#i know the answer is soundly though. because if the screams of the dying actually reached your ears you’d make the rest of us deaf

[halfricanloveyou]

oh yeah, hi. i actually did read the article about this as well as the actual letter. the letter explicitly thanks biden for siding with israel. i think it’s pretty fucking telling how you tell people to “fact check” things while also not including the link to the actual letter that was signed, something the palestinian person who posted about this issue in the first place actually did.

i think you’re a flaming piece of shit if you’re really sitting here calling Palestinian people who are educating and spreading awareness on the genocide of their people liars who spread propaganda, telling them their education efforts are actually zionist, and then saying they’re not actually doing anything useful about Palestine.

the specific blog you’re talking about constantly posts updates on what’s going on in their home country as well as several donation links for multiple different organizations that are working to provide resources for the palestinian people.

and you are baselessly accusing them of all of this complete and utter bullshit over a fucking TV show? really? you need to sit your stupid ass down and shut the fuck up. you dense, lazy, illiterate fuck.

none of you are immune to propaganda

none of you are immune to misinformation

so stop fucking blindly believing every shitty thing you read. stop treating some random person’s tags as the gospel truth. engage your brain. think about how things get sensationalised and blown out of proportion. fact check stuff stop spreading complete and utter falsehoods

because i swear to god if i have to see one more post that’s like ‘never watched it but i’m so glad that racist zionist homophobic show that glorified slavery got cancelled, i hope everybody involved in making it stays unemployed forever and rots in hell’ i’m going to lose my marbles

think about who it benefits when you’re spreading shit like that. here’s a hint: if i was part of the israeli government i’d be absolutely delighted that every fucker on this website is cheering about a tv show being cancelled instead of actually doing anything useful about palestine

[yellowcabdriver]

assuage

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

Warning: none

A/N: here’s some Javier fluff to soothe the wounds of “Anemone”, hope you’ll like it 😚

Summary: Javier is in love.

Javier Peña is not the type to fall in love. Not anymore.

Or so he thought.

It was his unspoken rule—never catch feelings. Javier has been burnt many times, scarred and at this point genuinely frightened of being vulnerable. To be completely rational, he was in no place of being able to afford having such a gaping weakness that could easily be used against him by Escobar's people or, even worse, the embassy.

And it's not like Javier didn’t care. He did and deeply so; he was a passionate man after all. But that was more of a common courtesy for him, his way of being polite. Caring is okay, never catching feelings, though—that was his rule.

However, it seems that every rule has its own exception. And in Javier's case, his exception was resting naked on a pillow next to him, sighing quietly in her sleep.

Javier ruffled his hair and reached for a pack of cigarettes on the nightstand. Taking a drag, he still couldn't stop staring at your form sleeping soundly with your back turned to him. Something in him stung ever so gently but nevertheless painfully: you always turned away from him in your sleep. Or you would create some sort of barrier between you two, with a pillow or a blanket. Whether you did that unconsciously or not, Javier preferred not to dwell on that for too long because for some reason that made him frustratingly sad and he would just have to sit there and deal with this uncomfortable lump forming in his throat. He never understood why it affected him that much, especially when he usually left rather astonishingly soon after you fell asleep. Maybe that was one of the reasons he never stayed, he thought. Maybe you don’t want him to stay.

The cigarette didn’t bring the usual comfort, only made his throat itchy and mouth all dry and sandpapery. In disappointment, Javier put away the cigarette butt in the ashtray on the nightstand and turned back to you.

Suddenly, you moaned and moved from your side to your back, face all scrunched as if in pain. You opened your eyes rubbing a shoulder that went all stiff because you were lying down in a position that didn’t seem that unpleasant when you drifted off to sleep. The soft movement on your left caused you to sit up with a quiet shriek.

“Javier!” You were looking at him with big surprised eyes and Javier felt the warmth spreading in his chest taking in your disheveled state. Your hair was a mess, you had pillow marks on the right side of your face, and smudged makeup just added to the whole look. He couldn’t help but touch your pillow-marked cheek with his thumb. 

“I’m sorry I scared you, hermosa, couldn’t sleep.”

You unconsciously leaned into his touch and nodded.

“That’s okay, I was just not… um… expecting to see you here at…” You glanced at a clock. “4 am? Wow, usually you’re gone like ten minutes after we finished having sex”, you added with a laughter. Javier’s heart sank at your words as he smiled sadly in response. Did he overstay his welcome?

“I was…” I didn’t want to leave. “I was too tired to go to my place.”

“Javi, that’s okay, you can stay, it’s not like I’m kicking you out or something,” you laughed again reaching out to touch his face but as Javier made an instinctive subtle movement to lean into your hand, you just brushed the tips of your fingers over his jaw and retracted your arm away.

You could’ve slapped him instead, it wouldn’t hurt as much.

“Go back to sleep then. We have a long day tomorrow, you know,” you offered him a gentle smile lying down and once again you turned away from him, hugging a corner of a blanket as you usually do. Javier wanted to scream in frustration. The lack of touch after you two spent half a night bodies intertwined, kissing and covering each other in lovebites was excruciating, painful even. And now he decided that he had enough.

He settled down next to you with a huff snaking his tan arm over your waist. His hand instantly found yours, clutching the blanket to your chest. As he closed his eyes and nuzzled his face into the back of your neck he heard you laugh quietly.

“Javi, whatcha doing?” You inquired, amusement apparent in your voice.

“What do you think I’m doing, cariño? I’m cuddling you,” he buried his nose deeper in your hair. You giggled and shrugged from his tickling breath.

“I can feel that. I guess I’m asking what’s gotten into you? First you stayed the night, now you’re cuddling with me. This is so… unyou.” You turned around a little to look back at Javier. “Are you dying?”

Javier couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I hope not.”

But I’d be a lucky man to die in your arms, he thought. 

What has gotten into him, indeed?

“Why…” Don’t ask that, don’t ask that, don’t ask that. “Why do you always turn away?”

“Huh?”

Javier sighed instantly regretting this moment of bleeding vulnerability. But he decided to proceed because, well, it was you he was vulnerable about. His hand was still covering yours as he gently stroked it with his callous thumb.

“You are distancing yourself from me, hermosa. After we have sex… you turn away from me-“ He felt you stiffen under his touch. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No, Javi, of course not,” you finally released the corner of the blanket and held onto his hand instead. “I’m- you are- God, I can’t believe I’m about to say that.”

“Say what?”

You inhaled and said words that unexpectedly for both of you came out as a whisper.

“I heard you don’t like clingy women.”

“What?”

Frowning, Javier got up on one elbow and turned you to look at him. You smiled awkwardly avoiding looking him directly in the eyes.

“I heard that you don’t like when women are clingy. So I am… giving you space.”

The way you said that, the way you bit your lower lip and cringed at your own words made Javier feel as if someone punched him right in the guts.

He remembered a dumb drunken conversation he had with Murphy one night at the local bar. It was soon after you two started this whole “friends with benefits” thing going. As an assistant, you weren’t usually invited to these sort of afterwork shenanigans, they were mostly reserved for agents. But that time Javier insisted on picking you up after work and bringing you along as he, Murphy and a couple of other agents were sitting at the bar and drinking their problems away. That’s when Javier mentioned that stupid thing about how he liked to have his space and he didn’t like being clung onto after the deed is done. As always, you, being your wonderful considerate and thoughtful self, took into account this little careless remark of his and gave him space which he never wanted in the first place… not from you, at least.

Javier pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered a quiet “fuck” under his breath. You sighed.

“I’m sorry, Javier, I wouldn’t have brought this up, I mean you asked, I answered. Let’s not dwell on this,” you said trying to seem indifferent. You didn’t even have time to react when Javier jolted up and pulled you up with him, cupping your face with his large palms. You had never seen him like this before, desperate and… hurt?

“Hermosa… mi alma… mi corazon… mi amor…” Each word was followed by a soft kiss on your face. “I am sorry, I didn’t… I never meant that. I want your touch, I crave it every night, and it kills me when I have to leave. I want you, I want to stay with you, and I- I want us to be something more if… if you want this, too.”

His monologue left you speechless. You never expected to be awarded with such an unrefined tenderness from Javier, at least, you never thought you’d be on the receiving end. After a brief second of staring into his almost dejected with anticipation eyes, you decided to let go of the constraints you put yourself in and launched yourself onto Javier pulling you both to plump back on the bed. This caused Javier to let out a laugh under you, you had never seen him laughing like that before, beaming with carefree boyish charm.

“I am actually very clingy, Javier, you better not regret letting me go on my merry way,” you warned him as you looked down at him and started covering his face in kisses.

Javier felt the soul-crushing wave of unspeakable tenderness when he felt your unfettered touch that he craved for so long. In a sudden swift motion Javier flipped you both over and now it was him hovering over you, brown eyes gleaming like you had never imagined them to.

“I would never, hermosa, but I’m pretty sure I am the clingy one.”

Javier Peña was not the type to fall in love. But maybe he is now.

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

take my hand, take my whole life too

A/N: i missed the flower husbands so much that i wrote the majority of this in my phone's notes app when at my grandma's. also i think we were robbed of a sacrifice scene >:) (title is from the song "Can't Help Falling In Love" cause my grandma loves Elvis and we were listening to it while i was writing this)

Warnings: violence, kidnapping, near death experiences, human sacrifice, character death in dream, nightmares, fear of death (specifically of leaving someone behind), cuddling, forehead kisses, teasing/banter, crying (despite all the warnings i SWEAR this fic is mostly fluff and makes up for the angst)

Summary: For someone who had experienced death twice already, Jimmy would think he would have nothing to fear when it came to death. Or maybe those experiences made his fear more valid. But it wasn't really dying that scared him, it was who he would leave behind. Although if he was being honest, his own death was only his second biggest fear. His main fear was losing Scott.

-

It was dark when they came- setting their wall ablaze, weapons flashing and red banners waving. Jimmy put up quite the fight but was quickly disarmed, and Scott dropped his weapons when he saw the drawn bow aimed at his husband's head. Martyn was quick to bind Scott's hands behind his back, while Ren kept a sword pointed at Scott's throat. Skizz and Impulse grabbed either one of Jimmy's arms to hold him back. Etho kept the bow trained at his head for good measure- not that Jimmy would have dreamed of moving. Not when Ren's blade was close enough to graze Scott's neck.

"Sorry about this," Impulse murmured. Jimmy couldn't care less about Impulse's apology. He clearly had chosen his side, no matter how much he claimed to be a double agent for them. 

"What do you want?" Scott asked, sounding surprisingly calm for having a sword pointed at him, but Jimmy could tell from his stiff posture and clenched fists that he was trying to keep himself from trembling.

"We've come for your tribute. You'll give it to us, or we’ll take it from you, one way or another," Ren said with an evil grin, and Jimmy didn't like how he looked at Scott one bit. 

"We gave you your rabbit's foot, what more do you want?!" Jimmy demanded, straining against Skizz and Impulse. Etho readied his bow, but it wasn't until Martyn roughly pulled Scott against him and put the blade of his axe against Scott's throat that Jimmy stopped struggling.

"Not yet, my hand. We need to be at the altar for that," Ren said, causing Jimmy's blood to run cold. They were going to sacrifice Scott. And he was going to have to watch.

“He has two lives left, my liege. We could afford to kill him once- but if his red knows what’s good for him, we won’t have to,” Martyn replied, looking to Jimmy with a cruel glint in his eyes. He scowled, but stayed put as he nervously looked to Scott. Jimmy could tell Scott was trying to put on a brave face for him, but he was noticeably pale and his eyes kept darting between the bow aimed at Jimmy’s head and the diamond axe hovering at his own throat.

It felt like Jimmy had barely blinked and they were within the Dogwarts walls. He was stood in front of the altar, Skizz and Impulse still on either side of him. Etho was off to one side, bow slung over his shoulder, but he kept a hand on the hilt of his sword as he eyed Jimmy warily. Ren stood in front of Jimmy, but he could still see the scene of the altar clearly.

Martyn shoved Scott to his knees, then with a firm grip on his teal colored hair, he forced his head down. Scott grimaced at the treatment of his hair, but kept his head down when Martyn removed his hand. Scott's eyes met Jimmy's, and it was like everything else drifted away. No altar, no Dogwarts. Just Scott and Jimmy. The terror was clear in Scott's eyes, but he gave Jimmy a reassuring smile despite that. Jimmy wanted to stay in that moment forever, with Scott's gentle smile and the fantasy that maybe everything would be okay. But reality came crashing back in with the glint of a diamond axe poised in the air. It swung down to its target-

And Jimmy woke up with a scream. He sat bolt upright in bed, chest heaving and the events of his dream circling through his head with a startling amount of realism. It was like he could see his husband's blood spattered on the stones of the altar, even if he woke up before it could actually happen. It... it didn't happen... right? Jimmy scrambled out of his bed and up the stairs- he had to be sure.

He ran to Scott's home across the pond, quickly making his way up the side of the mountain to the door. Taking a shaky breath, he quietly opened Scott's door, and closed it just as softly behind him. He walked to Scott's bedroom, and breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of his husband sleeping soundly in his loft. A fond, soft smile came to Jimmy's face as he watched his husband’s chest rise and fall. Scott was fine. Dogwarts hadn't sacrificed him.

Scott stirred, even though Jimmy had tried to be quiet, and sleepily blinked his eyes open. He propped himself up on a forearm, his other hand rubbing his eyes. Scott's hair was a mess, and Jimmy couldn't help but smile at the sight. Scott was always poised and presentable- seeing his husband a little ruffled from sleep was rather adorable.

"Jimmy? What're you- c'mere," Scott said, quickly giving up on getting answers to instead make grabby hands at Jimmy. With a laugh, Jimmy climbed up the ladder to his bed to nestle in beside Scott. He had barely laid down before Scott smushed his face inelegantly against Jimmy's chest with a pleased hum. Jimmy chuckled and wrapped his arms around him as he quickly drifted off again. Jimmy felt sleep tugging at him insistently, despite the rude awakening he had gotten. With a kiss to the top of Scott's head, Jimmy fell asleep, at peace knowing that his husband was safe in his arms.

-

Jimmy awoke to a weight stirring on top of him. His eyes slowly fluttered open to see a head of teal hair resting on his chest. Jimmy couldn't help but run a hand through Scott's hair with a likely ridiculously sappy smile. Scott let out a soft, startled sound and tilted his head to look up at Jimmy with mild confusion. His expression softened when he realized who was holding him, but he still looked rather perplexed.

"Jimmy? When did you get here? Did you sneak into bed with me?" Scott asked with a mischievous grin. Jimmy rolled his eyes. 

"Scott, we're married. Sharing a bed is hardly scandalous. And do you seriously not remember waking up and making grabby hands at me until you could latch onto me like an octopus?" Jimmy asked with a laugh. Scott's cheeks tinged pink, and he laughed nervously.

"Did I actually?" Scott asked, sounding a little flustered. 

"You did! You looked like you were gonna pout if I didn't cuddle you instantly," Jimmy replied with a grin. 

"I can't believe I'm being bullied by my own husband," Scott huffed, burying his face in Jimmy's chest.

"Guess I could just leave then..." Jimmy teased, shifting like he was going to move away. Scott made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat, holding onto Jimmy tighter. Jimmy laughed, hand gently running through Scott's hair to reassure him that he wasn't going anywhere. 

"So why were you in my house in the middle of the night before I apparently demanded cuddles?" Scott asked. Jimmy's hand stilled in Scott's hair, flashes of the nightmare coming back to him in the form of lifeless blue eyes and cruel laughter from their enemies. Scott peered up at him, and with an almost wounded sound he shuffled closer so that they were eye to eye, a hand coming up to wipe away tears that Jimmy hadn't even realized were falling.

"Nightmare. Had to make sure you were alright," Jimmy said softly. Scott smiled, gentle as he had in Jimmy's dream, then shifted up to kiss his forehead before nestling back down beside him, foreheads resting against each other and noses practically touching. 

"I'm here. You're here. We're together. It'll be alright," Scott said, voice gentle yet determined. Jimmy frowned slightly.

"You know it can't stay that way forever," Jimmy said. He was on red, Scott was on green. Odds were high that Scott would outlive him. Scott frowned right back at him.

"Then let's not worry about forever. Let's just enjoy the here and now," Scott said, more determined than before. Jimmy couldn't help but smile, and Scott returned the smile easily.

"I think I like the sound of here and now," he said softly. 

"Good! Because the here and now includes cuddling," Scott chirped with a grin, ducking his head down to where Jimmy’s neck and shoulder met. Jimmy chuckled, holding his husband tighter and burying his nose in his hair. They couldn't lie in bed forever, there were things they needed to do with their day- but after all, Scott said they should focus on the here and now. And that was exactly what Jimmy intended to do.

-

MCYT Fic Taglist (lmk if you wanna be added/removed): @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @space-ace123

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers VANDEAD CARNIVAL ;; Sleeping Vampire ー Sakamaki Laito

Source: Diabolik Lovers Vandead Carnival

Seiyuu: Hirakawa Daisuke

Audio: Part 1 ll Part 2

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

*Rustle rustle*

*Thud*

Laito walks up to the bed.

“Aah, you’re finally here, Yui-chan. I’ve been waiting for you, you know~? Well then...Shall we get started~?”

He joins you under the covers.

*Creaaak*

“...There we go! (1) Haah~ Good grief.”

You shriek.

“Oh geez~ What are you screaming for? You’re such a drama queen.”

*Rustle rustle*

“Aah...Come on, don’t push that strongly! I will fall from the edge, right? ...There. ...Eh? You want to know what I’m doing...? Can’t you tell? I joined you underneath the covers?”

You protest.

“Ooh, that’s what you meant. ...I’m obviously here to pay you a nightly visit (2)~? Nfu~”

You push him away again.

*Thud*

“Oh dear~? What’s with that attitude? Do you not want this...perhaps? Haah-aah...~ Honestly...You really don’t understand, Yui-chan. For starters, I actually told you my intentions instead of immediately assaulting you, didn’t I? You should consider that very kind of me, don’t you think? Geez...

Yet you never take notice of the little ways I look out for you. For one, the real reason why I came here in the first place is because I figured that letting a lady such as yourself sleep all alone would make you feel so horribly lonely, you see? I was hoping this would help you sleep a little more soundly. Yet you show me this attitude... 

Girls really are such a handful, and I don’t understand what goes on in their heads. It’s a struggle.”

You frown.

“Hmph! But I suppose it can’t be helped. I understand now.”

*Rustle*

“I’ll do something which this fussy lady enjoys very much to improve her mood, okay? ...There we go...”

*Rustle*

*Thud*

“...Here, go ahead? ...Eh? What do you mean? ...I’m letting you use my arm as a pillow. (3) You’ve never done this?”

You shake your head.

“Girls tend to go crazy over these ridiculous kinds of physical intimacy (4), don’t they? Personally I have no idea what’s so nice about using someone’s arm as a pillow though...Oh well, whatever. Hurry up and lay down your head.”

You rest your head on his arm.

*Rustle rustle*

“...Fufu~ ...Now we’re snuggled up close enough to seem like lovers by general standards, aren’t we...Yui-chan~? If I were to move my arm a little to the side like this...I could easily pull you close to me, you know?”

You get flustered.

“Fufu~ ...Are you a little nervous, perhaps? Just because of this?”

You try and deny it.

“...I mean, just look. Your neck is so stiff...Don’t come crying to me if it feels sore afterwards? No need to be so tense, just relax. Like you’re entrusting your body to me. ...Okay?”

You sigh.

“...? ...Aah, are you having trouble sleeping laying face up, perhaps? In that case, we might as well...”

*Rustle*

“...How about you face me instead?”

You grow flustered.

“...Oh dear~? Is something the matter? Honestly, we might as well snuggle up close at this point. Fufufu...Are you flustered? All I’m doing is letting you rest your head on my arm. ...You’re so cute...Even though we’ve done ‘such’ and ‘such’ before~ Nfu~

Come on, stop holding back and relax already. Otherwise you’ll never be able to get some rest, you know? You don’t need to pay mind to me. After all, I’m just your pillow right now.”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Exactly. Looks good. How’s that? Do you think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

You shake your head.

“...Hmm? You’re too nervous, sleep is the last thing on your mind, huh? Well, why don’t we give it a try at least? ...Goodnight, Yui-chan.”

You both close your eyes.

...

.....

“...Say...Yui-chan? Yui-chan...? You’re still awake, aren’t you? Answer me~”

*Rustle rustle*

*Creaaaak*

You open your eyes again.

“Nfu~ I knew it. You can’t sleep either?”

You nod.

“...In other words, this arm pillow isn’t quite to your liking, is it? Or not? However, I’m honestly kind of glad about that. I was having a hard time understanding what exactly is so fun about this too. I mean, think about it? You’re sleepin so close to me...Yet all I’m doing is letting my arm go numb for absolutely no reason. ...It’s kind of a waste of time, don’t you think? In that case, I’d much rather...”

*Rustle*

“Embracing you until I lose the feeling in my arms is obviously much better, don’t you think?”

*Thud*

“Haah. Just like I thought, a hugging pillow is way better than an arm pillow. ...Aah, but don’t worry? I have no intention of ‘only’ using you as a hugging pillow~”

You tilt your head to the side.

“Haah...That look on your face tells me you’re completely ignorant. Well, can’t say this is anything new. I told you at the very beginning, didn’t I? ...That I’m here to pay you a ‘nightly visit’?”

Your eyes widen in surprise.

“Eh? You thought I was just joking? Did I say that? Nfufu~ Oh well, whatever. However, weren’t you actually eagerly waiting for me as well? To have me force myself upon you like this...Right?”

You push him.

*Thud*

“Fufu~ No point in feigning resistance~? I can read you like an open book after all. You’re the one who was bewildered earlier from resting your head against my arm...I’m sure that wasn’t satisfying for you, right? You must have felt so disappointed...Didn’t you think something along the lines of ‘Eh? That’s it’?...? Nfu~ How careless of me. I almost forgot that you’re the number one ‘Bitch-chan’ (5) in the world...”

You puff out your cheeks.

“If I treat you like any other average girl out there...It just won’t be enough for you, right? Nfu~ No point in hiding it. For one, the arm pillow wasn’t fun for me in the slightest either...Besides, I like that hopelessly lewd side of you as well, you know? Right...? Bitch-chan...~”

*Rustle*

“Well then, I guess I better start living up to your expectations. ...But I suppose I should get rid of all obstacles first.”

You blink in confusion.

“Eh? You want to know what those obstacles are...? Isn’t that obvious? I’m talking about that night gown you’re wearing. ...Nfu~”

*Rustle rustle*

“Come on, hurry up and take it off? ...Eh? You don’t want to? Why?”

You explain.

“Hmー Okay, I understand. I guess doing it this way actually turns you on more, huh...? In other words...You want me to rip it off your body, don’t you? Fufu~ I see. As to be expected of my Bitch-chan...~ In that case...Your wish is my command!”

*Rustle rustle*

“Nfufu...Looks like you’re protesting...Even though we both know that deep down, you want to be treated a little hard-handedly like this, don’t you...?”

You continue to protest.

“Haah...Geez. It’s quite difficult to get you to admit to your true feelings when you’re so stubborn...”

*Rustle rustle*

“Ahaha! How nice! This really does feel like I’m assaulting you in your sleep! Come on, fight back more!”

*Rustle rustle*

“Haah...~ Somehow I’ve gotten a little excited too from watching you protest like that. Say...How about we do this next...? I’ll pin you down while you’re fighting back and...Haah...Nn...”

He licks you.

*Sluuuuurp*

*Rustle rustle*

“Nn...Aah...Yui-chan. You have to fight back with all your might...Nn...”

*Sluuuuurp*

*Smooch*

“Don’t worry about working up a sweat. I’ll make sure...to lick you clean like this...Nn...”

*Sluuuuurp*

*Rustle rustle*

“...Nfufu...Look at that expression of digust...I’m really digging it, you know? Yui-chan...~ ...Haah...Even while you’re desperately fighting back...Nn...Your sweat is so...sweet...”

*Sluuuuurp*

“Haah...Seems like sneaking into your bed is proving to be very effective...Just look at how worked up you’ve gotten? Nfu~ You actually don’t dislike this at all, do you...? It’s clear as day. Aah...I’ve gotten kinda thirsty for some reason...I’d love to suck your blood right here, right now.”

You look up at him.

“Nfu~ Geez, Bitch-chan...Look at you making such a delightful expression...”

You deny it.

“Eh? You’re not? Oh come on~ ...Says the one who is dying to be bitten~? I’d love to fulfill that shameless desire of you right away. ...However. I’ll put sucking your blood on hold for today.”

You seem surprised.

“Ahaha! Look at that baffled expression! ...Are you that disappointed? I was thinking it wouldn’t be bad for me to tease you like this once in a while, you see? ...You didn’t expect that from me, did you? Say, don’t you think it’s interesting?”

You pout.

“Nfufu...Oh come on. No need to look so worried. I didn’t claim I would never suck your blood again, did I?”

You nod.

“This is just part of the game...Okay? Nfu~”

You sigh in relief.

“Fufu...Feeling a little relieved now? However, I’d rather not have you feel too much at ease either~? I did say it’s only part of the game, but I never said it’s limited to only tonight, right? If I can get a kick out of it, I wouldn’t mind continuing to keep you on edge like that for a little longer, you know~? Until you reach your limit...having grown impatient and come beg for it yourself, okay?”

You look at him longingly. 

“Nfu~ Such greedy eyes...But too bad~ I won’t give in so easily. After all, this is all part of the teasing (6), isn’t it?”

You pout.

“Oh dear? Are you perhaps turned off by this cold side of me? Don’t tell me you have zero interest in me when I won’t suck your blood~? How cruel! That might only make me want to pick on you even more though, you know?”

You flinch.

“Nfu...Just kidding~ I guess I took this joke a little too far? Guess I have no other choice. In that case...Intsead of sucking your blood, I wouldn’t mind spending the whole night...licking you all over with this velvety tongue of mine, like a piece of candy...?

You panic, trying to get out of the bed.

*Rustle rustle*

*Thud*

“Woah there! No point in trying to run at this point! You’re the one who came begging to me, and you seemed to enjoy yourself quite a bit earlier, you know? Nfu~ Well then, Bitch-chan~ I’m digging in~!”

You squeak.

“Let me start...With your exposed cleavage...Nn...”

*Sluuuuurp*

*Thud*

“Nn...Haah...Your sweat really is irresistable...Nn...”

*Rustle rustle*

“Nfufu...~ Geez, Bitch-chan...You’re letting out such erotic moans...When you give me those kind of sounds...I can’t help but want to give you what you want...”

*Rustle rustle*

“I’m even considering sucking just a little blood from your nape...Ahー But I can’t! I’m in the middle of teasing you after all! I have to keep you on edge. I know that but...Nn...”

*Smooch*

“Aah, but when I hear you cry out like that...I feel like I’ll lose control! Haah, right. I’m sorry but could you bury your face in this pillow and muffle your own voice?”

*Rustle*

“You can’t. Endure it. Just look at how hard I’m trying to hold back from sucking your blood!”

*Rustle*

“Haah...Well then, let’s get back to business...”

*Rustle*

“If I want to savor you, then the right side of your nape...This is the spot. I can pick up a faint whiff of the fresh blood delivered straight from your heart in your sweat...”

*Thud*

*Sluuuuurp*

“Nn...Aah...You’re so delicious, Bitch-chan...”

You struggle.

“Eh? You’ve already reached your limit? Do you want me to suck your blood that badly?”

*Thud*

“Aah...Geez, look at thrashing about...Haahn...~ I love it! This feels amazing...! I never thought I’d ever see you frantically seek me out like that. I can’t see your expression because of the pillow but seeing you try your hardest to endure it, writhing your body around as you suppress your own voice...It turns me on beyond belief!

Aah...Teasing each other till we’re pushed to our very limits is rather nice in a while, don’t you think...? I wonder what will happen once I suck your blood after I’ve pushed you to the very edge...!”

You suddenly faint.

“Hm...? Yui-chan...? Geez, you suddenly calmed down...Ah, are you perhaps tired from getting too worked up...?”

*Thud*

“...”

*Rustle rustle*

“Wait...? O-Oh come on, what’s wrong? Yui-chan! Can you hear me?”

*Rustle*

“Ahー ...Thank god. Seems like you aren’t dead at least but...Hello~? Bitch-chan~? Did you fall asleep? ...Well, I guess there’s just no way. Haah...Did I take my teasing a little too far after all?”

You open your eyes again.

“Ah! Thank god! You’ve regained consciousness, huh?”

You seem confused.

“Geez, Yui-chan. You suddenly fainted on me, it gave me a scare!”

You frown.

“In short, I assume you ran a little short on air. Geez, you should have told me sooner if the pillow was smothering you!”

You insist you did.

“Eh? You were constantly begging me to stop? Aah...I did hear that but...Ooh, I see! Silly me, I thought you were telling me to stop teasing. Nfu~”

You pout.

“...Pfft...Ahaha...! Ahahahaha...! Sorry, my bad~! But you know? You were just so delicious...I just lost all reason...Nfu~ Haah...Remembering it makes me itch to do it again. ...Perhaps I should actually suck your blood as well this time...?”

You protest, trying to get out of bed.

“Aah! I’m just joking! Don’t get up just yet!”

You sigh in defeat.

“Yeah, yeah. Just stay down (7), okay? Understood? I’d be bad if you were to collapse from pushing yourself, right? You were literally just out cold after all.”

You frown.

“...You seem a little upset, huh? Are you mad because I got a little caught up in the moment and went too far? Ah-aah. I’m always trying to please you though...But when you get upset like that...It puts me on the spot as well. Women really are troublesome creatures, aren’t they? ...Or maybe it isn’t ‘girls’, but just you?”

You feel a little offended.

“However, that’s what fascinates me about you as well. Haah...Well then, now that you’ve come by, we should probably try and hit the hay soon. It’s already this late, see? But...Before that...”

*Creaaak*

“...There, come here. Let’s make it up to each other?”

You seem skeptical.

“Like I said~ We have to make it up. Let me embrace you?”

You hesitate.

“Haah...No need to worry. I won’t suck your blood right now.”

You shake your head.

“Haah...Am I really that untrustworthy? Eh? ‘You reap what you sow’? ...How cruel! ...Anyway! Come here!”

*Rustle rustle*

“Phew...There we go. Say, Yui-chan? I’m sorry about earlier, okay? It was never my intention to make you suffer. I just went a little overboard with my personal way of showing physical affection. Do you understand...?”

You nod.

“...If you claim you’re no longer upset, could you raise your face and look me in the eyes?”

You look up.

“Nfu~ Thank god. Well then, to make it up to you...I’ll do something which will make you happy, okay? ...Nn.”

*Smooch*

“Nn...Fufu~ You love it when I do this, don’t you? I’m well aware. Well then...One more. ...Nn...”

*Smooch*

“...Say? Since you haven’t asked me to stop...That means I can do more...right? Nfufu~ In that case, I won’t hold back. ...Nn...Haah...”

*Smooch*

“...Eh? You can’t breathe? Oh no. Wouldn’t want you to faint on me again after all. So...Come on, part your lips...? Haah...Nn...”

Laito kisses you deeply again.

“Nnー... Is it even harder to breathe like this...? Nfufu~ Haah...Tell me if you don’t like it, okay? Then I’ll stop at once...Nn...”

*Smooch*

You writhe around.

“Fufu...You won’t say it? You really do love it when I kiss you, don’t you...? Haah...Say, in that case, can I kiss you in a different place as well?”

*Rustle rustle*

“Nn...For example...Right here...? Nn...”

*Smooch*

“And here as well...Nn...”

*Smooch*

You whimper softly.

“Hm? ...Oh dear? Is something the matter? Your face is bright red, you know?”

You try and hide it.

“Ah! Don’t tell me...Did you get aroused again...? Nfu~”

You shake your head in denial.

“Say, Bitch-chan...I do realize that my love can be difficult to understand to a certain degree...But I honestly don’t care if the average girl doesn’t get it? However...For some reason, I believe that you are the only one...who truly comprehends. ...What do you think?”

You confirm his beliefs.

“Fufu...I figured you’d say that. Haah...I’ve gotten kind of sleepy too for some reason.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“I mean, it’s so warm and cozy when I hold you in my arms like this...Pwaah...Well, guess we should sleep now. Or would you rather...continue messing around with me like this?”

Your face turns bright red again.

“If you’re in the mood for it, I will welcome that with open arms, you know? Want to just skip school tomorrow?”

You tell him you can’t.

“...Yeah, yeah. I know. I’ll get some proper rest. Geez. You are so uptight. But well, I guess it’s fine. There’s always tomorrow. I wonder what I should do with you then...~? ...Ah! Right! How about you come and sneak into my bed instead?”

You protest.

“...It’s just a joke! Come on, it hurts when you throw a tantrum right in front of me!”

*Rustle rustle*

“...Haah. Make sure to stay in my arms like this, okay? Until I wake up...When you’re this close, I’ll know what you’re up to right away, even in my sleep.”

Laito leans in.

“So don’t even think about sneaking away, okay? Nfu~”

You nod.

“Goodnight, Yui-chan. See you again tomorrow. Nn...”

*Smooch* 

ーー THE END ーー

Translation notes

(1) よいしょっと or ‘yoishotto’ is always tricky for me to translate because it isn’t exactly a real ‘word’, but more so something Japanese people will say when they make certain movements like picking up something heavy (or putting it back down), taking a seat, turning over onto their other side, etc. In certain cases it can be translated as ‘heavy-hoh’, but that didn’t quite fit here.

(2) 夜這いor ‘yobai’ is the term used for men sneaking into a woman’s bedroom at night. (Usually with not-so-pure intentions)

(3) 腕枕 or ‘ude-makura’ literally means ‘arm pillow’.

(4) The term スキンシップ or ‘skinship’ literally comes from English, but it isn’t actually used in the English language. It refers to physical contact/intimacy between couples or lovers. (Not necessarily in a sexual sense)

(5) ビッチ or ‘bitch’ in Japanese is more often used to refer to a girl with loose morals than it is to a mean/bitchy girl. The term ‘slut’ is honestly more accurate, but since ‘Bitch-chan’ is such an iconic nickname within the DL franchise, I keep it as is. 

(6) By adding the word プレイ or ‘play’, which refers to a sexual kink, I assume that he is vaguely referring to sometihng like ‘edging’ or any other form of teasing in bed/in a sexual context.

(7) The verb 寝る or ‘neru’ is often translated as ‘to sleep’ in dictionaries or textbooks, but it can refer to simply lying down in bed/on the sofa/etc. as well, without the person being actually asleep.. If you want to say someone is asleep, you can use the verb 眠る or ‘nemuru’ instead.

[elentiyawhitethorn]

Sneaking Around | Chapter Eleven

Rowan and Aelin were in a very intimate position when his phone rang. “Ignore it,” said Aelin, panting.

“If I ignore it it’ll keep ringing.”

“So what? Keep going.”

Rowan chuckled. “Needy.” He detached himself and reached for his phone, leaving Aelin wanting. She scowled.

“Hello?” Rowan actually answered, probably just to get on Aelin’s nerves.

“Bullshit!” Aelin whisper-yelled. “Who the hell is more important than my orgasm?”

Rowan shushed her and listened for a moment. Aelin swore revenge for that disregard alone. “Hold on a minute,” he finally said.

Rowan covered the mouthpiece with a hand and said, “I hope you don’t make me, but I thought you might kill me if I said no. Do I have to go watch Lys interrogate every single person on her list about where they’ll be for the holidays?”

So she was using the information about Aelin bringing the mystery man to the party to her advantage. “Snake can’t wait five days? And hell no, we’re in the middle of something.”

Rowan grinned. “Sorry, Lys, I’m busy. Update me on the suspects when you’re finished, though.”

When he hung up, Aelin said, “She really is determened to figure this out before we tell her, isn’t she? I honestly can’t be bothered to care right now, Ro. I can’t believe you left me hanging to answer the damn phone. Just fuck me already.”

Rowan complied.

-

The next morning Ansel called. “Hey, Lin, Fenrys and I just had a great idea.”

A muffled voice in the background seemed to contradict this statement.

“Hush!” Ansel reprimanded. “Anyways, we were thinking you and Rowan should come over tonight and watch a movie with us.”

“Um, no,” said Aelin.

“What? Why not.”

Aelin sighed. “Because I’d rather be in Rowan’s bed.”

“Geez, Aelin. The sex can’t be that good. It’ll be fun. Like a double date. Please.”

Aelin frowned. “As long as it’s not some stupid movie.”

Ansel squealed. “Yay. Don’t you need to ask Rowan, though?”

“I’ll deal with him.”

Ansel snorted. “Goodbye, Aelin. See you at seven?”

“Sure. Bye.”

Rowan said from the doorway of the bedroom, appearing to have just risen, “What was that about?”

Aelin scooted over to give him more room next to her on his couch where she was eating a piece of toast. “We’re going to my place for a movie date with A and Fen.”

Rowan scowled. “No, we’re not.”

“We are. That’s final.”

He sighed. “Whatever.”

“I have you wrapped around my finger, don’t I,” Aelin couldn’t help but coo with a smirk on her face. “I expected more of an argument.”

This drew another scowl. “I know when to pick my battles. Besides, how bad can it be?”

-

Aelin unlocked her door and stepped inside, Rowan behind her.

Fenrys glanced up from where he sat at the table. “I can’t believe you let her talk you into it so easily. You know this is just an excuse to make fun of you.”

Aelin smiled. “Yeah, but we’re bored.”

“We are?” asked Rowan.

“Yes,” Aelin replied with a bat of her eyelashes. “I tire of your company.” He rolled his eyes.

Fenrys’ eyes went wide as he noticed them holding hands. “I know you two are a thing, but it’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Don’t worry, Fen,” Aelin said. “This isn’t going to stop us from getting into a fistfight.”

Ansel snorted as she entered the room. “Thirty seconds and we’re already talking fistfights. Should I be worried?”

Rowan answered, “Definitely. What movie are we watching?”

Fenrys groaned. “I tried to stop her, I swear. It’s some soppy romance.”

Aelin laughed. “Of course it is. I wouldn’t expect anything else from Ansel.”

“Hey,” said Fenrys. “We got a call from Lysandra. Which got me thinking, weren’t you at her first FBI whatever, Rowan?”

Rowan frowned. “Yes, Aelin told me to get off my ass and go double-spy for her. And in the middle of dinner, too.”

“Oh, please,” Aelin cut in. “You were almost done. Don’t whine so much. And I wanted to know what the hell that creep was saying about me.”

Ansel chuckled. “Ah, yes. Fenrys updated me on the first meeting. I’m surprised you didn’t have Rowan trudge out again last night. The lists are narrowing, I hear. Interrogations are happening.”

“We were busy,” Aelin said unashamedly. Ansel and Fenrys both snorted.

“Gross,” said Fenrys.

“Prude,” Aelin responded. “I want to know who’s left on those lists. How many.”

Rowan rolled his eyes. “You sound like this is a matter of national security. I’ve been crossed off the list. What does it matter?”

Ansel giggled. “It matters because Lysandra is like the smartest person we have ever met and you are so getting busted. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re on the list. She will take drastic measures as the days run out, I assure you of that.”

“Gods, please not a stakeout. I can’t handle her sometimes,” Aelin muttered.

Fenrys smirked. “Ten bucks says Lys won’t catch them. It’s only four days now.”

“Twenty,” countered Ansel. “And she is totally gonna figure it out. She was born to be in the government or something, I tell you.”

“Why am I so worried that you’re right?” asked Aelin. “My brain is dying. Movie time.”

They sat on the couch, the men on either side of Aelin and Ansel. It felt rather odd, the four of them watching a movie, even though they were all friends.

Fenrys started snoring about five minutes in. Aelin honestly wasn’t doing much better.

“You two are impossible.” Ansel poked Aelin and Fenrys in their rib cages. “At least Rowan is paying attention.”

Roused by Ansel’s violent jab, Aelin said, “Yeah, I don’t think so. It seems like he’s just mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open.” She snapped her fingers in front of Rowan’s face.

“Hmm? You say something?”

Aelin giggled as Ansel sighed. “You lot have no taste.”

“That’s it,” declared Fenrys. “This movie is shit. We’re watching Silence of the Lambs.”

“Yay!” squealed Aelin. “I love that movie.”

Ansel sighed again. “If it keeps you awake, what the hell.”

The channel was changed and Aelin scooted over and cuddled up next to Rowan. “This is terribly scary,” she whispered in his ear. “I need you to protect me.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s just a girl jogging,” he whispered back.

Aelin punched his shoulder. “Take a hint, dude.” She grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder. His hand slid under the blanket and squeezed her ass.

“Ew,” said Fenrys, glancing over. “Didn’t need to see that.”

“See what?” Aelin asked.

“His hand went under the blanket and I don’t want to think about where it went.”

Ansel laughed.

A snort came out of Aelin. “Grow up, Moonbeam. Everybody’s fully clothed. What more can you ask for?”

Rowan sighed. “This was a great idea.”

Ansel spoke up. “That better not be sarcasm I detect, Whitethorn.”

“Definitely not,” he replied.

“Shut up so I can watch the movie,” Aelin ordered. She really just wanted them to look away so Rowan’s hand could continue its journey.

The only noise was coming from the television. Ansel and Fenrys had stopped looking at Aelin and Rowan. His hand slipped over her thigh then up to her front. He plucked at her blouse, then his hand went under it.

Aelin was sure Rowan knew she would kill him if he made her moan in front of the others, so he only caressed her skin. His hand teased the areas around her breasts, but he stayed clear. Why couldn’t Ansel and Fenrys just get out for a few hours?

Aelin glanced over at the other two, then scooted closer to Rowan. She whispered in his ear, “I wish we could leave without them noticing.”

Rowan chuckled as quietly as he could. “I’m sure they feel the same, dear.”

Aelin rolled her eyes at this. “Why do I feel like a teenager all over again?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you frequently pray your friends would leave so you could hook up with somebody as a teenager?”

“Only sometimes.” She smirked at him. “You can kiss me, you know.”

“Um, no. Not with them-”

Aelin pressed her lips to Rowan’s neck, then whispered onto his skin, “What are they going to do, stare at us? Throw things? Kiss me.”

Apparently Rowan was too full of lust to argue any further. He tilted her head up with a finger and kissed her soundly. Aelin barely suppressed a moan as Rowan’s tongue parted her lips.

They were quiet and they didn’t move much, but Ansel must have looked over because she shouted, “Horny delinquents!” Fenrys chuckled.

Aelin igorned her and kept running her hands through Rowan’s hair as she kissed him. He wisely decided not to face her wrath for being a wimp and do the same. Ansel just muttered something and turned her attention back to the TV.

Everything went quiet and they kept making out. Silence of the Lambs didn’t play music in the background, unlike most or all other movies. Aelin didn’t remember exactly, but she’d read it somewhere. She couldn’t be bothered to care, though, as she nibbled on Rowan’s lower lip.

That is, until a piercing scream sounded and Rowan jolted backwards, muttering obscenities.

Aelin cackled. “Something the matter, Ro?”

Ansel joined in the laughter. “That’s what you get for snogging in the middle of a horror film.”

“Snogging?” Fenrys asked. “Where are you from?”

Aelin snorted. Rowan was still recovering from the shock. Wuss, she thought. She could only bring herself to find him cute for it, however.

Aelin settled onto Rowan’s chest and actually payed attention for the rest of the movie. He kept his hands on her body, and teasingly stroked her throughout. Aelin had a feeling he wasn’t nearly as focused as her on watching the movie. Despite his suductive touches, she stubbornly refused to give in.

The movie ended and the four of them stood. “Well,” drawled Fenrys. “I assume you won’t be staying, Aelin darling.” Not even close to a question.

She smiled prettily at him and said, “And I assume you won’t be leaving, Fenrys dear.”

He grinned and said, “If you won’t be here, I see no reason not to.” Ansel punched him in the arm, but she was smiling. “You know, if you stay over at Whitethorn’s so often, you might as well just move in.”

The smile melted off of Ansel’s face. “Not happening. You are not being taken from me, Lin.” Her attention strayed to Rowan. “Don’t even think about it. I will throttle you.”

A strangled noise came out of Rowan’s mouth and Aelin and Fenrys burst into laughter. “Thanks for that happy note to end the evening, A,” Aelin commented.

Rowan still looked a little frightened, and for good reason: Ansel didn’t make threats lightly. Despite this, he managed to say, “I’ll keep that in mind.” Aelin and Fen just laughed harder.

“Oh, shut up,” said Rowan. Ansel looked inclined to agree.

Aelin just smirked, looped her arm through Rowan’s, and blew the others a kiss. “Night, kiddos. Keep it in the bedroom!” she called as she dragged Rowan through the doorway.

She shut the door to muttering and scowls. Rowan chuckled at her as they walked down the hall. “You have a way with people.”

“Once we get back the apartment I’m going to have my way with you.”

He smirked. “You really are horny, aren’t you?”

They entered the elevator. “Not any more than you are,” Aelin responded.

The drive back was silent. Neither could make conversation while lusting after the other. Aelin marveled at how they spent so much time fucking each other, and yet they never could get enough. It was like the honeymoon phase, except they hadn’t gotten married yet.

Yet. Aelin hadn’t realized how casually she thought about starting a life with Rowan. Yet implied it would happen. Would Aelin truly marry him one day?

She was rescued from her thoughts when they pulled up at his building. They walked far too quickly to look casual, and all but ran up the stairs.

Upon entering, Rowan slammed the door closed at the same time Aelin threw her purse at the counter. Then they turned to each other, desperate to deepen their kisses, desperate to get all clothing out of the way.

They were already naked before they moved a single foot in any direction. Aelin expected the bedroom or the couch, or even the wall, but Rowan turned her around and bent her over the counter.

Aelin moaned as her skin came in contact with the smooth surface, pressing against her breasts. Rowan traced a finger down her spine. “You’re so beautiful.”

“I don’t give a shit how beautiful I am. I need you in me.”

The bastard chuckled. “I love how much you crave me.” He ran his finger down her back again.

Aelin shivered. “Please, Ro.” After begging him a couple days ago, she had stopped attempting to salvage her dignity.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “I rather like it when you have nice manners. It’s a pleasant change from your usual sass.”

Aelin whimpered as he lined himself up with her entrance. Rowan gripped her hips hard enough to bruise, but Aelin couldn’t care less about that. Not as he plunged into her.

Aelin couldn’t keep herself from screaming as Rowan slammed his hips into her backside time and time again.

This was better than enduring Ansel and Fenrys’ teasing, that was for certain.

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher of the Night (Chapter 13.1)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER. 

UPDATES FOR WITCHER OF THE NIGHT WILL BE PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY NOW IN MY TIME (GMT +8)

CHAPTER 13

WITCHER OF THE NIGHT MASTERLIST

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: Geralt could feel what you also feel and he was cursing the Djinn for making you both feel this way because it was a feeling that was certainly irresistible for one man to ever control. You were in heat, and it doesn’t seem to be such a good idea for the witcher to try and resist. 

Warnings: This is just a filler chapter for the smut in the next chapter. Ahonhonhon! Kind of Jealous Geralt too? Lowkey? Hehehehe. A cute bard and Cirilla having the period-syndrome (I’m having it too rn and I’m thirsty for Geralt or any of Henry’s character. DAMN IT) I’ve given a name to the Djinn they’ve found because I’ve tried searching but found no name for every Djinn they find in the witcher? I think? Reader being so needy and in heat. (The animal type of heat for reasons..) Also, reader is...a virgin. 

Words: 4.5k

A/N: You probably want to strangle me so hard right now, bb’s. I’m in the phase of a writer where I’m procrastinating stuff but not exactly a writer’s block. Just want to do things besides writing all day or I’m prolly just sleepy with no damn reason since last week. 😅😒 

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE! Sorry for the grammatical errors and such because English isn’t my mother tongue! 

Disclaimer: PNG’s used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. However, the edits and oneshots are definitely from moi. Characters, places and said monsters aren’t from moi as well. GIF’s INCLUDED ARE CREDITED TO THOSE WHO MADE THEM! I DO NOT OWN THEM!

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

"Well, you're in a greater bad mood right now, rat." Jaskier frankly stated, wiping his lute with a cloth.

The night was serene with your heart strings balled up in a yarn. Your emotions consisting of woe with a face as if you lost a shit ton of money. You sat together with Jaskier in the middle of the vast leigh, knees touching against each other as the bard quietly sat with you in silence.

A bright purple evenfall draws nigh along the sky, stars finally becoming visible as you admired how beautiful their skies were. Less pollution and more aesthetic, though a lot more eccentricity happening around more than earth.

You've exhaled one last sigh, mouth in a tight frown as you took notice of the moon that was in replete. A perfect shape of a circle as it shines bright.

"Is the witcher being an imbecile again?" the bard ceased his cleaning, giving you his sole attention as he watched your face contort in utmost upset. But, you chose to just let the sorrow go for a moment, admiring the stars and skies like it wasn't laughing back at you from how delusional you were for having strong feelings for the witcher, "Don't start, Jaskier."

"Your cantankerous attitude shown in your cherubic face tells me that you are gradually adapting Geralt's crabbiness because you accepted the position in being his lover---," Jaskier has managed to bluntly say, carefully placing his lute on the grass as he narrowed his eyes at you, "---Though, it does seem like a sacrifice, small rat. Your kindness shall be missed. I would like to see you try and let Geralt adapt to your naivity and sweetness. The vision is pretty hilarious, if you ask me!"

Your frown even grew tighter when he mentioned the word 'lover', shoulders falling from how dismayed you were from hearing it.

"I'm not his lover."

The bard couldn't help but raise a skeptical brow back at you, remembering what he saw last night. He knew he wasn't hallucinating nor daydreaming, "Oh, so kissing under the moonlight is considered as a friendly gesture in my era now? If so, then this means you wouldn't mind kissing me too!"

He puckered his lips, making smooching sounds as slowly tried to teasingly close the gap between you both as Jaskier pouted to act as if he was about to give you a kiss on the cheek when you've yelped and immediately had your palms over his mouth, gently pushing his face away from you, "Jaskier! What are you even---?!"

He comfortably sat back down and had his knee over his chest prior to the position he had now, which was in criss-cross as he playfully shrugged. His pretty baby blues looking at the darkening sky, "A shame. I've been told by countable lads and lasses that I do kiss like I take their breath away,"

You tutted at that, shaking your head from his teasing and tried to send a hostile sally, "You suck then. Do you want them dying because of lack of breath?"

Your animosity has been curved by the bard. He seemed like he was acting like he didn't hear you as he let his eyes flicker to you again; going on with his jests, "Thank you by the way. I've been sleeping much soundly since the couple of days and you seemed to be having such wonderful dreams every night,"

Bawdy indications were hinted in between Jaskier's words; making you give him a glare that obviously made him grin like he won the lottery; thinking that your previous rendezvous back in Geralt's room when he wasn't around had some provocative explanations.

He didn't know your symbol was hurting a lot more on those nights where Geralt wasn't around.

You brush off his ribald comment, "I didn't do it for you,"

"I thought you were actually asking for forgiveness by calling me a horse's arse minutes ago? You're knowing the blasphemy of our language but totally naive of every monsters and places we have here. It doesn't seem to be such a thing to be proud of,"

Jaskier continued his blathers without even letting you talk, freely letting you give him death glares because he seemed to be more mouthy as days go by. You turn a deaf ear to exhale an exasperated breath, "I'm taking it back. You're still annoying as heck," before unabashedly laying your head down on his lap.

His yakking has been brought to a halt when he'd felt your head fall on his lap, the bard suddenly uttering quizzical gibbers that you continued to ignore as you felt the bracing wind hit your body; appreciating the eventide in quietude.

"Alright, alright! I'm not complaining...Ughm," Jaskier cleared his throat, anxiously scratching his head as he tried his best not to look at you.

The fullness of the moon has been drawing you in again. In a tranquil night, it was as if the stars began to whisper sweet nothings, lately realizing that their soft whispers has actually been your wishes; albeit, you've broken them down together, your whims willing and having no desire for you to actually come back in earth.

With only one thing in your mind, it was to stay with Geralt and his family.

But, do you really mean it? If you would choose earth or their dimension, were you serious that you wanted to stay?

Though, for him; you weren't that sure if he also wanted the same thing. If Geralt wasn't around, you were probably already dead, have been sold by noblemen or eaten by their monsters.

But, the stars seemed to jump out of the sky when you've heard a loud thundercrack of a door that came from the inside of their house, snapping the bard quiet as the noise tugged you out of your happy place; a place that you hoped Geralt came with.

The night has went slower, time ticking a lot more deliberately when one person is probably upset with another. Especially, when the person you were upset with lived in the same house as you and even was the owner of the bed you sleep on.

You were beginning to feel rickety as seconds pass by while Jaskier tried worming out whatever he had asked to Cirilla whom was feeding Kolby with a basket full of obsolete bread.

"Tell me why the back door is now broken off its hinges?" he asked in incredulity, hands on his hips as he had seen the brown, wooden door hanging with all its life, trying hard not to fall.

Hence, as they continued their talk; you couldn't help but massage that aching part of your chest, the one where the symbol laid upon the valley of your breasts as you heavily breathed.

It was attacking again.

The weight and fiery phantom of fingers grasping your heart more severe rather than the nights you had it felt like a rabid monster wanted to come out of cage. Their cold weather suddenly all swelter; as if you were walking on burnt out coals with one person clouding your mind.

Geralt.

You needed him, wanted him and yearned for his presence.

Cirilla gave a blatant shrug of her shoulders; sounding completely phlegmatic as she answered, "I don't know, bard. I didn't scream if that will make you any less more worried,"

Jaskier had his eyebrows furrowed as he keenly pondered as to why their door was broken all of a sudden, "Has there been a beast?" his slim, calloused fingers moved restlessly; dwelling onto what has raided their own home. The bard looked anywhere, continuing to be in distress while Cirilla patted the Hirikka's head with utmost care as she watched him devour everything in the basket, "You mean, Geralt?" she gave Jaskier a once over before turning back to look at Kolby, thoroughly undisturbed that it was the witcher's doing, "---He went out for a second and then came back, breaking the door off its hinges. But, he promised to fix it,"

Jaskier's head veered to where she was crouched in the middle of the living room, his baby blue eyes full of concern as he opened his mouth to tell all his inquiries but was instantly shut closed when he'd seen you hunched in his peripheral vision, palms on your knees as you were breathing like you were being chased by another Alghoul.

The latter took heed of those sweat drops falling on the side of your face as you were heaving deep breaths. Your head was darkening in assailing images of those familiar amber eyes you've grown to be thoroughly fond of; longing to be consumed by those glowing golden aureate.

You've heard someone walking closer to where you stood, seeing Jaskier crouch to give you a scrutiny of his baby blues. Bright azures. You didn't yearn for that. All you wanted was golden. His golden and you couldn't help but whimper, your chest has giving you agony as if you were being pricked in the heart by small needles, "You're sweating like a rabid---rat, are you alright?"

Another deep inhale of your breath; you breathlessly muttered, "I am Jaskier---It's just---" nevertheless, those train of thoughts couldn't be completed by the excruciating pain that ignited a troubled mewl. You straightened your back, making Jaskier stand up as well to scan your face for any signs as to what was happening to you, but only had seen your face painfully contorted in a way that tells him you were in agony.

"It's hot. Too hot," pause. You swallowed the tight knot of confining sensations wanting to be let out, "---Abnormally hot. Hot in two different ways; like I wanna be impaled or something!"

At your most forthright honesty, your statement has made the bard blink rapidly from how blunt it sounded, being taken aback by how outspoken you suddenly become; a thorough change of your bashful self, "You're actually revealing lewd facts that should be kept to yourself. You are certainly not alright!"

You could feel yourself grow hotter, the heat being scorching and aching at the same time. Your legs began to weaken and you can't help but fold like a paper, squat down and the position was utmost impuissant; totally vulnerable with your palms on your ears as you tried to shut down the restless whispering that went on and on; ceaseless as you had no power over it.

Jaskier began to panic; his face brimful of dread, "----GERALT? WE HAVE A PROBLEM DOWN HERE!"

The soughing of breathless whispers were relentless, no matter how you tried to cover your ears; they just keep coming. It was incessant, never ending despite of how they were giving your chest a pain that seem to be unyielding as they went on and on.

Witcher. You wanted the witcher. You needed him, you longed for him.

"Stop saying the word witcher, Jaskier!" you abruptly scolded, sounding too jarring and ear-piercing; void of kindness as you could feel the aggravation going to your head with the additional non-stop rustle of voices. The bard eyed you skeptically as he added, finding your rebuke rather surprising and odd because he never said anything about it, "I wasn't even uttering a word!"

Warm, slender fingers fell on your shoulders; trying his best to comfort you while the witcher wasn't coming down from his chambers yet. Nevertheless, from the moment he'd touch you, the toubadour has received a harsh slap of his hand being pushed away.

"Jaskier!" you harshly spat, your nose scrunched from how discomforting you were feeling.

He was quick to haul his arms up in surrender, stepping a foot away as he looked at you in horror, "Alright---I'm not touching you then!"

Another strained bleat left your lips as you were now fully sat on the floor, holding your chest as you continued to heave, shaking your head from the perpetual torment that tries its best to scream blandishments that sounded abridged. Some were incomprehensible and other words sounded lucid.

Destiny has it's price. It sounded just like a rustle of the winds as the shushed voices continued its onslaught. Two souls, together as one. Bound for eternal rest or a life forever. Zephyr shall protect. You cannot outrun death.

Your whimpers started to gradually increase, mewling in the process when you've exhaled a sigh as the needles seem to turn bigger, "It hurts, I swear it really hurts!" you screeched, body feeling like you were dropped in hot, molten lava as you were hearing foot steps treading in haste, "Geralt's coming, don't worry, rat."

Kolby prowled to where you sat; eternal mewls never ceasing as sexual, pent-up aggression was starting to travel to your head, but you tried to fight them off. Though, it ignited more pain as you struggled. Cirilla suddenly snapped her head to where you were, a tight lipped frown etching her face as she jogged to where you sat.

"Is she okay?" the pretty child asked in worry, watching you battle with something they couldn't see nor feel. Jaskier raised a brow; looking sardonic as he acknowledged, "No, she certainly isn't, Princess Cirilla."

She gave him a lour as she snarled; her riposte sounding a lot like the witcher because of how harsh it sounded, "I'm not in the mood for your sarcastic nonsense, bard."

Jaskier was unfazed as he took her retort like it was nothing, "Ooooh, is this how period--is it called period---does to a lassie?"

They're retaliations had them unaware of Geralt's presence who came marching down the stairs with an unfathomable expression on his face; the trepidation never seen in his features as it was emotionless, never giving anybody the panic that Jaskier, Cirilla and Kolby has been feeling when you've suddenly began bawling your eyes out from the thumping pain.

The witcher hurriedly crouched before you, his glowing amber eyes thoroughly scanning your features if there was anything weird happening; but to his discontent, Geralt noticed none.

He felt everything. Your frustration, pent-up aggression; venereal desires or not, the twinge of scorching ache that can't be relieved due to constraints given from the latter himself when he'd chose jurisdiction over his carnal wishes that you also wished.

But, he'd been bull-headed for his reasons; Geralt was not bargained for the repercussions held because of having no permanent proof that you were also suffering every night.

Just like him. Hence, the both of you needed relief. Corporeal appetites released for the betterment of both.

"She's in heat," Geralt rasped, trying to hear what you've been begging for and he sensed that you were hearing voices that continues to assault you, paining your chest as you were unaware of his presence that loom before you.

"What? Oh, Geralt! Cease the utter balderdash!" Jaskier exclaimed, eyeing the witcher who squat down in front of you.

Geralt's amber eyes has been searching for yours, but you've never let him see as you continued your hushed begging. He had his chiseled jaw clenched so tight, every breath he takes was also giving his chest a potent congesting pain that he can somehow resist. His medallion was vibrating wildly, alarming him that there was magic surrounding him.

Therefore, he knew the pain wasn't just one to disregard because he knew your pain has explanations that is needed to foresee.

Was the Djinn still in there? Keeping you as a host?

No. Impossible. The witcher thought at the back of his head because there were times that his medallion doesn't vibrate whenever he's around you, it only happened now and back then when you were possessed.

It was impossible that the Djinn was keeping you as its master as well. You could die if that ever happened. The seal was gone and never found back in the swamps, meaning to say it was already gone; broke free from its confinement because you already had three of your wishes.

Jaskier couldn't help but notice how clean and fixed Geralt's hair was. Hence, he'd started to acknowledge the aesthetic difference he claimed, "Also, did you just braid your majestic chalky white hair all by yourself?! Or did you do it, Princess Cirilla?" he bargained, utterly stunned from Geralt and his hair being braided, dubiously eyeing the lion cub of Cintra.

But, she only gave a nonchalant negation, "No."

"Oh, the rat did! She did a great job at making you look so feminine tonight, Geralt!"

Geralt paid no heed to Jaskier's teasing compliments, wanting nothing but to roll his eyes but ceased to do so as your fingers began to shake, his mind now in a perturbed fret as his gaze shifted anywhere to see what was causing your whole situation because he sees nothing. A tight furrow of his eyebrows tightly creased his forehead, "---The Djinn has given her effects for whatever the symbol does to her, bard."

Jaskier crouched beside where Geralt is, receiving a truculent glare that made the bard move away for an inch because his bellicose aura was radiating off him too much, "Symbol? What symbol?"

"I'm not showing you her chest." he bluntly chided as a low growl vibrated through his chest, giving Jaskier a hostile look in his glowing peepers.

The toubadour did a double-take, his mouth turning into an offended 'O' as he held a palm on top of his chest as he gestured to your squatted form, "I wasn't even asking you if I could see her breasts!"

"Then, shut up and stop asking."

Jaskier huffed, sulking beside the witcher because of how he'd suddenly become such a grump.  

You've muttered a soft mewl, tightly closing your ears with your palms as you suddenly talked out loud, "I need Geralt. Where's Geralt?!" it was the only name you could hear, echoing inside your head as the heat traveled through your veins, searing and extremely scorching all of a sudden.

Your heartbeat was loudly drumming out of your chest. Sweat dripping down your face as the pain and heat was starting to make you feel lightheaded, his scent crashing through your senses. Earthy, pinewood and a mix of mannishness.

Geralt.

"Don't touch me!" It felt like you were burning; but also finding some aid to the ache as it soothed your heated skin like ice to the fire. You've felt his thick, rough fingers fall on your shoulder, making you jerk back as you looked at him; completely mortified for a second, "I'm here, midget." before the witcher tightened his hold on you, those fingers clasping around your feeble arm as he gazed upon you in deep concern.

"It's alright. Calm down, it's me." Geralt gently hushed your frantic state, softly grabbing the side of your jaw to make you look at him.

When he did, your eyes were dark and dilated, filled with carnal.

"You're having a hot spell," he roughly forced the words out of him, heavily swallowing whatever you were feeling because he's also having the same problems, but chose to restrain himself; doing a better job than any most men would, "A--A literal spell?" you didn't catch his drift and feel yourself breathing deep, his scent soothing your nerves as it also does the same for him.

Geralt shook his head, his fingers strapped on the side of your neck making his hand feel the pleasuring jolt. You've felt his fingers slightly tremble as your eyes were beseeching, those dilated pupils of yours tormenting him, "No. You're in heat, midget." pause. he lowly growled in displeasure, amber eyes pooling in keen, "---which explains your cravings for touches and the need for coition,"

Your face scrunched in pain and a mixture of pent-up frustration, the voices inside your head slowly dying down as it was now drowning in the witcher's unique, baritone timbre of his that was making you feel giddy before a jolt of pain rose up your chest again, "What am I---an animal?! Geralt, make it stop!"

Jaskier and Cirilla listened in silence. However, the bard fidgeted with the hem of his tunic; his mindless frets seeming to come up with such suggestions that will make everyone's mind boggle.

He raised a hand, not before taking a good look at you who had eyes pure of anguish and need which now focused at Geralt before he'd loudly cleared his throat, turning his head to see the witcher in distress from what other methods he could think of other than the impaling,  "I have a proposal and an utterly brilliant idea to make the pain stop!"

Cirilla hushedly snorted, "His ideas are always nonsense. Don't listen to him, Geralt."

Jaskier placed his hands on his hips, pointing a finger at the princess, mouth opening before he was immediately ceased by Geralt himself.

"The princess is right, bard."

The sonneeter noted his lukewarm response, sounding like he actually opposes what Cirilla has reprimanded because all Geralt ever wanted and what clouds his mind is having his way with you, "---Give the small rat what she wants, Witcher. What if the pain carries on as nights go by? Give her the rumpy pumpy since that is always the answer to why an animal is in heat. It wants coitus, or if you've become one soft, romantic witcher; then I suggest to use the word, 'make love'." he emphasized, quoting the word 'make love' with both hands, his middle finger and index one folding as he said the last word with ardor.

Geralt was quick to scowl at that, exhaling an exasperated breath out of his nose as he hummed in protest; giving the bard his meanest glare, "You're saying she's an animal. You want me to take advantage of it?"

"No?" Jaskier quickly shook his head, groaning out; palms faintly hitting his forehead as he tried to act as if he was slapping it from Geralt's unreasonable assumptions. He continued, languidly blinking back at the frowning witcher, "---I didn't even say you would take advantage of the idea, you nincompoop! Then, do you want me to mate with her?"

It took him a second before he'd seen the latter started giving blazing daggers that had fire in it, his words seething as Geralt gruffly barked, "Absolutely not, bard!"

His glowing, amber eyes were boring holes at Jaskier before he lowly rumbled; more so to himself, trying to convince himself that there was another way.

He was dithering the idea of having you; not because he didn't find you pleasant, fetching, alluring or beautiful. Geralt found you in many types of wonderful adjectives he could tell, though mostly was kept inside his mind. The idea of having you, only to himself; ravishing you in ways that he ought to please kept him faltering because of one thing in his mind.

Vulnerability.

The witcher was thoroughly cautious of vulnerability because whenever it happens; once the walls have been broken down, there was always hindrance coming in his way and with the person he'd promised were important, or a person he loved because he knew that once he has you, Geralt was done for no matter how unstable he was.

You'll be seeing things you've never seen nor felt from him as he does the same way.

Especially, that you never came from their dimension and that the feelings he had for you was too strong to even control. But, the voices at the back of his mind was pulling him away from even pouring those emotions down because firstly, he didn't know how to show and second, there was a huge chance that you would also leave.

What if you leave? a person he'd treasured so much begins to leave him again?

Geralt mindlessly gritted his teeth together as he grumbled and grouched, avoiding the bard's eyes as he watched you shakily grab onto his palms that tenderly rested on the side of your face; leaning onto his touch as you looked at him; utterly lovestruck, "We'll find another way," pause. "---There has to be."

Though, it seems like the bard hasn't heard his beseeching and continued with his witful suggestions, "The only way is to impale her to cease the sufferings that the spell has cast upon her by the Djinn," Jaskier promptly stood up on his feet, his anxiety making him blurt out mindless blabbers he could ever think of, "---There is nothing to lose on this one, Geralt. Especially that you're...no offense---"

Geralt cut him off in haste, surly spitting out his words, "There is, Jaskier. Her purity."

Jaskier pointed back at the witcher, completely looking taken aback as he opened his mouth like he was stunned, "Oh." was the only thing he managed to say for the first few seconds before he quietly muttered, "OooooOh. She's a?"

The Ivory haired man gave a brief nod, "Untouched." he frankly informed as Cirilla quietly listened in the background with Kolby howling loudly in the middle of the night like a wolf in disguise, "---Oh! This is an unorthodox for the series of women that you have had, Geralt! Also, she's a rare one indeed!"

Jaskier couldn't help but feel dumbstruck from his suggestions, shamefully scratching the back of his nape as he has given the whole responsibility to Geralt because he could never help. He always never does because of some sorts that he couldn't explain, probably because he wasn't taught with these magical phenomena that Geralt expertly knows.

When the witcher has given you his attention, you've abruptly attacked him in a bear hug, arms tightly wrapped around his thick neck that you wanted to softly pepper kisses. As you were caging him in your arms, his delicious scent wafted through your nose, welcoming how it was indeed mouthwatering for your blazing appetite or carnal greed.

"I want to have you, Geralt. I--I need to have you! These thoughts inside my head...It needs you, I--I need you," you begged, softly pleading like there wasn't anyone around you; not noticing Cirilla, Kolby nor Jaskier as there was only one person in your mind. Geralt of Rivia. Your Geralt. Your witcher. The only person who gives you fluttering butterflies and wild ants inside your stomach and chest.

You've tucked your face in between your arm and his braided hair, breathing the back of his ear like a wild woman as Geralt stood still and heard your whimpers that went straight to his stronghold, his will in finding another method to help suddenly wavering from how soft and provocative it sounded that clouded his mind.

He turned relaxed in your arms, accepting the bear hug and probably loving how close you both were together after hours of not talking to each other. You've felt his calloused palm caress your clothed back, soothing your pained mewls that came after your sensual whimpers as it was unstable. Geralt gently unlatched your arms that surrounds him, his golden peepers meeting your baffled ones before he had no problem in scooping you up in his arms, like newly wed couples.

"We'll think of other ways, midget. Come. Let's help you with the heat,"

Cliffhanger before the smut? I’M SORRY, BB’S. LOVE MEEEE STILLLLLL! 

Taglist: @alyxkbrl​ @himarisolace​ @barkingbullfrog​ @ayamenimthiriel​ @hellodevilslittlesister​ @vania-marie @spookypeachx @grungelovebug @fangirl-inthe-us @nympeth @amirahiddleston @gabethelobster @dreaming-about-starfleet @uncoolcloudyhead @melaninstylezz @psychosupernatural @missjenniferb @dance-dreamer​​ @marvelousell​​ @kingniazx​​ @angelias134​​ @tapismyforte​​ @chook007​​ @covid-donotenter​​ @winter-moons​ @cheesecakeisapie​ @silverkitten547​​ @angelofthor​r @carrieannewaywardson @plantingmum​, @stuckupstucky​, @shesthelastjedi​

[giyuu-no-tsuma]

Heeeeeey, since you are manga caught up and you have read the ending, how about, Sumihiko and co time-travel to the Taisho era and meet their ancestors?? How interesting would that be, and Touko would recognize they all existed! (Also Kanata x Touko is cute, screw the sick minded people saying it's incest)

Ahhhh, what a awesome and interesting ask! Well, I don’t really argue with close-minded people about something, so if they still want to be stubborn and still want to think it’s incest, best thing is to leave them be, because we know it’s not incest and Gotouge already explained it, their fault they’re stubborn not anyone else’s. 

Anyways to the ask! Without an illustration since there aren’t GIF’s or pictures:

PS: Time-travel doesn’t seem realistic to me, so excuse me if I took it into my comfort zone, I had a better idea for it!

Sumihiko and his brother were having a sleepover over the Agatsuma’s, Kanata mostly by Touko’s side, holding her hand and both smiling to one another. Sumihiko and Yoshiteru talking about anything really.

Their conversation went on, until Sumihiko brought up the story of their ancestors and how they fought with the demons and the Demon King.

Touko listened to their conversation and rolled her eyes, stating that it was just fiction, that their great-grandpa was just someone with big imagination. Upong which Yoshiteru argued her statement, earning a harsh pull on the ear.

“What if they actually existed and fought against them? Can you prove it’s fiction?”

At Sumihiko’s answer, Touko had much hesitation, she herself didn’t have any proof to her statement. So she just said she didn’t.

“What if we time-travel?”

*Of course Yoshiteru was greeted by his oldest sister’s scolding and ear pulling.

“You dummy! Time-travel doesn’t even exist! Why is it that you’re like this always! Was great-grandpa Zenitsu like this?!”

“Of course time-travel is impossible... But if they existed, then surely some memory or something may be there.” Kanata tried to reason and calm Touko down, so she could stop pulling on poor Yoshiteru’s ear, which was pretty swollen and red.

Touko stopped doing what she’s doing, smiling and giving the reason to Kanata. That boy surely made her relax a little.

“Well, great-grandpa Tanjirou fought with this katana right?” It was when Sumihiko pulled out the katana they kept as memory.

Kanata wasn’t that happy his younger brother took the memorial katana without asking.

“Sumihiko, you shouldn’t have taken it. It’s a memorial.”

“I know, I know, but I’m curious about great-grandpa and his adventures with the demon slaying job! How he and great-great-great Aunt Nezuko had it. We know the story of our three-times great uncles and aunt dying and our three-times great aunt turned into a demon, how they went throught it, so many things I want to know!”

Sumihiko’s enthusiasm was evident, and it all started to get Touko more interested in the topic. Well if they really did existed, then maybe there is something somewhere to know about them.

The four talked about the topic until pretty late, and called it a night, everyone sleeping in futons in the living room. Soon, they all started to dream. It was a shared dream. In the dream, Sumihiko woke by started, he was in a different house, didn’t seem to be Touko and Yoshiteru’s. It all looked pretty ancient, like the Taisho era.

“Eh? Where are we?” The boy looked around, and felt pretty out of place and worked out, he noticed his brother was sleeping next to him and shook him lightly. “Kanata, Kanata! Nii-san wake! We’re not in home!”

Kanata groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “Sumihiko? What are you saying-” He was quick to sit up, his brother was right, that wasn’t  home. He quickly turned to Touko sleeping by his other side and shook her. “Touko? Touko-chan, wake up, something’s up.

Touko was quick to be up and smacked her brother awake. “Wake you you dummy!”

Yoshiteru yelped and scrambled to his feet. “Wha, nani nani?!”

“We’re not home, where is here?!” Touko was becoming pretty agitated, when Kanata held her hand and she calmed almost immediately.

“Don’t worry Touko-chan, if you’re here with me, then nothing can happen to you.” He reassured her softly.

It was night in that strange place. Soon they heard some voices, turning looking in awe.

“Tanjirou! Where are we going?!” A blond with the same appearance as Yoshiteru but save from the blond to orange hair.

Then the called boy stood there, it was Tanjirou, Kanata and Sumihiko’s great-grandfather, very alike with Sumihiko, save from the earrings and the scar.

“Great-grandpa Zenitsu...” Touko whispered

“And great-grandpa Tanjirou...” Sumihiko echoed.

“It was real after all...” Touko was no convinced and Yoshiteru took advantage of it.

“I was right all this time, not Nee-san?”

“Urusai, baka!” Touko kicked him in the side, she had such a temper, once again she found herself being held by the hand by Kanata and she calmed.

“I wonder why my sister is such a hooligan...” Yoshiteru grumbled, but then quickly shut up at the glare said sister shot him.

Soon it came the time where Nezuko pulled out of the box and stood next to her brother. Many similarities with Touko. The other girl at seeing her three times-great aunt, she got a real shock, she was demon. All the stories told by their other family members were right and the diary her great-grandpa wrote also was right, she could tell that this was a time where they still were not close to defeat the threat that was Muzan.

“Woah, that kid Giichi’s ancestor” Sumihiko commented, meaning Giyuu who was with the trio, same hair but longer, same deep blue eyes and face shape. Giichi was an elementary kid he often ran into when he was in a hurry to his school, he was watching the ancestor of that kid.

Suddenly Yoshiteru had parted from the group and it was only by Touko who freaked out.

“Ah, where did that idiot go?! Yoshiteru!!” She barked, searching around, they were in an unknown territory but that kid really had to disappear just like that?

Kanata put an arm around her. “Don’t worry Tou-chan, we’ll find him, that’s for sure,” Though he really was in the same with his girlfriend of wanting to smack that kid good.

Yoshiteru had adventured himself a little in the dense forest, wanting to see a demon or see if one would come. He was curious. And his urges to do so came when out of nowhere one jumped at him. The boy screeched. “GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“Oh no that idiot got into trouble!” Touko ran where she heard her brother’s scream, going along with Kanata and Sumihiko. When they got there, they froze seeing it was a demon.

Soon a voice was heard. “Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!”

The demon’s head was sliced off, and Yoshiteru turned to look at his savior, Tanjirou stood there, going over to see if the boy was okay.

“Are you okay?”

“Yoshiteru!!” Touko ran over and immediately smached her brother upside the head. “Baka! Only you would think on getting lost and into trouble in unknown territory, you idiot!” She smacked him again, having half the mind to just smack his tush for that, but restrained herself.

“I-I’m sorry Onee-san...I was scared!” he immediately started screeching with tears, but this time his sister sighed and hugged him. She turned to look at Tanjirou... her three-times-great uncle...

Tanjirou blinked. “H-hey, you kid... you look like Zenitsu..” He stared at Yoshiteru then to Touko. “You like Nezuko...” And then was Kanata. “And you like Kanao....” what got him into a freeze was Sumihiko who looked like him, saved from the earrings and the scar.

“Tanjirou, what’s wrong?” Giyuu soon joined and so did Zenitsu and Inosuke.

The four kids from many, many, many years later where stared at like they were aliens.

“G-great-grandpa...” Sumihiko started.

“Great-grandpa?” Tanjirou blinked, was this some sort of dream? Was he asleep and dreaming that he had a great-grandson? Where were his kids and grandkids then? If this kid was his great-grand son? He didn’t understand.

After a big explanation, Tanjirou understood, in the future he was to marry Kanao, have kids and grandkids, these two Sumihiko and Kanata were his last generations, therefore in the time where these kids were from, he and the others were likely dead.

“This is unbelievable but, here you are.” 

“You were awesome, great-grandpa, really awesome!” Sumihiko exclaimed happily. “You fought with everything and the others too. I’m glad I was able to meet you, something that I thought impossible.”

Soon, back to the current time, the four were starting to wake.

“Uh what?” Sumihiko looked around, they were back at the Agatsuma’s home, so all that was just a dream?

Kanata rubbed his eyes and looked around, unsure of what just happened a while back.

Touko yawned and blinked. “A dream?”

Yoshiteru was simply sleeping soundly still.

“That dream felt very real.” Kanata commented. “So it might’ve been a clue to the mystery of our ancestors.

“Still awesome we got to talk to them even if a dream, that’s checked outta the bucket list!” Sumihiko chirped.

Touko smiled. “Great-grandpa Zenitsu, simply like Yoshiteru, a cowardly yet heroic and strong man. Not that Yoshiteru is that, but our great-grandpa was.”

“Now we now they existed, the heroes.”

From now on the ancestors were remembered as existent and so the demons, even honored. The dream was actually a real thing.

[richieisabastardman]

Hold Me Now - Part 3 - Richie Tozier x Reader

Part 1 Part 2 >>> Part 4

Summary: You had forgotten about everything that happened in Derry until Mike called you up. Now, sitting in the restaurant surrounded by your friends, you remembered everything. More importantly, you remember Richie. (Fluff/Angst/Sexy Stuff)

Word count: 2887

Warnings: Swearing, Sexual Situations (not smut)

Notes: Thank you all for all of the kind words about the previous parts!! It honestly motivates me to write so much :) Again, I’d love to hear what you guys think of this! Hope you enjoy. Also, I apologize for any spelling/grammar errors/inconsistencies. I read over things a thousand times and I still miss little things :’( 

You felt a heavy weight around your waist and a light snoring from behind you. You panicked for a moment before remembering the events of the night before. Smiling to yourself you turned around to face the tall man who was still sleeping soundly in your bed. You raised a hand to his cheek, feeling his stubble beneath your fingers. He let out a sigh, still within the blissfulness of a dream, and you tucked some of his hair behind his ear. He blinked his eyes awake. Confusion, like yours, had laced his features before he realised where he was. At the realisation he smiled, pulling you closer into his chest and resting his face within your hair.

“Morning” he mumbled, still drowsy from sleep

“Sleep well?” You asked, your hand against his chest. You felt him nod above you, his grip tight around your shoulders now. He held you to him like he never wanted you to let you go. You hoped he wouldn’t. There was a strong protectiveness about him now that you had only seen briefly before. You remembered when you were younger and he almost pummelled a boy for making comments about your body. He could never fight; he didn’t have the coordination. However, every now and then a strong need to protect others burst through him. It was in those moments that you liked him best.

“Yeah I slept fine. Why are you laughing?” he asked suspiciously as you chucked at the memories of your childhood with the man. They rushed into your mind like a flood. However, unlike the memories that came back to you when you entered Derry, these were pleasant. These memories were of feather light touches and words as sweet as sugar. Memories of the man you left behind to pursue your dreams outside of Maine.

“Just thought about how much of a dweeb you looked with those glasses when you were a kid” you said, and he feigned injury at your words.

“Bullying Y/N? Really? That’s low. Especially considering the fact that you tried to fuck me last ni-“

You cut him off by reaching up to his face and placing your lips against his. He accepted the gesture immediately, kissing you back deeply. You tilted your head, allowing his tongue access into your mouth. His hand rested on your jaw as his thumb rubbed it lightly.

After a moment you pulled away, smiling up at him. He smiled back at you. “Beep Beep Richie, yeah?”

“Yeah” Richie said, continuing to beam at you. His eyes were glazed over and that dumb smile he had refused to leave his face. You both had almost forgotten why you were in this motel in the first place. Almost.

~

You had laid with Richie in bed for at least thirty more minutes, chatting about your lives in Derry and your lives now, all whilst Richie drew figures on your back with his fingers. His other hand was entangled with yours. Every now and again he would untangle himself to play with your fingers, his hands almost comically large when placed next to yours.

“I’ve seen all of your movies the day they came out” Richie admitted, placing a feathery kiss upon your forehead.

“You have not” you laughed into his chest.

“Scouts honor!” He replied “Every single one. Why wouldn’t I?”.

“And what is your professional opinion of my work?” you asked, looking up at him.

He looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking carefully. When he finally looked down at you, a wide grin graced his face and he replied “Meh”.

You hit his chest lightly, laughing.

“I’m just kidding. They were all great. Even that one that the critics said was too self-gratuitous”.

You cringed at the memory and Richie rubbed your shoulder encouragingly.

“Still” He said “Y/N Y/L/N the director. I always knew you’d make it”.

You smiled up at him, and he at you, before you lifted your head to leave a light peck on his lips. Whilst your memories of Richie grew hazier the further you moved away from Derry; you still felt an internal force driving you to achieve your dreams for his sake. You had left him to deal with your absence alone in Derry until he finally moved away, chasing his own dreams and desires. You felt terrible about leaving him at the time - and, not surprisingly, you felt the same way now.

You remembered the insecurity and doubt you had felt when you first arrived in New York. So many times you had wanted to give up on your dreams to work in the film industry. So often you had thought that pursuing a nine-to-five job would be much easier than working your ass off for no reward and even less money.

However, these thoughts always ended with a pull at your heart and a voice within you that screamed

“Do it for him. Make him proud.”.

For a while you thought the Him might have been God. You quickly realised however that if such a being did exist, he would be too busy to be concerned with your career aspirations. People are starving on an abundant planet and are dying of curable diseases Y/N, you thought to yourself, God is probably more concerned with that. It was only when that taxi had passed the sign, Welcome to Derry!, that you had finally realised who the Him was. And when you remembered, you couldn’t believe that you had forgotten.

~

Seventeen years old was a strange age, you always thought. Away from the sweet sixteens and too far from the looming adulthood of eighteen, seventeen was an age of awkwardness. Your future, something you had been forced to consider (and worse, plan for) in the last few months since turning seventeen hovered over you like a cloud before a thunderstorm. It taunted you with the uncertainty of just how chaotic it could turn out to be. And yet, as you sat in the movie theatre with Richie sitting next to you watching some trashy nineties film, the clouds had seemed to clear. In fact, the sky was blue and there was a nice breeze blowing through your mind. You were the calmest you had felt in months.

Calm before the storm. A voice within your head whispered, but you paid it no mind, reaching into the bucket of popcorn which sat in Richie’s lap.

“I don’t know why you get to hold the popcorn” you whispered, irritated.

“You’ll understand once you get to the bottom of the bucket” Richie said and winked at you.

You furrowed your brow in confusion before the innuendo clicked and you gagged. Richie laughed loudly before being shushed by two men in the row in front of you. One of the men, the one who looked much more irritated at Richie’s outburst than the other, had his arm secured around the other man’s shoulders. The other man whispered to the irritated one. He spoke in hushed tones and smiles, and you watched as the irritated man’s tensed shoulders began to relax. Thank god, you thought, the last thing I need is Richie getting the shit kicked out of him. Finally, the calmer man left a kiss upon the other man’s cheek, causing the irritated man to unwrinkle his forehead and smile. It was the kind of smile that reached your whole face. The kind of smile that softens the eyes and weighs down the eyelids. There were only two reasons people smiled like that; they had smoked just the right amount of weed or they were looking at the love of their life.

You smiled at the actions of the men (though the smile was not as strong as the one currently plastered on the man’s face), before moving your gaze back to Richie. The boy was staring at the couple, eyes wide but not due to shock or fear. He continued to stare at them, the movie on the screen no longer of importance to him. His gaze only broke when he noticed your own upon him. He quickly looked back at the screen, stuffing his mouth full of popcorn.

“I can’t believe people actually spent money making this trash“ he tried to whisper; his mouth still full. Bits of chewed up popcorn jumped out from between his lips as though they were trying to escape their fate within his gut. “You could’ve have made something a thousand times better. I mean, I’ve read your scripts, and even your shit ones are better than this”.

You snorted. “Thanks Richie, I think” you said, and reached into the bucket for another handful of popcorn.

~

 “So, this Fiancé” Richie said cautiously, and you felt yourself being yanked from your thoughts viciously. Your body froze and you knew Richie had felt your sudden rigidness as he began biting his lip nervously. “Sorry” he said “I just-“

“No. Its okay.” You replied. “We should… talk about this, I guess”.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“David Johnson” you answered.

“David Johnson” he repeated, though his tone was mocking the man despite not being in his presence. You rolled your eyes at his childishness. “So, what’s his deal?”.

“He’s an actor” you said, and Richie scoffed.

“Why haven’t I seen him in anything then?” Richie said, raising an eyebrow.

“He’s a failed actor. He self-sabotages, you know? Every time he gets a role he fucks it up by turning up to set late or drunk or both” you rambled and you could hear Richie sigh from above you.

“Is that why you don’t want to be engaged to him” he asked.

You thought for a moment, wondering whether it was worth mentioning all the things he had done. All it took was a kiss on your head from Richie to let the flood gate open. “Partly” you said, “Also because I caught him screwing his agent in her office”.

A silence fell between the two of you. Richie was shaking his head, running his hand through his hair in frustration. You could tell he wanted to blow. He wanted to rant about your piece of shit Fiancé and how he was going to regret ever fucking with you.

He chose instead to take in a deep breath and attempt to diffuse the situation within his own mind with what he knew how to do best; joke about it. “Actor, Alcoholic and Adulterer. Wow, he’s a triple threat”. You could hear the bitterness in his voice.

Richie had never approved of the men you took interest in, even if they appeared to be God’s gift. Once, as a teen, you told him you thought River Phoenix was cute and from that point he had refused to see any movie he was in. You still weren’t sure if he had ever seen Stand By Me. However, this was different. He had good reasons to hate the man. And so did you.

You sat up and Richie’s face was painted with disappointment until he looked into your eyes. They were serious, gazing into his. The last time you had looked at him like this, you were about to leave for New York. You had stared into his eyes, just like this, and said you would see him again soon. “It’ll only be a few years; it’ll be over before you know it” you had said.

Your voice, low but strong, shook Richie from his thoughts. “I’m going to break up with him. If we don’t die trying to kill that fucking clown, I’m going to do it” you said, and Richie hoped that this time you would keep your promise.

Suddenly, you heard a banging at your motel door. You jumped slightly and groaned when you realised it was just Bill. “Y/N get up! We’re going to go meet Mike!”.

“Fine! Give me a minute to get ready” you yelled back as a reply.

Richie stared at you, his eyes shifting from a softness to a tightness that could only indicate fear was rising within him. The loud knocking of Bill’s hand upon your door had blown away the veil of comfort you and Richie had wrapped around yourselves within your motel room. This wasn’t a school reunion. You were here to kill a clown or die trying.

“We need to get dressed” Richie said. Just as he began to sit up, he scrunched up his face in irritation.

“What?” you asked.

“My clothes… are next door” he replied. The bliss of being held in each other’s arms had rendered you both temporarily amnesic it seemed.

You shook your head, taking a moment to think. You had no issue with the rest of the gang knowing that you and Richie had spent a night together in your motel room. Nothing had technically happened anyway. However, the questions and prying would be way too much to handle this early in the morning. Plus, there were more important things to spend your energy on, like that fucking clown. “I’ll keep watch at the door, and you can sneak out?” you suggested and Richie nodded his head, following you off the bed.

“I feel like a fucking teenager again” Richie said and you shushed him.

You opened the door just enough that you could gaze out of it and into the hallway of the motel. Seeing no one, you opened the door a bit wider and stuck your head out to get a better look. Seeing that it was completely clear, you turned around in order to motion to Richie that he could leave. As you turned, you bumped directly into his chest. He was standing right behind you, his hand now on your waist. You whispered a quiet “Fuckin’ hell Rich” and he smiled down at you apologetically.

You pulled the door completely open, allowing Richie to walk past you through the door frame and out into the hall. He stood there for a moment and you looked at him, confused as to why he hadn’t run to his room yet. Finally, he turned around towards you. Just as you were about to question him, he pulled you by your waist towards him and brought you into a passionate kiss. You accepted the kiss, kissing him back just as deeply, however your mind was still panicking at the thought of being caught.

He pulled back for only a moment before placing his face into your neck, kissing along the length of it sloppily. You considered pushing him back, but when reached the junction between your neck and shoulder and left a soft bite there you decided instead to shut your eyes and place your hand against his chest. His hands moved from your waist to your ass, and he pulled the bottom half of your body towards his. So he won’t do this in private, but he’ll do it in the middle of a motel hallway you thought. Such thoughts were cut short by Richie grinding himself into you, clearly excited by the current situation. You let out a gasp which Richie intercepted with his mouth once again, connecting his lips with yours in a kiss.

Another gasp was heard within that hallway. At first, you thought it was Richie. However, when his movements stilled and he removed his lips from your own, you realised it was most definitely not. Looking to your left, Eddie stood just outside of his motel door. His mouth was open in shock; his eyes wide. His hand was still on the handle of his room door, frozen. Richie considered running back into your room, but it was too late, Eddie had seen him. He had seen more than just Richie, in fact. You were not sure if Eddie had seen all of it, but he had definitely seen enough. “I fucking knew it!” he said, laughing to himself.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he began to make his way down the hall and past the two of you, towards the stairs. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that for my own sake” he said, moving quickly “but I am definitely going to hold it against you. Forever!”.

Both you and Richie were frozen in place, watching the small man jet past you and down to the others who were waiting in the lobby. To the eye that was untrained in Richie Tozier’s library of facial expressions, the face he was currently displaying would have merely appeared neutral. His mouth was closed into a thin line and his eyes, while wide, were not crying out with any particular thoughts or feelings. However, you had known Richie long enough to know that he was not thrilled about what had just happened. The face he wore was not just one of embarrassment. You had seen Richie embarrassed and he was much more bashful than this. No, it was more shameful than that. More apologetic. It was sadder.

You reached out towards him, but he backed away. He shook his head and his expression changed almost too quickly, as though he had pressed the reset button on his brain. “I should go get dressed. They’re waiting for us”. And with that he disappeared into his room, leaving you alone in the hallway for the second time in two days.  

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[side-effect-of-the-meds]

Yo yo yo I need to kno more about Cleo!!!

After nearly a month (possibly more) here are some answers! Thanks for your ask, love

Tradition states that only rival heirs of the Moriyamas are sent to the branch family. As a girl, Riko was never a threat. However, since Riko’s mother died giving birth to her, Kengo blames the death of his wife on Riko and banishes her. The thing about the Moriyamas are that they’re coldhearted bishes so, when they love, they love with everything they’ve got. With Kengo’s wife dead, his life is cold and empty once more. The name Riko is not be uttered in the Moriyama household, especially not near Kengo. He will scream and cry and throw things. His grief is loud and violent. Many of Kengo’s men are from his wife’s family or were saved by her from disease and poverty. They owe her their lives and in her dying moments she called them all together to ask of them one last favor. She asked them to renew their pledges to Kengo and be there for him, no matter the cost. None of them refuse. Many silent tears are shed at her funeral. Anyway, all of the men are exceptionally loyal to him bc of this promise. Knowing Kengo’s frenzied grief if over the loss of the woman who loved them all as if they were her own children strengthens their bond with him. All of them secretly keep tabs on Riko, though. She looks just like her mother and it soothes their ragged souls to see their Mistresses features on her daughter. 

Kengo’s men aren’t the only people secretly seeking solace in Riko. All the mystery shrouding the existence of his sister is the reason Ichirou was so intrigued by her. You know how Ania has a binder full of snippets of Kevin and Riko and their achievements and stuff? He has one too, dedicated solely to his sister. He secretly watches her games and interviews. 

Kengo’s sister, Kana, is always around. She is Kengo’s best friend and closest advisor. When Kengo’s grief gets too much for him, Kana is the one that picks up his broken pieces. At all of the ridiculous fundraising functions they have to attend, Ichirou catches Kana making funny faces at Kengo from across the room. He's stunned by the sight of the soft twitch of his father's lips as he shakes his head in amusement. Unlike his father, Ichirou is all alone. He blames his father for it. It’s hard being the heir to the most feared crime syndicate in America, especially when you’re going it alone. Riko isn’t alone. She has Kevin and Jean and soon she shall have the Wesninski girl too. Ichirou is just a little bit bitter. He spends a lot of time day-dreaming about the day he’ll meet his sister. Never in a thousand years did he imagine it with a gun pressed to her head. As he pulls the trigger, his heart shatters into a thousand pieces. He stares emptily out the window of the car. 

He doesn't find out about Cleo until Riko’s funeral. Everyone thinks he’s crying because his sister is dead. No. He’s crying because he’s an uncle and he hadn’t even known. After some investigation, he finds out the circumstances of Cleo’s conception. I’m not going into detail but let’s put it this way: Tetsuji doesn’t survive Ichirou’s wrath. It isn’t a quick death either. 

Ichirou loved his sister wholeheartedly but he never got to tell her so. Knowing what he does now, he realizes that she was just as lonely as he was. More than anything, he does not want Cleo to suffer as he and Riko did. His first instinct is for him to take Cleo back. He’ll raise her as every Moriyama woman is raised: a Goddess to be feared and revered. At the funeral he has seen the child sleeping soundly in Wesninski’s arms and now a small part of him stalled. Life as the daughter of Riko and Tetsuji Moriyama will not be easy. If the public ever found out the circumstances under which Cleo was conceived, they’d riot at the very idea of her being raised by her uncle. Ichirou had already denounced his uncle and cut ties with him. He was a blemish on the Moriyama name that now threatened to bring them down entirely with his careless actions. No, Ichirou could not take Cleo back. Not if he wanted to preserve some semblance of his family's dignity. Or so her told himself. 

Unlike his father, Ichirou wasn’t quite as coldhearted. Warmth still bloomed in his chest at the laughter of children and smiles still tinged his lips at the sight of the joys of others. Pain still stabbed through him at the sight of men bleeding out on the concrete before him and guilt kept him up at night, tormenting him with thoughts of the families of women left husbandless and children now fatherless. Above all else, he felt nothing but love for his baby niece and he wanted her to love him too. There would come a day when Cleo learned the truth herself. What would she think of Ichirou then? No matter what she might say, there would always be a hint of doubt in her mind insinuating falsehoods about him. Anguish washed over Ichirou at the very thought. He didn’t think he’d survive Cleo harboring so much as a single seed of hate in her heart for him. Staying away from her was for the best. 

It’s a lot harder than he thought it would be, though. Cleo now lived at Palmetto State in the care of Abigail Winfield and David Wymack. Riko was Evermore’s unofficial mascot and now Cleo was Palmetto’s. Her face is plastered across every screen in the nation. Many Raven fans are livid with rage. This is the highest betrayal. Riko Moriyama had a child and no one said anything?!?!?! Riots are a thing. Someone tried to kidnap Cleo to take her back to Evermore. 

The attempted kidnapping is the final straw. First of all, they’re dismembered parts were sent home to their family in a UPS box. Second of all, Ichirou holds a press conference in which he reveals the truth about Cleo’s birth, explaining why he can’t take her in, and making a thinly veiled threat to the remaining Raven fans about what would happen to the next person who tried to harm her. No one ever bothers Palmetto State again. 

Cleo grows up hating Riko. For a long time, she doesn’t know she’s Riko’s daughter. All photos of Riko are banned. The adults only ever talk about her when they think Cleo is asleep. Cleo wakes in the middle of the night for a drink of water and creeps over to the kitchen. She can hear the adults angrily hissing at one another. They’re talking about someone named Riko with as much hate as Cleo’s ever heard. Wymack is always mad but this is something else. Abby seems upset as well, a truly rare sight. She doesn’t know who Riko is but she hates her now. 

Cleo only finds out when she goes to school. After intense debate, the Foxes decided to keep her last name as it was. It was already too well known to do anything about it. Some kid comes from an exy obsessed family and mentions that she looks a lot like Riko Moriyama. Cleo gets sent to the principal's office for punching the kid. 

Wymack and Abby can no longer hide it. They sit her down at the kitchen table and tell her the truth. Cleo doesn’t take it well. Maybe I’ll talk about the specifics later but there’s quite a bit of work that goes into that and I need to clear the asks that are already in my inbox. 

She knows who her father is too but the details are limited because of course they are. She’s like 7 rn. 

After all this drama, she learns about her Uncle Ichirou. She goes behind Wymack and Abby’s backs to send him a letter. It’s written in red crayon on a sheet of black construction paper: Evermore’s colors. Ichirou flips his shit. His beloved little niece has just found out the truth about her birth and the first thing she did was write to him. 

It’s after this that Ichirou ends up abolishing the branch family entirely. He keeps all three of his kids, one daughter and two sons, by his side. He’s still the head of the yakuza tho so I mean… he still tortures and kills people. His kids grow up the same way.  He’s literally only soft for his wife, kids, and Cleo. 

Ania has a bunch of galas and charity balls that she has to attend because she ‘donates’ to the Moriyama foundation. Ichirou makes her bring Cleo along so he can see her. Erin doesn’t like the thought of Ichirou being around Cleo so the three of them always arrive together and Erin is never far from Cleo. If she can’t be around, Jeanie, Jeremy, Kevin, or Thea are there. Ichirou is never left with Cleo unsupervised for obvious reasons. He wishes it didn’t have to be that way but he understands their concern and lets it go.

Since Ichirou isn’t really allowed to show physical affection towards her, Cleo gets spoiled rotten by her uncle. Every Christmas, there’s a shit ton of presents on Wymack’s doorsteps. All the labels read To: Cleo From: Santa in Ichirou’s unmistakable handwriting. There’s also just a bunch of presents that show up out of the blue. At least once a month, there’s some very expensive-as ‘thing’ in the mail. I mean, this shit belongs in museums. They’re almost always Japanese bc Ichirou doesn’t want her to forget her heritage. She’s got a lot of kimonos and a few samurai swords and ornate hair clips and umbrellas and shoes. She’s got a lot of scrolls written in Japanese too which is why she asks Kevin to teach her to speak and write it. Some of the scrolls are actually letters to her from Ichirou. These all go in a special box that she keeps on the top shelf of her closet.

Speaking of Kevin, Thea is an absolute miracle worker. It’s a long road to his recovery but Thea is there for him the whole way. Cleo is the biggest hurdle on this road. She looks just like Riko. She’s got the same bright laugh and brilliant smile. She has the same features as her mother, and grandmother by default, and has the same build. Looking at her, all Kevin can see is Riko. 

One day he goes to pick her up from daycare. He can only watch as one of Cleo’s friends pushes someone else off the swings and offered the seat to Cleo. Kevin’s heart stopped. Riko would most definitely take the seat, kicking up the mulch in the other child’s face. Instead, Cleo shoves her friend aside and extends a hand to the boy on the ground. She helps him to his feet and wipes away the tears on the little boy’s face. She picks the mulch out of his hair and the splinters from his hand. Kevin is close enough to hear her say to him that a kiss will make it better. She kisses his palm and turns back to her friend. She tells the girl off. Before they know it, the little girl is bawling her eyes out. Cleo hugs her but insists that she needs to apologize to the boy. Satisfied by her friend’s meek apology she offers the kid his seat back. He shakes his head and asks if the girls want a turn. It’s the first time Kevin realizes that Riko and Cleo aren’t the same person. Kevin totally isn’t crying when he calls her over and checks her out of the daycare center. 

Growing up at Palmetto, Cleo meets a lot of kids from broken homes. As a result she becomes really compassionate. She also becomes really touchy-feely. When the kids are sad she likes to give them hugs and hold their hands or pet their hair. She also makes? Them? Presents? Like little beaded necklaces and friendships bracelets. She makes an orange and white rubber band bracelet thing for Wymack and now he keeps his keys on it.

As I’ve mentioned, Cleo is ten when Erin and Ania get married and ask her to come and live with them. Wymack and Abby drive her up to the girls’ apartment in New York. Cleo is all nerves when she arrives. She’s grown up calling them Mom and Mama but now she’s going to live with them. Like…. Permanently!!!!!!!!!!

Standing in front of the door, she can’t bring herself to knock. Wymack kneels down in front of her and asks her what’s wrong. 

“What if they’ve changed their minds?” Cleo whispered. 

“Worst case scenario?” Wymack asked. “You’ll come back with us. I don’t think Abby and I are all that bad.” 

“You’re not,” Cleo replied, hastily. Wymack stood back up.

“Look, kid. It’s not going to be easy for them to adjust to having you around but they will. There isn’t a soul on the face of the Earth that loves you more than they do. How could they not? You’re pretty fucking great,” he said. Abby pursed her lips at Wymack’s language but said nothing. 

“You ready, Cleo?” she asked. Cleo nodded and Abby’s face brightened with a smile. The door opened just as Cleo mustered up the courage to knock. Arms wrapped around her and picked her up off the ground. Ania’s laughter rang in Cleo’s ears as the crushing weight of the hug knocked the air from her lungs. Kisses were speckled all across her face as Ania stepped out of the apartment and swung Cleo around until they were too dizzy to go on. The world was still spinning as Cleo collapsed beside Ania. 

“She’s been here less than a minute and you’re already trying to kill her?” The familiar rough voice caught Cleo’s attention. As her vision settled, she saw Erin leaning against the door frame. 

“Mom,” Cleo whispered, in awe as if Erin was an apparition. Erin remained in the doorway, stone-faced and covered in flour. 

“Not going to give your mom a hug?” Erin asked finally. Cleo was on her feet in less than a second. She barrelled into Erin’s open arms, nearly knocking her over. Tears gushed from Cleo’s eyes. “The hell are you crying about, Little One?” Erin muttered into Cleo’s hair. Cleo loosed a shaky laugh. She let Erin pick her up and heard the voices of the others as they entered the house. 

Cleo loves living with Erin and Ania. Like Wymack said, there’s an adjustment period but it’s not super long or uncomfortable. Erin is really good with kids and Ania really loves Cleo so they make it work. 

Sometimes Cleo gets sad, though. Her moms have games that they have to go to often so they’re always flying out to them. Fortunately, Aaron and Katelyn are living up in New York too. It’s about a two hour drive out to Uncle Aaron’s. Cleo loves being with him and her cousins, the twins, Lila and Leena. They’re really nice and Cleo gets along with them really well. They stay up late braiding each others’ hair and whispering secrets and telling stories. Katelyn makes the best mac and cheese on the face of the planet Earth and she always makes it whenever she knows Cleo’s especially down. They all sit on the couch together to watch Cleo’s moms’ games. Cleo catches her uncle hasilty scrubbing tears from his eyes at the sight of his sister’s rare, fierce grin.

Uncle Nicky and Uncle Erik are great. They don’t have kids. Instead they have two corgis named Micheal and Jude that fight all the time. The only time they ever seem to get along is when they’re with Cleo. The two of them like to sit on opposite side of Cleo, sandwiching her in the middle. 

Uncle Erik is a pastor at the church and he sings in the choir. He’s almost as good a singer as Erin… almost. He teaches Cleo how to sing. He also really likes to bake. Often, Cleo’s moms go on dates where they wander around Stuttgart together and just enjoy each other’s company. They almost always come home to find Erik and Cleo coated in flour and sugar and chocolate. Cleo uses her newfound baking skills to make things to her mom. Erin is living for it. Ania doesn’t approve of the unhealthy diet but she knows Cleo bakes with love so she limits how much Cleo is allowed to bake and instates portion control. 

Cleo is mildly claustrophobic and the worst of it happens on planes. Ania and Erin have a pre-flight ritual that they extend to include Cleo in as well. Every time Erin has to get on a plane and Ania is there to see her off, she has Erin roll back her armbands (she doesn’t wear them anymore but this was back in college) and draws a little heart on the inside of her wrist. Once it dries, Ania will press a kiss to the little heart. Growing up, Ania didn’t like plane either so her mother used to do this for her to quiet her fears. It makes Erin and Cleo feel very loved and protected. I mean, they know it doesn’t actually doing anything but it always makes them feel a lot better. 

On Saturday mornings, most kids wake up early to watch cartoons. Cleo wakes up to go snuggle with her moms. She’s around 12/13 when she starts this. Most of her moms’ games are on Fridays and they get back late at night or really early in the morning. Cleo wakes up at 9 a.m. and makes breakfast for the three of them and set the table. Everything is usually ready around 10 so she’ll creep into her moms’ room. Both of them are light sleepers so they’ll hear her come in. They sleep spooning each other but they always make space between the two of them so Cleo can wriggle in between them. Their cats, Sir and King, usually come in too. It soft and warm and all of them are happy. 

Cleo is obviously a part of an exy team. She’s the biological daughter of Riko Moriyama and is being raised by Exy stars Erin and Ania Minyard-Josten. What did you expect? 

She’s a striker. A much better one than her mother was. Better than Kevin too. The only person that outshines her is Ania but it doesn’t bother Cleo. In fact, it gives her something to aspire towards. She and Ania spend a lot of late nights out at the court with Erin in goal. Family bonding time :’)

Cleo likes getting her nails done. She usually does this with Ania. Ania only ever gets her non-dominant hand done and Cleo doesn’t understand. She only starts to understand once she gets married but I’ll get to that in a minute. 

There’s about a 3 year difference between Cleo and Amalia. Okay, look. Kevin’s grad party was wild and he and Thea might have had a little too much to drink. That’s how Amalia is conceived. Thea is mortified. Kevin asks her if she wants an abortion. Both of them are pro-choice, especially after learning everything that went down with the birth of Cleo. Thea believes in the right to choose but she could never have an abortion herself. She gives birth to Amalia and it devastated her. Her entire career is put on hold so she can have her baby. Kevin is stressed. He wants doesn’t want to sacrifice Thea’s happiness for that of their child.  The only compromise they can work out is to have their contracts transferred. They join the team based in Columbia, an hour and a half from the Foxhole Court. They wouldn’t dare ask Wymack to raise their child but they do ask for his help. Whenever they travel, Wymack and Abby babysit their granddaughter. The Monsters are at Palmetto for one more year so they help out too. Ania isn’t good with kids other than Cleo but she does her best to help. Jeanie and Jeremy get named the godparents but they don’t get to see Amalia often until Thea and Kevin move out to the West Coast. The Muldani-Days live in Seattle and the Knoxs remain in California. Visiting them is painful for Ania and Erin but they make new memories with them and so it isn’t all bad. 

Cleo and Amalia are best friends. Kevin and Thea live on the West Coast, on the other end of the nation, so the girls skype a lot. They binge watch shows together like this and help each other with homework too. They always get to see each other when their parents play each other at games and during holidays. Sometimes Kevin will let Amalia stay over with Erin and Ania or vice versa. All of this takes a serious mental toll on Cleo. She’s head over heels for Amalia. Sleeping literal inches from her is going to drive Cleo insane. Amalia is as much of a clingy sleeper as her father so she will often throw and arm over Cleo while asleep and draw her close. Cleo is certain she’s going to die then and there. 

Anyway, Kevin is shook. All his ptsd comes crashing back in a massive wave. He remembers how Riko treated him. What is Cleo does the same to Amalia? It doesn’t take him long to snap out of it. Cleo was raised in a loving home by Wymack, Abby, and the Foxes. All of them are broken but it's part of what made them such good people for her to around. Cleo has learned compassion to a degree that Kevin could only imagine. She is kind-hearted and loving and incredibly genuine. No one was ever going to be good enough for Amalia in Kevin’s eyes but Cleo was definitely as close as he’d hoped to find. 

He doesn’t say anything to Amalia. He doesn’t want to hurt Cleo’s chances but he doesn’t want to force his daughter to pick Cleo for his sake either. 

Amalia picks Cleo of her own free will. Their wedding is massive. Kevin breaks down crying as he walks her down the aisle to Cleo. Cleo rushes off the altar and helps him to his feet. She and Amalia walk him to the end before depositing him in a seat beside Thea. They’re all giggles and bright smiles as they stand together at the altar. 

They honeymoon in the French countryside. They spend most of it in bed together. Amalia is asexual so no that’s not what I meant, you heathens. They just curl up beside one another talking and giggling and kissing bc they’re happy and in love. 

Amalia and Cleo become foster parents. They do adopt but it usually older kids, late teens. Due to their age, few of them live with their moms but they all come together for the holidays. 

Holidays are hell. Cleo and Amalia have like eight kids and then they’re usually fostering someone. A lot of their kids are married and have their own kids plus their parents and uncles/aunts + grandparents show up. This is the only reason Cleo and Amalia live in a mansion. They need to be able to accommodate all these people. 

They grow old together. They have those shared tombstones with their graves side by side. Cleo dies first. Amalia doesn’t cry. She laughs and dances and tells stories about her wife. Cleo’s funeral is a celebration of her life not the mourning of her death, just the way she would have wanted it to be. 

Every day up until her own death, Amaila places pink and white carnations on Cleo’s grave. She’ll sit by her grave and read all her favorite books to her. Amalia misses Cleo dearly but she believes that she’ll return to her beloved when the time comes. 

[kpopaeipathy]

Sweet Dreams (RM Oneshot)

Pairing: Namjoon x Reader

Genre: Magic Creature AU! / Fluff / a little angst (PG-13)

Summary: You have an encounter with a nightmare-eater creature, and he helps you to get rid of your worst memories.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: Mention of death and blood.

A/N: I wrote this in honor of our lovely leader that, with his teammates, helped me through many nights, taking away my nightmares. Tell me if you like it <3

Life had taught you to believe only in what you could see, hear, feel, taste and smell with your own senses. No matter what happened to others, your experiences showed that miracles didn’t exist, especially for those with a life full of tragedies like yours. Yet, you were in a bus heading to a so-called miracle city.

No one could blame you for trying this last resource. You’ve passed years not being able to sleep more than an hour. You went to all kinds of doctors, from general clinic ones to psychiatrists, and none of them were able to eradicate your nightmares or erase your memory. You had a very bad past, and although you weren’t really depressive, you couldn’t get a good night sleep because all your bad memories hunted you when you were sleeping. So, your last therapist told you about that place.

“I know you don’t believe it, I don’t believe it either,” he said, “but we have tried everything and nothing worked. Even if it doesn’t work too, it won’t hurt if you try. And to be honest, I don’t think you have any other choice.”

That was the reason why you walked to the bus station, bought the ticket, and entered the last bus to the so-called miracle city.

After your therapist told you about the place, you looked for it on the Internet, but you couldn’t find much about it. The only information you had was that everyone who entered that city came out with a bright smile and the certainty that a miracle had happened during the night. They didn’t even talk about the miracles they believed that happened, so you didn’t know what was the city miracle “specialty”.

Either way, believing or not, you knew a miracle was your last chance to get rid of your nightmares, so you ended up looking through the bus window to the starry sky over vast green fields and wondering if that would really work.

In the distance, you noticed a wood portal above the road, on top of it there was a sign that said: “Welcome to Gijeog-do.” The fact that the city was really called a miracle city made you take a deep breath and fight against the urge to run on the opposite way.

Right after the bus passed under the portal, it stopped at a bus stop, and a tall, lean man came in. Since the only vacant site was by your side, you soon found yourself looking closely to the dark eyes of that beautiful stranger.

He made himself comfortable by your side while a gentle grin grew on his face.

“Good evening,” he said with a husky voice.

Because you felt dazzled by his smile and his dimples, you blinked a few times and looked outside the window, then you looked back at him, who seemed curious by your lack of response.

“I think it is already good night,” you finally said, giving yourself an internal kick in the ass.

Despite you being a little bit rude, his grin just grew bigger.

“You’re right,” he said, then he looked to the other passengers, all of them were soundly sleeping. “But I’m not used to find anyone awake at this hour.”

“I don’t wanna sleep before we arrive,” you answered, averting your eyes, afraid that he would be able to see how scared you were of sleeping.

“Are you sure?”

The skepticism in his voice made you look at him again, very curious.

“It’s already 11p.m. and we still have like three hours to go,” he explained.

“Three hours?” You were the skeptic one this time. “But we’re already in the city, we just passed the welcome sign.”

He chuckled before answering, “Yeah, well, our city is not so small as people think. We are a rural city and our farms are huge. It’s just the downtown area that is kind of small. We’re already in the city, but we’ll only arrive in a few hours. I would advise you to get some sleep.”

“That’s great,” you sighed, looking outside the window again.

If you knew the trip was so long, you would never get the last bus. Since you didn’t sleep very well, you were always sleepy. Being awake until 11p.m. was already challenging, so you knew you’d end up sleeping on the bus, with a lot of strangers around you.

You bit your lower lip before you took another look at the stranger by your side, and got surprised that he was still grinning at you.

“I’m Namjoon,” he said holding out his hand for you to shake.

“I’m Y/N,” you said, holding his hand.

“If you’re afraid of sleeping while surrounded by strangers, you should know they are sleeping as well.”

“But you’re awake.”

“Ah, so are you worried about me?” The concern in his eyes seemed sincere. “I’m sorry. I’m so used to this schedule that my body doesn’t feel the need to sleep until the sun is almost rising. But I can change my seat if you want.”

“No, wait!” You put your hand on his arm when you noticed he was really going to leave. “There’s no other seat available, you can stay.”

“Are you sure? I can sit next to the driver on the floor if it’s gonna make you feel more comfortable. It’s not as if I’ve never done it before.”

The way he spoke, full of concern, was mesmerizing to you. It had been a few years since someone cared about you like that. So, against your common sense, you felt safe with him.

“No. Please stay.” You repeated.

“Will you sleep even with me by your side? I don’t want to be responsible for your lack of sleep.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from smiling after listening to his words.

“Trust me,” you said, getting comfortable and closing your eyes. “If I don’t have good dreams, it won’t be your fault.”

Considering he had been so talkative since he sat by your side, you were forced to open your eyes to understand why he didn’t speak after what you said.

When you opened your eyes, you found his dark ones focused on you.

Feeling a little dizzy with the intensity of his stare, you took a deep breath and bit your lower lip.

“Is there another reason why you wouldn’t sleep well?” He asked and somehow his voice sounded more hoarse.

“I have nightmares.”

You felt like the most stupid person in the world, being enchanted by his concern and revealing your secret. But you couldn’t stop the words from leaving your mouth. And when the look in his eyes didn’t change to a pitiful one, you felt your heart jump in your chest.

After a little silent moment, Namjoon smiled again.

“I’m sure this won’t happen this time, and if it does, I’ll be right here for you to talk.”

You couldn’t believe a man like him - gorgeous, kind and sympathetic - didn’t act like everyone else and made you feel uncomfortable.

“I really hope you are right,” you said, reciprocating his smile.

“Sweet dreams, miss Y/N,” he said before you closed your eyes.

You knew it wouldn’t take long for you to fall asleep because you were already feeling exhausted, but you thought it would take longer than it actually did.

You were always prepared to hear the screams and shots, to see the blood, and to feel the fear all over again. That was what used to happen every time you closed your eyes. But it was exactly the opposite of what happened that night.

Although you have to admit the dream you had started like your nightmares, it soon vanished and changed into a new dream, one that was full of happiness, with you running through an evergreen field with the biggest smile on your face.

In your new dream, there was someone waiting for you under an ancient tree. It was a tall, beautiful man with light golden hair, and he had prepared a picnic with all your favorites: shrimp sandwiches, fried chicken, dessert, different cookies, fruit juices, and soft drinks. It was simply a perfect dream, one you’ve wanted since your past became a dark one.

Because of the beautiful pictures and the amazing time you were having in your dream, you shoved the hand that was shaking your arm to awake you. But the person was persistent and you finally woke up.

Even though you wanted to feel angry at Namjoon, the fact that you just had the best dream of your life forced a grin to appear on your face when you stared at his dark eyes.

“You look happier than when you fell asleep,” he said, reciprocating your smile.

“I feel happier,” you answered while stretching yourself.

“I guess I was right then, you didn’t have a nightmare.”

“Yeah, you were right, and I thank you for that.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he chuckled.

That was when you noticed you really needed to thank him. You didn’t know if it was his presence, or his words, or just the fact that you were in his miracle city, but somehow you slept really well and you needed to thank someone. Since Namjoon was the only person you knew on that bus, you could just thank him.

Besides, the happiness your new sweet dream made you feel was awakening in you the urge to talk with him like he talked to you before.

“Can I tell you a secret?” The words escaped your mouth before you could think about it, but you didn’t regret it.

“Of course you can,” Namjoon answered, turning his upper body to face you straight in the eyes, the gentle smile still on his face, which meant the dimples were there too.

“It’s been years since I slept more than an hour.”

His eyebrow lifting was the only proof of his surprise.

“When I was fifteen years old, I was at a bank with my parents,” you explained. “Five thieves broke into the bank and made everyone inside it a hostage. My father was military, so he tried to disarm one of the thieves while the bank securities tried to disarm two others. They were outnumbered, so it was useless. What happened next was fast, but I remember all the details. The thieves killed my father and the securities, my mother tried to get close to my father’s body and was killed too. The only reason why I’m still alive is because a woman behind me stopped me from moving when I saw my parents dying.”

You just stopped your narrative to take a deep breath, but you noticed you couldn’t go on, and Namjoon noticed too.

“Then your mind forced you to relive all of it every night,” he finished for you, and you just agreed with a small movement of your head. “I’m sorry about it, and now I’m even happier about the fact that I was right.”

“You were right, and I feel like I should thank you for being right.”

“Again, you don’t have to thank me. You know what they say about this city.”

“So, this is just another miracle.”

You could believe that now, even though you had the feeling it was Namjoon’s words that made that happen.

“A miracle never is just a miracle,” he said, tilting his head to the side and watching carefully every movement of yours. “Especially for the person who experiences it.”

“You’re right again.”

You were feeling so excited that you wanted to jump in place or give Namjoon a bear hug to express your gratefulness.

“We arrived,” he said with a chuckle, probably noticing your excitement.

You both stood up and got out of the bus.

The bus station was small and quiet, but you weren’t expecting anything else since it was so late at night. The other passengers of the bus passed by you and Namjoon when you both stopped in the middle of the station, and they greeted Namjoon before leaving.

“Where are you staying?” He asked, detracting your attention from the other passengers.

“I booked a room at the inn,” you answered.

You knew you were saying too much to that stranger, but you had the feeling that he was a good person and just wanted to help you.

“I’ll walk you there then,” he said, reaching out his hand to show you the way.

It was the first time since you were fifteen years old that you talked so much to another person. But you couldn’t help it if it was so easy to talk to Namjoon. He was kind and good at listening, and he wasn’t afraid of sharing the same amount of information that you were giving to him. You didn’t even feel tired with the walk and didn’t notice the time passing by.

When it dawned on you, you were at the inn entrance. The brightness inside showed you it was opened and there was someone to attend on you.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” you said, turning to face Namjoon’s dark eyes.

“It was my pleasure,” he reached out his hand for you to shake, which you took with pleasure. “Besides, I live at the next door.”

“Really?” You were genuinely and happily surprised by that information.

Namjoon just answered with a movement of his head, and the silent that proceeds his answer made you realize he didn’t let go of your hand. You looked at your hands together and then turned your gaze to his face again.

His broad smile turned into a small grin, and when he spoke, his voice sounded very hoarse and intense, “I feel like I shouldn’t let go of your hand.”

You took a deep breath to keep your composure. You wanted to tell him not to lose your hand, but you knew you had to know him better. And you really wanted to know him better.

“You can take it again tomorrow,” you said, biting your lower lip.

“For how long will you stay here?”

“I don’t know yet, but I don’t actually have a deadline.”

“Let’s meet tomorrow then,” he said while his smile grew bigger again, and you reciprocated it.

After he let go of your hand, you entered the inn and found an old male receptionist waiting for you with a kind grin. You made the check-in, and he took you to your room. On your way up the stairs, the kind man decided to talk to you.

“You look very happy for someone who is still awake at this late at night.”

“The bus ride was actually very good, I’ve never slept so well,” you answered with a bright smile to the old man.

“Did you sleep on the bus?” He asked while opening your room door.

“I did, very well by the way.”

“Of course you slept well,” he said with a mysterious grin. “Do you know why people don’t say what are the miracles that happen to them in this city?” He whispered.

“That was actually one of my questions when I found out about this place,” you whispered too even though you couldn’t understand why you were doing that.

“It is easier for them to say it was a miracle than to say they encountered a bulgasari on their way.”

“A bulgasari? Like in the creature that eats iron?” That conversation was even stranger than you talking to Namjoon about your past without knowing anything about him.

“A bulgasari doesn’t eat only iron,” the man said, holding the doorknob as he started to close the door. “It also eats nightmares.”

And with that, he left you alone in the room with wide eyes.

So that was the reason why you didn’t have a nightmare that night? Did Namjoon believed in that creature and that’s why he said you weren’t going to have another nightmare? Could you believe in that?

It was already difficult for you to believe that the city could be miraculous, but believe in a magical creature that eats iron and nightmares existed? It sounded stupid to you, and you refused to believe in that.

Besides, you wouldn’t stay in the city knowing there was such creature in there, even if it was one that helped you, you never know when a bulgasari would turn evil. And you really wanted to meet Namjoon again.

With that in mind, you laid in bed and prayed that the dream you were having on the bus could continue. Once again, unconsciousness took you very fast.

Your mouth opened in a large smile when you stared at the tall man under the tree. He passed his arms around your waist and you passed yours around his neck.

Namjoon then leaned in your direction and his hoarse voice whispered in your ear.

“I told you, right? No more nightmares, love, just sweet dreams.”

[icequeenjules26]

All I Want (For Christmas) Is You

Summary:  Dan Howell's life as a student of modern piano music is completely turned upside down when he is grouped in an assignment with Phil Lester...

Word Count: 7,2k

Tags: University AU, Fluff, Pianist!Dan, Guitarist!Phil, 

A/n: This is written for @babethepig for the Phandom fic Fests Holiday Exchange. As always the biggest ever thank you goes out to my love @succubusphan, who spent a lot of time beta’ing this. You’re the best. <3 

Read on A03

Dans schedule was a proper mess this semester. His decision to specialize in modern piano music got frowned upon not only by his parents but also by his Uni, so his curses were not nicely fit together anymore. He had a lot of free time in between, but his time gaps were too short to get back to his dorm, so he mostly stayed on campus, spending his free time in one of the multiple coffee shops around or with his friend Louise, who was assigned a dorm room much closer to campus than he was.

 That’s how he caught wind of it first.

 He had always been good at playing the piano, the time at uni had only helped with that, obviously; but that he was supposedly the best in his studies had always sounded like an exaggeration. There were a lot of piano students, so he had tried toning down the people talking about him, directing them to someone else. Aside from his musical ability there wasn’t much interesting about him, though, so he had drifted out of the other students’ eyes - at least aside from the talk about whoever was supposed to be dating this week. His open bisexuality made for a large pool of possible suitors, but there were students much more interesting to talk about.

 Now, though, he was back inside of the rumor mill, and right in the center.

 It started off innocently enough.

 “The instruments students are doing trios this year, did you hear?” The two girls in the booth right next to his were chatting animatedly with each other, obviously unaware of him just sitting half a meter away. “Yeah, I’m so excited! We haven’t seen Dan Howell performing for a while, which is a shame. Him at a Piano is enough to get me going to be honest.”

 Dan was already puffing out his chest like a peacock, debating on whether to go over there or at least make his presence known otherwise, when the other girl’s reply made him halt in his tracks. “I mean same , but have you seen Phil Lester lately? He got rid of his emo fringe and stuff. He’s scolding hot .” She layed extra emphasis on the word hot and in Dan’s head, two mindsets started battling over what to do. The first one expressed some kind of jealousy in a “I wanted to tap that girl”-kind of way, the other one wanted to spring onto facebook to check out the guy they were talking about, whose name sounded kind of familiar.

 Former emo fringe musician that got hot? Sign him the fuck up.

 Chuckling lowly about his screaming bisexuality he continued listening, his interest now peaked.

 “Well, they’re doing trios right? Just imagine both of them on stage together…”

 The other girl actually moaned at the thought and Dan couldn’t contain the smirk creeping on his face. He took a sip from his coffee, his still open laptop on the table in front of him long forgotten. He probably should be working on one of his assignments due this week, but the girls’ conversation was too interesting to ignore.

 Dan had to suppress some swearing when his laptop dinged with an incoming email. He could hear the girls whispering behind him when they looked over because of the sound, realizing who he was - “Oh my god is that Dan Howell?” and “Oh my god, do you think he heard us?” -  and he quickly leaned forward to appear busy.

 The email causing the ‘ding’ was actually about the assignment the girls had just been talking about. He packed up his stuff immediately when he had read through it. The list of assigned groups had just been hung out in front of his professor’s office and she invited all participants to a meeting in about half an hour on the other side of the campus, so he had to rush.

 ~~~

 Even the rushing didn’t help in the end, the unfortunate incident of a broken down bus costed him the time to check the list before the meeting started. When he got there he still had no idea who his partners were, so he didn’t understand the reason behind the quiet whispers that started when he set foot into the lecture hall. He managed to find his friend Louise quite fast and slid into the free spot next to her. “What’s the fuss about?” he asked her quietly but before she could answer, the door opened again and a group of professors walked in.

 Their looks varied about as much as those of the students sitting in the audience, making for a quite colourful group. For this assignment, nearly all rock-centered curses were thrown together, not only piano but also guitar, drums, bass, violin and multiple other instruments. The hall was packed full, but the arrival of the professors assured silence among the students.

 “Good morning everyone! Hopefully you all checked the list and are in the process of contacting your partners. Teamwork is the key for this assignment! Because of the number of students most groups consist of one piano student, one guitar student and one of another instrument, specifically arranged to play into your strengths and make you work on your weaknesses.” The young male professor’s voice rung soundly through the hall and Dan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Prof. Smith, responsible for the guitar department and  specialized on rock music, was so completely different from his own professor and so cliché rock musician that it offended Dan’s believes; he fit the stereotype perfectly, including tattoo covered arms, piercings and wild, green hair, often sporting band shirts.

 Prof. Johnson, on the other hand, was nothing like her profession. She was a middle-aged woman with slim, neon green glasses and grey eyes that always seemed to shine with mischief. Her jet black hair fell in untamable curls onto her shoulders and she seemed to never leave the house without a nerdy T-Shirt, merch for some comic, TV-Show or movie. When she stepped forward, the whispers around the hall got louder and the grin on her face was so wide Dan couldn’t help but grin back. He liked his Professor, even if she tended to overstep her boundaries and was eager to make friends among the students.

 “If you have questions you can always turn to me or Mr. Smith, Mr. Miller or Mrs. Adams, or any of the other Professors involved,” she said, then paused for a second to let the murmures and voices ring out.

 “Now, we know this is a big thing among the student body, but we hope you can keep it as low as possible. Drama and relations, as fun as they are to watch for us, will only make your work harder. If you want to outplay this though, be assured I will be watching with a glass of wine and popcorn.” There were chuckles among the group and Louise next to him went red trying to keep in her laughter. Dan grinned at her and made a mental note to tell her about the girls he had encountered before coming here.

It took some time for the students to calm down, but when she continued speaking, Dan was shocked into silence. “That also goes for other students aside from yourself. The list is out for half an hour and the only duo involving Mr. Howell and Mr. Lester has already caused an uproar throughout the whole university, so please think about what you are causing when you speak about information like this next time.”

 The rest of the meeting went by in a blur. The professors informed them of the nature of the assignment - the whole thing had pretty much the built-up of a generic talent show. They had to cover one song each week in an open, on-campus concert starting in two weeks. Each week two groups would be voted out by the professors until three groups remained for the finale.

 At the end Dan didn’t remember anything the professors had explained to them. He would beg Louise for her notes tomorrow, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.

 The important thing was that he was supposed to perform with the one and only Phil Lester - and after a quick facebook check he realized why the name had sounded so familiar. Dan had had a crush on the cute and amazingly talented guitar player performing every saturday in a close-by coffee shop for weeks until he had disappeared. What made it even harder for Dan was the fact that the girls had been right.

 The guy had gotten hot as fuck.

 Louise’ mumbled keep it in your pants seemed almost impossible to stick to.

 ~~~~

 It took Dan around half a week to stop running from Phil. He kept himself busy with papers not due for at least a few more weeks and working harder for other assignments than he ever had before - he did anything that would make him forget about the short message from Phil awaiting him on whatsapp, where he introduced himself and informed him they were partners. The little dog emoji at the end of the message made him squeal like a schoolgirl, but that was exactly the problem. He had to keep it professional. Which would be difficult considering the increasingly hot pictures Phil posted on his facebook and instagram…

 On thursday Dan finally realized he wouldn’t be able to hide from this forever, as he couldn’t afford to fail this class. So he decided to suck it up and went with a generic confirmation and the question to set a time for their first rehearsal as a reply.

 On friday Dan was about as nervous as he could be. Fidgeting the entire morning, he changed his outfit for at least five times until Louise threatened to rip his whole wardrobe to shreds if he didn't decide soon. Her teasing didn’t make his job any easier though. He was supposed to meet Phil in less than half an hour in one of the practice rooms in the music building half a campus away and he was dying a little.

 “Do you really think I look okay?” he asked Louise, who was seated directly next to him on the bus, anxiously running his fingers through his brown locks. Louise caught his wrist mid-movement and forced his hand back into his lap before she patted it sympathetically. “You look great, Dan. Just don’t behave like the little schoolgirl you’re portraying right now, okay?”

 Dan couldn’t get rid of the blush creeping onto his cheeks for the rest of the bus ride.

 When he arrived at their booked practice room, Phil wasn’t there yet. Sighing in relief, he let his backpack sink to the floor before moving over to the piano, situated on a little pedestal in front of the window. He took a seat on the stool right in front of it and let his fingers run over the keys testingly. A series of notes rang through the air and he realized delightedly that the piano was pitched precisely.

 He let his fingers push the keys purposefully and before he knew it they strung together to one of his favorite songs. He started singing along, just for the fun of it; but he got completely lost in the music. At one point a second voice joined in, harmonizing with him to an unbelievable extend, but he didn’t even realize; it just sounded like it had been there from the start.

 Like it belonged there, ringing alongside his own.

 Only at the end of the song he realized what had happened. When the last note rang loud through the now deafening silence he whipped around, eyes wide - and met the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

 He wanted to avert his eyes, wanted to check who it was, but he couldn’t; for a few moments, he was frozen, lost in time, no connection to reality except for the blue he was drowning in.

 The moment shattered like glass around him when some kind of crashing noise pierced in from outside of the room and Dan was finally able to move his eyes.

 “That was beautiful,” a deep, melodic voice said and he couldn’t help but stare at the black haired figure standing proudly and tall at the other end of the piano, smiling at him reassuringly.

 Dan had to blink a few times and pinch himself covertly, but the picture in front of him stayed the same: Phil Lester, in all his delicious glory, eyes shining so bright Dan was sure he’d need sunglasses.

 “It was,” he agreed with a raspy voice, watching wordlessly as Phil made his way over to him. “I’m Phil,” he said, sticking out his hand in front of him and Dan had to gulp down his fast rising excitement. I’ll get to touch Phil Lester!!

 When it happened, when their hands touched, he almost flinched back. A warm feeling shot up his arm at top speed and for a second, he forgot how to breathe. Holy shit.

 “Dan,” he rasped back, staring up at Phil with wide eyes, not really sure what to do with himself, only one thought ringing through his mind - if touching Phil felt like that , how amazing would kissing him be?

 Obviously, the black haired guitar player was not as shocked as Dan. “So, do you think we found our song for the first show?”

 Just like that they slipped over into work - and working with Phil, Dan learned, was just as easy as breathing.

 ~~~

 The first week with Phil was like walking on clouds. The numerous holes in Dan’s schedule made for good practice times, and the fact that Phil didn’t have many classes this semester meant that he was there for almost every one of them. Work flowed easily and smoothly and on monday they were already done segmenting the song and deciding who would get to sing which parts.

 But not only the work went great, even their voices harmonized like they were meant to be heard together. They didn’t even need transitions between Dan’s singing parts to Phil’s, the changes from line to line went just as smoothly as the ones with longer instrumental intervals between.

 Tuesday evening they were basically ready to perform. Dan had his piano playing recorded as a playback to make him more flexible on stage instead of immobile behind a giant instrument. Phil’s guitar skills maybe didn’t quite match Jimmy Hendrik’s yet, but they were definitely up there, and he had the song down to a T. Neither of them had classes the next morning, so as they were leaving the practice room, Dan felt quite courageous from all the adrenaline still rushing through him after a perfect run - and he boldly asked Phil if he wanted to get a coffee somewhere before retiring to their respective dorms.

 Ten minutes later they were sat in a coffee shop right off campus. Dan chose a cozy little booth in the corner directly next to the window front while Phil went to get their coffees. When Dan took the first sip of his drink he almost spat it right back out, but instead moved to first eye the drink and then Phil suspiciously.

 “How do you know?” he asked, his voice almost high pitched as he narrowed his eyes.

Phil just raised an eyebrow into an almost perfectly shaped curve, looking at Dan questionably as he calmly took a sip of his coffee, not saying a word.

 “How do you know my order?” Dan specified and watched incredulously as Phil’s full, kissable lips spread into a wide grin. He could almost picture it, attaching his own lips onto his as they spread into the exact grin before the kisses started to get more serious, more heated, Phil’s fringe messed up, his cheeks red as clothes were coming off…

 Oh my god, stop betraying me, goddamn heart.

 “I didn’t. I just ordered two of my usual order.”

 Phil’s voice ripped him out of his daydream and for a second he couldn’t do much else than stare in stunned silence. “You drink caramel Macchiato, too?” he asked, blinking. Huh. He really hadn’t expected that from a guy as hot as him…

 Jesus fucking christ, actually shut the fuck up!

 Dan’s attraction to Phil had risen to an unhealthy level by now. Not only was he hot as fuck, no; during their practice time Dan also had had to learn that the guy was smart, funny, lively, and talented as fuck , even more than Dan remembered him to be. Dan was lucky the assignment, and working on the music kept him busy and focused, or else he would have probably jumped the guy by now.

 “It’s my all time favorite,” Phil confirmed, his grin transforming into a cheeky smile, and Dan couldn’t keep a blush from dusting his cheeks pink.

 “Mine too,” he admitted and took another tentative sip from his drink, purposefully avoiding Phil’s eyes. He knew that if he looked into them now, he would drown in them.

 For a few moments it was silent between them, both nursing their coffee, Dan deeply lost in thought about the blueness of Phil’s eyes.

 “So, Muse, huh?”

 It was Phil breaking the silence and Dan looked up, surprised. It took him a second to realize how Phil had even known he liked Muse , until he realized they had met while singing their song Thought Contagion before choosing it for their first performance. This time he was pretty sure he kept the blush at bay.

 “Yeah. I love them.”

 Phil’s mouth stretched into a happy smile, his eyes shining brightly, full of honest excitement as he started chattering about them. Dan had to gulp and pinch his hand unsuspiciously to keep himself from losing his mind .

 They moved from Muse to Panic! to Fallout Boy to Paramore and even further. Albums became scores, which lead the way to games, movies and TV shows. It was almost scary how much they had in common, how much their interests overlapped, and it actually took Dan a while to remember a question he’d had since he’d heard of the assigned groups.

 He used a temporary lull in conversation - one that he could have easily filled with something relatable to the topic they were on, mind you - to finally ask.

 “By the way, do you know why we are the only duo?”

 Phil raised his eyebrow, a cheeky smile back on his face and Dan knew there was a blush creeping up his cheeks yet again. He couldn’t help but feel like he missed something vital here, but he had no idea what exactly.

 “Did you not pay attention at the meeting?”

 Dan felt his eyes widen in surprise and blinked, cheeks even hotter than before. “I might have been… preoccupied ,” he admitted and Phil’s smile grew into a full-blown grin.

 “Prof. Johnson and Prof. Smith spent like ten minutes explaining,” he informed Dan, “Apparently the numbers didn’t match up and they had to have one duo, so they both chose their best student and realized we would be a good match.” He put special emphasis on the word match and for a second, Dan wasn’t sure if he would be able to stay conscious. Was he just making a joke… Or was Phil Lester really flirting with him?

 “We - we are,” he stammered in response and Phil’s chuckling send his heart into overdrive. Oh god. How was he supposed to survive at least 2 more months working with the guy?

 “I think so too,” Phil whispered back with a husky voice, making Dan choke on his long cold coffee.

 Fuck, these next weeks are going to be torture.

 ~~~

 The next monday morning Dan found himself in yet another on-campus coffee shop, putting the finishing touches on an assignment that was due today. Normally it was a break he would spend with Phil, but he had stuff to arrange with one of his professors, so they decided he would join up with Dan as soon as he was able to. They had managed to get a headstart on this week’s performance by starting working on it on saturday, so they weren’t in much of a rush. They had decided on a song and discussed divisioning on sunday already; it was only practicing left.

 Of course the performance on Friday had gone great. They had gotten a lot of applause by the watching students, the little hall on campus used for performances had been packed to the rim, so there had been at least a few hundred watchers. The professors had obviously also been satisfied with their presentation, considering they had informed them they would progress into the next round even before the whole show had been over.

 So Dan and Phil had spent their Friday night celebrating. Even though neither of them were really the party going type, they had agreed to go out for a few drinks with their best friends Louise and PJ - who, coincidentally, were in the same group - and Tyler, a music production student Dan had been friends with for years. He had flirted with Phil quite obviously and had teased Dan for his sour mood afterwards, but had assured him that Phil only has eyes for you, you dumbass, pay attention!, coupled with a playful whack on his head.

 The memory let Dan grumble absently, but the arriving of a group of students in the booth right behind him ripped him away from his trip down memory lane. “I mean, they’re both bisexual, right?” one of the girls stated while taking a seat, making him peek up immediately. He liked to hear stories about his fellow unicorns and regretted only becoming aware of this conversation after it had already started.

 “They are,” a guy’s voice confirmed. Dan was pretty sure he had heard the voice before, but he didn’t have the courage to turn around and check. He was lucky enough to not have been spotted by the group, he really didn’t have to push his luck.

 “Have you seen their sexual tension? I know you want to fuck them both, Caleb, but come on.” The female voice was followed by a male groan and the sound of a head meeting the tabletop. “I knowww,” was the answer, “I’m sexually deprived, not blind .”

 Dan raked his brain, trying to figure out who they were talking about. Being friends with Louise and Tyler meant that he was mostly up to date with recent campus gossip, and he really wanted to tell them about this later.

 “Did you know there’s already a bet going on? About if they’ll be dating by the end of this semester.”

 “Which idiot would even bet against that?”

 The booth erupted into laughter and Dan furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. He leaned forward, trying to appear busy, but in reality the assignment currently open on his laptop was the furthest thing from his mind.

 “Okay, but aside from all that they were the best group, even if it was just the two of them. They’re gonna win this thing, hands down.” 

Dan’s eyes went as wide as saucers as realization seeped into him. They weren’t really talking about -

 “Absolutely. Thought Contagion was brilliant, I’m so excited to see what they’ll come up with for the next round.”

 That was the moment Phil decided to make his appearance, ripping him out of his thoughts almost violently. “Morning!” he said, cheerfully, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands. He pushed one of them over to Dan after he had taken a seat.

 A look of confusion, even concern appeared on his face when Dan didn’t react, just continued staring at his laptop screen with his eyes wide open. “Dan? Are you okay? Have you seen a ghost?”

 The chatter behind him ended immediately. When he slowly turned around a group of seven people was staring at him, wide eyed. All of them scrambled to their feets as fast as they could. “You’re a cute couple!” one of the girls squeaked out, then they were gone, leaving Dan to explain the situation to Phil.

 Needless to say Phil wasn’t fazed at all, instead he used the story to make more flirty remarks, making Dan blush yet again.

 Damn, I’m fucked.

 ~~~~

Almost three months passed by in a rush and by december Dan couldn’t even recognize his life anymore. All the time he had previously spent alone in front of his laptop, browsing tumblr or watching Netflix, converted into Phil-time, slowly but surely. They played games or watched TV-Shows nearly every day after practice. Dan’s roommate had even asked him if he was moving out with all the time he spent away, but Dan couldn’t help himself. Phil lived in a flat near campus all alone. A tiny flat, sure, but it made for the best meetup place, especially for gaming or movie nights or for research about their next song - and it gave them some privacy. Not that much had happened yet aside from the increasingly flirty comments and occasional cuddle sessions, but it still made their friendship easier.

 Especially because they were now something like campus-famous and got recognized wherever they went.

 So far, they had aced most performances and were through to the last show before christmas break. After New Year’s there was only one show left before the big finale. They were pretty sure they had a good grade secured, but they still gave it their all - they had come so far, there was no way they were giving up now.

 In the upcoming show only seven groups were left and it was the first one with two mandatory songs, one optional and one christmas themed, dropping the rock theme just for this once. Since the last week was cut short - Christmas break started on thursday - they had an additional half week to prepare. Dan and Phil had decided on Panic! ’s High Hopes for the first song and Last Christmas for the second and as always, they had been quite fast with their work. They were practiced and basically done on Monday, so they allowed themselves the night off. Phil’s brother was in town and Dan had heartlessly neglected Tyler since the assignment started (his words), basically forcing Dan to spent the night with him.

 Fortunately Tyler had a lecture early the next morning, so he wasn’t trying to get himself or Dan trashed. He did, however, made use of the time by grilling Dan about his relationship to Phil.

 Dan was a bit annoyed, but at the end of the day he was glad to be able to talk about it, even if he would never admit to that. Louise and her group were still in the run for the finals too, which made her so busy they barely were able to talk for longer than a few minutes at a time - and he desperately needed an outsider’s opinion.

 It took him almost an hour to get Tyler up to date on what had happened, all the while getting interrupted by texts from Phil. Right when he was done explaining his phone dinged again, indicating another text.

 ‘the girl two tables over has a cute lil pup on her lap i keep staring she probs thinks i'm a perv help’ it read and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Tyler inspected him warily from across the table, absently playing with the straw in his half-empty cocktail. “Okay, who are you texting?” he asked then, fixing Dan with a steely gaze.

 “Oh, it’s just Phil,” he answered distractedly, typing a quick response before turning his attention back to Tyler. “Why?”

 “Are you shitting me?” he asked back, a fitting expression on his face like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Dan just answered with a surprised “huh?”, shooting him a confused look.

 “Mate, how dense can you be? You are basically dating the guy, only without the good parts!”

 Dan blinked, completely lost now, unable to follow Tyler’s train of thought. “What?”

 “You and Phil are dating, Dan, wake up! The only thing missing is the sex!”  Dan was stunned into silence, staring at Tyler like he had grown a second head. It took the thought a while to register in his brain, but then he blushed, taking a huge gulp of his drink before calling the waiter over to order another one.

 He needed more alcohol for this.

 ~~~~

 The show on wednesday evening went exceptionally well. They had the most fun rocking to High Hopes and got really festive during Last Christmas , with Dan at the Piano and Phil sat on top of it. Their professors called them over and into the next show immediately, making them giddy and high on adrenaline in the process.

 The christmas party thrown by the rock music department started directly afterwards and PJ and Louise, immensely proud of their best friends even though their own group had been voted out, insisted on going. Still in an after show rush they agreed, but soon realized why they normally didn’t like parties. It was loud, the room stuffed with people and the food was average at best, and it took them around twenty minutes to revert back to the snacks table, where they hid from the actual party.

 When Louise, PJ and Tyler of all people found them, sporting a cheeky expression, Dan knew they were fucked. They were leaning against a wall, talking and laughing with each other as much as the music allowed them to, and only a few people were inspecting them from afar.

 “Do you know where you’re standing?” PJ asked when the group was within earshot and Dan raised an eyebrow. “Next to the snacks table where we always are?” he remarked drily, making Phil chuckle next to him.

 “Look up!” Tyler singsonged with a high pitched voice and flattered his eyelashes with faked innocence.

 Dan perked up immediately. He knew that voice.

 He didn’t even need to look up to know what was fixated on the wall over their heads.

 “A Mistletoe!” Louise grinned so widely Dan was sure it had to hurt. He turned his attention to Phil, his heart throbbing in his chest on full speed.

 There was a cheeky smile on the guitarist’s face as he took a step closer, taking a hold of Dan’s head with both hands. “They want a kiss,” he murmured, lowly, “let’s give them a kiss.”

 The second his lips met Phil’s was like a firework going off everywhere inside of his body. For a moment he forgot where he was, hell, even who he was, just continued kissing Phil with passion and lust and love. He didn’t even hesitate opening up his mouth at Phil’s silent request to let him in, too far gone to care - hell, to even realize they had an audience.

 The kiss lasted for minutes and it probably could have gone on much longer if there wouldn’t have been a sudden outburst of applause. The blood took a second to reach Dan’s brain after having rushed somewhere south only seconds ago, but when it did, it immediately spread into his cheeks. They broke apart, Dan’s face still in Phil’s hands, silently contemplating the recent event.

 He had just kissed Phil Lester. In front of basically the whole rock music department.

 Great. Just great.

 The applause and whooping didn’t stop soon and he couldn’t do much more then to exchange a long look with Phil. They had a silent discussion Dan himself didn’t know the content of, until suddenly and with no indication there was panic on Phil’s face as he hastily let go of Dan and scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket. It was vibrating violently in his hands and Dan couldn’t even blink by the time Phil rasped out a “Shit! My brother is waiting for me!” and left in a rush.

 Dan stood there, staring after Phil until most of the students had averted their gazes from him and went back to whatever they had been doing before. When the ice in his veins freezing him into place finally dissipated, he groaned. He knew Phil’s brother Martyn was picking him up for Christmas with their family, and he wouldn’t be back until january.

 Of course. That’s just my fucking luck.

 ~~~

 He spent christmas break in some sort of limbo, like his relationship to Phil was Schrödinger’s cat, platonic and romantic at the same time. He knew the kiss had meant something not only to him but also to Phil, that much had been obvious with the way he had taken the offensive in deepening the kiss and how he had held him afterwards. But that was about the amount of information Dan had, and neither of them mentioned the kiss on any level, so he decided to just ignore the issue for now.

 It did made him jumpy and fidgety and mostly unable to focus, though, and only his frequent skype calls with Phil got him focused and concentrated enough to get some much needed work done.

 There were only two shows left, but they were only one week apart and both required three songs, so they decided to learn all songs over the break. They spent hours on skype, deciding on the songs and how to play and sing them, so they would be done learning their personal parts until they could meet back up in person.

 For a short moment, their reunion was like the sun had risen again. They hugged, soft words of attachment and longing on their lips, but then it was like someone had flipped a switch and they were back in working mode. Phil didn’t mention the kiss and Dan didn’t dare to, so they went back to Status Quo, just like that.

 The first show in the new year went okay-ish. Neither of them poured everything into it, already looking forward to the songs they had chosen for the finale, but they still managed to pull through. Their only truly memorable performance was The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance , which they definitely aced, but the other ones admittedly fell a bit flat. Both their professors urged them to not take it too lightly just because they had done so amazingly until now, so they swore to give everything they had in their last performances together.

 They were the first group performing in the finale. It wasn’t hard for Dan to get in the mood of their songs, considering they were all pining lovesongs and he would have the one he was pining after up on stage with him, so he was glad they got to go first. It made the waiting and anticipation in between easier, and waiting for the results when they were done didn’t mean much to him anyway - he didn’t care too much about winning.

 He just wanted to give his best, pour all his feelings into the songs when he was up there with Phil. He wanted to make it obvious that he meant every word he was singing.

 He wanted to get Phil to understand…

 In short, he just wanted Phil.

 Their first song was a soft piano interpretation of It’s not living (If it’s not with you) by The 1975 , and Dan was so entranced by Phil he forgot to look at his hands while playing. He didn’t make a single mistake, thankfully,  but if he would have made one he probably wouldn’t even have noticed. He benefited from the fact that he had practiced the piano part so often on the tiny piano in his childhood bedroom that his parents had asked him to please, please stop.

 They spent their break with a bottle of coke huddled together on a tiny sofa backstage, making loose conversation and trying to get their mind off of things. Dan basked in the close physical proximity and simply smiled when Phil just casually took his hand while he talked, playing with his fingers. He had a feeling that things would be going well.

 Dan had particularly fun during their next song. The Last Of The Real Ones by Fallout Boy was one of his favorite songs and he connected a lot of the lyrics to Phil. The piano playing was not an issue this time since they had both laid down their playing previously and conjoined it in a track, so he had all the time in the world to focus on Phil, which he took full advantage of. They riled up the crowd so much that Tyler, who had agreed to be the presenter of the night, had trouble getting them back in check for the next group.

 During christmas break, far away from Phil and his feelings, their next song had seemed like a good idea. It was romantic, emotional and full of love and Dan couldn’t think of any other song that would make his feelings for Phil more clear than this.

 Now, though, it seemed entirely too personal to perform in front of what felt like the whole Uni. During practice he had refrained from building too much of a connection, afraid of taking it too far, but now he didn’t have much of a choice and it made him more nervous than any other performance before. His hands were sweaty, his stomach was rumbling and he was ready to cancel the whole thing when Phil noticed the state he was in.

 “Dan,” he whispered, pointedly ignoring the other people lounging around backstage, completely focusing on Dan, “It’ll be okay. You will be okay. And I will be with you, right there by your side the whole time, okay?”

 It was in this moment that something settled in Dan’s chest. He returned Phil’s fond look with courage and determination, grasping his hand in his and squeezing it tightly. “Me too. We’re on the same page.”

 He was sure Phil caught the double meaning when his look got soft. “I think I always knew,” he answered quietly, almost inaudible. “Let’s do this.”

 ~~~

 Their last performance of this assignment was a complete success. They performed The Only Exception by Paramore sitting huddled together on the little Piano stool in front of the huge piano and didn’t take their eyes off of each other the entire time. It was so emotional Tyler had tears in his eyes when he came on stage, hugging first Phil, then Dan tightly, muttering a soft “go get ‘em, tiger” into Dan’s ear and Dan could feel his heart swelling.

 This was it.

 Backstage, thankfully, they were alone. Both of the other groups were nowhere to be seen, and Phil obviously noticed faster than him.

 Before he even had the chance to turn around from closing the door he was already spun around and pressed against the next hard surface, Phil’s lips attacking his own.

 For what felt like ages they were kissing furiously, like they had deprived themselves of this for far too long and now a dam had been broken down, nothing holding them back anymore.

 Once they were out of breath Phil separated their lips, lovingly gazing into his eyes instead. “I have waited for this for far too long,” he whispered quietly, softly, his hands on the sides of Dan’s head, his thumbs gently caressing his cheeks.

 “Me too,” he mumbled back, drowning in Phil’s eyes and feeling himself falling, falling; falling even deeper in love with him. “I meant every word I sang.”

 There was a beat of quiet, then:

 “I love you.”

 The words were muttered completely simultaneously, and for the single bat of an eye both stared at the other, stunned into silence.

 Then they were both dissolving into giggles, holding onto the other to keep from toppling over.

 “That,” Phil gasped out, “was so us.”

 Dan couldn’t help but agree.

 ~~~

 “Do you really think so, Badiha?”

 “I don’t know, Henry, but they did seem smitten during that song, don’t you think?”

 “True!”

 There was a group of at least five people seated in the booth directly behind Dan’s and even though he wasn’t that much of a gossip he couldn’t help but eavesdrop. He was busily procrastinating the work he needed to do until the next day, refreshing tumblr around ten times a minute, so it wasn’t too surprising the conversation distracted him as soon as it got loud enough for him to hear.

 “But they haven’t been seen in public with each other in ages aside from their performances. I just really want them to be happy with each other, is that too much to ask?”

 That was the first voice again. Dan allowed himself a short look at the group out of the corner of his eyes and recognized all faces he was able to pick up on. They had all been to the performance Phil and him did twice a week in a near bar ever since their joint assignment last year, he was sure of it. He mostly recognized them because of the person that had spoken first, a girl with the pride flag drawn on her eyelids. He remembered how she had attracted his attention during their first show because of her truly iconic makeup.

 “I know, right?!” a male voice joined in and this time Dan didn’t need the information practically jumping into his face to realize they were talking about him and Phil.

 After their win in the finale they had decided to keep their relationship at a down low, trying to make themselves comfortable with being boyfriends before they truly made it public. They were still pretty famous throughout the students and the center of the rumor mill, but they had been in a relationship for almost a year now and had only recently realized there was nothing to be afraid of if everybody knew. Most of them would be happy for them, and the rest of them, well -

 They’d just have to suck it up.

 That was the moment his boyfriend decided to show up. He slid into the booth, taking a seat directly next to Dan, pressing their thighs together. “Morning, love,” he greeted Dan gently, planting a kiss on his cheek before grinning happily. “Busy procrastinating?”

 “Yeah,” Dan replied extra loud, grinning right back, “but I’d rather kiss my boyfriend.”

 So they shared a short, cute kiss, making the group behind them gasp loudly. “It’s them,” the girl with the pride flag on her eyelids whispered into the silence stretching between them. Dan grinned.

 “It is,” he confirmed cheekily, turning around to look at her. “Very iconic Make-up by the way, I like it.”

 “Oh my god, thank you,” she answered, a blush becoming apparent on her cheeks and Dan’s grin only got wider before he turned his attention back around to Phil.

 “What was that about?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and his head cutely tilted to the side.

 Dan pecked him on the lips. “Had to make a point.”

 Phil looked back cheekily, a grin on his face so wide Dan was able to see his tongue poking out between his teeth. “A point about what?”

 Dan puffed out his cheeks, feigning huffiness. Phil knew exactly what this was about, and they were both aware of that. “You’re an idiot,” he said, pouting.

 “Yeah, but I’m your idiot.”

 Dan looked at him, eyes full of fondness and adoration and love. “Exactly.”

[dimensionslip]

Danganronpa 3 The Stage 2018 Thoughts

“Summer is coming with despair...” - Aka a very much relatable quote that comes with some of the stageplay merchandise and tokuten

Came back from the matinee showing at Ikebukuro, which started at 12nn and ended around 3:15pm (though part of it was a mini-concert by Samurai Tunes and them promoting their free concert tomorrow). Boy, I did not expect it to be that lengthy, but I certainly did feel I got my money’s worth!

Anyway, under the cut are some of my thoughts and my experience over there! Unmarked spoilers follow. Also, I’m going off memory for these and in no particular order, so if there’s anything I wasn’t able to answer in my report, feel free to drop an ask and I’ll try to answer it to the best of my abilities! o/

The gates opened at around 11am to allow people to buy merchandise before the stageplay starts. The lines weren’t that bad and to my knowledge, none of the merchandise sold out, so there’s plenty to go around! I bought the pamphlet and visual book set, the tote bag, some bromides, the large images, and the can badges.

The stageplay, for the most part, follows the story of DR3, but has a number of deviations and additions, especially to adjust to the fact that they’re not bringing in actors for Class 77. For the most part, I think they were for the better, and I really enjoyed them.

Most of the time, the backup dancers and lifters for the stageplay were in Monokuma kigurumis, which I think is an unusual but rather interesting and fitting choice.

No Chisa in a metaverse theater, watching things unfold :( Though I think that would make for a confusing story and would take up too much time, especially with the limited amount they have...

The intro to the Future Foundation’s members and their abilities has Chisa using a fly swatter to strike down the Monokuma backup dancers (who I think represent the Remnants of Despair) which amused me too much. The rest of the characters more or less proceeded as they did in the anime.

Naegi was the one who introduced everyone with their titles and what not.

Hagakure, Togami, and Junko were never onstage, just on video for their respective parts.

Everyone was mostly on point with their characters and costumes, but those who really sounded similar to the original voice actors were Munakata, Ruruka, and Bandai. And Seiko to an extent.

Bandai was probably the most amusing character to watch... I can’t believe he actually pitched his voice to match up with Rie Kugimiya’s original acting.

Juzo isn’t as buff as his anime counterpart, but it’s not that detrimental. Just a small thing I noticed.

One extra scene that amused me was Asahina picking a fight with Juzo (while he was beating up Naegi prior to the killing game), which went something like, Kyoko telling Asahina to be careful because Juzo’s the SHSL Boxer, and she’s just the SHSL Swimmer. She tried a lot of silly moves on him, including a swimming one. Needless to say, she was soundly defeated.

Mitarai was with everyone from the start instead of a latecomer.

I like the way they handled Munakata’s NG Code (for the most part, it was almost perfect)--there were doors onstage and he wouldn’t enter them and always exited or entered from the side of the stage--if not from the audience side.

I love how they handled the tragedy that is Class 76th’s dysfunctional friendship, and am glad they kept the flashbacks for it.

Speaking of flashbacks, Juzo and the incident with Junko making fun of him was handled pretty well. I like how Juzo’s expression was mostly “tch”/mocking when Junko was like “and the person that Juzo Sakakura likes is Chisa Yukizome--” then suddenly alarmed when she goes “--not, it’s Kyosuke Munakata!”

They also had the Class 74 graduation flashback, which I’m glad they kept in.

Weird nitpick on my end: When they showed onscreen the silhouettes of Ultimate Despair, they had Hinata on it instead of Kamakura.

With regard to Kyosuke discovering that Chisa is part of Ultimate Despair, they changed it from pictures to a “video” (enacted onstage). It was pretty brutal. The video came from Tengan, who we later on discover told Kyosuke about Chisa being Ultimate Despair and giving him the video to prove it.

Like in the anime, they just had Tengan lipsynch the part where he tells Munakata who the culprit/mastermind is, and it’s only later that we discover what he said in his dying moments.

My memory is a little fuzzy on this one, but I think he also said something about her being brainwashed? There definitely was a brief cut onstage to where Chisa was on that chair, being forced to watch the despair video. And, well, screaming.

There were some scenes were they had to show or make it seem that people were moving through a lot of places, and they kind of ended up doing that by making the stage actors walk in place (since the alternative is making them run around the stage and/or venue, which sounds like it may invite an accident more than running in place would). But I ended up having to stifle a laugh while it went down because it made it difficult for me to take some scenes seriously (Munakata running after Juzo when he learns about him planning to end the killing game, Naegi chasing after Mitarai when he goes off to broadcast his hope video).

Right, the adjustment I mentioned to fill the absence of Class 77:

Asahina ends up reviving the people who got killed by NG Code using Seiko’s drug. So Bandai, Izayoi, Kizakura, and Kirigiri arrive in time to save Naegi and Munakata from the people that Mitarai brainwashed. Bandai was using pretty sturdy leeks as weapons...

Naegi is the sole giver of the Hope Speech (TM), and is later joined by Kirigiri, if I recall correctly. Also, he did “Sore wa chigau yo”, bless.

Another added scene: Mitarai talking to Munakata about Yukizome as his teacher, and how he saved her. He also admitted to helping out Junko with the despair video... and I think he might have been there when Chisa got brainwashed, because he somehow knows about her final words before she became a despair. Because one of the lines that went there was something like (this is paraphrased) “even at her final moments, she uttered your name. Yukizome-sensei must really... (love you -> unsaid, it trailed off towards this part)”

With regard to Class 77, Togami tells Naegi at the end that they woke up and are back to their normal selves.

Overall, I really enjoyed the stageplay! I feel it provides a more balanced view of what’s going on, even if they do (expectedly) cut out a lot of stuff. Munakata definitely got a lot of action here (second or equal to Naegi) and it’s pretty amazing how he’s able to keep it up. As far as time limitations go and character limitations as well, I think they handled it quite well, and it was pretty creative of them to make use of the existing cast that way.

[lolainblue]

Fangs and Fairytales: Orphans Ch. 8

A/N: One chapter left in this fairytale. It will be the next thing I post, hopefully tomorrow. 

T/W: Descriptions of bloody violence

Catch up here: Fangs and Fairytales Masterlist

@fyeahproudglambert @pinkletodreamer @meghan12151977 @letosangels @lady-grinning-soul-k @nikkitasevoli @polosatik23 @fortify-undeny  @thepromiseofanend

  Jared could feel a terror awakening in his chest like a dark cavern, a void that swallowed up the air and light and threatened to pull him down into it as well. He was surprised that his fear, that fight-or-flight response seemed to be working pretty much as it always had. His breathing had sped up, his muscles were coiled and ready to spring into action and the blood in his veins seemed to animate. He looked at the figure behind Silas that was getting larger with each passing second. It still looked somewhat like the elder vampire that they had brought in but it was distorting as it grew, dark crevices erupting on its surface, places where the light seemed to distort and the space around them seemed not to belong there anymore.

   “Go!” Silas repeated his urgent plea. “I'll try to hold him off here to give you time to get the girls out. Hurry!”

   Jared quickly sped back to the small magic annex where Klara was still working, bent over the broad wooden table with her back to the door. “Come with me, we have to take the girls and get out of here.”

   “What now?” Klara asked, whirling around, not even bothering to hide her annoyance with him. When she saw the fearful look on his face, however, she knew now was neither the time to argue nor ask questions. She grabbed a few things from the table and followed him.

   “What's happening?” she asked as they sped to the bedroom where the banshee sisters were waiting.

   “It's Davrosh. But he wasn't Davrosh,” Jared tried to explain. “Whatever it was it woke up and started changing...”

   “Changing how?” Klara demanded.

   “He seemed to be growing, swelling up sort of. And his skin was cracking and there was blackness where it cracked....”

   “Shit. Did he feel different to you?”

    From the way she was asking, Jared had a pretty good idea that Klara knew what was happening. “Yeah, actually, he did. Like he wasn't the same person we brought in...”

   They rounded the corner into the small bedroom to see that the sisters were still tucked soundly in their beds. Klara quickly pulled a pillowcase loose and filled it with the objects she had carried from the magic annex and then scooped up Keera. Jared already had Addy in his arms, and the pair were starting to awaken now that they had been disturbed. “What do we do now?” Jared asked.

   “If that's what I think it is in Davrosh, then we need to get the girls away from here. I don't know if Silas can defeat it....”

   “Shouldn't I go help him then? Should I find Shannon and Masha?”

   “Help me get the girls to the car first.”

    Jared noticed she hadn't answered his question. “What do you think it is Klara?”

   She was already heading out the door, Keera's arms around her neck. “A leyak. They hide themselves in something-- a person, a supe, an animal – and then consume them and shed their skin before striking. So that was Davrosh when we brought him in but if the Leyak has awakened he is gone now. They are very powerful and...”

   Two things happened almost simultaneously. There was a bellowing shout coming from the room that the creature they had taken as Davrosh had been sleeping in. Jared was unsure if it was Silas or the leyak. The second thing that happened was that Keera, the first of the sisters to fully awaken, screamed. Jared knew the sound was coming from her because he was looking at her when her tiny mouth opened and her head fell back. If he hadn't been looking at her he never would have associated the sound with the slight little girl with the tangly hair and fox-like eyes. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, a shrill, ear-splitting shriek that echoed off every surface and told something in the primitive survival portion of his brain that very bad things were happening.

   Klara let go of Keera with an involuntary shout and covered her ears. Even after tumbling to the ground the youngest banshee didn't stop her wailing, and it took every ounce of self-control Jared could muster not to stop and cover up his own newly sensitive ears. He gritted his teeth and leaned over to pick Keera up. Thankfully Addy either was satisfied that enough shrieking was being done not to add her own voice to the outcry, or had enough presence of mind to understand that shouting in the ear of the man trying to save you was counterproductive. Either way, Jared was grateful for her silence.

   “Can you quiet your sister down, please?” he asked her. Addy shrugged to communicate her uncertainty about the potential success of any attempts to quash the younger girl's laments but she reached over and started stroking Keera's arm, making soft whistling noises as she did so. Jared trying rocking the pair reassuringly and after what seemed like an eternity but was in reality probably only a few seconds, Keera ceased her wailing and shoved her thumb into her mouth.

   Jared could see Klara pulling herself together, and he had to ask the question that was burning at him. “Does that mean someone is already dead or that they're going to die?” he inquired, acutely aware he had no idea where Shannon was right now. He could still feel a human presence in the cavernous space but it was either faint or not nearby. He thought it was the latter but he wasn't practiced enough to have any real certainty about that determination, not when it was something so important.

   “It means someone is dying. It is probably for Davrosh. With the leyak resuming its own form Davrosh is being consumed. He was your grandfather. I am surprised you do not feel it.” Jared thought about the terror and dread he felt standing in Davrosh's room. He had assumed it was just a fear reaction, but it could very well have been in response to whatever was happening to Davrosh.

   “Which means we need to hurry,” Jared pointed out. He needed to get them to safety so he could find his brother. He ushered the group along, past the small kitchen and through the cluttered living area but stopped before he came to the small office they had initially entered. He dropped the girls and grabbed Klara by the arm before she crossed the small window that provided a view through the office and out onto the loading bay. Holding one finger to his lips he peered carefully through the glass where he could see the darkened and empty office. He could see the SUV waiting in the loading bay as well, and even though he could see no one else there his senses told him they were not alone. As he watched, the large bay door rolled open and several figures came into view, still standing outside. Jared's muscles tightened as he realized who was waiting.

   “Little pig, I see we meet again. I can smell you in there,” rang out the familiar voice. “Don't try to tell me you don't have my girls in there this time, I heard them. But that's okay. I have something of yours too.”

   Two figures were suddenly shoved into the small circle illuminated by the security light over the door, male and female, they were bound together and looked far angrier than they did frightened. Jared figured they were the two missing members of Masha's cell.

   “That's Astrid and Cotton,” Klara confirmed, her voice the lowest whisper she could manage. “I don't see Michael.”

   “They can't come in here, right?” Jared asked.

   Klara shook her head. “No. Which is probably the reason they used the leyak, to drive us out. It's no coincidence that it awoke at sunset.”

   Jared looked over at Keera and Addy who were clutching each other in much the way they had when they had first arrived. “Take the girls, go back to the magic annex and lock yourselves in.”

   Klara shook her head. “You don't know what you're doing. You're just a baby. I have skills....”

   “Then use them to protect the girls. I'm going to go find Masha and help deal with the leyak. Then you can help us all figure out a way out of here."

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

    Masha took in the hard line of Shannon's jaw and the shift in his gaze. “I was a very different person then. I was committed to Subterra and to the family. I thought any means justified preserving them. Humans were often causalities when our various factions went to war. What was one more casualty if it preserved the balance of the Tretat and protected the family?”

   Shannon shook his head. “But that's...”

   “Cold. Selfish. Monstrous. I know.” Not that it would have made any difference to Shannon but there were as many in her community who saw no problem with what she had done as those who had condemned her. Masha's attitude had been the prevalent one at the time, it was simply the way they looked at their relationship with the human society around them. It wasn't an excuse, she should have known better even then, but at least things were changing now. “You can't begin to imagine how much I regret what happened. And losing Evangeline like that, it just broke Silas. He's never been the same. When he left the Underground, I was secretly relieved, because watching him go through his days in that much pain was a sort of torture for me as well. But I didn't deserve to be let off the hook so easily, and by the time I figured out him leaving was worse than him staying he was long gone. We've never managed to repair our relationship. I don't know if we ever will.”

   “So should I be worried you're going to throw me under the bus to keep Jared in line? Is that why you brought me along too?”

   “How could you ask me that? Do you not understand the point of what I am telling you? I did a terrible thing, a thing that has haunted me for almost 50 years now. I understand now why it was so wrong and I am not the person I was then. I would never repeat my mistake. I would never throw anyone away like that again, human or not.” Masha was shaking, her eyes damp. “I won't harm you and I won't let any harm come to you either. I swear it.”

   Shannon wanted to be angry with her, or least be wary of her. But it seemed to him she had made a miscalculation, one she had bitterly regretted and learned from, and the hardness in her heart that had made it possible was long since gone. Saving Jared to spare Shannon pain may not have made up for her mistake but it did show she had learned from it and changed. Her world was very different from his, the stakes were so much higher, and it seemed that even a simple misstep could quickly spiral into something monstrous. She had done a terrible thing but it was possible she wasn't terrible. Although her regret was palpable, she wasn't even asking forgiveness. He was sure she felt that she was beyond being able to be forgiven. He didn't like to remember it but Shannon had been there once before himself, a miscalculation of his own when he was blind drunk that had nearly cost a friend his life and had changed it forever. He had to believe that no one was beyond redemption. He reached over and took Masha's hand.

   “I trust you,” he told her, rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin of her wrist. “You're just going to have to keep trying.”

   Masha nodded and slipped her hand from his, falling into the safety of his embrace. He held her for a moment, the contact reassuring both of them that their nascent bond was still unbroken, before brushing his fingers underneath her chin, tilting her up for a kiss. “Thank you,” she murmured breathlessly. “For giving me a chance. I promise I won't let you regret it.”

   Shannon nodded and smiled at her, his arm still keeping her pulled tightly against him. As he watched, her expression began to change, her gray eyes darkening and clouding over, the smile turning to a look of shock. “Masha?” he questioned.

   Masha took a step back, her hand flying to her chest. She looked around the room in wild confusion, her breath coming in rapid, shallow pants. Shannon called her name again but she couldn't make herself respond, her awareness seemed to be pulled elsewhere as she filled with an unexplained dread. With a sense of horror, she began to suspect what the strange feeling was when the air was split with a roar that made the hair at the back of her neck stand up. This sound was immediately followed by a cry she had heard the night before, the wail of a young banshee.

   “What's happening?” Shannon croaked.

   Masha seemed to find her wits. “I think Davrosh... “ she couldn't bring herself to say it. “Stay here," she ordered, rushing out of the small room without further explanation, without stopping to see if he would comply.

   Shannon waited a few seconds for her to be gone then cautiously poked his head out of the doorway. There didn't seem to be anyone else around and the eerie sound of the banshee's lament had stopped. He hurried back toward the main living area, thinking that he would check up on the girls and make sure everything was all right.

   As he made his way through the halls he passed Klara who was leading Keera and Addy back to the room Silas had taken her to earlier. He tried to demand an explanation from her as well but she cut him off.

   “We're under siege and there's something inside. Come with us, right now,” she demanded.

   “Where's my brother?”

   “Being a fool. Don't follow his lead.”

   Shannon waved her off and headed in the direction of Davrosh's room.

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

   Masha and Jared arrived outside Davrosh's room almost simultaneously. They only had time to exchange a look before Masha burst through the door, immediately dropping into a fighting stance. Jared was steps behind her but what he saw when he entered the room made him stop in his tracks.

   The thing that had been Davrosh, the leyak, had swelled in size until its head brushed against the high ceiling. Its body seemed to be made of curved darkness, emptiness shaped like a giant man, with the organs and entrails visible and seemingly suspended in midair. Its head was enormous, cavernous eyes and an elongated tongue protruding from between monstrous yellow teeth. Silas stood his ground in front of it, his glasses gone and face and hands bloodied. Upon seeing Jared and Masha rush into the room it bellowed, and the air around Jared rippled with a fetid wind. Jared suddenly wished he had not been so quick to dismiss Klara.

   The leyak swung its colossal arm at Silas, knocking him off his feet. Something he had been holding escaped from his hand and skittered across the floor, landing closest to Jared. He immediately scrambled after it, shoving aside the dresser it had come to rest under. Amidst the dust bunnies and cobwebs was a small wrought iron knife, and he quickly picked it up and turned back toward the fight.

   “The eye,” Silas shouted, “You have to stab it in the eye with that knife.”

   Horrified, Jared looked at the yawning apertures that swayed several feet over his head. He wanted to run away but he remembered Klara and the girls were still in the building, and so was Shannon somewhere. Besides, Whispers and his gang had the exit blocked, there was nowhere to run to anyway. He lept up onto the bed, brandishing the knife with a shout.

   Silas swept his leg across the floor, connecting with the blackness that was the hulking leyak's own leg. It roared again and looked down at what had to be little more than an annoyance to it. Jared seized the opportunity and took a flying leap at the floating head, only to be blocked by a massive arm that sent him flying into the back wall. The wind was knocked out of him by the impact but the feeling was quite different, only effecting such superfluous functions as speech. He quickly recovered and rose to his feet again, looking for another opportunity to charge.

   “Be ready,” Masha directed once he had regained his footing. Jared noticed Silas was back on his feet too and he wondered what the pair of siblings had in mind. As he watched they moved on the mammoth beast, climbing on its limbs and beating against its chest until it could do nothing but try to cast them off. As Jared moved in more closely to be ready when an opportunity presented itself it swung one arm around the room, its clawed end connecting with Jared's thigh, shredding his pants and drawing up thick furrows of torn tissue and blood. He lost his footing momentarily, surprised that the black appendage even possessed claws, but his supernatural fortitude had him wobbling back into an upright position immediately in spite of the sharp pain that made his head swim.

   Silas reached the creature's shoulders first, and swinging from them like a demented monkey he began batting at the leyak's head. Jared was astounded as his fearlessness and ferociousness, it was not at all what he would have expected from the almost meek appearing man he had been dealing with all day.

   Jared mounted the bed again, just as Masha swung herself around behind the leyak's head. Swallowing his fear Jared lept at it again, and this time the knife connected with something hard. The leyak howled and shook the vampires loose, its arms swinging around wildly as it bolted from the room and into the hallway, the knife stuck just at the edge of its eye.

   Jared watched everything swing into slow motion as the monster lurched forward, blasting the door open and spinning about. It's spiraling arms connected with the figure that had just rounded the corner, and in its fury, its claws dug in far deeper than they had when they connected with Jared's leg. Helplessly he watched as it tore through Shannon, his shirt blossoming red as tender insides became outsides, entrails loosed from behind fragile human muscle and skin. The claw swept upward, leaving a swath of destruction that ended at his older brother's cheek. He was frozen in place as he watched Shannon fall, first to his knees then onto his back, the startled expression never leaving his face. Behind him Masha screamed, leaping forward and into the air, her hands connecting with the protruding knife and driving it the rest of the way into the leyak's eye. It fell to the ground with an anti-climactic thump.

   Jared couldn't move, couldn't make his brain understand what had just happened. He watched as Masha bent over Shannon, chattering rapidly, pleading for him to be okay, but Jared knew that wouldn't be the case. He could see the pool of blood rapidly forming underneath him.

   The banshees began to wail.

[cheollies]

Soulmate!Soonyoung

a/n: this came out longer than i expected bc i got carried away with the ridiculousness of soonyoung

soulmate au where you will switch bodies with each other randomly

everyone thought soonyoung was the unlucky 1% that didn't have a soulmate

why? because he didn't have anything that showed signs of having one

he didn't have a timer, he couldn't hear his soul mates thoughts, he couldn't feel anything his soulmate did

but soonyoung was positive, no matter how many people gave him that pity look soonyoung always smiled brightly because he definitely knows he has one.

soonyoung looked online for answers and he found a forum about people who didn't have any physical signs of a soulmate, he discovered that for some people it takes time for it to develop

so that's what soonyoung believes

“it's not that I don't have a soulmate. I just haven't figured out how to find them” 

he's really positive through all of this, he's just this kind of really free spirit that whole heartedly believes he has one and on the off chance that he is in fact that 1% well he says he'll just steal seokmin’s soul mate

the first time he switched bodies with you wow did he freak out a lot

he woke up really groggy and didn't know where he was because the blanket was a lot fluffier than he remembered and when did he get a lot more pillows and why does his chest feel heavy

soonyoung literally shoots up out of bed and falls off and He's running to the bathroom and he has this horrified face like “IM A GIRL”

he's really really really confused and so he does what any person would go

google ‘'why did I suddenly turn into a girl’

turns out a lot of the results point towards soulmates and now soonyoung is grinning from ear to ear like “TAKE THAT SEOKMIN I ACTUALLY HAVE A SOULMATE”

and for 10 minutes soonyoung stares in the mirror bc wow his soulmate is kinda breathtaking even with bed hair

feels really really really bad bc he has to change out of your pajamas and He's closing his eyes with your shirt off trying to find another shirt and He's screaming “IM SORRY”

leaves a note on your mirror saying he's sorry once again

finally changes into normal clothes and because he feels kind of skeptic, he's slowly stepping out of your room

found your phone and wants to unlock it but doesn't know the password so he can't really call anyone

instead he locks himself in your apartment out of fear because he doesn't know what a girl acts like

decides to binge watch tv shows and eat the junk food you had lying around (you did not appreciate the 15 bags of snacks he decided to eat)

he discovers your laptop and luckily for him it wasn't locked, he's messing around when it finally occurs to him that he could log into his facebook and call the members

video calls seokmin

seokmin screams when a girl answers “WHO ARE YOU”

soonyoung decides to mess with seokmin like “hi seokmin, I really enjoyed our time last night”

cue seokmins soulmate in the background asking who she is and why they were together

soonyoung laughing his ass off before he’s like “okay sorry, it's soonyoung’

“stop lying, soonyoung is a boy”

“I'm soonyoung I switched bodies with my soul mate”

“DID SOONYOUNG PUT YOU UP TO THIS.”

“I SAID IM SOONYOUNG”

that goes on for 5 minutes before soonyoung is finally like “FINE THEN WHERE IS SOONYOUNG”

soonyoung goes to his apartment bc apparently his soulmate locked themselves in his room and refuses to come out

when the doors open Chan, Minghao, and Jun are staring at the small girl at the door like “who are you”

“I'm here for soonyoung”

Chan: he's kind of busy right now

soonyoung doesn't even bother, he walked right straight in and knocks on his door “hey its me.”

and the three boys watch in astonishment as the door opens and the girl is being pulled in

‘'does soonyoung have a girlfriend”

now soonyoung is looking at himself in the eyes of his soulmate

“did you change my clothes?”

“iM SORRY I SWEAR I DIDNT LOOK THOUGH.”

you two just kinda sit in his room together really astonished that this was how the universe decided to have you guys be soul mates

and its really silent for a while before soonyoung says “I didn't look at your body but did you?”

“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING THAT RIGHT NOW”

“I WAS JUST CURIOUS”

it isn't until the next morning when you guys switch back, so you basically spent the whole night together kind of getting to know each other

when you two switch back its a fight for the bathroom because you two literally held it in for 24 hours

“THIS IS MY BATHROOM”

“YOU CHANGED MY CLOTHES WITHOUT ASKING”

jun, minghao, and chan sitting in the kitchen staring at the chaos because one) soonyoung just spent the night with a girl and two) what was that about changing her clothes

after telling everyone the whole body switch situation everything just kinda makes sense now

you and soonyoung will switch bodies at least once a month

its really weird and random but you two actually end up enjoying it after the first few times

you asked soonyoung to dance in your body once and you literally developed a massive crush on yourself bc you looked good

you and soonyoung actually start to get use to being in each others bodies like you don't mind using the bathroom in his body (since you saw it while doing the do)

soonyoung acts cutely when he's in your body, says oppa a lot because it sounds cute from your voice

“OPPAA”

“I swear to god soonyoung”

HE ONCE GOT YOUR PERIOD WHILE IN YOUR BODY AND STARTED SCREAMING THAT HE WAS DYING

it was the worse body switch of your life because soonyoung cried saying his face was so beautiful

soonyoung uses your body to flirt and mess with the guys

the first time soonyoung knew he loved you was the day after your 3rd time switching bodies

he woke up with you snuggled into his chest, his arm was being used as your head rest as you lazily had your arm draped around his stomach

and you were dressed in his large white t-shirt with shorts on and even though he was the one that put it on the day before it was an entirely new sight with his actual eyes

he couldn't help but stare at your features because he found you so beautiful, so naturally breathtaking and he wondered if you saw just how beautiful you were to him when you are in his body

like he just can't wrap his head around it, when he's in your body he just thinks ‘'oh I'm y/n for today okay’ but when he's looking at you with his own eyes and body, he just feels his chest thump loudly and all he wants to do is lift you in his arms and pepper you with kisses

and while he's watching you sleep soundly into his chest with bits of drool at the ends of your mouth he's swooning in his head and his whole body fills with joy and that's when he knows he's head over heels

soonyoung prefers sports bras over regular ones and you could not agree more

you two literally bond a lot about the struggles of being a guy and girl

you once gave guy advice to the other boys and it was really awkward because they always forget that you become soonyoung once a month

jun once complimented your body to soonyoung while you were in soonyoungs body

it was awkward so you decided to not tell jun that it was the time of the month

but you appreciated the compliment

while in your body, soonyoung got hit on and he didn't know what to do

“being a girl is hard”

once got turned on while in your body

“WE ARE NOT TRYING WHILE OUR BODIES ARE SWITCHED SOONYOUNG” 

soulmate soonyoung is a really cute free spirited guy that respects your body while he's in it. and he just really really loves you and always makes sure your body is in tip top shape for the next day. he's also just a cute bun that likes to mess with others but by the end of the day he just loves snuggling with you and holding you in his arms

[exoticarmy127]

Save You (Jungkook, OC) Part 3

A/N: shout out to @sleeplesswritersaito for reading the draft for this. Thank you! <3 And i hope everyone enjoys this! Thank you for reading Save You till the end (even if I made you wait long for every update).

Part 1 | 2

Olivia woke up with feeling light as a feather. She slept soundly through the whole night and if somebody saw her then, she was almost sure they would’ve seen her smiling in her sleep.

It has been a long time since she felt like this: like her heart would burst out of her chest any minute. She was relaxed and excited at the same time, unable to wipe off the silly grin on her face.

As she went down for breakfast, her father who had been nursing a cup of coffee looked up from his reading with a curious gaze; seeing Olivia humming her way through making toast.

“You seem happy.” Mr. Kim said while Olivia only smiled. 

I am happy, she thought just as a face appeared in her head.

Every day was a routine: wake up, get ready for school, ride the bus, attend classes… but today felt exceptionally different and as Olivia bounded up to the school building’s steps, she couldn’t help but notice the way her feet moved briskly through the halls, rushing towards her first class.

This was probably the most excited she has been to attend Math class. Though she knew she wasn’t rushing to study Math at all…

But to actually see her favorite classmate. 

Last night, she and Jungkook had kissed. And it wasn’t just a kiss; it was a kiss and many more kisses, and the best kiss she had ever received from someone that it had her dizzy and blushing at the mere thought of it.

Even more so, the way Jungkook smiled down at her like she was the most amazing person that has ever walked the face of the earth made her feel elated.

Olivia couldn’t help the giddiness bubbling in her chest as she approached her classroom. She paused by the doorway, made sure her dress wasn’t rumpled and fixed her hair a bit before finally entering.

The room was almost full even though there was ten minutes to go till the bell officially rang. Her eyes searched for him and as it landed on his seat, she was disappointed to see his usual slumped form missing. 

Huh. Strange, Olivia thought; knowing Jungkook usually came earlier than she did. She sat down on her seat which was near the front row and waited, eyes staring almost longingly at the door.

A few minutes later, he entered.

But it was a man she had never seen before who eventually introduced him as a substitute for Mrs. Chan since she was on a sick leave for the day.

He gave a short exercise and let the students do whatever they want right after. And it was horrible considering it gave Olivia so much time to sit on her chair and wonder; occasionally glancing back at the empty seat at the back of the room.

~~~

Olivia didn’t see Jungkook that day. Or the day after that, up until the weekend passed and Monday rolled in again and he still wasn’t there. By Tuesday morning, she was feeling restless, not to mention worried of his absence that she finally made up her mind to contact him. 

The only problem was she didn’t have his number.

But the school probably does, she thought and made her way to the records office.

A distinct lemon scent filled her nose as she entered the small office. On her way there, she contemplated on how to ask for Jungkook’s contact information; debating whether it was a good idea or not especially since he seemed like a very private guy.

He might hate me for getting his number this way, she thought but figured it was better than having to feel troubled for not having at least an inkling on what’s happened to him. 

As she approached the secretary’s desk, Olivia already made up her excuse as to why she needed the information: which was to give Jungkook some notes that he missed and to ask for help on a project they were partnering in. The secretary bought it instantly and agreed. Unfortunately, she didn’t have Jungkook’s contact number either.

“I only have his brother’s, sweetie. He’s the legal guardian; though I know that Jeon kid lives alone.”

“Oh…” Olivia visibly deflated, chewing on her bottom lip as she heard her only option slipping away. A split second later, a light bulb sparked in her head as she recalled one tiny detail:

I know that Jeon kid lives alone. The secretary’s voice echoed in her consciousness and before Olivia could stop herself she was already asking,

“His address, maybe?”

~~~

Olivia stared up at the run-down building in front of her, then looked back down at the small paper in her hand to check whether she was at the right place or not. After confirming the building number and street name, she knew she was at the right place.

She gripped the paper bag in her hand where a few pieces of Danish bread and chocolate cookies lay inside. She recalled Jungkook mentioned how much he liked them when she brought some for herself during their tutoring sessions.

The complex was only a bus ride away and a few minutes’ walk from the station. The neighbourhood was quiet and very different from the suburban one she lived in. As she walked to the door, Olivia almost bumped into a really tall guy with dyed blonde hair and curious eyes.

“Who are you?” He asked quite directly and Olivia felt herself shrinking back from his probing gaze.

“Uh… Olivia. I…I’m looking for Jungkook?”

His expression turned slightly surprised before asking, “Jungkook? Jeon Jungkook?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you his friend?” 

“Yeah.” She answered again then bit her lip, thinking whether it was right to even call him a friend when they already kissed.

The guy raised an eyebrow, looking even more surprised yet contemplative at the same time. It’s almost like he couldn’t believe she had said yes, and it made Olivia wonder just how lonely Jungkook must be to have his neighbour this surprised at the fact that he had a guest. 

“Um. He’s up on the second floor, last door to your left.”

Olivia was relieved she was at the right place and gave him a smile. “Thank you, sir.”

“Just call me Namjoon.” The guy said as he gave her a half wave before moving out of the complex. Olivia entered and climbed up to the second floor, easily spotting Jungkook’s apartment. Once at his door, she tucked a hair strand behind her ear and knocked.

She heard a shuffle and the sound of locks clicking before the door finally swung open, revealing Jungkook in a white shirt and gray sweatpants.

He didn’t looks sick as what Olivia presumed and it annoyed her a little considering he looked okay enough to head to school. At the thought, she immediately felt ashamed and scolded herself; thinking she didn’t have the right to judge him and that Jungkook probably had some other things to take care of that’s why he’s been missing school.

“Liv?” He asked and the nickname made her heart race. 

Or was it the sound of his voice? She thought as Jungkook met her eyes. He looked surprised. 

“What are you doing here? How did you—“

“I’m sorry. I asked the office for your number and they didn’t have it and…well, they knew where you lived so I thought to visit cause you’ve been out for days and I—“ I got worried, she wanted to say as she approached the end of her blabber. “I just…” She shrugged. “I just wanted to see what’s up.”

Jungkook merely stared at her with his infamous blank expression as she spoke and Olivia felt a chill run down her spine when she saw how he didn’t smile at her once.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” Jungkook finally said and Olivia felt like she had just been slapped. “Why would you ask the school for personal information? And why the hell did they even give it to you?!”

Olivia was stunned at his tone: pissed yet his face was calm. But there was anger reflected upon his dark orbs. There was no warmth, no kindness, and the current situation she was in was breaking her slowly on the inside.

It was almost like meeting Jungkook on the first day all over again. Only worse.

“I—I’m sorry I just… you were out for days, Jungkook. I got worried—“

“Go home, Olivia.” Jungkook said and his harsh tone knocked the breath out of her. “Just go, and don’t come back.”

Without another word, Jungkook stepped back inside and shut the door on her face. Olivia gasped out as she heard the locks being clicked back into place and the sound of footsteps weakening as he moved away from the door.

Olivia wanted to scream at him for being so rude and for shutting her out like that, but she couldn’t seem to breathe at how tight her chest felt. Her hands shook slightly, causing the bag to fall to the ground with a thud.

Go home, Olivia. Just go and don’t come back.

Jungkook’s words resonated in her thoughts and she felt a tear finally slide down her cheek. Before she knew it, she was already running.

~~~

Olivia wiped her cheek harshly as she made her way downstairs, not wanting to cry even if every fibre of her being hurts from Jungkook’s rejection. She could remember his eyes: how unkind they were—how angry he was and she wasn’t even sure what she did wrong when she only came to check up on him.

Because she was worried…

Because she cared about him.

“Hey.”

Olivia jumped slightly at the call, causing another tear to escape from her eye. She wiped it off immediately before facing the source.

The blonde guy—Namjoon—stood to her right, hand on his door knob and already halfway into his unit. He was looking at her with a gaze Olivia translated as concerned and she smiled to cover up the fact that she was dying on the inside.

“Oh, hey.”

Namjoon remained silent, contemplating his words. “Did you…see Jungkook?” He asked almost cautiously.

Olivia opened her mouth and felt herself about to break. She knew she had to make this quick. “Y—yeah. I did. And I’m just… gonna go.” Another tear slipped and she cursed herself for being so weak.

“It was nice meeting you, Namjoon—ssi. And thanks for the help.” She added in a rush, all the while avoiding eye contact before practically running out of the building; leaving Namjoon staring at her form till it disappeared to the next street.

~~~

Sh*t.

Jungkook cursed himself over and over again as he laid on his bed, burying his hands in his hair in frustration.

He didn’t expect her to come at all and figured he had underestimated her. He wasn’t mad at her for visiting. In fact, the moment he opened the door and saw her, Jungkook was beyond joyful and wanted nothing more but to pull her in and kiss her face silly. 

He missed her so much. 

But then it appeared. And Jungkook was catapulted back to reality so hard, he felt the ground shaking beneath his feet.

Jungkook saw the numbers hovering over her head and felt his throat close up; his heart breaking for the millionth time. He didn’t come to school for that very reason, unsure if he could face Olivia with those numbers staring him down.

If someone knew about his ability, they would’ve said he was being pathetic and a complete ass to a girl whose main reason for visiting was to check on his well-being.

So you know the numbers? So what? Olivia’s young, surely she has a long way to go…

Jungkook swallowed hard and pressed the base of his palms over his eyes, feeling his heart ache so much he was having difficulty to breathe. 

Pathetic? Maybe. Except Olivia didn’t have years to live; not even a year or months...

She had days.

27 days, Jungkook thought sadly and angrily at the same time; the number like a rope tied around his neck, threatening to choke him to death.

Olivia would be gone in twenty-seven days and Jungkook didn’t know what to do. He had lost a lot of sleep because of it, unable to swallow the truth that Olivia was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

Knock knock.

Jungkook looked up, face scrunching in confusion considering he never got many—any— visitors. And with how he had acted a while ago, he was dead sure it wouldn’t be Olivia.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Namjoon, his neighbour from downstairs, looking at him with a gaze he translated as disapproving.  Jungkook swallowed slightly as the numbers appeared on his head, seeing the many years he had yet to live. 

Somehow he wished it was Olivia’s instead. 

“Can I help you?” Jungkook asked.

“Your friend.” Namjoon said and Jungkook perked up, not expecting the statement. “The girl… Why did she cry?”

Cry? Jungkook bit the insides of his cheek and clenched his jaw till he could taste rust on his tongue. He hated himself for making her cry. He absolutely hated himself.

“It’s none of your business.” He spat and Namjoon held up his hands.

“You’re right, it’s not.” Namjoon said and Jungkook felt even more upset with himself. “I was just asking how you could practically push everyone away—even the one’s making an effort to get close to you—and be a complete dick while at it. You couldn’t have just rejected her nicely?”

“You don’t know anything.” Jungkook said, voice cracking slightly as he clenched his fist.

“You’re right. I don’t. I don’t know what’s going on with you two or what your problem is. Heck no one probably knows anything about you. But I’ve been living here long enough to do know how you’re practically an expert at avoiding everyone and keeping to yourself. Maybe you like it, okay.” He raised his hands in surrender before looking at him sternly. “Fine by me, but can you be alone without hurting anybody?”

Jungkook was surprised by Namjoon’s outburst, his words ringing in his ears it was almost deafening.

“Why do you care?” Jungkook snapped at an attempt to hold himself together. Namjoon’s words held so much truth he felt himself sinking into the chasm of his own demise. “Do you even know her?”

“No. But she was nice and she even brought you something.” Namjoon shrugged. “I just thought I’m doing her a favor by beating the crap out of you for making her cry.”

“You’re going to beat me up?” Jungkook asked, not at all scared. In fact, he wished he would. He deserved it.

“I meant that figuratively; like beating you up with words till you feel guilty about what you did.” He said before pointing to the floor. Jungkook followed his gaze and found a brown paper bag at his feet. He crouched down to get it and when he looked inside, he felt like he’s been punched in the gut. 

She remembered, he thought as he saw the neatly packed cookies and bread inside.

“She seemed like a really nice girl.” Namjoon said.

She is.

“Why’d you ask her to leave?”

“Because…” Because I can’t take seeing her and knowing she’d be gone in a few days. I don’t want to watch her numbers trickle down to 0—to watch her die before my very eyes…

Because I love her and that would kill me. 

“Because she’s the one leaving,” Jungkook said instead. “And I won’t ever see her again, so why bother?”

Namjoon looked at him and sighed. “She’s switching schools?”

“You could say that.” Jungkook answered. He couldn’t exactly tell Namjoon that he knew Olivia was going to die in a matter of days.

“Well you’re an idiot. If she’s leaving, then shouldn’t you be spending your time with her and making the most out of it?”

Jungkook snorted, “Since when did you become a love expert?”

“I’m not. It’s a general truth, dumbass.” Namjoon rolled his eyes. “Look, you don’t push someone away when they’re already leaving…”

“Yeah? What do you do?”

“You ask them to stay.”

Jungkook paused at his words and felt his heart break once more. Namjoon sighed and told him to get himself together before finally turning away; leaving Jungkook alone in the hallway with the cold hard truth.

If only I could, he thought. 

If only I could.

~~~

When Jungkook returned to school, Olivia felt like a new student again.

The boy who once smiled at her whenever she passed by the hall no longer met her eyes and kept his head down and stared at his feet as he walked. They ignored each other in class, went to the library at times when they knew the other wouldn’t be there. They avoided each other like the plague and little did they know it was tearing them both apart on the inside… that the hurting was never one-sided.

Olivia was on her way out of the campus one day when she saw Jungkook heading out of the building. He was wearing his usual black ensemble and Olivia felt her heart ache at how mundane it was—how normal he looked when she could barely keep herself together these past few days. She felt the urge to approach him, wanting to demand answers as to why everything changed so suddenly. She wanted to ask what she did wrong and how she could make it right.

She was so lost in thought that she hadn’t seen the incoming motorcycle rushing towards her.

“Hey! Move!” 

There was a roaring sounded and when Olivia turned, she saw the bike heading towards her fast. Her body was paralyzed from shock and she would’ve been hit if it weren’t for the strong grip on her arm pulling her off the side of the road right as the bike zipped fast. 

“What on earth are you doing?!” 

Olivia looked up and was met by startled brown eyes. Jungkook held her close, looking down at her angrily.

“I—“

“Are you out of your mind?! Don’t you know that you shouldn’t be standing on the edge of the street like that?! You almost got hit! You’re lucky it wasn’t even a car!” Jungkook was angry, with eyes ablaze as he scolded her.

Olivia opened her mouth to protest but was too shocked by his anger. “I’m sorry! I—”

“Could you watch where you’re going?!” He snapped and that’s when Olivia finally grasped the situation; her anger suddenly seeping out from the place where she had bottled it up for so long.

“Let me go.” She sneered a she pulled her arm free from his grip harshly. “I didn’t need your help.”

Jungkook scoffed and Olivia wanted to punch his face for it. Some students were giving them weird glances and Olivia thought she should move before they make a scene. She turned away before he could say another word.

Olivia was well aware that Jungkook was following her as she walked towards the bus station and she willed herself not to look back until then. The afternoon was beginning to darken with the skies turning from an orange-pink to a deep blue. As she arrived, she stopped and observed that the place was empty. She took a deep breath to compose herself, feeling her anger turn into the sadness that has kept her up late at night. She was glad that there was no other person in sight because now she could—

Strong arms suddenly wrapped around her and the words died on her lips as she felt herself being pulled back onto someone’s chest. Warmth spread through her body at the contact and Olivia felt Jungkook’s heart beating rapidly against her back.

“You got me so worried.” Jungkook whispered as he held her tighter to him. “I thought—“ he paused, and it sounded strained, like he was trying to keep his voice from shaking. “I got so scared, Liv.”

Olivia understood he was talking about the incident a while ago but she was confused as to why he was reacting this way. Jungkook was slightly shaking and Olivia was clueless as to why he was making a big deal out of it.

He did tell her to go away, after all.

They stayed like that for a while not speaking. And Olivia let Jungkook hold her close even though she wanted to push him away and scream at him for avoiding her all this time. For breaking her heart and for making her believe he didn’t care about her.

But right there in his arms, she couldn’t seem to do so. 

“Why did you go?” She asked and her voice cracked, causing Jungkook to hold on tighter. “What happened to us?”

There was a pause before he answered, “I didn’t want to. I never wanted this to happen, Liv.”

“Then why—?”

“I can’t tell you.” He said sadly. “I’m sorry for everything… But this is the best for the both of us.”

Olivia closed her eyes painfully before stepping out of his embrace to face him. What she saw was unexpected as she had never seen Jungkook so sad and broken.

“The best for the both of us?” She echoed as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Jungkook looked away, unable to take the sight. “What do you know about what’s best for me?”

“Liv—“

“No. You don’t get to talk right now.” She said defiantly, though her eyes were already shaking with tears and her voice lacked determination. “You kiss me today then the next you avoid me? I came to check on you and you told me to leave and never come back. You just… cut me off without an explanation and you think that’s best for me?!”

“Liv,” Jungkook called out her name like a plead. “Please. I swear, I never meant—“

“What’s best for me would’ve been a simple straight answer, Jungkook!” She yelled at him, cutting him off harshly which made him wince. “It would’ve been best for me if you just told me you didn’t want me. That you didn’t want to be my friend anymore or that you hated me—“

“No… I don’t hate you, Liv. No,” he shook his head as he stepped closer. “That’s not it!”

“Then what is it, Jungkook?!” 

“I’m scared I’d lose you!” He yelled right back and the both of them were stunned at his outburst. Jungkook huffed and turned from her, running a hand over his face. Olivia stared, watching the tense muscles of his back against his shirt.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered after a moment, sounding pained. “I just… I’m sorry I can’t do anything right.”

Olivia’s heart broke at his words and before she knew it, she was already stepping forward, moving to the side and turning to face him.

Jungkook had his head down and was sniffing. She reached out and cupped his cheek, making him look her in the eye. His lashes were stained with tears and she rubbed her thumb across his cheekbone gently, comforting him.

“You don’t have to be so scared. I—I won’t leave you unless you want me to.”

Before Jungkook could reply, Olivia took one step closer and hugged him. Jungkook was stiff, but eventually returned her embrace; his arms wrapping around her small frame.

Jungkook closed his eyes painfully shut, thinking how wrong she was. She could never stop herself from leaving. In a few days, her numbers would decrease until there’s only 0 left and she would be gone just like that.

But for that moment, Jungkook let himself dream that she could and hugged her fiercely, like he was afraid that if he didn’t hold her tightly enough she’d disappear.

I love you, he thought. And though he knew she would eventually leave him, for that single moment in each other’s arms, he took Namjoon’s advice and asked her to stay. 

~~~

Headlights.

Flash!

Panicked eyes.

Flash!

“Liv, no!!!”

~~~

Olivia’s dreams were getting more vivid by the day.

It was the same old scene and yet different; unknown but becoming familiar.

Olivia woke up one night with the remnants of her dream still fresh in her consciousness and if she had any talent in art, she swore she could’ve drawn it onto paper.

Her heart raced as she replayed the scenes in her head and for some reason, she couldn’t quite seem to forget it.

“Are you okay?”

Olivia looked up from her notebook and saw Jungkook giving her a concerned look. Ever since their talk at the station a few nights ago, they stopped avoiding each other. Although, Olivia could still feel him being distant at times—how Jungkook would have that faraway look in his eyes or how she would often catch him staring at her longingly like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“I’m fine… just thought of something.”

“Did you finally realize how incredibly good-looking I am?” Jungkook joked and it was so unlike him that Olivia’s reaction was delayed; the smile slowly creeping to her lips.

“Ha. You wish.” 

Jungkook smiled at her softly before reaching out to poke her hand on the table. Olivia looked down just as he opened his palm face up; an invitation to hold it. She sighed and let her hand rest on his, his hand’s warmth instantly comforting.

“You look tired.” Jungkook said as he drew slow circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I feel tired.”

“Are you sick?” Jungkook asked and a slight panic flashed over his doe-shaped eyes. Olivai noticed how he was doing that a lot lately: worrying too much and watching her like a hawk every time she did something as mundane as coughing.

“No. I just… Have I mentioned my dreams to you before?” Jungkook shook his head, his face a mask of worry mixed with curiosity. “Well I’ve had this dream for a while now and it’s been keeping me up night.”

Jungkook blinked, unsure what to say about that. He continued rubbing circles on her hand which seemed to put Olivia at ease. “Um... maybe you’re stressed out over something?”

“Hmm. Probably. Exams are coming, after all.”

“Don’t think about it too much. You’ll be fine.” He said and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and settling back into the comfortable silence.

Olivia glanced up after a while, watching Jungkook immersed in his own studies. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, unable to shake off that unnerving feeling.

She wanted to tell him.

She wanted to tell him that the boy in her dreams… was Jungkook.

~~~

Jungkook was eighteen when he decided he wasn’t going to let his cursed ability get the best of him.

He had long given up on avoiding her, on pushing Olivia away knowing now that no matter what he does, he’s just going to keep coming back, unable to resist. Simply because that’s just how it is when you love someone…

You want to be with them. You stay with them. 

It was painful (and stressful) to see Olivia every day with her dwindling numbers. He frowned every time they appeared but then she would smile up at him and somehow that seemed to wipe away his sadness momentarily.

At least we have now, Jungkook always thought and did whatever he could to make Olivia happy in her remaining days. He spent more time with her, took her out on a date even if he hated going out in public places. He would do anything to make the most out of their time.

Their days together may be numbered, but Jungkook knew they were days that would stretch on till the end of his lifetime. He wouldn’t be able to forget the color of her eyes, the sound of her voice, or how her lips felt against his when they kissed. It would be a permanent stain on his heart, and he feared he might not ever get over it.

And survive, he thought and wondered if death would eventually be an option for him too. It wasn’t the first time he thought of ending everything. He hated what he could do and wanted nothing more but to stop seeing the wretched numbers over people’s heads. He just wanted to live without being able to anticipate the end of everyone around him.

But another side of him, rebelled. The more time Jungkook spent with Olivia, the more he wondered about the possibilities of saving her. He knew death was inevitable but what if it could be altered just a little bit?

What if he kept Olivia in his apartment to keep her safe? Would death still find a way to take her? If he held onto her and never let go, would she suddenly just stop breathing when the time came?

Jungkook wanted to believe that those scenarios could be unlikely and so he began to be more protective of her. He walked Olivia to school, never letting her cross the streets alone and kept tabs on her health, making sure she was eating well and not catching any colds. 

Olivia simply brushed it off as Jungkook being the caring and protective boyfriend; not knowing that he was already bargaining with her awful fate.

Jungkook was eighteen when he fell in love and for the first time, he wanted to fight back.

He was eighteen when he decided Olivia was worth fighting for and that he’ll do anything to save her.

~~~

Rain. 

Rain poured as Olivia made her way through the streets; her shoes slapping against the wet pavement. She wasn’t sure what she was running from…only that she was running towards something. 

Her eyes were wild as it surveyed her surroundings, heart beating fast as the rain poured harder; drenching her clothes and shrouding her eyes with water.

Olivia huffed as she wiped the water from her eyes, her feet continuing to trudge through the wet concrete without any plans of stopping.

Turning the corner of a street, she stopped as she arrived at an intersection. Her eyes squinted as she looked over to the other side.

Olivia stopped when she saw him.

He was looking around wildly just like she was, and she wanted to scream and call out to him as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

Jungkook was wearing the same black jacket and a red backpack she had never seen him use before and yet there it was, hanging by his right shoulder.

Just like…

Jungkook took one step forward and time seemed to stop. Olivia's head snapped to her left and she saw headlights glowing brighter and brighter, signifying the approach of an incoming—fast—vehicle. 

"Jungkook!"

Without thinking, Olivia was already moving forward and running towards him. 

The dream. It's happening. 

Headlights flashed.

Their eyes met in a split second and she saw panic in his eyes just as they were drenched in bright light. 

“LIV, NO!!!" 

Beep!!!

~~~

Olivia woke up in sweat; breathing shallow and eyes looking around wildly for something—someone whom she knew wouldn’t be there.

She felt like crying and didn’t even wait for her breathing to go back to normal before reaching out for her phone with shaking hands and dialling his number.

 Ring.... ring... ring...

"H—hello?"

"Jungkook?"

~~~

Jungkook groaned as his ringtone pierced through the quietness of his room. He peered over his bedside table and saw his alarm clock blinking 3:30 AM.

He groaned again and cursed under his breath as his phone continued to ring, practically shaking him awake.  He reached for his phone on the table and pressed the answer button to silence the ringing that was screaming in his ears.

"H—hello?" He asked groggily.

"Jungkook?"

In an instant, Jungkook was wide awake the moment he recognized the voice. He sat up and clicked open his night lamp.  He felt dizzy as he did but it was overwhelmed by the worry filling his bones at the way Olivia sounded over the phone.

"Liv? Hey, you okay?"

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "Did I wake you?"

"No no, it's fine. Are you crying?" He asked worriedly as he rubbed his eyes. "What's going on—?"

"I... I had a bad dream." She said. "And I just wanted to hear your voice."

Jungkook sighed in relief, glad to know it wasn’t anything serious. "It's okay. You're okay. I'm here now." He cooed over the line, trying to calm her down.

Olivia relaxed at that; hanging onto his words tightly like if she didn't, she'd break. 

"I'm going to come see you, okay?" She suddenly and Jungkook heard shuffling from the other end followed by a door closing.

He snapped up at her words echoing in his stilly groggy system. His heart raced once again when the words finally made sense.

"What? Now?"

"Yes, now. I'll see you in a few."

"Wait, Olivia—“

"Love you."

Jungkook's heart skipped a beat at her words, leaving him immobile and a little breathless for a second. Olivia had hung up before he could reply and he was left with dead air and panic creeping into his system.

Yes now. I'll see you in a few.

In a second, Jungkook was looking down at his phone and opening his calendar. He had marked "the day", and as he looked down at the date, he couldn't quite believe the horror the stared right back at him. 

"Sh*t." He cursed before throwing off his covers, shrugging his jacket on in a rush, and grabbing his backpack before bolting out the door. 

~~~

Olivia ran.

She felt her feet moving as if it had a mind of its own. The streets were empty apart from a few cars passing through the roads. She had caught the bus that brought her to the area where Jungkook lived, but it would take her a few minutes’ walk to get to his building.

She knew she was being a little reckless to be going out to see him at this hour but she couldn’t quite help herself. She needed to see with her own eyes that Jungkook was okay. That it was just a silly nightmare.

She was halfway through her destination when something cold touched her skin, halting her in place. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion before looking up and seeing the dark starless skies. She gulped as she let her right arm out slowly, palm facing upward.

One.

Two.

Three.

Raindrops fell against her palm, wetting her skin and Olivia stared down at it in horror as her dream resurfaced in her thoughts.  

Rain.

Olivia ran as the rain poured harder; her shoes slapping against the wet pavement. Her eyes were wild as it surveyed her surroundings, trying to make sense of where she was at the moment. Her heart was beating wildly against her chest as the rain poured, drenching her clothes and hair.

Olivia huffed as she wiped the water from her eyes, her feet trudging through wet concrete without any plans of stopping.

Turning the corner of a street, she stopped as she arrived at an intersection. And Olivia has never been so terrified in her life for right in front of her was a too familiar scene; one she had seen in her sleep too many times she had lost count.

No, she thought just as a familiar form appeared on the other side.

~~~

Jungkook ran.

He couldn't believe he let this happen. He wasn't sure how it had slipped from his mind….how he had forgotten.

It’s today.

The day was today.

It was almost like magic the way time slipped from his consciousness, escaping his thoughts. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he ran towards the station, not caring that he was getting soaked. He needed to see Olivia right away and hoped he’d meet her halfway.

Hoped that she was okay.

He reached the intersection and stopped, seeing the green traffic light was on. A few cars passed and Jungkook was getting impatient. He couldn't wait. He needed to get to her now.

Waiting for the road to clear and seeing that there were no more incoming cars, Jungkook took a step forward and began to cross.

"Jungkook!"

He looked up at the familiar voice and felt his heart stop the moment his gaze settled upon the source, which was standing on the opposite side of the street. He was relieved to see her but the numbers—the number, rather hovering over her head twisted his heart into knots and he couldn't quite breathe at the sight.

1

Beep!!!

Out of nowhere, headlights beamed at his side and Jungkook squinted his eyes towards it; panic slowly rising to his chest.

"Jungkook!"

He looked back at Olivia and felt the surge of panic heighten when he saw her already coming towards him.

"LIV, NO!!!"

Beep!!!

Time seemed to be suspended as Jungkook moved his legs, sprinting towards Olivia. Headlights shone brighter and hotter as the vehicle approached and Jungkook saw her falter for a split second when she suddenly looked to her left—struck by the speeding truck coming towards them.

But Jungkook kept going; kept his eyes on Olivia, unstopping till he reached her.

Gasp.

Jungkook barrelled into her hard as he pushed her off the road, sending the both of them skidding across the hard concrete like rag dolls. He felt a sharp pain on his back and Olivia winced at the impact of their fall.

The truck passed in a blur and they were left in the empty street, scratched and bleeding on the ground.

Olivia opened her eyes and found herself on top of Jungkook, his chest heaving.

"Jungkook?" She asked shakily, eyes widening when she saw the blood dripping from the side of his head. "Jungkook!” She exclaimed when she saw his state, wincing as she lifted herself up slightly and cupped his cheek. "Hey… Can you hear me?"

Jungkook's eyes were closed but he was conscious. When he finally opened them, his breathing slowed; relaxing upon the sight of Olivia hovering over him.

"Liv?"

"It's me." She gasped, feeling tears prick her eyes as she pushed his hair back. The rain has stopped but the both of them were soaking wet.  "Oh my god, you're bleeding! I need to call—"

"You're…okay?" He managed to say when he caught a glimpse of the number 0 over her head before it faded and disappeared. Jungkook held her arm, making sure she was real.

“You’re okay.” He repeated weakly and Olivia was confused at the small smile he gave her. But before she could answer, Jungkook’s grip loosened and he passed out.

~~~

Jungkook was eighteen when he stopped seeing the numbers.

He wasn't sure how it happened but the morning he woke up at the hospital, he could no longer see them. He knew because when he accidentally locked eyes with one of the nurses, there were no numbers hovering over her head. Even the doctor who came to see him and explained that he suffered from a concussion didn't have numbers. Jungkook kept glancing over the man's head as he explained his condition, waiting for it to appear. But it never came, even after the doctor told him that he should be okay and ready to be discharged after they run a couple more tests.

But more importantly, when Olivia came into the room with eyes wet with tears, he couldn't see her numbers either. And Jungkook eyes glazed with tears the moment he felt her in his arms—alive and well.

"You're okay." He gasped out, not quite believing that she was here when the last time he had seen her, the number one was hovering over her head, indicating her near death.

"You idiot. You're the one in a hospital bed!" Olivia half scolded which Jungkook laughed at, considering she was sobbing while at it.

"You're okay." He said again as he kissed the side of her head tenderly and Olivia hugged him tighter.

"I wouldn't be if it weren't for you." She said as she let go and looked him in the eyes. Jungkook cupped her cheek, running his thumb across the soft skin and felt a peace he had never felt before in his entire existence. "You saved me Jungkook. You saved me."

Jungkook gave her a soft smile in reply and leaned it to give her a kiss; one which Olivia gladly reciprocated.

~~~

Jungkook was eighteen when he started to live.

The numbers never came back to haunt him again and though its sudden disappearance was as mysterious as how he had started seeing them in the first place, Jungkook took it as a blessing and was glad to have been freed from it.

Now, Jungkook spent his new life under the sun without having to hide… without having to fear looking at other people and feeling burdened when the numbers appear.

Olivia played a huge role in turning his life around, for it was love that made him choose. It was love that made him realize he could choose his own fate—even save someone from their fate.

But what of Olivia’s dreams? Where did it come from? Jungkook’s ability to see the numbers… How did it happen?

The answer is: I don’t know. I only write what I see and what I’ve heard.

There is a lesson to this story: we were born into this world the way we are but the way we live, the people we meet, the chances we encounter changes and shapes us into the persons we are today.

We cannot simply walk through life aimlessly, letting the wind take us where it blows. You hold the sails to your own ship, choose where you want to go.

But remember: life will always have its drawbacks, and it will throw you off course. And sometimes, you have no choice but to fall.

Jungkook was thirty-eight when the biggest drawback manifested in his life.

He saved Olivia from her fate but…

Who saved them?

Epilogue – 20 years later

“Honey, are you okay?”

Jungkook looked to his right and saw his wife, Olivia, giving him a concerned gaze. They were driving by the expressway on their way to their favourite restaurant in Yeongdong; a promise Jungkook had made to take his wife on a well-deserved date.

The only downside was how he had been feeing jittery all morning without really knowing why; not to mention a little tired from all the work the previous week. He sighed and reached out for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

“I’m fine, babe.” He answered just as he stepped on the break, seeing the slight traffic ahead.

“You sure?" She frowned and Jungkook raised her hand to his lips for a kiss. "We can go home—“

“No. I promised I’d take you out today.” He smiled at her gently. “We haven’t had much time together with work… and the kids…”

"Come on, we sleep in the same bed every night."

"We pass out the moment we lie down!" He said, making her giggle. "Not exactly bonding, Liv."

"Are you saying we should be doing more than just sleeping in our bed?"

Jungkook glanced at her with a smirk, wiggling his eyes suggestively. "That's exactly what I'm saying."

Olivia rolled her eyes and reached out to touch his ear, twiddling it slightly. Jungkook smiled at the contact. “I know how tired you are from work." She said and Jungkook sighed, relaxing as she moved her hands to massage his nape. "We can always hang out at home. I don’t mind, Jungkook.”

Jungkook sighed and smiled at her, appreciating her understanding then leant over the console to give her a sweet kiss.

“I love you.” He said and Olivia wondered how in the many years they’ve been together--almost twelve years as husband and wife, those three words coming out of his lips never failed to make her heart race.

“I love you too.”

And those were the last words they ever said to each other before glass shards flew everywhere… and everything fell apart.

HEADLINE: Shocking crash in Yeongdong, South Korea Bus Accident  

18 July 2016

END

I’m sorry. But you guys should’ve seen it coming.

Scream at me.

- Kaye Allen

[andinewton]

Born To Be King - Avengers Redemption Series - Part Three - Chapter 22

Characters: Loki, Sigyn;  pretty much everyone from the MCU appears at some point!

Pairings: Loki x Sigyn; Bucky x Amelia

Warnings: Smut, canon typical violence, swearing

Word Count: 60k + (complete with ongoing epilogues)

Summary:

He never wanted the throne…

Loki’s life seems to be charmed of late. His dead wife has been reborn and has married him once more, they have beautiful twin boys, and they are working and living with The Avengers. The only blot on his otherwise perfect landscape is the constant friction Odin seems to be able to cause with one simple request delivered by Thor. Odin wishes to meet the twins but will not cancel Loki’s banishment, allowing him to travel to Asgard with his wife and children. Loki finally caves but has a sense of foreboding about the trip which proves to be all too true…Join Loki, Sigyn and the team as they fight to find one another against all odds and protect their sons from those who would have them as their kings.

Master List

Chapter 22

Summary:  Bucky is taking his Sigyn watching duty seriously, and the two of them get the chance to talk and make a deal.

Bucky greeted Amelia with an enormous hug, lifting her feet off the ground before kissing her soundly.  Sigyn went straight to where the boys were asleep in their stroller, it being the easiest thing to transport for them to sleep in, and sighed in relief.  It was good to see them both safe and well, and completely unaware of all the drama that had been happening.  Darcy came up and put her arm around Sigyn’s shoulders.

‘Guess who’s fever broke?’

‘Finally.’  She smiled at her friend.  ‘Thank you, all of you, for watching over them for us.’

‘No problem.  Is everything good outside?  Frost Giants didn’t do anything to you?’

‘Everything is under control, but it’s a long story, and I need to get word to Asgard, to warn them there’s a rogue sorceress on the loose.’

‘A rogue sorceress?  That doesn’t sound good.’  Jane said.

‘Really isn’t.’

‘No, she nearly killed you.’  Bucky reminded her.

‘Whoa, you nearly died?’  Darcy said as Sigyn backed away from the stroller, not wanting to wake them.

‘Just a bit.  Bucky and Strange saved me.’  She smiled gratefully.

‘You hero.’  Amelia went up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

‘Learnt from you, doll.’  He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her to him.

‘So, will you watch the boys again while I make a quick trip to Asgard?’  Sigyn looked to the girls but Bucky frowned.

‘You said you had to get word to Asgard, not go there.  Last time that happened it didn’t end well, remember?’

‘I know, but I have to warn Odin of Amora’s crimes.  There might be something he can do.’

‘Get Sif or one of the warrior bros to pop down here.’  Darcy suggested.

‘Not a bad idea.’  She nodded.  ‘In which case can you watch the boys while I run upstairs and do that instead?’

‘You owe me a t-shirt saying; Super Aunt.’  Darcy smirked.

‘Deal.’

Bucky accompanied Sigyn, taking his job of escorting her seriously as she had been swiped once in the last twenty-four hours and he didn’t plan on letting it happen again.  One quick exchange with Heimdall later and they were sitting in the common room waiting for whoever Odin would send for an update.

‘You don’t have to wait with me, Bucky, it’s okay.’  Sigyn was sitting in one of the overly large circular armchairs that could easily seat three, her legs drawn up, boots on the floor beside her as she rubbed her socked feet together, grateful it was so warm in the evening as she still couldn’t shift the feeling of being cold.  Which was why she was also hugging a coffee.  She was hungry too, it had been hours since breakfast and she hadn’t had anything at all, but first, coffee.  Then maybe some cookies.

‘I don’t mind.  I promised the team I’d watch you, that’s what I’m doing.’  He stirred his own mug before picking it up and taking a sip.

‘You could be off with your wife doing family things.’  She reminded him and he laughed.

‘She’s liable to ignore me.  And she’s burying herself with Jane and Bruce in this data, I should think Stark will join them soon too.  I’ll be lucky to see her before dawn.’

Sigyn chuckled into her mug.  ‘I know what you mean.  Sometimes I lose Mischief to Tony until all hours.  Between the pair of them they strip engines, argue, put the world to rights.’

‘Yeah, but as much as Stark would hate to admit it, he likes Loki.’

‘Sass levels are pretty even between them.’  She agreed.  ‘And Loki is a whore for knowledge, always has been.  Where Loki would study something, research and learn, Thor would be happy just to hit it.’

Bucky thought for a moment, considering the stories he had heard about her reincarnation, marrying Loki twice, and he realised they both had two sets of memories, for him it was actually three, but perhaps she understood at least in part, what he was living with.  ‘Do you ever confuse the two?’  He asked tentatively.  ‘Lives, I mean.’

She swallowed the coffee she had just sipped.  ‘Sometimes, not in a big way, because the settings are so different.  Every now and then though, like at family gatherings for the holidays, with Maia’s family that is, I’ll start reminiscing a story from my childhood and realise my cousins have no idea what I’m talking about while Loki is killing himself laughing as he remembers it from when we were kids, or vice versa.  Or I’ll wake up from a dream and it’s like Loki is too old, my hair’s the wrong colour, I’m shorter than I remember.  I’ve fallen out of bed a few times because I’ve misjudged my own gait or how far it is to the floor.  Then there was the whole issue when my strength and constitution went back to that of an Asgardian.  I was ripping doors off and breaking things for days.’

‘Sounds confusing.’  He pulled a face.

‘It can be, but not as much as when I first found out.  Charles Xavier, he has helped me through a lot of things over the years, and being able to have him check my head and clarify the two really helped.’  She shuffled forward in the chair and put the mug on a coaster on the table before leaning her arms on her knees and giving him a sincere look.  ‘Do you have similar problems?  You don’t have to answer, but I kind of feel like you led me into this conversation for a reason.’

‘Maybe a little.’  He admitted.  ‘I feel like I’m partitioned into three; before The Winter Soldier, during, and after, now.  Some days it feels like yesterday I was in Brooklyn with this skinny punk who couldn’t stay out of trouble, then I remember how long ago it was.’

‘That’s weird, right?’  She smiled.  ‘Some of my memories happened over a thousand years ago but they’re as clear as what I had for dinner last night.  It’s like it’s not real, like time doesn’t work right for me.’

‘Exactly.’  Bucky managed a smile of his own.  ‘My brain just can’t fathom how long ago it really is.’

‘What about the other part?  Does that feel like as long ago?’  She asked softly, not wanting to push but as he had brought the subject up she thought maybe he did actually want to talk about it.

He shook his head and looked down at his left hand.  ‘No, that almost feels like a dream, or a nightmare, really.  I knew I was the one doing…what I did, but it was like being in a cage in my own mind, watching myself do the things I did, knowing what it meant, but not being able to stop it.  It’s like he was someone else planted in me, pushing me out of the drivers seat so I was just a passenger.  I could scream all I liked but it made no difference.’

‘Must be hard.’  She all but whispered and he looked up at her.

‘It is, less than it was, but he’s still in there, like a memory himself now, thanks to Wanda and Tony’s augmentative thing, I just worry that something might trigger him, like they did when they tried to get me to extract Amelia?’  She nodded, she remembered finding them collapsed on the stairwell, Bucky unconscious, Amelia in agony on the next landing down.  ‘I don’t want to do that.  I feel like I’m finally doing some good, that I might be able to start to redeem myself for everything I did under HYDRA, but it’s like a dark cloud.  He’s like a dark cloud.’

‘Bucky,’ she started carefully, ‘I know you’re a good man, I wouldn’t let you near my boys if you weren’t, and they adore you.  You’re trying so hard, and the team know that, you’re probably one of the more moral members, if I’m honest.  Loki’s virtually a reprobate when it comes to his morals, or lack of them, not mention Stark.’  She laughed.  ‘We all have skeletons, just some of us are better at keeping them under lock and key.’

‘I guess so.’  He gave her a sideways smile, grateful for her words.  To know she thought of him as good helped, maybe more than she realised.

‘And, if you want, I can ask Charles if he’ll come work with you, see if he can offer any additional advice?  He’s an incredibly gifted psychic and he might be able to find something Wanda missed, or find some way of making it less real.’

Bucky nodded.  ‘That’d be good, if you don’t think he’d mind?’

‘He won’t mind, and if he’s busy then we can ask Jean.  She’s as good as, if not better, than Charles, in a lot of ways, but he has a lot more experience.’

‘And is he helping you with your nightmares?  The ones where you’re dying?’

She bit her lip for a second, realising he had worked it out from what happened earlier, and from what Strange had said.  ‘No.’  She sighed.  ‘I should ask him, but I haven’t.  There’s always something else I have to do, with the boys or the team, and I think I’m okay, until it happens again, and then it’s so fresh I don’t want to go over it.’

‘I’ll do you a deal.’  He leant forward and held his hand out to her.  ‘You see this Charles for your nightmares and I’ll ask him to see what he can do about The Asset?’

She leant forward, taking his hand in hers.  ‘Okay, deal.  I’ll call Charles once this is all over, but it’s up to you not to let me forget, because I will.’

‘I won’t let you.’  He smiled.  ‘We both need to take the help where it’s available, and this way we get a therapy buddy each.’

‘Is a therapy buddy a thing?’  She laughed as they let go of one another’s hands and she picked up her mug again.

‘It is now.’  He replied.

She laughed into her mug, drinking the small amount of coffee that was left, just as the balcony lit up.  Looked like they were about to get their messenger.

Chapter 23