#i swear it’s happened to me on multiple occasions

[paverics]

open tiktok and go to the page of the funniest woman you follow. she’s a lesbian, isn’t she?

[pbaz7]

CROSSING THE LINE — PART THREE ♡

paige x azzi

tw: drinking, light sexual content

word count: 8.9k

A/N: This one honestly wasn't going to be out until tomorrow but I couldn't sleep to save my life last night so here we are. Like I said earlier I'm so sorry in advance and I swear I love both of them. Leave comments and live reactions if you can 🤗

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October 2023

The month plus some since that night had passed in a blur of practices, team hangouts, and late-night conversations. Paige and Azzi had seamlessly fallen back into their rhythm of playful banter and seamlessness—or at least, that’s how it appeared to everyone else. Beneath the surface, subtle shifts lingered.

Touches between them lasted a beat too long. When Azzi brushed her hand against Paige’s back or when Paige squeezed Azzi’s shoulder, the contact sent unspoken messages between them. There were moments when their eyes caught across the locker room or at team events, each lingering just long enough for the other to notice, but not long enough to demand explanation yet.

Unknown to the rest of the team, Paige had completely stopped sleeping around. The kiss they shared still lingered in her thoughts relentlessly. She had tried to forget about it but she found herself on multiple occasions hovering over a girl who was definitely more than willing. But Paige couldn’t stop thinking about Azzi and that damn kiss. Meanwhile, Azzi was still casually dating, though her attempts were few and far between—and unsuccessful.

The two of them now strolled across campus aimlessly, heading toward a random food spot they hadn’t decided on yet. Paige had her hoodie up, hands shoved deep into her pockets, while Azzi walked close enough that their shoulders brushed with every other step they took

“I’m just saying you’re too predictable,” Azzi teased, bumping Paige with her shoulder. “I already know what you’re ordering.”

“Why fix what isn’t broken?” Paige shot back, smirking.

Azzi shook her head. “One day, you’ll surprise me and order something other than chicken tenders. I’ll frame the receipt and make it a national holiday.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Their laughter echoed between the buildings until a voice called out from behind them.

“Paige!”

Paige froze, the smile sliding off her face. She slightly recognized that voice. Turning slowly, she came face-to-face with one of her old hookups from the end of last year, a girl whose name Paige was 40% sure was Jessica—or maybe Jasmine, maybe even Jade.

“Oh no,” Paige muttered under her breath as the girl approached, a confident smirk plastered across her face.

Azzi stopped, clearly catching on to the situation. She leaned casually against the building they were walking near, arms crossed, looking amused as she prepared to watch what was about to unfold.

“Wow,” the girl said, stopping in front of them with a bright smile. “Didn’t think I’d see you again. So, what happened? You never called me back.”

Paige gave her a polite, easygoing smile. “Yeah, sorry about that. Things got a little busy.”

Azzi snorted quietly behind her, always unable to mask her reaction in these situations. Paige flicked her a sideways glance to say shut up but stayed focused on the girl in front of her.

“Busy, huh?” The girl folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. “You know, for someone who seemed so into me that night, I figured I’d at least get a text.”

Paige shrugged, her expression calm, almost apologetic. “Nothing personal. Just wasn’t looking for anything more.”

“Oh, let me guess,” the girl said. “You don’t do repeats, right? That’s your whole thing?”

Paige smiled faintly, tilting her head. “Eh, not exactly. I just don’t usually circle back.”

The girl took a step closer, her eyes fixed on Paige, a playful smirk on her lips. “Well, maybe I could be the exception,” she said, her voice dripping with intent.

Paige, unfazed, raised an eyebrow and brushed it off. “I don’t really make exceptions.”

But the girl wasn’t done. She closed the distance a little more, standing a fraction too close for comfort. “Come on, Paige. You’ve got to admit that night between us was amazing. Just one more time, and we can leave all this behind.”

Paige held her ground, giving a polite but firm smile. “I’m not really interested in repeating anything. Thanks for the offer, though.”

The girl looked a little stunned but kept going, her tone turning softer, almost coaxing. “Why not? You really that scared of having a little fun with little ole me?”

As the girl stepped closer, Paige’s gaze shifted subtly to the side, her eyes catching Azzi’s. Paige noticed Azzi’s posture—arms crossed, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, a subtle, almost protective expression on her face. Her body language made it clear that she wasn’t thrilled with the situation anymore.

Trying to put an end to this and move on with her night Paige said the first thing that came to mind and before she could stop herself she said “I have a girlfriend now.” 

The girl blinked in surprise. “You have a girlfriend?” Her tone was laced with disbelief. “Paige Bueckers has a girlfriend?”

“Yup,” Paige said, trying to sound confident.

The girl narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical. “Oh yeah? Who?”

Paige froze. She hadn’t thought this far ahead. Her eyes darted to Azzi, who was now grinning again, enjoying her discomfort. Panicking, Paige reached over, threw an arm around Azzi’s waist, and pulled her close.

“It’s her,” Paige said, nodding toward Azzi.

Azzi’s eyes widened for half a second before Paige discreetly pinched her side. Azzi recovered quickly, her lips twitching into a sly smile.

“Yup,” Azzi said, sliding her arm around Paige’s waist. “That’s me, the girlfriend.”

The girl’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Paige Bueckers dating a teammate?” She scoffed, folding her arms. “I thought you didn’t hook up with athletes. Isn’t that, like, your rule?”

Paige hesitated, scrambling for an explanation. “Yeah, well…Things happen.”

The girl’s expression didn’t change. “Happen how?”

Paige glanced at Azzi, her cheeks flushing. “Well you know one thing led to another and boom here we are.”

The girl tilted her head, clearly unconvinced, but eventually shrugged. “Well, good for you, I guess. Hope she’s worth it.” She shot Azzi a quick once-over before turning on her heel and walking away.

As soon as she was out of sight, Paige let out a heavy breath, dropping her arm from Azzi’s waist.

Azzi stared at her, eyebrows raised. “What the hell was that?”

“I panicked,” Paige muttered, scratching the back of her head.

“You panicked and made me your fake girlfriend?” Azzi asked, her voice dripping with amusement.

“I mean… you’re convincing,” Paige said with a shrug.

Azzi laughed, shaking her head. “You couldn’t have picked literally anyone else?”

“Well, it wouldn’t have been believable with anyone else,” Paige said, pointedly.

Azzi rolled her eyes but grinned. “Righttt…So, girlfriend, where we eating?”

Paige groaned, laughing as they continued aimlessly walking to find food. 

The diner they decided on was warm and cozy, the smell of food filling the air as Paige and Azzi sat across from each other, their food on the table between them. Paige was halfway through a basket of fries and tenders while Azzi poked at her chicken salad.

Their conversation had been light—teasing and joking as always—but Azzi’s phone kept buzzing on the table, the vibrations loud against the surface.

Paige smirked, popping another fry into her mouth. “Okay, seriously, are you just going to keep ignoring that, or are we gonna have to endure it all night?”

Azzi gave the phone an unimpressed glance before stabbing a cherry tomato. “Ignoring it seems like the better option.”

“Must be important, though. That’s, what, the fourth time?” Paige teased.

Azzi sighed, finally meeting Paige’s amused gaze. “It’s some girl I went out with a couple of days ago. She’s... persistent.”

Paige leaned back, eyebrows raised. “Persistent, huh? And what exactly gave her that idea, Miss Fudd?”

“I don’t know, maybe the part where I tried to be polite and didn’t ghost her like certain people I know,” Azzi shot back, narrowing her eyes playfully.

Paige laughed, unapologetic. “That’s why you don’t give out your real number, Az. Rookie move. Everyone knows that.”

Azzi folded her arms, a grin tugging at her lips. “Oh, and what am I supposed to do? Hand them a burner phone instead?”

“No, you just do the whole, ‘I’m not really a texting person,’” Paige said, mimicking a dramatic shrug. “Or give out a completely random number like I do.”

Azzi gave her a flat look. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yet, you keep me around and label me the best friend,” Paige quipped, tossing a fry at her.

Azzi dodged it, shaking her head. “Unfortunately you’re my roommate so I couldn’t get rid of you if I wanted to. I’m stuck being responsible for you.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, Azzi picked up some of her salad with her fork and held it out toward Paige, smirking. “Speaking of being responsible for you, maybe you should try some of this instead of inhaling those fries.”

Paige narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re not seriously trying to feed me salad right now.”

“Why not? You’re clearly incapable of making healthy choices on your own,” Azzi quipped, still holding the fork up for Paige.

Paige huffed but leaned forward slightly, her lips closing around the fork as she took the bite. Her eyes never left Azzi’s, and for a brief moment, the atmosphere shifted. Azzi’s smirk softened, her gaze lingering on Paige as she slowly pulled the fork back.

“Happy now?” Paige muttered, her voice quieter than before.

“Delighted,” Azzi replied, though her usual tone had taken on a slightly lower, softer edge.

They stared at each other across the table, the air between them growing heavier. Paige felt the heat rising to her cheeks, but she couldn’t look away. She wasn’t sure if it was the way Azzi’s gaze seemed to search her face, or the tiny curve of her lips, but the way her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest wasn’t something she was used to.

The moment stretched, unspoken words hanging in the air—until Azzi’s phone buzzed loudly against the table. Azzi blinked, breaking the stare as she looked down at the phone with a groan. “Seriously? She can’t take a hint? This is actually obnoxious.”

Paige tilted her head, eyeing the phone. “Want me to answer it for you?” she joked, though the mischievous glint in her eyes suggested she wasn’t entirely kidding.

“No!” Azzi said quickly, her eyes widening.

But before she could stop her, Paige was already reaching for the phone, her grin widening as Azzi’s protests grew louder.

“Paige, I swear—” Azzi started, but Paige waved her off, sliding her finger across the screen to answer.

Azzi gaped, her hands flying to her face as Paige pressed the phone to her ear, holding up a finger to her lips for Azzi to stay quiet.

“Hello?” Paige said sweetly, her tone light and calm.

The girl on the other end hesitated. “Uh… is this Azzi?”

Paige’s voice was smooth, barely hiding the humor in her tone. “Nope, I'm her girlfriend. Why…you need something?”

Azzi’s jaw dropped, and she muttered under her breath, “You’re absurd.”

The girl on the other end stuttered, caught off guard. “Wait… what? She has a girlfriend?”

Paige smirked, her eyes glinting with mischief. “Yeah, we’re…relatively new ya know.”

Azzi let out a quiet incredulous laugh, but Paige didn’t break her smirk. The awkward silence stretched before the girl on the other end cleared her throat. “Oh… I didn’t know. My bad I’ll stop calling.”

“No problem,” Paige said brightly before ending the call and sliding the phone back across the table.

Azzi stared at her, half in shock, half in disbelief. “Did you really just do that?”

Paige leaned back in her seat, a fry in hand as she smirked. “Problem solved. You’re welcome.”

Azzi shook her head, though a smile was creeping onto her lips. “You’re insane.”

Paige popped the fry into her mouth and shrugged. “Hey, she’s not gonna bother you anymore.”

Azzi raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, but now she probably thinks I’m some cheater.”

Paige shrugged again, casually eating another fry. “Better that than her blowing up your phone,” she said, clearly not bothered. “Besides, it’s not like you wanted to talk to her anyway so it doesn’t really matter.”

Azzi leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand as she studied Paige. “You’re a menace, you know that?”

Paige grinned leaning forward too. “Well she’s another one off your back, so you can stop pretending like you don’t want to sleep with me now.”

Azzi shot her a teasing look. “Nope still won’t. You’re probably dead last on my list if we’re being honest. Last person on earth kind of thing.”

Paige laughed, leaning back in her chair with a cocky smile. “You’re lying. Everyone wants to sleep with me.”

Azzi rolled her eyes, clearly used to this from Paige. “Well, not me.”

Paige raised an eyebrow, grinning mischievously. “Yeah whatever. You’ve definitely thought about it.”

Azzi laughed, shaking her head but not saying anything 

Paige continued to grin, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Honestly, though, a piece of advice: if you’re trying to do the whole sleeping-around thing, don’t give out your number. They get really persistent around here.” 

Azzi shot her a pointed look, her fork hovering over her plate. “I’m not sleeping around,” she said firmly, her voice laced with a hint of exasperation.

Paige quirked an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. She leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the table. “So, what, you’re just talking to them for a day and getting bored?” Her tone was teasing, but there was curiosity behind it, as though she were trying to piece together Azzi’s behavior.

Azzi shifted in her seat, setting her fork down and holding Paige’s gaze. “Yeah, I guess,” she said, her voice steady but her expression unreadable.

“Hm,” Paige murmured, dragging out the sound as she tilted her head, studying Azzi like she didn’t quite believe her. She let the answer sit for a moment before leaning back in her chair, popping another fry into her mouth.

Azzi’s jaw tightened, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward slightly. “I’m serious, Paige. I’m not sleeping with anyone.” There was an unexpected intensity in her voice, like it was important—necessary—for Paige to understand.

Paige blinked, her chewing slowing as Azzi’s tone caught her off guard. She quickly swallowed, waving a fry in Azzi’s direction with a half-smile. “Okay, okay, no need to get defensive,” she said lightly, trying to play it off though her heart raced a little at Azzi’s proclamation.

Azzi’s gaze softened, but she didn’t back down. “I’m not being defensive. I just…” She paused, glancing away for a moment before meeting Paige’s eyes again. “Wanted you to know I’m serious.”

Paige’s smirk faltered slightly, her own expression flickering between surprise and something softer. She quickly covered it up with a shrug, leaning back in her chair and reaching for her drink. “Got it,” she said casually, her tone breezy as if trying to move the conversation along.

Azzi watched her for a long moment, her lips pressing into a thin line, but she didn’t say anything else. Instead, she picked up her fork again, though her focus remained split between her food and Paige.

“Speaking of sleeping around,” Azzi said suddenly, her voice lighter now as she shot Paige a teasing grin, “I haven’t been woken up by some absolutely over-dramatic and ridiculous noise coming from your room in a while.”

Paige sat up straight, a confident smirk spreading across her face. “It’s definitely not over-dramatic. I’m good at what I do, trust me.”

Azzi leaned in slightly, her lips curving into a challenging smile. “I think you’re all talk.  You sure you’re not full of it and pick girls who you know will put on a show?”

Paige’s eyes sparkled with playful defiance. “You say that often. It makes it really seem like you wanna find out for yourself. 

Azzi paused for a second, caught off guard but seemingly intrigued, but before she could say anything Paige quickly added, “But seriously I told you—they don’t have what I’m looking for.”

Azzi leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms with a skeptical look. “You’re seriously telling me you haven’t slept with anyone since August?”

Paige shrugged, her expression uncharacteristically serious as she pushed a fry around her plate. “Yeah more or less. Guess I’ve been a little picky lately”

Azzi still not convinced. “Picky, huh? What about that brunette you brought back to the room? Looked like she was exactly your type.”

Paige shrugged again, even more nonchalant this time. “Didn’t work out,” she said simply, popping a fry into her mouth as if the subject didn’t warrant further explanation.

Azzi’s eyebrows shot up, clearly not satisfied with the vague response. “Didn’t work out? Really? I’m pretty sure she was more than willing. What happened?”

Paige let out a soft laugh, finally meeting Azzi’s curious gaze. “I was tired. Practice wiped me out that day. Not much else to it.”

Azzi tilted her head, studying Paige as if trying to figure out if she was being serious. “Tired? Since when do you let being ‘tired’ stop you?”

Paige caught herself slightly by surprise with her answer. “Since I didn’t feel like wasting my energy on something that wasn’t what I really wanted anyway.”

Azzi’s eyes widened slightly, her brow furrowing as she searched Paige’s face for any sign of a joke. “Okay, wait, so… you’re telling me you, Paige Bueckers—” she gestured dramatically at Paige—“hasn’t slept with anyone in almost two months?”

“Yup something like that,” Paige said simply, her tone nonchalant as if she were talking about the weather. She avoided Azzi’s gaze, casually picking at her food like this revelation wasn’t a big deal.

Azzi scoffed, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. “Come on, P. You expect me to believe that? You’ve had girls in the room. You’re just… what? Not interested anymore?”

Paige shrugged, still not looking at Azzi. “I told you—they were boring,” she repeated, her voice steady, though the corner of her mouth twitched.

Azzi studied her, her expression caught between disbelief and something softer. “Seriously?”

Paige finally glanced up, her eyes meeting Azzi’s for a brief moment before flickering away. “Yeah. Seriously Azzi.” She didn’t elaborate, didn’t explain herself further, and instead grabbed another fry like the conversation was over.

Azzi leaned back again, still processing. A small smirk tugged at her lips as she analyzed Paige, but she didn’t push the subject. “Well, color me shocked,” she said after a moment, her tone teasing but her eyes lingering on Paige a little longer than usual.

Paige grinned, the tension breaking as she gestured at Azzi’s phone. “See? You should take notes from me. No boring hookups, no clingy girls blowing up your phone.”

Azzi shook her head, laughing softly. “You’re ridiculous.”

…

A week or so later, the team was all gearing up for a Halloween party at Ted's. Paige had been running behind all day—between a study session for an upcoming test and a Big East appearance she had to do—it was already well past the time she’d planned to be ready. She ended up leaving the dorms with Nika and Ice, who, as always, were taking far too long to get dressed.

By the time they arrived at Ted’s, it was already crowded with a few members of the team. The place was decked out in Halloween decorations—cobwebs, fake pumpkins, and spooky lights everywhere. As they entered, Paige was greeted by her teammates, some already in full costume, others just in casual party attire. She was relieved to finally take a break from everything. 

Nika and Ice disappeared into the crowd, leaving Paige to herself for a moment. She wandered over to a table where a few others were already hanging out, grabbing a drink and chatting, when the door swung open again. Paige turned her head, her gaze immediately locking on Azzi.

Azzi walked in with a girl, the girl's arm casually wrapped around Azzi’s and Paige’s heart skipped a beat. It was unexpected. Azzi had never really brought a girl around before. Her eyes flickered over to Azzi, and for the first time the sight felt almost jarring.

But Paige's smile didn't falter as she immediately walked over to them, greeting Azzi like she always did in a quick hug wrapping her arms around her waist. "Hey Az,” she said casually trying to brush off her feelings. 

Azzi's response was a bit too tight. She gave Paige the usual hug, but there was something about her that seemed a little more hesitant than usual.

"This is Emily," Azzi said, her voice a bit more careful than Paige was used to. She motioned to the girl beside her. 

Paige shifted her attention to Emily, offering a friendly smile as she extended her hand. “Wassup, I’m Paige.”

Emily shook her hand firmly, a wide smile on her face. She was completely calm, definitely more relaxed than Azzi. There was no hesitation from Emily—if anything, she seemed excited to finally be in Azzi’s company, her energy warm and open.

She gave Emily a small nod before letting her gaze drift back to Azzi, almost unconsciously. There was something different in the way Azzi stood now, the way she shifted nervously, avoiding eye contact for just a second too long.

"Emily's in one of my classes," Azzi added quickly, like she was explaining something. She glanced between Paige and Emily before giving Paige a tight smile.

Paige simply nodded, trying to keep the tension from creeping into her expression. "Cool," she said, forcing herself to sound casual.

Trying to keep her composure, Paige gave both Azzi and Emily a tight smile and a nod before turning toward the bar. She needed a shot, or maybe two.

From her spot by the bar where she was sitting with Ice, Paige’s eyes wandered across the room more often than she liked to admit, always landing on Azzi. She didn’t mean to look; it just happened. Once, she caught Azzi glancing back at her, and their eyes locked for a moment too long. Paige quickly turned away, pretending to be engrossed in her conversation with Ice, while Azzi shifted awkwardly in her seat, murmuring something to Emily who smiled.

The sound of a voice nearby pulled Paige from her thoughts. A short tan brunette with a confident smile leaned against the bar beside her, a knowing glint in her eye. Paige recognized her immediately—she’d seen her around campus before.

"Hey," the girl said, her tone casual but pointed. "Haven’t seen you around in a while."

Paige sighed internally, offering a faint smile. "Yeah, just been busy."

The girl leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to something more intimate. "Well, maybe we could catch up sometime? Maybe later tonight?"

Paige glanced briefly toward Azzi’s table, her eyes narrowing when she saw Azzi looking her way. Azzi quickly averted her gaze, but Paige caught the way her fingers drummed against her glass trying to pretend like she wasn’t watching the interaction.

Paige turned back to the brunette and shook her head, her tone polite but firm. " Sorry not tonight."

The girl looked surprised but chuckled softly, leaning back with a shrug. "Alright, another time."

As she walked away, Paige exhaled, her hand tightening around her drink. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Azzi still watching her. Their eyes met again, and this time, Paige held the gaze for just a beat longer before looking away, her heart pounding in a way that annoyed her into drinking more.

"Seriously, Paige?" Ice’s voice broke through her thoughts as she appeared beside her again, a fresh drink in hand. "That’s the fourth girl you’ve brushed off tonight. What’s going wrong with you?"

Paige, feigning indifference. "I’m just not in the mood, Ice. Let it go."

Ice smirked, her tone teasing. "Not in the mood, huh?"

Paige’s jaw tightened, but she forced a casual shrug. "Don’t start with me."

Ice raised her hands in mock surrender, though her grin lingered. "Hey, I’m just saying. Everyone’s noticed you’re off tonight."

Paige glared at her, but Ice just laughed and walked away, leaving Paige to stew in her thoughts.

The night dragged on, and Paige tried her best to keep her distance from Azzi. She clung to Ice and KK, letting their jokes and usual loudness fill the silence in her head. But no matter how much she tried to avoid it, her eyes kept drifting back to Azzi. Each time, it stung a little more and each time it stung Paige found herself another drink.

It wasn’t until much later in the night that Paige found herself trapped at a table with Azzi, Emily, and a few other teammates. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but there she was, sitting directly across from Azzi and Emily.

Emily, trying to be the social one, was trying to make small talk. She leaned forward, smiling brightly as she addressed Paige. "Azzi's told me a lot about you tonight," Emily said. "You’re her best friend, right?"

Paige forced a polite smile, leaning back in her chair. "Yeah, for sure," she said, her tone light but distant.

Emily beamed, seemingly oblivious to the underlying tension. "That’s so cute. You must have so many stories about her."

Paige’s eyes flicked to Azzi, who was suddenly very interested in the condensation on her glass. Azzi’s knee bounced nervously under the table, a subtle but telling sign that no one else could see.

"Yup," Paige said, her voice steady. "Gotten to know her pretty well since she got to campus."

Azzi finally looked up, her expression unreadable. Paige’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before Emily pulled her attention back.

"So, Paige," Emily continued, "Azzi said you guys live with each other too. That must be fun, always having your best friend around."

Paige’s smile tightened, and she glanced at Azzi again. "Yeah, it’s great," she said evenly.

Azzi shifted in her seat, her discomfort becoming more apparent. Paige couldn’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction, though it was quickly followed by guilt knowing she didn’t have the right to act like this. 

Azzi cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence. "Emily, do you want another drink?" she asked, already standing up.

Emily looked at her half-full glass but nodded. "Sure."

Azzi turned to Paige briefly, her eyes darting away almost as quickly as they met hers. "Be right back," she muttered before heading to the bar.

Paige exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself as Emily continued talking, but her focus wasn’t on the conversation. Her gaze kept drifting to Azzi, now at the bar waiting for drinks. Paige barely registered Emily’s words before excusing herself, standing abruptly. “Be right back,” she muttered, not giving Emily a chance to respond.

She made her way to the bar, her steps unhurried but deliberate. Azzi’s back was to her, and Paige took a moment to take in the sight of her standing there, fingers drumming lightly against the counter. As Paige sauntered up, she flagged down the bartender, ordering two more shots before leaning casually against the bar beside Azzi.

Azzi glanced at her briefly, before looking forward again. “You’ve been drinking a lot tonight,” Azzi remarked as she picked up one of the drinks meant for Emily.

Paige smirked faintly, putting one of the shots in her hand. “And you’re not?”

Azzi raised a brow, her voice carrying some amusement. “I’m not the one throwing back shots every twenty minutes.”

Paige shrugged, downing one of her shots and setting the empty glass on the counter. “Guess I needed it tonight.”

Azzi’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t press the point. Instead, she busied herself with grabbing the second drink the bartender put down. 

Paige tilted her head, studying her for a moment. “So, Emily…” she began, her tone light but unmistakably pointed.

Azzi froze for a split second before sighing, her tone carrying a warning. “Paige..leave her alone she’s nice.”

“What?” Paige said innocently, lifting her hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”

Azzi turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting Paige’s. “Tell me, why does it seem like she’s bothering you so much all of a sudden?”

Paige’s response was immediate, too quick to be casual. “She’s not.”

Azzi’s lips quirked into a knowing smile. “Sure. Whatever you say.” Her voice was low as she picked up the drinks. Without another word, she turned on her heel, walking back toward the table.

Paige watched her go, her throat tightening as she watched Azzi weave through the crowd with practiced ease. The sight of her walking away stung more than she cared to admit.

Swallowing hard, Paige grabbed her second shot, tossing it back with ease before setting the glass down harder than necessary. “Another,” she muttered to the bartender, her voice rough, her gaze locked firmly on the counter in front of her.

By the time Paige made her way back to the table, the alcohol had fully settled into her system. Her movements were loose, and her laughter came a little louder, her words a little slower. Azzi, though clearly drunk, still carried herself with more composure—a reflection of her usual self-control. But Paige knew Azzi had been drinking just as much, maybe more, and the only reason she was holding it together better was likely Emily’s presence.

Paige plopped down next to Nika, her arm immediately slinging around her shoulders. “Nika!” she exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm, pulling the other girl close.

Nika laughed, patting Paige on the head like a puppy. “Alright, twin. You’re heavy when you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk,” Paige insisted again, her grin widening as she protested. “I’m just happy, okay?”

Ice laughed, exchanging a glance with Nika. “Yeah, happy and about two steps away from falling over,” she teased. “Let’s see how ‘fine’ you really are. Stand up.”

Paige groaned, throwing her head back dramatically. “Do I have to?”

“Yes, you do,” Nika chimed in, gently nudging Paige to sit up straighter. “C’mon, you’re not getting out of this. Show us you can still stand.”

Paige huffed but finally pushed herself up, wobbling slightly as she stood. “See? Totally fine.”

Ice wasn’t convinced, standing as well and pulling Paige toward the open space where a few people were dancing. “Okay, then show us. You’re dancing with us. Let’s go.”

Nika followed, grinning as she took Paige’s other hand. “If you can keep up, we’ll believe you.”

“I can totally keep up,” Paige shot back, rolling her eyes as she drunkenly let them guide her toward the makeshift dance floor.

Azzi’s gaze flickered up at the sound of Paige’s laughter. She tilted her head slightly, her expressional probably unreadable to anyone looking at her, though a flicker of something clear crossed her face before she quickly looked away. 

Azzi was trying to stay engaged in conversation with Emily, but her focus kept drifting back to Paige. She noticed how Paige’s clinginess with Ice and Nika seemed much more exaggerated tonight, as if she was trying to prove something—or distract herself. And while Azzi maintained her usual calm facade, the sight of Paige all over someone else left an ache she didn’t fully understand—or want to admit to so she just drank some more. 

…

Later into the night Emily was leaning into Azzi now, her hand lazily trailing down Azzi’s arm as she giggled at something incoherent. Azzi shifted uncomfortably, brushing Emily off as subtly as she could. “Emily, stop,” she muttered under her breath, her eyes darting toward the other end of the table where Paige sat again.

Paige hadn’t taken her eyes off the two of them since she got back to the table, her jaw clenching tighter with every passing second. Her fingers tapped impatiently against the table, the growing irritation unmistakable. A server arrived at the table with a tray of shots, setting them in front of her. Without hesitation, Paige grabbed the first one and tossed it back, the burn doing little to dull the knot in her chest.

KK, now seated beside her, gave her a sidelong glance. “Yo you okay, P boogers?” she asked cautiously.

“I’m Fine KK,” Paige replied curtly, reaching for another shot.

KK wasn’t convinced, and neither was Ice, who had been keeping a close eye on her the whole night. “You sure? You kinda powering through those girly pop,” KK pressed but tried to keep it casual.

Paige ignored her, downing the second shot and setting the glass down harder than necessary. Her focus was unwavering, her blue eyes locked on Azzi and Emily as frustration bubbled just beneath the surface.

Azzi noticed. She always noticed. And as much as she tried to keep herself composed, the tension radiating from Paige was impossible to ignore. She sighed, brushing Emily’s hand away once more before murmuring something about needing another drink but instead of going towards the bar, she detoured to Paige at the other end of the table. 

Azzi knew Paige wouldn’t listen to anyone else—not KK, not Ice, not even Nika. She had to be the one to step in.

Stopping just behind Paige, Azzi hesitated for a moment, her dark eyes scanning the empty glasses in front of her. “P,” she said softly, keeping her voice low and steady.

Paige gripped the edge of the table, her fingers tight against the smooth surface. Her chest felt tight, frustration and jealousy swirling in a storm she couldn’t contain. Paige knew this wasn’t who she was—not the kind of person who sulked on a night out, who drank just to dull the sting of emotions she didn’t want to name. Certainly not someone who acted this way toward her best friend who had technically done nothing wrong. This is why Paige hated anything to do with feeling things for someone. 

But here she was, glaring daggers at the table, pretending not to notice Azzi’s approach.

Azzi’s voice cut through the fog of her thoughts, soft but firm. “Paige, what are you doing?”

Paige didn’t look up, swallowing hard against the knot in her throat. You shouldn’t be mad at her, she told herself, but her brain wasn't listening. “What does it look like I’m doing Azzi?” she muttered, reaching for another shot glass, her movements sharper than they needed to be.

Before she could bring the glass to her lips, Ice’s hand shot out from across the table, plucking it from her grasp. “Yeah, no. You’re done,” Ice said firmly, tilting her head back and downing the shot herself before Paige could protest.

“Hey!” Paige exclaimed, glaring at Ice, though her words came out more pouty than angry. Clearly her anger was only reserved for Azzi. 

Azzi’s stomach twisted. This wasn’t Paige—not the Paige she had grown to know, the one who was always composed, always steady. This was someone unraveling in front of her, and Azzi couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that she was partly to blame. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. Running into Emily earlier on campus had been innocent enough, a friendly moment that turned into a casual invitation to Ted’s. She hadn’t thought much of it then. She should’ve, and she did as soon as she walked into Ted’s earlier that night and saw Paige’s face. 

“Paige,” Azzi said again, stepping closer, her voice tinged with urgency. “You know this isn’t you. Let someone take you home.”

Paige finally looked up, her blue eyes now glassy with clear hurt, but her anger still simmered just beneath the surface. “And what is me, Azzi?” she shot back, her tone biting. “Because you seem to know everything about me these days right.”

Azzi winced, her expression softening. She could see it now—how hurt Paige was, how hard she was trying to mask it with indifference and alcohol. She reached out, resting her hand lightly on Paige’s forearm. “Come on,” she murmured, “this isn’t the place for this. We can talk later.”

Paige stiffened under her touch, her jaw clenching. For a moment, she didn’t move, didn’t say anything, just stared blankly ahead. Azzi’s heart sank. This isn’t working.

“Paige,” Azzi tried again, her voice quieter now, almost pleading. She shifted her hand, her fingers curling gently around Paige’s wrist, her thumb brushing against the pulse point there that was racing. The touch was intimate—something she wouldn’t normally do—but she needed Paige to feel her, to hear her. “Paige, can you look at me please?”

Paige’s breath hitched at the touch as she lifted her gaze, locking eyes with Azzi. The softness in Azzi’s brown eyes caught her off guard, cutting through her defenses in a way she didn’t like. For a second, neither of them said anything. Paige could feel the warmth of Azzi’s touch, grounding her, steadying her, and the guilt crept in again.

“Please,” Azzi said, her voice low but insistent. “Can you please go home? For me? I promise I’ll see you there and we can talk.”

Paige exhaled shakily, the tension in her shoulders easing just slightly. She hated how Azzi could do this—how she could cut through all of Paige’s anger and stubbornness with just a look, a touch, a few simple words.

“Fine Az,” she muttered, her voice hoarse. She pushed herself up from the table, wobbling slightly before Ice, who watched the whole encounter, was suddenly at her side, steadying her. Paige glanced at Azzi one last time, her expression softer now but still guarded. “You happy?”

Azzi didn’t answer right away, her throat tight. She just nodded, watching as Ice, Nika, and KK gently guided Paige toward the door. She wanted to say something—wanted to explain, even though she didn’t have to. She wanted to make Paige feel better to make her understand that whatever it was that was bothering her could be fixed. But the words wouldn’t come.

By the time Azzi got home, it was 3:17 AM. She glanced at her phone, muttering under her breath. She’d waited about an hour and a half to come home—partly to give Paige some time to sober up, partly because she needed to figure out what she’d even say if Paige wanted to talk at all. If she’s still awake, Azzi thought, though a part of her knew Paige wouldn’t be sleeping. Paige could never really sleep if she was upset about something.

After showering, Azzi made her way down the hall. She didn’t hesitate when she reached Paige’s door, her hand already on the handle. She never knocked on Paige’s door. She didn’t need to. It was her. With a quiet sigh, she pushed the door open.

Paige was lying on her bed, her hands behind her head, her face illuminated by the soft moonlight streaming through the window. Her expression was unreadable, her gaze fixed on the ceiling as if she was lost in a world that didn’t make any sense.

“Paige,” Azzi called out softly, stepping inside.

Paige didn’t respond.

Azzi shut the door behind her, walking closer. She hesitated slightly before crawling onto the bed, mirroring Paige’s position. They lay side by side, just barely brushing against one another.

The silence was unbearable to Azzi. “Are you going to talk to me?” Azzi asked quietly, glancing over at her.

“Don’t really feel like talking Azzi,” Paige replied, her voice low, distant.

Azzi’s chest tightened. She’d never seen Paige like this, at least not with her—closed off, angry, yet clearly hurting. It was unnerving, and Azzi didn’t really know what to do. Paige had always been the annoyingly persistent one when it came to things like this. But now, there was a wall between them, and Azzi didn’t know how to break it down.

“P,” Azzi tried again, turning onto her side so she could face her fully. “I need to know what’s going on in your head. Please.”

Paige didn’t look at her, her jaw tightening. “I don’t know what you want me to say Azzi,” she muttered.

“Anything,” Azzi said softly. “Just… let me in. You can even ramble like you always do when you’re upset. I’ll find a way to understand.”

Paige let out a sharp breath, finally turning her head to meet Azzi’s gaze. “Why do you even care?”

Azzi flinched slightly at the coldness in her tone, but she held her ground. “Because you’re my best friend,” she said firmly. “Because I need to know what happened that made you this mad at me.”

Paige looked away, her hands falling from behind her head to rest on her stomach. Her lips pressed into a thin line, as if she was fighting to keep something in.

Azzi’s voice softened. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen tonight. I didn’t even plan on seeing Emily if that’s what it is—I ran into her earlier on campus, and—”

“Azzi, stop,” Paige interrupted, her voice cutting through the air.

Azzi blinked, startled by the sudden shift in her tone. “What?”

“I can’t listen to this right now, I don’t want to hear it.” Paige said, her voice breaking slightly.

Azzi reached out instinctively, her hand brushing against Paige’s arm. “Please, Paige. Don’t shut me out like this.”

Paige’s breath hitched at the contact, her body tensing. She closed her eyes for a moment, as if trying to harden herself. When she opened them again, she turned her head to meet Azzi’s gaze once more.

And then, without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Azzi’s.

The kiss was sudden, almost desperate, and it caught Azzi completely off guard. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t hesitate for long. After a heartbeat, she kissed Paige back, her hand sliding up to cup the side of Paige’s face.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. All the tension, the anger, the confusion—it all melted away as Paige lost herself in the kiss.

The second Azzi kissed her back, Paige’s restraint shattered. She deepened the kiss, her hands sliding up Azzi’s sides with an urgency that made it clear—words weren’t enough. Paige didn’t know how to explain what was going on in her head, so she wasn’t going to try. She’d show Azzi instead.

Azzi let out a soft sound as Paige pulled her closer, her fingers tangling in the fabric of Azzi’s sweatshirt. The intensity of the moment consumed them both, and before she realized what she was doing, Azzi had shifted. Her legs moved instinctively, straddling Paige’s hips as she leaned into her, desperate to get impossibly closer.

Their breaths mingled, hot and unsteady, as Azzi’s hands slid up to cradle Paige’s face. 

Paige’s hands settled on Azzi’s waist, gripping tightly as if anchoring herself. Her mind was spinning, but her body acted on instinct, pulling Azzi closer, needing her in a way she couldn’t fully comprehend.

Azzi broke the kiss briefly, her forehead resting against Paige’s as she tried to catch her breath. “Paige,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “what are we doing?”

Paige’s eyes fluttered open, dark with too many emotions. “I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice raw, “but I don’t want to stop.”

Azzi’s lips parted as she searched Paige’s face, her own emotions swirling between confusion and something deeper—something undeniable. Her thumbs brushed against Paige’s cheeks as if she was considering something but before could get too far in thought she leaned in again, capturing Paige’s lips with a renewed passion.

Time seemed to blur as the kiss deepened once more, both of them losing themselves in each other.

After what felt like an eternity yet no time at all, Azzi, her breath shallow and her body humming with adrenaline, pulled back just enough to sit up. In one swift motion, she snatched her shirt off, tossing it carelessly to the side.

Paige froze for a moment, her eyes locking on Azzi with an intensity that sent a shiver down the younger girl’s spine. Paige’s piercing blue eyes immediately softened, filled with something Azzi couldn’t name—a mix of curiosity, admiration, and longing. Azzi had never been looked at like that before, and it nearly made her heart beat out of her chest. But before she could say anything, Paige moved.

Smooth and deliberate, Paige flipped them over with practiced ease, her movements confident but gentle. Now hovering above Azzi, Paige reached down, her fingers curling under the hem of her own shirt. She pulled it off in one fluid motion, the action seamless, as though she’d done it a hundred times before.

Azzi’s breath caught at this, her mind snagging briefly on the thought of Paige’s history—how she’d done this many times before, with others. A pang of insecurity and fear flickered in her chest, but before it could take root, Paige leaned down and kissed her again, erasing the thought entirely.

This kiss was different—deeper, slower, and impossibly more intimate. One of Paige’s hands found Azzi’s waist, her thumb brushing lightly against her bare skin as if reassuring her without words. Azzi let herself sink into the sensation, her fingers trailing up Paige’s back, pulling her closer.

Breaking the kiss slowly, Paige’s lips began to move, leaving a trail of warmth along Azzi’s jawline and down the curve of her neck. Each touch was soft and deliberate, as if Paige were savoring every moment, every inch of her. Her movements slowed as she reached Azzi’s collarbone, pressing tender kisses there before continuing her journey downward.

Azzi’s breath hitched, her body responding to Paige’s touch in ways that felt both foreign and achingly familiar. She sighed softly, her chest rising and falling as she gave in completely to the sensation. No one had ever touched her like this—so carefully, so full of emotion. It was as though Paige was speaking without words, pouring something unnameable into every kiss and brush of her lips, but Azzi knew these thoughts were too good to be true. 

Paige’s hands remained steady, grounding them both. She trailed her fingertips lightly over Azzi’s skin, her touch soft and adoring, as though she was committing every detail of Azzi to memory. She didn’t know how to explain the storm of emotions swirling inside her—didn’t even know how to name them. All she knew was that she wanted Azzi to feel it, to understand everything she couldn’t put into words. Maybe after this Azzi would understand just how much Paige felt for her. 

As her kisses traveled lower, Paige’s lips hovered over Azzi’s stomach, lingering there for a moment. Her blue eyes flicked upward, meeting Azzi’s gaze. The intensity in her eyes made Azzi’s breath catch again, her chest tightening with something she now knew she definitely wasn’t ready to admit.

Paige dipped her head once more, her lips and tongue brushing against Azzi’s skin in a way that made Azzi’s fingers instinctively tangle in Paige’s hair. It wasn’t to pull her away—it was to pull her closer. The gentle tug was almost pleading, and Paige responded without hesitation, her kisses growing firmer but still unhurried.

Azzi’s head tilted back, her lips parting as soft, breathy sighs continued to escape her. There was something overwhelming in the way Paige touched her, something so raw and genuine that it made Azzi’s heart ache. For the first time, she felt completely seen, completely cared for—like she was the only person in the world that mattered to Paige in this moment.

Paige continued her journey, her lips brushing along Azzi’s stomach with a softness that sent shivers racing across her skin. She lingered there, her mouth pressing delicate kisses that deepened into soft, gentle marks—tiny secrets left behind for only Azzi to carry. Paige’s touch was deliberate, her actions slow and intentional, as she was trying to show Azzi that every second of this meant everything to her. 

When her lips reached Azzi’s waistband, Paige stilled. She glanced up, her bright blue eyes meeting Azzi’s gaze in silent questions. Are you okay with this? Are you comfortable? Are you sure this is what you want? She didn’t say a word, but the softness in her expression spoke volumes, her fingers hovering patiently as she waited for Azzi’s answer.

Azzi’s breath caught in her throat, her chest rising and falling with anticipation. Without breaking eye contact, she gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. It wasn’t rushed or uncertain—it was full of trust.

Paige let out a soft exhale, her fingers sliding skillfully but gently under the fabric, easing everything off with a care that made Azzi’s heart pound. As Paige settled herself between Azzi’s legs, her gaze remained on Azzi’s face steady, unwavering, silently ensuring that every moment was as safe and wanted as it was intimate.

When Paige made her first deliberate movement with her tongue, Azzi’s back arched off the bed, a sharp breath escaping her as her fingers instinctively gripped the sheets. The sensation was new, overwhelming, and unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Her mind spun as she tried to ground herself in the moment, and suddenly, all those dramatic, loud sounds she’d overheard in the past—the ones she’d dismissed as obnoxious—didn’t seem so exaggerated anymore as she bit her lip to stay quiet and Paige was just getting started. 

Paige, for her part, was focused entirely on Azzi, her every movement a deliberate expression of emotion she didn’t know how to verbalize. Each touch, each kiss, was filled with unspoken words—feelings Paige couldn’t stomach to define herself but desperately wanted Azzi to understand. Her hands moved softly to Azzi’s hips, steadying her as she continued her slow, deliberate exploration.

Azzi’s fingers found their way into Paige’s hair again, tangling there as if to anchor herself in the overwhelming sensations. “Paige…” she whispered, her voice trembling but filled with something unnameable—a mix of disbelief and emotion she couldn’t contain. Paige paused for just a moment, lifting her head slightly to meet Azzi’s gaze.

“Is this okay?” Paige asked softly, her voice hoarse speaking for the first time in a while, her expression filled with care.

Azzi nodded quickly, her eyes glassy and vulnerable. “Yes,” she breathed. “Fuck…more than okay. You feel so amazing.”

Encouraged by Azzi’s words, Paige returned to her task, her movements deliberate but tender, her gaze flicking up now and then to watch Azzi’s reactions. It wasn’t about control or skill—it was about connection, about giving Azzi everything she couldn’t say aloud.

Azzi’s head tilted back against the pillows, her breaths coming in uneven gasps, her hands tightening in Paige’s hair. For the first time, she felt utterly overwhelmed not just by sensation, but by the emotion behind it—the weight of feeling so deeply cared for, so completely adored and it scared the hell out of her not knowing what this meant for Paige.

…

The next morning the sunlight filtering through the curtains seemed almost mocking as Paige stirred awake. For a moment, a small, peaceful smile tugged at her lips as the events of the previous night floated to the forefront of her mind. But as she blinked fully into consciousness, the absence beside her became obvious. The bed was empty, the sheets cold to the touch, with no sign of Azzi anywhere.

A dull ache settled in her chest, and Paige sat up slowly, running a hand through her now tangled hair. She glanced around her room for any trace of Azzi—her shirt, her phone. Anything. But there was nothing. No sign of what had happened.

Swallowing against the faint sting in her throat, Paige grabbed her phone from the nightstand, her thumb hovering over the screen. No messages. No missed calls. She checked the desk next, looking for a note maybe, before exhaling a sharp, frustrated breath. Paige was telling herself it was fine, Azzi was probably just in her room. 

Throwing on a pair of sweats and a hoodie, Paige headed out of her room, her steps purposeful despite the sinking feeling in her chest. As she reached Azzi’s door, her heart stuttered slightly—it was open, the bed neatly made, the room devoid of its usual presence.

Paige felt her chest tighten further, her palms becoming sweaty by her sides as she stood there, staring at the empty space. 

Paige turned, pushing down the emotions threatening to spill over, and walked across the hall to Ice’s room. Knocking softly, she called out, “Hey, Ice, you up?”

The door creaked open, revealing Ice working on something on her computer. “Yeah what’s up, P?”

Paige shifted on her feet, trying to keep her voice even. “Have you seen Azzi this morning? Is she around?”

Ice frowned, shaking her head. “Nah, she wasn’t in there when I woke up. I thought she was taking care of you in your room or something.”

The words hit harder than Paige expected, and for a moment, she stood frozen, trying to mask the way her chest suddenly felt like it had caved in. Ice tilted her head. “You good?”

Blinking rapidly to fight the tears threatening to surface, Paige forced a tight smile. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Thanks.” She turned quickly, not waiting for a response, and headed back to her own room.

The second she shut the door behind her, her composure cracked. Paige leaned back against the door, her eyes glossy as her chest heaved with the effort to hold it all in. The memories of Azzi from the night before played on an endless loop in her mind—the sounds she made, her soft gaze, the way Paige felt like everything finally made sense.

And now she was just... gone.

Paige dragged her hands over her face forcing herself not to cry as frustration and hurt twisted inside her clawing at every piece of her. She didn’t know what to think or feel, only that the ache in her chest felt unbearable.

[nellielsss]

+†+🪦 A Pɾσρҽɾ Bʅαƈƙ Bυʅʅ Wҽʅƈσɱҽ!

Summary: when you date a Magic Knight Captain, it's only a matter of time until you meet their Knights! A/N: just some fluff for Yami! I tried to include as many characters as I could but I'm still getting used to writing multiple chars in one scene. Pairing: Yami Sukehiro x fem!reader CW: swearing, suggestive jokes

╰┈➤ "Is this really where Suke lives?" you asked nobody as you approached his base. "He's always told me not to visit, but this place is just... creepy. Still, I feel bad for making him visit me all the time. Why not pay him a surprise visit?"

You had been dating the famed Captain of the Black Bulls, Yami Sukehiro, for a few months--4 to be exact--and things were starting to get serious with him.

But they were never serious enough for you to meet his squad.

Sure, you had seen them in passing, tagging along with him on missions, but you've never met the Black Bulls in person. It was like they were his kids that he never wanted you to meet for whatever reason. Whenever you tried to ask him if you could meet them, he'd always say: "Nah, not happening. I don't need you meeting those knuckleheads; they'd probably blabber some stupid story and scare you off, and I don't need that."

For the better part, he actually made the effort to go and see you wherever you were. He'd venture as many miles as needed in order to do so. He also just never introduced you to the public in general because he was scared of someone going after you for a vendetta or revenge against Yami (he was a man with many enemies, after all). So, he was content with just going on private dates in secluded bars or spending the night at your place. Any chance he could take to spend time with you, he'd snatch it right up.

Why did you venture to the secretive Black Bulls hideout in the first place? Well, Yami had been busy with training for a while. The missions were swamping him, and his efforts to keep the devils at bay were, inadvertently, keeping your relationship at bay as well. He never had any time to leave the hideout unless it was to go on a mission or to an official summons, and because you were basically forbidden from going to HQ, it meant all you could do was communicate via letters.

And you were sick and tired of it.

You were an impatient girl. You didn't like being basically banned from seeing your boyfriend, no matter how legitimate his causes or concerns were.

You haven't had dick in ages--you were starting to lose feeling down there!! And lord knows his dick was good, so good it left you unable to walk on several occasions.

But you weren't there just to fuck him (although it was a big bonus of dating him); you were there to mend your little broken heart.

So, that's how you wound up on their doorstep. You went at a time which you knew it'd be empty, so you were sure you wouldn't have to meet those bulls. Even if he, himself, was out, you could just wait in his room as a little welcome home surprise.

"I don't suppose I have to knock before entering," you muttered, grabbing the latch of the door and opening the giant wooden slab. Just as you'd expected: the place was empty. Not a peep to be heard throughout the entire tower of oddly shaped rooms and windows that were jutting out of the wrong places.

"Well, this sure ain't too bad. I thought it'd be in ruins by the way Suke described it," you thought to yourself. As you stepped on the cobblestone floors and ventured inside the place, you took note of it. It had a certain charm to it, like a cozy tavern you'd seek refuge from a storm in. There were torches lit up by mana, different flags hanging from the walls, and a big bar in the left side of the room. "If he wasn't so protective of me, I could imagine myself living here with him..."

"Hello... who are... you?" a ghostly voice suddenly said from the hallway.

"Gah! Wait- is it seriously haunted? Was Sukehiro telling me the truth this whole time?!" You immediately hid behind a couch when you saw the mint-haired man standing there.

"I'm... not... a... ghost! I... keep... this... place... running," the ghost said.

"Are you sure? Because you certainly don't look too- gah!" this time, you were surprised to feel that all your mana was being drained from you, simply by being close to the man.

"I'm.. sorry... I... drain... people's... mana... on... accident. Don't... stand... too... close."

"Figured as much," you muttered, somehow able to break free from the man's mana pull. "I knew I shouldn't have come here... I thought all of you would be out for the day."

"You... didn't... answer... my... question. Who... are... you?"

"Oh, right... sorry about that," you said, rubbing the back of your neck, "I'm, uh... I'm Captain Yami's girlfriend. I came here hoping that none of you would be around, but it seems as though I made a mistake. I thought all of you would be on missions for sure!"

The man's ghostly face lit up in surprise when he realized who you were. "Oh! I... know... you... or, at least... I've... heard... of you... Captain Yami's... always... talking... about... some girl... who... he's... been... dating. We all... just... thought... that he... was... lying."

"You seriously thought that he was lying?" you asked in disbelief. "Then again, he is an acquired taste... Anyway, what's your name?"

"My... name's... Henry. I... don't... go on... missions... because... I'm... too... weak, and I'm... bound... to... this... house."

"Too weak?" you asked, feeling a bit sorry for the guy. "Jeez, that must suck. Anyway, Henry, nice to meet you- ahhh!!" he started draining your mana on accident again and you pulled away.

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, Henry; I forgot about your little quirk," you reassured him with a wave of the hand.

"You're... really... pretty. Too... pretty... to... be... dating the... Captain," Henry remarked, making you snicker.

"Well, thank you, Henry! Yeah, you probably couldn't picture him and I together, if I'm being honest. I guess I just have a thing for oblivious brutes," you giggled, making him smile in return. "Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Captain Yami about my impromptu appearance; he doesn't want me hanging around you guys. Somethin' about 'putting me in danger'? As if I could be put in danger," you remarked rather confidently. "I'm not really the type to submit to his wishes all that easily, but he seemed pretty serious about keeping our relationship under wraps. If you don't mind me, I'll be on my merry way-"

"Wait...! The... others... are... supposed to be... back... soon! You'll... get... caught... if you... don't... hide!" Henry warned you suddenly.

"H-Huh? Really?!" you asked him, already freaking out.

As if on cue, you could hear several voices chattering from the other side of the door, and you looked around in panic, trying to find a hiding spot. Henry was blocking the hallway, and if you got too close to him, you'd probably faint on the spot. You tried to hide behind the bar, only for the door to literally break down as the rowdy Black Bulls made their way home. You knew they were loud, but you didn't know that they were the type to break down doors! At the sight of the bunch, you instinctively froze up in fear, akin to a deer in headlights. You ducked for the nearest couch, hoping that they'd choose to go in the opposite direction.

"Did you guys see the way I took that guy down?! It was awesome! I totally surpassed my limits out there!!" A rather enthusiastic, short boy said to the others. That must've been Asta: the anti-magic user.

"You were pretty good out there--not that I'm complimenting you or anything! I'm still royalty compared to you," a similarly short girl with silver hair said. Based on how she was jabbing the boy with her words, that was probably Noelle.

"Just you wait, Asta--I'm gonna get stronger than you!" another guy with a mohawk and glasses said. Magna, if you weren't mistaken.

"I'd like to see you try to get stronger than him! If you do, then I'll spar with you until I get even stronger!" a blonde boy with a psychopathic smile quipped. Luck.

"Just don't go around breaking shit, okay, you numbskulls?" your oh-so handsome boyfriend Yami Sukehiro sighed. "We don't have the money to keep repairing the damage you guys cause."

"I'm going to go worship my sister, Marie," a guy with an apparent sister complex said: Gauche, to be precise.

"What a weirdo," you said to yourself. A few of their heads turned in the direction of your voice, and you hid your entire body behind the couch.

"What was that?"

"Whatever it was, it was telling the truth."

"If you boys don't mind, I'm gonna go have a drink at the bar!" a female voice said, her words already slurred.

"Aren't you already drunk, Vanessa?" another guy asked the witch.

"What's one more drink, Finral? You should come join me!" she replied. You quickly realized you were in deep shit when you remembered that the couch you were hiding behind was right next to the bar.

Well, this is the end, you thought. There was no way you could hide from these guys now. Even if you tried to make a run for it, your boyfriend was right there, and he'd probably teach you a lesson!!

You braced yourself for when the witch, Vanessa, would see you... which was right at that moment. "Umm, guys? Why is there a stranger hiding behind our couch?"

Your eyes shot open in fear, and you looked up at the girl, your face red with embarrassment. "Vanessa, what are you talking about? Are you seriously seeing things?- Oh, hubba, hubba!" the guy named Finral said once he saw you. "If I knew that cute girls would be sneaking into our hideout, I'd leave the door unlocked more often!"

One by one, all the Black Bulls clamored around the couch, wondering who, exactly, the two were talking about. They were all in wonder until Yami came over. Oh, how you dreaded this from the moment you walked in...

"(Y/N)--what the hell are you doing in my base?!" said boyfriend asked, making you flinch with how loudly he asked that question.

"Heh... hi, Suke," you said quietly, only for the man to pick you up by the scruff of your collar and make you stand up.

"Wait, do you actually know that girl, Captain Yami?" Finral asked the man.

"He sure does..." you said meekly.

"Yeah, I do," he sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Great, this is just what I needed: my Bulls slobbering all over my girlfriend..."

"Did you just say GIRLFRIEND?!" all of them asked in unison.

"I guess there's no time like the present," the man finally relented. Yami stopped pinching his nose and instead wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you next to him. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend of four months."

"GIRLFRIEND OF FOUR MONTHS?!"

"I didn't even know a woman could stand to be in your presence, let alone for that amount of time!" Noelle exclaimed.

"So, you mean to tell me that you bagged a babe like her?! Captain, you need to give me your secrets!!!" Finral said, practically on the verge of losing it at this revelation.

"Don't call my girlfriend a babe, pipsqueak!"

"THIS IS SO COOL!! SO YOU MEAN TO TELL US THAT YOU WEREN'T LYING ABOUT HAVING A GIRLFRIEND ALL THIS TIME?!" Asta exclaimed, his voice drowning out everyone else's questions. "PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE, MA'AM--MY NAME IS ASTA AND I'M FROM HAGE VILLAGE, AND YOU ARE VERY BEAUTIFUL!!"

"Stop yelling in my girlfriend's ear, are you trying to make her go deaf?!" Yami asked Asta before grabbing his lips and shutting him up forcefully.

"Would you like to spar with me?!" Luck asked, way too enthusiastically for his own good.

"How about a drink?" Vanessa asked.

"A nice, warm meal would be a great welcome for her!" Charmy proposed.

"I don't care if you're Yami's girlfriend: if you touch my sister Marie, I'll kick your ass," Gauche threatened you directly.

"Creep..." Yami muttered. "For the love of the Wizard King, all of you get off of her and stop harassing her with all your questions!!" he barked, now pissed off at the situation.

"Yes, Captain Yami, sir," all of them said, piping down finally.

"This is exactly why I didn't introduce her to all of you; none of you know how to act properly!" Yami yelled again, this time gritting his teeth in anger. You could tell he was getting riled up, so you put your hand on his chest and silently told him to calm down. His frustrated expression settled down to a simple frown, and he offered you a tiny smile. "Sorry, princess."

"I've never seen someone rein him in so easily," one of the bulls remarked in wonder.

"It's clear that Yami appreciates this woman and that we should treat her with the same respect with which we'd treat one of our own," Gordon whispered. Everyone still side-eyed him for how quiet he was being.

Yami took a deep breath and faced his subordinates again. "Anyway, this is my girlfriend of 4 months: (Y/N) (L/N). I expect all of you to treat her with the same respect you'd treat me, just as Gordon said." Everyone nodded, and for once he didn't feel like bashing their heads in.

"Captain Yami, if you don't mind me asking: how come we haven't met her before if she's so important to you?" one of them asked this time.

"Because, if I introduced her to all of you, one of you would blabber your mouths, and then word would get out that I had a girlfriend. That would put her in some serious danger, considering how many foes we face and enemies we have," Yami explained--and quite calmly at that. "And I like keeping my personal life separate from my life as Captain. I don't want the two to intermingle, even if both lives are equally important to me."

"I guess that makes sense..."

You decided that it was your turn to speak: "truth be told, Suke's always been so overprotective of me. He thinks I'm some delicate little flower who needs to be guarded at all costs, even if I'm a stage 0 mage. It's honestly ironic, considering how his type is strong women," you added with a giggle.

"Well, I can't let you get hurt because of me, princess," he said to you quietly. "Even if you are strong, there's always the chance that someone might go looking for you."

"Look at him, he's so protective of her! It's honestly kinda cute," Vanessa remarked, taking another sip of her drink. Yami merely glared at her before looking at all of them again.

"How come she found out about the base if you're so protective of her? Isn't its location supposed to be private?"

This was a question meant for you, it seemed, even if it was directed at Yami. "Well... your horse and buggy's a little quick to give up information if you're pretty enough," you giggled mischievously, playing with your hair as if you were innocent.

"Finral!" Yami said through gritted teeth.

"I-I just figured she was curious!" the boy said, trembling at the possibility of being punished by their Captain.

"I guess I just have my ways," you giggled again. "I couldn't stay away from my boyfriend for too long, not when I have needs!" you shot a wink at Yami, and all he could do was blush in place.

"I don't even wanna know what those needs are..."

"Don't speak of such things around my sister, Marie," Gauche quipped, making you furrow your brow.

"She's not even here--that's a picture you're holding!!"

"She's here in spirit."

"Stop starting fights when we have guests," Noelle interjected, being the voice of reason for once. She then decided to ask you a question. "So, I simply have to know: what possessed you to date the man for four months? From what I've seen, he's not the most perceptive man out there!"

"Noelle, you can't just say that about our captain in front of his girlfriend!" Asta said to Noelle.

She huffed in response. "As if you'd be any better!!"

"Slander my name to her like that and I'll kill both of you," Yami threatened them, making them both jump.

"But I didn't even do anything wrong!" Asta whined defensively.

"To be honest," you started, making everyone look at you again. "I was the one who initially had a crush on him. I know he's not everyone's type, but he sure is mine. Anyway, it was kinda hard getting him to notice my feelings for him. In the end, all it took was for me to simply confess my feelings for him and hope that he'd reciprocate them! And Suke may not look like the boyfriend type, but he's actually the most caring and considerate man I've ever met; he just doesn't show any of you that side... At least, not as forwardly as he does to to me."

Noelle thought about your words, and she couldn't exactly do anything but take your word for it. "If you say so... But, I still just don't get it! You're so... pink, and he's so... whatever he is!"

"Well, everyone has their type," you shrugged.

"But, how do you deal with his bowel issues?"

"Noelle!"

You couldn't help but giggle at her question. "By buying extra toilet paper, of course!"

"(Y/N)..." Yami trailed off, embarrassed by the topic. "All of you: bowel issues are no laughing matter! I go through battles every single day in that room."

"Yeah, we know."

After the Black Bulls laughed at your little statements, he decided to move on to the next part: "alright, enough of a Q&A session. Since you came all this way, I'd imagine you'd be staying over for dinner?"

Your stomach growled in response to his question. "Oh, yes, please. I'm starving--this place is so far from the nearest town!"

"Not to worry, my fair lady!" Charmy suddenly said, standing up on the table. "Chef Charmy here will cook up an amazing feast to welcome you to our humble abode!"

You looked at Charmy and then at Yami. "Can the half-dwarf really do that--cook well?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised. Her food is rich with mana."

"Fear not," Charmy repeated, "for you deserve a proper Black Bull welcome!"

Just as Yami promised you: Charmy cooked up a feast fit for several kings from far away lands and then some. Her cotton magic combined with her food magic made for plenty of meals and dishes to go around, and, although simplistic in their nature, each meal left you wanting more.

You were, of course, seated beside your boyfriend Yami (you were almost touching him), and the pink-haired witch, Vanessa, decided to sit on the other side. "You simply must try this drink, (Y/N)!"

"Oh, I don't drink much, but thanks for the offer," you said. Your efforts were in vain, seeing as she had already filled your cup.

"Don't overdo it, princess. I don't want you stumbling about the place. Y'know, since you can't really handle your liquor," Yami warned you.

"I'll try not to, Suke."

After filling up your cup, Vanessa decided to ask you a boatload of questions, as did all the other Black Bulls. Asta asked you about your family back at home; Vanessa asked you about your relationship; Luck asked you about your fighting skills; Gordon asked if he could be your friend (and make a doll that resembled you?); etc. All the other Bulls asked you unique questions that were different according to their personalities and interests, and you were happily to answer all of them. It wasn't everyday that you got to talk about your wonderful relationship!

As the night settled down, though, a certain personal question was asked by a certain witch who was to your right. "So, (Y/N), I hope you don't mind me asking you this, but... are you happy in your relationship?" It was on brand for the witch, considering that she liked to talk about relationships and was also quite drunk.

"Vanessa, don't ask those kinds of questions," Yami warned the witch. "You've just met her-"

You answered it, though, regardless of how personal it was. Maybe it was the alcohol that opened you up more, but you gave her a smile and said: "more than you could imagine, Vanessa. Suke makes me happy in ways I cannot imagine. Brash as he might be, he still cares for me, and I can see that he also cares about the lot of you in his own special way. You're his family, after all; I'm just the lucky girl who he chose to open up to." It was more than you intended to say, but it got the point across pretty well. You took another sip of your drink, unaware of the way that they looked at you.

"Wow, that's... I sure am glad that you're happy!" Vanessa exclaimed, throwing her arm around your shoulder (and almost falling out of her chair).

"We all are, (Y/N)," Noelle also said with a slight smile.

"We might've just met you, but if you're a friend of Captain Yami's, then you're a friend of ours!" Asta exclaimed.

"I hope we can be great friends," Gordon whispered.

With each praise, each remark of approval, you couldn't help but smile at them. Truth be told, you'd been longing for a group of people who you could call home. Much like Noelle, you, too, had been shunned by your family for reasons you couldn't explain. Yami had been your lighthouse, your guiding rock all this time, but the idea that there was a whole other group out there who you could lean on for support kept your spirits up.

You might've just met them, but you already felt at home.

"Welcome to the fold, kid," Yami muttered into your ear before kissing the skin behind it.

Now that dinner was all cleaned up and over with, the two of you retired to Yami's bedroom. He shut the door behind him quietly, breathing a sigh of relief. "(Y/N), you have no idea the heart attack you almost gave me back there." Although he let the stoic mask drop and be replaced by the softness that he showed you, he still couldn't help but scold you. "Seriously--I wasn't prepared to introduce you to all of them."

"I didn't mean to surprise you like that, I just... look, I planned on sneaking in and going to your room and surprising you there. I wanted to see you--you've been so busy these past few weeks! I really didn't mean to meet them so early," you said, taking your earrings off and putting them on the nightstand.

Yami took the opportunity to sneak behind you and wrap his arms around your body. "I know I've been busy, princess; I would've snuck you in if you asked me to, though."

"I was impatient, Suke. You know how long those letters take to deliver; I wanted to see you today."

He didn't scold you; rather, he chuckled deeply and pressed his lips to the top of your head. "Well, aren't you an impatient princess?"

"You gave me that title, Sukehiro," you quipped, making him chuckle again.

"I guess I did."

After a few moments of silence, and after you'd taken your jewelry off, he took the opportunity to hug you tighter and let his lips travel down your neck. "Well, since you're here... I might as well get that loving in, hmm?"

"You might as well," you quipped. You stopped talking, instead letting him kiss your neck and your shoulder. You were so small in his arms--like a goddamn kitten! Even though you were strong, confident & fierce in your daily life, when you were with your beloved, you were like putty in his big hands, reduced to mush in a matter of moments.

"Good god, woman, I've missed you," he growled, letting his big hand trail up your shirt. "You have no idea how hard it was to resist the urge to just drop everything and come running to you."

"That's no way for a Magic Knight Captain to behave," you teased him, making him spank your ass out of annoyance.

"I know, princess." He went back to kissing your exposed shoulder and decided to take it a step further. "Turn around for me, baby," he rasped into your ear. You obliged happily, turning around to face your boyfriend. "That's more like it," he said, cracking a smile before attacking your lips. His chapped, rough lips kissed your much softer & sweeter ones, his tongue intermingling with yours and tasting the sweetness of your mouth. "Missed this... the way your lips taste," he whispered, angling your head so he could kiss you deeper.

"Missed yours, too," you murmured to which he raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say I smelled like cigarettes and beer?"

"That was before I made you quit all that shit. Now, shut up and kiss me," you said before diving in again.

"As you wish." He spun you guys around so that he was sitting on the bed and you were in between his legs. "What're you standing there for? Sit on my lap, sweetheart." You happily obliged and straddled his hips, letting the man pull you in for another deep, passionate kiss. His wandering hands trailed up and down your sides until he finally decided to peel off your shirt.

"Suke, it's cold," you whined.

"Then lemme heat you up," he rasped, continuing to let his hands run amok. Every time he got his hands on your soft, supple skin, he felt his heart skip a beat. You were just so goddamn perfect for him--you were like an angel, sent to keep him tamed. He trailed kisses down your neck and to your chest, kissing and biting at the soft fat of your breasts. "Mind if I take this thing off?" he asked, sticking a finger underneath the clasp of your bra.

"Only if you take this off," you quipped, peeling your boyfriend's tank top off, giving you access to those sweet muscles that you were so incredibly attracted to.

"Like what you see?" he rumbled with a cocky grin on his face.

"More than you could imagine," you giggled, pushing him back onto the bed and earning a spank from the brute's big hand.

"Come here and give your man some loving, hmm? He's missed having you in his bed."

You promptly requested a change of squad the next day. The Crimson Lion Kings would understand.

Bσɳυʂ ʂƈҽɳҽ: Nαƈԋƚ Fαυʂƚ! ⋆♱✮♱⋆

"So, this is the girlfriend I've been hearing so much about, Captain Yami?" the man, who was his vice-captain, asked him. It was a rare occurrence for him to leave the shadow realm and go back to HQ, but when he heard that his old friend of so many years had gotten himself a girlfriend, he couldn't resist the urge to meet you. His eyes flickered from Yami to you, and you felt like they were staring into your soul.

"Yeah, this is her: (Y/N), (L/N). Try not to scare her off and say anything bad about me, 'kay?" Yami asked of the young man.

Nacht offered you a smile and even outstretched his hand from his coat. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Nacht Faust. I was wondering when Captain Yami would find someone who'd put up with his antics," he said, surprisingly friendly for how reserved he seemed.

"Do I really have that kinda reputation?!"

"Yes, you do."

"Um... nice to meet you as well," you replied, unsure if you should be scared of him or be glad he was so friendly.

"Anyway, I should get going. I can't exactly stand to be around your boyfriend for so long," he said in that eerily calm voice before slinking back into a shadow. "It was nice to meet you again!"

"Yeah, it was..." you trailed off as the man disappeared into the shadowy side of that wall. "Is he always like that?"

"He's usually worse," Yami sighed. "Anyway, let's go back to bed. I'm tired."

"But it's 3 pm!" you protested. He merely scoffed and threw you over his shoulder. "Hey, put me down!!"

"Does it look like I care? I'll cuddle my girlfriend anytime of the day I want."

© ʙʀᴜɴᴇᴛᴛᴇ-ʙɪᴛᴄʜ77 on tumblr - get your own shit bitches | ca. 7/1/2024

[nakylvr]

– SANTA TELL ME

daniela avanzini x fem!reader

summary: after ending things with sophia, daniela lets you stay with her for the rest of the holidays. and the night before christmas changes everything.

warnings/tags: fluff, nsfw content, language, confessions, friends to lovers, g!p daniela, soft dom!daniela, sub!reader, it's kinda sad too im sorry it ends happy i swear, not proofread

minors dni

part 1

your eyes groggily open as the sun peeks through the blinds, blinking a few times as you roll over onto your side and slowly start waking up. once your eyes adjust to the lighting in the room, you realize where you are. then, you remember what happened the night before. a quiet sigh escapes your lips as you sit up, running a hand through your hair and glancing around.

daniela wasn't in the room, and you could hear talking from downstairs, making you also remember the fact that it was a few days before christmas and that most people were spending it with their families. you had stayed at daniela's place on multiple occasions, sometimes for longer periods of time than others, so her family knew you by now. but, you still couldn't help feeling like you were intruding their holidays by being here.

not even a few minutes later, the door opens quietly, and dani peeks her head inside to see if you're awake. a small smile grows on her face when she sees you, walking in and closing the door behind her. "hey, how did you sleep?" she asks, sitting down on the bed.

you shrug your shoulders, looking down at the blankets. "okay. thanks for letting me stay," you reply in a quiet voice. "i should get going."

"what?" daniela looks at you with confusion. "yn, i know you're going to end up spending christmas alone and upset, and i don't want that for you. my family loves you, you've been here so many times, they know you. plus, i already kinda told them you would be staying for the rest of the holidays." she smiles sheepishly at the end, grabbing one of your hands.

"you–" you stop yourself by sighing and shaking your head, a little smile forming on your face. "why am i not surprised?" you look at her, giggling softly.

"because you know me," daniela responds, her smile getting bigger. "now c'mon, we're eating breakfast and then i am taking you to go ice skating!" she's practically grinning by now, hopping off the bed and pulling you up along with her.

"wh– ice skating?" you question, letting her pull you up off the bed. "dani, i don't know how to skate."

"i know," she nods. "i'm going to make sure we do as much as we can in these few days to make up for what happened to you."

your face heats up at her words and how she says it so nonchalantly, a warm feeling radiating through your body as you can see she's genuine about it. you can feel your heartbeat speeding up, and you have to pry your eyes away to calm down. "okay."

and she was telling the truth. during the few days before christmas, daniela dragged you around to do every possible thing that involved the holiday, making you forget what made you come in the first place. you were enjoying the time when you thought you would end up dwelling in your bed all day and night until the days passed.

it was christmas eve, and you and daniela were sitting on her bed, both of you on your phones with a comfortable silence filling the air. suddenly, dani puts her phone down and looks at you. "do you wanna dance?" she asks.

looking away from your phone, your eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "what?"

"c'mon," she says, grabbing your hand and getting off the bed. she grabs her phone, and a slower christmas song that you don't recognize plays through the room.

"dani we both know i'm a bad dancer," you tell the latina, yet allowing her to move your arms to wrap around her neck.

"it's not that hard," daniela reassures, her hands moving to your waist. "just follow me, okay?"

you nod your head, looking down at your feet as you follow the steps and movements she was making, not noticing her gaze on you that never left. when you get the hang of it and finally look at her, your eyes stare into hers past the dim lighting in the room, still being able to make out the bits of green in them due to the closeness.

"thank you for making my holidays better, dani," you say quietly, your voice barely above a whisper. "i really enjoyed doing everything with you."

"don't thank me," daniela shakes her head. "i just wanted to make sure you had a good holiday. i'm glad you enjoyed it." there's a tiny smile on her face as she talks.

you smile back at her, the music in the background fading out the more you look at her. "you didn't get me anything, did you? we promised no presents this year," you say, your fingers playing with the curls in her hair.

"well..." daniela's voice trails off. "at first i didn't. but i couldn't help myself."

"dani!" you sigh loudly. "i didn't get you anything." your voice goes quiet again.

"it's okay," she replies, her hand moving up to cradle your face. "you being here is enough for me."

there's something in the way she says it that makes you feel like there's a deeper meaning behind it. you never noticed it until now. the way her eyes would linger on you when you weren't paying attention, the way she spoke to you like there was something more she wanted to say. the past few days you had spent with her helped you realize these things. and that you found yourself feeling things that you thought disappeared long ago. the silence that fills the air now is heavy with tension, both of you hesitating to do the next thing. her eyes glance from your lips to your eyes, but it's evident she's too scared to do anything.

slowly leaning forward, your lips hover just in front of hers before pressing them together. daniela's lips mold with yours as they slide against each other, the innocent kiss quickly becoming messy. you pull her closer to you, your bodies practically against each other as she walks backwards to the bed with you being pulled along. she stops once the back of her knees hit the bed, sitting down and pulling you down onto her lap, immediately reconnecting her lips with yours.

your arms remain hooked around her neck as her teeth nip at your bottom lip. parting your lips, daniela's tongue slips into your mouth, a little noise coming from you at the action. her nails are digging into your skin slightly, leaving little crescent moon marks on your waist while her tongue mends with yours. when she finally pulls away to breathe, her eyes are dark as she looks at you, your face flushed and breathing heavy trying to recuperate.

"dani," you say quietly.

"yeah?" she looks up at you with big eyes.

"i want you," you murmur, your fingers playing with her hair. "you don– you don't have to but-"

daniela doesn't respond, instead cutting you off by kissing you again. it's slower this time, as if she were trying to take her time compared to the last one. she's not trying to rush it. as she pulls away she picks you up swiftly and lays you down on the bed. hovering above you, her hand swipes away the strand of hair in your face, looking down at you as she asks you, "are you sure? i'm not going to make you do this."

"i'm sure," you nod your head. "please."

nodding her head, daniela's hands grab the hem of your sweater as you lift your arms up allowing her to remove it. her breath catches in her throat at you not wearing a bra, but she quickly leans her head down and puts her lips around one of your nipples, her hand grabbing and fondling your other breast. your heavy breaths fill the room excluding the holiday music that's still playing, and you remember that her family is scattered in the house, making you bite down on your bottom lip. your hand grasps the back of her head, pushing her closer to you as you arch up against her when she pulls away and moves to the other one, you're sure that your panties are soaked by now, and she's barely done anything.

finally removing herself from your breast with a quiet pop, her hands drag down your torso until they reach your pants and proceeding to tug them down and off your ankles along with your soaked underwear. spreading your legs, a low groan comes from daniela at the sight of you. your face is flushed, your chest is already littered in marks soon to change color as it heaves up and down, your legs twitching and wanting to close, your pussy practically dripping onto her sheets. all of it was almost too much for her. almost. she had been pining for you for so long, but she knew better to try and do something while you were with sophia. now that she was finally getting you, she was almost panicking, forgetting how to breathe as she stares, feeling her pants get tighter the longer she keeps her eyes on you.

"dani,"

your voice knocks daniela out of her thoughts, her eyes looking at you all big. "yeah?" she says.

"breathe, please. i would really not like it if you passed out and left me all horny on christmas eve," you tell her, giggling at the way she's looking at you.

a breathy chuckle falls from daniela's lips at your words that reassure her enough to get her mind straight. "right, yeah, sorry." she swallows the lump in her throat while nodding her head. "i just don't want to hurt you."

your eyes soften at the genuine tone in her words, how she cares so much about you that she worries of hurting you when you know she never would. grabbing her hand, you tug her closer so she's back to hovering above you, her other hand supporting her up next to your head. she looks down at you with an expression you can't recognize, but you're quick to notice what it means. "you won't hurt me, i trust you more than anyone else," you whisper to her.

daniela nods slowly, looking as if she were hesitating to say something, before she does in the same whispering voice as yours. "will you– would you be mine? i-i know you just broke up with sophia but i...i don't want this to mean nothing. i-i'm not that kind of person."

you're shocked by her words, staring up at her and seeing the way her eyes avert from yours, her face red with embarrassment. your hands cup her face, making her look back at you. "i'm all yours, dani. consider this a early christmas present," you say, smiling up at her.

a smile lights up on daniela's face when you respond, leaning down and kissing you deeply. your hands move from her face down under her shirt, your nails scratching lightly against her making her sigh into the kiss. pulling away, she sits on her knees, taking her shirt off and tossing it somewhere in the room before her shaky hands fiddle with her belt. you sit up a bit, your hands moving hers as you unbuckle the belt and undo the buttons on her jeans, feeling her gaze on you as you tug them down her legs along with her boxers.

a quiet gasp escapes your throat when her cock is freed from its tight confinement, seeing just how big she is with beads of precum leaking from her tip. shifting so you were on your knees, your hand grabs her cock and you give it a few pumps before wrapping your lips around her.

"shit!" daniela gasps the second she feels the warmth of your mouth around her. her hand instantly moves to your hair, bundling it up and holding it tightly.

you try to take all of her, but are stopped when your gag reflex kicks in and she accidentally thrusts into you, causing you to grab her thighs. she does it again, a low groan falling from her lips as you do your best to take it, looking up at her with big, teary eyes. your throat is already pulsing and throbbing while she thrusts into your mouth a few more times before pulling out, her breathing irregular as she looks down at you.

"you think you're ready for me, baby?" she asks, smiling at the way you quickly nod your head.

lying back down on the bed, daniela hovers above you with one of her hands supporting herself up near your head and the other holding the base of her cock, dragging it along your wet folds. slowly, she pushes inside of you, her eyes remaining on your face to spot any signs of discomfort or wanting to stop. inch by inch she slips in you, and a whimper leaves her mouth as she stops when she's fully in. "you okay?" she asks you.

"mhm," you hum quietly, nodding your head with your eyebrows scrunched together at the feeling of her stretching you out. "please, do something," you whimper out.

hearing your plea, daniela slowly starts moving her hips, pulling out and pushing back into you, groaning at the way your walls contract around her each time she goes back in. "fuck...you're so tight," she hisses.

"oh my god," your eyes roll to the back of your head as you feel her move in and out of you. "fa-faster, please," you get out through whimpers. "please, dani."

all daniela does is nod her head, her hands moving to grab your hips as she speeds up, the sounds of skin slapping against each other mixed with your moans and the music still playing loud enough to draw out what's happening in the room. strings of curses leave daniela's mouth, but her eyes don't leave your face even for a second, needing to see how your face changes and contorts every time she thrusts back into you.

the noises coming from you which started quiet start getting louder the more the pleasure overwhelms you, your eyes squeezed shut as you try to reach for her. "f-fuck, dani, you're so big inside me!" you whine.

daniela's dick twitches inside you at your words, her hips stuttering for a moment as she lets out a quiet moan. her head is spinning already, but as she hears a door open from down the hall she's quick to move one of her hands over your mouth to quiet you. "shh, stay quiet f-for me, baby," she says in a hushed voice, leaning down and pressing kisses on your neck.

your moans come out muffled past her hand over your mouth, grasping at her back with your nails digging into her skin, hearing her hiss at the sting but she doesn't slow down the movement of her hips snapping against yours. "mngh, dani..." you whine into her hand, your hips moving to meet her thrusts. you can feel every ridge and vein of her cock as she quickly pistons in and out of you, and a sharp gasp leaves your mouth when you feel her tip nudge against your g-spot. "oh my– oh my god!" you squirm around under her, your noises only getting louder when she realizes and purposefully starts trying to hit the same spot.

"god, you feel so good," daniela mumbles into your neck, biting down to stifle her own noises. "gonna make me cum," she whimpers. "you close, baby?"

"yes!" you gasp, quickly nodding your head. hearing her whimpers and quiet moans right next to your ear have you feeling impossibly close to the edge, the knot in your stomach threatening to snap with each movement she makes and each word she says. "please, i'm so close, dani!"

the latina's hips stutter again, her thrusts becoming sloppy and irregular as she moans against your neck. "wanna fill you up, please. please, baby. l-let me make you mine– fuck, please," she begs in whimpers, pressing her face further into your neck as her hand slips from your mouth.

your mind being so clouded with lust has you immediately nodding at her pleads, pulling her closer to you while wrapping your legs around her hips to keep her inside you. "cum in me, fill me up, please, dani," you whine into her ear. "mark me as yours, mami," you whisper.

the title falling from your lips has daniela moaning loudly into her neck as she thrusts into you again, her hips stilling as she cums, filling you up with her seed. your back arches at the feeling, her tip pressing against your cervix causing you to cum at the same time, covering your mouth with your hand letting out a loud whine. she slouches against you, breathing heavily against your skin trying to regain her composure. your hand rubs her back gently, feeling the scratch marks you left and feeling a little bad.

when she finally catches her breath, daniela pulls her face away from your neck and looks down at you, pushing your sweaty hair out of your face. "are you okay? was i okay?" she asks.

you nod your head, a tired smile on your face as you peer up at her. "i'm okay. you were great, i don't think i've ever felt that good," you answer, kissing her quickly.

"really?" daniela's face lights up. "i-i just wanted to make you feel good," she says, her face flushed pink.

"and you did," you smile. there's a moment of silence that fills the air between the two of you before you speak up again in a quiet voice. "i love you, daniela."

daniela's eyes widen at your sudden confession, her heart stopping for a second as she looks down at you. "really?" she questions quietly, almost as if she thought you were lying to her. "you do?" her voice cracks.

you can see the tears beginning to form in her eyes as she questions your words, your gaze softening as you cup her cheeks with your hands. "i do," you whisper. "i...i've loved you for a while now i just...i didn't think you felt the same so i never tried. i'm sorry for making you wait."

a few stray tears fall from the latina's eyes at your words, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tries to not start crying completely. "it's okay," she responds in the same voice. "i love you too," she smiles a bit at you, leaning down and kissing you.

smiling into the kiss, you can feel the difference in how she kissed you earlier. it wasn't as rushed or messy, her hand cradling your face as she slowly moves her lips against yours. pulling away, she smiles down at you. "i love you so much."

"i know," you giggle, pulling her down to kiss her again.

later into the night when you're already asleep, your phone dings, and daniela stirs around at the sound and phone lighting up. her eyes open slowly and she grabs the phone thinking it's hers, turning it on again and seeing the message that just came in. her eyes go wide as she wakes up completely, sitting up slowly to not disturb you as she re-reads the message. "i think the fuck not," she grumbles under her breath.

quietly, daniela gets out of her bed and pulls on her pants and shirt, still holding onto your phone as she exits the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. going down the stairs, everyone else in the house is asleep, as should this person who texted you should be. making it to the front door, she unlocks and opens it, revealing sophia.

"wh-"

"cut the shit," daniela is quick to cut off the beginning of sophia's words. "why are you here?"

holding a small decorative christmas bag in her hands, sophia takes a breath, carefully choosing her words. "i wanted to give this to yn. i figured she'd be here of all places."

daniela's eyes narrow at the filipina, looking at the gift in her hands and crossing her arms over her chest. "you have a lot of nerve pulling the shit you did and coming back here," she says. "do you even know how heartbroken yn was? or did you just not give a damn about how she would feel?"

sophia tenses up at daniela's response, slowly nodding her head. "i know, i just-"

"dani, what're you doing?" your voice is heard before you appear behind daniela.

sophia's eyes go wide at the sight of you. you were wearing one of daniela's shirts, oversized revealing the obvious hickeys scattered across your neck and collarbones, and assuming with just your underwear on seeing as she could see your legs clear as day. your hair is a mess, your lips are puffy and swollen. her mouth goes dry as the dots connect in her head. "yn," she says quietly.

realizing it's sophia when you finally look at who's at the door, your body tenses up, and daniela is quick to notice, grabbing your hand. "what are you doing here?" you question the girl.

"uhm, i wanted to give this to you but uh," sophia struggles to get words out. "i think it's kinda dumb now. so..." her voice trails off, biting on her tongue to keep herself from saying more. "i'm sorry."

despite seeing the way her face drops when she realizes, the way she looks away to not show the tears forming in her eyes, you can't find it in you to feel bad for her. she knew what she was doing, now she was just feeling guilty because she got caught. "then you shouldn't have done it, sophia," you tell her. "just leave me alone, you lost your chance."

sophia merely nods her head, mumbling another apology before silently turning around and walking back to her car. as soon as she does, daniela closes the door and locks it before turning and looking at you, seeing the expression on your face with your lip tucked between your teeth to keep it from trembling.

"hey, hey, it's okay," she says softly, her thumb rubbing your knuckles. "come on, let's go back to sleep, okay?"

you nod your head in silence, following her back up to her room. when you're lying down next to her, you curl up into her chest as her arm wraps around you to hold you close to her. your thoughts are running around all over the place, and you want to say something, but the lump in your chest keeps you from speaking.

feeling your breathing slightly irregular, daniela leans back a bit to look down at you. "are you okay?" she asks in a quiet voice.

shaking your head, your eyes closed as you grasp onto her shirt in a tight bundle, you reply in a whisper. "please don't do the same thing."

daniela's heart breaks when she hears your response, pulling you closer to her as she kisses your head. "i won't, i promise. you don't have to worry. i'd die first before i would even think of doing that to you." she can feel wet droplets hitting her shirt after she says that, and her hand rubs your back gently. "i love you."

her reply hits you harder than you thought it would as you start to cry quietly into her chest. you were told the same thing by sophia, but everyone saw how that turned out. hearing it again has you second guessing everything you'd done, but the way daniela says it like she genuinely means it has you breaking down anyways. "i love you," you get out past your cries. "please stay."

"i'm not going anywhere," daniela responds. "just go to sleep. i'll wake you up tomorrow, and we'll have a good christmas, okay?"

"okay," you nod.

in the end, you celebrated christmas day with daniela and her family, happy to be creating new memories to remember over the terrible week beforehand for you. you got a few texts from sophia throughout the day, and by the third one you gave up and ultimately blocked her number. a gift bag was left outside the front door the next day when you and dani were leaving to go out, and you hesitated. part of you wanted to see what was inside, but the bigger part of you tossed it away in the trash can before getting into the car. even if the holiday started out bad, it ended about as well as it could.

[seat-safety-switch]

If you can't weld well, then weld a lot. That's the advice my mentors have given me. They're probably proud of me, in whatever heaven or hell it is that dirtbag bodyshop techs go to when they die. Maybe some of them are still alive, I don't know. Don't go on LinkedIn much, not since it tried to steal my thoughts and give them to thought leaders. Oh, I'm weirding you out. This happens sometimes, I'm sorry. Can I start over?

As I've complained about on many previous occasions, I am not a particularly good welder. This shouldn't be surprising: the ability to melt multiple pieces of metal together using lightning is simply unnatural. Thousands of years ago, the village elders would have demanded your destruction for wielding such a power in their presence. Even so, I try, and I hope that my ancestors will forgive me when I fix this dodgy rocker panel.

Experience, though: that's what will make me a kind of okay welder. Unfortunately, I only have so many shitty cars, and I don't want to do my worst work to the things I have to keep for years, and drive around all day. What will the society papers think, etc. So I'm looking for alternative things to practice on. Once in awhile, I'll come across a pedestrian bridge with a spotty railing. Grind, zap, fog it with the $5 Princess Auto special spray paint that they're afraid to sell now. If you wear a high-visibility vest, nobody will even call the cops. Good practice.

So if you see me out there, repairing municipal infrastructure without permission, don't look directly at the spark, for one thing. Afterward, come say hi, and let me know if there's something in your neighbourhood that needs a booger weld. We're all in this together.

I'm hoping to work my way up to playground equipment one day, but that's a tough goal. Not just for safety reasons, but because parents these days are expected to actually watch their kids, and they'll get upset at all the swearing when I have to re-do the same bead for the fifteenth time.

[midnighthazee]

Greenridge ABO Series

a/n: So sorry this took so long! I got a little busy. But my goal is to post a chapter at least 3 times a week. :) Thanks for your patience Greenies!

Series Masterlist Masterlist

Warnings: FLUFF AND FLUFF, little angst, abuse, death, mentions of blood/injury, mentions of past abuse, explicit language, fear, pet names (I think thats everything)

WC: 5711

Chapter 7

“Explain it to me…. One. More. Time.. how you let this happen.” Alpha Lewis pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed. 

Hayes and Milo exchanged glances.

“I'm waiting….” Lewis growled. 

“We decided to take her out and hunt her in the woods.” Hayes stated.

“And what the fuck compelled you to do that?” Lewis snapped, tilting his head.

“We were just having fun.” Milo said, looking at the ground.

Lewis exhaled deeply, stepping in front of Milo and slapping him across the face. Although it felt more like a punch with the sheer force of anger backing it. His lip was cut from Lewis's ring, a drop of blood beading. Lewis then turned to Hayes who tensed.

“And you thought joining him was the smart choice? Because I know damn well it was his idea.” Lewis seethed, eyes squinting.

“Well I-” Hayes was cut off by Lewis's grip on his throat.

“You’re the fucking alpha when I’m away. Do you think this reckless behavior is how an alpha should act? You don’t get your own pack like this.” Lewis lectured. “And apparently you let it happen on multiple occasions?”

He released his neck with a push as his betas Frankie and Triston came in with beta Mallory. Sighing, Lewis walked over to them and grabbed the young beta by her shirt collar. She whimpered as he snatched her and threw her to Hayes’s feet.

“Let me teach you a lesson.” Lewis pulled a gun from his back pocket, aimed, and shot twice.

She cried out, clutching her chest.

“No!” Hayes dropped to his knees, scooping her up.

“You’re mate here will die thanks to the recklessness of your brother that you allowed.” Lewis threw the gun down between Hayes and Milo before walking off.

It was then that they realized it was Milo’s BB gun.

“Oh…and if you’re wondering… yes, it was loaded with those cobalt pellets. Get rid of that damn gun and clean out the cells in the basement.” Lewis walked off.

“Mallory? Mal? Hey….look at me.” Hayes said, tears pooling in his eyes.

She looked up at him, coughing up blood as her eyes began to glaze over. “Hayes?” 

“I’m here…I'm here. I’m so sorry.” Hayes cried as she weakly raised her hand to caress his cheek.

Milo was there, head hung as the guilt ate at him. He shouldn’t have pushed his brother to break the rules. And now his brother was being punished when it should’ve been him. The guilt became anger quickly as he wanted to punish you - if you hadn’t gotten out, none of this would be happening.

“Mallory! No, come back to me!” Hayes sobbed next to him, as Mallory's eyes began to close. The cobalt was straight to her heart and spreading quickly.

Milo knelt down, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I-”

“Don’t touch me!” Hayes growled.

Milo jumped back, clenching his jaw as he looked at Mallory. She went limp in his brother’s hold, Hayes pulling her close to his chest as he sobbed into her hair. They were so in love with each other that Hayes wanted to marry her. She was always telling him to wait, knowing he had a soulmate out there, but he didn’t care. She was all he wanted, swearing that she was his soulmate. She would simply shake her head and smile at him. Now he had no one.

Quietly, he stood, lifting Mallory in his arms and taking her to be buried in the yard. Milo grieved as well. He liked Mallory and hated that he got her killed. She had always been nice to him and considered him her brother. Subconsciously, he moved to follow but Hayes turned to him, eyes red with anger.

“Stay the fuck away from me.” Hayes snarled.

“Hayes let me help-”

“No. This is your fault. You got her killed.” Hayes stormed off.

Milo whimpered in the loneliness of the garage. He was going to spend the rest of his life making this up to his brother.

“I need you two to go south to Okami. Check and make sure she’s not there. Frankie, you’re with Hayes. Go check with Honshu. Report back your findings. I swear they better not have crossed me.” Lewis clenched his fists at the thought. “And if they haven’t, then we will check the neighboring territories. We will find her.” 

The betas nodded, heading off towards the house of their allies. Hayes had buried Mallory nearly an hour ago, leaving flowers at her makeshift grave off the edge of their grassy yard. Eventually he would get her a proper tombstone.

While they handled that, Lewis went down to the basement to see how Milo was fairing. He opened the door, forgetting just how rank it can smell down there since usually he has people get the omegas when he requests them. But now he was going down here on his own. The piss and mildew smell was quickly joined with the rancid smell of fear and anxiety.

Milo was currently cleaning out your old cage, soapy water splashed about on the floor. He pushed the mop back and forth as Lewis approached.

Looking at the bucket of cleaning supplies, he saw a scrub brush. He picked it up, spinning it in his hands before tossing it at Milo. Milo jumped, looking at his alpha.

“Scrub. I want you on your hands and knees until this place is sparkling. I lost my favorite omega and a beta because of your stupidity.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” Milo hung his head.

Lewis walked to the next cell, the female omega cowering in the corner. Her chains clanked as she scooted, pressing herself into the wall. He turned around, looking at the male omega in the cage across from her. He too was shaking, curled in the corner.

“Tell me, omegas. Does he hunt you two as well?” Lewis asked.

They both shook their heads.

“Be honest. If I catch you lying on his behalf, no food for a week.”

“Once.” the male whispered. “He said I was boring, though.”

“Interesting. Thank you.” Lewis said, turning to the stairs as he glared at Milo. “Feed them in an hour. He gets extra food. And if you lay another finger on them, you’ll be joining them.”

With that, Lewis headed back upstairs. He had work to be done, an infiltration to plan. He would get his omega back, that was for sure.

You woke up with a jolt, having just dreamed that the Nykos had found you and brought you back home. At least this time you didn’t scream and wake someone. Standing, you stretch and look around your room. Sure it was nice and comfy, but it still felt foreign - like it wasn’t your actual room and just something temporary. You didn’t know how to make it yours though. Didn’t one of the boys say something about personalizing it?

You make your way into the bathroom and brush your hair. It was slightly frizzy so you just put it in a high ponytail. You brushed your teeth and got dressed before heading downstairs. It was only your third day with them and yet so much had happened. 

As you walk into the kitchen, the usual breakfast buffet is set out, different options of course but still smelling amazing.

“Morning, kitten.” Minho says, smiling at you.

“Morning.” you smile, blushing.

“Morning!” Felix cheered, hugging you from behind.

You tensed instinctively, and he let go.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I’m a hugger.”

You give him a small smile, your heart now beating a bit faster.

“Just because you hugged her once, doesn’t mean you can all the time.” Seungmin noted.

Felix glared at him.

“Y-you can.” you admitted, looking at the ground. “You just can’t sneak up on me.”

“Are you sure?” Felix asked, tilting your chin to look into your eyes.

“Yes.” you nod.

A big grin spread across his face and he engulfed you in a tight hug. You froze, not that you could move with his grip, but his smell of excitement and happiness relaxed you. You liked making him happy. Isn’t that what omegas are supposed to do? Take care of their pack members and provide them with strength, love, and support?

“Okay. Let’s eat.” Hyunjin said, coming into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?”

He looked over at y/n and Felix as he was hugging her.

“Nothing. She just gave Felix permission to hug her whenever he wants.” Seungmin sounded annoyed.

“Why does she look scared?” Hyunin smirked. 

Felix pulled away immediately, looking at your face. “No she doesn't.”

Hyunjin laughed as he walked by you and you noticed all the love bites and bruises covering his neck and arms. Jeongin was definitely rough with him yesterday. The commotion of everyone filling their plates with food drew your attention away. You realized you had been staring and cleared your throat to go fix your own plate. 

“So what’s the plan for today?” Changbin asked as you all started to sit at the table.

You sat between Felix and Hyunjin and began to eat your breakfast when Felix spoke.

“Oh! Let’s go to the lake! Y/n, you want to go to the lake?” Felix’s eyes were wide and he was nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Um…sure?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Minho clarified.

“I never got to leave my cell. Only on rare occasions when they wanted to parade us around for a party or something. So getting out of the house would be nice.” You say.

“Perfect.” Felix said with a big smile. “Who wants to join us?”

“Hyunjin?” Changbin asks with a suggestive smirk.

“Sorry babe. I have to go relieve Chan.” Hyunjin reminded him.

“Oh yeah.” Changbin pouted. “I guess I’ll still go.”

“Me too.” Seungmin added.

Felix hurried to finish his food and get a cooler packed. Minho was moving too slow for him so he made the sandwiches and snacks himself. Then he filled the cooler with some ice and drinks, putting the food on top. After, he ran off upstairs and returned after a few moments with towels and sunscreen.

“I think I got everything.” Felix mutters, thinking hard.

You giggle. “We need all this?”

“We are going to spend the day there. It’s a bit of a walk to get there so we can have a picnic after some swimming.” Changbin told you.

“Swimming?” you asked. You don’t even know if you have ever gone swimming. If so, you were really little - probably five seeing as you had been with the Nykos since you were around seven. Over a decade with them and you were definitely lacking in the life experiences department.

“Oh hey, Felix. We should bring the floaties.” Changbin stated.

“Yes. Good idea!” Felix rushed off to the garage. 

You had been walking for miles. Changbin says the lake is only a three and half mile walk but it feels longer. You were dragging behind everyone as they effortlessly hiked the hills and through the trees. You tripped a few times, one of which everyone had to stop for so Felix could clean the cut and apply a bandaid. 

They were all slowing down to keep pace with you, making it slower for them. They usually get there within an hour and it had definitely been closer to three hours at this point.

“C’mon y/n. We are almost there.” Seungmin complained.

“Give her a break Seungmin. She’s not used to all this activity.” Felix glared.

“It’s just over this hill.” Changbin said, holding out a hand to help you with the incline.

You gratefully took his hand as you panted, your legs burning. He pulled you along and it helped but you just wanted to get there. You made your way up the hill and at the top you could see the lake a few yards ahead.

“Wow. It’s gorgeous.” You say, stunned.

“It is. Come on.” Felix jumped from a giant rock and made his way down to the small ravine leading to the lake.

The lake wasn’t massive, definitely not big enough for boating. But enough that they could enjoy swimming around. The ravine was fairly wide, with a small creek trailing down to a waterfall that let out into the lake. As they walked the trail and came around the waterfall, they made out their usual picnic spot. Felix was laying out the blanket and placing the bags on the corners. 

There was a small wooden makeshift dock leading into the lake that you could jump off, the water clear enough for you to make out some fish swimming around and the rocks below. It was truly picturesque as you took it in.

“You like?” Felix asked.

“It’s so pretty here. The water, the trees, the mountain range in the background.” your eyes taking everything in.

“Worth the hike?” Changbin chuckled.

You nod. It definitely was. You wanted to stay here forever. Far away from the Nykos and any pack squabbles.

“Let’s go swimming and cool off.” Felix said eagerly, slipping off his shoes and running over to the small wooden dock.

He ran the length, jumping off and into the water. Your heart caught in your throat. You don’t know why the sight made you nervous, but you watched with wide eyes, willing him to resurface. Subconsciously you stepped forward, staring.

His head popped up and he laughed out, shaking his head and making his hair fling everywhere. You finally let out the breath you had been holding and watched as he swam around.

“Hurry. The water feels great.” Felix called out.

“Can you swim?” Seungmin stood beside you.

“I- uh…No, I don’t think so.” you mutter.

“We will teach you.” Seungmin assured with a smile. 

Felix climbed up the dock and was making his way over. He had taken off his tank top and was ringing it out. You stared at his bare skin, the water on it glistening in the sunlight. He stripped off his shorts too, leaving him in just his boxers as he rung out his clothes and came over. He went over to the trees and placed his clothes on a string you just noticed.  

“Ready?” Seungmin asked.

You nodded, slipping off your own shoes and following him to the little dock. You made it halfway before you got nervous and froze.

“It’s okay. I won’t let you drown.” Seungmin comforts, holding out a hand. “None of us will.”

Felix comes back, running past and doing a cannonball into the water. Changbin followed after, giggling as he jumped in. 

“C’mon y/n. I’ll catch you.” Changbin called.

Seungmin led you to the edge, standing with you.

“Jump,” Changbin beckoned.

Your legs froze. What if the water was too cold? What if it was too deep and you fell to the bottom? What if-

You scream, limbs flailing as you fall into the water. Seungmin was laughing mischievously. Of course he pushed you in. Changbin caught you like he said and you gasped for air, wiping the water from your face.

“Hey, hey. You’re good. I got you.” Changbin says.

“Seungmin. You ass!” You said between breaths, glaring at him.

“You were taking too long.” he says before jumping in.

Teaching you to swim turned out pretty easy. The boys got lucky that your subconscious remembered how from when you learned as a child. Within thirty minutes, you were swimming around them on your own. You could go underwater and swim in even the deepest part. 

You did nearly drown Felix at one point when a fish touched your foot and you freaked out, grabbing onto him. Seungmin was dying laughing at the situation, Changbin pulling you off and calming you.

After swimming for nearly an hour, you all got out and had lunch. You were in just a shirt and underwear as the boys just swam in their boxers. It was freeing but you didn’t feel comfortable enough to be fully naked. Changbin said they usually are naked when they come, but for you they would stay modest. You honestly didn’t know how you would feel if they were all naked right now.

So your clothes hung on the line, blowing in the breeze as you ate. The sandwiches Felix packed were pretty good and you managed to eat two and half (good thing Felix made several). 

“You were hungry.” Changbin noted, amused.

“Yeah, because she almost drowned Felix.” Seungmin notes.

You roll your eyes.

“He’s never gonna let you live that down.” Felix whispers. 

“I can tell.”

As you finish up, Seungmin gets ready to get back into the water. You tell him to wait up, hurrying to catch up to him. As you approach the dock, you hear rustling in the trees. You whip your head around to see what it was but you can’t see anything.

“Y/n….y/n?” Seungmin calls out but you barely hear him.

You squinted, looking harder between the brush of the trees and bushes. Focusing your heightened hearing, you hear footsteps approaching. Panic fills your body and you back up. You managed to get on the dock but stepped right off, into the shallow end. You screamed, falling into the water. The boys rushed over, Seungmin hopping down to help you up.

“No! Stop!” You pushed him away.

“Y/n, it’s okay. It’s us.” Changbin spoke in a calming way.

You blinked through the water on your face and realized you were surrounded by the three of them.

“But I heard footsteps.” you mumble. This was embarrassing.

Changbin quickly walked over to the trees and stepped through, making your heart race even more. He looked around, sniffing the air and listening out. When he returned, he shook his head.

“Nothing there. No scent. It was probably just an animal.”

“It sounded big if it was an animal.” you scoff.

“There are some big animals out here. But you aren’t used to the sounds of the forest, so it makes sense. But I promise you’re safe. This lake is deep in our property.” Changbin explains. 

You nod, Seungmin supporting you in the waist deep water. As the adrenaline wears off, you start to feel pain. Your ankle was kind of throbbing. You move to walk closer to the dock and you stumble, Seungmin catching you.

“Are you hurt?” Felix asks. 

You nod. “Not badly, though.” “Let me see.” Felix says and Seungmin and Changbin help you out of the water.

You sit on the dock and Felix inspects your ankle. You wince as he twists it a bit. Seungmin fetches the first-aid kit from Felix’s bookbag and brings it back to him.

“Might be a sprain or bruising. Here is definitely going to bruise.” he says, pointing to the side of your thigh that you landed on the rock with. It was scraped and slightly bleeding.

“I’m fine. I’ve had worse.” you mumble.

“Just let us take care of you.” Felix glares.

You keep your mouth shut as he examines the scrap, cleaning it.

“Can we get back to swimming now?” you ask.

“You’re hurt.” Seungmin deadpanned.

You roll your eyes, moving to stand. It hurts but you managed to get yourself on two legs. You begin walking - or rather limping - to the edge of the dock.

“See. I’m fine.”

“Y/n…if you keep walking on it, you can do more damage.” Felix lectured.

“Then I won’t walk.” You said, falling backwards into the water.

Felix gasps, looking at the other two for what to do. Seungmin shrugs and runs down the dock, diving into the water. Felix reluctantly puts the first aid kit back on their blanket and joins everyone in the water. They even brought some of the floaties out, blowing them up. You liked lounging on them..until Seungmin flipped you over.

It was dusk and the sun was about to set beyond the mountain range in the distance. You were laying on the blanket, Felix finally bandaging you up. Your leg was scraped so he applied some ointment he made from some of the herbs and wrapped it. He also wrapped your ankle so you could walk. Clothes were put back on and the picnic was packed.

“Okay, Y/n. I need to pack the blanket.” Felix said.

“I’m too tired to move.” you groaned as you laid there.

“Are you?” Changbin knelt down and began to tickle you.

You gasp, eyes wide as you squirmed. 

“What… are… you… doing?” you say between giggles.

Changbin stops. “Tickling you? No one’s ever…?”

He trailed off as you shook your head. Awkward…

You both stood and Felix packed up the bags. Everyone put their shoes on and began heading back home. You were limping but pushing through it. It wasn’t until you were nearly ten feet behind them that they realized how much you were hiding your pain.

“Okay. I’m giving you a piggyback ride home.” Changbin said.

“No, no. I’m fine.” That was a lie and they all knew it.

The more you walked on your ankle, the more it was hurting. But you didn’t want to be a burden. It was a long trek home and you didn’t want him to have to carry you the whole time.

“You’re light. And it will be faster if I carry you. The sun is about to set.” Changbin argued.

“You’re hurt y/n. You don’t want to make it worse. Just let him carry you.” Felix pleaded.

“Fine.” you groaned.

You weren’t used to touching them yet so it felt weird to be so close, but Seungmin helped you onto Changbin’s back and he carried you. The sun was setting faster than they wanted so they were trying to hurry home.

Lewis was pacing in his office as he waited for his betas to return home. He was hoping he wouldn’t have to cut ties with any of his allies for betraying him. But if they stole his omega, he would burn their house down and kill them all.

Knock. Knock.

“Come in.” Lewis said.

Frankie and Hayes walked in.

“They didn’t have her and haven’t seen her. We were invited in but her smell wasn’t there or near the property.”

“Good. I don’t have to lose their numbers.” Lewis said. “Now I’m just waiting to hear back from Triston and Sam about the Okami pack. They need to hurry and get back.”

“I’m telling you, sir. They are with Greenridge. Their property was closest to where we were and if we didn’t see a body… It means she was picked up. It had to be them. And knowing them, they weren’t going to leave her to die.” Hayes argued.

“My father was clear about our agreement. I’m not going to undermine him. I am doing my due diligence before marching over there and demanding to search their property. If they stole from me, we don’t have to worry about the agreement.” Lewis said.

“So send us. We will ask if they have seen her. Of course they will deny it but we can catch her scent.” Frankie offered. “We go now and if Sam and Triston come back with her location before then, just call us and we will turn around.”

“Fine. Go. But…” Lewis pointed his finger at them. “If you see or smell her, don’t make a scene. I don’t need you trying to fight them. Just report back and we will form a plan.”

“Yes sir.” They said in unison with a bow of their heads.

They got in Hayes’s truck and drove over to the Greenridge property. The sun was nearly setting, making the skies a haze of purple and orange colors. They parked at the end of the drive and walked up, keeping as much distance as they could.

Minho and Chan were home, Chan knocked out in his room. Jeongin had worn him out last night and he spent the day sleeping it off. His body was spent and he was definitely going to have to send someone else for the night so he could recoup. The last thing he wanted was to weaken himself when they have to stay alert in protecting you.

Minho was looking in the fridge trying to figure out what to make for dinner. You three would be back soon and he wanted dinner ready. He decided on something simple - grilled chicken, roasted veggies, and mashed potatoes. Jisung was left to help fix dinner, which he groaned about because it meant he couldn’t play his game.

Whilst skinning and chopping the potatoes, the doorbell rang. Sighing, Minho went to answer it as Jisung kept chopping the veggies. Minho opened the door, greeting the two gentlemen as their scent practically smacked him in the face. One was an alpha, the other beta, and they both smelled a little like you did when you first arrived.

“Can I help you guys?” Minho asked.

“We hope so. I’m Frankie, this is Hayes. We were looking for a special someone. We lost our mate and she’s very timid. We were hoping that maybe you had seen her?” Frankie said in the most sincere voice, as if he was genuinely worried.

“Uh, no. We haven’t seen anyone new around here.”

“You sure?” Hayes challenged, eyes squinting at Minho. “She’s a very pretty thing. She likes to run off but she’s not the most stable in the head. She gets lost and confused easily… very delusional sometimes.” 

“Not ringing a bell.” Minho said, trying to maintain his anger. How dare he talk about you like that. “If I happen to find a confused girl, I will surely let you know.”

“Thank you.” Hayes stepped forward, his foot landing at the threshold of the door. He held out his hand and forced a smile. “We are part of the Nyko pack. Just bring her by if you find her.”

Minho shook his hand, a display of strength as Hayes squeezed. Minho didn’t reveal himself so he let the alpha squeeze his hand. “Will do. Have a nice night.”

“You too.” Hayes glanced around the room before he and Frankie walked off. Minho watched them get nearly halfway down the drive before shutting the door.

“Dammit.” Chan growled, coming up behind Minho from his room.

“You don’t think they could smell her, do you?” a worried Jisung asked.

“If they did, they played it off well. She hasn’t been here all day. So her scent should hopefully be faint enough. Between our smells, the cleaning I did earlier, and dinner… let’s hope.”

“We need to come up with a plan immediately. I am not letting them get the upper hand on this.” Chan went into his office.

Jisung practically whimpered at the tension in the room.

“Come on. They should be home soon and I want dinner ready for them.” Minho said, pulling Jisung back into the kitchen. 

You don’t know when you fell asleep, but the feeling of falling backwards woke you. You opened your eyes as Seungmin and Felix were pulling you off of Changbin’s back and laying you on the couch.

“Shh. We are home.” Felix cooed.

“That was fast.” you yawned.

“Wanted you home for dinner.” Minho spoke from the kitchen.

“Mmmm. It smells good.” you say, sitting up as the aroma of dinner wakes you.

“Y/n! What happened?!” Jisung exclaimed, rushing to your side.

Minho stopped his prep of the food and came over to see.

“I’m okay.” You roll your eyes.

Jisung reached to touch your thigh, but stopped himself. He then looked at the bandage on your other shin and your wrapped ankle.

“You’re clearly not okay. What happened out there?”

“Our omega is skittish and a little clumsy.” Changbin smiled.

“And she tried to drown Felix.” Seungmin added.

“I did not!” you huff but he only chuckles.

“Can you walk?” Jisung asks.

“Yes.” you say.

“Barely.” Felix said.

You moved to stand, ignoring the painful protest in your ankle. “See?”

Jisung moved out of your way and you walked…with a slight limp. Minho stared, wincing as he could see you doing ever so subtly. He could hear your heartbeat as the pain elevated it. 

“I’ve had a lot worse.” you remind, making your way to the table.

Minho and Jisung finish setting the table and everyone sits down to eat.

“Chan still with Jeongin?” Changbin asks.

Minho slows his movements. “Uh no… he’s in his office.”

“Should I grab him?” Seungmin moved to stand.

“No. I’ll bring him a plate. He um..doesn’t want to be interrupted right now.” Minho exchanged glances with a few of the boys as they looked at him skeptically. 

They could tell there was something he wasn’t saying, but they didn’t push him. You, however, were oblivious. The food was warm and delicious and had you closing your eyes. You moaned at how good it was, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Sorry.” you muttered when you finally noticed them all staring.

Minho smirked, happy you enjoyed his food so much.

Dinner went by quick, Chan staying in his office and exhausting every scenario he could think of to defend or attack as needed. Minho brought him a plate and nagged him till he finally ate some. Felix and Jisung helped clean the kitchen. Changbin and Seungmin had gone to shower. And Hyunjin was occupied with Jeongin. 

You found yourself missing their company as you walked upstairs. Sure Jeongin scared you half to death when he attacked you, but it was understandable. You weren’t going to hold it against him. You made your way to the end of the hall, presumably Jeongin’s room and opened the door. His smell was there but faint since he hadn’t been in it for about thirty-six hours. His room was darker, a brick accent wall behind his bed and wood ceilings. He had a brown leather headboard and dark grey paneling framing his bed - it felt earthy and cozy. 

You realized you had never seen anyone else’s room yet and wondered how theirs looked in comparison to yours and Jeongin’s. Jeongin’s was definitely more homey than yours.

You went across the hall and opened that door, Hyunjin’s scent wafting over you. His scent was stronger since he had been here recently. His room was way different. His walls were paneling of wood in multiple shades. He had a fireplace and tv opposite his bed. A chair was in the far corner, with a desk next to it. Canvases were piled in the other corner, one on an easel facing away from you. 

His desk was covered in paints and brushes. It was definitely the work station of an artist. You found yourself walking inside, reaching for the wool blanket draped over the foot of his bed. You lifted it to your nose and breathed in his smell. Wow, he smells amazing. His room also made you feel warm and cozy. Why were their rooms better than yours?

“Hey.” Jisung whispered. 

You of course jumped, dropping the blanket and placing your hand on your chest.

“Sorry. I knew that was going to happen. I tried to walk louder.” he looked to the room. “What are you doing?”

“I, uh..” you blushed. How were you going to explain this?

“Exploring?” Jisung asks.

You nod.

“He smells good, doesn’t he?” Jisung smiles. “But I smell better right?”

You smile, rolling your eyes at him.

“Come. I’ll show you my room.”

You stayed rooted to your spot. The last time a beta said that, Triston brought you to his room, locking you in there until he was done with you. He complained you ‘took a while to satisfy him’ even though he basically used you all night. He seemed satisfied enough each time he came.

“Y/n?” Jisung asked.

You looked at him and swallowed thickly. 

You don’t have to be afraid. They aren’t the Nykos. They won’t hurt you. You remind yourself.

You follow Jisung to his room, not stepping inside. The smell hit you hard, taking you back. Yes, it was comforting but there was something about it. You took in his mess of a room. He had a sliding door on one wall, leading out to a balcony, the walls a white shiplap. But the room was trashed with clothes everywhere. You swear there was a rotten apple hidden somewhere in the mess.

“I should have cleaned up first…” he mumbled.

“Maybe.” You forced a smile. “I’m going to go shower.”

“Okay. You sure you’re alright? We have a tub if you want to take a bath.” 

“I’m okay. I just want to lay down and sleep. I’m worn out.”

“Wait.” Jisung looked around his room before grabbing a t-shirt from a basket. It had the logo of an anime on it. “Here.”

“What’s this for?” “It’s clean. It’s for your nest.”

“Nest?” You questioned. That was the thing they talked about before.

“Right…um. Just take it. I’ll explain tomorrow.”

You nodded, making your way to your room. A ten minute shower later and you were curling up in your bed. Jisung’s shirt was at the foot of your bed. Curiously, you reach for it, bringing it up to your nose and sniffing. His smell wasn’t as strong but it still smelled so good. You couldn’t get enough. Unbeknownst to you, you fell asleep with it up to your face.

“She’s there…with the Greenridge pack.” Hayes confirmed. “It was faint but I smelled her.”

“Faint?” Lewis raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think she was home while we were there. The guys weren’t that defensive but they were definitely playing it off. I could smell her scent.”  Hayes explained.

“Did you smell it?” Lewis asked Frankie.

“I honestly don’t know how she smells. She always smelled like the basement and the other omegas.”

Lewis sighed. “Fine. I’ll take your word for it. Even though you aren’t very credible right now.” “I wouldn’t lie about something like this. I want her back here as much as you do.” Hayes said.

“Very well. Looks like we need to come up with our plan of attack. Sam and Triston are upstairs. Go get them.” Lewis demanded.

Frankie retrieved the betas and they all began planning the best way to get you back.

TAGLIST:

@estella-novella @lxvxchxrlxttxbxrsx22-blog @butterflydemons @readr1221 @gaby105-skz @notevenheretbh1 @bah2004 @sinfulfic @bowsnbang @just-a-blackthorn-cookie @dreamerwasfound @motheraiya55 @m00njinnie @writeuntilthebitterend @jutdwae-flower @staytinyluv @emmxxsworld @galaxy4489 @wolfo2027

Shout out to my beta for inspiring, motivating, and pushing me! @its-the-solar-system

[woniverse-writes]

"Moth to a Flame (part 7)"

Bada Lee x Reader

part 6 ⟵ part 7 ⟶ part 8

series masterlist

summary: y/n l/n is the youngest team member of Jam Republic, competing in the second season of Street Woman Fighter. she’s got the sweetest smile and the most vibrant personality, but she also may or may not be the biggest hothead on the show when it comes to defending her teammates. apparently that’s attractive to Bada Lee.

word count: 9k

warnings: swearing, minor angst if you could even call it that, tbh this doesn't feel like my best work so i'm sorry, not proofread, nothing I write is a reflection of anyone's true character and is a work of total fiction

After Deep n Dap had been defeated by Wolf’Lo, There were a few days between the elimination and when the crews were supposed to gather again to learn the group choreography for the trailer. In that time Jam Republic had been booked and busy- they had a long-awaited team dinner, went to some dance classes, and even taught some of their own.

Y/n specifically took a class with Harimu at 1 Million, that happened to to be taught by Redy. the three hung out before heading to the studio, grabbing lunch and bonding over dance and being the youngest members of their crews. 

“So how’re things among the other Jam girls? Are you all getting accustomed to things here?” Redy asked after taking a sip from her mimosa

“They’re all doing great- as I explained earlier, it wasn’t really hard for me to get re-situated, but I was actually really nervous for them at first…” y/n explained briefly, causing both 1 Million dancers to tilt their heads and furrow their brows

“Aww, why? Because of the language barrier or just being in a different country?” the older of the two questioned again

“A bit of both- I knew the language would be hard for them since it took me years of studying to even be able to speak and understand it somewhat fluently, but I felt okay enough to be able to translate for them… I was mostly worried about how we’d be perceived by Korean netizens I guess, since we’re such a diverse team…” The youngest dancer played with her straw once she finished her sentence, a bit shy to admit her original concerns for her team. The other two nodded sympathetically 

“Well, have you made any other close friends?” Harimu finally chimes back in, wanting to avoid the deeper conversation that she felt was about to arise

“You and Lusher seem pretty close- Tatter too!” Redy exclaimed, having remembered the girls’ reactions to Y/n, as well as how easily the blonde got along with her during the rank mission. Y/n smiled softly and was about to confirm their friendship before the other 1 Million dancer snorted and began talking again

“Now that you say that I can’t help but be curious about what’s been going on between you and Bada” she teased out of curiosity, not noticing how quickly the younger dancer’s face dropped. Y/n didn’t say anything at first, taking another sip from her drink, causing the two to look up from their own over at her.

“...there’s nothing going on between me and Bada… we aren’t even friends…” Y/n softly tells them, leaving both of them shocked

“Woah- what??? Did something happen?? Just a couple of weeks ago you two were all over each other!” Harimu loudly explicated, earning a smack to the arm from her teammate

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to Y/n, we understand… I especially understand that Bada isn’t the greatest at communicating so…” Redy comforted the girl, but y/n just chuckled a bit sadly before sighing

“It’s okay, I don’t mind explaining it to you guys…” She told her two friends and then did just that. Y/n explained how she and Bada became close quickly, how they hung out as just the two of them on multiple occasions, leaving out the parts where things got a bit too intimate, but it wasn’t hard to fill in the blanks. Then how things went south as soon as the pressure was on for the mega crew mission. By the end of the retelling, y/n’s mouth felt dry and she couldn’t help the feeling of shame that arose once again at the remembrance of how childish and immature she had acted.

“Wow… I didn’t think it was gonna be that bad…” Harimu mumbled, reaching over to take a sip from Redy’s mimosa, causing the other to fumble to try and stop her before immediately giving up to pay attention to their friend

“I’m so sorry you had to experience that Y/n… you didn’t deserve that.” Redy reached across the table to hold Y/n’s hand, the younger looking up to meet her eyes before pursing her lips

“I mean… I kinda did… maybe not all of it, but at least most of it-”

“No way- I wouldn’t even say you deserved a quarter of it” the younger 1 Million dancer cut her friend off, not liking how self-deprecating she was sounding, causing her teammate to nod and hum

“Harimu’s right- sure you said some things you shouldn’t have and you may have started the argument, but if Bada had been so mature herself, you two probably would’ve been able to get out of that fight with your relationship still intact.” the oldest of the three intelligently remarked, causing her teammate to hum and nod while Y/n just sighed

“I can’t believe you two haven’t talked at all since then…”

“Redy she doesn’t even wanna look at me or acknowledge my existence when we’re in the same room, I wouldn’t be able to get close to her even if I did wanna talk to her…” Y/n pouted and leaned against her hand. They all sat in silence for a moment until Harimu sat up straight with a gasp

“Have you tried getting her attention? Like- maybe you don’t have to be the one that talks first!” she exclaimed with wide eyes, leaving the other two with very confused expressions. She sighed dramatically and continued with her idea

“What if you try to make her jealous??” Y/n gave a deadpan expression in response as Redy rolled her eyes and mumbled an ‘oh my god’ under her breath

“Girl- I already told you we weren’t… a thing… so how would that even work?” the youngest questioned exasperatedly 

“And I already told you how I don’t believe that for a second, BUT- “ Redy snorted as she couldn’t help but agree with her teammate since they’d all seen how Bada and Y/n looked at each other

“We do what every dancer does when they’re trying to make someone jealous- a duet…” Harimu finished explaining and the others just sat there, waiting for her to explain in further detail, which caused her to huff before doing so

“Y/n, you can do a duet with one of us that has a lot of partner work, and touching and it’ll be like- spicy- ya know??? And it’ll make Bada jealous!” the middle dancer finally finished explaining

“It’s not a terrible idea…” Redy chimed in apprehensive, not wanting to upset her friend, but also agreeing with how well it could work. The two 1 Million dancers waited to hear what the youngest had to say, leaving Y/n sighing 

“It’s not a bad idea, but the only way it’d work was if Bada actually still cared…” she mumbled sadly and pouted into the hand that she was leaning on

“Well, there’s only one way to find out!”

The three finished their lunch and headed over to 1 Million Dance Studio for Redy’s class. Afterward, they stuck around and began choreographing a duet for Y/n and Redy

“Oooh, you know what would make this even better??” Harimu excitedly inquired, leaving her friends a bit worried once they saw the mischievous look in her eyes

“Oh god… what?” Y/n whined, throwing her head back

“If you used a song she’s already choreographed too- perhaps a song that no one knows she’s choreographed to yet…” The younger 1 Million dancer raised her eyebrows up and down, yet the other two stood confused. Harimu sighs once again before pressing play on the music she picked. “Psycho” by Baekhyun started playing and Redy burst out laughing

“We can’t- that’d be so mean!” the youngest of the three expressed more of her concerns out loud

“No it wouldn’t- Bada doesn’t own this song. And plus, we could always say something nice about how she was the one who reminded us of this song… nobody else knows the reason we’re doing this besides us Y/n, so it’ll only seem mean to you… and maybe her but she deserves it!” Redy defended, assuring Y/n that there wouldn’t be any repercussions from the public

“Exactly- the mega crew missions won’t air for a while, so people probably won’t even connect the two anyway!” Harimu chimed in, throwing an arm around Y/n’s shoulder, causing her to let out a sigh

“Alright… let’s do it-” she gave in and the other two cheered and jumped with joy, excited to choreograph the piece and cause some chaos. They worked on the piece for hours before filming it. Redy decided she’d be the one to post it, just in case it did cause some drama then it wouldn’t totally be pinned on Y/n. The three girls finished their hang-out sesh and went their separate ways. 

When Y/n had settled into her apartment her phone lit up with a notification from Instagram, letting her know she was tagged in a post. She clicked on it to see the video of her and Redy’s choreography, where the older dancer had captioned it ‘been obsessed with this song lately- thanks @badalee_!’ with a bunch of black, white, and pink emojis. Y/n reposted the video to her story and made sure to leave a comment before turning off her phone and getting in the shower.

Meanwhile, team Bebe was out having dinner when Bada’s phone pinged with a notification. Unlocking it, she opened Instagram to see that Redy had tagged her in a video- a video that had her heart clenching the second she processed what it was, or rather who it was.

Tatter had also opened Instagram while they were waiting for their food to arrive and saw the same video as the first thing on her feed. She turned to Bada immediately and showed her the video but ended up bursting out laughing when she saw the same thing already pulled up on the older girl’s phone. 

“I really don’t see what’s funny about this…” the leader mumbled sourly, while her teammate continued to die of laughter. The others sat confused until Lusher reached over to take Tatter’s phone which she had dropped on the table. The sub-leader tried to stifle her own laughter once she saw the video and read the caption, before sliding the phone back over to the blonde.

“You guys seriously aren’t annoyed by this? They took our song!” Bada childishly whined, causing Tatter to laugh even harder while the younger members started asking what was going on. The eldest tossed her phone gently in the middle of the table for everyone to see the video, and while a couple were confused the other couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Oh no Bada- they took your song. We didn’t mess with Y/n… this is targeting you…” Lusher smirked as she took a long sip from her drink, causing the leader to scoff

“Seriously? You really think this is specifically targeting me? And why would Redy do that… especially since me and her are good now-”

“So you think this was Y/n’s idea?” CheChe questioned with a raised brow

“Of course! She’s obviously still out to get me with her immature antics…” the leader dramatically pouted and crossed her arms. To her teammates, she looked like a spoiled child who just got told they did something wrong for the first time. This caused most of the members to either scoff or burst out laughing 

“Well you were the one who took it as an attack in the first place- maybe they genuinely just wanted to dance to the song…” Kyma chimed in, shrugging her shoulder, causing the leader to groan and throw her head back against the booth they were all in. She glanced back at her phone to see that Harimu commented on the video- something about how she was glad to be a part of the process. Then the leader clicked on the girl’s story to see she had reposted the video as well, complimenting her teammate but also making some flirty comments about Y/n. almost as if she could read Bada’s mind Lusher spoke up

“Y/n does look really good though… I’d get on that apology Bada or else you might lose your chance…” Lusher whispered the second half of her statement, teasing her team leader with a smirk, knowing how the dance was actually affecting her.

‘great now I have to worry about my own teammate AND these two stealing my girl…’

______________

After the short break they had gotten from filming, all the remaining crew’s returned for the filming of the season teaser video. Y/n had been gradually getting back to her old self after the mega crew mission had ended, feeling much less stress after completing it and having survived the elimination. The poor girl is still absolutely destroyed and guilt-ridden by the entire situation that occurred between her and Bada but is slowly finding it easier to ignore her presence. At this point, it’s been almost another full week since the elimination- meaning it’s been about two weeks since the two had last spoken to each other.

All the teams gathered in the main filming area after going through the hair and makeup process like usual, but it felt different to Bada. As soon as she laid her eyes on Y/n it was honestly like the Bebe leader had an epiphany.

“Woah… I fucked up…” she mumbled to herself, noticing how Y/n’s eyes didn’t sparkle anymore and how she was rather calm. The young girl had always been a bit chaotic and energetic when it came to filming, so what was wrong? This wasn’t a mission, so there was no need to stress- so what could've possibly been weighing Y/n down? And that was when Bada realized, that she was weighing her down…

“Goddamn- it’s about time you noticed…” Tatter mumbled in return, sighing once she noticed her leader’s sad puppy eyes and lips slightly parted in shock. For the rest of the shoot Bada is putting on her best stage face because her feelings are not correlating at all with what she’s supposed to be portraying. 

When they aren’t filming or there’s a break, Bada can only focus on how pretty and sad y/n looks. She doesn’t look sad all the time, but the older girl noticed that whenever she was by herself her mind seemed to always drift somewhere sad. Her smile fades (even though it hadn’t reached her eyes in the first place) and the younger girl suddenly looks so much older with how sunken her eyes are- had she been sleeping? Was she not eating enough? A million questions were racing through Bada’s mind and she tried to keep them pushed down for now, seeing as how she knew the second she started thinking, she knew she wouldn’t stop

Bada knew she was part of the reason why the jam republic dancer was like this, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her. So she did what she thought was the next best thing- talk to her leader. She tried to start off with a small conversation between herself and Kirsten to get a feel for the Jam leader’s attitude toward her, which worked in her favor seeing as the other had seemed pretty chill about talking with her. The rest of Jam Republic on the other hand (minus Y/n) observed with questionable glances as Bada laughed and joked with Kirstne like usual.

“Now what the actual fuck is her problem…” Ling commented out of absolute rage and distaste for whatever was going on a few meters away from them

“She better not be trying to pull some stupid shit, cuz I don’t play when it comes to Y/n…” Emma mumbled glaring at the Bebe leader along with the rest of her team. Latrice huffed out a laugh and turned to look at her

“You would sacrifice Y/n to a cult if it meant you got a good laugh out of it…” the sub-leader of Jam Republic commented with a little joking smirk, causing the other members to ease up a little bit and crack some light smiles

“Well yes- I would, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is allowed to!” Emma retorted, sticking up her nose dramatically. Y/n was luckily off getting her hair fixed with Redy and Yoonji, seeing as they all had these little crystals glued in their hair, and a few had fallen out during the first few runs. The Jam Republic members were just glad she wasn’t present to see the interaction, knowing their youngest member would either burst into tears and spiral into a mental breakdown, or spontaneously combust into a ball of flames and go on a rampage. Either way- it would not have been an easy situation to deal with.

Yet the Jammies’ relief is short-lived as they took their second break. Y/n came bounding over after doing a short segment with all the youngest members of each team, a bright smile on her face as her members awaited her return. They had all monitored the performance with smiles of adoration, hyping up their baby the whole time. They praised her and pinched her cheeks, teasing Y/n affectionately until Bada walked by.

“You ready for the leaders’ shot?” she questioned with a hand on Kirsten’s shoulder. The Jam Republic leader turned her attention away from her youngest member briefly to give a polite nod and smile. Bada jerked her head in the direction of where they were heading to film, signaling for the younger leader to follow her in that direction. The two began walking off before Kirsten turned back around to wave to her members, leaving the Jam Republic members in shock

“What was that…” Y/n watched with sad confused puppy eyes and her jaw slightly dropped as the two leaders walked away to go film. The other members stood behind her, tense as they tried to read the young girl’s emotions. Y/n felt her heart rate pick up and her breath quickens, feeling the pressure that usually paired with tears start to build up. She swallowed thickly and pushed down the feeling before turning around to face her members with a forced smile. They all could tell right away and just gave her looks of sympathy, causing her smile to slowly drop as she sighed. 

After the leaders did their portion of the shoot, Bada and Kirsten walked back over to the pink team laughing over whatever conversation they were having. They stopped once they reached the other members, standing directly in front of Y/n. poor girl just stared up at Bada with those heartbroken puppy dog eyes, and god Bada knew it. She felt Y/n’s stare burning holes into the side of her head, using every ounce of control in her body not to glance over and clearly see her watery eyes and quivering lip. She knew that if she were to fully look at the younger girl right now, she’d be faced with not only a heartbroken puppy, but an angry pack of wolves behind her, and to be completely honest she hadn’t achieved that level of bravery yet. 

Bada Lee knew what she was doing. She knew that by acting normal with Kirsten, she’d be getting Y/n’s attention. She knew it’d hurt the younger girl, but that wasn’t her intention this time. The Bebe leader wanted to slowly weave her way back into Y/n’s life, and knew the easiest place to start was by making sure she was on good terms with her team leader, that way she had a mediator (even though Lusher had been playing mediator already, Bada didn’t trust that she wasn’t also trying to get with Y/n).

Y/n doesn’t even realize the conversation has ended and she’s just sitting there pathetically watching as Bada walks away. Ling sighs and pats her head, while the others sadly watch their baby wither away again.

“You okay bunny?” Kirsten asked softly, sitting down next to her and bumping their shoulders together. Y/n just pursed her lips and sighed before closing her eyes and nodding. On the other side where team Bebe has gathered, they also had watched the entire situation, or rather how distraught the youngest Jam Republic members looked during the whole thing.

“You are just so cruel…” Lusher expressed lowly when Bada got within earshot, shaking her head in disbelief as she clenched her jaw. The leader’s eyes went wide as she scoffed

“What?? How?? I’m trying to make things better-” The sub-leader sighed deeply and closed her eyes, genuinely exhausted by her friend’s poor relationship choices

“By forcing yourself into her life and then totally ignoring?? Yeah that seems to be working really well…” she ended up responding quickly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she lost her patience

“Ya know if I couldn’t practically see the tears streaming down her face from over here, I’d say you did a pretty good job!” Tatter snarkily commented with a cocky sarcastic smirk. Bada was really starting to resent her choices in teammates right now… but she knew they were right.

They went back to shooting, finishing the individual teams and small group chat before taking a longer break for dinner. As everyone was gathering back afterward to wrap up the shoot with all the full cast shots, the main monitor lit up. The music video for “Maria” by Hwasa began playing as the song blasted over the speakers. Hwasa enters the stage and everyone begins screaming. Ling and Y/n are gripping onto each other, absolutely shell-shocked at her appearance. The song continues to play as everyone does the choreography with her, the two Jam Republic members living their best lives while their members sit with confused yet excited smiles.

The song ends and Hwasa introduces herself along with the mission. Everyone of course goes wild for the opportunity to choreograph a routine for her, and of course just to be in her presence. The song they’ll be choreographing to is played, and once again the room is filled with screams and cheers expressing how much they all love it. Everyone was already coming up with ideas, but Jam Republic practically had their entire choreo prepared in an instant, as Y/n sat taking in the beat and engraining the feeling into her body and mind

When it ends everyone starts talking about how Lia Kim and Bada were at an advantage since they do this for a living, some mentioning Redlic as well. Y/n became another hot topic and top competitor for this mission seeing as she’s done many recreational choreographies to kpop songs that have gone viral and sometimes even become more popular than the original. When the bonus is announced that they have to come up with a challenge portion to receive extra points that lowkey pisses y/n off. She wasn’t a fan of the idea, thinking it made the part seem too forced and could easily end up making the choreography look cheap or cheesy.

After the idol finishes relaying the mission, she wishes everyone good luck as they wrap up filming and head right into preparing for the challenge. Jam Republic quickly jots down some ideas and gets a feel for the moves as Y/n tests out the choreo she had in mind when she first heard the song earlier. When the crew reconvened the next day for a full practice, their first order of business was figuring out who was going to represent Hwasa.

"I would love to be the center just as much as anyone else, but I feel like whoever can pull off the idol persona best should do it…" the leader smiles and looks in y/n's direction as she pauses her explanation

"so I think we should put it up to a vote!" so all six members made their pick, which ended up being pretty useless since it resulted in a three-way tie between Kirsten, Ling, and Y/n

"I personally think Y/n would be our best bet since she has a lot of experience performing kpop stages" Ling smiled and patted her younger teammate on the knee as she expressed her desire for the youngest member to take the part 

"I also would really like to see Y/n as the center… something just tells me she'd bring us good luck" Kirsten smiles motherly at the youngest who is currently hiding her face in her hands not to let anyone see the smile and blush on her face. So they all collectively agree to have y/n be the center and she's just so happy, cheesing away. She could already imagine the baby noises the editing team was putting over the clips of her trying to contain her excited reaction. After that decision was made, they immediately got to work on choreography. Things were going well enough to the point where the members felt comfortable taking a break around lunchtime. Y/n checked her phone while she drank her water, seeing a text from Harimu

1 Mil Mu: ‘Hey babes! Who’s your team’s Hwasa?’

Y/n: ‘What if I told you it was me…🫣’

1 Mil Mu: ‘I’d say thank god cuz I need someone to come buy heels with me for this😭’

Y/n: ‘Wait- are you hwasa too???’

1 Mil Mu: ‘Yes ma’am😚’

Y/n: ‘AHHHH SHUT UP- we’re gonna eat so hard, I’m so excited’

The news that she’d be going up against Harimu as Hwasa gave Y/n a bit of an adrenaline rush, knowing how perfectly the 1 Million dancer fit the role. She felt as if she’d have to work even harder now, but it made her excited instead of nervous. Y/n has actually gotten back to her normal self for the most part, genuinely excited about this challenge and seeing how everyone else would portray Hwasa’s image.

The next day before practice Y/n and Harimu have a little girls’ morning, going out for breakfast and then doing some shopping. They made sure to try on plenty of options for heels, not too worried about the look of them right now, but rather just needed something to practice in. The two ended up getting two pairs each, a simple yet secure heel that stopped right about the ankle, and then another pair of thigh-high heeled boots to really give the Hwasa feel.

The next day was when everyone would be showcasing what they had so far for choreography, y/n wanted to look as clean and presentable as possible, choosing to wear her thigh-high boots with some booty shorts and an oversized jersey. She hadn’t worn the shoes to the practice, carrying them in her back while she opted for some plain sneakers in the meantime. All teams walk in and Y/n is hyped to the max- until she realizes that Jam Republic is seated right next to Bebe… 

Luckily for everyone involved, the youngest Jam Republic member is too excited about the challenge to worry about Bada right now. She was totally focused on showing her best performance and enjoying everyone else’s. She started off excitedly watching Mannequeen then becoming easily disappointed by how sloppy it got. She was very curious to see what wolf’Lo would come up with though, seeing as their style is classic hip hop- a style y/n hadn’t particularly been a fan of. Yet, watching Mini got her hype. She couldn’t contain her impressed reaction at the pink-haired girl’s vibe, loving the slight change wolf’lo had made in their typical genre of dance.

Bebe was the fourth group to go and Y/n was conflicted, to say the least. To be completely honest- that’s how most of Jam Republic felt, seeing as they were excited to see what the team produced, but they were nervous for their poor youngest member’s heart.

Bada begins a short speech, explaining the concept they were going for as the other members practiced behind her. Lusher and Tatter turned around behind Bada and looked to Y/n giving her a cheesy smile and thumbs up, before immediately going back to practicing. Y/n couldn’t help but smile and giggle at how dedicated her friends were, but she also couldn’t help as the smile stayed when her attention shifted back to the leader nervously smiling and fidgeting with the microphone in her hands as she wrapped up her speech. 

The music starts and Y/n’s small smile immediately shifts into an impressed expression at one of the first moves. Bada gives a cool look as she holds up a hand sign signaling the title of street woman fighter, causing everyone to cheer lightly at the reference

“That was cool…” Y/n mumbled, playfully pouting and scrunching her nose as she tried to hide her impressed smile, causing her members to look at her with wide eyes at first before giggling and ruffling her hair. The chorus arrives and Y/n’s jaw just drops- the girl is so beyond impressed. She’s trying to process whether it’s actually good or if it’s just Bada, but then she watches everyone else and realizes it’s really just that good.

Then Bada struts off to the side for her own little part, doing a hip roll as she covers her eyes, sending the audience into a frenzy- especially Y/n who lets out a small scream and suddenly doesn’t know where to look or what to do with her hands. Ultimately she realized what that reaction must have looked like and just hung her head in her hands as Audrey patted her on the back and tried her hardest not to burst out laughing.

Y/n sat there astonished, watching through her fingers as she continued to hide behind her hands. Bebe finishes their choreography and y/n is trying so hard to contain her excitement, she just hides her face in her hands again and screams out loud. This is gonna be such a rough mission for her…

Lady Bounce went after Bebe and while they looked like they were having a lot of fun, there wasn’t anything super impressive about their routine. Next up was 1 Million and Y/n stood up screaming as loud as she could, so beyond hyped to see her besties perform. Harimu eats up her Hwasa role, as expected and everyone loves the routine, including Hwasa. Finally, after everyone else had gone, it was Jam Republic’s turn.

“Our youngest treasure, miss y/n will be playing Hwasa” Kirsten smiled as she announced their group’s center, causing everyone to absolutely lose their shit. Many dancers had already suspected it once they saw her walk out with the thigh-high boots and everyone else in regular sneakers, but it was still exciting to have the confirmation.

Everyone’s excitement rose as the music began, loving how Y/n completely transformed into a different person whenever she was performing. It started off smooth, but as Kirsten threw her head back for a specific move, her hat fell off. Luckily since Jam Republic is such a well-prepared group, Y/n caught it with ease and tossed it off to the side like it was all part of the routine, causing everyone to react in shock at her quick reflexes. 

The crew continued dancing as if it were nothing, having a blast and feeding off of the other teams’ reactions. Bebe especially was hyping Y/n up, even Bada couldn’t contain her excitement. Yet, the leader did keep looking back and forth between 1 Million’s youngest two dancers as well as her own sub-leader, trying to gauge their reaction to Y/n as well.

After a brief moment of observing the others’ reactions, Bada once again became entranced by Jam Republic’s center. Her expressions and movement quality truly made for a captivating performance, even though it was just an interim check. The crew finished their routine and Lusher stood up immediately clapping and screaming as loud as she could, cheering for the team as a whole but also making specific calls out to Y/n

“Y/N YOU’RE SO SEXY” she cupped her hands over her mouth as she screamed out to her friend, causing the leader to slow her claps and glare at her. Bada was really starting to question Lusher’s intentions- even though the girl hadn’t been acting any different than usual. It was all simply Bada’s insecurities.

_________

The next few days passed in a flash as the crews continued to improve their routines and develop their concepts. When it came time to watch each performance everyone gathered in their respective monitoring rooms. Mannequeen was the first to go, and as the screen lit up with their performance all the dancers got excited that the mission was officially starting. 

“Okay… she’s kinda eating right now” y/n playfully pouted as Redlic devoured the routine. Jam Republic fangirled over them and how sick their outfits were, but by the end they weren’t entirely sold on the routine as a whole.

“It was really good, but I wish they had a bit more energy- or at least were more consistent with it” Latrice commented and the rest of them agreed. Wolf’Lo’s performance was next and once again, the pink team anticipated the final product. Jam Republic was impressed with how they were able to keep their classic hip-hop style while incorporating elements of K-pop

“Everyone is so good I’m gonna scream” was the first thing y/n said after the performance. Yet after recognizing Wolf’Lo’s efforts, they discussed how there was a lack of harmony between the “artist” and the dancers

After Wolf’Lo it was Bebe’s turn to present their routine, and Y/n was losing her mind. This girl was freaking out- hyperventilating and pacing, but out of excitement and anticipation. Audrey, Ling laughed at her, the elder even bringing out her phone to record the girl hopping around like an excited cat, while Emma smirked teasingly and side-eyed her.

“I’m so nervous-”

“Love, this isn’t even our routine…” Kirsten laughed softly at her dramatic youngest member, glad that she was able to enjoy the blue team’s performances again without crying. The second the music started, Y/n was seated, her eyes trained on the monitor before them. She screamed and cheered throughout the routine, and as the song began to approach the slower part she got more excited

 “oh I’m so excited to see what they did for this part-” and the second Bada was down on the floor, Y/n honestly thought she was having a heart attack. It only got worse for her as the music picked back up and the Bebe leader looked over her shoulder, grinning charismatically at the camera while she grabbed her ass and shrugged like it was nothing. 

Y/n’s jaw stayed dropped after she let out a surprised screech. Ling and Audrey also let out similar noises, while the latter reached over at the same time as Emma to cover Y/n’s eyes, knowing how she’d be having a mental breakdown if she kept watching. The performance ended and Y/n sat there in silence with her jaw still dropped to the floor

“I think I’m having a crisis…”

The next team to perform after Bebe was Lady Bounce, which was good but not too memorable. 1 Million followed with an insane performance. The second Harimu’s silhouette was shown, Y/n gasps. The routine starts and she’s clapping and cheering, as well as the rest of her team, all of them excited for what was about to happen. Throughout the entire performance, she’s squealing and screaming because her bestie is eating everyone up (side note: Y/n has so many besties, and the audience loves that for her). The routine ends and every single team is blown away. Jam Republic unanimously agrees that 1 Million has shown the best performance so far, with Y/n enthusiastically agreeing

“Not bebe?” Emma teases and to be completely honest, Y/n didn’t think it was funny

“No. 1 million was by far the best I’ve seen so far- it was flawless” And the members felt kinda bad for teasing her because they could see her become a bit more reserved and serious after that, sinking into her seat on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest. 

After that, it’s finally Jam Republic’s turn, as the final team to present their piece. The music begins and Y/n struts out from behind her members with the cuntiest game face out of all the contestants so far, and everyone goes feral. Her hair, her expression, her confidence, and especially her outfit had them all in shambles. All of 1 Million, but specifically Redy and Harimu were gassing her up before she even started dancing, the crew thinking of ways to convince her to join them after the show. 

“Can we just combine teams already?” “Or at least take Y/n onto our team??” Mannequeen was asking each other questions like this, also plotting how they could continue working with Jam Republic

“That’s my girlfriend!” Lusher cheers and Bada just about breaks her neck- she looks like she’s going to cry at first until she realizes the younger dancer was just joking. She really almost just gave the leader a heart attack, and now Bada felt her face heat up at how embarrassing that reaction was…

They reach the part of the choreography where the other members bend over, and Y/n squats down in between them as she opens and closes her legs, and once again no one is safe. Not a single monitoring room was quiet as the youngest Jam Republic dancer dropped low into the position and flawlessly executed the choreography along with the presentation of facial expressions.

Team Bebe was not discreet at all as they all freaked out and simultaneously turned to face their leader, who was already hiding her dropped jaw behind her hands. Bada bit her fist as Y/n got down on the floor with the rest of the Jam Republic members and began to arch her back up and down in a sort of crawling motion. The move was so simple, but effective as it showcased the sexy vibe of the song.

Jam Republic finishes off strong with the final chorus into the ending pose, and it was safe to say they left everyone astonished. The camera captured the final group pose before zooming in on each member of the crew, leaving Y/n for last. When she appeared on the monitor everyone lost it at how her siren eyes and seductive expression turned into a somewhat playful puppy-like reaction as her eyes widened and she stuck her tongue out, continuing to fan herself but in a cuter manner than before.

“OHHHH ENDING FAIRY LET’S GOOOOO” Harimu cheers with her full chest as her friend appears on the screen

“HOW IS Y/N THE YOUNGEST????” Buckey commented out of absolute shock and astonishment after seeing the girl’s performance

“SHE’S BARELY AN ADULT HOW DOES SHE KNOWN HOW TO DO THAT” Mini screamed, throwing her hands up in the air

“I’ve been an adult for a while and i still don’t know how to do that…” Halo mumbled after her teammate’s inquiry, causing the rest of the crew to laugh and agree

“Ya- they need to put the baby to bed. Don’t let her do that!” Biggy teased, pouting and whining playfully as her members agreed with faux pouts

“She really wanted people to stop babying her I guess…” Tatter calmly stated as she leaned back into the couch with her arms crossed, smirking as she kept her eyes trained on the monitor. The team snickered as Bada slowly turned her head toward the blonde with a deadpan expression, unimpressed with her jab.

Once every team had gone and finished presenting their routines, it was time to get changed and wrap up for the day. Each crew left their monitoring room to head back to their designated hideout spaces and decompress after the events of the day, and await the results of the winning team. Jam Republic was full of giggles and confidence after their successful performance as they bounced down the hallway. 

"ya, y/n…" the small girl whipped around with wide, somewhat fearful eyes and it lowkey made Bada's heart hurt to see her react that way

"yes?" she tried to speak steadily and confidently, but bit her lip and shrunk into herself a little, trying not to outwardly cringe, when she realized how meek and anxious she sounded. The tall girl across from her sighed and softened her gaze, seeing how unnerved y/n was.

"you did a good job." Bada confidently said as her team was about to walk past Jam Republic, shocking everyone on both teams (including herself). Y/n's lips parted and everyone watched as it quivered slightly and her eyes began to get red.

"ah no, no don't start crying…" the older leader tried to remain serious and civil, keeping the distance between them. The younger dancer bit her lip again and took shaky breaths as she frantically nodded her head while wiping away tears. Bada sighed again before taking a few quick strides over to her, not caring about the audience of both their teams. She placed a gentle hand on top of the shorter girl's head, gently ruffling her hair.

"ayyye don't cry" This time Bada tried to be more gentle and took the approach of some friendly teasing in hopes of at least getting a smile out of her, but it only made things worse as y/n looked up at her with a huge frown and teary eyes. She really was trying her hardest to stop crying, but nothing was working. Poor Y/n was just so happy to have Bada back at this moment. The look just about finished off what was left of Bada's heart. Any part of her that hadn't been touched by guilt yet was now overthrown by it. She felt her own eyes begin to sting a little as the pressure built up but didn't allow for any tears to form.

"Y/n-ah don't cryyyyy" Bada whispered softly as she gently reached to hold her face in both hands, wiping away the endless tears. This caused the younger girl to fully burst into tears and attempt to hang her head as much as she could in Bada's hold, but as soon as the tears increased the older girl was pulling y/n into her chest, hugging her as if she had no plans on ever letting go. Bada closed her eyes trying to keep her own tears at bay. 

The other members of both teams just stood clumped together off to the side, absolutely baffled by what was happening. A majority, if not all of them had dropped jaws or dumbfounded expressions. Lusher had to cover her mouth after letting out a squeak of excitement when Bada put her hand on Y/n’s head. It was a small moment, but a huge step for both girls.

“You did amazing, so don’t cry anymore, okay?” Bada whispered after pulling back from the hug, leaning down slightly so their faces were the same level. Y/n nodded and sniffled, wiping away her tears and finally pulling herself together.

“Thank you- you too…” she gave a watery smile as she hiccuped and the two giggled slightly over the situation. The older dancer smiled sadly and nodded before heading back over to her team. As they began to walk off Tatter turned around 

“Congratulations Jam Republic- you all were fantastic- WE LOVE YOU!!!” the blonde screamed enthusiastically making a giant heart over her head with her arms, causing the rest of her team to follow and also share their love and praise for the team. The pink crew just smiled brightly and laughed, before shyly mirroring their reaction. After both crews went their separate ways and made it back to their hideouts, Y/n stood in the middle of the room as her teammates settled in.

“What’s up, Bunny?” Audrey asked, with a worried expression as she saw Y/n’s confused but teary eyes. The girl looked up and burst into tears again on the spot. All the members were shocked at the sudden outburst and ran to comfort her. 

“She said I did good…” the girl bawled as her members hugged her. They all tensed for a short moment before bursting into a fit of giggles at how cute and sentimental their baby was. She eventually calms down, reducing her sobs to sniffles and soft hiccups. About 45 minutes to an hour passes before the staff is letting everyone know that a winner has been decided. 1 Million receive the 100 points benefit that came with being the group chosen by Hwasa, meaning their choreography will be performed and used for the music video.

The following day, everyone begins preparing for the music video. All the other crews learn 1 Million’s choreography and practice it in preparation for the shoot which would be happening the day after. When everyone gathered to get into hair and makeup for the video it felt fun. Not stressful, or competitive, just fun- and all the dancers were truly grateful for that. 

Each crew had been given a portion of the song where they were able to perform a bit of their own choreography, highlighting their efforts as a whole production. They were able to tie up the shoot within just one day of filming, giving all the crews an extra day of rest before having to officially start working on their final mission before the finale.

y/n had been walking toward the set’s dancer lounge to grab a few snacks when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. The girl quickly turned around and became face to face, or rather face to chest, with the dancer she still wasn’t on the best terms with.

“Hey…” Bada whispered once she made eye contact with the smaller girl, removing her hand quickly as she realized it was still resting on her shoulder. Y/n stood speechless, trying to force herself to at least utter a ‘hey’ back, but she couldn’t find the strength. 

“Can we talk?” the leader continued softly, voice wavering ever-so-slightly, but not enough for anyone to notice. To Y/n, Bada seemed confident and relaxed as her soft eyes peered down at her. It should’ve been comforting not seeing any signs of her being tense or upset, but the question alone made the younger dancer tear up, already feeling heavily emotional.

“Uh… yeah… yeah, of course” Y/n spoke meekly, not being able to hold eye contact for more than a couple of seconds at a time as she stood in front of the other girl. Bada glanced over at Kirsten and nodded, giving her a nervous tight-lipped smile as the younger leader gave her a gentle look of encouragement paired with two thumbs up.

The two walked in silence for a bit as they separated themselves from the majority of people, finding a less occupied area to chat. Once they arrived at a moderately secluded area and Bada stopped walking she turned to the younger dancer who stood stiffly with her arms crossed and shoulders tensed.

“So… how have you been?” Y/n starts shyly, trying not to seem too uncomfortable but internally cringing once she realizes how formal she sounds. Bada tried to suppress her frown, hating how awkward things had become, but then again, it all made sense.

“Well… uhm… I’m not doing terrible haha…” she tried to joke around while still being honest, but quickly realized none of her small-talk humor was going to get a laugh out of the other girl

“I actually haven’t been doing great since we last… talked…” she continued, becoming a bit more serious with her tone

“I’ve been thinking a lot- actually all I’ve done is think… about the things I said, about why I acted the way I did, about how to approach you, about how I should’ve done this sooner, and especially about you…” Bada rambled off all of what’s been occupying her brain recently 

“All I do is think about you…” she breathed out, causing the other girl’s own breath to catch in her throat as her eyes widened slightly. Y/n bit her lip looking at the floor and blinked rapidly trying to avoid the stinging feeling in her eyes that was already beginning. 

“I’m so sorry Y/n.” Bada whispered, starting to feel her throat tighten. The younger clenched her teeth and closed her eyes tightly as a singular tear slid down her cheek, before sniffling and looking back up to meet the tall girl’s gaze.

“That’s all I needed to hear…” she whispered with a sad smile, causing Bada to smile softly for a moment before furrowing her brows slightly

“But you deserve so much more than a simple apology-” the leader spoke seriously, still being conscience of her tone so as to not get too worked up

“It’s okay- I really don’t think I do… I said some terrible things too-” the younger sighed as she spoke

“Well of course, but that doesn’t mean what I said was okay… that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be trying my hardest to make up for the thing I said and how poorly I treated you…” 

“We’re both equally at fault here-” Y/n was nearly cut off by the persistent dancer

“Well, I wouldn’t say equally… I definitely don’t think you were as cruel as I was… not like it’s a contest or anything but I think the impact this argument had on both of us was mostly my fault… especially since the things I said were aimed to hurt you…” Bada tried not to seem pushy, not wanting to cause another argument, but she was set on getting her point across

“I mean… I kinda deserved it-” Y/n chuckled humorlessly as she looked at her shoes, kicking the ground. Bada’s jaw dropped in absolute shock at how the girl honestly thought she was meant to hear such awful things directed toward her

“No, you didn’t, stop saying that! No one deserves to be talked to like that and I feel absolutely disgusted with myself for saying the things I said… I am SO so sorry y/n” The leader spoke up, voice raising slightly with urgency, desperate to get her sincerity across. The younger dancer struggled to find words momentarily, wanting to say ‘it’s okay’, but realizing that it in fact wasn’t okay at all

“...I accept your apology, Bada, I promise…” Y/n clearly stated after a few moments of thought

“Thank you…” Bada sighed, shoulders relaxing slightly 

“I’m sorry too… I was acting immature and childish, and it was really all just because I was hurt by your decision- a decision that I understood had to be made…” and it was true- the girl really did understand why her team was chosen, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less

“Y/n’s you don’t need to apologize-” At Bada’s words it was now Y/n’s turn to be shocked. Even if the girl wasn’t as harsh, she surely was responsible for her own thoughts and actions.

“Of course I do… I need to apologize just as much as you do- for christ’s sake I was the one who caused the whole argument…” She started seriously with furrowed brows, but then her face softened as she continued

“I’m sorry for not trusting you… and for acting like a child-”

“You weren’t acting like a child, you were acting like someone who was under a lot of stress and that’s completely understandable-” Bada cut her off, already feeling the guilt arise again at the memory of how she’d called the younger girl childish and immature

“But I could have handled it so much better-”

“As could I, but we both saw how that actually turned out…” Bada finished with a light teasing smirk, causing Y/n to crack a bit of a smile herself before sighing again and biting her lip as tears filled her eyes

“I also shouldn’t have pushed you to talk about something you weren’t ready to talk about… so for that, I’m also sorry” the Bebe Leader added to her apology, gazing at Y/n with a soft heartfelt look. The younger was staring at the floor again as she sniffled before speaking 

“I’m so sorry Bada-” Y/n whimpered as another onslaught of tears began falling. The older girl gently pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl’s shoulders and leaning her chin on top of Y/n’s head.

“Shhh… We’ve both apologized and talked it out- let’s grow from it and move past it now, okay?” the tall girl whispered against the younger’s head, running her hand over the other’s hair, smoothing it down softly

“We should probably work on not talking over each other too…” Y/n mumbled against her chest, feeling the light rumble of laughter as Bada chuckled. Noether had realized the leader had started crying as well until she sniffled and reached up to wipe away her tears without even realizing it.

“There are a lot of things we can work on together- good and bad…” Bada leaned back slightly to look down at the girl, who lifted her head to meet the taller girl’s gaze.

“Yeah… together…” Y/n whispered breathlessly with a relieved smile. The tall dancer couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on her face as she was finally able to stare into Y/n’s sparkling eyes again.

taglist (closed): @tinybada @angel-hyuckie @violetinferno @jesuschrist2006 @1luvkarina @uwulyn @justandloyal2961 @deadgirlwalking3 @squidvoldyvoid @vivzyo @ouhaika @jksjx @ocyeanicc @marianamartinsthings @jxrdxnh @luvjanexx @lorenztired @khjssss @heavenlycloud @loisje123 @starchasermyloves @zhivaxo @grinnwolph @notyourd0lly @stinkbvgs @nermandiiiii-blog @arujee @idontknownemore @thatgayinsomniac @fruitr0llup @cgriffin9797-blog @woooooya @kaaylvst @ssc7514 @astoreea @linda-botello @kpopgirl-97 @erikook @misszoldyc @sammisregrets @jysai @moonsvrse @froufrousnowman @amararosesblog @tikitsune @aestrelle19 @laaaasanielzz @randomhoex @tswisal1 @unpretty-reader @charlesswife @stella222

[darksigns-exe]

crystal clear - noah sebastian x f!reader

warnings: swearing, fingering (f receiving), more big feelings

word count: 2.7k

masterlist | read pt 1 here | taglist sign-up

It’s almost midnight by the time you’re done eating and have cleaned everything up again. Noah had made no mention of what had happened just a little while earlier. He’d just moved on as if nothing had changed, while you could feel yourself burning up from the inside out. The spot on your neck where he had left his mark still feels so raw when you brush your fingers against it. You can still feel his hands on your body. 

He slumps down next to you, stretching his legs out across the carpet. 

You don’t know how to move on from this. 

No matter how hard you try, you can’t stop thinking about the way he’d kissed you. You’d never be able to uncross this lines – not that you wanted to. 

Noah lets out a yawn, letting his head thump against your shoulder. 

“Mind if I stay here tonight? Don’t wanna drive back.” he mumbles in that faux pouty tone of his. 

“Thought that was the plan?” you reply, bumping your head against his. 

“I didn’t want to assume.” 

He suddenly sounds so hesitant and insecure, and maybe that’s what makes you realise that this is just as daunting for him as it is for you. 

“I was hoping that you’d stay.” you trail off, hoping that he’ll pick up on what you’re alluding to. 

“That so?” Noah sits up, turning to face you, “We should talk first, though.” 

As much as you want to drag him back to you, you know that this conversation needs to happen. And the sooner it happens, the better. 

“I don’t know where to start.” you admit, writhing your hands together. 

He reaches across to take your hands into his, “Neither do I but – I meant what I said earlier. I’ve been trying to find a good moment for this for a while now, but it never felt like the right time. And then you kept telling about how all of these people were just making you feel worse – I had to try, even at the chance that you wouldn’t feel that way for me.” 

You want to reach out and smooth the deep set furrow in his brow, but with him still holding on to your hands, all you can do is squeeze his hands. 

“I’m glad you did.” “So am I.” he replies, scooting a little closer to you, “If you want to I’d like to give this a shot. Take you out on a date and everything.”

“One condition.” 

Maybe you’re pushing it but breaking the tension feels like a good thing right now. 

“Of course. Whatever you need.”

“I want flowers.”

He breaks into a bright smile, “Oh, you’ll get so many flowers. Every day. As many as you want.” 

Within the blink of an eye, you find yourself on your back once again. The sudden movement makes you laugh, which in turn breaks Noah. And when he kisses you this time, it’s all smiles. You thread your fingers into his hair as he trails a soft line of kisses along your neck. 

You’ll never get enough of the softness on his face, the gentle adoration that simmers just below the surface. 

“Let me take you to bed?” he asks so gently that it makes you shiver all over. 

“Please.” you sigh in response. 

You’ve shared a bed with Noah on multiple occasions. He has stayed over at your place so often that he has a small stash of clothes in your dresser. But no matter how often you’ve woken up next to him, it’s all different now. Sitting next to him on top of your bed feels a little new and strange. Noah seems to be just as hesitant as you are. And really, you get it. It’s a big thing. He knows that you haven’t been intimate with anyone before, and you can’t imagine that he’s taking this lightly. 

This time, you’re the one who reaches out first. There’s a slight tremble to his hand when yours wraps around it. 

“We don’t have to do this right now. We can just get comfortable and get to that whenever it happens.” you tell him, hoping that your worry for him isn’t too obvious.

Noah clears his throat, “I just want this to be perfect for you. My first time wasn’t good, and I don’t want you to feel bad about it later, too.” 

The quiet admission stings deep in your chest, “I don’t think I could feel bad about it with you. I know that you’ll take good care of me.” 

There’s a faint little smile on his face, a soft little thing that eases your worries and dampens the sting. 

“I’ll do my best.” he replies, squeezing your hand, “If something feels off please tell me, okay?”

“Noah.” you warn, earning yourself another bright smile from him. 

He eyes you for a long moment, smile still playing on his lips. 

“Think I could kiss you again?” he sounds so adorably sheepish then, and you can’t possibly say no to him.

The kiss that follows is impossibly sweet. Noah’s hand behind your head keeps you close to him, but there’s nothing controlling about this. You soon find yourself on your back, with Noah once again hovering over you. The warm weight of his body comforts the nervous edge in your mind. You know what’s coming, but you know that you’ll be safe and well taken care of with him. 

His hand drifts up the side of your body, slowly working its way under the fabric of your shirt. His palm is warm against your skin, his touch much softer than you had expected. 

“How about we get this off you?” he asks, toying with the hem of your shirt. 

There’s a blip of insecurity in your mind, but it passes as soon as you lift the garment over your head and the breath visibly catches in Noah’s throat. His eyes flicker across your bared chest, unable to settle on a single spot. You’ve never seen him this hesitant as when he reaches out to brush the tips of his fingers against the skin of your tummy. It’s almost as if he’s in disbelief at seeing you like this. 

You reach towards him, almost mirroring his own touch. Noah reacts a little delayed, slowly taking his own shirt off. His breath hitches when your fingers make contact with his skin. 

You don’t quite understand how something that is so very familiar to you, can feel this new. You’ve seen him shirtless countless times, but drawing the tips of your fingers across the intricate lines that decorate his body gives you an entirely new perspective. Noah lets out a breathy little laugh when you find a particularly sensitive spot. 

“You’re so beautiful.” his voice comes barely above a whisper, disbelief still evident on his features. 

You want to counter his words, tell him that you think the same about him. But the words just won’t come to you. Thankfully, Noah takes your mind off it when he leans down to kiss you once more. From here, his lips make a slow descent along your jaw and neck. You feel teeth grazing across the skin of your collarbones. He soothes barely there sting with a gentle kiss. You sigh when he repeats the motion, one hand weaving into his hair. His lips find the apex of your breasts, placing soft kisses there too. The attention he gives you is maddening. 

He’s so very carefully when he helps you remove the remained of your clothes, leaving you in nothing but your underwear. He’d stripped down to his briefs at some point, but with the rush of information and sensation, you must have missed when. 

Noah kneels between your parted thighs, one of his hands placed comfortable on top of your thigh, while the other toys with the hem of your panties. His eyes drift across your body, stretched out in front of him. The shyness you had expected to feel is nowhere to be found. Instead, you feel so very comfortable beneath his glance. 

“Oh darling.” he says with a sigh, dragging the backs of his fingers across your still clothed centre.

You gasp, not used to this kind of touch from someone else. 

He keeps is voice low and soft, “You're so wet already, and we haven’t even done anything yet. Can I take these off too?” 

You nod, feeling a little too shaky to speak.

“Push up a little for me.” he says, tapping your hip. 

Noah works the fabric down your waist and legs, letting them disappear somewhere out of your sight. His fingers caress the inside of your thighs, not quite touching where you want him to touch. You are by no means a stranger to touching yourself. You know how to get yourself off, but the anticipation of someone else touching you like that fills your head with fuzz. 

His thumb drags through your folds so slowly and carefully. Your eyes fall shut when he circles it around your clit. Noah mumbles something to himself, but the words don’t reach your ears. You feel fingers tracing along your entrance, and your breath catches when the tip of his middle finger dips inside. 

“Do you always get wet like this, or is this just for me?” he asks, sounding almost amused, “Does that feel good?”

You whine out a yes in reply, earning you a soft chuckle from him. 

He carefully eases his finger inside, paying close attention to the sounds you make in reaction. The digit curls inside you, drawing another new noise from you. 

“I love the sounds you make. Sound so sweet.” He muses, eyes focused entirely on where his finger works in and out of you. 

A second finger joins the first, still so very careful. With his thumb drawing slow circles on your clit, you can start to feel yourself unravel. The attention Noah pays to you makes your head spin. His softly whispered words don’t reach your conscious mind. Your mind can’t focus on anything in particular, flipping between sensations by the second. One moment it’s the intent curl of his fingers inside you, the next it’s the warmth of his palm on your hip. A whine catches in your throat, breath hitching as your climax slowly creeps up on you. As much as you try to keep your eyes open, you fail miserably. That floaty feeling only becomes stronger, slowly dragging you under. 

You’re right on the edge of it. Noah’s hand wraps around yours, holding it just tight enough. 

“You’re right there, aren’t you, baby?” he coaxes, fingers now moving faster and more intent than before, “There you go, just let go for me. That’s it.”

Your own fingers would never come close to this, and really you weren’t sure if you’d ever be satisfied with the highs you could bring yourself to. You’re sure that your grip on his hand is getting too tight, but you can’t will yourself to let go of him. Noah doesn’t let up, keeps working his fingers inside of you as you fall apart on his fingers. Only when your whines take on a pained edge does he ease up and slowly removes the digits from you. 

You give yourself a moment before you dare to open your eyes. When you do, you find Noah already looking at you. You can’t describe the expression on his face as anything less than adoration. You try your best to memorise the moment, just for the worst case scenario that you’ll never see this again. 

His thumb drifts across the back of your hand, effectively drawing you out of your thoughts. 

“How was that? Good?” there’s a trace of the same kind of worry in his voice that you hear when he asks if you like the song he’s been working on. 

“I don’t think that it’s ever felt this good.” you admit quietly. 

The worry is immediately replaced by that cocky smile of his, the kind that makes you want to push him over, “If you’re up for it, I think I can make it even better.” 

You can’t stop yourself from rolling your eyes at him. 

Noah breaks a second after that, and the soft sound of his laugh is like music to your ears. He folds over, forehead coming to rest against your tummy. His breath tickles against your skin. You decide that he’s entirely too far away from you and bring your hand back into his hair to tug him upwards to you. Noah follows all too easily. He meets you in a clumsy kiss, still smiling when he pulls away from you a moment later. 

“How are you feeling?” he asks softly, still so very close to you, “Good to go on or do you want to finish this later?” 

“Don’t you dare.” you try to sound serious, but you can already feel yourself smiling around the words. 

“Alright, alright. One problem, I didn’t think this was going to happen. I don’t have anything with me.” he sits up a little, suddenly sounding a lot more serious, “If you’d feel better with a condom we can wait.” 

You consider your options for a moment. As much as you want this now, you can’t help but worry. Even with Noah’s assurance that there’s nothing to worry about from his side, the caution that has been beaten into you wins. 

There’s no disappointment on his face when you tell him that you want to wait. Instead, his hand finds its way to the side of your face. 

“It’s okay.” the genuine softness on his face eases the fear in your chest a little, “We don’t need to rush into this.”

“I’ve been waiting for so long –” 

He shakes his head, “I know, darling. I know it feels like you’re missing out, but I’d rather do this right than rushed. And either way, I’m not going anywhere.”

You shoot him a questioning look. 

“Did you really think that I was going to just let us go back to before? I mean, unless you want that –”

This time, you’re the one who stops him from rambling. You pull him in for a kiss, silencing him before his worrying derails entirely. 

“I’m guessing that means we don’t go back to just friends?” he asks, that little bit of smile still fixed on his face. 

“I don’t think I could go back to seeing you as just a friend even if I wanted to.” 

Noah pulls himself away from you, looking somewhat reluctant to put distance between you, “Good. Don’t think I could do that either.” 

“So what does that make us?” you ask quietly. 

Noah is quiet for a long moment. You can practically see the gears turning in his head. 

“I don’t wanna do this whole let’s see where this take us thing. I like you – too much, dance around this for ages. We’ve done enough of that already.” 

“So what I’m hearing is that you don’t want to pretend to be my boyfriend when a weird guy tries to chat me up in a bar any more?” 

“Won’t have to pretend.” he replies so softly, “This won’t be easy, but I think we can make it work.”

“We managed to keep this friendship running while you’re off doing your thing.” you counter quickly, “Will be worth it either way.” 

His smile widens at that, “We’ll make this work.”

“We will.” you reply, stifling a yawn, “But that can wait until tomorrow – later today.” 

When you had found him on your sofa earlier that night, you hadn’t thought that you would end the night curled up against him like this. Or that any of this would happen for that matter. He’s held you like this before, but now, with his warm hands resting against the skin of your tummy, you feel so very comforted. You feel Noah press another kiss to your cheek, you’ve lost count of how many kisses he’s pressed to your skin since your talk, but they all make you feel soft and warm inside. 

Behind you, Noah lets out a content sigh, as his arms tighten around you, and suddenly you wonder how you’ve ever gone without this.

taglist: @deathblacksmoke @circle-with-me @sitkowski @ladyveronikawrites @baddestomens

@malice-ov-mercy @chels3a-smile @ferduttini @somebodyels3 @itsafullmoon

@shilohrosechicken @poisongirl616 @mysticdoodlez @agravemisstake @th4t-em0-k1d

[exfil]

one of soap's defining character traits is righteousness. be it helping his comrades in al mazrah over the mission objective (are you saying we shouldn't have helped?) or walking into a cartel villa unarmed to bring down el sin nombre (we came here to stop a missile, so let's stop it), it is clear that his main motivation is to do the right thing. so is the protection of innocent people - soap is almost always the one who articulates the involvement of civilians (what happened to the families here? / they're innocent people. / he's killing civilians - his own people.)

for soap, in this righteousness, and in the protection of these innocent people, the threat and execution of violence is the right thing. killing is not the avoidable means to an end, but the objective - as long as the people killed are evil (my job is to kill the enemy. guess what you are). he shows a clear favoritism for vigilante justice (you're going down for what you did / makes me want to commit a few war crimes of my own / you will hang for this) and has to be actively dissuaded from executing people instead of having them face due process on multiple occasions (you can't be serious he is right here / i will blow your brains out i swear i will do it).

and it is soap who decides who is evil and who is not. while he and ghost condemn graves' killing civilians as putting himself above the law (he is jury judge and executioner now) soap justifies the killing of dozens of mexicans without jurisdiction as part of a foreign army due to their cartel involvement (there are no civilians here). he never judges the violence of his own allies, only the lack of it (should have killed him when we had the chance).

a seargant hell-bent on doing the right thing but operating with both a brutal reverence to violence as the only option and a morality of black and white that does not survive closer scrutiny. he is clearly not a good person - if the amount of people he killed in cold blood is any indication - but he not only thinks that he is good but can tell whether a person is good or not to the point that he sees himself as a rightful executioner. now that's a character!

[7ndipity]

He Forgets Your Birthday

Jin x Reader

Summary: Jin just wants to make your birthday memorable, but what happens when life gets too hectic and makes him forget?

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: angst, swearing

A/N: Thanks to the lovely anon who requested this! Sorry it took me a little bit to get to.

Masterlist

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Life moved quickly with Jin, in multiple ways.

The first time you ever met, he asked for your number, fearing you wouldn’t cross paths again and he might not get another chance. You both said ‘I love you’ less than two months into dating, after he accidentally let it slip out during one of your first nights together, you even ended up moving in with him after less than a year when the apartment you were subletting fell through(or more accurately, flooded through, but whatever)

Things also moved quickly because of your careers. Sometimes days would flick by without your realizing, a week would turn into two before either of you noticed, and then suddenly it’s been nearly two months since your last technical date.

Despite your reassurances that you understood, Jin felt guilty at times for the two of you missing out on special occasions like holidays or anniversaries with each other, but one day he promised he wouldn’t let slip past was your birthday.

You weren't exactly a fan of making a big fuss for your birthday, but Jin wanted to make it special for you.

“I’ll cook,” He’d promised you. “I’ll make all your favorites, as well as traditional seaweed soup for good luck, and then we’ll do whatever you want for the rest of the day.”

“What if I don’t want to do anything?” You’d asked, raising a brow as you sat on his lap.

“Then we’ll do nothing together,” He’d replied, pulling you closer. “And have a wonderful time doing it.”

It’d been an easy promise to make when your birthday was still almost a month away, but as the days and weeks passed, things became increasingly hectic. Comeback season was drawing close, and with it came the pressure and chaos of constant rehearsals, video shoots, and promotional activities, leaving Jin little time to think about much else. Half the time you were already asleep before he got home at night, tiredly wrapping himself around you for a few precious hours before starting the cycle all over again.

He didn’t even know what day of the week it was until Jimin spoke up as they slumped against the wall, trying to catch their breath during rehearsals.

“Oh, how’s Y/n? Did they like their gift?” Jimin asked. “I haven't heard from them since I texted happy birthday this morning.”

Jin felt his heart screech to a stop as he looked over at the younger man, hoping he had misheard. “What?”

“The flowers you helped us pick out? I figured they would’ve-” Jimin’s voice trailed off as he noticed the growing look of horror on Jin’s face. “Tell me you didn’t forget?”

Jin’s whole body felt cold as he fumbled for his phone, stomach dropping as he read the date, and then the numerous text notifications from you.

His hands shook as he read your words, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

‘You left this morning before I got to say it, but love you💖’

‘Do you know what time you’ll be home?’

'Ngl, I'm kinda excited for tonight, it's been ages since I had your cooking😋'

‘Jinnie? Is everything okay?’

‘You’re not coming, are you?’

‘You could at least answer your phone so I know you’re okay.’

Shit.

Sparing no time explaining to the others, he grabbed his things and bolted out the door, nearly sprinting for the elevators.

He couldn’t believe how badly he’d fucked up, you must’ve been so upset with him. How would he even explain himself to you? Would you even talk to him when he got home? He wouldn’t blame you if the answer was no.

“Y/n?” He called as he opened the door but the house was silent, all the lights off, the stillness seeming to loom over him as he kicked off his shoes.

Tip-toeing through the house, he caught sight of the bouquet of flowers the guys had sent you sitting proudly in the center of the dining table, their cheery brightness almost mocking him now.

As he neared your shared bedroom, he caught sight of a sliver of light slipping out into the hall from the crack in the door.

Peeking in, he found you curled up on your side of the bed, sound asleep, but he could tell by the puffiness around your eyes that you’d been crying, shattering his heart completely.

He slowly sank down on the bed next to you, gently brushing your hair out of your face.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n.” He choked, tears blurring your image in front of him. He felt like the worst boyfriend in the world, how could he have forgotten something like this?! He had promised you!

He’d always tried so hard to live up to his commitments and responsibilities in your relationship, no matter how small, but in the moment when it mattered the most, he’d failed you.

“Jinnie?” Your cracked, sleep laden voice snapped his attention back up to you, meeting your tired eyes.

“Y/n, I’m so sorry.” He said, crying in earnest now.

“ ‘s okay.” You said drowsily, too tired to fight with him.

“It’s not. I made you a promise, and I fucked up.” He said, wiping his face.

You didn’t speak, sitting up slowly and pulling him into a hug. As upset as you might’ve been, you couldn’t stand to see him cry.

You wouldn’t lie, you were deeply hurt, but it wasn’t just for you. You’d seen how hard he’d been working lately, coming home late sore and exhausted, bags under his eyes from fatigue. You hated seeing him so tired all the time, so stressed and not able to do anything about it. You knew that under normal circumstances, he would’ve never forgotten, but your lives weren’t normal.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He cried into your neck. “I’ll find a way.”

“Jinnie, I don’t care about the dinner,” You said, trying not to start crying again yourself as you pulled back to look at him. “All I really wanted was to be with you.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“Just come hold me, please.” You half dragged him under the covers with you, winding your limbs around each other tightly.

Neither of you spoke much as you slowly drifted off to sleep, clinging to each other desperately, needing to feel each other to be sure you were both still there.

When you opened your eyes the next morning, you found his side of the bed empty.

Sitting up slowly, you glanced around, questions only just beginning to form in your mind before you heard a faint noise from somewhere in the house, the scent of one of your favorite dishes drifting through the open bedroom door.

Still groggy, you climbed out of bed and followed the smell to your kitchen, where you found your missing boyfriend, his back to you as he stood over the stove, fussing at something he was stirring.

“Why are you so salty? I didn’t even add that much.”

“Maybe it’s just in a bad mood.”

He turned at the sound of your voice, eyes softening as they found you in the doorway, messy hair and sleep clouded eyes, wearing one of his pajama tops as a sleepshirt.

“I thought you were still asleep.” He said softly.

“What are you doing?” You asked.

“Fulfilling my promise to you.” He said, turning back to the stove for a moment as he spoke. “It’s not quite all of your favorites, but it’s a start. Plus, we’ve got the whole day to do whatever else you want to do.”

“I have work.” You said, not unkindly.

“No, you don’t.” He responded. “I left them a message saying you were sick and couldn’t come in today.”

“Sick with what?” You asked.

“Bad boyfriend-itis,” He said, coming over to hook his arms round your waist. “It’s a very serious condition, it requires a lot of rest and care to recover from.”

“You’re not a bad boyfriend.” You said quietly, fiddling with his shirt collar.

“I’m not so sure about that.” He said, frowning.

“Well, I am.” You pushed up on your toes to press your lips to his softly, making him melt instantly. You let your hands slowly trail up and around his neck, earning a slight shiver from him before you pulled away to look at him. “What about rehearsals?”

“I told them the same thing as your work.” He said with a slightly dazed grin.

“You have boyfriend-itis too?” You raised a brow at him questioningly.

“Are you kidding? I’m patient zero.” He replied, earning a giggle from you, making his heart swell as he smiled down at you.

“Go back to bed,” He said softly, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. “I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

“I don’t wanna go back to bed.” You said, wrapping your arms around his waist, looking up at him seriously. “I told you last night, I just want to be with you.”

“Alright then.” He hooked his hands under your thighs, boosting you up to sit on the counter with a surprised squeak from you. “You can sit here and be my lovely assistant.”

“I don’t even know what you’re making.” You giggled again.

“Doesn’t matter, just follow my lead and make yummy noises when I show you something.”

The two of you talked as he continued cooking, stopping each time he passed by you to leave a kiss on your waiting lips. Once everything was ready, you moved to the table, sitting close enough that you could reach over and grab his hand as he settled next to you.

He glanced up at you. “What is it?”

“Just thank you.” You said.

He tilted his head. “For what?”

“Being you. Being here.”

Jin felt the familiar twisting in his chest as he leaned over to press another kiss to your lips.

“Always.” He promised.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake again, he swore to himself, he would be there for you, no matter what else was going on. You were his world, his heart, and he would make sure you knew that from now on.

Taglist: @sopebubbles-replies @btsw1fe @this-must-be-my-tardis @whitefoxgirl @bethanysnow @coffeedepressionsoup @main-bangtansmauyeondan

[carmyberzattosjournal]

S2 Entry 2: Soothe the Goosebumps

Image credit: @neverscreens

Summary: Carmy’s girlfriend (who he calls Darling) soothes him down from an impending panic attack with apple cubes. (1346 Words) FLUFF.

Warnings: Swearing, hurt, comfort, fem reader/lass who is a trauma surgeon, she/her pronouns, finger sucking (light), impending panic attack (panic attack doesn’t happen), praise kink, feeding kink?, subby!Carmy. Mentions of Donna Berzatto.

Notes: Thank you for reading and sharing! This is a work in CB Journals Season 2 and will be tagged with #cb journals s2.

Sideblog for commentary and social stuff: @m-z-shoroi

Prompt: String Lights

“Do you not decorate for Christmas?” she asked. “Not even string lights or a mini tree?”

No. Fuck Christmas.

The silence, and the subsequent recoil evident on her face when I looked up from the apple I was dicing, is what told me I’d said that aloud. My stomach flipped. Hands abruptly turned cold for some reason. Heat flooded into my face.

I can’t even begin to explain to you the biblical level of shit I was in that week. That whole month, honestly. The review didn’t go well—we weren’t given our star, which meant that not only did all my bullshit that I pulled in the restaurant after having that mental fucking breakdown after the walk-in incident severely strain all my interpersonal relationships, it also did fuck all to give us any sort of results. If we’d gotten the star, then maybe, maybe, it would’ve stung just a little less. The wounds haven’t gone away—the repeated flare-ups of fighting between Sugar, Richie, Syd, and me are evidence of that—but the star would’ve been salve on the cuts. Maybe taken away some of the burn. No, it just redoubled everyone’s rage at me (including my own. I was getting dangerously close to hating myself more than I hate the fucking Devil at this point). So, the burst of fighting at the top of November turned into all-out war for the rest of the month. We’d found something of a balance before—minus the flare-ups—where I’d do a new menu every month using seasonal ingredients. I’d be mindful of what the kitchen staff could do, Syd and I would actually properly collaborate on them, so she didn’t feel voiceless (even if working with another person drove me fucking insane sometimes), and Richie and I would, generally, as much as we both could corral our familial trauma, try to stay out of each other’s way. Sometimes even get along a bit.

“Carmy?”

Now? Now I lost all fucking control of my restaurant. Syd and I were battling over the menu because even when accounting for her notes, she wanted to scrap whatever I did. Richie was so far out of my grasp that Sugar maintained a demilitarized zone between us, acting as the Secretary of State—or I don’t know, a fucking messenger pigeon—bringing things back and forth, all while trying not to (and failing on multiple occasions) explode at either of us for our bullshit. And it was bullshit. We’re fucking adults, I keep trying to act like a fucking adult and get a handle on myself so this doesn’t fucking happen again—I’m in therapy, for fuck’s sake!—and yet Richie and Syd insist on being fucking children about it.

In retrospect, I don’t blame Syd. If your coworker spiraled off the fucking deep end, and all you got out of that was the trauma of surviving that spiral, would you even want to fucking look at them again? She worked her ass off to make The Bear what it is, she put stock in her own identity as a chef, and wants, more than anything, to be able to take pride in her work.

I said I wouldn’t stand by and let her do to herself what I did to me, right?

Am I not her Devil?

So here we are, December three days away, still without a fucking menu.

“Baby? Sweetheart? Hey.”

Shit. Shit. Fuck. I dropped the knife onto the cutting board. “S-sorry. Sorry, I-I should explain—”

“I just wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction.” She held her hands up, palms out towards me. “It’s okay. It just caught me by surprise is all.”

“Christmas-Christmas is fucking traumatizing.” Why did it come out like a question? It’s a fact. It was fucking traumatizing. I closed my eyes, trying to retreat to the quiet dark, where it’s stable, where it’s safe. “My-my mom, she would, uh, she would do this-this big feast. Seven Fishes... And it was-it was always such a fucking disaster. And-and she would always explode at the tiniest thing. I-I hate fucking Christmas and New Years a-a-and-and fucking birthdays. Fuck birthdays.”

Something burned in my chest. A deep sort of fiery sting that took me two heartbeats to recognize as stomach acid bubbling into my esophagus. I grasped at the pain as if I could somehow get ahold of it and remove it from me, could toss it away like a wet paper towel, but all I found was the front of my apron.

“Hey, hey, you’re okay.” Oh no, Darling sounded worried. I fucking hate when I worry her. I pried my eyes open and found her expression contorted in concern, eyebrows scrunched together, corners of her mouth turned down. “What’s wrong? Pain? Nausea?”

I tried talking, but I couldn’t produce sound past the hot iron burning my insides. Blindly reached for the quart of water and chugged a few sips down. It provided some relief initially, but the flames came right back.

“Hold on.” She rifled around the cabinet above my head and pried off the lid of the baking soda container. Put two pinches in the quart. Swirled it. “It’ll taste weird, but it should help.”

Metallic. Metallic, bitter, kind of salty? Like I licked a dirty penny or something. Weird doesn’t sum it up, it’s fucking disgusting. She rubbed up and down my sternum as I gulped this vile concoction down.

“It’s a base, it’ll help neutralize the acid,” she explained. “Just take little sips until the burning stops.” I’m sure she knew I understood the logic, but I appreciated her talking to me anyway. It was comforting. Something to focus on. Something to drown out the memories of ma’s yelling bubbling away in the back of my head.

Goosebumps exploded on my arms when I took another gulp of the baking soda water. It just kept getting worse. Now the weird taste was lingering on my tongue well after the water was gone, but my chest still burned like a brand was on it. Darling rubbed her hands up and down my forearm, trying to soothe the goosebumps away.

“I’m-I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

I responded too slowly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Not even giving me this horrible shit; it was helping the heartburn.

“No, about the whole…” she gestured in a wide circle. Ah. About Christmas and shit. Got it. “It’s gotta be tough. With. How much those things are engrained in society and all.”

I shrugged a shoulder. Grimaced and got another wave of chills on the next sip of baking soda water. She picked up an apple cube and pressed it to my lips. It wasn’t meant to be an intimate gesture—I’m getting better at reading her face and knowing what the intention behind anything she does is—but something deep in my core tightened and warmed when she fed me the morsel of apple, when the tip of her finger rested just a second too long on my lips. I must’ve had a certain look on my face because she made the cute little cooing sound that meant she figured something out. Cupped my face with her other hand. Stroked my cheek.

“That better, pretty boy?”

She brought another apple cube to my lips, kept her eyes locked on mine—this piercing gaze halfway between interrogative and fascinated, like she was a cat observing a new toy, trying to figure out how to pounce on it. My navel flooded with heat, dick twitched in my sweats. Half of me wanted to shrink in place, become tiny and insignificant, small enough to fit in her pocket like a pathetic but endearing pet. The other half of me got lost in her eyes, in those shimmering river stones, in the perfect architecture of her eyelashes, as if admiring a fine work in some pretentious fucking museum somewhere. She let me suck the tip of her thumb clean. Dragged it slowly over my tongue.

I nodded. Yes. Yes, it’s better.

The fuck was I even stressing about before?

Tags: @carmenberzattosgf @jess248 @catharticconsolation @persymons @morgthemagpie @glitch0o0 @nox-is-thename @forgechildofheph @leminjelly @fridavacado @lumoslemon @cyarskj1899

[weediee]

Rotten is the flesh

HUMAN!ALASTOR x READER (she/her pronouns)

E/N: She has risen everyone, I’m back again fourteen days later to announce that I’m creating a new story instead of just short ones. This will have multiple chapters - I really don’t have a schedule but they will come out in at least 1-2 weeks at a time. If you have any questions or ideas for the chapters LET ME KNOW! It’s lovely to be back

Summary: Y/N and Alastor Hartfelt - a radio host, meet in a newly opened bad, and talked before returning to Alastor’s home. The next morning Y/N find what seems to be rotten carcass in Al’s freezer.

WARNINGS:

Cannibalism, swearing, sex before marriage, hints at sex but no actual smut. smoking, human bodies, alcohol.

I wasn’t one to visit bars. Yes on occasion, if I felt like having a drink and maybe finding a man to dance with for a while, but never was it a daily or even weekly occurrence. The jazz was lovely, the atmosphere was cozy, but the amount of noise - the floods of people - and the alcoholic men and women had gathered like swarms to the dance floor and really any spot surrounding the bar where I could be found seeking refuge.

I was stood, walking outside for a moment to breathe when I saw the New Orleans Radio host, Alastor Hartfelt stood smoking a cigarette in the cold. He was always a very handsome, well read, well spoken man. Seeing him doing something like this was a culture shock none the less.

“You shouldn’t be smoking cigarettes, Mr Hartfelt. It turns your lungs to coal.” I smiled, walking over. He quickly took it out of his mouth, stomping on it before looking up at me. “I’m sorry you saw my smoking dear, it doesn’t happen often.” He smiled.

“Oh it’s really not a problem,” I laughed softly. “Nice to meet you. My name is Y/N.” I put my hand out to be shaken. “Likewise, Alastor.” A smile reflected back. “You’re a darling, aren’t you?” He laughed. To be hit on by men was one thing, but a compliment such as this from Alastor? It was almost laughable.

We both stood for a moment, hands connected in the shake before we both let go. “Well, I better be going.” I said softly, looking away at the creek.

“Before you go, my dear.” He interrupted my thought. “Would you care to meet up for dinner some time? It would be an honour to dine with a beauty like yourself.” His head cocked to the side inquisitively.

—————

And just like that, I found myself in the bed of Alastor Hartfelt. The infamous New Orleans radio host. Was I proud? No, not at all. I weren’t to be proud of sleeping with a man before marriage but an opportunity like this was irresistible. Women would pay to be with Alastor, who was I to complain for free?

It appeared to be later on in the morning. I looked over to face Alastor, his head still rested against the silky white pillows on his bed. A wonderful bedroom, house, fully decorated from top to bottom with only the finest furniture and of course it was spotless.

I sat up, trying my hardest to not disturb Alastor. What was a way I could give back to Alastor for his hospitality? And the time in bed.

Perfect thought, breakfast. A proper, large, breakfast that would be sure to satisfy him. So, I got to it. Rushing down the mahogany stairs to prepare breakfast.

—————

Breakfast was coming a long great, I had left meats for last considering they would be easiest to cook. I opened the fridge to see what Alastor had stocked, only to be met with a foul odour. It truly was what one could only describe as rank, violating even.

It wasn’t a smell like any other. None the less, I took out the container that I assumed was what contained the smells. Upon opening the lid and inspecting, inside were multiple pieces of meat wrapped in cloth. I tentatively held my night gown up to cover my nose, pinching in an attempt to assassinate the smell. In my mind, this was a rotten dear that he had perhaps forgotten to prepare since he was a hunter correct? It was the normal, thigh and breast.

But deers don’t have human hands and feet.

I stared down at the dismembered parts, standing up straight suddenly at the echo behind me.

“What are you doing?”

E/N: run girl run! I hope you enjoyed lol, let me know if you all have suggestions for the series. I would love to hear them ❤️

[bigtreefest]

Essie’s Summer Lovin’ 300 Follower Celebration!!

I can’t believe it, but I’ve hit 300 followers! Thank you so much for everyone who has helped me get here and all the encouragement and love you’ve shown me. You have no idea how much it means💗 *please excuse the terrible graphic that I made on my lunch break. I tried, I swear. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🤷🏻‍♀️

For the occasion, I’m hosting a writing event! I’d love for you, yes you! to join in the celebration!! I know what you’re thinking: ‘well Essie, how do I do that?’ Let me tell you!!

Gather up all the sweet, summer vibes you can muster, along with one or multiple of the prompts listed below, and write a fic! Prompts and rules below!

Prompts:

*feel free to adjust them accordingly to work better in your fic

- pick your favorite summer song and use it to inspire your fic (optional, and very much not necessary, but encouraged. I love the songs of summer)

Scenarios:

- a character gets a sunburn

- someone lost their bathing suit in the ocean/pool

- a popsicle dripping down someone’s skin

- sand. Sand everywhere.

- beach games got a little too rough

- reading and someone gets the book wet

- putting a flower behind their ear

- babe is a surfer

- watching a sunrise/sunset together

- a long drive together

- putting sunscreen on one another

- rain spoils your summer outdoor plans

- bonfire

- catching fireflies

Quotes:

- “it hurts when I _____” “then stop doing that”

- “I wore this purposely because I thought the tan line would drive you crazy.”

- “what do you mean you didn’t pack snacks?”

- “here, you can share with me”

- “aw man, that was the last one”

- “I’ve got something else you can lick”

- “ew, gross. That’s not what I thought would happen today”

- “who thought a place with mosquitoes was a good idea?”

- “yeah. I know” “I didn’t mean I was hot in that way”

- “you know that one’s my favorite”

- “we’re not supposed to be in here” / “not here”

- “why’s it…sticky?”

Kinks:

- praise

- size

- daddy

- equal partnership? That’s my kink.

- breeding

- oooo! hand

- public sex/trying not to get caught

- overstimulation

Tropes:

- friends to lovers

- enemies to lovers

- hurt/comfort

- last summer together before going separate ways🥺

- vacation fling cut short by having to go home

Environments:

- beach

- pool

- lake house

- ice cream shop/stand

- inside in the ac

- a bar

- resort/hotel

- out on the water/ in a boat

Rules/How to Play:

- Character/love interest must be a CE babe/Bucky (no other Seb babes, however you may be able to make a case for boedecker or destroyer Chris)

- No deeply dark themes, including noncon, murder and death, toilet stuff, incest, or anything you think would be too intense for my poor heart. Dubcon, stepcest, and soft!dark are allowable if you just keep it light and find it necessary, but use your discretion please

- Posts should be at least 300 words, with no upper limit! Please us a ‘read more’ past 150

- fics should be stand-alone. If they are part of a series, they should be able to be read alone.

- tag me @bigtreefest and put the tags #essie’s summer lovin’ 300 follower celebration #summer lovin’ celebration and #essie’s 300 follower special so I can reblog you and add your fic to the Masterlist!!

- be inclusive and considerate!!

- make/write as many posts as you’d like!

- this will run from Sunday, July 13 to Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Late entries will be accepted through the end of summer.

- happy writing and thank you for celebrating with me!!

Tagging those who interacted with my post gauging interest, but all are welcome to join!!

@stargazingfangirl18 @krirebr @ronearoundblindly @witchywithwhiskey @thezombieprostitute @darsynia @jesevans @navybrat817 @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @brandycranby @universitypenguin @gone-to-fight-the-fairies @delicatebarness @biteofcherry @dreamtinblackandwhite @levans44

[ender1821]

behold. me coping with session 9 SL!shinyduo

— — —

The crackle of a lightning strike hits at the exact same moment Pearl hears a resounding crack from her neck. After she had been shot by Scar, the impact of the arrow led her to stumble down the ravine beside Scar’s base, leaving her at the bottom of the pit.

Well, at least it was quick.

She finds herself lying on the stone ground, a view of a clear blue sky above her.

The only thing she could do was let herself breathe. (Do ghosts even need to breathe? Eh, who knows.)

Her eyes close as she builds a steady rhythm with the rise and fall of her chest, willing for the aching and exhaustion riddled all throughout her body to somehow dissipate.

Aside from the sound of her breaths, she can pick up Scar’s voice off in the distance. It doesn’t sound much like a cheer, or a cry, or anything— but then again, Pearl’s not in a fit state to focus on whatever he’s saying.

Instead, she tries to think back on everything that just unfolded, all the deaths, the hunts…the duel. The zombie that had been creeping towards Scar before Pearl warned him.

She sighs, “I swear, if he dies to a zombie, after all that…”

Now, she wasn’t really expecting a reply.

Especially not a reply from a voice that’s so familiar.

“I know, right? It’d be embarrassing for both of us.”

Pearl’s eyes snap open in an instant, as though the answer gave her a surge of energy, overpowering the waves of numbing pain.

“…Gem?”

She looks…just like she used to, when they were red…together.

Pearl blinks, trying to focus on the figure looming over her. It’s only then, that she notices Gem’s body is slightly translucent, allowing rays of sunlight to pass through.

“Hey, Pearl.” Gem extends a greeting they both know far too well. She crouches down, tilting her head. “Are you going to keep lying on the ground, or…?”

“I might.” Pearl chuckles. “It’s pretty comfy down here, actually.”

“I can imagine.” Gem shifts to sitting cross-legged next to Pearl, which prompts her to try and actually sit upright as well.

Pearl grunts when she finally manages to move, scooting over to Gem. Sitting underneath the shades of a bit of overhang of the earth above, they find themselves situated in a corner of the ravine, now further ruined with scorch marks and splatters of blood on the walls.

Despite the destruction, sunlight casts shadows of sunflowers into the chasm. It must be the ones Scar has around his base.

Silence follows. Pearl tries her best to stare only at the walls around, but she ends up glancing at Gem a few too many times. She hopes Gem is too preoccupied to notice. (Pretty slim chance of that happening, considering the fact that there’s nothing of interest nearby but them.)

Eventually, though, something in Pearl pushes her to speak.

“So,” Pearl starts, “what’s got you wanting to give me a visit? I thought you’d be with Scott and Impulse.”

Gem jerks up at the sudden question, then turns away from Pearl. “I— I dunno, I just… We died pretty close to each other, you’re the first one I saw.”

If Pearl’s head had been a bit more clearer, maybe she would’ve questioned why Gem was so insistent on not facing Pearl when she answered. Instead, she accepts the answer with a nonchalant “Ah, I see.”

“Well, I appreciate the company. And…” Pearl adds, pausing as the following words get caught in her throat for a brief second:

“I’m sorry.”

That seemingly got Gem’s attention, causing her to look at Pearl once again.

Just today, Pearl was met with those same pair of eyes on multiple occasions. For some, they sparkled with a sense of joy. For others, they held a flurry of panic behind them.

At this moment, they were glazed with a whirlwind of emotions Pearl couldn’t even begin to decipher.

Pearl can see Gem obviously struggling to find something to say, or to piece together the thoughts in her head. Either way, Pearl waits.

“When you— when Scar was coming for me, you asked me if I wanted to duel it out with you, with swords.”

Pearl nods.

“Why?”

It’s such a simple question, really. Pearl knows exactly why she did it. Just as she knows why she went into the End earlier in the game to fight the dragon, why she rode a camel with the same person who’s killed her twice, why she couldn’t get a successful ambush when she’d been in the siege against Gem and the Scotts.

What leaves her lips is not the answer. Not a clear one, at least.

(It’s never easy, is it? When Scar and Gem had begun fighting, all Pearl wanted was a moment to think. She didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know why she began shooting, she just didn’t know. She couldn’t decide.)

“You said you didn’t want a bow fight.”

“But a sword fight, Pearl?” Gem pushes on in an instant. “I know you, Pearl, I know you prefer using an axe.”

“I do, yeah.” Pearl doesn’t give away any more than that, choosing to give Gem a noncommittal response.

“So— If Scar hadn’t— If I agreed, you—”

“You probably would’ve kicked my butt.” Pearl admits with a smile.

Gem takes a deep breath. Then, in the quietest voice Pearl has heard all day, Gem asks, “And you would’ve been fine with that?”

(I would’ve been more than fine with it.)

“You would’ve beat me fair and square, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“But you—” Gem cuts herself off with a groan, growing more and more frustrated with Pearl’s vague replies. It’s no use when they’re both dancing around the topic, even though all Gem wants is to ask: would you have let me kill you? Could we have stayed friends? What went wrong?

Gem recalls Pearl backing away after one swing of her sword, when she was fighting Scar, she caught a glimpse of Pearl leaving the fight to them. She remembers how Pearl could’ve pulled out her bow, could’ve ended her right there.

(Do I forgive you?)

A breeze blows past the Sunflower Valley, leading the flowers above, along with their shadows, into a gentle dance.

Nearly every question Gem has dies on the tip of her tongue, leaving only one:

“What now?”

Pearl gives it some quick pondering, before stretching her legs out and bracing herself to stand. “I wanna check on Mailbox and Matchbox.”

“Then,” She helps herself up by leaning on a wall. “I wanna see if I can find my Mounders anywhere.”

Lastly, she extends a hand out to Gem. “After that… I think I remember Scott saying something about a spare camel around Etho’s?”

Gem returns the smirk on Pearl’s face with one of her own. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“The Murder Camel rides once more!” Pearl cheers as she pulls Gem up with her.

[emeritusemeritus]

His Firecracker [Fred Weasley x Gryffindor!Reader]

Title: His Firecracker.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Fiancé!Reader [She’s implied Gryffindor]

Timeline: None-specified, set after DH.

Summary: At his engagement party, Ginny asks Fred what attracted him to his new fiancé, his firecracker.

Warnings: Mentions of bullying, drinking, a few swear words. Mentions of the Chamber of Secrets. George trying to wind up his twin.

"How did you know that you loved her?" Ginny asks, subconsciously leaning forward ever so slightly, listening intently to the anticipated answer. One half of the Weasley siblings are sat around the living room at the Burrow, each with a glass of various beverages in hand to toast to the newly engaged couple that they had gathered together to celebrate with.

"Never had to question it, can't remember a time when I didn't," Fred says with a smirk and a shrug, leaning back in the armchair opposite his sister. He was a few drinks deep already, not including the multiple shots of fire whiskey he'd consumed that George had managed to sneak under the seemingly omniscient eye of their mother.

"So what attracted you to her?" Ginny asks, following up from his vague reply. She clutches her own glass tightly and sips from the burning liquid as she listens in, realising moments before that she had never actually asked her brother those questions.

"Beside how hot she is?" George interjects playfully, earning daggers from Fred, knowing that his twin was trying to wind him up. “Why do you think he calls her firecracker?”

"Beside her beauty," Ginny adds, a little more eloquently than her older brother. Fred ponders for a moment, replaying the moment in his mind before letting out a little chuckle, beginning to tell the story.

School had just started back after the summer holidays and you'd entered your fifth year at Hogwarts feeling revitalised after spending the summer with your family and friends back home and on holiday for one of the weeks. Of course you'd missed your school mates and being able to do magic but it was a nice refresher that you needed after the horrible events of the previous year with the chamber of secrets and the petrifications.

It was the third day back and you were sat at the Gryffindor table in the great hall surrounded by your friends, looking forward to enthusiastically tucking in to the wondrous display of delicious food when Ginny Weasley came and sat beside you, looking a little nervous. You'd made friends with her when she first started but after everything that happened in the chamber, you'd really tried to be there for her this year and had stood up for her on multiple occasions against Malfoy and his cronies. You greeted each other fondly and then her older twin brothers who had sat across from you as Neville took a seat beside George.

"What you got there Neville?" You heard Ginny ask in a quiet voice, noticing the book he was reading whilst waiting for the food. He began excitedly explaining how his Gran had sent him up to the attic and he'd found it in an old trunk and how it explained that each plant meant something and how it linked to muggle and magical medicine, reciting different species and their etymology.

"Another example, Milkweed is a native wildflower that means 'let me go' but in reality it's"

"Longbottom, shut up! No one cares about your bloody plants, I've heard enough," Alison Denshaw shouts down the table, her group of cackling witches snickering to themselves around her. Neville looks crestfallen and silences himself immediately, embarrassed by her outburst.

"Oi," you shout back, "I don't give a fuck about your boyfriend cheating on you but it's all I've heard from everyone since we got back so you can deal with plant talk for a little bit longer." You then turn to Neville and with a much softer tone, smile at him and say, "Go on Neville, tell us about Milkweed."

Fred was certain that you'd never been more attractive to him then you were right there, seeing you be bold enough to stand up for your friends and their interests, no matter how dull you secretly thought they were. It was so effortlessly done, so brilliantly witty that he knew he had to get closer to you, to make you his little firecracker.

[cheeeeseburger]

Sweet like tiramisu, bitter like coffee Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Lance Stroll x Reader, Lewis Hamilton x Reader

Masterlist

A/N: This was a Lance Stroll fic but it turned into a Lewis Hamilton fic at the end lmao. Oh well! This is the last part, enjoy! English is not my first language, apologies for the mistakes!

“Mon sucre d’orge, you’re breaking my heart. But I’d rather you break mine a thousand times than to break yours.” Lawrence Stroll pulled you in a big hug. You sighed in relief.

You’ve always wanted to work in F1. Now that you had your master in engineering, the obvious way to go was to work for Aston Martin, since Lawrence Stroll was basically a father to you. After what happened with his son, though, it seemed like a bad idea. However, you hated to disappoint his dad.

Lance Stroll had nearly killed you a year ago. For two years, he tortured you and you tortured yourself. He used you and you were convinced that you liked it. You thought you were a doll, but really, you were a puppet, and he was a master puppeteer. He always did like that one Metallica song.

“Thank you for understanding, Lawrence. You know I wish things had been different.” He nodded.

“I do not know the extents of what happened between my son and you,” you blushed, and he continued, “But I do know that you’re worth your weight in gold, and even without my help, you would have landed yourself a job in F1.” You kissed his cheek.

That conversation happened over a year ago. You were now a proud Mercedes engineer, and you loved it. Lance knew you were working in F1, and he had tried to meet up with you on multiple occasions, but you always refused. You said hello to him when you saw him, and that was that.

Everything about your new job thrilled you. It seemed surreal to live your dream and for it to be exactly like you had hoped for and more.

“Hello darling,” Lewis surprised you with a hug from behind and a kiss on top of your head.

The job also had other advantages, like getting you a boyfriend. You and Lewis immediately hit it off when you first met. You both had the same interests, and you rapidly started talking outside of work. However, you wanted to keep things friendly but also professional, knowing your history with F1 drivers. It did not go as planned.

After ten painful months of stealing glances at each other, texting nonstop and him being jealous when you mentioned going on a date, you both confessed your feelings. It went a little something like this:

You were tapping your foot, playing with your hair, and biting your nails. In other words, you were clearly bothered by something, and Lewis noticed it.

“Darling, stop fidgeting. What’s the matter with you, love?” he asked playfully.

Surely, he knew how much you liked the nicknames he had for you. Surely, he knew your heart jumped inside your chest every time he used them.

“It’s nothing, really.” You tried to avoid answering.

“Awww, come on love, you can tell me. I won’t laugh, even if it’s something really embarrassing, I swear!” You tried to resist, but after a few minutes of him bothering you, you finally gave in.

“It’s just that I have a date tonight, and I’m nervous, that’s all,” you confessed, embarrassed. You tought he would laugh at you, but it was the opposite. He really, really, did not feel like laughing at that. In fact, he was pissed more than anything else.

“What? A date? With whom?” You were kind of insulted at the fact that he looked so surprised to know you had a date.

“What? Do I look like I can’t get a date or something? He’s just some guy that I met on Tinder anyway,” you answered defensively, with your arms crossed against your chest.

He looked even more mad to learn you were on a dating app.

“A guy from Tinder? Come on love, don’t tell me you’re on that!”

 You were starting to get pissed. “Yeah, I am. I’m also on Hinge, for your interest. Why does that matter? And why are you so concerned about my date?”

It was his turn to answer defensively. “I am not!”

“Okay, okay, okay! You asked about it though,” you rolled your eyes.

“I just think you’re too good for those stupid apps, and probably for that boy, too.” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“For you information, he happens to be a very good-looking guy, and he’s nice! He’s taking me to a great restaurant, and who knows, I might even go back to his place afterwards.”

“What?” He exclaimed after your last comment.

You rolled your eyes at him once again. “Oh my gosh, you’re so dramatic! Don’t worry, I won’t be late to work tomorrow morning, geez.” You did not notice he had gotten so close to you, and you gasped when you heard him talk near your ear.

“Darling, I’m not worried about that. In fact, I want you to be late tomorrow morning, but because you spent the night at my place, and you woke up in my bed.” He pushed a few loose strands of hair behind your ear. You nearly choked at his touch and his words.

“What are you talking about?” Your heart was beating so damn fast.

“You heard me. I don’t want you to go on a date with another guy. Let me take you out instead.” He was playing with your hair, and thinking was difficult.

“Don’t play with me, Lewis. Another driver already ruined me, it won’t happen twice.” You didn’t want to be fooled again.

He knew all about you and Lance, and he was appalled when he learned how badly the Canadian driver had treated you. Canadians were supposed to be nice, no?

“Don’t worry, love. I would never do that to you. Let me teach you how it feels to be treated right.” You looked at him with eyes full of hope, and he had simply kissed you. Your date with that other guy was quickly cancelled.

Two months after your first date, you and Lewis were now officially a couple, but you kept things private. Nobody knew except you two.

“Hi, mon chéri,” you blushed when you felt Lewis kissing your neck.

“How are you today, love?” He loved asking you questions when you were distracted, especially when he was the one making you distracted. After a few seconds, you managed to answer.

“I’m good, what about you?” you tilted your head to the side to give him a wider access to your neck.

“I’m great, actually.” His touch felt too good, and you moaned way more loudly than you had intended to. Immediately, you gasped and pulled away from him. He laughed at you.

“Baby, this isn’t funny, someone could have heard us, or worse saw us!” He kept laughing at you.

“Darling, you sound like Hermione Granger.” You lightly smacked him on his arm.

“And you’re so British, it hurts.” You couldn’t help but smile at him. He gave you a quick kiss.

“One day, the whole world will know you’re mine.” He winked and left you standing there, smiling like you had just won the lottery. In fairness, you probably did, boyfriend wise.

。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+

It was Saturday of the Canadian GP. You always had a weird sense of déjà vu anytime you went back to Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. It was yours and Lance’s home race, and it always took you back to that first tragic night you shared with Lance. It was also during this very GP that you ended things with him. It was bittersweet to be back home.

Thankfully, your boyfriend knew how to cheer you up. He managed to get pole position. Not only were you thrilled as his girlfriend, but as an engineer for the team too, since you had helped him get there. You were proud of him, and proud of you as well.

You and the entire Mercedes team were cheering when Lewis approached you. Everyone congratulated him, but he was too busy walking towards you to notice anyone else.

“What are you doing?” you asked, confused. He didn’t answer you, he started to kiss you instead. The crowd was in shock.

At first, you were too surprised to kiss him back, but you stopped daydreaming and got right back to the task. After a few seconds, Lewis pulled back and started at you.

“I just couldn’t keep it a secret anymore.”

The crowd went wild. You could hear cameras flashing all around you. You were blushing like crazy, but you smiled at him. You two looked so lovesick, it hurt.

He put an arm on your shoulders, kissed the top of your head, and you two walked back to the paddock.

It was official, you loved (him) the Canadian GP. Watch out everyone, there's a new WAG in town.

。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+

It was two AM and you could not sleep. Like at all. It was way too weird to be sleeping in Montreal in a hotel room. The previous years, you always slept in your apartment, but you now considered this apartment cursed, even after many cleansing rituals. It was easier to just stop renting it.

Your phone buzzed. It was Lance. You two hadn’t talked in a hot minute. Once again, the déjà vu was strong with this one.

Since when are you dating Lewis Hamilton???

It has been 3 months now lol

I thought you didn’t want to date a driver? Or was this a special policy just for me?

We’ll it’s not like we dated anyway

I wanted to

Yeah, only after I said you couldn’t use me anymore

I really am sorry, kid. Are you ever gonna get over it?

Lol no.

I don’t think you should date him. He’s way older than you.

I actually think the age gap is hot tbh

You have no excuse, your dad is great

I don’t need an excuse, my bf is just really hot in general

And you work together too

Why are you so concerned?

I just care about you, kid.

Too bad you stopped caring for two whole years

Please, I said I was sorry

And you are forgiven. But your actions are not forgotten. That’s a very cheesy line lol

How can you joke when we’re having a serious discussion?

At this point our whole friendship/relationship/whatever is a joke dude

I wish it wasn’t

Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did -Taylor Swift

???

Good luck on the race tomorrow!

Honestly, you thought you handled that conversation pretty well. Nobody could ever say you weren't hilarious. You slept peacefully after.

。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+

The race went very well for Lewis, and not half bad for Lance. You were celebrating with Lewis when you spotted Lance looking at you. When he realized he was caught, he laughed a little, and you simply smiled back at him. It was one of those moments that you only see in movies, where the two main characters look at each other and see an ocean of possibilities, like in La La Land. During those few seconds of eye contact, you saw longing, sadness, and happiness at the same time. You suddenly felt a big wave of nostalgia hit you, and you got a lump in your throat. You got teary eyed. Lewis didn’t notice any part of this interaction.

You tried to chase the tears away by batting your eyelashes, but he still noticed you were crying, even from a distance. He mouthed the words “I’ll see you around”, which meant nothing and everything to you at the same time. You laughed and smiled at him through the tears. You both looked away.

In French, there’s a special idiom: “Avec des si, on mettrait Paris en bouteille.” This could be loosely translated to : “With what if, you could put Paris in a bottle”, meaning that if you could change the past or the parameters, anything is possible.

Avec des si, you and Lance Stroll could have had your happily ever after, together.

Even without si, with Lewis Hamilton, you already had your happily ever after.