly trying to sort out if he'd cum inside you or if he wasn't finished. His features were softer, but still filled with purpose and his lips latched onto a naked breast causing your body to react, tingles and flames licking at your core again. His eyes looked up at yours as he caged you in, still buried deep inside you, hips rolling. 
"I said we weren't done," he rasped. His thrusts and rolls, the two very different tactics mixing now, made the swell of his cock inside you abhorrently pleasurable. Try as you might, it was impossible to feel otherwise. 
And Ransom was finding it equally as hard to hold on. His weight was evenly distributed over her, his cock swelling inside her heat. It took all he had not to blow his load the first time he made her cum, hearing the sinful sounds of her orgasm that felt like a volcanic eruption around his hard shaft. But now he could feel her again, tiny little pulses around his already overtly sensitive dick. He was sure his precum was leaking out, wanting to paint the way for the rest of him to follow. He rolled and thrust as his lips nipped at her neck. She moaned loudly, her body exuding lust. He could feel her shake beneath him and to his delight and surprise her eyes were no longer screwed shut and turned away. Instead they were locked on his. The moment those deep hued orbs met his, he felt a hitch in his breath and tightness in his chest that travelled through his belly and into his cock, causing the thick member to throb inside her. Tiny, soft hands gripped at his biceps, her touch a fiery scald against his skin, almost as if it were frost bite. Her touch equally shocking as her stare and he gave a roll of his hips to hide what he felt. A deep, satiated roll of his hips that sent her over the edge. 
"Hugh!" She came around him, harder than her first, crying out his given name. It snapped him from his moment of revelation, driving him insanely frustrated at the word leaving her lips. He slammed into her as she rode out her orgasm, chasing his own. 
You felt the dismissal of his body as he violently pulled free from your walls, spewing his hot seed over your abdomen, drops claiming your tits too. He nearly collapsed, his dick in hand, the other holding himself up against the mattress between your legs. 
He left you there, dirty, degraded and shut the door with a barked instruction for you to clean yourself up. You no longer cried in front of him, either before, during or after. There was no point. He didn’t care about how you felt, but the thing he DID seem to care about was the fact that you still refused to call him Ransom. 
It was the one thing you held on to, the only thing that gave you an inch of control in this entire fucked up situation. You hadn’t missed the look on his face when you’d cried out 'Hugh' in the throes of your last orgasm. Before that moment there had been a softness in his eyes, one that had unnerved you no end, along with something that had looked suspiciously like hope. But when his given name had tumbled involuntarily from your mouth and not the one he preferred that softness had turned to contempt and you didn't miss the undercurrent of disappointment either.
And seeing that, knowing that it pissed him off and dare you say it, upset him so much was your single, albeit feeble, act of rebellion that served as a desperate boost to your ever waning inner strength. *****
Ransom laid in his large, plush bed, hands behind his head as the silk sheets pooled at his waist as morning was in full swing outside. His thoughts strayed to his girl in the basement and he took a deep breath, shifting slightly as he remembered the way her fingers had felt as they’d curled around his biceps, her touch firey but cold. That had been the first time she’d touched him when she wasn’t trying to push him away, it had been involuntary, he knew that, a reaction to the way she’d been feeling, the way he had made her feel. 
A twitch resounded deep in his belly....the way he made her feel.
He realised now that he’d been going about this the entirely wrong way. The force had been necessary to make her comply at first, but last night she hadn’t just complied she’d participated, just what he had wanted all along. And all after he’d shown her a little leeway, brought her dinner, entertained her talk. He understood now that he needed to play a different card from his hand. She responded better to conversation, talking. Ransom hated fucking talking, he was more cerebral, calculating. Conversation means connecting, and connecting was something he wasn’t particularly interested in normally. He needed to lead, to be in charge, but it was clearly what she knew and thrived on, so he had to swallow his apprehension down to play the long game, to get what he wanted. 
Now he understood that, it was going to be so fucking easy. All he had to do was to seemingly show her compassion, a little give so he could take so to speak. He rolled his head, cracking his neck as he remembered what she said about cooking with her mom so he decided that after her stellar performance last night, today she’d earned a bigger reward than a book or some journal. He was going to show her what she could have if she just gave in and admitted what he knew she truly wanted. A large house, a garden, a pool, a hot tub, silk sheets, a large bed, and a man to fuck her every way to heaven and back. He could give her everything that any woman could possibly desire, and then some.
With a twitch of a smirk across his lips, Ransom pulled his naked frame out of bed and slipped into joggers, a soft waffle knit thermal long sleeve pulled over his tousled hair. He felt like company for breakfast and he knew exactly to invite up. 
His bare feet padded with purpose over the plush carpet of his room, down the stairs and onto the first floor, over the hard wood and marble tile of the halls and entry, down the plush carpeted spiral staircase down to the basement.
He reached the door and gently turned the locks, quietly pushing the door open as he turned the knob. It opened quietly and his eyes fell upon the empty bed. He frowned slightly, wondering where she was. Then his eyes found her, sitting curled up with her eyes cast upward, that little tease of a porthole window in her focus. She'd turned her chair around so she could see it more clearly, the throw blanket he'd tossed at her the week before was wrapped around her body. He didn't know the time, but it wasn't early nor was it afternoon. Not that it mattered, neither had anywhere else to be.
"Good morning," he said lowly. He watched as her eyes slowly moved away from the only bit of outside world she'd seen for weeks now.
"Morning," she replied quietly, her eyes locking onto his. "I err, I was just..." she trailed off. "Actually, I don't know what I was doing to be honest."
He stalked up to the chair, kneeling in front her. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb running over her cheek bone. "You were such a good girl last night. Took me so well, teased me with that little number you had on. I've thought about you all morning."
Ransom watched her throat bob as she swallowed before licking her lips and biting the inside corner of her lip. Such an innocent gesture that had him half hard straight away.
"I want to give you something. But you have to be good, or it goes away," he started. "Can you be good, Sweetheart?"
She nodded, slightly. "Okay," he smirked. "Now, fix the chair and come up to make us breakfast."
Ransom stood back, allowing you some space to accommodate his request. You slipped the throw blanket from your shoulders and left it in the chair as you rearranged the piece back to its normal state. You met him at the doorway. You didn't miss the way his eyes moved over you, the way they lit up in a way at as he looked at the silken material covering your body. The dark teal silk and lace cami set was just one of a handful of options he'd provided for you. All the same, different colors, all in your size. 
You hesitated for a second, not sure if this was another one of his little games but he simply met your eyes with his own and nodded up the stairs. With tentative, shaky steps you climbed them, sensing him close behind you as for the first time in weeks you left your prison.  You felt anxious, highly on edge and nervous. What was awaiting you? There was the sickening feeling in your stomach of excitement too, you hadn’t seen the outside since Halloween. You paused at the top of the stairs in the hall. The kitchen was directly across from you, the entry to your right. The door to the basement clicked shut and you felt Ransom’s firm chest behind your back as his form invaded your space. He dragged a finger down your arm causing the strap of your top to fall away, placing a soft kiss on your shoulder.
"Straight ahead, Sweetheart."
“Okay,” you whispered before you slowly made your way through to the large, airy kitchen. You stood looking around, taking in the fancy appliances before you turned back to Ransom. "Did you have something in mind?”
"Well..." Ransom leaned in the doorway, watching you as you stood in the middle of the tiled floor "Yesterday wasn't the first time you said you enjoyed to cook so I thought you might like to." His eyes flicked once more down your frame and back up again before he nodded his head towards the rear of the room. “Anything you need is in the pantry and fridge.”
“And I can make anything I want?” You blinked, not quite able to believe what he was allowing you to do. It was fucked up that you were even considering this as a reward but, you’d take it. Boy would you take it, anything to grasp some sense of normality in this day-by-day hell you were living.
“Sure.” Ransom popped a shoulder again and you took a deep breath before you turned and headed to the sink to wash your hands before sorting out your menu and you froze. The outside landscape had stopped you cold. From what you could see of the back garden the property was secluded, not over looked. A lawn extended a fair distance back from the rear of the house, a neat decking area stood to the right which sported a hot tub and a little further down there looked to be a pool of some kind which was covered over for the season. Trees hung over the bottom of the garden lining the high wooden fence, what few leaves they still sported were shades of crimson, gold and brown and the river traced it’s banks as it curved around the side and back of the house, the sun shining off the surface, giving it the impression it was made of sapphires. It was breathtakingly beautiful and you felt your heart shatter, your eyes well and you couldn't help but hold back the urge to weep as your chest contracted painfully. You were so close to the outside, separated only by a pane of glass, yet it had never felt further away.
His voice broke you from your despair and you swallowed back the sob that choked your throat as you flicked your attention to the left, Ransom's reflection drawing closer towards you as he crossed the terracotta tiled floor.
"Everything alright?"
You cleared your throat and gave a quick shake of your head, "Fine."
Again you felt him in your space. His presence consuming. “You sure?”
Sure? No you weren’t sure. Because none of this was fine, in fact it was as far from fine as it could possibly get. In that moment you wanted nothing more than to spin round and hammer your fists into any part of his body you could hit but you knew that it wouldn't get you anywhere, bar back in the basement likely shackled naked to the bed so you instead turned slowly to find yourself caged in by his broad frame so close to yours. You cast your eyes downward, uncomfortable at his searching stare, "Yeah, I’m sure.”
Your tongue flicked nervously over your lips as you continued to avoid his gaze before you cleared your throat “How do you like your eggs? Or would you prefer an omelette? Pancakes even?" The urge to move away from him pulled you away from your idea of a menu. Brunch basics were flooding your brain and you rattled off a few nervously. He may have said you could make whatever you wanted, but right now, you had no clue. Seeing a different space, the outside world and breathing new air had rattled you.
“You choose.” Ransom spoke softly, his hand reaching up to brush your hair off your face before he tipped your chin up so your eyes met his. He looked at you, and you swallowed as for the first time there was something unreadable on his face. His eyes were looking at you in a way they’d never looked at you before, with a softness you’d never have anticipated he could possess.
"Waffles." You suddenly blurted out, desperate to escape his gaze "I err, do you have a waffle iron?”
“No.” He deadpanned.
"Oh," you swallowed "Erm, then in that case French toast...maybe? Is that ok?"
“Sounds delicious.” He said, his hand dropping from your face, “Sure it’ll taste almost as good as you.”
“Great. How about with fresh Chantilly cream and berries if you have them?” You asked, completely ignoring his blatant back handed compliment and you started familiarizing yourself with the space as you glanced around.
“Like I said, whatever you want, Sweetheart.” He shrugged, and with that he stepped back to allow you to move away.
Ransom watched her move around the luxurious kitchen, looking through the pantry and cabinet near the stove taking out cinnamon and vanilla, plucking items like bread, butter, eggs, berries and cream from the fridge. Searching drawers for utensils and measuring cups and spoons. Finding a pan and bowl from a bottom cabinet. Measuring sugar from the glass jar on the counter. He hoped the ingredients were still fresh, he wasn't exactly sure how long they'd been stored. She moved like she belonged there, he thought to himself. So sexy looking in her nightwear, bare feet on the tile, her ass and breasts moving underneath the silk as she stretched and worked. 
"Coffee?" He offered, as he moved from one side to the other. He made sure his exquisite espresso machine was ready as it sat in all its glory on its own portion of the counter like a batista station inside Starbucks. 
He didn't miss the way she watched him move around her, preparing the coffee and grabbing the orange juice from the fridge. He reached over her shoulder, his body brushing against hers as he opened the cupboard where he kept the glasses and mugs. He peered down at her, giving a twitch to the corner of his mouth. A smirk indeed. He noted the way her eyes followed him as he poured the juice, like he was going to poison her or something. 
"It's just juice, Sweetheart," he said nonchalantly and put the juice back in the fridge. He set the breakfast table for them and took a seat in his place, a now hot cup of coffee in his hand, hers sitting on the counter next to her. 
It wasn’t long before she had finished and brought the plates to the table, sitting down timidly in the seat to his right as he gestured to it, stopping her dead as she was about to make her way around to the opposite side.
It was quiet, the only sounds heard for a while were the click and scrape of forks and knives cutting away at the plates of food. Ransom wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was the best French toast he'd ever had in his life. Something about it, the way it was not soggy, but perfectly moist, the edges just crispy. The way the cream made for no syrup and the sweet berries added the final element. He watched her pick at the food for a moment or two as he glanced over at her and saw a small bit of Chantilly in the corner of her mouth.
A long arm reached across the table and automatically she flinched a little, as if she was going to pull away but one firm stare stopped her in her tracks. His thick thumb padded away the white, sweet cream and he brought the same thumb to his lips, sucking the cream away. He lifted his brows in a teasing manner and twitched up his lips, "Delicious. Like I said, almost as good as you, Sweetheart."
"Thanks, I think," she paused. 
"Trust me, I know."
The comment seemingly threw her off her meal and it didn't get past Ransom. She had started picking at it, moving it around the plate like she had done with her dinner the night before. He, on the other hand, was near finished. 
"Are you still not hungry?" He inquired. 
She shook her head, "I just made my portion too big. I overestimated my appetite, I guess."
"Huh," he placated her reply. He knew she was lying but he let it slide, realizing that seeing a new space, the window to the outside was overwhelming. So, he thought he'd sweeten the deal. "I thought maybe you'd like to see the house," he offered, watching as her big eyes locked onto his and she took a deep breath.
"That sounds nice, thank you."
"Good, after breakfast then." He nodded affirmingly, as if it were drying ink in his mind. He picked up his coffee and finished it off, his plate already clear. 
She stood from the table, collecting his plate with her own and headed for the sink. He turned in his chair, stalking her, watching her every move. The way she pitched over the sink, bending her frame over the dishwasher to load it as she cleaned up the kitchen. 
With each bend and snap of her hips, he felt his mouth water more. Her little silk cami riding up as she moved, her breasts falling in and out of a fuller view. When she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, he was on her. He moved behind her, his hands grabbed her hips as she spun around completely startled giving a gasp and a quick yelp. 
"Easy, Sweetheart," he chuckled as she looked at him, her eyes wide.
"Sorry... you, err...you startled me." She whispered as he moved his hands so they gripped at the side of the kitchen counter on either side of her, caging her in with his body.
"Some women would like that," he quipped, arching an eyebrow a little and watched as she swallowed hard and cast her eyes downward. Moving one hand slowly up her arm, over her shoulder and around her neck, he tipped her head back up so those large, Bambi eyes locked onto his.
His hand adjusted, gripping her chin softly as he moved closer still, dipping his head he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. He felt her go rigid, her chest spiking as she drew in a sharp breath, her body shaking slightly in his hold. "Stop fighting it..." he whispered against her mouth before he kissed her again. This time, his tongue traced the line of her upper lip, the feel of it soft and soothing.
You felt his tongue line your lip and you couldn't hold the whimper of fear that passed through you. He’d never kissed you before, not on the mouth anyway. You felt him deepen his kiss, his big hand cupping your face, pulling you into it more. Your mind went elsewhere, imagining anyone but him kissing you like this. You couldn't deny it, this intimate moment, completely lost on both of you for different reasons, felt good and he was good at it. He was damn good at it in fact, and that alone made you want to vomit your breakfast into his throat. At that, you jerked back, panting a little, feeling your lips swollen from the way he'd sucked your bottom one between his, pulling at it just the right way. You hated the feeling between your legs that it had evoked, your body betraying you just like it always did.
In an attempt to stave off the conflicting emotions spiking within you, you focussed on his face, the face you hated and to your surprise he looked dazed. The usual stoic expression that clouded his features had been replaced with something akin to surprise but no sooner had you noticed it, it was gone.
"Clean up and I'll meet you in the study." He told you, his voice a deep almost pained whisper. 
"But I don't..." you started but were quickly cut off. 
"You're a smart girl, figure it out," he smirked and slipped away. 
You were tempted to follow, just so you'd see where he was going but you knew not to defy a command. The feeling of unease seemed to disappear as you slumped your shoulders and instead defeat filled your frame. A trembling hand came to your lips as jittery fingertips touched your swollen skin. Your bottom lip quivered like a ripple in a river and you quickly covered your mouth, turning on a dime as your French toast littered the sink. If the water hadn't been running already, Ransom would no doubt have heard you retching. You rinsed your mouth out to attempt at hiding that vomit taste from your tongue and quickly finished your task of cleaning up the kitchen, salty tears dripping from your chin, mixing with the soapy water. 
When you could stall no longer, you sighed and headed out into the large hallway, taking a quick look around. It was light, airy, the grand staircase swept in and curved round to the next floor and your eyes lingered on the heavy wooden door just beyond it. You hesitated, and then with a dejected sigh realised there was no point even trying to escape. Even if it was unlocked, which you doubted, the threat to your family was just too much for you to risk. Instead, you decided to head down the corridor to your right and found yourself in a large open plan living room of sorts. It was decorated in clean whites and crisp greys with a huge feature stone open fireplace and sported a bar at the back. A brown leather sofa and two matching arm chairs were strategically placed around an expensive looking coffee table but you didn’t bother to look at the rest, this wasn’t the room you needed so you turned back on yourself, walked back into the hall and took the turning to your left.
This time you found yourself walking into what you could only assume was his study-come-den of sorts. It was huge, and once again sported a sofa pushed up against the wall, looking out over the spectacular view of not only the garden but the river too. But that wasn’t what caught your attention, nor was it the walnut desk and laptop that sat upon it. It was the floor to ceiling bookshelf behind it. Your mouth dropped open as you made your way towards it but then you stopped, biting your lip. Were you supposed to be looking at them? But, he had said to meet you in here. And left you to find your own way.  Surely, if he didn’t want you looking around he wouldn’t have left you to it.
Throwing caution to the wind you strode forward, your pace hurried this time and your eyes quickly scanned across some of the books. You couldn’t help but feel shocked. Whilst there was a huge collection of his Grandfather’s books, and a number of other crime novels of types, it was the colourful spines to your right that made your chest heave in delight. The entire Harry Potter collection. With a shaky hand you reached for The Philosopher’s Stone, noting the British version of the title, and opened the front page giving another gasp as you read the publishing details.
This was a first edition.  And from the date you also knew it would be one that contained the misprint errors. And as such, would be worth a small fortune.
“See something you like?” that familiar voice hit your ears and you gave a little shriek, jumping around, clutching the book to your chest to avoid dropping it.
“I’m sorry.” You hastily began to apologise “I was just…erm…”
“It’s ok.” He assured you, crossing towards you. Once more he encroached into your personal space and you felt the blades of your shoulders press into the shelf behind you. “Harry Potter fan?”
“Yeah.” You nodded, “Didn’t think they’d be your type of thing.
“They’re not really.” He shrugged “I’m a collector. Everything on the shelves, well they’re all first or limited editions, so worth a lot.”
“Figures.” You mumbled, turning round and slotting the book back into the space it had come from. As you did you felt him push up behind you, his hands on your hips, the unmistakable feel of his hard on dug into the lower part of your back and you fought to stop yourself shuddering. He was after pay-back for allowing you to leave your prison.
“Did you like the house?” he asked, brushing your hair off your neck.
“Yes.” You answered politely, your voice catching a little as he placed a kiss to the crook of your shoulder.
“You know, it could all be yours sweetheart if you just stopped fighting what you know you want” His kisses continued up your neck as his words whirled around your brain and you were back to where you had been in the kitchen. It felt good. And that disgusted you.
“Did you enjoy making breakfast?” he whispered, his lips by your ear.
“Yeah.” You nodded, your voice barely there.
“Show me how much.” His teeth nipped at your lobe, his hips grinding forward and you swallowed and closed your eyes. You knew what he wanted but as you turned to face him you had an idea. One which would save you being fucked no doubt over the desk or on the hard looking couch.
With a lick of your lips you looked at him and sank slowly to your knees, taking his sweats with you. His hard cock sprang free, slapping his lower abs and you reached out, grasping it in your hand.
“Fuck, yeah baby…” Ransom hissed as you moved your head forwards and took him in your mouth.
You pulled out all the moves, you took him as deep as you could, gagging a little as he wasn’t a small man. You kept your hand firmly on the base of his cock, you hollowed your lips, you swirled your tongue around his shaft and he let out a little groan his hand fisting in your hair as his hips bucked forwards.
“Jesus, I knew your mouth was smart but…” he panted, looking down at you. You raised your eyes to look at his as he bit his lip, his entire face contorted in pleasure…
Pleasure that was ruined by the sound of the doorbell.
 “What the fuck…” Ransom growled out, un-fisting his hand from her hair. “Who the fuck is that?”
He glanced down at her and she looked up at him, wide eyed. She was a mess, swollen lips, wet chin and dressed in nothing but her skimpy tank and shorts. With a frustrated growl, Ransom pulled his dick out of her mouth and grabbed his phone from the table to check the doorbell camera. His face blanched as he saw who it was.
“I don’t fucking believe it…” he mumbled, as she looked up at him.
“Who is it?” She asked, wiping her face, “I’m not exactly dressed for visitors, Hugh.”
Ransom might have been pre-occupied with the familiar face staring at him from his phone, but he still picked up on that 'Hugh' and he glared down at her. “No shit, and because we have a visitor, I'm gonna let that one slide. Get up.” She rose to her feet, blinking a little as he pulled off the thermal he was wearing and tossed it to her. “Put that on. No one gets to see you in silk but me.”
She blinked as she caught it, confusion spreading across her face. “Don’t you just want me to go-“
In a flash, he grabbed her chin between his thumb and finger and she winced, “If I wanted you downstairs I’d have said. So put the damn shirt on, and when he starts asking questions just remember what I said I could do to your family and friends.”
In complete complacency, he watched her slip his thermal over her head, her fingers barely peeking through the sleeves to fix her dishevelled hair. The material hit her mid-thigh and his eyes brows gave a flicker of approval before he walked to the entry and opened the door. "What do you want?"
"Pleasure to see you too, Mr. Drysdale..." that infuriating Southern drawl hit Ransom's ears with all the finesse of a cheese-grater. Benoit Blanc, without so much as a gesture of request, pushed past Ransom as he strode inside, stopping in the tiled entry, looking around.
"Do you have a warrant?" The man of the house snipped in his usual spiteful tone.
Blanc still didn’t reply, and Ransom rolled his eyes following him as he wandered down the hallway, stopping at the open door to the study. "Well, if it isn't the lady of the hour."
Ransom stood behind Blanc, an infuriatingly warning glare sent his girl's way. He noted the way she was sitting on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her, lips still swollen, cheeks flushed, hair tousled. She looked like a sex kitten, and maybe that was the idea. He warned her to sell it after all…
"Excuse me?” Y/N looked up at the two men in the doorway. 
Blanc stepped inside the room, taking a seat on the edge of the same couch where she sat. "I've been looking for you, young lady. A lot of people are looking for you, you know Miss Y/L/N.”
“I errr…” she swallowed a little as she slowly got to her feet, her hands pulling the hem of the thermal down before she folded her arms across her chest, not in a defiant manner, but almost as if she was hugging herself “Did someone send you or…”
“No, nothing like that. You see, I heard you'd gone missing, and I knew you had a work connection to Mr. Drysdale, that, shall we say didn't go quite as planned. So when things started adding up, I thought to ask the man himself."
“Well, congratulations, this is one mystery you actually solved correctly, Sherlock. As you can see she’s here and she’s fine, and we were in the middle of something, so if you don’t mind….” Ransom folded his arms, his eyes moving from hers to Blanc, who was irritatingly completely ignoring him, his gaze focussed intently on the woman who stood in front of him.
Ransom could see him take her in fully, now seeing the situation he may have just walked in on. She looked dishevelled and was missing crucial parts of her clothing, but she had no tears in her eyes, no markings looking to be of abuse or out of the ordinary. None that were visible anyway. Blanc’s gaze then dragged over to Ransom who was bare foot in joggers and still half aroused, which he did nothing to hide as he folded his arms over his naked chest.
Ransom held Blanc’s gaze, his chin jutting out defiantly, the detective only looking away when the lady of the hour spoke, her voice quiet, as she gave a small nod. "He’s right, I’m fine."
"Then why not tell your family where you are?”
“I err…” Y/N’s right hand gripped he cuff of the sweater sleeve tightly, “I just, well, I…”
Ransom could see that she was losing it and he knew he had to intervene. He walked over to her and placed an arm around her, kissing the top of her head lightly, "It's alright, Sweetheart. I know how he can be frustrating. We're doing nothing wrong."
With that he turned his gaze to the man in front of him, not even trying to hide the sneer of contempt that was crossing his face “I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you Blanc.”
“Well, maybe Miss Y/L/N has some crayons hidden up her sleeve so to speak.” Blanc smiled innocently and Ransom felt the anger floor his system.
“You’re starting to really piss me off.” he snarled, “You barge into my home, without so much of an explanation…” his rant was stopped dead as Y/N placed her hand on his chest, palm splaying over his bare skin. Ransom swallowed at the touch of her fingers against his skin, firey hot just as they had been last night when they curled around his arms.
"Hey," she spoke and he looked down to see her giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes but one that should be enough to convince the dumbass detective who was watching them. "It's okay." She then turned to Blanc as he held his hand up, palm open, speaking to Ransom.
“I’m not trying to be frustrating Mr. Drysdale, I'm merely enquiring after Miss Y/L/N’s wellbeing."
"I'm not here under duress if that's what you're thinking.” She spoke, clearing her throat. “Hu… Ra, we have had to keep our relationship private,” she stumbled on the right identity, settling for 'we'. Clearing her throat again and settling her nerves, she continued, "Mr. Blanc, as you well know, I'm reporter and his background has been less than stellar as of late. It no doubt would not look good for either of us if it had come to light. My reputation as a journalist would have been in tatters.”
“Well, lies and deception certainly go hand in hand when it comes to Mr. Drysdale...”
Ransom rolled his eyes dramatically “Change the record, Blanc. The static is a little loud.”
Blanc completely ignored him, his attention still on her. “So you caused all this worry, because of some…” he waved his hand in front of him, gesturing between the pair of them. 
Ransom’s arm curled round her even tighter, his fingers pressing into her hip and he felt her stiffen a little before she relaxed into his side and gave a small nod.
"Like I said, it wouldn’t have gone down well with my family, or my career.”
“Ahh, yes, your job, which you quit.” Blanc looked at her. “Yes, I spoke to your boss.” He answered her unasked question. “Why would you be so worried for your reputation as a journalist, if you’re not actually a journalist anymore?”
At that she took a deep breath “I quit the paper because my boss is an asshole. His antics on Halloween were a step too far. But that doesn’t mean I have no intentions of working ever again. I'm currently taking a long overdue sabbatical.”
Blanc studied her again, almost as if he was weighing something up and she once more began to fidget and Ransom decided he’d had enough.
"Okay, I’m done being polite,” Ransom moved his arm from around his girl and stepped towards Blanc, placing himself directly between the detective and the woman. “You've interrupted out little post brunch love affair and I’m horny, so…do you need help finding the door, or can your super sleuth skills figure the way back out of it on their own?”
“Miss Y/L/N?” Blanc spoke, his eyes locked onto Ransom’s. Ransom felt the nerve in his jaw twitch, the fact that Blanc wasn’t scared of him irritated him no end.
There was a pause and then her voice came clearly from behind him as she spoke, “If you'd be so kind as to not tell my family where I am, I'd appreciate it. I prefer this time without their unwanted opinion.”  Her voice was steady, measured almost. “You can tell them that you've found me, alive and well."
Blanc knew he wasn't welcome, he had proof of life and no reason to suspect foul play. He stood, his long wool coat falling into place around him. "Well, then I guess my work is done." He brushed passed Ransom and gave a quick quip, "I'm warning you...." 
"What was that?" His girl wondered. She'd heard him. 
"Have a nice day," Blanc nodded curtly “I’ll see myself out.”  
You watched the back of the detective as he left the large living room, Ransom following him to the doorway where he stood, arms folded, watching. The sound of Blanc’s feet on the tiles of the hallway grew fainter and fainter until eventually they stopped completely.  The latch of the door sounded and you fell to the closest thing you could sit on. Your while body shook with a chill that crept into your bones but not from the cold. No, you were sick to your stomach in fear and worry. The bile of deceit rose to your throat and had you not already spewed up your breakfast it would have most likely decorated the carpet of the study.  Instead, you swallowed down the sour bile as Drysdale approached you and you glanced up at him, blinking whilst he studied you for a second, his face passive. As you held his gaze, something akin to amusement flashed in his cold blue eyes and a twisted smirk spread across his face.
“Your acting skills certainly improved there along the way, at the end you were almost award worthy.” He drawled, his hands falling to his hips. “Even Meryl Streep would be jealous.”
"Fuck you," your voice quivered.
He arched an eyebrow, an amused expression on his features “Already played that game Sweetheart, and carry on back-chatting me and you’ll be back in the basement.”
"Wh... What?"
"You pulled through in the end there. It was a rough start, but you convinced Colonel Sanders that you were here on your own."
“Colonel Sanders?” You blinked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Blanc. CSI KFC.” He replied. You were none the wiser as to what he was going on about and it must have shown on your face as he simply rolled his eyes. "Never mind...the point is, sweetheart, I'm in a good mood. And seeing as you behaved...”
"What?" Your voice was quiet, meek.
"If you shut that pretty little mouth for longer than a second, I'll explain." His tone was measured but you didn’t miss the underlying threat.
“Sorry.” Your eyes fell to the floor, your left hand worrying at your right.
“Eyes on me.” He barked and your head whipped up automatically and he smirked at you as you took a deep breath. “As I was saying, seeing as you were such a good girl, I thought I’d reward you, let you stay up here with me for the day.”
The notion shocked you. Your mouth went dry and you couldn't make sense of it. But then, the more you thought about it, the more his audacity irked you. He’d imprisoned you, used you, abused you…and now he was implying that staying in his company was a fucking reward.
“Wow, thanks…” you blurted before you could stop yourself, sarcasm lacing your tone. As soon as the words had slipped from your mouth you felt panic flood your system as he stepped towards you and reached out, his right hand curling around your throat.
"Don’t push me sweetheart.” His voice was low as his fingers squeezed the column of your neck, a reminder of how easily he could simply end it all whenever he chose. 
And just like that the softness that he had displayed with you earlier that morning was gone, and the shutters were back up. You swallowed hard, feeling the strain of your throat against his touch, his eyes now dark and full of that familiar angry lust and desire that chilled you from head to toe. Blanc had riled him, gotten underneath his skin, that was easy to see while your mouthy comments fuelled that ire. And as such, he needed an escape, an outlet.
And he was going to get it from you.
“Now on your knees and finish what you started."
**** Part 4
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echantedtoon · 1 year ago
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Love Doesn't Do Encores Ch9 Travels To Hulbury
(This chapter will contain a small time skip of events as well as a past fight between y/n and her mother in the story.)
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You swore you needed both a doctor and a nice bed to sleep away the pains of soreness racking your body.
Ever since you four left Turffield it had been like the time you left Motostoke except a bit longer. Walking, camping at night, taking time out for resting between walks and gathering food. Mostly from berry trees or snacking from whatever nonperishable foods Leon had given you. Some night Victor managed to make one form of curry or another. Mostly bean or apple curry which you didn't mind too much but the apples tasted a bit strange in the curry sauce, so you fed them to your sobble which you noticed had now taken a habit of laying in your lap any chance you were sitting and expected to be fed whenever you held any kind of food. Oops. You might have ended up spoiling it a bit. Oh well. You didn't mind too much. It's smiles and noises were pretty cute, and at least Gloria was able to add a few more curry entries to her book. After what had happened at the pokemon Nursery back in Truffield you decided to fill in Gloria and Hop about the mysterious band of rock star wannabes, but they seemed to be as confused as you were about who they might've been working for and who they were. Hop even suggested that maybe the eccentric costumes were disguises to they're real identities, which seemed a bit farfetched but hey. You were transported into the video game world of pokemon, traveling along with a few of the characters, and for all you knew could still wake up at any moment to your mother scolding you for being late for college. It wasn't really too out there to rule out yet. While you four traveled every so often you'd rest and Hop and Gloria would scamper off to have a battle or more likely try to catch some new pokemon from where you were at. So you weren't all too surprised to find out Gloria caught herself a wild Dottler and Hop's Grookey evolving from the....seventh or eighth day now as you four traveled. You lost count or couldn't remember how many days had past after seven or eight. You were mostly tired now a days with a heaping dab of soreness in your back and neck from your uneasy sleeping scheduale and the rocky ground poking you from the floor of the test. Or the fact the only thing you had for a pillow was your backpack, but you never complained. If it meant getting to Hulbury faster then you could deal with it. It was like when your mother insisted you stay up a few extra hours to study or when you had to work late at the radio station after that. You yawned more, movements slowing a bit, and you had gotten noticable bags under your eyes. Buuut the three teens must've noticed because on what was the ninth day Gloria decided to point it out to you. 
"Hey, Y/n. I really didn't want to say anything but are you feeling ok?" She pointed at your face. "You've been yawnin' ever since we left Turffield like a week ago. And you've gotten bags under your eyes big enough to carry luggage for a full week's vacation. "
In response you yawned again before looking to her. "M' fine. Jus a bit tired I guess." You stretched out your back as you walked making it pop. "Haven't really gotten much sleep just laying on the ground like a rock."
"Hey. I have good news." Victor all of a sudden held up his phone. When did he pull that out? And held it up to all of you. "There's a small town up ahead about another day's walk. It has a convenience store, hotel, and a few other things." He looked at you. "I think we should stop by. We can restock up on supplies and rest for the night at the hotel. That might help out Y/n's situation and prevent her from dropping from exhaustion anytime soon."
"Hey. I-I'm not that tired," you lied stiffling another yawn....But the promise of a bed tho- "But you're right about needing some more supplies. I don't know how much food and necessities we have left, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by and restock." 
The food Leon lent would only last so long anyways. It was best for all parties involved. So it was decided the four of you would stop by the upcoming small town. It took another day and night of walking and resting (giving you another night of uncomfortable sleep) and then shoving off he next morning for the town. It took half the day but the four of you managed to happen upon the small town. And you do mean small. It couldn't have been much bigger than Postwick actually. There was around maybe twenty buildings and most of them were homes or doubled as homes as well as stores. As the four of you walked through the small town a few people walked by or waved, and you could hear a few children laughing. It certainly was very peaceful wasn't it? The peace made you even more tired- You were shaken awake when your sobble chirped loudly and smacked you with it's tail, making you stumble as you walk and if it weren't for the two boys catching you you would've faceplanted the road again. Which ended up in the three kids making up a decision for you.
"Let's go find the Inn first."
The inn turns out was one of the first buildings you came across when you took the small side road off of Route 5 here and the only building in the town that had three stories. It was more like a tall house than an Inn when the three of you entered, Gloria helping to steady your sleepy self. The inside looked very similar to Professor Magnolia's house. Very homey and welcoming. The elderly lady looked lightly surprised when the four of you came in with you fighting to keep awake for a little longer. Ok. So maybe the little sleep over nine or ten days was starting to get to you a little bit you haven't been this tired since studying for college entry exams in highschool. 
"Oh my. Are you children alright?," she ended up asking lightly standing from her seat seeing you lightly sway a bit.
You waved her off. "I'm fine. Just really tired."
"We'd like to book two rooms please with double beds," Victor explained to the lady throwing you a worried look. "Do you have any available?"
"Oh. Yes, we do. Come. I'll show you to your rooms. By the looks of your friend there, she's in dire need of a good rest." Whelp. No arguement there. Luckily the rooms she had the four of you follow her towards a long hallway a little aways from the front desk before stopping and opening one door. "Here's the young mens. Bathroom's through the door on the left. And as for the two young ladies." She turned to a door right across from Hop and Victor's room and opened it. The room was pretty much as you suspected. A simple large room with two beds on each side of it, a shelf, window looking out onto a field, Tv, and a white door that you supposed led to a closet. "This'll be yours." She pointed at the door. "The bathroom is through there. We also have a laundry mat attatchment in the adjacent building to the left if you youngsters need it. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask."
"Uh yes actually. Do you happen to know where your town's convenience store is?,'' you heard Victor ask but you were too busy to deduce what else was said.
You managed to stay awake enough to take a quick shower and change before walking to the closest bed to you and just flopping face first on it. The soft cushions hugging your tired and sore body, and it was natural for you to fall asleep almost as soon as you hit the mattress. So it was no wonder that by the next time you woke up it was night time. Confused and dazed you managed to sit up blinking confused at the darkness around you, the only source of light coming from the moon shining through the window outside. Vaugely in the dark you could just barely make out Gloria's sleeping form on the other bed on the other side of the room. Her baby toxel at the foot of her bed. Your body was still tired with it being night so it was easy for you to fall back into slumber when you slowly laid your tired self back down, barely registering your sobble squirming next to you as you fell back asleep. And came to a strange sight. A sight you witnessed before in your life. One you were all too familiar with too. ....You...You were back in your room. Well a younger you at least. You were about sixteen then just minding your own business sitting there and playing games. Couldn't remember which one just that you were enjoying yourself playing and sitting on your bed playing the day away. Until younger you looked up at footsteps approuched your room, the next thing your younger self knew your door flew open with a bang and it started the younger you so much you ended up dropping your old switch on your bed jumping from the sound. And there she was. Your mother standing there with an angry scowl on her face.
"You're playing those stupid games again!?," she snapped at younger you, stomping over and quickly wretching the switch from your bed.
In an instant your hand was reaching out for it. "HEY! Give that back."
But instead of that, your mother only held it up higher with her angry face. "Is THIS what I work to provide for you!?"
You had stopped. Frozen in surprise at the words foaming at your mother's mouth and the game she waved at your face.
"Is THIS what you think is fair to me!? I work day and night to provide a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and clean running water for all you do is to sit on your behind and play these mind rotting things!? To make the electricity bill higher than Mount Everest with you staying up all night playing this day in and out!?"
"M-Mom! C'mon! I'm sorry," younger you backpeddled.
"You should be! I'm not raising you to be lazy and unresponsible!" The game was tossed back onto the bed with a small thump before she pointed at you. "Work and studies should be your number one priority right now! I don't want to catch you slacking off wasting time again! Do I make myself clear?"
Younger you looked at your mother's angry face for a long moment before looking away and nodding. "Yes, Mom."
"That's good. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Alright, Y/n?"
.....
...........
"Hey, Y/n!," a distant girl's voice called, "Are you awake?"
"I dunno. Maybe we should just let her sleep? She was really tired when we got here yesterday," a young boy's voice said worried.
"Hop's gotta point, Glory. Let her sleep in. She'll need all the rest she can get for traveling."
"Ah. You guys are no fun."
Silently the world of younger days faded away to black and the voices became murmers in the dark abyss that was sleep until you finally woke up from your now dreamless slumber. Which wasn't too long. You slowly woke from your sleep and was greeted with the sunlight making your tired eyes blink as you rubbed them and blinked at the surroundings around yourself at the simple room that wasn't your younger self's from the dream. What the-....Where were you? Did you finally wake up from the pokemon world dreamland you formed up? Were you back home? Did you move into the college dorms and forgot you did? Is that why this room looked strange to you? That hope was all but dashed in a moment when movement under the blanket next to you caught your attention and you looked. A small lump under the blanket the size of a small cat moved around until it moved towards the end of it near your arm and your sobble poked it's head out blinking tiredly and gave out a yawn crawling the rest of the way out. You gave a sigh, shaking your head before smiling and holding out your arm and letting the sobble crawl into your hands. You were still tired but rather than go back to sleep, you opted to tossing the blanket off yourself and got up with your sobble in your hands holding him up to your face. 
"Well, I guess it's time to start the day huh?"
You managed to get a few things done. Morning shower, got dressed, and made your first stop the  laundry mat across from the hotel after asking the elderly woman at the front desk for directions. Just something to do to help take your mind off the strange dream that had happened. You had started to wonder where the three children had run off to now but it was only after you were coming back with your now cleaned clothes and your sobble curled upon your shoulders did you run into them. Or Hop at least. He was just walking past the door when you opened it and almost ran into him. Thankfully stopping at just the right moment as he paused and blinked. 
"Oh. Hey, Y/n!," he greeted with a smiling and shifting the box in his hands, "Glad to see you're awake now."
"Hi," you greeted back before raising a brow at the box he held. "What's that you're carrying?"
"Oh this?," he asked holding up the box and you nodded. "The old lady needed help clearing out her old storage room. She offered to pay me to help out so Im taking this to the broom closet down the hall here. Glory and Vick are doing some Pokejobs too." The confusion must've doubled on your face because he seemed to take notice. pokejobs?? What the heck are pokejobs?! "OH! Right. There's no possible way you could've known what those are. I keep forgetting you're not native to Galar. Pokejobs are jobs people upload into the rotomis."
".....Say what?," you asked still totally confused to what Hop was even saying.
He sighed. "Pokejobs. How do I describe them?....It's kinda like how newspapers have ads. If someone has a job they need help with they send a post to their rotomi profile, then if someone wants to make some money they can look on the Pokejobs Rotomi Forum for a job in their specific area. There was a few listed in the Rotomi at the town's covience store." He held up the box again. "Like this one. We figured it wouldn't hurt to make a little bit of money in case of emergencies too."
"That...sounds like a great idea. But where are the other two now?"
He shrugged. "Glory took a job that involved babysitting and I think Victor's helping someone here with a garden."
Well that sounded like a good way to earn a bit of money while you were waiting. As to pass the time you decided to help Hop once you had finished returning your clothes to your bag. The elderly woman seemed rather grateful for the help provided. In the manner of speaking it wasn't too difficult work. Most of the boxes were pretty light mostly filled with cleaning supplies or old blankets. That explains why she was having Hop move them to the big supply closet down the hall. When you asked about it she explained she had wanted to turn it into another bedroom for the busier traveling seasons, makes sense. One extra room to rent means one extra way to make some money. You helped rehome the boxes and cleaned it out by dusting and sweeping to pass the time away. When it came to paying you declined the money offered and made sure Hop received it instead. After all it was originally his job, you just helped to pass time, and it'd be wrong to piggyback on his hard earned money after all. But you did however accept the free room service for later when she offered instead. Free food was a reward you had no trouble accepting, especially considering you hadn't eaten anything since you woke up and all the exercise you had done in helping to clean out the room. Hop though was thankful for your help and expressed so as much. It was when the two of you were heading out did you finally bump into said twins. Gloria was carrying two large paper bags but you had to do a double take when you noticed Victor looked....well remember how dirty you were after being bowled over by Milo's wooloo? Victor looked like he got ran over by ten wooloo during a sand storm.
"Whoa. What happened to you?"
He grabbed his hat and shook the grey beanie out letting dirt fall to the ground. "Well. As it turns out the ad for 'helping to remove unwanted weeds and debry from the garden' also happened to include a wild munchlax who didn't want to leave. I had to half wrestle half chase the thing out."
"Oh wow. Glad to see you got paid tho."
He huffed but Gloria smiled holding up the bags in her hands. "But on the bright side we managed to stock up enough for the rest of our trip to Hulbury! Glad to see you're up and feeling better too, Y/n!"
You nodded. "Yeah. Feeling better thanks-"
"OH! That reminds me!" You were cut off when Gloria suddenly shoved one of the bags into your arms as you blinked. The inside held food and other things you'd have to use in order to get to Hulbury. She went digging through the other bag, eventually pulling out a rolled up, sleeping bag looking thing that must've made up half that bag's weight. "Here! I noticed you probably weren't sleeping well cuz you didn't have one of these here. Turns out the convience store is also a supply store, so I was able to get you one of these."
You slowly took the rolled up sleeping bag from Gloria and gave it a look over before looking back to her. "I-...Thank you. But you didn't have to get me this. I would've been fine without it."
"I know but you would've just kept getting bad sleep if I didn't, and it won't hurt me from what I earned from winning against Milo's anyways. Besides, I can now call it even from when you saved our hides back in Postwick."
You smiled and decided to accept this gift with a nod. "Alright. We're even. But have you decided when you wanted to leave yet?"
"First thing tomorrow morning. After seeing you stumble 'round like a zombie with a headache, we decided to let ya sleep in since you were so tired. But since it's getting later anyways, we figured we'd spend one more night here and leave early in the morning."
"Oh that's a great plan cuz Y/n got us some free room service from helpin' out around here."
Gloria's eyes widened at her friend's words. "Wait. REALLY!?" 
"How about we let Victor get cleaned up first before we do anything?"
The four of you did just that for the night. Packed away all the goods they brought back with them. Hopefully it'll last enough for the rest of the very long walk to Hulbury. And after everyone was done packing their share and Victor was cleaned up, you ate. No surprise it was more curry but you chose to accept that at this point that curry was a very important part of Galar's culture and hey. Free food was free food. Nothing to complain about here. And if Gloria could fill in more of her Curry Dex book then it was good enough for you too. Luckily it seemed with the new sleeping bag things might get easier for you when you all start traveling again. Which is exactly what happened. The very next morning the four of you set off as soon as Victor paid for the two day stay at the front desk, and it was back onto Route 5 the four of you went walking. And walking and walking. It was basically the same as before until night came and the four of you set up camp in a small clearing, giving you the chance to use the new sleeping bag Gloria had gotten you. And it worked like a charm. You still had to use your arms as a pillow but otherwise it was much more comfortable to sleep now. And then the next day the four of you were at it again. This time listening to Victor's adventures traveling around since he had started his own journey at least a year before Gloria's. Mentioning of all the different places and events around Galar he had been so far and you were impressed at his tales of capturing so many wild shiny pokemon in his photos, going so far to show you all a few places he took photos of. One being the giant clock tower back in Motostoke.
"So does that mean you've been to Halbury before?," you asked curiously glancing at the pictures in his hands.
He nodded. "I've been there once, but not for long. I did see the Hulbury Water-Type Aquarium and Research Center. They have every water type pokemon you could imagine, some of them are from different regions as well. That's where I got most of the photo's of water type pokemon I gave to Glory. Nessa was a huge sponsor for it's development. It's also a research department to study water-types as well as their environments and biology." He hummed and looked up. "I think it's also where most Professors get their sobbles for starting trainers."
You gave a look to your sobble. "You hear that? Looks like we're heading to your home town." In response it smiled and gave a small chirp. "Does that mean you've seen Nessa before?"
He shook his with a sigh as you all walked. "Sadly no. But I've heard she's so busy between her modeling and gym leader duties she'll only do one gym battle a day due to her busy schedules, and that's considering if there's nothing important going on for her."
"So depending on the time and amount of trainers heading for Hulbury right now, we could end up waiting longer than we did for Milo's gym battle."
"Ah man!" Hop leaned back putting both arms behind his head. A habit you learnt he did whenever he was annoyed or thinking about something. "That could take forever then....but considering Nessa's Gym would've been one of the farthest from the Turffield Stadium, I'd like to bet not a lot of people would go for hers first and instead went back to Motostoke to challenge Kabu or someone else who was closer....Hm. I wonder if that's why Mr. Milo suggested we go see Nessa after our battle with him. We haven't run into any other Gym Challengers yet. Route 5 is less trafficked."
"Or those rockstar blokes," you thought as you gave another look around at the half field half forested areas you four were traveling past. But that was probably a good thing you hadn't seen them. You wouldn't want them causing you more trouble.
"There Hop goes all smart again!"
"H-Hey! Im just makin' an observation!"
"Well make an observation on that map. How much longer until we get there?"
Hop answered that after pulling out his phone and turning it on, pressing a few buttons. "...About two and a half weeks left."
This...Was going to be a long trip.
And you weren't wrong. Most of the trip was the same day in and day out. Eat, sleep, make camp, walk lots, stop for breaks, maybe a battle would happen every once and a while between Hop and Gloria or maybe they'd try to catch a pokemon every now and then. And you watched her start to carry around that baby Toxel more, usually in her arms like a cat but sometimes in her bag too with his little head poking out looking around. Victor making the comment that now the both of you would be pokemon taxis. It took quite a while of this old routine before you four even got to another town, with a train station. Breaking out of a small wooded area there was clearings now of flat land and Route 5 lead you all to a crossing across the railroad tracks and lead into a small town...Well you weren't sure if you could call it a town persay. It was more like a few homes a little bit a ways from the obvious train station the four of you took refuge in for a break.  In the mean time Victor took out his phone once more and decided to flip through the rotom phone he had on your four's location.
"......Hey!," he shouted making you all look at him as he held up the phone all towards you. You leaned closer to get a better look at the screen he pointed to. "According to the map we're a four day walk away from Hulbury. Nearly there!"
"Oh thank Arceus!," Gloria sighed, "I was getting so tired of just walking around like a migrating murkrow."
"And you wonder why I was worried about you rushing into your journey."
"Hey!"
The next few days weren't very eventful or memorable. Just the same rinse and repeat scenarios your small group had been experiencing for the past month or so, until you FINALLY saw it. Well smelt it first would be more accurate. You all were walking up a steep hill that the path was connected too and that's when you smelt something like salt air. You had only been to a beach a few times but there was no mistaking it. Saltwater. And then you heard a very loud horn. It was loud enough to startle your Sobble into ducking behind your head and you perk up. If one had to guess, you would've said it sounded either like a train's whistle or a boat horn. Blinking as shadows flew overheard, you realized they were wild wingulls. ...Wait. Weren't those bird pokemon always like close to water?? You blinked. Shaking your head and hurrying your pace up the hill until the four of you finally made it. From the high point the view was high enough to let the four of you look a good ways ahead and still far but much closer now, maybe a day's travel. What was unmistakenly the glistening blue of the ocean as far on the horizon as you could see, that lead to the coast that clashed with the beginnings of it. The horn you heard was most likely one of the many boats you could faintly make out on the glistening blue and the unmistakable town that was nestled up against it all. It wasn't too big by the looks of it. Definately not Motostoke size, but it was definately bigger than Turffield and Postwick and you could make out the unmistakable structure of a stadium way over there. 
Victor pointed with a smile towards the faint town. "There's Hulbury! We're nearly there!"
"Good. Let's get stepping before it gets too dark. If we hurry we'll be there by tomorrow."
And indeed you all were. Traveling until it was sundown, and you decided to set up camp for the night, only to pack up quickly and leave at the first sign of light the very next morning. It was somewhere around ten in the morning when you all finally made it. Seeing the town and beautiful ocean coming into view and getting closer, and closer the more and more you walked. Until you all finally arrived. First walking under a bridge connecting between two large hills, on top of one hill leading to a train station, the familiar pink building of the pokemon center greeted you next as the dirt path of Route 5 changed into concrete streets. Another loud horn shot off to the right of you and as you all looked over there was a giant port with as you suspected lots of ships and boats. Bigger than in game you imagined too. You inhaled a long sigh, the taste of salt on your tongue. If it wasn't for the many boats near the port and other people, you wouldn't have minded just standing there for a moment in the road. But since you didn't want to waste anymore time you sighed and turned to Gloria.
"So." She looked at you and blinked. "What's the plan here?"
"We go to the gym-"
"We head to the hotel-"
Both twins looked at each other for a moment, before Victor cleared his throat.
"I think we should head to the Hulbury's residential hotel first. Just in case one of you have to wait for a gym battle to open we'd have somewhere to stay tonight."
"Well I think we should head to the gym before anyone else gets here," she countered back one arm holding her Toxel and the other placed onto her hip. "It's still pretty early in the morning. If there's a chance no one got there yet one of us could get a spot! Right Hop?"
"Actually, personally I'm kinda hungry and wanted to check out that famous resturaunt Hulbury's supposed to have." he mumbled but got ignored by the scowling twins.
You sighed again shaking your head. Teenagers. "How about this?" You held up a hand catching the three's attention. "We'll split up." You suggested. "If we do that we can get things done faster. You two can check out the gym and your brother can get us situated for the night because personally I'd like to take a break from camping. Then we can meet back up and get some breakfast..." You looked up towards the sky. "Or lunch depending when we're done."
Victor hummed. "...That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually and it could actually save us time. Now that I think about it, we're probably low on supplies anyways. While we're doing that Y/N can take a list of what we need and get it from the local super market here."
"I like that plan! We can meet up at the Light house."
And so it was agreed. After going through your invintory, and having Victor quickly scribble down a list of things you all needed, the four of you split off. Victor heading in the same direction as the other two with his phone's map out (you guessed the hotel and the stadium must've been down the same road) and you towards the docks list and borrowed money in hand. In all honestly you were just as hungry as the others but that could wait. It didn't take you too long to find Hulbury's local convenience store, it didn't take you all long as well to fill up the considerably large bags of travel foods and start carrying them off back off towards the direction of the light house. ....Only...there was one problem. You had absolutely no idea which direction the lighthouse was in, and with the giant bags of supplies to be split between the four of you obstructing your view, it made it harder to see by all accounts as you tried peeking around and over the large bags. Stumbling a bit and almost bumping into a few people walking past you, they gave you an odd look before carrying on. Certainly didn't help when your sobble gave a small chirp before literally climbing into one of the bags to which you panicked a little. The last thing you needed was him eating the food you just bought especially since it wasn't bought with your money!
"Hey! Bad pokemon!," you shouted jiggling the bags a bit, "You get out of there right now! You're not supposed to be in there!" The sobble peeked itself out over the edge of one of the bag's hearing it's master's voice as you frowned, and you didn't see where you were walking as you walked. "I'm serious! You can't just crawl in there! Out no- Oof!?"
"HEY!?," shouted a woman's voice.
You rammed into something or someone solid and you stumbled back, by some miracle not dropping the bags, and up righted yourself for a moment. Blinking you turned sideways to look at who you bumped into and were met with another woman who was looking at you with a bewildered look like everyone else who saw you walking around like this. The woman had a dark skin complextion with dark black hair with pretty blue streaks and eyes that were bluer than the ocean. What looked like a sports uniform adorned her bodyShe blinked at you as you stared before you seemed to blink and shake your head.
"Oh. Sorry about that, Miss," You apologised shifting two off the four bags in your arms. "I didn't see you there."
"Uh..Yes, I could tell." She ran an eye over the two bags in your arms and the other two hanging off your elbows. "That's a lot of groceries you're carrying there." Her eyes stopped at the little blue pokemon poking out of the top of one of the bags as it shoved a blue berry into it's mouth.
"Oh. It's not just for me actually. I'm traveling with some others and we needed this stuff." You followed her gaze and you gained a frown when you saw the sobble shove another berry into it's mouth. "HEY!" It fell back into the bag startled with a chirp....but slowly peeked the top of it's head and eyes back over to look at your scowl. "I said NO. Now you get out of there right now! If you're hungry I'll get you something else."
"Oh. Is this little one yours?," both of you looked over as the woman attempted to reach out and pet the sobble. Which resulted in your sobble giving off a sound of fright and immediately scuttle out from the bag in a hurry.
"HEY-" You leaned your head back as it jumped on your head and clung to your hair giving the other woman wide eyes of worry. You grumbled...but sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. He's not used to strangers I guess."
With a smile, the woman placed a hand on her hip and studied the two of you. "Most sobble are, but it seems this one has become very attatched to you."
You blew the sobble's tail from your face. "Believe me you don't know the half of it. Say. Could you tell me where I can find the lighthouse? I'm supposed to meet my friends there."
"Sure. I was actually heading towards the stadium actually. The light house is right next to it," she gestured to your bags. "I could even help you if you'd like."
You gave a relieved sigh. "Really?! Yes, thank you. That'd be a huge help."
You happily let the woman take two of the bags you were carrying and you followed her as she motioned for you to follow her. Gloria and Hop were most likely already waiting for you as they had first gone to the stadium and possibly Victor if he hadn't gotten side tracked or anything. As the two of you walked you took the chance to look around at the town. Seemed like the beach down you had gone to before the few times you went to the beach. As you glanced at the woman helping you out you couldn't help but...notice something. Did she seem familiar to you somehow?....You shook your head. Nah. Must've just been your imagination. She must've just looked like someone you've seen before. That's all. The both of you walked from the docks, past what looked like a resturaunt of some sort, back towards the Pokemon Center before taking a right and heading down the same path the teens took when the four of you parted ways. From that point the two of you walked down a road with houses on one side and a fence overseeing the ocean on the other. There was a LOT more houses than you remembered in game so it took a good twenty minutes before you even saw the stadium as both of you passed a flight of concrete stairs leading up the hill towards the train station. You looked up and at the stadium as it's shadow loomed over you as you both walked past it. Unlike Milo's stadium this one seemed rather quiet right now even if it was as HUGE as his was. The gym leader mustn't be battling anyone right now where ever she was. As you two continued to walk past it, you blinked seeing a tall structure up ahead which was unmistakably a light house, letting you sigh in relief. FINALLY!! You sighed in relief at seeing the structure and sped up your pacing a bit as the two of you rounding the corner the path lead towards the lighthouse and that's when you noticed the figures standing there. One or two strangers were there taking a picture next to the statues or the ocean view, but there was three you recognized easily as the twins and Hop. They all seemed happy to see you at first. But soon those happy faces turned into suprised and shocked ones the closer you walked. Victor even shaking his head and blinking as you approuched.
"Uh...Hey, Y/n. Whatcha got there?"
"Our supplies," you replied arms all sore and tired from the long walk over. Victor blinked as you shoved the two bags you were holding into his arms. "Here. Take these. Im beat." They continued to stare at you even as you turned to the woman and take the other two heavy bags from her. Your brow rising as you turned and saw their wide eyed looks. "....Are you three alright? You all look like you've seen a ghost."
"...Y/n. Do you even know WHO that is?!," Gloria asked pointed towards the woman and you turned to look at her again..before shrugging.
"She helped me out. Thanks by the way."
She nodded. "It was my pleasure."
"Don't you even know who that is!?" Gloria groaned at your utterly confused face as you blankly stared and as a result pointed right at the smiling woman next to you. "You literally don't know!? THAT'S NESSA!! Like the Gym Leader Nessa! The person we traveled all the way here to see!"
You blinked before looking back to Nessa as she glanced at you. "...Oh. Thanks for the help again. It was very nice of you."
She nodded again. "Your welcome. And you." She glanced over to Gloria who still stared in disbelief at her. "You must be a gym challenger right? You're one of the ones endorsed by Leon right?" 
Gloria stared at her a little longer before Hop nudged her making her flinch. "HUH!? I mean- Y-Yeah! O-One of them." She gestured to Hop next to her. "And he's the other one."
"Hello, Ma'am." Hop smiled and waved. "I'm Hop and this is Gloria. You uh...Weren't at the stadium when we went there."
"My apologies," Nessa apoligized as you turned back to her. OH! Now you could recognize her easily. She was on the cover of that magazine Gloria showed you and you vaugely rememebered seeing her back at the entrance ceremony. "But I just got back from a boating shoot and I've already promised someone else a battle for later today. But I must say, you've become something of a hot topic among the gym leaders."
"Wait. We are?"
She chuckled. "Are you kidding me? Leon never stops talking about how awesome his little brother is and how he's just the smartest kid ever to come out of Postwick."
Hop coughed and scratched at his head in embarrassment. "Well...I wouldn't say that."
"I mean. He's not wrong. You're pretty smart."
"Glory! Don't embarrass me like Mum please!," he begged red faced.
You decided to help give him a break. "I had no idea he spoke so highly of Hop." You spoke to Nessa. Although you wouldn't be surprised considering how hyped up Hop got about Leon, and how loving Leon was to them.
She chuckled again before reaching behind her and pulling something out of her pocket. Well two somethings. "Here you go, Ms. Famous. I already heard about you, so you should learn more about me too." She held out what you made out as cards to Hop and Gloria as the two wide eyed teens took them in disbelief. 
"OMG! Another League Card!! Thank you so much, Ms. Nessa! Does this mean you'll be able to battle one of us tomorrow?"
She nodded. "Sure. Just speak to one of my staff at the stadium and we can schedule a battle in the next two days for you guys." She then pointed behind her. "But I had better head to the stadium. I can't delay my sheduled battle anymore than I've already had."
You nodded in understanding. "We understanding completely, Miss. Thanks again for the help."
She nodded towards you. "I love fishing, but I love pokemon battles even more and I'm itching for a battle with you. Hopefully we'll get to battle real soon." With a wave towards Hop and Gloria Nessa turned on her heel and began to walk away.
You waved back before turning back to the three teens staring back at you. ".....What?"
"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHO THAT WAS WITH YOU!?,'' Gloria shouted gesturing to where Nessa walked off to which you shrugged again. 
"Sorry? I was a little busy with something more important at the moment and I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to her. But she seemed very nice. But how did your guys' lil trip go?"
"I managed to book us a hotel here for a couple nights," Victor answered before gesturing his head over towards the other two. "And they're all set up to fight, but someone already beat 'em for a spot today."
"Oh. Who?"
"The Mareep Head!," Gloria huffed one hand one her hip and the other waving the small League Card in the air. Mareep Head- OH! She must've been referring to Bede. He must've been the one Nessa was rushing off to battle then. "We just waltzed on in and there he was acting all smug like he jus' won the whole challenge already. He even asked if I "Got Hatenna's good side' on camera. Psh! He's such a stuck up mudbray!"
You could only nod juggling the groceries in your arms. "I...see. Well since there's nothing we can do right now for the moment, why don't we just go back to the hotel Victor mentioned and take care of these?"
Victor nodded in agreement tugging his own bags along as you both turned with Gloria mumbling behind you all the way to the hotel. 
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beansbeware · 4 years ago
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Beans’ Bagginshield Recs
Here it is! My first rec list eight years since I first started shipping Bagginshield. When this lockdown started (and ended and started again) I found myself re-reading OG/classics and discovering new ones. Sifting through my AO3 history I realized I have read and already forgotten so much fic over the years. For a while, I though the ship had run its course but as we can see now, Bagginshield lives! Check back for updates as I discover (and remember) more fics. Pay attention to the tags and trigger warnings! 
AU
I Sang In My Chains Like The Sea by orphan_account for lincesque, IronPanda
In which Bilbo is a Jaeger pilot candidate, and Middle Earth stands on the brink of destruction. (Pacific Rim AU) [Wasn’t sure how this one worked but man it did]
At the Turn of the Year by northerntrash
They say that strange things live in the woods, fair folk and things more spirit than man; don't step between the old oaks, parents mutter to their children, or they might find you, and eat you. Thorin never believed that, but now winter is settling into his bones, the shadows are growing longer through the hoar frost, and he is lost among the trees.
And it was there that Thorin met him, that strange, laughing creature, walking barefoot through the bracken.
Canon-ish
Homeward Bound by perkynurples for 61Below
His life slips away from him on an elven boat carrying him overseas, and there is one last journey Bilbo Baggins must take if he truly means to arrive home.
Sansûkh by determamfidd
The battle was over, and Thorin Oakenshield awoke, naked and shivering, in the Halls of his Ancestors.
The novelty of being dead fades quickly, and watching over his companions soon fills him with grief and guilt. Oddly, a faint flicker of hope arises in the form of his youngest kinsman, a Dwarf of Durin's line with bright red hair.
(Follows the story of the War of the Ring).
The Great Shire Conspiracy by Avelera for Emsiecat
Ten years later, Bilbo can't even go to the Green Dragon without a dwarven tourist buying him a beer and sobbing over Bilbo's great tragic love affair with Thorin Oakenshield. Which would all be quite touching and heartbreaking, if not for one little thing...
Dark (generally not a fan but this one made the cut)
Pain-Bearer by lilithiumwords (unfinished)
In an alternate reality, Erebor was never taken by Smaug, and the War of Dwarves and Orcs never happened. The Orcs invaded the Shire, slaughtering hundreds and taking countless more as slaves. Bilbo is slave to Azog, the Dwarf King's mortal enemy... until the Dwarf King rescues him.
Dwarves! in the Shire
Selling to Hobbits by HildyJ 
Exiled from his kingdom and living on the mercy of others, Thorin is determined to make his own way in the world for him and his family. And the annual Summer Fair in Hobbiton sounds like the best place to sell enough of his crafted goods to do just that.
Oak and Mistletoe by HildyJ (series)
After a life dominated by a strange form of sickness, Thorin is sent to the Shire to seek a cure only Bilbo Baggins can offer.
Erebor - Nope, Never Fell 
A Most Sensible Idea by HildyJ
Bilbo Baggins isn't sure about this. Not one bit.
Frodo is definitely too young to enter into an arranged marriage with a dwarven king called Thorin Oakenshield. It's a good thing that Bilbo is there to chaperone him through their courtship.
After all, there's no chance that a fussy hobbit bachelor would ever catch the eye of a king.
Signs and Meanings by HildyJ
It shouldn't matter to Thorin that the visiting hobbit cook doesn't speak his language. But it does.
Per Aspera by northerntrash
Deep in the dungeons of the Kingdom of Erebor, in an old, unused storeroom, lived a Hobbit.
In which Bilbo Baggins, a strangely successful thief, makes a mistake, and meets a Prince.
Erebor - Rebuilding
Mother-Tongue by northerntrash for HildyJ
Forget-me-not: a small flower, with four petals, which are normally found in shades of blue with a pink or white centre. These are traditional flowers of intent in the Shire, used to express true love, and remembrance.
In which Bilbo plans to leave Erebor, and Thorin tries to understand why.
Previous Engagements by Lunarflare14
After the Battle of Five Armies Thorin and Company have a new task: rebuilding their reclaimed home. Suddenly Bilbo finds himself up to his ears in responsibility and he surprises himself with how well he can navigate negotiations with elf dignitaries, farmers in Dale, and a dwarf king who has patience for neither.
But as Spring approaches a caravan from the Blue mountains brings something everyone had nearly forgotten: the dwarf woman Thorin promised his hand to many years ago.
Which is fine. It's all fine. It wasn't like Bilbo was falling in love with the king or anything.
That would be tragic.
And I'm Your Lionheart by Lee_Whimsy
Bilbo lingers in Erebor while Thorin recovers from his wounds, and soon finds himself caught up in politics, romance, and the occasional kidnapping. Ensemble cast. AU. Eventually Thorin/Bilbo.
Fix-Its (Gawd we need them)
An Expected Journey by MarieJacquelyn
For years Bilbo has written about his adventures and told stories about his dealings with dwarves and dragons. To most it seemed like fanciful nonsense but to Bilbo it was all very real. A weight followed him home from his travels, one called regret. Now in his final moments Bilbo has a choice to make – go quietly into death’s embrace or go back again and face all the fear and pain for the chance to make things right?
Of course, change is a fickle thing and not everything can be done again as Bilbo is about to find out. In the end, it may not only be salvation that he’s fighting for.
though the stars walk backward by baggvinshield, killaidanturner
Bilbo wakes, always in Erebor, with dark shadows to one side and the first light of a terrible dawn to the other.
An Expected Journey by MarieJacquelyn
For years Bilbo has written about his adventures and told stories about his dealings with dwarves and dragons. To most it seemed like fanciful nonsense but to Bilbo it was all very real. A weight followed him home from his travels, one called regret. Now in his final moments Bilbo has a choice to make – go quietly into death’s embrace or go back again and face all the fear and pain for the chance to make things right?
Of course, change is a fickle thing and not everything can be done again as Bilbo is about to find out. In the end, it may not only be salvation that he’s fighting for.
Over Your Shoulder by northerntrash
The battle is over, and the lost have been counted. There is too much death, too much blood, and in the middle of it sits one small Hobbit, left quite alone but for a body on the ground and the memory of what might have been. But he is a tenacious creature, and if there is one thing that he has learnt, it is not to give up hope.
In which Bilbo Baggins goes on one last journey, and doesn't come back alone.
Historical Setting
The Ghost And Mr Baggins by perkynurples
They say that everything can be cured by saltwater - sweat, tears or the sea. Bilbo Baggins chooses the last option, taking his recently orphaned nephew and moving to the charming Oak Cottage, overlooking England’s grislier shores. The house charms him instantly, and though he knows nothing at all about the sea, or about making ends meet on his own so far from everything he’s known his whole life for that matter, he’s quite determined to stay, and see his nephew get better, odd sounds in the night be damned. He’s living in a modern world, after all, and the nonsense he’s been hearing about the house being haunted by its former owner, the mysterious Captain Durin, is just silly superstition… isn’t it?
Hobbit! Thorin
I've Grown a Hedge Around My Heart by pibroch (littleblackdog)
Thorin Brandybuck, just recently come of age, still lives in his family’s smial in Buckland, with his parents and two younger siblings. Thorin is an odd duck amongst his relations and neighbours-- unsociable, grumpy, shy, and awkward. And beyond that, he looks rather strange even for a Bucklander, strongly favouring the thick, dark haired build of his Stoorish blood.
It defies all sense and reason why Bilbo Baggins, an exemplar of all the respectable traits Thorin lacked, would ever desire a friendship with him.
Bilbo, as Thorin discovers, is not always as sensible as he appears.
Marriage (or something like it)
An Unexpected Proposal by Eareniel
As Bilbo sat smoking in his empty hobbit hole, he couldn’t help but wonder – when did his life become so boring? Or better yet – when did his old life stop being enough?
He suspected the answer to that question lay somewhere around the time when he had refused Thorin Oakenshield’s offer of marriage.
Something Blue by Lapin
Thorin marries Bilbo after the Battle of Five Armies, a marriage of convenience, not love. Slowly, they must come to make the best of it, Bilbo resolves. After all, he's a Hobbit. They make the best of things.
Magical/Super Powers
On Adventures and Other Forms of Conduct Unbecoming of a Wizard by manic_intent for beingevil
For as long as even the old Gaffer could remember there had been a wizard living in the hill at Bag End, overlooking the Shire. As wizards went, this one wasn't the wandering sort, always out to lure gentle folk out onto nasty adventures, or even the powerful kind, the sort that lived in high towers, reaching out into the ways of the world.
Modern Setting
Old Stone, New Fires by northerntrash
Bilbo was not sure what he had expected when he had agreed to supervise the restoration of Erebor House, on the lonely tidal island in the North sea, but it was not this. The winters up here are cold and harsh, and there is a strange feeling on the air, thick with the brine of the sea and secrets to which he is not privy; there is some part of the long and troubled history of the place that has not been spoken of, a shadow between the broken family gravestones and the caves beneath the cliffs, dark and dangerous.
Perhaps it is all in Bilbo’s mind, but as the nights grow longer, he starts to doubt it, and as Thorin sinks ever deeper into black and incalculable moods, he will have to find what has been lost, before it takes them all.
For This by northerntrash
Thorin Durin had lived in his new flat for approximately eighty four minutes when things started to go terribly, terribly wrong. The wrongness came in the form of a package, delivered to his door, wrapped in brown paper and string, with a small tag wishing him a very sincere welcome to the building.
Nothing Gold Can Stay by perkynurples
Bilbo Baggins led a rather peaceful life, thank you very much, until an old acquaintance decided to turn it upside down, and he found himself agreeing to take a job that’s… let’s say not exactly up his alley, and might eventually cost him a little more than his treasured cozy lifestyle. Who would have thought tutoring a slightly menacing monarch’s more than slightly overbearing nephew could prove to be such an adventure?
Love-In-Idleness by perkynurples
Taking Bilbo Baggins, a successful movie actor who is only just getting used to the perks and intricacies of becoming A Face People Want To See, and putting him together with Thorin Oakenshield, with his very traditional (read: slightly backwards) ideas about what constitutes Real Art and Real Talent, might very well be viewed as just some clothead’s idea of a joke. But there are jokes, and then there are carefully calculated risks the size of controversial reproductions of classic Shakespearean plays - for Bilbo, it is the chance of a lifetime to prove himself to all those who have ever deemed him too one-dimensional to even attempt stage, while Thorin has the opportunity to get out of the rut that’s been hindering his career for so long now, and shine in a role worthy of his talent once again. That is if the two learn how to share the same space for more than ten minutes without wanting to tear each other’s hair out. The course of true love never did run smooth, after all…
If There Were Water by stickman
Bilbo Baggins might be in over his head. He’s purchased an old stone house atop a hill overlooking a city he doesn’t know, and plans to live quietly, largely ignoring the rest of the world. But it’s early April, the rainy season, and the roof leaks, and there's something strange about Bywater House that he can't quite figure out.
Thorin Oakenshield is in his fourth month of trying to reconcile his own grief with his failures at anything remotely resembling a competent single parent, living out of a shoebox flat with Fíli (seven, sullen, and stubborn as hell) and Kíli (five, resilient but cracking), working crap jobs and hating everything including himself.
Under the cover of rainy afternoons and sleepless nights, roof repairs and building restoration, Bilbo and Thorin try to figure out how one navigates isolation, and how one breaks out of it. Every step they manage to take forward finds them dragged back again; every question asked has too many answers, or too few. This is a story about living in a world where everyone is on their own, always, and how things go on.
How the West Was Won and Where It Got Us by stickman
Bilbo is a harried 1st year British literature Ph.D. (early 20th century fiction) who happens to have an interest in spatial narrative structures, a lack of time-management skills, and a tiny apartment with a lot of books and very little furniture. He’s stressed, always, and doesn't quite know where he belongs. He tells himself that really, this is, in fact, what he wants to be doing. But sometimes, as much as he loves books, he gets an urge to do something with his hands.
Thorin is a disgruntled M.Arch. 1 in his last year who can’t be arsed to shave and frightens his students, and, frankly, his profs, but his work is top-notch so no one can really say much. They can, however, bully him into running a hands-on design workshop on Saturday mornings, which is complete crap, because he’s used to drinking his Friday nights into oblivion so showing up at Milstein at 7:45 the next morning and trying to teach in a room of wall-to-wall windows as the sun rises is not at the top of his list. Besides, no one ever shows up.
Except one morning, someone does.
The Boy You Met (At The Coin Laundry) by Lee_Whimsy
Bilbo accidentally spends a summer in Ireland. One rainy day, Thorin appears in the hotel laundry room, naked and dripping wet and about to propose. (But not, unfortunately, to Bilbo.)
Gandalf, Thranduil, and a handful of Spanish footballers all guest-star.
Hooked On You by Chamelaucium
Thorin should have learnt not to trust his brother and sister by now.
Come with us on holiday, they’d said. It’ll be fun, they’d said. A nice break from work.
Yeah right. All this holiday had brought him was being knocked around the head, acute hay-fever, and the biggest, most ridiculous crush ever on the cute, golden-haired fishing instructor.
One-Sided Conversations by northerntrash
"Thank you for listening," Thorin said, getting to his feet. "I hope to be able to return the favour, one day."
The man on the bed didn't respond, but since he'd been in a coma for longer than Thorin had known him, that wasn't entirely surprising.
“One”/Soulmates
you lick your lips (you taste like years of being alone) by perkynurples for stopchasingflowers
Thorin Oakenshield was born without the longing, and has spent his whole life merely observing others as they pursued a feeling unknown to him until they finally found their One. He has made his peace with the prospect of being alone, and has been faring well enough, but little does he know the fates have a different story in store for him.
Things We Grow Together by serenbach
Dwarves are born with a bone-deep knowledge of their One, but Thorin stops feeling the pull of his after the dragon attacks Erebor. Needless to say, he is surprised, and not initially pleased, to find his One living behind a round green door decades later.
Hobbits find a seed that represents their innermost self and can offer it to someone else to plant. This creates a bond as strong as deep roots in the earth between them. It is just like Bilbo, after years of thinking that no one would want his, to offer his soul-seed to a dwarf that does not understand gardening metaphors.
But just because they have found each other does not make the quest to reclaim Erebor any easier, and in the end a sacrifice is still made.
Thorin has to trust in the strength of the bond between himself and his One, because otherwise he will never believe that the sacrifice was worth it.
Colour-struck by northerntrash
Soul mates are like adventures, Bilbo had often consoled himself. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things that made you late for dinner. It was no great hardship that he had never met his, even if he couldn't tell which of his petunias were blue and which were purple.
Quest-ions
Discovering Mr Baggins by Eareniel
The story of a Hobbit, told through the eyes of the dwarves.
Thorin Oakenshield's Majestic Diary by Fruitsie
Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain and Totally Majestic Badass of Middle Earth, does not have a raging hard-on for Bilbo Baggins.
No, seriously.
Just read his diary.
Call You Home by northerntrash
In which the Company are entirely too nosy about matters that are supposed to be a secret, and Bilbo learns that being concerned about propriety is overrated when you could be making friends instead.
Time Travel (because walking Middle Earth is not enough)
Of an Arcane Binding by Salvia_G
An inexplicable magic ties Bilbo Baggins, hobbit of the Shire, to Thorin, dwarven prince of Erebor
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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years ago
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Murder, He Wrote
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Part 3 Co-Written with @southerngracela​
Summary: It’s Thanksgiving, but when you’re being held hostage by Hugh Ransom Drysdale there’s really not a lot to be thankful for, is there?
Warnings: Bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader
A/N:  So this is Part 2 to our submission for @jtargaryen18​ ‘s Haunted House 2020  Challenge. Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.
Series Masterlist. 
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You could feel the chill of the outside seeping into your space, your bones, through the vented window following your shower. The way it crept in made you realize just how far along through fall you were, maybe it was even approaching the onset of the holiday weather. Either way, a storm seemed to be outside. At least it felt like it. Once dried, you found yourself wrapping up tighter in the thick cardigan you’d chosen before you dried your hair, and allowed yourself a quick squirt of perfume before settled into the reading chair in the corner of your room, your journal on your lap.
The little, leather bound book had been in your handbag which had been given back to you earlier that morning as the latest reward for behaving and as you ran your hand over the deep brown cover, you couldn’t help the air of excitement you felt at having been given your treasured little note book, despite the dreary sky you could see from the porthole above your chair.
It had actually surprised you that Drysdale had kept it and not disposed of it the same way he had your phone and your car. But for whatever reason, he’d held onto it, and for that you were grateful. Grateful that you had something of your own from before this imprisonment to anchor too. You’d expected him to want some kind of favour in return but he hadn’t demanded any sort of sexual gratification, simply informed you he would be out most of the morning and would be back mid to late afternoon. As soon as he had gone you had eagerly tipped the contents of your bag onto the bed, almost crying at the sight of your half empty bottle of Coco-Mademoiselle, the Mac Lip-gloss, NYX Eyebrow pencil, Mont Blanc fountain pen, a full tube of mints and your treasured journal. With teary eyes you’d put everything away in its new place, apart from the book and pen before padding into the bathroom for a shower, deliberately sorting yourself out for the day. All you could think of was taking the time so you could savour the moment when you could hopefully make some sense of the jumble in your head by spilling it onto a page.
You opened the cover and flicked to your last entry, the morning of Halloween. A rambling rant about Mick-The-Prick filled the page and you paused, tears in your eyes, as you’d give anything to be stood in his office thinking about ingenious ways to kill him and get away with it. Ironic, really considering that was exactly what your captor had done; committed murder and gotten away with it.
You went to jot the date down in the corner of the page and realised that actually, you didn’t have a clue what it was. Down here, night bled into day, day bled into night…and soon it all bled into weeks. However, given the fact your cycle had been and gone a week ago you figured that it was maybe four weeks since Halloween. Of course, you could ask Hugh, but the less you had to ask him the better as far as you were concerned. You hate the fact that he had this hold on you, that you had to ask for and ‘earn’ things by being ‘good’. And whilst it made you sick to your stomach, you’d fast learnt it was easier to comply than rebel. The night he had left you tangled in your sweater had hurt. It had taken you a good twenty minutes to muster the strength to work your way out and drag yourself into a bath, your body shaking with the trauma, sobs wracking your frame. Your body ached for days, your mind in a post-traumatic cloud of despair. And whilst it hadn’t broken you per-say, it had certainly made you realise exactly what the bastard was capable of, and you had no intention of finding out just how much further he was willing to go.
So, in summary, it had taken Ransom Drysdale two days to break you into compliance.
You’d become passive, so to speak. You gave into his whims, let him use you as he saw fit, did as he told… for the most part anyway. There had been a few other incidents post the sweater one where you’d forgotten yourself and protested, fought a little and he’d gone hard on you, but nothing like that second night. Your passive behaviour was mistaken by him for compliance, and as such you had earned a number of rewards. The bistro table where you took your meals, a book or two which just so happened to be by his grandfather, a gesture you weren't sure was him purging or pressing an agenda onto you. And more recently and most preciously, your bag. But, the strange thing was, that whilst he wanted you to give into him physically, he seemed to enjoy the fact that you were in no way, shape or form compliant to him in others. You openly sassed him, bit back, called him out and he actively encouraged it. He’d started spending a little more time with you in the mornings and afternoons, not just visiting you to toy with you or fuck, but to engage in these little tete-a-tete’s, and the sickest, most perverted thing about it was that you were almost glad. The loneliness was crippling, and you craved company. Even if it was his.  
All things considered, you’d rather ask him for as little as possible so instead, you flicked to the front of the book and crossed off the days on the small calendar inside the cover. Deciding that the date it led you to was as accurate as it was going to get, you turned back, jotted it down in the top right of your page and stared at the blank lines, looking to sort your thoughts for your next entry.
The saying used to go, what's in a name, however as I sit here thinking back on the last few weeks I wonder now what's in a day. My days consist of imprisonment. Held by a captor I have met once before. He's smart, almost too smart. Displaying forms of abuse and aggressive behaviors any FBI analyst would love to dive deep into. But that's not my job, no, my job is to please and satisfy him. Answer to his whims of gratification at any call of the day. I have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. But if I behave, he lets few things get by. I miss home, my bed, my life. I miss Mick, which is saying a lot all things considered. I don't know still what he wants from me, other than the obvious sexual gratification with little to no room for anything else. I'm a toy, a means to an itch. I don't know how long exactly I've been here, I can only guess it's been about a month. Nor do I know how long I'll have to stay. The answers are blurred like my vision, marred by tears and the low light inside. I haven't seen outside since the day he took me. I haven't been anywhere outside this room. I can see from the small porthole window above this stupidly soft leather chair the season has changed. It feels like deep fall, and as a storm comes outside, what little sky I see is bleak and dark, clouds covering the bluest of skies, angry and ready to open up, raining down water to wash away the sins of the day. I wish I could do the same. 
Before you realized, time had obviously passed, for the sound of the door bolts unlocking had you guessing it was late afternoon or early evening. A glance up at the porthole behind you confirmed as much. The sky was dark and rain had been beating on the window for a little while. 
In came Drysdale, hair a bit wet, a strand slightly out of place, wool pants and maroon sweater. He carried a plate of food in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He looked irked, like he'd wasted time on something, a look you were now able to decipher after weeks of seeing it. 
"Happy Thanksgiving," he said, setting the plate down on the bistro table with its two accompanying chairs, waiting for you to join him. 
Instead of biting back, you simply whispered, "it’s Thanksgiving?" You checked the inside cover of your journal and see the date again. You were a day off and it now dawned on you. It was the fourth Thursday of the month and indeed, Thanksgiving. You glanced back up at Ransom and a deep sadness washed over you. Closing your journal and setting it on the table by your chair, you stood, moving towards him and the plate of food. You took a seat and looked down at the plate, full of the holiday dish basics; turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, diced not candied yams and roasted green beans. It was gourmet and nothing near what he'd been serving you or managing to try. "Thank you," you said softly, rolling your fork through the potatoes. You take a bite but it's about as bland and tasteless as your despair. 
"I brought it back from the country club, I met my father there," he looked under your gaze again, as if willing your eyes to his. "Do you not like it?" 
Finally, your gaze met those cold cerulean orbs, setting your fork down and you took a drink of water, "No, it's fine." Then you picked up your fork again and took another bite, this time of the turkey and gravy. You didn't have it in you for an argument or it's physical ramifications. 
"Are you not hungry?" Ransom pressed. 
"I guess not as much as I thought," you repled further poking at your food, your voice cracking a little as you try to keep your composure. The sting of the holiday has you broken, far more than you'd expected. Normally, today you'd be helping your mother in the kitchen, settling the final touches on the side dishes and listening to your father tell your uncle about some a-typical dad joke he'd heard. Your sister would be giddy over the wine while her boyfriend of the month received death glares from said uncle and your father. 
Ransom outwardly sighed and you wait for what you were trying to avoid. "Are you alright?" 
The question threw you off guard completely and you struggled to hide the shock from your expression. He never cared about your feelings before. Maybe he thought you were coming down with something. You braced yourself to answer honestly. There was no point in lying, he'd see through it. 
"I'm fine, I'm not sick if that's what you're thinking," you answered, a deep restraint on your tone to keep yourself in check. "I hadn't realized what day it was. I didn't know it was Thanksgiving." You swallowed the lump in your throat and blinked hard. "My mom, my sister and I, we used to all help make dinner as a family. My dad and uncle would talk a bunch of shit around the fireplace while shooting death glares at my sister's flavor of the month."
He looked at you like he was confused. You scoff, "Of course you wouldn't understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He squint his eyes, biting the inside of his cheek. His body language completely changed as he leaned forward on his forearms, popping one shoulder up higher than the other. 
"Nothing," you backed down immediately. 
"Tell me," he pressed. 
God, he was relentless. You pushed your plate forward and leaned on your own elbows. You looked at him with a raised brow, "am I going to be in trouble if you don't like what I have to say?" 
"Depends," he popped a shoulder smugly. 
You matched his expression and his demeanour falters just a fraction. You saw it, but you didn't hold back. "Then I'd rather keep it to myself. That's what you want isnt it? Me to comply, be obedient? Frankly, I'm not in the mood." 
He failed to hide his smirk and you noticed that too, "Sweetheart." It wasn't laced with teasing, rather his pet name for you on his tongue held a cautious venom. 
"You hate your family. You know nothing about love and what it takes to give love. Hell, I don't doubt that for a minute you've ever felt loved. It's all an act. Self-preservation even. I don't know you or your family outside of the hours of research I did and the mere forty five minutes I listened to you drone on about your 'predicament'. But, the cold hearted truth of it is, you don't know how to love." You watched him run his tongue along his teeth as he continued to glare at you, but you weren't finished. "And that's what family is, it's what they do. They love, they are the embodiment of love at its deepest root. Maybe, just maybe somewhere along your life, your parents loved you, but judging by the Thrombey-Drysdale standards, none of you know what love is outside your selfish tithings and flashy cars. It got lost along the way, more than likely long before you ever were born."
"Wow," he raised his brows and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "That's good, that's really good."
You're fear receptors suddenly spiked as recognizable flash of anger in his eyes flashed through his irises. But there was something else there that you couldn't put your finger on it. Your breathing quickly up-ticked as you felt your palms begin to sweat.
He inhaled a deep, almost centering breath, "that perfume in your bag, I like it."
As if he'd grown a second head, you blinked hard refocusing on him. Had you heard him right? You'd just broken a rule, laid out an unspeakable truth for him and now in a blink he's, God forbid, complimenting your scent? Who the fuck was this guy? Was he on meds? Because he should be or he should at least probably share. It might make life here more bearable. "What?" 
"The perfume from your bag, you're wearing it. It smells good," he lamented. 
Alright, now the 'of sound mind' argument might be worth something because he sure as shit wasn't now. You swallowed and picked up your fork, taking a bite of the cold food just to buy yourself some time as you tried to process the scene before you. You had no remark to make. Confusing jumbled any thought of a coherent word you could utter. 
"Maybe if I'm out, I can pick you up a new bottle. I noticed you were near empty," Ransom offered. 
This was starting to make your stomach turn. If he'd gone through your bag, because why wouldn't he at this point, smelled your perfume, had he read your journal? You made a mental note to go back through and see if there was anything he'd read that he had used against you thus far or could use to corner you in the future. You looked around the room, waiting to see if you were being Punk'd. Just who the fuck is this guy? Without your expression giving too much of your confusion away, you nod at him in reply. "Thank you, I'd like that."
"Hmph," he paused, a dramatic effect he seemed to know that your heart rate up in anxiety. "Well, then why are you looking at me like I have two heads, Y/N?" 
Tread lightly, you thought to yourself. He didn't call you by your first name often, in fact, the last time he had, you were very much smarting back and it resulted in a forceful situation that left you raw and sore for a few days. It was always 'Sweetheart'. 
He baited you, you knew it, but you couldn't back out now. So you sighed, "I know I'm not supposed to ask questions, but, I don't even know who you are right now. Do you? One minute you're giving me food and being gentle, the next you're allowing my opinion, and now you're ready to flip this table. That's as close as two heads as it gets." 
"Careful, Sweetheart," he now glared at you. There it was, you were in for it. The approach of choice, you weren't sure of, but he was done. You'd learned the different tones in his voice by now, the cues he gave. You were definitely in trouble. You dropped your eyes to your plate. The food stone cold and no longer even appealing in its slightest measure, a wave of nausea washing over you. You further pushed your plate away, "I don't think I'm hungry anymore."
His broad frame rose from the chair, "you weren't to begin with," his left hand reaching for the plate and holds it in his hand, "Third drawer down in the armoire. Pick something, I'll be back."
You watched him leave, the familiar click of the door shutting and snap of the lock sounded around the small apartment and you exhaled loudly, your head dropping into your hands. This wasn’t the first time he’d requested that you ‘dress for the occasion’ so to speak. With a deep breath you stood up and crossed the room, opening the drawer of requirements, seeking out a negligee for him to no doubt remove. Your fingers roamed over the fabrics and selection. La Perla, Agent Provocateur, Carine Gilson, Coco de Mer and Fleur of England were just a handful of the expensive, high-end brands that filled the space. Your fingers smoothed over a black macrame and tule underwired long line bra and the matching thong that was folded neatly under it. Plucking it from the drawer, you headed for the bathroom. You slipped out of your casual tee, duster cardigan and leggings, the bra and panties you'd had on. You sighed as you took a good look at yourself in your naked form. 
While you hadn't lost a ton of weight over the last month, you could tell you'd grown thinner. You weren't gaunt but your lack of a daily Dunkin' Donuts macchiato had seemed to thin you out. Your captor made sure you were fed, but you didn't always eat. The plump of your cheeks had receded and your little pooch brought on by happy carbs was sucked into your frame. There were a few bruises still seen, near green, an indication of their final healing stage. The pock mark from a hickey he'd given you still a bit scaby as he'd broken the skin just barely. This was your life now and it made what few bites of Thanksgiving dinner in your stomach nearly lurch forward back up your throat.
You swallowed it down, pulling the long line bra straps up your arms and clasping it behind your back. Your legs slipped into the thong panties and you pulled the material up your freshly smooth legs. Your shaky fingers plucked at the hair tie that fastened the end of your brain closed, nails raking through your hair to loosen your tendrils. He always wanted your hair loose. You looked at yourself in the mirror, you were ready. 
***** Ransom tossed the un-eaten food into the garbage and dumped the plate into the sink to be dealt with later. Turning so that his lower back was leaning on the edge of the kitchen counter he ran a hand over his clean shaven jaw, his mind ticking over the events of the day so far. A pain-in-the-ass Thanksgiving meal with his father had been made bearable by the fact he knew he was coming back to her, and because he hadn’t wanted to be a complete monster he’d made the effort of bringing her a nice dinner back too. But she’d hardly touched any of it.
And what disturbed him most about it, was the fact that instead of wanting to punish her for being an ungrateful bitch, he instead felt a deep rooted sense of concern. She’d lost weight, her face was pale, her hip bones more pronounced, and frankly the last thing he wanted was her passing out on him. Whilst he wanted her compliant, necrophilia really wasn’t his bag.
He had thought by giving her back the bag she’d had on her the night he took her he might have seen a lift in her spirits so to speak, a little gratitude, but instead she’d been meek and reserved until he’d coaxed that familiar sass out of her. And even then she’d been reticent.
It should have pleased him that she was learning her place and becoming more subservient. But if he was being honest with himself, he almost missed her fighting and arguing back. It had been exciting in a way, and he had thought it would have taken longer than it had to break her so to speak. Maybe he had overestimated exactly what a fighter she was, maybe she wasn’t the right muse for his writing after all. Because, let’s face it, writing a tale about a woman who was captured and broken into submission within two days, merely becoming a puppet for her captor’s whims was hardly going to win him any accolades was it? He needed more, needed something that he could spin a good story from. He knew now that when he went back down to her he had to try a different tact so to speak, he needed to coax her mind into reacting not merely her body.
Because if he couldn’t do that, there was no point in keeping her.
He allowed her half an hour or so before he headed back down the stairs and found her sat on the bed, dressed in one of the sets he’d purchased, her hair loose round her face and shoulders the way he liked. She jumped to her feet and he had to actively supress the groan that was rolling in his throat as his eyes scanned her up and down, and he didn’t miss the slight bruises that dotted her skin in various places where he’d marked her as his own. She’d long since stopped trying to cover herself up. Instead she stood stock still, her eyes focussed on the floor.
With long strides he walked into the room and stopped in front of her, tipping her chin up with his finger so she was looking at him, her eyes wide with trepidation and he gave a smirk as he reached up, brushing her hair off the side of her face and neck, dropping his head as he did so.
“You smell so good, Sweetheart.” He inhaled against her pulse point, lips pressing into her there. He felt the gasp of her breath, the way her skin pricked with chill bumps. He smirked to himself, he’s found her spot. And he filed that away, committing it to memory. 
“I like this…” he practically purred as he toyed with the straps to the bra, a long, thick middle finger outlining the strap against her skin, lips following pursuit.
“You should, you chose it.”
He chuckled, ignoring the snark behind her words. “Like I chose you, huh?”
Like I chose you.
His words echoed around your head, reminding you exactly why you were in this fucking situation. Because he had decided you would be. He wanted you, and just like with everything else in his life that Hugh Ransom Drysdale wanted, he simply took. But what worried you the most about all this was whether or not you would be discarded the same way he no doubt discarded the other possessions he lost interest in.
You took a deep, steadying breath as his hands moved from the straps of your bra, long fingers moving to caress the back of your neck, but there was no grabbing, no force. He was being positively gentle.
And it scared the crap out of you.
“Are you afraid of me?” He asked, his breath hot and wet in your ear as you trembled under the further graze of his fingers against the macramé of your set. 
“You know I am," you swallowed nervously. You weren't new to this, this wasn't your first time, but the way he was being soft, a stark character change to his a-typical stance with you was what had you crawling in fear in the inside. Was it a game? Was it some sort of ploy? Was this his idea of foreplay now before he turned it up and went hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to make you cry?
A flat palm ran down your abdomen, already taught in fear. But not before a thumb grazed along the underside of your breast. Agonizingly slow, his hand, still splayed over you, dips into your matching macrame panties, dipping into your wet folds, thumb lightly pressing against your clit. 
“You’re so wet, considering you’re scared.”
You didn't answer, just swallowed hard, the lump stuck in your throat as it fought against a little whimper. 
His mouth once more latched onto your neck, the kisses gentle as opposed to the bruising ones you had become accustomed to. The fingers in your folds matched his slow nature, teasing you in such a way that when you closed your eyes and focussed your mind elsewhere, you could almost believe you were somewhere with a man you’d given permission to touch you in such away. But when his lips moved to your jawline and you took a deep breath, the heady scent of his cologne hit your senses and your eyes flew open as you were reminded just whose lips and hands were violating you in such away.
You swallowed as Ransom pulled away, his hand gently grasping your chin once more as he issued a simple instruction.
“Strip for me, sweetheart.”
You took a deep breath, swallowing down the bile that had once more risen up your throat as he sat down on the edge of the bed, his legs bent, hands resting on his knees as he watched you the way a lion watched its prey. You undid the clasp on your bra, your eyes remaining locked on his as you slid the straps down your shoulders and dropped the garment to the floor. Your captor took a deep breath, his eyes flicking down your body as you moved to shed the bottom half, wondering what on earth had been the point of wearing it in the first place. But even as you asked yourself that, you already knew the answer. It was a bout power, another way for him to remind you just who you belonged to now. How he could strip you bare in more way than one without even lifting a finger.
But lift a finger he did, curling it in mid-air as he beckoned you towards him. You took careful steps over the floor until you were stood in between his legs. His large hands smoothed up the outside of your thighs, before he pulled you towards him, his nose brushing the skin of your abdomen as he took  a deep breath, fingers curling round your thighs.
And then, in a flash he stood, taking you with him, and before you could so much as utter a squeak or noise of surprise he had you naked, laying across the bed, the sheets cold against your skin, a contrast to the heat emanating from the body against yours. The look in his lust blown eyes was overwhelming. You didn't know what you were in for but as his body, still clothed in the frayed maroon sweater and wool slacks sunk into the mattress between your legs, you felt a chill course through your veins, your skin, again, pricking in bumps all over. His hands, with their thick fingers, trailed long lines up and down your thighs, Ransom's full lips kissing at your sensitive inner skin, a nip or two here and there as he went from your knee, upward. 
He could smell your arousal, see it glistening as it dripped from your core. "Someone's ready," he quipped. He watched you swallow hard, a literal lump in your throat bobbing the skin. Your eyes never left him. "No cumming until I tell you. Do you understand?" When you didn't answer immediately, he swiped his tongue over your wet lips, tasting the honey your body gave him, your back arching away from sheets. "Do you understand?" 
And there it was, your punishment finally arriving from your little moment before over dinner. As you still had your wits about you, you uttered a single word response, in the hope that the more submissive you were, the more accepting you were of your chastisement, the less hard on you he was going to be.
"Yes." 
His mouth expertly devoured every inch of you, from your inner and outer pussy lips to the depths of your walls, tongue fucking you like you he was starving, the lavish holiday meal he'd partaken in not filling enough. His thumb pressed against your engorged nub, causing you to writhe but a firm arm over your abdomen kept you in place. The same thick fingers that traced lines up your thighs, two were now buried deep inside you, his tongue working away any juices that seeped out. As he gave you a third, stretching you more, you felt your walls start to tighten, that burning coil in your belly flare and your hands gripped the sheets tighter. 
Ransom could clearly feel you flutter against his fingers as he stopped his assault and looked up at you.
"What did I say?" 
Your chest heaved, your stomach taught and you fought to obey. When you managed to calm yourself, he began again, almost from square one, slowly, tantalizingly slow. 
The action was torture and you were desperately willing yourself to remain grounded as again your body fought to ride over the edge building inside you. When his mouth was over you completely, tongue deep, thumb pressing again into your clit, you felt the urge to cum. But he pulled away, slowly, his thumb stopping the pressure, his tongue slowly dragging out of you. 
"I said no. This is your punishment for your smart mouth over dinner."
"Please, I need to, I'll... I'll make it worth your while, please just let me." Your voice sounded alien as you spoke, the words leaving your mouth in the desperate hope he’d take pity on you but to no avail. Your attempts at bartering served only to frustrate him, anger him even and he Ransom backed away, roughly pulling you to the edge of the bed before stripping out of his sweater and undershirt, the undeniable outline of his hard cock along his thigh strained against his wool slacks. 
Harsh in his grip, he repositioned himself between your legs, your thighs across his shoulders, ass dangling above the floor as a heavy arm kept you still. His flat tongue, hot and full of your sex was eating away at you while his final throws of resolve ate away at him.
“I’m done playing fucking games.” he growled against your aching cunt “I should have gagged you, stuffed my cock deep into the back of your throat, something, anything to shut you up.”
You barely had time to register his words before once more you were flat out against the mattress, trying to regain your breath and calm yourself down when he backed away, tore open his flies and smirked down at you.
"Oh no, Sweetheart, we're not done yet."  He kneeled beside you, his chest heaving, hair completely out of place, anger and wait, was that pain, flickering in his eyes as he stuffed you with a hard thrust of his length. "Now you’re gonna cum on this dick."
He thrusted hard and within a few slams of his hips against yours, he allowed you the release you were begging for, "that's right, Princess, cum on my cock." 
You wept at the feeling finally freeing you, cries of pleasure spilling from your lips as you squeezed around him. Your chest heaving against his, skin to skin. The fabric of his wool pants hot and itchy against your inner thighs. He was still thrusting but now it had slowed to a roll, slow and calculated. Your muddled mind was buzzing and rapidly trying to sort out if he'd cum inside you or if he wasn't finished. His features were softer, but still filled with purpose and his lips latched onto a naked breast causing your body to react, tingles and flames licking at your core again. His eyes looked up at yours as he caged you in, still buried deep inside you, hips rolling. 
"I said we weren't done," he rasped. His thrusts and rolls, the two very different tactics mixing now, made the swell of his cock inside you abhorrently pleasurable. Try as you might, it was impossible to feel otherwise. 
And Ransom was finding it equally as hard to hold on. His weight was evenly distributed over her, his cock swelling inside her heat. It took all he had not to blow his load the first time he made her cum, hearing the sinful sounds of her orgasm that felt like a volcanic eruption around his hard shaft. But now he could feel her again, tiny little pulses around his already overtly sensitive dick. He was sure his precum was leaking out, wanting to paint the way for the rest of him to follow. He rolled and thrust as his lips nipped at her neck. She moaned loudly, her body exuding lust. He could feel her shake beneath him and to his delight and surprise her eyes were no longer screwed shut and turned away. Instead they were locked on his. The moment those deep hued orbs met his, he felt a hitch in his breath and tightness in his chest that travelled through his belly and into his cock, causing the thick member to throb inside her. Tiny, soft hands gripped at his biceps, her touch a fiery scald against his skin, almost as if it were frost bite. Her touch equally shocking as her stare and he gave a roll of his hips to hide what he felt. A deep, satiated roll of his hips that sent her over the edge. 
"Hugh!" She came around him, harder than her first, crying out his given name. It snapped him from his moment of revelation, driving him insanely frustrated at the word leaving her lips. He slammed into her as she rode out her orgasm, chasing his own. 
You felt the dismissal of his body as he violently pulled free from your walls, spewing his hot seed over your abdomen, drops claiming your tits too. He nearly collapsed, his dick in hand, the other holding himself up against the mattress between your legs. 
He left you there, dirty, degraded and shut the door with a barked instruction for you to clean yourself up. You no longer cried in front of him, either before, during or after. There was no point. He didn’t care about how you felt, but the thing he DID seem to care about was the fact that you still refused to call him Ransom. 
It was the one thing you held on to, the only thing that gave you an inch of control in this entire fucked up situation. You hadn’t missed the look on his face when you’d cried out 'Hugh' in the throes of your last orgasm. Before that moment there had been a softness in his eyes, one that had unnerved you no end, along with something that had looked suspiciously like hope. But when his given name had tumbled involuntarily from your mouth and not the one he preferred that softness had turned to contempt and you didn't miss the undercurrent of disappointment either.
And seeing that, knowing that it pissed him off and dare you say it, upset him so much was your single, albeit feeble, act of rebellion that served as a desperate boost to your ever waning inner strength. *****
Ransom laid in his large, plush bed, hands behind his head as the silk sheets pooled at his waist as morning was in full swing outside. His thoughts strayed to his girl in the basement and he took a deep breath, shifting slightly as he remembered the way her fingers had felt as they’d curled around his biceps, her touch firey but cold. That had been the first time she’d touched him when she wasn’t trying to push him away, it had been involuntary, he knew that, a reaction to the way she’d been feeling, the way he had made her feel. 
A twitch resounded deep in his belly....the way he made her feel.
He realised now that he’d been going about this the entirely wrong way. The force had been necessary to make her comply at first, but last night she hadn’t just complied she’d participated, just what he had wanted all along. And all after he’d shown her a little leeway, brought her dinner, entertained her talk. He understood now that he needed to play a different card from his hand. She responded better to conversation, talking. Ransom hated fucking talking, he was more cerebral, calculating. Conversation means connecting, and connecting was something he wasn’t particularly interested in normally. He needed to lead, to be in charge, but it was clearly what she knew and thrived on, so he had to swallow his apprehension down to play the long game, to get what he wanted. 
Now he understood that, it was going to be so fucking easy. All he had to do was to seemingly show her compassion, a little give so he could take so to speak. He rolled his head, cracking his neck as he remembered what she said about cooking with her mom so he decided that after her stellar performance last night, today she’d earned a bigger reward than a book or some journal. He was going to show her what she could have if she just gave in and admitted what he knew she truly wanted. A large house, a garden, a pool, a hot tub, silk sheets, a large bed, and a man to fuck her every way to heaven and back. He could give her everything that any woman could possibly desire, and then some.
With a twitch of a smirk across his lips, Ransom pulled his naked frame out of bed and slipped into joggers, a soft waffle knit thermal long sleeve pulled over his tousled hair. He felt like company for breakfast and he knew exactly to invite up. 
His bare feet padded with purpose over the plush carpet of his room, down the stairs and onto the first floor, over the hard wood and marble tile of the halls and entry, down the plush carpeted spiral staircase down to the basement.
He reached the door and gently turned the locks, quietly pushing the door open as he turned the knob. It opened quietly and his eyes fell upon the empty bed. He frowned slightly, wondering where she was. Then his eyes found her, sitting curled up with her eyes cast upward, that little tease of a porthole window in her focus. She'd turned her chair around so she could see it more clearly, the throw blanket he'd tossed at her the week before was wrapped around her body. He didn't know the time, but it wasn't early nor was it afternoon. Not that it mattered, neither had anywhere else to be.
"Good morning," he said lowly. He watched as her eyes slowly moved away from the only bit of outside world she'd seen for weeks now.
"Morning," she replied quietly, her eyes locking onto his. "I err, I was just..." she trailed off. "Actually, I don't know what I was doing to be honest."
He stalked up to the chair, kneeling in front her. His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb running over her cheek bone. "You were such a good girl last night. Took me so well, teased me with that little number you had on. I've thought about you all morning."
Ransom watched her throat bob as she swallowed before licking her lips and biting the inside corner of her lip. Such an innocent gesture that had him half hard straight away.
"I want to give you something. But you have to be good, or it goes away," he started. "Can you be good, Sweetheart?"
She nodded, slightly. "Okay," he smirked. "Now, fix the chair and come up to make us breakfast."
Ransom stood back, allowing you some space to accommodate his request. You slipped the throw blanket from your shoulders and left it in the chair as you rearranged the piece back to its normal state. You met him at the doorway. You didn't miss the way his eyes moved over you, the way they lit up in a way at as he looked at the silken material covering your body. The dark teal silk and lace cami set was just one of a handful of options he'd provided for you. All the same, different colors, all in your size. 
You hesitated for a second, not sure if this was another one of his little games but he simply met your eyes with his own and nodded up the stairs. With tentative, shaky steps you climbed them, sensing him close behind you as for the first time in weeks you left your prison.  You felt anxious, highly on edge and nervous. What was awaiting you? There was the sickening feeling in your stomach of excitement too, you hadn’t seen the outside since Halloween. You paused at the top of the stairs in the hall. The kitchen was directly across from you, the entry to your right. The door to the basement clicked shut and you felt Ransom’s firm chest behind your back as his form invaded your space. He dragged a finger down your arm causing the strap of your top to fall away, placing a soft kiss on your shoulder.
"Straight ahead, Sweetheart."
“Okay,” you whispered before you slowly made your way through to the large, airy kitchen. You stood looking around, taking in the fancy appliances before you turned back to Ransom. "Did you have something in mind?”
"Well..." Ransom leaned in the doorway, watching you as you stood in the middle of the tiled floor "Yesterday wasn't the first time you said you enjoyed to cook so I thought you might like to." His eyes flicked once more down your frame and back up again before he nodded his head towards the rear of the room. “Anything you need is in the pantry and fridge.”
“And I can make anything I want?” You blinked, not quite able to believe what he was allowing you to do. It was fucked up that you were even considering this as a reward but, you’d take it. Boy would you take it, anything to grasp some sense of normality in this day-by-day hell you were living.
“Sure.” Ransom popped a shoulder again and you took a deep breath before you turned and headed to the sink to wash your hands before sorting out your menu and you froze. The outside landscape had stopped you cold. From what you could see of the back garden the property was secluded, not over looked. A lawn extended a fair distance back from the rear of the house, a neat decking area stood to the right which sported a hot tub and a little further down there looked to be a pool of some kind which was covered over for the season. Trees hung over the bottom of the garden lining the high wooden fence, what few leaves they still sported were shades of crimson, gold and brown and the river traced it’s banks as it curved around the side and back of the house, the sun shining off the surface, giving it the impression it was made of sapphires. It was breathtakingly beautiful and you felt your heart shatter, your eyes well and you couldn't help but hold back the urge to weep as your chest contracted painfully. You were so close to the outside, separated only by a pane of glass, yet it had never felt further away.
His voice broke you from your despair and you swallowed back the sob that choked your throat as you flicked your attention to the left, Ransom's reflection drawing closer towards you as he crossed the terracotta tiled floor.
"Everything alright?"
You cleared your throat and gave a quick shake of your head, "Fine."
Again you felt him in your space. His presence consuming. “You sure?”
Sure? No you weren’t sure. Because none of this was fine, in fact it was as far from fine as it could possibly get. In that moment you wanted nothing more than to spin round and hammer your fists into any part of his body you could hit but you knew that it wouldn't get you anywhere, bar back in the basement likely shackled naked to the bed so you instead turned slowly to find yourself caged in by his broad frame so close to yours. You cast your eyes downward, uncomfortable at his searching stare, "Yeah, I’m sure.”
Your tongue flicked nervously over your lips as you continued to avoid his gaze before you cleared your throat “How do you like your eggs? Or would you prefer an omelette? Pancakes even?" The urge to move away from him pulled you away from your idea of a menu. Brunch basics were flooding your brain and you rattled off a few nervously. He may have said you could make whatever you wanted, but right now, you had no clue. Seeing a different space, the outside world and breathing new air had rattled you.
“You choose.” Ransom spoke softly, his hand reaching up to brush your hair off your face before he tipped your chin up so your eyes met his. He looked at you, and you swallowed as for the first time there was something unreadable on his face. His eyes were looking at you in a way they’d never looked at you before, with a softness you’d never have anticipated he could possess.
"Waffles." You suddenly blurted out, desperate to escape his gaze "I err, do you have a waffle iron?”
“No.” He deadpanned.
"Oh," you swallowed "Erm, then in that case French toast...maybe? Is that ok?"
“Sounds delicious.” He said, his hand dropping from your face, “Sure it’ll taste almost as good as you.”
“Great. How about with fresh Chantilly cream and berries if you have them?” You asked, completely ignoring his blatant back handed compliment and you started familiarizing yourself with the space as you glanced around.
“Like I said, whatever you want, Sweetheart.” He shrugged, and with that he stepped back to allow you to move away.
Ransom watched her move around the luxurious kitchen, looking through the pantry and cabinet near the stove taking out cinnamon and vanilla, plucking items like bread, butter, eggs, berries and cream from the fridge. Searching drawers for utensils and measuring cups and spoons. Finding a pan and bowl from a bottom cabinet. Measuring sugar from the glass jar on the counter. He hoped the ingredients were still fresh, he wasn't exactly sure how long they'd been stored. She moved like she belonged there, he thought to himself. So sexy looking in her nightwear, bare feet on the tile, her ass and breasts moving underneath the silk as she stretched and worked. 
"Coffee?" He offered, as he moved from one side to the other. He made sure his exquisite espresso machine was ready as it sat in all its glory on its own portion of the counter like a batista station inside Starbucks. 
He didn't miss the way she watched him move around her, preparing the coffee and grabbing the orange juice from the fridge. He reached over her shoulder, his body brushing against hers as he opened the cupboard where he kept the glasses and mugs. He peered down at her, giving a twitch to the corner of his mouth. A smirk indeed. He noted the way her eyes followed him as he poured the juice, like he was going to poison her or something. 
"It's just juice, Sweetheart," he said nonchalantly and put the juice back in the fridge. He set the breakfast table for them and took a seat in his place, a now hot cup of coffee in his hand, hers sitting on the counter next to her. 
It wasn’t long before she had finished and brought the plates to the table, sitting down timidly in the seat to his right as he gestured to it, stopping her dead as she was about to make her way around to the opposite side.
It was quiet, the only sounds heard for a while were the click and scrape of forks and knives cutting away at the plates of food. Ransom wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was the best French toast he'd ever had in his life. Something about it, the way it was not soggy, but perfectly moist, the edges just crispy. The way the cream made for no syrup and the sweet berries added the final element. He watched her pick at the food for a moment or two as he glanced over at her and saw a small bit of Chantilly in the corner of her mouth.
A long arm reached across the table and automatically she flinched a little, as if she was going to pull away but one firm stare stopped her in her tracks. His thick thumb padded away the white, sweet cream and he brought the same thumb to his lips, sucking the cream away. He lifted his brows in a teasing manner and twitched up his lips, "Delicious. Like I said, almost as good as you, Sweetheart."
"Thanks, I think," she paused. 
"Trust me, I know."
The comment seemingly threw her off her meal and it didn't get past Ransom. She had started picking at it, moving it around the plate like she had done with her dinner the night before. He, on the other hand, was near finished. 
"Are you still not hungry?" He inquired. 
She shook her head, "I just made my portion too big. I overestimated my appetite, I guess."
"Huh," he placated her reply. He knew she was lying but he let it slide, realizing that seeing a new space, the window to the outside was overwhelming. So, he thought he'd sweeten the deal. "I thought maybe you'd like to see the house," he offered, watching as her big eyes locked onto his and she took a deep breath.
"That sounds nice, thank you."
"Good, after breakfast then." He nodded affirmingly, as if it were drying ink in his mind. He picked up his coffee and finished it off, his plate already clear. 
She stood from the table, collecting his plate with her own and headed for the sink. He turned in his chair, stalking her, watching her every move. The way she pitched over the sink, bending her frame over the dishwasher to load it as she cleaned up the kitchen. 
With each bend and snap of her hips, he felt his mouth water more. Her little silk cami riding up as she moved, her breasts falling in and out of a fuller view. When she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, he was on her. He moved behind her, his hands grabbed her hips as she spun around completely startled giving a gasp and a quick yelp. 
"Easy, Sweetheart," he chuckled as she looked at him, her eyes wide.
"Sorry... you, err...you startled me." She whispered as he moved his hands so they gripped at the side of the kitchen counter on either side of her, caging her in with his body.
"Some women would like that," he quipped, arching an eyebrow a little and watched as she swallowed hard and cast her eyes downward. Moving one hand slowly up her arm, over her shoulder and around her neck, he tipped her head back up so those large, Bambi eyes locked onto his.
His hand adjusted, gripping her chin softly as he moved closer still, dipping his head he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. He felt her go rigid, her chest spiking as she drew in a sharp breath, her body shaking slightly in his hold. "Stop fighting it..." he whispered against her mouth before he kissed her again. This time, his tongue traced the line of her upper lip, the feel of it soft and soothing.
You felt his tongue line your lip and you couldn't hold the whimper of fear that passed through you. He’d never kissed you before, not on the mouth anyway. You felt him deepen his kiss, his big hand cupping your face, pulling you into it more. Your mind went elsewhere, imagining anyone but him kissing you like this. You couldn't deny it, this intimate moment, completely lost on both of you for different reasons, felt good and he was good at it. He was damn good at it in fact, and that alone made you want to vomit your breakfast into his throat. At that, you jerked back, panting a little, feeling your lips swollen from the way he'd sucked your bottom one between his, pulling at it just the right way. You hated the feeling between your legs that it had evoked, your body betraying you just like it always did.
In an attempt to stave off the conflicting emotions spiking within you, you focussed on his face, the face you hated and to your surprise he looked dazed. The usual stoic expression that clouded his features had been replaced with something akin to surprise but no sooner had you noticed it, it was gone.
"Clean up and I'll meet you in the study." He told you, his voice a deep almost pained whisper. 
"But I don't..." you started but were quickly cut off. 
"You're a smart girl, figure it out," he smirked and slipped away. 
You were tempted to follow, just so you'd see where he was going but you knew not to defy a command. The feeling of unease seemed to disappear as you slumped your shoulders and instead defeat filled your frame. A trembling hand came to your lips as jittery fingertips touched your swollen skin. Your bottom lip quivered like a ripple in a river and you quickly covered your mouth, turning on a dime as your French toast littered the sink. If the water hadn't been running already, Ransom would no doubt have heard you retching. You rinsed your mouth out to attempt at hiding that vomit taste from your tongue and quickly finished your task of cleaning up the kitchen, salty tears dripping from your chin, mixing with the soapy water. 
When you could stall no longer, you sighed and headed out into the large hallway, taking a quick look around. It was light, airy, the grand staircase swept in and curved round to the next floor and your eyes lingered on the heavy wooden door just beyond it. You hesitated, and then with a dejected sigh realised there was no point even trying to escape. Even if it was unlocked, which you doubted, the threat to your family was just too much for you to risk. Instead, you decided to head down the corridor to your right and found yourself in a large open plan living room of sorts. It was decorated in clean whites and crisp greys with a huge feature stone open fireplace and sported a bar at the back. A brown leather sofa and two matching arm chairs were strategically placed around an expensive looking coffee table but you didn’t bother to look at the rest, this wasn’t the room you needed so you turned back on yourself, walked back into the hall and took the turning to your left.
This time you found yourself walking into what you could only assume was his study-come-den of sorts. It was huge, and once again sported a sofa pushed up against the wall, looking out over the spectacular view of not only the garden but the river too. But that wasn’t what caught your attention, nor was it the walnut desk and laptop that sat upon it. It was the floor to ceiling bookshelf behind it. Your mouth dropped open as you made your way towards it but then you stopped, biting your lip. Were you supposed to be looking at them? But, he had said to meet you in here. And left you to find your own way.  Surely, if he didn’t want you looking around he wouldn’t have left you to it.
Throwing caution to the wind you strode forward, your pace hurried this time and your eyes quickly scanned across some of the books. You couldn’t help but feel shocked. Whilst there was a huge collection of his Grandfather’s books, and a number of other crime novels of types, it was the colourful spines to your right that made your chest heave in delight. The entire Harry Potter collection. With a shaky hand you reached for The Philosopher’s Stone, noting the British version of the title, and opened the front page giving another gasp as you read the publishing details.
This was a first edition.  And from the date you also knew it would be one that contained the misprint errors. And as such, would be worth a small fortune.
“See something you like?” that familiar voice hit your ears and you gave a little shriek, jumping around, clutching the book to your chest to avoid dropping it.
“I’m sorry.” You hastily began to apologise “I was just…erm…”
“It’s ok.” He assured you, crossing towards you. Once more he encroached into your personal space and you felt the blades of your shoulders press into the shelf behind you. “Harry Potter fan?”
“Yeah.” You nodded, “Didn’t think they’d be your type of thing.
“They’re not really.” He shrugged “I’m a collector. Everything on the shelves, well they’re all first or limited editions, so worth a lot.”
“Figures.” You mumbled, turning round and slotting the book back into the space it had come from. As you did you felt him push up behind you, his hands on your hips, the unmistakable feel of his hard on dug into the lower part of your back and you fought to stop yourself shuddering. He was after pay-back for allowing you to leave your prison.
“Did you like the house?” he asked, brushing your hair off your neck.
“Yes.” You answered politely, your voice catching a little as he placed a kiss to the crook of your shoulder.
“You know, it could all be yours sweetheart if you just stopped fighting what you know you want” His kisses continued up your neck as his words whirled around your brain and you were back to where you had been in the kitchen. It felt good. And that disgusted you.
“Did you enjoy making breakfast?” he whispered, his lips by your ear.
“Yeah.” You nodded, your voice barely there.
“Show me how much.” His teeth nipped at your lobe, his hips grinding forward and you swallowed and closed your eyes. You knew what he wanted but as you turned to face him you had an idea. One which would save you being fucked no doubt over the desk or on the hard looking couch.
With a lick of your lips you looked at him and sank slowly to your knees, taking his sweats with you. His hard cock sprang free, slapping his lower abs and you reached out, grasping it in your hand.
“Fuck, yeah baby…” Ransom hissed as you moved your head forwards and took him in your mouth.
You pulled out all the moves, you took him as deep as you could, gagging a little as he wasn’t a small man. You kept your hand firmly on the base of his cock, you hollowed your lips, you swirled your tongue around his shaft and he let out a little groan his hand fisting in your hair as his hips bucked forwards.
“Jesus, I knew your mouth was smart but…” he panted, looking down at you. You raised your eyes to look at his as he bit his lip, his entire face contorted in pleasure…
Pleasure that was ruined by the sound of the doorbell.
 “What the fuck…” Ransom growled out, un-fisting his hand from her hair. “Who the fuck is that?”
He glanced down at her and she looked up at him, wide eyed. She was a mess, swollen lips, wet chin and dressed in nothing but her skimpy tank and shorts. With a frustrated growl, Ransom pulled his dick out of her mouth and grabbed his phone from the table to check the doorbell camera. His face blanched as he saw who it was.
“I don’t fucking believe it…” he mumbled, as she looked up at him.
“Who is it?” She asked, wiping her face, “I’m not exactly dressed for visitors, Hugh.”
Ransom might have been pre-occupied with the familiar face staring at him from his phone, but he still picked up on that 'Hugh' and he glared down at her. “No shit, and because we have a visitor, I'm gonna let that one slide. Get up.” She rose to her feet, blinking a little as he pulled off the thermal he was wearing and tossed it to her. “Put that on. No one gets to see you in silk but me.”
She blinked as she caught it, confusion spreading across her face. “Don’t you just want me to go-“
In a flash, he grabbed her chin between his thumb and finger and she winced, “If I wanted you downstairs I’d have said. So put the damn shirt on, and when he starts asking questions just remember what I said I could do to your family and friends.”
In complete complacency, he watched her slip his thermal over her head, her fingers barely peeking through the sleeves to fix her dishevelled hair. The material hit her mid-thigh and his eyes brows gave a flicker of approval before he walked to the entry and opened the door. "What do you want?"
"Pleasure to see you too, Mr. Drysdale..." that infuriating Southern drawl hit Ransom's ears with all the finesse of a cheese-grater. Benoit Blanc, without so much as a gesture of request, pushed past Ransom as he strode inside, stopping in the tiled entry, looking around.
"Do you have a warrant?" The man of the house snipped in his usual spiteful tone.
Blanc still didn’t reply, and Ransom rolled his eyes following him as he wandered down the hallway, stopping at the open door to the study. "Well, if it isn't the lady of the hour."
Ransom stood behind Blanc, an infuriatingly warning glare sent his girl's way. He noted the way she was sitting on the couch, her legs tucked underneath her, lips still swollen, cheeks flushed, hair tousled. She looked like a sex kitten, and maybe that was the idea. He warned her to sell it after all…
"Excuse me?” Y/N looked up at the two men in the doorway. 
Blanc stepped inside the room, taking a seat on the edge of the same couch where she sat. "I've been looking for you, young lady. A lot of people are looking for you, you know Miss Y/L/N.”
“I errr…” she swallowed a little as she slowly got to her feet, her hands pulling the hem of the thermal down before she folded her arms across her chest, not in a defiant manner, but almost as if she was hugging herself “Did someone send you or…”
“No, nothing like that. You see, I heard you'd gone missing, and I knew you had a work connection to Mr. Drysdale, that, shall we say didn't go quite as planned. So when things started adding up, I thought to ask the man himself."
“Well, congratulations, this is one mystery you actually solved correctly, Sherlock. As you can see she’s here and she’s fine, and we were in the middle of something, so if you don’t mind….” Ransom folded his arms, his eyes moving from hers to Blanc, who was irritatingly completely ignoring him, his gaze focussed intently on the woman who stood in front of him.
Ransom could see him take her in fully, now seeing the situation he may have just walked in on. She looked dishevelled and was missing crucial parts of her clothing, but she had no tears in her eyes, no markings looking to be of abuse or out of the ordinary. None that were visible anyway. Blanc’s gaze then dragged over to Ransom who was bare foot in joggers and still half aroused, which he did nothing to hide as he folded his arms over his naked chest.
Ransom held Blanc’s gaze, his chin jutting out defiantly, the detective only looking away when the lady of the hour spoke, her voice quiet, as she gave a small nod. "He’s right, I’m fine."
"Then why not tell your family where you are?”
“I err…” Y/N’s right hand gripped he cuff of the sweater sleeve tightly, “I just, well, I…”
Ransom could see that she was losing it and he knew he had to intervene. He walked over to her and placed an arm around her, kissing the top of her head lightly, "It's alright, Sweetheart. I know how he can be frustrating. We're doing nothing wrong."
With that he turned his gaze to the man in front of him, not even trying to hide the sneer of contempt that was crossing his face “I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you Blanc.”
“Well, maybe Miss Y/L/N has some crayons hidden up her sleeve so to speak.” Blanc smiled innocently and Ransom felt the anger floor his system.
“You’re starting to really piss me off.” he snarled, “You barge into my home, without so much of an explanation…” his rant was stopped dead as Y/N placed her hand on his chest, palm splaying over his bare skin. Ransom swallowed at the touch of her fingers against his skin, firey hot just as they had been last night when they curled around his arms.
"Hey," she spoke and he looked down to see her giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes but one that should be enough to convince the dumbass detective who was watching them. "It's okay." She then turned to Blanc as he held his hand up, palm open, speaking to Ransom.
“I’m not trying to be frustrating Mr. Drysdale, I'm merely enquiring after Miss Y/L/N’s wellbeing."
"I'm not here under duress if that's what you're thinking.” She spoke, clearing her throat. “Hu… Ra, we have had to keep our relationship private,” she stumbled on the right identity, settling for 'we'. Clearing her throat again and settling her nerves, she continued, "Mr. Blanc, as you well know, I'm reporter and his background has been less than stellar as of late. It no doubt would not look good for either of us if it had come to light. My reputation as a journalist would have been in tatters.”
“Well, lies and deception certainly go hand in hand when it comes to Mr. Drysdale...”
Ransom rolled his eyes dramatically “Change the record, Blanc. The static is a little loud.”
Blanc completely ignored him, his attention still on her. “So you caused all this worry, because of some…” he waved his hand in front of him, gesturing between the pair of them. 
Ransom’s arm curled round her even tighter, his fingers pressing into her hip and he felt her stiffen a little before she relaxed into his side and gave a small nod.
"Like I said, it wouldn’t have gone down well with my family, or my career.”
“Ahh, yes, your job, which you quit.” Blanc looked at her. “Yes, I spoke to your boss.” He answered her unasked question. “Why would you be so worried for your reputation as a journalist, if you’re not actually a journalist anymore?”
At that she took a deep breath “I quit the paper because my boss is an asshole. His antics on Halloween were a step too far. But that doesn’t mean I have no intentions of working ever again. I'm currently taking a long overdue sabbatical.”
Blanc studied her again, almost as if he was weighing something up and she once more began to fidget and Ransom decided he’d had enough.
"Okay, I’m done being polite,” Ransom moved his arm from around his girl and stepped towards Blanc, placing himself directly between the detective and the woman. “You've interrupted out little post brunch love affair and I’m horny, so…do you need help finding the door, or can your super sleuth skills figure the way back out of it on their own?”
“Miss Y/L/N?” Blanc spoke, his eyes locked onto Ransom’s. Ransom felt the nerve in his jaw twitch, the fact that Blanc wasn’t scared of him irritated him no end.
There was a pause and then her voice came clearly from behind him as she spoke, “If you'd be so kind as to not tell my family where I am, I'd appreciate it. I prefer this time without their unwanted opinion.”  Her voice was steady, measured almost. “You can tell them that you've found me, alive and well."
Blanc knew he wasn't welcome, he had proof of life and no reason to suspect foul play. He stood, his long wool coat falling into place around him. "Well, then I guess my work is done." He brushed passed Ransom and gave a quick quip, "I'm warning you...." 
"What was that?" His girl wondered. She'd heard him. 
"Have a nice day," Blanc nodded curtly “I’ll see myself out.”  
You watched the back of the detective as he left the large living room, Ransom following him to the doorway where he stood, arms folded, watching. The sound of Blanc’s feet on the tiles of the hallway grew fainter and fainter until eventually they stopped completely.  The latch of the door sounded and you fell to the closest thing you could sit on. Your while body shook with a chill that crept into your bones but not from the cold. No, you were sick to your stomach in fear and worry. The bile of deceit rose to your throat and had you not already spewed up your breakfast it would have most likely decorated the carpet of the study.  Instead, you swallowed down the sour bile as Drysdale approached you and you glanced up at him, blinking whilst he studied you for a second, his face passive. As you held his gaze, something akin to amusement flashed in his cold blue eyes and a twisted smirk spread across his face.
“Your acting skills certainly improved there along the way, at the end you were almost award worthy.” He drawled, his hands falling to his hips. “Even Meryl Streep would be jealous.”
"Fuck you," your voice quivered.
He arched an eyebrow, an amused expression on his features “Already played that game Sweetheart, and carry on back-chatting me and you’ll be back in the basement.”
"Wh... What?"
"You pulled through in the end there. It was a rough start, but you convinced Colonel Sanders that you were here on your own."
“Colonel Sanders?” You blinked, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Blanc. CSI KFC.” He replied. You were none the wiser as to what he was going on about and it must have shown on your face as he simply rolled his eyes. "Never mind...the point is, sweetheart, I'm in a good mood. And seeing as you behaved...”
"What?" Your voice was quiet, meek.
"If you shut that pretty little mouth for longer than a second, I'll explain." His tone was measured but you didn’t miss the underlying threat.
“Sorry.” Your eyes fell to the floor, your left hand worrying at your right.
“Eyes on me.” He barked and your head whipped up automatically and he smirked at you as you took a deep breath. “As I was saying, seeing as you were such a good girl, I thought I’d reward you, let you stay up here with me for the day.”
The notion shocked you. Your mouth went dry and you couldn't make sense of it. But then, the more you thought about it, the more his audacity irked you. He’d imprisoned you, used you, abused you…and now he was implying that staying in his company was a fucking reward.
“Wow, thanks…” you blurted before you could stop yourself, sarcasm lacing your tone. As soon as the words had slipped from your mouth you felt panic flood your system as he stepped towards you and reached out, his right hand curling around your throat.
"Don’t push me sweetheart.” His voice was low as his fingers squeezed the column of your neck, a reminder of how easily he could simply end it all whenever he chose. 
And just like that the softness that he had displayed with you earlier that morning was gone, and the shutters were back up. You swallowed hard, feeling the strain of your throat against his touch, his eyes now dark and full of that familiar angry lust and desire that chilled you from head to toe. Blanc had riled him, gotten underneath his skin, that was easy to see while your mouthy comments fuelled that ire. And as such, he needed an escape, an outlet.
And he was going to get it from you.
“Now on your knees and finish what you started."
178 notes · View notes
angstyaches · 4 years ago
Text
Why Do Bad Things Happen To Hungry People?
This is my first hunger fic in a very long time. How the hell are you supposed to title these things?!
It’s also the first ever fic from the Lucyverse, as I’ve decided to call it (basically, any fics that follow the day-to-day lives of Lucy’s flatmates).
CW: hunger, overworking, getting stuck on public transport.
___
Autumn waved as she entered the coffee shop, flinching as the little bell over the door went off to announce her arrival. She glanced up at it, gesturing with her palm for it to calm down, as though it should have somehow known she wasn’t a real customer. Payton’s heart skipped a beat as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and scampered away to an armchair by the window, not wanting to disturb her partner while they worked.
She was so freaking cute.
“Busy today?”
Payton tore their eyes off the back of Autumn’s head and turned to look at Jake, who had only started his supervisor shift five minutes ago. He was inspecting how much money was in the till as Payton laid out a fresh batch of muffins in the food case. The wafting scents of cinnamon and banana and chocolate were all so enticing that Payton could no longer ignore the fact that they’d had to work through lunch. Going an afternoon without food had left them with an ache in their stomach that had only been aggravated more by the stress of keeping the constant stream of customers satisfied. It had rained unexpectedly all afternoon, which had sent floods of park visitors running for shelter and warm drinks.
“Very,” Payton replied to Jake. “I don’t think we had any free tables for about four hours. We barely had time to wipe them down between customers.”
“Christ,” Jake grumbled, closing the till. “And you managed okay, even though Stephen called in sick?”
Payton gestured around themself, displaying the fact that nothing appeared to have burned down or crumbled. Part of them wanted to complain further about the toll the day had taken on them, but it felt better to just act confident about it. “Everything was fine. Nothing to worry about.”
“They should be paying you as a supervisor, you know,” Jake said. “I’ll talk to Anne about interviewing you.”
“Really? That would – that would be really cool.” Payton blushed, partly from the praise from their superior, but mostly because their stomach chose that moment to twist inside of them, releasing a long, rumbling growl. The music in the coffee shop was low and calming at this time of evening, but… maybe it would still muffle the sound?
When Jake double-glanced towards the front of Payton’s apron, it was clear that the music had muffled nothing.
“Sorry.” Payton placed a hand over their belly. “When Stephen couldn’t come, it meant I couldn’t take my lunch break.”
Jake frowned and glanced at his watch. “Your shift started at ten thirty, right? You haven’t had a break since then?”
Payton shook their head.
“Fuck it, go home. I’ll tell Anne you clocked out on time.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, you’ve only got another half-hour anyway, and the place is dead now.” Jake gestured to the room of thirty-six seats, of which only five were currently occupied. “Plus, your girl’s already here. No use in keeping her waiting.”
Payton was already wriggling out of their apron and heading for the door that led to the break room and lockers. “Thank you so much.”
Once they were in the break room, silence crashed over Payton like waves. The shop hadn’t been loud just now by any means, but they hadn’t been away from a din of any kind for almost ten hours. Their ears rang as they put their apron and work shoes in their locker and gulped a half-bottle of water that they found in there. The liquid hit their stomach like a solid lump of rock, but luckily it was lukewarm, and the discomfort didn’t linger for too long.
Payton didn’t linger either.
They tugged their jacket on over their buttoned shirt, wishing they’d brought something with a hood today, in case it decided to rain again before they made it to the tram. Maybe Autumn had thought to bring an umbrella, they reckoned, sighing in premature relief at the thought of her, waiting in the shop for them. They quickly pulled their headband off, brushing their dark bangs downwards and tossing the band into the locker for the next day.
As they pushed back through the door to the coffee shop, Payton felt like their feet had ceased to exist, leaving behind ankles that just floated through the air with a human body propped over them. They saw the back of Autumn’s head near the window, and they smiled to themself, momentarily forgetting the hunger and exhaustion and stress.
“See you tomorrow,” Jake called from behind the till.
Payton shot him a half-hearted salute, never slowing on their beeline to where Autumn was waiting. Well, it was less of a beeline than Payton would have liked; as though to personally inconvenience them, the coffee shop was full of tables and chairs and sofas, which needed to be manoeuvred around.
“Ooh!” Autumn exclaimed as arms snaked around her shoulders from behind the armchair. She dropped her book into her lap and reached up with one hand to tickle the back of Payton’s neck. “Hello, baby. Finished early?”
Payton mumbled an inaudible confirmation against her hair, not caring that they were probably messing up her ponytail. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” Autumn said. “A little tired.”
“Me too,” Payton sighed, lifting their head but remaining slumped against the back of the armchair. They felt a gentle cramping in their stomach as they reconsidered their answer. “And hungry.”
“Huh.” Autumn reached up and tapped her book against the top of Payton’s head. The gesture was unnecessarily gentle, as though she’d hit them with something thicker than a paperback print of Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. “Well, luckily for you, I’ve got all the makings of your favourite waiting in your fridge.”
Payton’s stomach clenched again, their heart lifting slightly. It had been tricky to get Lucy to agree to it, but Autumn had her own key to the apartment; not only did she call around to visit Payton so often that she might as well have lived there too, but there were often issues at home that she opted to spend the night away from.
But that wasn’t the point right now.
“Your famous sausage rolls?” Payton sank even harder against the back of the armchair, partly to be dramatic, but partly because their body literally weakened a little at the notion of Autumn’s cooking.
Autumn smiled up at them from the cushions. “Pastry’s already made. Just got to assemble and bake them. I got us some oven chips too. Oh – I forgot to check if you had any beans in the cupboard, though.”
“We’re four college students; of course we’ve got beans in the cupboard,” Payton assured her, loudly enough to disguise the fact that their stomach was growling again as they pictured the dinner they hadn’t known awaited them.
“Excellent point.” Autumn scooped up the strap of her shoulder bag and slipped her book inside. She smoothed down the hem of her pinafore as she stood up. “Ready to go?”
“Way beyond ready,” Payton smiled, watching her scoop up the umbrella that was resting against the arm of the chair.
 ***
Payton wriggled uncomfortably in a scratchy tram seat, unable to find a relaxed position where they didn’t feel painful pressure building up in their stomach. It was really starting to ache, now that there was nothing to keep Payton’s mind busy. They would have loved nothing more than to be home already, biting into the flaky pastry and warm, soft filling of Autumn’s sausage rolls and finally getting something into their cramping belly.
“You alright, baby? You’re quiet.”
“Am I?” Payton laughed. Their head was spinning just a little, and their voice was starting to sound shaky. “Sorry, I’m just very tired.”
It didn’t feel good to lie to Autumn, even if it was less a lie and more a concealment of the truth. She would never say the words out loud, but Payton knew that she thought of them as a pushover, both in matters at work and at the apartment. There were a lot of aspects of their job that she called unacceptable, and if she’d had her way, they would have quit the coffee shop by now. They had no idea how she would react if they became a shift supervisor and had to take on even more responsibilities, but Payton reckoned that was a discussion for another night when things were a little more certain.
In the meantime, it was best not to say anything about having to skip lunch.
Slipping their hands into the pockets of their open jacket, Payton subtly rubbed their middle, feeling their empty stomach roll around in distress. They tensed and held their breath, hoping to prevent any noises from emerging.
There was a sharp jerking motion as the train slowed to a stop. Autumn gasped lightly and put out a hand to stop herself from sliding forward in her seat. They both looked at each other and held the gaze for a moment before a voice crackled over the tram’s intercom.
“Apologies, folks, it’s just a minor technical issue. Service will resume shortly.”
“Shortly?” Autumn mumbled in annoyance. “Talk about vague...”
“Damn it,” Payton sighed, sinking lower in their seat and pushing their hands deeper into the pockets of their jacket. “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
Autumn chuckled; she was still sitting fully upright, leaning towards Payton’s seat as she tried to see up to the top of the tram. “Assumptive of you to refer to yourself as good people.”
“Not me, baby. I was talking about you.”
“Oh. Aw. Thank you.” Autumn smiled and reached out a hand, both to acknowledge Payton and to give herself some balance as she craned her neck. 
The hand landed lightly on Payton’s belly, which - in their slumped position - acted as an almost-flat surface for her to lean on as she continued peering up through the carts. She was probably expecting to see tram staff coming through, explaining the situation to the passengers; what she probably wasn’t expecting was to feel rumbling movement beneath her palm, which was accompanied by a loud, pinched growl.
Payton let out a little groan too, turning their face to bury it against Autumn’s shoulder.
“What’s going on, baby?” Autumn half-laughed, her eyes trained on Payton’s stomach as it vibrated under her hand again. She teasingly ran a finger between the buttons in their shirt, gesturing as though to peek under the fabric. “You hiding an angry tiger in there?”
“I told you I was hungry.”
“Yeah, but...” Autumn gasped and rubbed a wide circle across Payton’s belly as it roared again, prompting them to glance around and make sure the seats close to them hadn’t magically filled up with people in the last few seconds.
Autumn, on the other hand, had had her attention drawn away from anything to do with the tram, and towards a particular, grumbling organ. “Baby, what’d you have for lunch?”
Payton groaned again, wriggling a little further down so that their knees were pressed against the seat in front of them. They felt a red blush in their cheeks as Autumn sat back and peered down at their face.
They sighed, eyes trailing down to where Autumn’s hand was still resting on their belly. “The shop was really busy today, and the shift supervisor couldn’t come in, so I ended up working through lunch.”
Payton then held their breath again, both in anticipation of their stomach letting out another whine under Autumn’s palm, and of her response.
“You’re so good, baby.”
Payton raised their eyebrows. “Am I? You’re not mad at me?”
“Of course I’m not mad at you,” Autumn sighed. “I obviously don’t like it when you don’t take care of yourself properly, but I also wish I had your level of dedication.”
A smile played on Payton’s lips as they nudged the side of their head against Autumn’s waist. “Jake’s gonna see about getting me bumped up to supervisor.”
“And he should,” Autumn laughed, lifting her other hand to sweep Payton’s eyes out of their eyes. “You’re amazing at that job, and no one ever tells you enough.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Autumn leaned down to kiss the side of Payton’s head. “Just promise me that you’ll use your powers as supervisor for good. Like giving yourself lunch breaks.” She gently tapped one finger against Payton’s stomach. “Okay?”
“Okay,” Payton mumbled, burying their face as their chest fluttered. The glow of being praised and worried about lasted only a precious moment though, because there was still an empty belly in the vicinity, and it was determined not to let itself be forgotten in all the chatter.
“You’re mad at Payton though, aren’t you?” Autumn pursed her lips as she spoke to their stomach, as though she was talking to a cat. She patted her hand against Payton’s belly as it grumbled. “That’s okay, I’d be mad too, if my owner spent the day giving yummy food to customers and not me.”
The mention of food sent Payton’s thoughts drifting back towards the dinner that had been promised, and they groaned again, this time nudging their head right into Autumn’s lap. She bit her lip and glanced around at the nearby seats, once more confirming that there was nobody else in the cart.
“Comfy down there?” There was a tiny twist of irony in Autumn’s voice, but her tone was mostly genuine. 
“Kind of,” Payton said, using both hands to keep Autumn’s pressed to their aching gut. They glanced up at the grey ceiling of the tram, at the darkness that lay just outside the window, hopelessness welling in their chest as their belly rolled unhappily. “Just so hungry.”
“Oh, baby. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I just wish I knew how long we were gonna be stuck here.”
“Me too,” Autumn sighed. “But no matter how long it takes us to get home, I’m still going to cook for you the minute we get in.”
“Mmm.” Payton smiled to themself and closed their eyes, letting go of Autumn’s hand as it began to work slow, gentle circles into their belly through their shirt. “Thank you.”
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strayingdawn · 4 years ago
Text
request: “...something like little bit angsty but fluff at the end? Something how y/n was getting back late at night and someone follows them and they call boyfriend Changbin?”
warning: feeling unsafe, stalking
wc: 2,2k
(i got a little carried away,, so sorry.)
—————
Only the ticks of the store clock echo throughout the empty cafe as Y/n slides their damp cloth across the counter. One of the girls scheduled to close today called in sick, so Y/n figured the extra money wouldn’t hurt and filled in for her. However, they did not expect to end the day all alone after the remaining, scheduled closer left early due to a family emergency.
So here they were, cleaning the counters of the deserted cafe, five minutes till closing. Y/n honestly didn’t mind closing alone. The aroma of coffee beans and the calm silence surrounding them felt almost comforting in a way. The clock created a soothing rhythm as the nearing end of a long day at work gave them a sense of relief.
But that moment was short-lived as the front door’s bell cut through the tranquil atmosphere. A young man of tall stature wandered through the door, much to Y/n’s displeasure if they were being honest. The man was actually quite a regular to the cafe. With that being said, surely he would know the cafe’s hours by now since he has passed the door on which they’re displayed many times. He was around Y/N’s age and had burgundy brown hair with bangs that always hung forward, creating a shadow over his deep, brown eyes. He usually just ordered a simple pastry and sat in some corner at the back, reading a book, phone, or computer. None of his behavior ever seemed unusual or noteworthy, so Y/n never concerned themselves with being any more cautious than they usually are around strangers. That is until one of their coworkers pointed out that the man’s gaze seemed to linger on Y/n often. It wasn’t too unusual for people’s eyes to wander around their surroundings and occasionally get stuck on something or someone. Y/n was guilty of it themselves sometimes, but that thought didn’t hinder them from raising their guard still.
Back to the present, Y/n simply planned to tell the man that they could no longer run the coffee machines nor were there any more pastries to sell and give him a short and sweet apology. However, the sound of his voice put a slight wrench in those plans.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you already closed?” His eyebrows were raised to create a somewhat innocent look.
Well, the place is empty, chairs are on tables, and the sign on the door you just walked through says we close in four minutes. What do you think?
That’s what Y/n wanted to say, but they held their tongue for the sake of politeness and professionalism. Instead, their lips formed a kind smile as they said, “Well, we’re technically still open for a couple of minutes, but I’m sorry to say that I can no longer sell anything.”
They hoped that was enough to urge the brunette out the door and back onto the street lamp-littered sidewalk. The man in question, however, was not on the same page. He began to shift his weight from one foot to the other as his gaze scanned the whole room, seeming to investigate every corner as if he was searching for something.
“Are they making you close all alone, tonight?”
Now, why would he ask something like that. Y/n was honestly caught off guard by such an unnecessary question; one whose truth they felt should not be openly exclaimed. They had to think quickly, so they just had to bend the truth a little.
“Not exactly. One of my coworkers had to leave unexpectedly..but they’ll be back.”
No one made them work extra; Y/n simply offered their help. Their friend did, also, leave unexpectedly and would be back...tomorrow morning to report for work. The stranger’s brows furrowed as his eyes became unfocused in thought. What he was thinking, Y/n couldn’t decipher.
“...I see..would you like some company while you wait?” He raised his eyebrows with slight optimism, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
Now, the man was clearly dragging out this interaction far longer than it needed to be. Four minutes had definitely passed, so he had no reason to be here anymore.
“No, no, that’s fine. Thank you, though. The cafe’s officially closed, now, actually. So I’ll be out of here in no time. And my boyfriend will be here any minute, now.” Y/n wore the most genuine smile they could muster, positive that they left no room for the customer to object to leaving.
His eyebrows twitched, and he appeared slightly taken aback when the word “boyfriend” left Y/n’s lips. However, the look left as soon as it came, leaving his usual resting face, lost in thought.
“Oh, okay then,” he flashed a full smile this time, showing his top row of pearly white teeth. Then, he turned his body with slight hesitation, footsteps pointing to the door, “I’ll see you around.”
And with that, he finally left. There wasn’t anything inherently creepy about his last statement, but with context, his wording and tone was somewhat off putting. The city was pretty big, and their paths would most likely only ever cross in the cafe. So why would he say “around.”
Anyway, it wasn’t the only weird thing he had done, so it was time to move on to more pressing matters. Changbin should have been here by now. Y/n didn’t bend the truth, that time, when they mentioned their boyfriend’s approaching arrival.
Y/n opened their phone and went to Changbin’s contact. They texted each other three hours ago about Y/n’s sudden overtime, and Changbin was fully aware that he would pick them up. So where was he? Y/n called him twice, both with no answer, before simply leaving a text that they were on their way home. The walk home was roughly ten minutes. Y/n loved it after early shifts but usually tried to catch a ride if the sun had already set, like tonight.
Dreading the extra cardio after a long, tiring day, Y/n just gathered their belongings, double-checked their closing duties, and lastly locked the cafe’s door, mentally prepared themselves for the journey ahead of them. Only a few steps in, they noticed another set of footsteps echo theirs. Changing the rhythm of their footfalls, the rhythm of the mysterious set of steps changed as well, falling in sync. Subconsciously, Y/n brought their hand towards their bag which held protective measures such as a taser and pepper spray. Yet, all of their movements, including their breathing, abruptly halted as a familiar voice called out to them.
“Y/n!”
Y/n slowly turned around, meeting the same brown eyes they saw just moments ago. At this point, Y/n was completely unsettled, but they refused to let it show.
“Hi..again. What are you..still doing out here..this late?”
“I never saw your boyfriend,” he paused for less than a millisecond, but Y/n could still sense that he was questioning their earlier statement, “get here, so I wanted to make sure you left safely.”
He had to have been waiting for at least ten minutes. And for an employee they’ve barely talked to, who already said they were taken care of.
“Well, that’s..very thoughtful of you, but you don’t have to worry about me anymore,” Y/n let out a little chuckle that also sounded much more stiff than intended and held their hands out to their sides like they were presenting themselves, “I seem to be leaving in one piece, so I think I’ve got it from here.”
He didn’t seem too convinced, or maybe he was simply ignoring their words as he took a step forward, causing Y/n to instinctively take a step back.
He pressed on, however, clearly not sensing your discomfort. “I’m not sure I would have peace of mind not knowing whether or not you got home safely.”
“Trust me, it’s fine-”
“I insist-”
“They said, ‘it’s fine.’” Changbin’s voice boomed past your ears.
He had lost track of time while preparing something special for you at home. On top of that, his music was blasting at extreme volumes, surely becoming a nuisance to the neighbors, which caused him to miss both of Y/n’s phone calls. Although, he’s thankful he remembered his commitment with you when he did. He threw the first coat and pair of shoes he could find before, basically, running through his door, almost unhinging it, to get to his partner as soon as possible. Now, he saw Y/n’s rigid form and some random stranger who, clearly, could not take a hint.
Changbin walked towards Y/n and gingerly slipped his hand around their waist, feeling them slowly relax as they leaned farther into his body and gained a steady breathing pattern. His glare was cold as well as neutral and aimed right at the man in front of him.
“I believe I can take it from here.”
The brunette was slightly unnerved but quickly attempted to put on a strong front. “And who are you?”
“Their boyfriend. Now step away before I become their bodyguard and make you.” If it wasn’t already cold outside, the icy aura radiating off of Changbin would have surely done the job.
The creep was definitely weighing his options. However, facing Changbin did not seem to end in his favor, so he took one step back, placing his eyes on Y/n. “...See you around, Y/n.”
“I wouldn’t suggest it.” Changbin’s eyes never wavered.
With one last glare at Changbin, Y/n’s nuisance for the night finally walked away. As if a weight was lifted off of their chest, Y/n let out a deep breath they didn’t even know they were holding. Regaining their composure, their gaze drifted towards their boyfriend who was still eyeing the fleeing brunette. Y/n promptly hit him on the chest.
“Where were you?” Y/n hit his chest, catching him off guard but not actually hurting him.
Changbin let out a grunt at the sudden assault. “I..got a little caught up with something. Something important.”
“And you couldn’t answer the phone?”
“Wel-“
Y/n was honestly too tired to be reasonable right now, so they just let out a deep sigh and began to walk towards the couple’s shared apartment, expecting their boyfriend to follow.
Around ten minutes later, Changbin was a fumbling mess as he tried to promptly open the apartment’s front door under the pressure of Y/n’s tired stare. When the door finally opened, it presented nothing but a dark, silent home.
Y/n walked in before Changbin and immediately dropped their bag which felt heavier than when they left that morning. However, when they started to step into their second house shoe, they froze after the delicious smell of food drifted from the kitchen to their nose. Changbin noticed Y/n’s sudden stop, and a flash of realization grazed his features.
“What’s that smell-” a pair of hands being gently placed on Y/n’s shoulders halted their sentence.
“Just..walk towards the kitchen,” Changbin instructed them with a soft, low voice.
“How am I supposed to walk there in the dark.”
“It’s not like you’ve never done it before in the middle of the night.”
Changbin’s tone was slightly accusing but still soft like before. Y/n just remained silent and followed his directions. Once they both arrived at the kitchen’s entrance, Y/n felt the weight of Changbin’s hands leave and heard his footsteps approach the lights.
As soon as Y/n’s sight recovered from the sudden intensity of light, they were engulfed in shock and appreciation. The kitchen table was covered with flowers and many of their favorite dishes. Fairy lights hanging all around radiated a soft glow, making the heartwarming gesture warm their heart even more.
“Is this what…?”
“..was so important? ..Yeah. I knew you must have been really tired from working nonstop this past week and the whole day, today. So I thought this was the least I could for you since you’ve been doing so much for everyone else...do you like it?”
“...Like it. I-I love it! Thank you!” Y/n couldn’t say much more before they felt the tears pricking their eyes.
“Wait- why are you crying?!” Changbin rushed to his love’s side and embraced them while panicking because of their unexpected reaction. “Are you sure you actually love it?”
Y/n let out a few broken chuckles and weakly punched his chest. “Yes, I’m sure, idiot! I’m just too tired to handle all this!”
“Oh! Thank goodness. I thought I did something wrong.”
“Don’t worry, Binnie. You always make it right. Thank you. For tonight. And for everything.”
“Anytime, babe.” He gave a sly wink with the little pet name but quickly put on a serious face and looked deep into Y/n’s eyes. “I love you”
Y/n couldn’t help roll their eyes at the term of endearment but didn’t fail to return the meaningful words. “I love you, too.”
“Well, let’s dry these tears,” he tenderly wiped away the few tears that escaped Y/N’s eyes, “and get you out of these uncomfortable clothes.”
52 notes · View notes
characcoon · 3 years ago
Text
The Way of Business
Words: 2143
Summary: How Donnie first met Charles. 
----------------------
"I'm trying my best to not question, but… "Cat claws, be sure they fell naturally" and he wrote the last word with capital bold letters." Donnie pokes the shopping list with his finger "And my favorite, "Coffee beans (digested)", which, by other terms, means coffee that has been shat."
"Keep not questioning." April says, hands on her pockets "It's witchy, magic stuff. We already went through this, Dee. Sometimes it doesn't make sense and that's fine."
"I'm aware. But it's not everyday you have poop coffee on your grocery list. What's he even going to do with these?"
"I don't think that anything Barry does should be our business."
April and Donnie walk around a busy street in the shopping district of the Hidden City, trying to identify the things on Draxum's list only by looking at the shops and vending stands, since the old sheep Yokai didn't think of writing where exactly to find the stuff.
"Maybe it's a cake." Donnie mumbles, stopping by a counter and quickly examining some items "Mikey's been teaching him some more recipies, he might be returning the favor by making Yokai food."
"Pooped coffee cat claws cake! Yummy." April gags, then points at a jar filled with sparkly deep blue glitter labelled mermaid bone powder "I think we need that one."
They continue shopping for another 20 minutes until they reach a part of the district that is definitely more shady and quiet. Sales are made among whispers and the shops have much less products on display, everything of importance stocked in the back. 
As April intimidates a merchant to lower the price of the cat claws, Donnie spots something familiar in a corner and curiously turns around to look. It's one of Big Mama's guards, but not just any guard; it's that specific one that seems to be on a higher rank, that was at the scene when the spider Yokai first took the Shredder to make him her champion. Donnie hums, watching as the guard dives between two stores and vanishes into another street.
"Got it for half the price." April comes to him, smiling proudly and shaking a tiny bottle filled with cat claws, then notices Donnie isn't paying attention "Earth to Donnie?"
"Wanna put some noses where they don't belong?" He sends her a trickster smile, bumping his fingers together.
"That depends, are you going to explode the whole street again?"
"Scoff!" the turtle scoffs "I saw one of Big Mama's guards going that way."
"And we need to go after them because…"
"Because it's her personal guard. The personal, stealthy, silent guard. The guard she sends to kill people without leaving a trace. The guard that probably has a cool name that makes people shiver in fear upon hearing it. The guard I just saw going that way."
April puffs her cheeks and blows out air in sections, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then she sighs, puts the bottle on Donnie's hand and starts walking.
"Alright, let's seek trouble, why not."
Donnie silently celebrates and dashes across the street, April right on his tail, following the same path of the guard. They go between the stores and find themselves in a smaller street with much less stores that are much more shady, to the point of being just holes between the brick walls. They reach the end of the street, turn to the only side available into another short road that hits a dead end. The guard is on that far end, with their back to the two curious teens who are slowly and quietly getting closer by using the little things around that can be used as barricades.
“We could make business faster if you tell me what you want straight up, I don’t do well with riddles.”
Donnie peaks behind a depression in the wall he and April are hiding in and notices a big trashcan shoved inside the wall with some christmas lights dangling from the sides and some mechanisms bending the lid and forming a roof. The guard is in front of whoever’s speaking, neither Donnie or April can see who.
“Or you could send the Great Milf here personally! Would love to catch up with her, if you know what I mean.”
Donnie gags in silence.
“She wants the Barnacle.” the guard speaks, voice muffled and distorted.
“The Barnacle! Wow! And why would I have that, exactly?”
“You were seen with it, at the docks. Took the package from Captain Piel.”
“Stupid lump of rotten flesh ratted me out, huh.” the other mumbles and sighs “Alright, I’ll get it, gimme a minute.”
April and Donnie glance at each as they hear ruffling and some crashing, the immovable form of the guard giving no indication of noticing the eavesdropping happening behind them.
“Is she gonna pay me at least?” the guard doesn’t answer “Y’know, in my land we have this saying. Quem cala consente. It means “silence means yes”, so I’m expecting some good cash unless you say words. No? Nothing? Talking to a door is funnier than talking to you.”
“The Barnacle, Charles.”
With a flicker of their wrist, a kunai appears between the fingers of the guard. Donnie instinctively moves his arm to his back, near his staff, and April gets into a better position to either fight or run.
“Is that handle made of Calligraphy Stone?” the merchant, possibly named Charles, speaks with excitement “Oh, damn, how much do you want for that?”
“Not for sale.”
“Oh, c’mon, it’s Calligraphy Stone!”
“Not for sale.”
“You’re boring. Y’know that? Boring. Wanna know what’s for sale? The Barnacle inside this box, this pretty doormat I made this morning and this GUN!”
A loud bang can be heard and the guard violently flies backwards, a blast of light illuminating the whole street. The guard smacks hard on the floor, smoke coming out of their chest, unmoving. Charles can now be seen; it’s a raccoon, very short, doesn’t go past Donnie’s knees. His tail is pink and orange, he wears duffle bags strapped to both sides of his hips, metal bracelets taking both his entire forearms and a gray sleeveless hoodie. On his face, big steampunk goggles and a wide, manic grin. On his hands, a gun definitely made out of garbage and nonsense, reminiscent of a grenade launcher, bigger than his whole body.
“I lied! The gun is not for sale!” he laughs and points the gun to the guard again “Now scram before I blast you into pieces!”
April notices the guard starting to move first, but doesn’t have time to warn everyone; they’re up and running in a second, blade slicing where Charles’ standing. The raccoon hops above the slash, smacks the guard in the head with the gun and drops it, then dashes towards the exit, but takes a sharp turn and bumps into the two teens. Before any of them can make any noise, he removes a disk from one of his bags, puts it on the floor and clicks. A translucent green wall blinks for a second before going orange. Donnie opens his mouth to speak, but the raccoon turns and shushes him so hard he even forgets what he was going to say. April goes equally quiet.
The guard finds his footing again after the blow and walks a few quick steps to the exit of the road, stopping right in front of the hideout of the other three. Charles silently clicks on his bracelets and long, sharp claws form as gauntlets on his hands and he gets into position, fur standing up, body tense and ready. Donnie’s breath gets caught on his throat when the guard swiftly turns their head and locks eyes with him, even knowing that the disk on the ground is some sort of cloaking tech making them all invisible.
The guard stands down, turns to the end of the road and walks back to the trashcan. They’re after the Barnacle, after all. Before they can reach it, however, the raccoon takes a small switch from his pocket and clicks on a button. The lid of the trashcan slaps close with a car alarm noise and the entire thing, wall included, poofs out of existence.
The road, not a dead end anymore, extends back to the one Donnie and April were previously on. Passersby and merchants turn to look at the wall that vanished and the guard just standing there, hand stretched to grasp nothing. Their stance slowly becomes neutral and it takes another minute for them to go away as a blur of movement.
Only then Charles snorts, so sudden and loud that Donnie jumps away from him.
“Idiot.” he continues laughing, disengaging his gauntlets and the cloaking device.
“That was so cool!” April speaks up “You played them so hard!”
“Yeah, I-” his ears go up and he flinches, remembering there were other people there too. “GUN!”
He turns around with two properly sized guns on each hand, pointing one to each of them. Donnie shows his hands and April smiles.
“You’re a human.” he shakes a gun at April “The hell you doing down here?”
“Shopping.”
“And the mecha-frog?”
“Frog?!” Donnie makes an offended expression and scoffs “Frog!”
“Are you a pokemon, only speaks your own name?”
“Wh- no! I’m a turtle!”
“Be nice, Dee. This dude’s super cool. And has a gun pointed at your face.”
“You should listen to the lady, Dee.”
“My name is Donnie.”
“Okay, Donnie Dee.” Charles opens his hands and his guns turn into liquid metal that surround his arms and turn back into being bracelets “I gotta go now. See ya around.”
He pulls the same switch he used to make the wall disappear and opens a side panel.
“Wait, you sell stuff, don’t you?” April takes Draxum’s list from Donnie “Do you have crystallized coral?”
“I do, yeah. But the shop’s all the way up to the surface now, so you should finish everything you have to do down here first. Y’know, time efficiency.”
“We are done here, right?” Donnie asks and analyzes the list “If you have the coral, digested coffee beans and petrified wood. Did we get the owl feathers?”
“We did.” April answers.
“Then.” he turns to the raccoon “Do you have those other three items?”
“100%.” Charles smiles “Hold onto me and we can warp there, pronto.”
Charles extends one hand to them and they grab one finger each, April making a squeaky noise. He clicks on his switch and they all teleport away.
Donnie recognizes the street they appear on, it’s not too far from the Lair. The trashcan store shoved into the wall is there, creating another dead end that he’s sure didn’t exist before. Charles rushes to it, opens the lid and jumps inside, sighing in relief.
“Alright, let’s get to business. Coral, wood, coffee. Talking about coffee, would you like some to drink? I always have one jar ready.”
“It’s not digested, right?” Donnie makes a face.
“No, it’s black coffee. From the store. Completely normal, I assure you.”
Donnie asks for a cup and the raccoon serves him, then asks which street they’re on. The turtle answers, gets a thanks and watches as the small merchant goes around opening drawers and boxes.
“What’s the Barnacle?” Donnie asks “And why would Big Mama want it?”
“It’s an invisible creature.” Charles answers, putting one big box with crystal coral by the counter “A plague. Sticks to the boats and sucks out life force to grow bigger. When a ghost ship is found and they can’t find out why everyone’s dead, they blame the Barnacle. 80% of the time they’re right.” another box, with petrified wood balls “And I think you can guess why Big Mama wants it. The damn thing might have a preference for boats, but it can stick to any wood structure.”
And finally, a bag of digested coffee beans.
“Pick as many of these as you need.” he points to the coral and wood “Only have this bag of coffee for sale. Stupid spider shut down more of my contacts.”
“You two seem to have some history” April starts to collect some wood balls.
“Oh, dear, if only you knew.” the raccoon laughs “You gotta keep a hold of the competition. It’s how business go.”
After taking the necessary quantity and paying, they say their farewells. Charles slides two business cards to them before they leave.
Quinquilharias, the card says, with a resume of the services and products in the back of it. Donnie hums as he reads it, considering returning more times soon, since it’s so close to the Lair and he’s the most charismatic merchant he’s ever met. And his coffee is decent enough.
And of course, he would be lying if he says he’s not curious about what’s his deal with Big Mama.
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