#i am going to continue to bitch later. after i get some soup and tuck my ass in bed

[glass-trash-bab]

I need to eat soup and tuck my ass into bed

[featherfur]

Big Knife Meet Little Blind Ch.2

Xue Yang meets A-Qing before he meets Xiao Xingchen and decides he needs a disciple. Somehow he ends up with a kid, a heart, and an absolute mess of a cultivation world.

Warnings: Gore, Blood, Murder, Questionable Child Rearing, Xue Yang and A-Qing's potty mouth, Xue Yang isn't a good person and needs to get there, will eventually be SongXiaoXue

Read me on Ao3,

Read Chapter 1

Xue Yang returned home much more relaxed and even entertained the idea of taking his next day off to travel down to Yunmeng with A-Qing to let her try osmanthus cakes. She’d probably enjoy the river boats and he could afford a trip there and back if he annoyed Jin Guangyao into paying him early.

“A-Qing, are you still crying like a baby?” He called cheerfully towards the shack, kicking open the door and blinking when he found it completely empty.

The hearth was still cold and the soup from last night was gone so A-Qing had returned after he sent her off. The blankets for their bed were still made like A-Qing insisted on doing every morning, even the hidden pouch of money was still tucked in the jar of seasonings on the top shelf. Yet A-Qing was nowhere to be found.

Where the hell had the brat gone?

Had she run off because he scared her? If she could get over a fierce corpse devouring and murdering humans she shouldn’t be such a coward just because he got pissed and stabbed someone. It wasn’t like he was going to stab her. If he did that then he’d have to go through the trouble of finding another disciple and he liked his.

“A-Qing!” He shouted, mentally convincing himself that he wasn’t worried at all. After all, he could always get another brat right?

A second later the door swung open and he spun, Jiangzai already before him. Luckily for him, A-Qing was still much too small for his stab to be in her general area.

She collided with him forcefully and he was about to reprimand her when he realized she was clutching onto him.

“Eh? Why are you crying brat? Did you think I wasn’t coming back?” He snapped even as he sheathed Jiangzai and crouched down so he could look her over. She was fine beyond a few scratches and he rolled his eyes at her dramatics, he really should have killed her and grabbed an older brat. They didn’t cry nearly as much.

“Yang-ge, someone tried to break the door! They wanted to kill me.. They kept yelling for you. You weren’t here.” A-Qing sobbed, the irritation that rose in Xue Yang at her obnoxious crying was immediately flooded with the fury that anyone would dare scare his A-Qing. “You didn’t come home… I-I-I hid… I hid where you told me too. Then I heard you.”

Well atleast, some of his words had gotten through her thick skull.

“Who was it?” He barked, groaning when she just kept crying. He smacked her cheek and she blinked blearily up at him.

“Answer me brat, who was it?”

She shook her head, trying to tug herself closer to his chest and he pushed her back with a disgusted noise. She was covered in snot and tears and he didn’t want to have to wash his clothes so soon. It was disgusting and he liked to play with corpses.

She just snuffled loudly despite his glare and hold on her shoulders, still reaching out to him.

“I don’t know, I promise I don’t know.” She swore, grabbing hold of his forearms with a vice-like grip. It would have been impressive if she wasn’t so damn annoying.

Xue Yang stared at her, wondering if he could smack her again to make her shut up but she just blinked her white eyes at him with unwavering trust. An unfamiliar feeling built in his chest and he released his grip on her shoulders.

She rocketed into his chest with a fresh wave of sobbing, clinging onto him with a strength that surprised him. He fell back onto his ass, crossing his legs under him as A-Qing curled in his lap.

He pulled Jiangzai out as a precaution, wondering if A-Qing would panic like before. To his pleasant surprise, as soon as the blade was resting on his knee in easy reach she finally started to calm.

Her small fingers were tangled in his robes and he reached up to pat them in a move of comfort that completely surprised himself. Then again, he didn’t like breaking his own toys so treating them properly was the best way to make sure they survived. Even if he was confused by his own actions, A-Qing had started to calm and her obnoxious crying had finally ceased so Xue Yang counted it as a win.

Still, a steady wave of anger was still sliding through him. Someone had tried to break into his house and scared what was his. Even if her own clumsiness was what caused her scratches, she wouldn’t have had to run if it wasn’t for those bastards. They owed him.

Xue Yang was going to get even, tonight. He’d had a really bad day and it was time to make it someone else’s problem.

He waited for A-Qing to fall asleep before he moved back to his feet, keeping one arm under her so she could rest against his shoulder. With a child on his right and Jiangzai on his left he stepped out of the house and started to make his way around the house.

There were indeed footprints that weren’t from him, two sets in fact leading back to the local village. They weren’t familiar to him, but that just meant it wasn’t anyone from the Jin sect. There were plenty of others who wanted him dead or beaten black and blue.

He returned to the house to drop A-Qing off but she woke the moment he put her down.

“Yang-ge, are you leaving again?” She asked, her bottom lip wobbling and he poked her cheek to startle her.

“Don’t start that crying shit, got it? Yes I am, stay here.”

Rather than listening she just bolted forward to hold onto his leg instead.

“Yang-ge don’t leave me, take me with you.”

Xue Yang kicked her off, waving Jiangzai between them to keep her from trying again. Yet she still just wobbled back up to her feet with that stubborn streak that made him take her in the first place.

The temptation to give her a reason to fear Jiangzai was almost irresistible, a few more cuts wouldn’t do anything other than scare her after all. Xue Yang was good at swordsmanship, a few slices like paper cuts would be perfect for getting her to remember her place. He flicked the sword up with a twist of his wrist and was about to slice down across the reaching hand.

“You’re… going to kill them… right?” She said and Xue Yang paused long enough for her to grab his robes again and reach up towards Jiangzai. “Like earlier.”

“No, not like earlier. I’m going to kill them myself. Now let go or I’ll kill you first.” Xue Yang warned with a growl but she barely even blinked.

“Take me with you.”

That made him lower the sword with curiosity, tilting his head down at the dirty little brat he’d stuck in his house. There was a sudden panic in his mind, like when he’d come home to find A-Qing missing, at the idea of her being anywhere near murderers. She was tiny! He could kill her with a half kick to the head and she wanted to go with him?

“Why?”

“You left and it was scary.” She said simply, letting go of his robes to hold her arms up to him. “Take me with you.”

“Little Blind,” He said ignoring her scowl, “you do know I’m going to kill. Like the man before. You cried like a little bitch not even twelve hours ago.”

He remembered that she was roughly five when she just blinked up at him and waved her hands. Right. She’d watched last time.

The panic started to drain quickly and he shrugged.

Whatever. If she died then fuck her, he’d burn her corpse or bring her back for his experiments. Oh that was an idea.

He hummed to himself as he bent just enough to swipe her legs out from under her with his arm and leave her perched on his hip and elbow.

If she died she could make a wonderful little subject to see about finally recreating a conscious corpse like the Ghost General. It really was too bad that he was completely loyal to Wei Wuxian, Xue Yang could have used a babysitter.

“If you start crying I’ll leave you in the chest cavity after I break it open.” Xue Yang threatened her and she just gave him that same confused blink. He scoffed and grabbed a cloak to toss over her and made his way out.

He was going to have to fix her poor vocabulary soon. She was great at playing a beggar for a kid, but she really missed the point of his threats and that wasn’t going to stand.

“Do you remember what the bastards sounded like? The ones who came looking for me,” Xue Yang added irritably when she continued her blinking habit. That jogged her memory and she nodded, looking out towards the approaching town.

Night had already started to fall and the last rays of light were quickly disappearing as lanterns were lit instead. Xue Yang grumbled to himself as he realized the footprints would soon be invisible but he couldn’t risk putting A-Qing down for a fire talisman or to sheathe Jiangzai even for a few seconds.

“He… He sounded like the… the…” A-Qing pouted as she tried to remember and Xue Yang suddenly understood why people found kid’s cute. If she wasn’t so annoying, A-Qing would be adorable for a little stray, she was just like a cat that never shut up.

“The pig man!” A-Qing finally declared happily, smiling at Xue Yang and lost the adorable look when Xue Yang just felt annoyed instead.

“I thought you said you didn’t know who they were.”

“I don’t. One of them sound like the pig man… He wasn't the pig man.”

Xue Yang jerked his arm to make her squeal in fear of being dropped. Then he realized what it was that she was saying.

“You mean he has the same accent as the butcher?”

Right, Xue Yang thought as she blinked blankly at him, she’s five she doesn’t know what accent means.

“You have the ugliest face.” He finally told her, grumbling when her thin fingers shoved into his cheek.

“Yang-ge don’t be mean to A-Qing.” She admonished like it was bath day and not a trip to kill a man.

“Okay brat, I get it, keep your hands off my face or I’ll bite them off.” He snapped his teeth in her direction and she retracted her hands quickly with puffy cheeks and pouty lips. The second time wasn’t nearly as adorable but when she reached to wrap her arms around his neck again he let her without question.

Honestly he was waiting for her to fall asleep on his shoulder so he just evened out his footsteps and made his way through the back alley’s to the butchershop.

“Don’t make any noise unless I tell you too.” He warned, waiting until she nodded that she understood before he finally stepped behind the shop itself.

The candlelight wasn’t very bright so Xue Yang slipped closer, peering through the window at the small group. At first he only recognized the butcher himself, then he realized he did know the other two.

They weren’t anyone important but a few years ago Xue Yang had gutted their sister for smacking him, he hadn’t realized he’d been seen at all. They must have been hunting him since then and only just now caught up after he got stuck long-term in this damned town. He would have to clean that up eventually anyways.

Talk about two birds with one stone, he thought to himself and turned to lower A-Qing to the ground.

“Are you going to help me? Or do you just wanna watch?” He whispered and she shrank down against the wall of the house before reaching out to pat the hilt of Jiangzai. “Good girl, wait right here for Yang-ge.”

He straightened with a grin, patting her once on the head before sliding open the door silently and strolling through.

“Hello you two, I heard you were looking for me.” He chirped excitedly, holding up the well-known blade. “Really, you could have just left a note.”

“You.” One snarled.

“Xue Yang.” The other said and Xue Yang rolled his eyes, chuckling at their posturing.

“Don’t dirty my name, I’m rather fond of it.” He hummed, almost seeming to glide over the floor towards them as they stumbled back. “Actually, let me correct myself. You should have just left a note. Then I’d maybe be able to bring myself to be a bit merciful, Jin Guangyao’s been teaching me all about it.”

“Will you just- Shut up!” The butcher’s voice joined the mess and Xue Yang glanced at the knife he was wielding.

A loud laugh bubbled up as he saw it, swinging Jiangzai to point at the taller one.

“You really think you can do anything to me?” In response the knife came flying at his head and he sighed softly. A simple lean was all that was needed to leave the blade well out of range of his head and it struck the wall behind him instead.

“Now, I need a volunteer.” He said with another step forward. “See, my kid’s still new to all of this but she needs to learn, so who wants to help me teach her the different arteries to cut? The other two I’ll kill a little faster.”

“You killed our sister, after we kill you we’ll get your little brat and return the favor.” The youngest brother yelled in outrage, brandishing his own sword. It wavered in the air almost shaking as much as his owner was.

The smile disappeared from Xue Yang’s face and he flashed forward. With two strokes blood spurted from the two others’ throats. He left only the youngest to cower with a scream that was silenced a moment later when Xue Yang’s fingers grabbed his tongue and with a single slice was tossed behind him. The wail was easily stuffed out with a handful of the bastard’s own robes, forcing them down his throat until he choked and gagged.

“Found my volunteer.” Xue Yang pulled him to his knees by his hair, waiting impatiently for the neighbors knocking to cease. When no one answered they dispersed with mumbles about rowdy visitors and summoning the guards to complain.

Xue Yang dragged the man through the bloody mess on the floor, glancing back at the corpses with a mournful air.

If only I hadn’t brought A-Qing, then I’d have two new subjects to play with.

He hummed as he stood in the middle of the room, realizing that this was one of those moments that Jin Guangyao had told him about. Ones where Xue Yang should have planned better before jumping into slaughter.

He wanted to take his time and teach A-Qing a thing or two, but the bastard crying on the floor had warned everyone. If Xue Yang brought him back home to teach, then he’d have to deal with the smell of blood in his house and the potential of Jin disciples finding the body.

Jin Guangyao should be proud, Xue Yang thought proudly as he dropped the man on the ground and promptly sat on his stomach, I’m thinking it through and everything.

“A-Qing, come here.” He called, waving her forward and holding his arms open to tempt her even further. As expected, she bolted into his arms without a care for the carnage around her.

“Good girl, now, I’m going to show you this trick.”

A-Qing flinched slightly when the man they were sitting on wailed against the robe. Then she scowled and leaned over him to smack his cheek like Xue Yang did to her earlier. This one was much harsher than Xue Yang had been but it still managed to make the man freeze.

“Good girl,” Xue Yang cheered, the vicious mood from earlier seeming to dissipate as he squeezed her cheek. “Very good, now, listen to Yang-ge.”

A-Qing nodded her head rapidly as Xue Yang moved over the struggling man to trace a nail over his carotid artery with a rather proper explanation of death by exsanguination if he said so himself. He followed the man’s neck down to his windpipe, explaining how to slice it properly. The man still writhed so Xue Yang clamped down on his throat, squeezing it until the body spasmed and stopped moving.

“And that is choking. Don’t worry about that right now, you’re too tiny to do it.” Xue Yang said, tilting his head to listen to the slow moving footsteps of whatever the villagers had managed to gather for a guard to check. He sighed, resigning himself to bringing her to one of his experiments later and scooting her off to stand.

He twirled Jiangzai, humming to himself as he felt its blood lust, and held it against the unconscious man’s neck.

“Well? Do you remember what I just taught you?”

A-Qing glanced back and forth between the two of them with visible hesitation. Xue Yang supposed this could be a little fast, she’d only seen her first murder earlier in the day after all.

I’ll read those damn child raising books when I get home, maybe I should wait until she’s atleast six before committing human murder. Jin Guangyao said that was harder for most people to do.

Even as he planned to kill the man himself, A-Qing’s hand moved to Xue Yang’s and held the hilt of Jiangzai. She pushed carefully until the sword was just over the artery just like Xue Yang had taught her, then she plunged it forward.

Her white eyes were glowing with fascination as blood bubbled around the wound and, when Xue Yang pulled out, the way it sprayed before Xue Yang covered her from it with his black sleeve. Still, she moved to peek over his arm when it finally stopped spurting over them. She blinked in her curious way at the corpse then scowled over at Xue Yang.

“Your robe is all dirty. It’s bath day.” She said seriously, just like Xue Yang would say when he came home to find her filthy.

Xue Yang was in such a good mood he could only scoop her up as he sheathed Jiangzai and laugh as he skipped to the door. He paused midway through and bounced back to grab the purse on the butcher and the package before bolting as the acting guards started to bang on the door.

“Oops.” He hummed, looking around the alley before kicking off to land on the roof next door. Perhaps he didn’t think things through like he thought he did.

Whatever, He slipped the purse into his robe and started back towards home. He jumped on three more houses before deciding that was good enough and leaping to the ground to walk the rest of the way.

“Yang-ge?” A-Qing said sleepily against his shoulder. “Can I go to work with you again?”

“Sure, kid, I’ll bring you again later.” He hummed to himself, cheerfully waving the package of whatever he’d stolen through the air. He debated on chucking it against a tree just to see its contents but A-Qing’s sleepy snuffles distracted him instead.

She’d done so well already, this disciple shit really was working out a lot better than he thought it would. He was surprised she hadn’t even sobbed but then again, he hadn’t cried after his first kill either and he was only two years older than her then.

He glanced down at her as she promptly passed out, completely comfortable and safe in the arms of a murderer.

So this is why people have kids, they’re actually kind of cute when they listen.

He would have to figure out something about leaving her alone in case other enemies showed up, but maybe if he dug at the Ghost General enough he would finally get that ghost babysitter.

He almost turned to head towards the experimentation compound but a single glance at A-Qing’s sleeping form made him turn back towards home.

That can wait until tomorrow, A-Qing needs more sleep than me.

[hayjeon]

You Set My Heart on Fire 01 [M] ft. Namjoon

→ fireman!namjoon and paramedic!y/n au (warning: drunken sex, oral, etc.)  → 10k words, part 1 | part 2 | fin. → As a surgeon forced to volunteer as a paramedic in the Seoul Fire Department during an unfortunate probation incident, your one and only goal was to get to work, do your thing, and get the hell home and back to your original high-salary job. But when the SFD’s Chief is the incredibly attractive, cocky, and persistent Kim Namjoon, things start to get heated.  

Hi! this is a reupload, and i figured i’d vamp up the title and the header in the meantime! Thank you to the user who managed to save this just in time, after I accidentally deleted it T___T I am forever indebted to you, and I lost your username, so if you see this pls dm me i’d love to write something for as a token of my appreciation!

You roll your eyes, crossing your arms and leaning back in your chair as the lawyer continues to lay out the demands.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” you huff, glaring at the idiot gangster who’s at the other side of the room. He cringes a bit at your glare, nursing an ice pack against his bruised cheek.

“I swear, he slapped my ass! I was just retaliating!” You cry, frustrated. Your surgery chief huffs angrily at your behavior and you settle back, clenching your fists on top of the table.

The lawyer snarks back, “You also managed to cause damage to the victim’s body in the process. He’s demanding full reparations. Let’s see,” she muses, flipping through the documents spread out on the table between the both of you. “A broken nose, bruised cheekbone, fractured wrist from when he fell, and muscle strains on his lower back, and psychological damage from framing him for sexual harassment and from the physical assault. In total, it would amount the hospital to about $50,000 to cover the hospital costs and the time he would need to talk off from his job, and the continued physical and mental therapy sessions to follow for around 6 months.” She closes the file with a grin. “So, Dr. Y/N, what’s it gonna be?”

“Chief, I can’t believe we’re just losing to him!” You cry, following after Dr. Kim, who’s seething as he storms down the hall outside of the conference room.

He screeches to a halt, turning around with a glare. “Well, what do you wanna do?!” He throws his hands up in defeat, “You want to cause a whole legal issue? You know that there’s really nothing else we can do in this situation! It’s your word against his, and the video cameras only show proof of him passing by you, and then you throwing a big ass punch in his fucking face!” He cries, taking off his glasses and rubbing his temples.

“Look, Dr. Y/N, you did the right thing. The fucker deserved the punch, and you threw a good one. But,” he continues, placing his glasses back on his nose and patting your shoulder, “giving him the money is the best thing we could do for both the hospital and for you. So, just, take this next month off, get the community service done and then come right back. Alright? I’ll even let you head all the interesting cases that come into the operating room.”

He sighs, and walks off, leaving you behind. You roll your eyes and run a hand through your hair, fist clenching on the brochure of community service options for doctors.

The fucker had brought his girlfriend in during your shift at the emergency room, and while she was getting stitches for a cut that she got from a building collapse, in the craze of the emergency room, he was going around touching asses. You’d heard the nurses complaining about it, about how it was just a swipe of the hand that seemed like an accident, but multiple had the same experience from the same seedy-looking jerk.

When it was your turn to go up to the patient and explain that her stitches were done and she was alright to go home, he’d come up next to you and his knuckles grazed the skin of your ass. Sick of everything, you’d pushed him back and socked him straight in the face.

Later, from the cameras though, there was no visible evidence of him touching anyone, and it was your word against the clear security camera shot of you socking him right in his big ass nose. So you open the brochure and plop down at your desk to see what options there were. There were the general ones, where you could serve and clean up at a park or volunteer at a soup kitchen, and then there was a separate page for doctors who probably just wanted to maintain their skills in the field they volunteered in. You pick up the phone.

“What?” Yugyeom asks, “Chief seriously ended up giving you a probation period for community service?” He sighs over the phone, and you roll your eyes too.

“Yeah,” you huff, “which one should I do? I should sign up today, since it might take a bit to get approved and might as well start early so I can go back to work as soon as I get all my hours finished.”

He muses, probably scanning the picture you sent him. “Hm...well look, you can go travel to Africa or Cambodia or something. It’ll be like that one drama with Song Joong Ki in it. Maybe you’ll meet a hot military general. What do you think?”

“Too far,” you complain, taking a red pen and drawing a line through it. “Also, they don’t cover air fare or housing. Maybe something more local.”

“Okay, well then what about teaching kids in elementary and high school about general first aid and health? You can maybe meet a single teacher who’s good with kids. That’s kind of hot.”

“I fucking hate kids, Yug, you know that,” you sneer, rolling your eyes and crossing out that option. “Also, why are you trying to get me laid, you should be worried about your own empty gay love life.”

He huffs, “Well, bitch, if you’re gonna be so picky why’d you call. Just take the second to last one, the medic for the fire department! It’ll be fun, I know a friend who works in the one that’s close by to the hospital, so you can just commute from there and if you guys ever end up coming to the emergency room, you’ll see all of us there too.”

You hum, scanning through the brief description: Medic for the Seoul Fire Department. In-department housing and meals provided during both on-call and working hours. Needs basic EMT and paramedic skills. Must be able to handle emergency situations calmly and communicate with safety officers.

You purse your lips, scoffing a little bit at the emergency part. “Well, if there’s something I can handle, it’s emergency.”

He laughs, “What a downgrade...from a cardio surgeon to a paramedic. Jeez, you better get out of this one quick. Just make sure not to punch anyone during duty, and you’ll be fine.”

“Shut up bitch. Let’s go clubbing tonight. I need to let some of this stress out before I get trapped in there.”

The night was lively and the drinks kept flowing. Jennie and Jackson from Health and Nutrition, Sana from pediatrics, Yugyeom and Seulgi from Cardio, and even the oh-so-popular Jaebom and Jinyoung from general surgery came out.

You were dressed in the hottest dress you could find in Seulgi’s closet, and according to Yugyeom’s apparently “gay and therefore superior opinion,” your outfit and hair and makeup were basically a “straight guy’s ticket to bonertown.”

“Legit, how could you be so gay but also talk like such a frat boy at the same time?” You sneer, taking another shot of vodka.

He sucks on his lemon, and then flashes a smile. “It’s the best combination. I pull.”

He cocks his chin to a direction behind you. “Also seems like I was right, because you’ve been pulling too. That guys been staring ever since we got to the bar.”

You turn, blurry vision settling on a handsome, leather jacket clad guy that’s sitting with two other guys at the table. He’s looking now, eyebrow cocked and lip between his teeth. He’s not usually your type, but you feel it. This, was the guy you were gonna fuck tonight.

You get up, patting Yugyeom on the arm. “Thanks, I’ll take myself home tonight.” He whistles behind you as you try your best to make your way to the guy, but suddenly your drunk ass hobbles on your Forever 21 heels, and you topple to the side. All of a sudden, there’s a strong hand gripping your upper arm and pulling you up, and an arm wrapping around your waist to offer support.

“Oh shit, miss, you alright?” A low voice sounds right next to your ear. You look up, expecting to see the leather jacket guy, but this...this was much better. This guy was dressed in only a black t-shirt tucked into blue jeans. But his simple ensemble didn’t matter. He was tall, way taller than you in your tallest heels, and he smelled so damn good. His hair was slicked up and his skin absolutely golden. He wasn’t biting his lip or doing anything to try and hook up with you, but in seconds, you were sopping wet.

No, this was the guy you were gonna fuck tonight.

“I will be,” you answer him, straightening up and pressing yourself up against him. “when you buy me a drink.”

He seems to understand what you’re getting at. He chuckles a bit, eyebrow quirking and you think it’s the hottest shit you’ve ever seen since waterproof scrubs. He helps you straighten up. “I think you’ve had enough drinks already. Can I get you some water?”

“Yes,” you breathe, but not letting go. “But only if you stay with me until I’m finished.”

He smiles, and keeps his hand on your waist as he guides you the bar and orders a cup of water. You sit on the single empty bar stool, and he stands, and you revel in the fact that even on this tall bar stool, he still stands taller than you.

You sip the water, and he leans an elbow on the bar, inches from you.

“So, what brings you stumbling into this bar?”

“I’m here with some coworkers,” you say, and he leans in closer to hear you over the loud music.

“Won’t they be looking for you?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” You pout, and he laughs, shaking his head.

“Hell no, I’m just worried.”

“Wow, and they say chivalry is dead.” You fire back, and he laughs again.

“You gonna keep laughing at my jokes or are you gonna ask me to come home with you?” You raise your brows as you sip your water, looking at him over the rim. His expression darkens, but the corner of his mouth sexily turns up.

“I might laugh a little more just to tease, I suppose. Helps build up for later.” He leans up, hand on the bar, but steps a bit closer to you this time. If you leaned up a bit, you’d kiss. He chuckles again, and you can feel his breath on your lips.

You roll your eyes, “Shut up and kiss me already.”

He smiles and leans down, other hand cradling your waist as you reach up and tangle your fingers in his hair, pulling harshly when he slides his tongue into your mouth as soon as you open up for him.

He’s a good kisser. He knows how to move his lips, knows when to pull back to leave you wanting for more, and does that thing where he stops kissing to just peck wetly at your lips before sinking in for more. Hook, line, and sinker. You’re done. “Let’s get out of here, please,” you whimper against his lips, and he smiles, straightening up.

“As you wish. Oh, also what’s your name?”

“Y/N,” you shout over the music. “What about you?”

“You can call me Joon.” He smirks.

The ride to his apartment is blurry, because all you remember is a lot of giggling and trying not to moan at how his hand is so big around your thigh that you have you physically restrain yourself from jumping him on the highway right there. The tires screech as he parks and you both laugh as you stumble into the elevator, giving the security guards watching the cameras a show when you straight up make out with him in the corner of the elevator, his hand up your dress and your hand up his shirt.

He pushes you against his closed door, dropping his keys and jacket on the ground as he undoes the zipper on your dress. You tug at his shirt, “Off,” you whine, and he smiles, stepping back to whip his shirt off with one hand behind his neck.

“Fuck, that’s hot.” you whimper, and he kisses you breathless. “You’ve been saying that all night. Creative, much?”

“Fuck off, I don’t do hook ups much and I’m just telling the truth,” you say, as he gathers you in his arms and literally picks you up and heads to his bedroom. His hands squeeze your ass as he makes his way over, and you catch a glimpse of a neat, tidy living room. His bedroom is clean too, especially for a bachelor. Navy blue sheets, sleek, black furniture, expensive looking place. He was literally so fucking hot.

He drops you on the bed and immediately drapes over you, his jeans rubbing against your soaked panties. He slides his splayed palms up from your waist up to your breasts, mouth following the motion as he laves his tongue over your nipple, palm gently cupping the weight of your breasts in the grip between his thumb and the rest of his fingers. You preen at the sensation, back arching off the bed. “Pants off,” you pant, squirming underneath the warmth of his hands and mouth.

“So bossy,” he comments, smirking as he leans up on his knees to undo his belt. “I dig that.”

You lay back, taking the time to wiggle out of your soaked panties. You thank the gods you chose to wear your new set of lace undies because the rest of your drawer was basically an ocean of white granny panties. He finally drapes back over you, hand gripping your thigh to open you up as he mouths at your neck.

You retaliate by reaching down and gripping his cock, hand squeezing at his base. You can’t really see it because your face is nestled in his shoulder, but you can feel how hard and big he is. He groans at the sensation, nipping at the sensitive skin behind your ear, sending tingles down your spine and your core clenching around nothing.

He props himself up as he looks down at you and slides a finger between your folds. Your yelp dissolves into a drawn out moan. “Oh my god,” you pant, as he slides the flat of two fingers over your bundle of nerves, “please don’t stop that.” You also work your fist over his cock, mouth blubbering nonsense into his neck. He moves the fingers down into your pussy, sliding in with practically no resistance and slowly drawing them in and out your wetness. You don’t really have much time to be embarrassed by the wetness you can hear, because Joon closes his eyes and bites at the soft skin at the top of your breast.

“Shit,” he grits, and he looks down to see the way your wetness glistens on his fingers, “I don’t think I can wait. Are you good?”

You nod eagerly, and you let go of him as he gives you a hard kiss on the mouth and slides a condom on while still fingering you. Its probably not porn-worthy whatever sounds you’re making, but it seems to do the trick because he kisses you even harder and then flips the both of you over so that you’re sitting in his lap. He cradles your waist and descends on your breasts again, tongue circling your sensitive nubs as you sink down on him inch by inch.

When you bottom out, you clench around him. He’s so long and thick, and it’s been a while since your last hook up. It borders on soreness, but the sensation of him moaning with your nipple in between his lips is enough of a distraction for you to work up the nerve to start moving.

It’s embarrassing how turned on right now you are, but Joon seems to be at the same level of deliriousness because he doesn’t stop touching you. From gripping your thighs, to groping your ass, sliding his hands from your waist up to your ribs, tangling in your hair, gently curling around your neck and tightening slightly, he’s literally everywhere.

“Fuck,” you cry out when one of his hands are around your neck, squeezing lightly. You slow down, grinding instead of bouncing, and the new rhythm puts your clit in that perfect position to get stimulated by his pelvis, and his cock hitting that perfect spot inside of you that you find yourself hurtling over the edge much faster than you’d imagined.

He mouths at your cheek and ear, hand still around your neck when you cum, and suddenly he grips your thigh and presses you down against his pillows as he kneels in front of you and begins fucking you hard. The bed knocks against the wall, but you can’t care because the new position has your orgasm prolonged to a point that you’ve never felt before and your mouth just stays open in a mouthless cry against his chest as he tenses and finishes into the condom, mouth panting hoarse compliments into your ear. “Holy shit, your pussy feels so good. So tight, fuck.”

He pulls out and rolls over so he’s not crushing you, and you let out a final breath. “Wow,” you say, chest heaving as he ties the condom and throws it away. He props his head up on an elbow, grinning at you. “That good?” He says cockily, and you turn to lightly punch his chest.

“Don’t get too cocky. It was just one orgasm.”

“But also seems like the best you’ve ever had.” He adds. You roll your eyes and retort, “Well, that’s what you think--,” but your laugh dissolves into a moan again when he reaches over and pulls you underneath him to press a long, wet kiss to your mouth.

���Shut up,” he whispers between kisses, "and kiss me back already.” You smile as he kisses you, fingers tangling in the hair at his nape, and scratching lightly at his shoulder blades. He growls, and moves to your neck. You sigh as he draws more open-mouthed kisses down your neck and torso, and again when a big hand splays over your thigh to hook it over his shoulder. He presses a peck against your folds and looks up at you, and you mewl as he draws the flat of his tongue thickly through your pussy all the way up. You’re a goner.

“I’m gonna make sure you never forget my name.”

The walk of shame isn’t so bad when you basically have no time to waste as you gather your things and glance once back at Joon who’s still sleeping before running down to his lobby. You don’t really care for the disapproving looks you get, as you rush to get into your uber, and immediately thank god that this particular driver offers you a tiny complimentary water bottle. You chug it down, and try not to throw up.

You literally hurtle out of the car when he gets to your place, making a mental note to tip him heftily, seeing the way he booked it when you asked him to hurry a little. You step into a hot shower and don’t even have time to pick up the dirty clothes off the floor as you quickly dress in a white shirt and navy skirt and run out of your apartment to the bus stop.

Thankfully, you make it on time to your interview, and even though the captain gives a small disapproving look to your wet hair tips, he gives you a huge,  bright smile when you tell him you’re a cardio surgeon “taking a break.” When you told him that you used to work as a paramedic before medical school a few years ago, he basically hired you on the spot, babbling on about how much he loves people with more experience.

“So, miss Y/N, what are your interests, your hobbies?” Hoseok trails like a little puppy after you as you walk down the hall from the Fire Captain’s office to your team’s multipurpose room. You frown at him. “Eh,” you brush him off, “not much.”

He smiles, pushing his hair back from his face and trying to stand up tall, “Well, doctor, I love lifting weights and saving damsels in distress. What are you doing later, say, around 5?” You turn on your heel, and he bumps into you, scuttling backwards at the glare you have on your face.

“Look, honey,” you sneer, stepping towards him with a scowl, “You’re cute, but I’m hungover.” you say, scanning him up and down, “And I’m only here for a month and I swear if I have to spend the entire 30 days having you chase me down like a little pet, then I’m probably going to just jump off a building. Okay? So do me a favor, and stop asking me out.”

He gawks at you, and then recovers. “Wait...you’re only here for a month?”

Rolling your eyes, you resume walking towards the wait room. He wasn’t going to stop. “Yes, I’m here just to serve a short community service sentence.”

He hums, following your footsteps again, grinning. “Okay, fine. I won’t try to ask you out. I’ll just keep replaying the part where you said I’m cute over and over again in my head.” He winks at you lightheartedly.

“Here, let me introduce you to the guys.” He walks a bit faster than you as you approach the room, and creaks the door open and lets you in.

As soon as the door swings open, your eyes grow wide as you take in the sight in front of you. In the room, theres a half naked guy digging through the refrigerator, his firefighter’s outfit hanging around his hips. A pair of muscular large ones are wrestling in the corner, also only decked in sweatpants low on their hips. One lounges on the couch in a pair of glasses and a plain white t-shirt and navy uniform pants and boots, while a similarly dressed shorter one is asleep. A tall one is in the corner playing with a tiny puppy. All six of them swivel their heads towards you when you enter.

You wave awkwardly and take a step back to leave when Hoseok bounds in after you and throws an arm around your shoulder, announcing proudly, “Hey guys, this is the new medic hire! Dr. L/N!”  

The one closest to you gives you a smile, taking off his glasses and setting his book aside to reach out a hand. “Hey, I’m Seokjin, captain. Nice to meet you doctor!” He smiles and you make a note of how hot he looks in glasses and how broad his shoulders were.

“You can just call me by my first name, y/n,” you shake his hand, “Likewise.”

Another one that was digging through the fridge approaches you with a piece of gummy candy hanging from his lips. His face is sharp, but he breaks out in a huge smile that lights up his face. “Taehyung! Hi y/n, welcome to Unit 55!”

You shake his hand too, “Thanks. Do you have any firewomen?” You glance around as the pair who were wrestling stop their antics and approach you shyly. The taller one shrugs, his muscles rippling as he does and you make a huge effort not to stare. “No, honestly it’s really hard to find a firewoman these days and they probably don’t like spending time with all guys like us either.”

Taehyung leans over. “That’s Jungkook by the way.”

His partner punches Jungkook’s bicep and turns to you with a show-stopping smile. Oh. The girls would swoon for both of them, you note. They’ll have no problem finding firewomen who want to spend all day with them. “I’m Jimin. And even though this idiot makes us sound like a bunch of goons, it’s just rough being around 7 guys all the time for girls probably. But we’ll do our best to help you get comfortable around here. We’re really fun, I promise!”

You frown, glancing around the room and counting the people you’d met already. Hoseok, Seokjin, Taehyung, Jungkook and Jimin. Which left just the one still asleep somehow through all the commotion on the couch. Seeing your eyes trail over him, Seokjin looks at you over the rims of his glasses, pointing at the sleeping figure with his chin. “Oh, yeah. That’s Yoongi. Good thing he’s not awake cause he’s really grouchy, but he’s also a really good driver so we keep him. You should meet him later when he’s done with his nap.”

You laugh a little, and nod. “And the 7th?”

Jungkook throws on a shirt as he talks. “Namjoon, our unit Battalion Chief. He’s not here right now, but you’ll be able to meet him later. He basically runs this whole thing.”

“Oh I see,” you muse, and give a tight-lipped smile. “Well, maybe I’ll start moving my things in soon. Can you show me my room?”

“Bitch,” Yugyeom sneers as he watches open-mouthed as the guys help unload your car at the station. “You didn’t tell me that all your co-workers were single, hot guys that walked around shirtless all the time.” He frowns at you, ignoring your eye roll, and then switching 180 degrees and laughing and smiling when Taehyung walks by with all your heavy trunks in his arms.

“Hahahaha, Y/N, you’re so funny,” he fakes, and then turns to you with a glint in his eye. “Maybe I should’ve punched that idiot in the face too and I would’ve been here instead.” He hisses, gawking at the way Jungkook and Jimin both easily haul your mattress up the steps. Shirtless, by the way. Again.

You sigh. “It’s only for a month. And honestly, you’re such a fake ass little bitch. You were the one trying to find me a man, and now that I’m surrounded by them, you resent me for it?” you huff. “Oh, Jin, those drawers just go in the closet, thank you.”

“No problem Y/N,” Seokjin grins, pushing up his glasses as he walks past you two easily, holding up the chest of drawers that took both you and Yugyeom an entire twenty minutes to shove in the moving truck. You give him a smile in return and turn back to Yug with a snort. “Wipe your drool.” You laugh, and he closes his mouth with a clack.

“I’ll literally visit you, like all the time, Y/N,” he whispers.

“Please don’t.”

“Oh also,” he turns to you inquisitively. “What happened last weekend? Did you end up going home with that hot guy?”

You pull him closer. “Keep your voice down,” you hiss. “Yes. I fucked him.”

He whistles lowly. “He wasn’t that good?”

Sighing, you check to make sure all the other boys aren’t in the vicinity. “No, that’s the problem. He was too good. I can’t stop thinking about it. Haven’t had a proper orgasm since.”

He looks unsurprised. “Well, when’s the last time you got laid. College?”

“Shut up, asshole,” you frown, “It’s only been like...a few months.”

“Okay, so I guess we’re calling last year’s during our we’re-not-interns-anymore-party a ‘couple months’ ago. It was like 13 months ago.” He points out, and you glare at him.

“Fine,” you snap, “okay? It’s been, like a year. But he was really good, no matter how deprived I’ve been.”

Yugyeom still looks unimpressed, so you pull his sleeve down to whisper in his ear. “I had five orgasms that night.”

He straightens up, turning to you with wide eyes, “FIVE ORGASMS?”

You wince as chief walks by with a stern look, and you pinch Yugyeom in the side as you laugh, “Oh hahahaha, Yugyeom, you’re such a hilarious guy. Why would a patient even talk about those kinds of horrible things in the waiting room?!”

That seems to help as the chief’s expression lightens and he smiles as he grabs a cup of coffee and ascends the stairs again. You drop the smile as soon as the chief is out of earshot and punch Yugyeom hard.

“Little bitch,” you hiss, “are you trying to get me fired?”

He rubs the spot that you punched. “Ow, and no. I’m just shocked. Did you even get his number or something?”

You sigh, watching as the boys come back down to retrieve a couple more things. “No,” you say forlornly, “I literally had to run out for my interview. I only know his name, and I’m not even sure if its right.”

Yugyeom sighs, watching Jungkook and Jimin banter as they come back down.

“Well, at least you have guys like them to keep you company. Did you bring your vibrator along?”

You pinch him again.

With the help of the boys, moving in wasn’t a problem. Surprisingly, the bunk rooms aren’t at all what you’d expected. It was less of a college dorm room style, and more of like a communal housing unit. Apparently, the Seoul station had updated their housing recently, so the inside looked like a newly furnished office hotel, basically.

Jimin was nice enough to move into Hoseok’s room so that you could have the corner room all to yourself, with a private bath attached. It was adequately sized, but there was a nice closet and twin size bed attached, which was an upgrade from the dinky communal on-call room bunk beds that the hospital provided for the residents to sleep in.

There wasn’t even much to unpack, besides a few articles of clothing, a desk and computer for you to do some catching up on hospital paperwork, a mattress so you could sleep on without knots in your back, and your toiletries. You had a uniform anyway, and you were pretty low maintenance. The hospital shifts didn’t really give much space or time to pay attention to your fashion sense or your looks, and it wasn’t going to change now, either.

You make your way downstairs after finishing, with the stairs of course. The boys had kept trying to convince you that you won’t die if you try the pole, but honestly you weren’t down to break your ankle, especially when you were expected to help during an emergency situation. The stairs were fine. You were only on the second floor anyway.

The boys are already eating in the large lounge, and you see that the sleepy fireman had woken up and had starting to cook.

“Y/N!” Jungkook calls, scooting his chair over to make room for you at the center of their table. “Here!”

You smile and set down your phone, taking a seat as Taehyung brings you a tray. Its pasta and steak, with a huge side salad and green beans. You gape at the cook who’s still engrossed in tasting and perfecting the sauce for the pasta.

“Yoongi hyung’s a really good cook,” Jimin says, with a mouthful of salad and steak. With that, the man in question appears behind the younger firefighter and hands him a cup of water. “Don’t eat and talk at the same time. It’s disgusting.” He says with a curled lip, and then gives you a nod.

“You’re the new paramedic hire right?” He asks.

You nod, “Hi, yes. I’m Y/N.” He shakes your hand, nods, and turns away. “Not much of a talker, is he?” You say, and the boys chuckle.

“Yeah,” Hoseok says, “Yoongi’s not really an extroverted type. But he’ll warm up to you, just give it time.”

The rest of the day goes by smoothly. You have to sit in your room for a couple hours though, watching boredly through the instructional training online lessons you had to complete before starting your first day. You’re close to dozing off when a soft knock sounds.

“Yes!” You sit up and turn, and Jungkook appears, smiling sweetly. “Hi, Y/N! What you doin’?”

You stick a thumb at your computer, “Training videos,” you sigh, curling your lip. “Why?”

“Oh, hyungs and I are gonna watch a movie. If you wanna come sit with us in the lounge and do your training or just watch with us, you’re welcome to!”

You pause. “Won’t it be loud? I probably won’t be able to get anything done.”

“I’m pretty sure Seokjin hyung has done basic training before. He can probably give you all the answers to those end-of-lecture quizzes.”

Now there was your incentive to go. You smile, standing up and closing your laptop. “Why didn’t you say that sooner? Let’s go.”

He guides you down to where the lounge is and all the boys chime a nice “hello” or “y/n!” when you appear in the doorway. You can see that a new episode of Game of Thrones is on. You pad over to Seokjin and he smiles when you ask him for the favor, and moves seats to the couch behind so you can sit with him and watch at the same time.

The night goes smoothly, you tapping Seokjin everytime you finish a lesson and him pausing to quickly finish the quizzes, and you joining in with the debates about the show occasionally. Yoongi brings out some snacks, and eventually Jimin brings out a blanket for you, and by the end of the episode, your training is finished and you’re sipping on soda and eating pizza.

It’s nice, you think, a lot nicer than the hospital. You were used to the competitive nature of medicine. It was always competing against the other residents or interns to get a spot that had ridiculously low acceptance rates. There was always no time to relax. This wasn’t bad at all.

But you shake your head. This was temporary. A break. No need to get attached. They’re just being hospitable. You give a tight lipped smile as the episode ends and you take your laptop and blanket with you as you stand. “Thanks, guys, for inviting me. I’m gonna turn in tonight.” you say, slowly shuffling away. “Good night!” Taehyung yells, and the other boys chime in one by one.

You set your stuff down in your room and get ready for bed. Laying in your single bed, with no one else snoring or sleep talking, and with no post-surgery fatigue to get you straight to sleep, it’s hard. You end up staring up at the ceiling of your room, sighing as you try to think of the most boring topics in the world to try and get to sleep.

“Just a few weeks, y/n.” you murmur, turning onto your side.

You’re finally dozing off when suddenly, the intercom you had no idea was located right outside your door bursts to life. “Code 904B Building Fire. Code 904B Building Fire.”

You scramble up, throwing your covers back as you stick your head out into the hallway. The lights are flashing brightly, but you can hear the sounds of the boys in each room getting ready. The first one out into the hallway is Taehyung, and he jogs up to you. “Put on your uniform, y/n,” he pants, “and meet us downstairs as soon as possible. We gotta go, and since it’s a building fire, there might be a few injuries you can help us with.”

“Okay,” you nod, as the rest of the boys begin appearing in the hallway with navy shirts on and their firemen overalls already on. They one by one disappear down the pole and you scramble to get the paramedic bodysuit on. You pull on your boots hastily and then sprint down the stairs, and see the chief addressing everyone.

“Alright, Yoongi and half of you in car 1, and the rest of you in mine. Namjoon is already in his way from his meeting, so he’ll meet us there. Let’s go!” The boys break out into jogs as they hurriedly begin packing the hoses tightly and jumping into the cars. “Chief,” you call out, “Where can I go?”

“Go with Yoongi!” He yells, and drives off, sirens wailing. You jump into the first car and immediately you’re surprised when Yoongi, usually lethargic and slow, slams on the accelerator and your own truck bolts into life. Stumbling into a seat, you ask Hoseok, “So, this is how it always happens?”

He nods solemnly, his usual playful smile gone. “24/7. We gotta stay alert.” You nod. He points to a large, bright orange utility box in the corner of the bus. “That’s your medic kit. You can look through it now if you want, we’ll be getting to the site in a few minutes.”

You nod, perching the box on the seat next to you and digging through it. It was pretty basic, syringes, bottles of lidocaine and epinephrine for stitch jobs, synthetic thread, scalpels, bandaids, alcohol, gauze, and more. You were used to working with the minimum at the emergency room. And seemed like whoever was in charge of this box had kept it neatly and pretty well-stocked. You lock the box when the truck begins to slow, and look out the window to see the commotion.

A large building has caught on fire, and already there are two other trucks unloading at the site, their firefighters already hooking up their hoses onto the fire hydrants and assembling into position to enter the building for any remaining people. The whole area smells like smoke and through it, the glow of the orange fire against the night sky is barely visible.

Immediately as the truck parks, the boys in the vehicle spring to motion. Their uniforms are already on, helmets, gloves, and oxygen tanks and all. One by one they jog out the door of the truck and do the same, unloading the hose from the side of the firetruck and linking it easily to the fire hydrant and getting ready to spray down the building.

You pull your hair back into a ponytail and look around for anyone who might be in need of help. There’s already a few survivors out around the area in the grass, and you run over to a woman laying down.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” You say as you approach her and kneel next to her. Her husband is crying. “Sir! Is she okay? What happened?”

“P-please! We were just picking up our son and then the burning piece of wood fell on her leg. No one has been able to h-help her yet! Our son is still in that building, too!”

You unlocked your box and reassured him, “Okay, sir, I need you to calm down and help me. Someone will go find your son, but we need to help your wife right now. Do you have a phone on you? Can you use the flashlight? I need to see the area.”

He does as you instruct with shaky hands, and you carefully use the scissors in the kit to cut a strip down her pants. The burn is quite bad and covers a lot of surface area, in addition to having a huge laceration down her thigh that needs to be stitched up now, in case of infection or bleeding out. You frown, she must have been in a lot of pain.

“Ma’am, can you understand me? This is going to be a bit painful, but I need to sanitize the area.”

She’s just sobbing at this point, but you can make out some words. “Please,” she sobs, “M-my s-son!”

You lean closer, “Sorry? Your son?”

She sobs and nods, “H-he’s still inside!!” She pushes your hands away from her leg, “I won’t be treated until I find him!”

You sigh, turning around to see if there are any firefighters available. You see one coming out of the building to replace his oxygen tank. You run up to him, unable to see anything but his eyes through the protective gear he was wearing.

“Hey! Hey, this woman I’m trying to treat is refusing treatment until she sees her son, and she claims he’s still inside. Please, if she doesn’t let me treat it right now, she might have to amputate her leg.” He nods, and follows you to the couple.

When they see him approaching, the woman goes hysterical. “Please!” She screams, “He’s still in there, on the second floor. I haven’t seen anyone bring him out!”

“Okay, ma’am, I’m going to go back inside for him. You need to calm down, and let this lady treat your leg, or else it could get worse. You need to stay strong for your son.”

She nods, and turns to you. You spring into action, giving the firefighter a nod as he stands. You frown, his voice sounded so familiar, but you couldn’t pinpoint it.

The lady begins wailing as the adrenaline fades and the pain of her injury begins to hit. You have her husband hold her hand as you pour some alcohol on the area and she wails as the open cut is cleaned out.

Quickly, you stitch up the wound and dress the burns so that they’re manageable. She refuses to take the ambulance to the hospital until she sees her son, so you coax her into just sitting on the gurney in the ambulance and wait for her son. You try and calm down the couple as you move onto address a few more people in the vicinity with minor cuts, scrapes, and burns.

Suddenly, you hear a commotion, and you turn to the building that’s now less of a bonfire and more of a quiet smolder, and the firefighter from earlier emerges with something in his arms.

The woman you had treated earlier immediately starts wailing and crying as the firefighter jogs over to you and her and sets a boy down onto a gurney. He’s unconscious, and the firefighter whips off his helmet as he addresses you.

“He’s breathed in quite a bit of smoke, and fell unconscious when I picked him up. He needs pediatric CPR!”

“Namjoon!” Hoseok cries out.

You gawk as you watch him yell instructions at you and the rest of the firefighters you’d met, brows furrowing and eyes widening as you recognize those slanted eyes, thick lips and angled jawline that you’d run your tongue over that one fateful night. It was Joon. He was a firefighter. His name was Namjoon.

“Y/N!” He grabs you by the shoulders, “Focus!”

You immediately spring into action, running towards the boy and checking his pulse. “Do you know how to do compressions on a pediatric patient?” You breathe, and Joon nods, throwing his helmet and his tank aside and opening the buttons on his uniform jacket before he climbs atop the gurney.

As he begins compressions, you deliver some shots on his arm and search his body for any large cuts or burns. You hook him up to an oxygen mask and turn up the machine to high. “Switch!” You call out, and your hands replace Joon’s as you climb atop him and begin compressions.

“One, two, three...” You count out, as other paramedics swarm around you to prepare him to be delivered to the hospital as soon as possible.

The boy stirs, and you stop compressing, and watches as he begins coughing, from deep within, and you help remove his oxygen mask and pull him up to a sitting position as he continues coughing the smoke and ash out of his lungs. A paramedic gives him some water and after the boy finishes coughing, you help him sip some water as he recovers.

The others help usher him onto a gurney and also help his mother and father join the ambulance.

You watch as the blaring sirens fade away and sigh as the remaining firefighters douse the building in water and put out the flames. Your knees are feeling weak, your heart up in your throat, and your breath short.

Feeling a presence standing next to you, you turn and meet eyes with him. You narrow your eyes at him, giving him a once over from his ash-stained angular face to the bulky equipment and uniform lining his body. Probably from the boots he was wearing, he seemed even taller than from the club.

He gives you a cocky grin. “So, you’re a paramedic, huh?”

You roll your eyes, stopping down to collect your materials and all the wrappers of the syringes and needles you had used to treat your patients.

“Not a paramedic, a doctor. On voluntary community service.” You huff.

He stoops down too, setting his helmet aside to help with your tools. “No wonder you’re good with your hands.”

You stop, sitting on your haunches to give him a look. He does the same, matching your cold gaze with a smirk. “I think that’s very unprofessional, Mr. Joon.”

You stand, locking the paramedic box angrily and stomp away.

But he easily catches up to you, having those damned long legs of his, and follows you to your truck. It makes you angrier that he begins unloading his equipment and uniform off into the same truck you came in.

“I think, Y/N, the moment you started making out with me at that club, professionalism was kind of thrown out the window, don’t you think? You disappear that morning without a trace, and then suddenly you appear again at my workplace. Don’t you think I have the right to be a bit confused and curious?”

“Look.” You turn to him. “That was a one-night thing. I told you that I don’t do them often, and it was a mistake and I’m sorry, I won’t do that to you again. So just--” you throw your hands into the air, frustrated that he looked so goddamn good as he took off his thick outer coat and stood in front of you with just a black t-shirt and the pants of his uniform low on his hips. “--just pretend it didn’t happen. Just forget about it.”

You turn to walk away into the truck, but he stops you. “Wait! Wait wait wait, Y/N,” he turns to face you, the smirk wiped away and now brows attractively collecting in a frown, “For the record, I don’t consider that night as a mistake.”

“Huh?” Your eyes widen as you frown up at him.

He doesn’t look away. The playfulness has dropped and he’s completely serious as his voice takes a lower tone.

“Sleeping with you wasn’t a mistake for me. Don’t apologize. I’ve only been able to think about you since then, and I don’t think that you showing up here out of all the other precincts or departments is another mistake, either. I’m sorry if I came on too strong, but I want to be clear with you that my intentions are to get to know you better, and do it the right way.”

“Do what the right way?”

“Date you,” he says simply, like he was talking about the goddamn weather.

Literally, who was this guy? Your mind was completely blank. Like, who just says exactly what they’re thinking? How could he just be so...honest? What’s his game?

You blubber out the first thing that comes to mind. “I don’t date co-workers. Especially here. I’m only scheduled to volunteer for several weeks.”

He seems to gain a bit of confidence. “Y/N, that sounds more like an excuse, than it does a reason.”

You huff, blowing your hair out of the way. “Nonetheless, the answer is no.”

He nods thoughtfully. “Don’t be surprised if I ask you again.”

And he does.

Every. Single. Day.

When you wake up, “Hey, Y/N, will you go on a date with me?”

“No,” you’d say, roll your eyes, and spit out your toothpaste.

When you’re in the library, reading up on the latest studies. He’ll pop his head in and say, “Oh, Y/N, dinner’s ready.”

When you look up and nod, “Thanks. I’ll be right there.”

He’ll nod back, and then say, “Oh by the way, will you go on a date with me?”

You’d learned to just laugh it off or ignore him.

When you’re in the dining commons. You’ll be chatting with Taehyung about something and Namjoon will walk by, hand you a mug of coffee, and walk away without a word. When you lift the coffee up to drink it after Taehyung leaves for something, you find a slip of paper on the saucer.

Will you go on a date with me?

You crumple up the paper while maintaining eye contact and drop it into the steaming cup of coffee. Then, you stand, and pour the mug out into the trash, while he watches with an amused smirk.

The only times he doesn’t ask you out is when you’re on calls.

Over the next few weeks, you notice that Namjoon has three modes: 1) His Chief mode, 2) his off-duty mode, and 3) his flirting-with-you mode. Modes 2 and 3 tended to mix, especially when he was with you.

But whenever that light on the walls of the department begin to ring and flash, indicating an emergency call, Namjoon immediately enters his chief-mode. One time, he was in the middle of taunting you with probable bad-date ideas, the lights began flashing and you had watched as he shook himself out of his off-duty mode, and immediately started barking out orders to the group and you, responding to the dispatch on his walkie-talkie. It had happened in a millisecond.

You were in the lounge with Seokjin and Jimin, watching a movie while Yoongi dozed off in one of the couches. You had slowly begun to easily sink into this lifestyle. You guys were lucky if you got at least a few hours in between calls to relax, and since the most recent call was a small issue with some old lady’s cat up in a tree, Hoseok and Taehyung had volunteered to go on their own. It was a relaxing Thursday afternoon.

Like clockwork, right as you were almost dozing off, the lights began to flash and blare as your walkie-talkies exploded to life and the dispatch officer began reading out the issue.

The boys spring to life, immediately jumping over to the pole and going downstairs to change into their uniforms. You sigh and use the stairs to run down to the garage and get into your uniform, clambering into the truck as Namjoon begins listing out orders. It was a gas leak in a chemical factory, and they wanted the firemen to take care of it. You were only following for protocol.

“It shouldn’t be too complicated. Yoongi, did you contact the engineers to shut off the power?” Namjoon asks.

“Yeah, they turned off all electricity, but they can’t turn off the gas valve. It’s stuck.”

“Okay, that’ll be the first thing to take care of. Jungkook, can you take care of that?”

You watch as the firetrucks pull in and follow the men into the warehouse. It’s completely dark but they all turn on their headlights as they treck through.

Namjoon leads them into the main gas chamber where one of the tanks is steadily leaking a stream of cold, compressed air out of it. Him and Jungkook immediately head over and begin working together to tighten the valve, while Seokjin begins looking for the pipe that leads into the tank.

You watch, boredly as the men do their thing, when suddenly, Jungkook yanks a bit too hard and both him and Namjoon are thrown back.

Jungkook immediately begins yelling out, and you scramble up in horror to see that he’d been thrown back into a piece of metal that was sticking out.

“Oh my god,” you cry out as you rush to his side. “Jungkook, hold on, I got you. Can you turn on your side so I can see the wound better?”

He moves while wincing in pain, but manages to maneuver so that the wound on his back is facing you. Using a flashlight, you make sure that the metal didn’t pierce any vital organs or arteries, and reassure him that it’s okay as you begin cleaning and stitching up the wound. After you’re finished, you look up to see Seokjin run into the room, and let you all know that he’d disassembled the valve and fixed the leak.

You sigh in relief as you cut the final thread and place some gauze over the stitches. Hoseok and Jimin had returned to help, and they throw Jungkook’s arms over their shoulders as they help him walk out of the building. You begin to pack your things, when you see Namjoon lagging behind the rest of the group, clutching his arm.

You catch up to him, “Hey, are you okay?”

He winces, but nods at you to go. “I’m fine. Catch up with the rest of them. I’ll be right behind you.”

You frown as you survey his features. The boys are now out of sight and you and Namjoon are the only ones left inside the chamber. “No, you don’t look very okay. Did you get hurt?”

He finally relents, groaning in pain as you guide him to sit down on some steps and remove his jacket. You gasp as his t-shirt comes off. Jungkook had been impaled when he hit the wall as he was thrown back, but it seemed that Namjoon had been in the direct line of contact when the valve of the pipe had blown off. It had sliced through his uniform and left quite a deep cut in his rib.

“Holy shit, Namjoon, you are not okay. Let me stitch this up right now.”

He shakes his head, “Let’s get out of here, first.”

You push him back. “If you keep moving, this wound is too close to your vital organs and it might cause infection or you might bleed out. Why didn’t you say you were hurt?”

He shakes his head as you begin unpacking your box of materials. For the first time in your few weeks at the department, you see a dark look of shame and regret written over his face. “I was the one who asked Jungkook to help me, if I didn’t, he wouldn’t be hurt.”

You click your tongue at him as you clean the wound, apologizing as he hisses in pain at the contact of alcohol. “You know, you say a lot of stupid shit, but that’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard you say to me. Ever.”

He laughs a little at that, wincing as it puts pressure on his side. You glare at him as you examine the wound and begin numbing the surrounding skin. “You’re a great chief, you know that. I’m administering some pretty heavy painkillers. Tell me when you start getting a bit woozy.”

He just silently watches you hover over his torso, squinting as you maneuver the hook needle and stitch him up. “I think that’s the first time you ever complimented me, Y/N.”

You roll your eyes, “Oh, so now your chief mode is off, I guess.”

He furrows his brows. “Chief mode?”

You nod, snipping at the threads as you begin another stitch.

“You have these modes you enter on the job. One of them is when you become this intense, no-nonsense leader, telling us all what to do and what to get done.”

He smiles, “And the other mode?”

“There’s two actually,” you say, still focused on his wound, “There’s one that’s always flirting with me, and there’s a third, where I can see that you really, really care for everyone on this team. That third one is the mode you’re in.”

“Are you maybe getting turned on by that mode, Y/N?” He winks at you, and you laugh, poking him in his side and making him groan out as you finish dressing the clean wound and help him get his uniform jacket back on. “Shut up, now your flirty mode is back on too.”

You’re cleaning up the materials in your box when suddenly, the lights come back on, bright white, and as you and Namjoon are squinting to try and reassess your surroundings, the huge gate to the chamber closes with a hissing noise and a loud clang.

“Shit,” you hear Namjoon cuss, and you scramble up, running over to the door and searching for a handle, a knob, or a button, anything to get it back open. You click your walkie-talkie, waiting for the static to sound to let you know that it’s communicating, but there’s nothing.

“No use,” he winces, zipping up his jacket, “The company probably just turned the electricity on when they saw some of the trucks leaving.”

You watch in horror as the vents surrounding you begin hissing and cold air begins drafting in. “What is this?”

“It’s a containment chamber for flammable chemicals, so I assume that it stays at a cool temperature. It’s fine, some of the boys will probably realize we’re here and be back in no time.” He lays down against the steps.

“Namjoon!” You scramble over, “Do not fall asleep, do you hear me? The temperature dropping is going to make your wound even worse. You need to stay warm, stand up if you can.”

He frowns, curling into himself with a pout. “I’m cold.”

You roll your eyes. It was the painkillers kicking in. He was getting lethargic, and it could kill him. “I know, you big fat baby, but if we don’t start warming up, we might die in here. C’mon, stand up.”

He begins moving around, although you instruct him not to stress his wound, he begins rocking around on his legs to try and make some body heat. You do the same, waving your arms around and trying to generate some heat.

At one point, you lose complete sense of time, and Namjoon wakes up from the initial wave of his painkillers to find the both of you huddled in the corner of the chamber, knees curled into your torsos as you shiver in the cold.

“Y-Y/N,” he breathes, and reality dawns on him as he sees the mist of his breath fan out from his mouth. “Y/N?”

“S-s-so cold,” you chatter, curling into him as he puts his good arm around your shoulders and pulls you closer.

“D-don’t fall asleep,” he breathes, and you don’t respond, the chills rocking your entire shaking body as you curl into him further.

The walkie-talkie screeches for a moment, and Namjoon grabs it, responding back to the static. “H-hello? Anyone! Y/N and I are stuck in the main chamber! Temperature is dropping quickly. Hello?!”

The only response is static as he drops the walkie-talkie to just pull you in closer. “Y/N?”

There’s no response, and when he pulls back to try and look at you, your head lulls in his arms.

“Shit,” he mutters, “Y/N, Y/N!” He shakes you, but you’re completely unconscious in his arms. "Wake up!”

“No no no no no,” he chants, as he begins undressing, his whole body resisting the motions as he shivers in the cold, but he perseveres. He pulls his uniform open, baring his chest, and then proceeds to unbutton your uniform as well, baring a t-shirt underneath. He pulls your limp body close as he removes the t-shirt and then completely drapes himself over you, pressing your bare chests together as he pulls you tight against him, skin to skin.

He pulls the uniform tighter around your back so that you don’t lose any more body heat, when he finally hears yelling and pounding on the other side of the huge gate. He hugs you closer to himself before everything goes black, too.

[starrynite7114]

Drabble 5: Part 2

A/N: Finals are finally done and I am off school till June 1. Between now and then, I’m going to try and get as much writing as I can since I have organic chemistry and that class is no joke. Anyways, this is the sequel that I didn’t even think I would write, but after the response you lovely peeps gave, I couldn’t  not do a sequel. This will be the first half and I will post the second half at the end of the weekend. It ended up being longer than I expected. Thank you all for being so lovely and supporting me. 

Request are still open if any of you all would like to make a request. 

I would also like to thank my twinnie, it’s been a struggle writing this for some reason or writing in general. Thank you for the encouragement! ♥️

Love you all!

Masterlist Tag List: @iambabyharry​ : @justahopelessssromantic​ : @carlaangel86​ : @marvelmaree​ : @chibsytelford​ : @briannab1234​ : @cind-in-real-life​ : @angelreyesbabymama​ : @mheart27​ : @haslett627​ : @sammskellington​ : @kettxo​ : @woahitslucyylu​ : @ifoundmyhappythought​

You sat back on the couch, letting out a breath, happy to finally be able to get some alone time. Anthony was almost one and he was moving around more. It was such a delight to watch your son grow up. He was the light of your life. 

“Baby, I’m home.” You heard Angel call out, thankful that Anthony’s door was closed so he wouldn’t have to hear his obnoxious father. 

“This isn’t your house Angel.” 

You moved back to Santo Padre. Angel wouldn’t let up and your brother hated seeing Angel. You knew you had no choice but to move back to Santo Padre since the last thing you wanted was for your brother and Angel to kill one another. Moving back to Santo Padre wasn’t the worst, it was nice to see the boys from the MC and for them to formally meet Anthony. You really appreciated that Anthony was surrounded with love from his pseudo uncle’s and his actual uncle. But you kept the distance between yourself and Angel. He was trying hard to break down the barrier, but as of late, Angel seemed to be letting you just do your own thing.

“Sorry,” he gave you a sheepish smile, sitting on the other end of the couch. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, just have an awful headache.” You closed your eyes, leaning your head back. “Why are you here? Isn’t it too early for you to be here?”

It was five in the afternoon.

Angel usually didn’t come over till late at night. You didn’t know why he came over still, but you appreciated that he took care of Anthony in the morning so you can sleep in.

“I was going to make dinner, dropped off the groceries in the kitchen, is that cool with you?” Angel has been trying to do everything within your comfort level. He knew that he was still in the doghouse and he thought that he may have softened you up since you didn’t bring up the divorce agreement again. That was until you brought forth another agreement a month ago. Angel was trying his best to win you back, but it seemed that his efforts were futile. He wasn’t going to give up. He knew he had to work hard. 

“You don’t have to cook for me, I was just going to order pizza.” You didn’t want to get comfortable with Angel. You were trying to practice life without him and you were doing well. But every time he came, it was hard. 

“Mi dulce, come on, I rarely get to do this, can you entertain the idea?”

You sighed. “I’ll invite EZ and Felipe.” More people, the better. You just didn’t want alone time with you and Angel. It was becoming harder to resist him and go back to some normalcy between you two.

“No, I just want our family.”

“Should I call Adelita then?” You didn’t want to be petty, but it was hard not to be. “I’m sorry.” The sorry was automatic and you did feel bad for saying that. 

Angel sighed, shaking his head. “I’m going to start cooking.” Lately, whenever you would mention Adelita, Angel would immediately shut down and busy himself with other things. It made you wonder what was going on, but ever since you brought him the divorce papers, which he still hasn’t signed, he would just avoid the Adelita subject. You wonder if she walked away, but you didn’t want to ask. It didn’t matter, regardless of the situation, you and Angel were done. 

Angel was in the kitchen, feeling as defeated as he’s ever felt. He’s been trying his best to win you over, to show you that he’s here for you, but it just wasn’t happening. You were very closed off towards him and any progress he thought he made, it just came crashing back down a few minutes later. It was difficult, but he knew he had to keep pushing forward. 

Losing you and Anthony was not an option.

You sighed. You didn’t want to be a bitch to Angel, it actually hurt you being so standoffish towards him however, you weren’t going to be a pushover. If you didn’t stand your ground, Angel would be right back to where he was and it was as if nothing happened. You weren’t trying to punish him, but you didn’t want to put yourself in a position either. He was the father of your child and he was great with Anthony. You couldn’t ask for more. 

“Baby,” you heard Angel call out as he shook you. 

“Huh?” Your eyes fluttered open, but you closed it again, readjusting yourself. 

Angel chuckled. “Mi amor, let’s eat.”

“‘M not hungry,” you turned away from him. Your headache did not get any better and your body felt heavy now. “Can you turn down the AC, I’m really cold.”

Angel touched your forehead then, noticing how hot you were. Walking over to the bathroom, he grabbed the thermometer. He made his way over to you and checked your temperature. You were fully equipped since you were a physician’s assistant and you had to make sure you were fully equipped in case something happened to Angel or any other club members. 

“Baby, you have a fever.” Angel frowned, reading your temperature which was 102.

You didn’t respond, choosing to stay quiet. You didn’t want to talk, it wasn’t him, but your headache was just god awful and all you wanted to do was lay down and go to sleep. 

“Shit, Anthony,” you attempted to sit up, but you went back down, your body just felt heavy.

“Don’t worry about Anthony, I got him.” Angel had Anthony at his corner in the living room playing with some toys. He has woken up while you were asleep and Angel took care of him. 

“Angel, I don’t feel good.” You turned to face him and Angel felt his heart constricting as he watched your face scrunched due to the discomfort you were feeling. He hated seeing you in pain, even if he did cause some pain to you, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt him. You were his world and he may have realized it too late and taken advantage of your love, you were still the love of his life. 

“I know baby,” Angel squatted in front of you, tucking your hair back as your eyes closed again. 

“My body hurts.”

“You’re burning up, come on, I’ll take you to bed.” Angel picked you up and carried you to your room. He placed you on the bed, covering you with the blanket. You were shivering and Angel tried to remember what you did whenever he was sick. “No covers, bundling up is not good.” He removed the blanket from you and you groaned in protest. Taking his phone out, he made a quick call to EZ so that he could pick up your son and pick up a few things in the store so he could make the chicken soup that his mother made when he and EZ were feeling under the weather. Angel was certain you wouldn’t want Anthony to become sick. Going back to the living room, he picked up your son, who was still preoccupied with his toys. “Little man, mama is sick, you’re going to go with Tio EZ so that you don’t get sick.”

Anthony looked at his father and wrapped his little arms around his neck, nuzzling his face on the crook of Angel’s neck. “You be a good boy for Tio EZ and abuelito, daddy is going to take care of mommy.” Angel soothingly rubbed Anthony’s back. 

Anthony was a very affectionate kid. He had a good intuition about him. There were times that it would just be them two while you were at work and Angel would find himself tearing up, feeling frustrated at the situation he was in. He never showed it to other people, but the frustration did get to him every once in a while. Anthony would see his father wiping his eyes and he would just come to him, rub his knee and gestured for him to pick him up. Anthony would then hug his father and Angel would feel himself crying harder. What if he never had a chance to be a part of Anthony’s life? He knew you would never shut him out, but there were times he would think that there was a possibility he would have never had a chance to even see if he was going to be a shitty father or not. 

Angel was broken away from these thoughts when EZ came in the door. You had given EZ a key just in case they needed to get anything while they were taking care of Anthony. You didn’t give Angel a key since you knew that would indicate things were okay, but they weren’t. You trusted Angel with Anthony, but not with yourself. 

“That was quick.” Angel commented as he continued to hold Anthony. 

“Pop had everything at home, so I just got them.” He held up the bag. “Is she okay?”

“She has a fever and body aches. You know her, she was trying to fight me at first, but, she’s in her room now.” Angel shook his head. “His bag is in his room.”

“Got it.” EZ placed the bag on the dining table and made his way to Anthony’s room. He went to check on you quickly before going back to the living room. “You need anything else?”

“I’ll text you.” 

“I’m proud of you Angel, I do hope you get your family back.” EZ took Anthony from Angel’s arms. “Say bye bye to Papi, we’re gonna have a sleepover.”

Anthony waved goodbye to his father. Angel waved goodbye to his son, closing and locking the door once they were inside EZ’s truck. 

Angel began to cook his mother’s soup recipe that he memorized by heart after she passed. It was something he held dear to him since it was once of his first memories of cooking with his mother. He went in your room to check on you a few times and you were asleep, the covers always on you, which he would take off so that the cool air would help the fever ease some. He wanted to give you the Tylenol, but he wanted you to have something in your stomach first. 

When it was finally done, it was close to ten at night. He ate the food he had cooked earlier since he was starving himself. He went back in the room and you were still asleep. 

“Mi dulce, do you want to eat something?” Angel softly shook you.

You opened your eyes, adjusting them as Angel had the lights on.

“No, I just want to sleep. Can you get me some Tylenol?”

Angel did as you requested. After taking the Tylenol, you laid back down.

“Can you hold me?” You didn’t want to ask Angel, but all you wanted to do was be enveloped in his warmth when you felt this awful.

“Of course.”

Angel took off his clothes with the exception of his boxers and tank top. He went to his designated side of the bed and you immediately rolled towards him, placing your head on his chest and his arm around you. 

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“I always will.”

Ever since that day two weeks ago, Angel’s presence has been strong in your life. You would walk in at times and he would just be there.

You took a deep breath as you turned your car off. Today was a struggle in the ED and all you wanted to do was sleep, but you know once Felipe dropped off Anthony, all your tiredness would go away. Grabbing your bag, you exited your car and made your way to your home. It was a simple three bedroom and two bathroom home that you purchased. It wasn’t upgraded, but when you had time, you would eventually take on a few projects. 

Unlocking your door, you heard some drills and you froze for a moment. There was no reason for there to be drilling in your home. Putting your bag down by the door and quietly closing it, you got an umbrella that was by the door. You knew it wouldn’t do much damage but it was something. Walking slowly to the kitchen where the sound was coming from, you peaked in and saw Angel’s familiar figure under your sink. 

You released a breath you weren’t aware you were holding and thank god that it was only your soon to be ex-husband.

“Angel, what are you doing?” 

You noticed then that Angel was shirtless and for some reason you looked away. It was sinful just how good Angel looked.

“Hey, you were talking about your garbage disposal clogging up so I replaced it for you.” He was wiping his hands with the towel that was on his shoulder. “How was your day?”

“Long, when did I tell you about that?” You were trying to remember a time that you told Angel about the garbage disposal, but you’ve been very minimal with what you discussed with him. 

“You didn’t, you were telling Pops while I was feeding Anthony so I decided to do it for you.” Angel shrugged. “I also fixed your bathtub since it was clogged and I know how much you like your baths.”

“Thanks, you didn’t have to do that.” You offered him a smile, one of the few genuine smiles you’ve given him since this whole ordeal. He never knew how much he missed your smile till he wasn’t the one causing it anymore. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t much.” Angel waved you off. “I used to do this all the time.”

“Yeah, but we’re not together anymore, you don’t have to do this. At least let me pay you.” You made your way back to your bag so you could grab your wallet. Angel was stung by your words, but he couldn’t really argue with you, he didn’t want to. He told himself to pick his battles since he really was trying to show you that he was in this. 

“Y/N, don’t be ridiculous, it’s fine.”

“I feel bad.”

He wanted to roll his eyes. This was how you were whenever someone did something for you, you had to pay them back somehow. You accepted people’s kindness, but you want to return the favor as well. He frowned then, thinking about how he really took advantage of you. Whenever he was with Adelita, he would tell you that he was helping out Coco, EZ, a Gilly and it would eat him up, but he always reasoned that he would always come to you, that you had him. 

“Mi dulce, what if you let me cook you dinner? Then we can call it even?”

“How is that calling it even?” You laughed. “But I will take it cause I’m exhausted. Is Pops gonna drop off Anthony?”

“Yeah, he should be coming soon. He wanted to have family dinner if that’s okay with you?” 

“I would like that.” 

Then another time, you two had just gotten home from Anthony’s check-up. He was carrying Anthony while you were rushing in since you had to get to work by eleven and it was already nine-thirty. 

“Are you sure they don’t need you at the scrapyard?” You didn’t want to leave Anthony with Angel knowing that he could be called in at any time, but Felipe couldn’t take care of Anthony until the late afternoon since it was going to be Super Bowl this coming weekend. 

“Yes, it’ll be fine.”

“What about the rebels? Adelita? She won’t need you?” You haven’t asked for specifics on what was going on with the rebels, but Angel wasn’t sharing either. He literally talked to you about everything but Los Olvidados. 

“Don’t matter to me, you two are my main priority.” Angel sat down on the couch, placing Anthony beside him.

You didn’t push it and went to your room to change into scrubs. Once you changed, you were pulling your hair up into a ponytail. 

“Fuck, I mean duck,” you and Angel agreed that you would refrain from saying curse words in front of Anthony. He gave you an amused smirk and shook his head. “I know, I know, swear jar.” You two even had a swear jar to prevent you two from cussing. Every time you two did, you would deposit a dollar in the jar. You started it two weeks ago and so far, there was two hundred dollars in the jar. “I need to stop by and get food.”

“I made you food.”

“What?” You were getting your wallet out and you almost dropped it. “When?”

“When I got in last night, I made you some of that stir fry you like with the steak and I made some rice as well.” Angel turned the television on before turning to you. “It’s in the fridge with carrots since I know you like to snack.”

“Angel, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, I wanted to.” 

It was very sweet and Angel was slowly winning you over. It was the little things that mattered. He was showing you the person you fell in love with all those years ago.

You looked at the time and sighed. You were off at eleven and EZ was supposed to pick you up. Your car was at the shop so EZ has been bringing you to work and picking you up. Though earlier, it was Angel who did it, which you didn’t mind. You two were at a much better place than you were a few months ago. 

You saw your car making its way towards you, but you didn’t see who was driving. You were just fucking glad they were here. It was a particularly difficult shift in the ED with a baby Anthony’s age passing away. You just wanted to go home and hug Anthony. 

The car stopped in front of you and you opened the back door at the passenger side to put your stuff in. With your phone in hand, you slipped inside and was greeted by Angel.

“Hey baby, you look exhausted.” He commented.

You chuckled. “Yeah, it was a day.” You put your seatbelt on and Angel made his way back to your house.

“What happened?” Angel always found your ED stories interesting. They ranged from bizarre to incredibly sad. 

You began to tell him the story about the nine month old baby that came in as a full arrest, who was found down in a bathtub. As you told the story, Angel reached for your hand, giving it a soft squeeze you ground you back to reality. You didn’t even know you needed that till the tears came from your eyes, tears that you’ve been holding. 

Before you knew it, you were home. You took a deep breath and slightly laughed, something you did when you were overwhelmed.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”

“You don’t ever have to apologize to me. Your job is difficult and I can’t even imagine how difficult this is for you.”

You both exited the vehicle with Angel getting your bag from the back. Before you even knew what you were doing, you wrapped your arms around Angel and his free arm immediately wrapped around you.

The tears came again. 

“I was just thinking about Anthony and just how short life could be.” You found comfort in his familiar embrace and scent. You forgot just how comforting Angel could be and right now, everything was right in your world. 

Angel couldn’t believe he was holding you again and he was trying to keep his tears in, but he understood your pain. He couldn’t imagine losing Anthony either and it just broke him that you had to see that.

“It’s okay baby, Anthony is good.”

“I love you.”

Angel froze when he heard you say that. You haven’t told him you loved him in a year or so and just hearing you say it, the tears came then.

“I love you too baby.”

Later that night, you were sleeping peacefully on your bed, with Anthony right beside you. Angel was sitting on the armchair in your bedroom that you had there for the times you wanted to read. He watched as you two slept, thinking of what occurred today. He saw Adelita for the first time since she informed him he wasn’t the father of her child. He had no ill feelings towards her, but he definitely didn’t see her the same. 

“I know you don’t hear from me often, but God, if you just give me one more chance, I won’t fuck it up.” Angel rarely prayed, but he would try about anything right now.

When you told him I love you earlier, Angel was at a high. He hasn’t heard that from you for so long. He was noticing all the things he took for granted and he definitely wasn’t going to again. 

“Angel, come to bed.” You called out. 

“Yeah baby, I’m coming.” 

===================

You smiled as you heard Anthony’s laugh. Angel was holding Anthony as Gilly blew bubbles in the air for Anthony. He tried to catch the bubbles, laughing as it pops in his hands. Things between Angel felt like it was becoming normal. And as hard as you tried to fight it, it was hard to resist Angel. He was like the Angel you fell in love with. You knew people changed, but at the end of your relationship, Angel closed you off. He wouldn’t communicate with you no matter how hard you tried. 

But now. 

Angel told you everything regardless if you were listening or not. He did small things like making you lunch for work, picking up groceries for your home, getting up at night if Anthony wakes up, picking you up from work, the list goes on really. Ever since you got sick two months ago, things have gotten better between you and Angel. He was always available and came home early most of the time. Whenever you needed him, Angel was there. When you needed to rant, he was right there listening, making comments, making you laugh, making you feel at ease. 

Though at the same time, you still kept a wall between you two. You really appreciated the effort that Angel was making, and you feel that you two could be friends now, but something more than that? Maybe. Angel was melting your ice cold heart and you knew he would be able to do it. You could only resist him for so long. 

“I’m glad you two worked it out.” EZ broke you out of your reverie, giving him a confused look.

“What?”

“I’m sure it helps that Adelita’s baby isn’t Angel’s, but I’m really glad that you decided to give Angel another chance. He was becoming a pain in the ass.” EZ chuckled, but he noticed you weren’t laughing. You two always had fun poking fun at Angel and the fact you weren’t laughing was odd. Turning to look at you, the look on your face said it all. You didn’t know Adelita’s baby wasn’t Angel’s. “Fuck, Y/N, he didn’t tell you?”

“No, no he didn’t.” You took a deep breath and mustered a smile, but EZ saw right through it. “How long?”

“What do you mean?”

“How long has he known?” 

“Look, I thought he told you, please don’t let this get in the way of you two reconciling.”

“We’re not reconciling Ezekiel, how long?”

“Fuck,” EZ sighed. “Four months? Maybe five?”

You weren’t angry at Angel for not telling you, that was his own prerogative. But you just wondered why he kept it to himself. 

“I know it may not mean much, but Angel has been broken up without you. You have no idea how happy he is that you’re back in his life. I promised you and Angel that I wouldn’t meddle, that I would let you two work it out, which for the record, I have.” EZ wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you against him. “Angel is an idiot, we can all attest for that, but what he isn’t is a quitter. If Angel truly wanted Adelita, don’t you think he would be long gone by now.”

EZ kissed the side of your head, rubbing your arm before he walked away. Angel made eye contact with you, and mouthed if you were okay.

You nodded your head. Giving him a smile. This was your son’s day. You and Angel could speak about your issues later. 

Felipe was helping you clean the tables at the back, shoving all the used paper plates and cups in the trash bag. EZ and Coco were picking up the cans all around the backyard. 

“Mija, why not just go rest? Angel is inside doing that.” 

You both laughed. “It’s fine pops, I got it. I can’t let you all just clean when you guys set up too.”

“That’s what family is for, go ahead mija, you’ve had a long day too.” You gave him a grateful smile before handing the trash bag to Gilly. You walked in and found Angel sitting down with Anthony sleeping on his chest. You could see Angel dozing off, but he woke up when he saw you walk in. “You’re fine.” He was about to stand up and you shook your head. Taking Anthony in your arms, you kissed your son on the forehead before bringing him to his room. 

Placing Anthony in his crib, you felt Angel’s presence behind you. He kept his distance, not truly closing the distance between you two unless you gave him a gesture to do so. Looking back at him, you held out your hand so Angel would come beside you.

“He’s not going to remember any of this, but today was fun.” You squeezed Angel’s hand that was resting on yours on Anthony’s crib. 

“It was, did you have fun?”

“Yes, I did.” You turned to Angel, feeling his intense gaze on you. “Thank you for everything Angel, I know I haven’t said it to you lately, but I do appreciate everything you’ve done for Anthony.”

“I’m not just doing it for Anthony.” Angel kissed the back of your hand. “I would do anything for you mi dulce.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“What?” Angel dropped your hand, unsure of what you were alluding to. He hasn’t kept anything from you, well, besides Adelita’s kid not being his, but otherwise, he didn’t keep anything else from you. 

“About you not being the father.”

What else could he possibly hide from you? He wanted to smack himself. 

“Y/N, listen, I wanted to win you back, but I wanted to win you back on my terms. If I told you Adelita’s kid wasn’t mine, things would have been different. Maybe I felt that I deserved to be given the silent treatment or some snide comments hurled my way. I hurt you, I promised to you that I never would, but I did. I did the most despicable thing that a man can do.” Angel stepped away from you, closing Anthony’s door so you two wouldn’t get any interruptions. He leaned against the door, holding the doorknob for some type of support. “I wanted to show you that the Angel you fell in love with was still here. I could have used that fact to sway things towards my way, but I wanted to do this on my own, without any outside facts. I told you I was here for you, I made a mistake and I wanted you back. No matter what the fuck happened with Adelita, it wouldn’t change what I wanted and that was you. I fucked up and let you put this wall between us and I should have never let that happen. You’re the love of my life and I know I don’t deserve it, but I wanted you to give me another chance. It was a long shot, but if you were to give me another chance, I wanted it to be under our terms, that you decided to forgive me regardless of what was going on.” 

Angel felt himself becoming choked up. He took a deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. “You’re the only person who never expected anything from me. Even though we got married, you didn’t expect much from me besides to be me. I took advantage of your kindness. I took advantage of your trust and I know it’s going to take some time to repair that, but please don’t make me sign those papers.” Angel’s brown eyes met yours. “I can’t let you go. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, to have more children with you. I gave you a part of me when we got married. That part of me will always be with you and I would never want it back.” Angel walked over to you, cupping your face with his hands. The tears that came out of your eyes broke his heart, he hated seeing you cry. He remembered telling you all those months ago that he got another woman pregnant and he would rather be shot over and over again than cause you that much pain. “Querida, te queiro mucho, estoy perdido sin ti.”

“Please forgive me, Y/N. I don’t care at what capacity I can have you, just please let me back in.” Angel would always be hopeful that you two would get back together, but if he could only have you as a friend right now, he would take it as long as you just let him back in. He was always with you, but he felt as if you were far away. You gave him enough details about your life, but never deep enough to truly know what was going on with you.

“I don’t know.” You sobbed out, placing your hands on Angel’s hands that were on your cheeks. “You hurt me, I could never imagine cheating on you. You’re the love of my life Angel and you just tore me apart.”

“I know mi amor, and I can never apologize enough on how badly I hurt you, but if you give me another chance, I’ll prove to you that this is worth it.” Angel placed his forehead against yours. “Let me in again, we’ll work on this.”

“One more chance, that’s it. If you hurt me again, we’re done.” Angel sighed in relief, wrapping his arms around you. He looked up at the ceiling silently thanking god.

“That’s all I need.”

And that really was all he needed. 

[that-gt-and-vore-stuffs]

Maybe a Soup Hot Tub Wasn't the Best Idea....

So I had ramen for lunch and this idea spawned. It’s definitely not as long as last nights but hey! It’s something! Also not Pred/Prey Society AU, feel I should mention that

Vore under the cut :)

The winter air nipped at their noses and ears as Jack Frost blew another cold gust their way. Snowflakes the size of their hands occasionally floated by through the open window. They all snuggled close under the level of the liquid as far as they could go before being submerged. The winter months always sucked, but this always managed to make it more comfortable. Steam rose from the bowl as their limbs went numb from the sheer warmth compared to how freezing they had become over the day, heat seeping into their bones. This was the life.

God he cared for these idiots too damn much. He really did. What has he done for them again? He’s hid them away while he took punches and all other types of physical damage from a whole cast of people so they could be safe, kept them warm when the cold was enough to even numb the his fingers, let them hide away when they had a particularly bad nightmare that they couldn’t calm down from, put up with their bullshit stunts on so many occasions, and more! Worst part was that no matter how much he wanted to say that repaying him with a full belly and friendship wasn’t enough he knew that wasn’t true. Having them all stick around even after his weird “habit” was exposed ment the world to him. That and getting the permission to just tuck them away if he was feeling peckish or overprotective was absolutely amazing. Just like everything though, sacrifices had to be made to keep the other party happy at times. For them it was often just going down without a fight and belly rubs. For him? Giving up his dinner so he could keep them warm.

As he sits there, cocooned in blankets of various thicknesses, he rethinks his decisions for what must be the fifth time in the last hour. He should sleep and boy is he aware of that, but he just can’t. His mind is getting in the way. What if he oversleeps and comes back to them frozen in the soup? What if they try and come to him once it goes cold and they freeze up? The orignal contents of the bowl won’t stay warm forever and he knows that. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, he sighs. What to do? What to do.....

He jolts awake not even five minutes later, though it feels like it’s been hours. What happened? Where was he? What? Hold on- taking a moment, he attempted to gather his throughts. He’s wrapped in blankets in the lodging house. He was here because the boys were cold, right? They....no yelling. Odd. The Newsies of Manhattan were never quiet unless- They must be asleep. Yeah. That was it. But where? The bunks were empty. All of them. Where in the hell would they have gone in cold like this? He should go and check on them, make sure they’re ok and all. Stumbling to his feet he waddles his way through the lodging house, blankets still wrapped around him.

Before long he finds himself following the scent of something delicious instead of looking for his friends. What was that? Soup? Definitely something more creamy, with chicken too. It was enough to draw a hungry growl from his still empty stomach as he trudges though the halls.

The smell leads him to the common room where a lightly steaming bowl of, Yep, cream of chicken soup sits on the table, a discarded spoon next to it. His mind snaps focus onto it. No one was eating it. It seemed to have been discarded for a good while. Would it hurt if he just....helped himself? Worse case scenario he payed his friends back- where even were they? Eh. He could worry later. Searching would be easier on a full stomach anyway.

Stumbling to the table, he sits down. His sleep clouded eyes gazing into the bowl and managing to ignore the sleeping faces of his friends. Saliva puddles on his tongue as he licks over his lips, staring into the bowl. It looks and smells so good, even without noticing his friends using it as a sleeping place. A unhappy, hollow growl pulls a small whine from his throat. Why was he waiting?

With little hesitation after that, he picked up the spoon and let his body work. Each spoonful of the still warm liquid and little somethings that each had their own tastes slipped down his throat with such ease, spreading the heat throughout his insides. Best. Idea. Ever.

Multiple times things came as a force to try and wake them up. First the sound of shuffling that they quickly ignored. Followed by a growl and a small whine. Again, they pushed it off. Probably just Davey in his sleep or whatever. The ice cold spoon was what managed to jolt them all awake. The cold of the metal was met yelps and surprised gasps as they felt their world shift.

Safe to say they weren’t all that amused to open their eyes to see a half asleep looking Davey happily swallowing down a spoonful of soup and at least a Newsie or two. Try as they might to yell and get the boy’s attention in any way possible, nothing seems to work. Spoonful by spoonful more boys are sent to a new holding chamber that wouldn’t get cold like the bowl less and less were left in by the minute. At one point towards the end when at least 85% of the bowl’s contents now resided in Davey’s gut, said boy had picked up the bowl and decided to finish it off like a mug of coffee or something similar. With a final swallow they were sent down. Down to the dark, hot, wet, and full stomach where the newsboys of Manhattan now resided.

As he lowered the now empty bowl back to the table, a pleased sigh sounded from the half asleep teen. That felt much better. The warmth and fullness from his late supper bloomed in his middle, a hand slipping over his gurgling middle while a lazy smile painted itself on his lips. So much better. His other hand grabbed the sides of the blankets, pulling them over him cocoon style again. He could sleep right here for all his sleepy mind cared. He was full, warm, and happy. That was what he needed to be to have a good sleep, right? No...no he should get back to bed. Groaning quietly, he shoved himself to his feet. Again he waddles his way through the dark of the eerily quiet lodging house like some awkwardly tall, half asleep penguin. The moment he made it to the seemingly abandoned bedroom of the boys he collapsed onto a bed and snuggled down.

When they fell asleep in the bowl of soup the last thing they expected was to be gulped down by their friend who seemed to decide that halfway to sleep he wanted a full stomach. Now they were all crammed together in the dark, churning, gurgling confines of their friend’s gut. Just their luck. Groans and complaints are heard from the crowd as they shift, trying to get comfortable in the room while not drowning in soup. There was a lot of shifting, multiple limbs stuck in each other’s faces, and yelps when Davey’s stomach would pitch one way after a uneven step or stumble and send them all tumbling into each other, ultimately undoing all their hard work. Things only calm down when Davey snuggles under the covers and curls around his middle.

The little accidental kicks or punches to his stomach wall certainly don’t go unnoticed. They make Davey smile as he snuggles down, getting ready to go back to a peaceful sleep for a bit. The idea of looking for any of his friends has completely slipped his mind by now, his sleepy brain preferring to laugh at how silly he is for thinking he feels squirming. Must miss having the boys in there. He makes a mental note to find a time and an excuse to get to swallow the boys, smiling at the idea. A happy little sigh escapes him as his eyes flutter shut. Just like that, he’s snoring and out cold.

The snoring from above only serves to make the boys more frustrated. Not only did their friend swallow them all down when he said he was just letting them warm up in the soup but then he just falls asleep without a word? What kind of bullshit was this?! Squirming picks up, no longer accidental, in hopes to wake their friend from his slumber.

“DAVID I SWEAR T’GOD, WAKE YA SORRY ASS UP AND SPIT US OUT!!!” Jack yells, hoping to grab the attention of the boy who had helped him though the strike and yank him from the world of the living.

He only gets snores and the occasional gurgle in response. Son of a bitch.

And boy does this continue on. Each of the boys tries at least once to wake their sleeping friend. All are met with the same response of snoring and the sounds of Davey’s body at work. Zip-a-dee-do-dah-fucking-day.

Hours pass and nothing comes from the boy around them. Nothing but snores, soft breathing, a steady heartbeat, and the gurgles and groans from his stomach as it works away at the soup but leaves them unharmed. Great. What is their luck?

Finally, just as they get ready to accept the fact that they’re stuck and fall asleep, something moves. Shifts. The breathing around them hitches as the world pitches one way, a small grunt from above as the body moves.

“Mmmmmghhh.....guys? Where are....why am I....mmm....what happened last night?”

[jungshookz]

so in love [valentine’s day 2019]

→ summary: a series of valentine’s day themed drabbles featuring some of your favourite boys.

→ genre: a HEAPING amount of fluff (approach with caution) and a cheeky sprinkling of nsfw 

→ wordcount: i don’t fckin know just enjoY the drabbles gosh darn it 

→ note: i’m sorry that i couldn’t include all of the boys in the drabbles but my dang fingers probably would’ve fallen off if i did! also i,.., tried making a fic header for a first time but i’m not sure if it looks good or not?? lmao anyways happy valentine’s day!

(gifs aren’t mine!) 

(((and the read more function iS there so if it doesn’t work for some reason i am sorry don’t attack me)))

ceo!yoongi

“what are you doing out of bed?? that totally just ruins the whole romantic breakfast in bed thing” you perk up when you notice yoongi step into the bedroom

“hbrushingn my teef” you murmur through a mouthful of toothpaste before bending down and spitting into the sink

you rinse quickly and wipe your mouth with the hand towel before stepping out of the bathroom and taking a look-see as to what your husband’s done for you this fine morning

“happy valentine’s day” you grin as yoongi purses his lips

you lean forward and give him a smooch

“now get bAck in bed so i can do this properly”

you hop back into bed and pull the covers up

you’re practically vibrating with excitement because a) you weren’t expecting breakfast in bed and b) you’re hunGRY

“heart-shaped pancakes. i never thought i’d live to see the day when min yoongi made heart shaped pancakes.” you tease as yoongi places the tray over your legs carefully

yoongi holds a finger up “chocolate chip heart-shaped pancakes, thank u very much”

now thAT gets you more hyped

there’s a single rose in a small vase in the upper corner

your plate in the middle holding a stack of heart-shaped pancakes (it took waY too much effort and he’s never going to do it again) ((just kidding he’s probably going to do it again)) and even the slab of butter’s been shaped into a tiny heart

a glass of chocolate milk in the other corner

all of your favouRITES

“i just realised i forgot to bring the utensils.” yoongi frowns

you grab onto his wrist before he can leave “it’s okay! i can use my hands”

“y/n, you’re not a child- oh, okay, you’re already using your hands”

“come n sit!!” you pat yoongi’s side of the bed and he sits down and crosses his legs as he faces you “thank you for breakfast!! happy valentine’s day i love u” you beam and lean over a bit to give yoongi another kiss

“happy valentine’s day. love you more.” yoongi mutters fondly and reaches over to tuck a strand of loose hair behind your ear

you rip a chunk of the pancake off and pop it into your mouth and chew thoughtfully

an exclamation mark appears at the top of your head

“this is so good” you hum happily before instinctively wiping your sticky fingers on your shirt

christ

maybe breakfast in bed wasn’t such a good idea

“you better not get any syrup on the bedsheets” yoongi warns and you raise a brow before holding your sticky fingers out and wiggling them in his face

he scowls playfully and smacks your hands away before scooting closer to you

“here, i’ll feed you” he rips a heart in half and folds it in half so that he’s not touching the syrup and he holds it up for you

you wrap your fingers around his wrist as you take it into your mouth and yoongi whines in complaint “how’d you get your fingers so sticky so quickly??”

“it’s a natural talent” you swallow the bite and yoongi reaches over to wipe a droplet of syrup away from the corner of your mouth with his thumb

he swallows thickly when you take his thumb into your mouth and proceed to suck the syrup off with a happy hum

that shouldn’t have turned him on as much as it did

and it also shouldn’t have turned yoU on as much as it did

…

…

within a couple of seconds the pancakes have been abandoned and yoongi’s on top of you with his lips pressing hot kisses on your neck

your fingers curl around the cotton material of his shirt as he slides his hand under your thigh and pulls it up to rest against his side

“god, yoongi…” you breathe out and yoongi groans when you roll your hips riGht into his crotch

you’re so soft and warm and yoongi wants all of you right now

he has a finger hooked in the waistband of your panties and your hands are starting to push his briefs down and-

the two of you freeze when the baby monitor sitting on the bedside counter crackles to life and hwayoung’s cries start filling up the space of the bedroom

you both turn to look at it

yoongi lets out a quiet groan before tucking his face into the crook of your neck “so close…”

you can’t help but laugh before patting his back gently “c’mon, you. duty calls!!”

mermaid!jimin

jimin loves you with his whole ass heart already

so when he discovers that there’s a whole dAY dedicated to smothering the person you love with moRE love??? 

bitch??? he is HERE for that

“iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouoUoUOUoUoUOU!!!!!!!!!!” jimin murmurs into the crook of your neck as his fingers tickle your sides

this morning the bedroom is fiLLEd with the sound of you laughing (with the occasional snort thrown in there) and jimin continuously confessing his undying love for you

“jimi- oh goD you have to stop-!” you’re howling with laughter and there are tears prickling at your eyes

it tickles so much to the point that your entire body is starting to huRt

“alright, alriGht” he decides to cut it out to give you a chance to breathE and flops down on his back next to you

he’s out of breath too “can’t have you dying on me on valentine’s day”

“touché” you prop yourself up on your elbow before shifting closer and snuggling up to him

jimin pulls the covers up and wraps an arm around your waist  

his fingers are tracing patterns on your bare thigh absentmindedly “so what else do people do to celebrate valentine’s day?”

“well, we can do plenty of things. we can laze around in bed all day-“

“i like that option”

“we can do… other things in bed”

jimin stops tracing patterns on your thigh and you can hear the smirk in his voice

“that option doesn’t sound half bad either” he murmurs and his finger trails up your thigh slowly

you scowl and smack his hand gently before propping yourself up on your elbow again

“but we can always start off with breakfast in bed first! how do strawberry waffles sound?”

jimin perks up and you two move on quickly from the obvious fact that later tonight y’all are probably going to break the damn bed

“ah- i like the sound of that too!!”

barista!jungkook

you’ve never been a fan of romcoms

all those cheesy cliché heart fluttering moments just don’T get to you

if someone stood on your front lawn blasting music from a boombox confessing their love for you you’d tell them to get the hell off your lawn and then you’d turn the sprinklers on

if someone chaSed after you in the airport to stop you from getting on that flight to new york city because i love you you’d scoff and purposely maintain eye contact with them as you scanned your ticket and walked through the gates

and kissing in the rain?? sounds like a monTH of eating nothing but chicken noodle soup and chugging down bottles of cough medicine

AND you hate that the prices of flowers just inflate dramatically when valentine’s day rolls around

why would you waste good money on some weeds that are just going to die in a couple of days??

anyways

you get the point

it’s a well known faCT that you have a heart of pure steel and jungkook takes pride in knowing that he’s the only one who’s able to melt all that cold steel away

hehe :~)

“a caramel macchiato for y/n?” jungkook doesn’t have to call for you as if you were just any old customer but he likes doing that because- “don’t forget about my tip, jagi”

“you are the absolute bane of my existence.” you tease but lean in anyway to give him a smooch

he hands you your coffee and that’s when you notice the sprinkling of cinnamon that’s been shaped into a heart

you look back up at jungkook and he’s grinning at you and rocking back and forth on his feet “happy valentine’s day!!!”

“happy valentine’s day, you cheeseball.”

“do i get an extra special tip for the extra special decoration?”

“u know-“ jimin squeezes in next to jungkook “i was actually the one who helped shape the heart, so i think i deserve an extra special tip too-“ jimin leans forward and purses his lips exaggeratedly and jungkook is [this] close to tackling the older boy to the ground

“don’T MOOCH OFF MY tiP u biTCH”

librarian!namjoon

“happy valentine’s day, bookworm” namjoon jumps in surprise when your arms slink around his waist and he lets out a small breath of relief before his lips tug up in a fond smile

“happy valentine’s day!” he presses a kiss to your forehead before grabbing a book from his cart and sliding it into the bookshelf

“i have a surprise for you”

“it better not be like last time when you told me you had a surprise and the surprise was that you accidentally spilled coffee all over the monitor” namjoon snorts and slides another book into place

“hey, now. that was an accident!” you’re about to pull away from him but before you get the chance to do so he quickly reaches down and grips onto your wrist to keep you in place

you scoff and prop your chin up onto his shoulder “you haven’t given me a proper kiss yet, by the way. frankly, i’m offended!”

“hold on, you whiney baby. lemme just finish doing my job first.” namjoon glances over at his almost empty book cart “you could always help me out a bit” he teases and reaches over his shoulder to pinch your nose playfully

“i can’t reach the top shelves without my trusty stepladder, so you’re going to have to take care of this on your own”

you’re reaLLy excited to give namjoon your valentine’s day gift

you ordered it back in december and it finaLLY got here last week

it’s a first edition copy of immanuel kant’s (you vaguely remember joon blabbing to you excitedly about this philosopher guy and you only remembered his name because it sounded funny to u lol) ‘critik der urtheilskraft’

“wait, before you show me the surprise-“ you’re leading namjoon back to the front desk but he stops in his tracks and yanks you backwards so that you twirl riGht into his arms “c’mere, you” he leans down and plants his lips on yours and you hum happily and wrap your arms loosely around his neck

he nudges his nose against yours after pulling away

both your guys’ cheeks are warm and rosy and you giggle before giving him another quick peck “we have plenTy of time to kiss later let me show you what i got for you!” you drag him back behind the counter before bending down and rummaging through your backpack “close your eyes and hold your hands out!!”

“i have a bad feeling about this” namjoon murmurs but does as you say

you place the book on his open palms and namjoon grimaces

“ohgodohgod what is it what is that” he whines and squeezes his eyes shut even moRe

the smile drops from your face momentarily and you scoff playfully

“it’s a bOOk you moron” you jab a finger into his chest and namjoon peels an eye open slowly before opening them both and blinking down at-

“ohHHHHHHHHH MY GODDDDDDDDDD” namjoon literally shRIEKS and you’re pretty sure your ears are bleeding “no way- how did you even- what the hel- oh my go-“

oh god

you think you broke namjoon

“,..,so i’m guessing you like the- woAH” the next thing you know namjoon’s tackling you to the ground and smothering you in kisses like an overactive puppy

if you guys were in a cartoon there would be hearts floating up and around your lovE pile

you laugh as namjoon squishes your cheeks together and gives you one big fAT kiss

how the heCK did he get so lucky to land someone like u!!!!!!!!!

demon!yoongi 

yoongi really doesn’t understand you humans

first of all there was that whole mistletoe thing during christmas (which he definitely didn’t mind and deFINItely took advantage of but was still confused by the concept) ((kissing someone?? because they’re standing underneath a sprig of grass????? he appreciates it but still doesn’t get it))

and now there’s this

valentine’s day

febRuarY foUrtEenth

he can’t help but scoff to himself as he thinks about it

valentine’s day

a day where candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of saint valentine

you know what valentine’s day is

it’s the negative side of capitalism

it’s become so commercialised and no one’s reaLLY celebrating it because they love their partner they’re only celebrating it because they love the idea of love

anyways

the point is

yoongi doesn’t want to celebrate valentine’s day

and he’s not going to celebrate valentine’s day

“good morning~” yoongi glances over his shoulder before rolling over onto his other side to see you coming out of the washroom

“mm.” he grumps in response and tugs the blanket up a little higher “by the way, don’t expect me to be all lovey-dovey because it’s valentine’s day. we’re still getting takeout for dinner.” yoongi flops his head back against the pillow and shuts his eyes

“alright.” you chirp in response and yoongi opens his eyes immediately

you

you didn’t even put up a fight

no protest?

yoongi props himself up on his elbow

“did you hear me?”

“loud and clear” you pull your hair up into a ponytail

“…i said we’re not celebrating valentine’s day.”

you dab some lip balm on your lips and press them together before humming “i know. i don’t care.”

listen

you can’t lie

you care a little bit

you know how weird yoongi is when it comes to humAn traditions

but then again this’ll be your first ever valentine’s day noT being single so you kinda wanted to celebrate it?? but also you’re super busy today (you have a midterm to study for so it’ll be anoTher late night at the library) and you’ll probably be too tired to do anything suPer extravagant so

it’s fine

you don’t need the chocolates or the flowers or the fancy dinner

you love yoongi and you’re pretty sure yoongi loves u (u guys haven’t actually said it to each other yet) and that’s all that matters !

meanwhile he’s still in a daze

you don’t care

you don’t.., “”””””care”””””” ???

what does that mEAN

you can’t not care

you usually care about these kinds of things!!!!!

“i’ll see you after my classes.” you prop a knee up on the bed before leaning down and giving yoongi a quick kiss “you know, it’s a good thing we’re not celebrating valentine’s day. otherwise i’d have to go out and buy all those overpriced red lacy lingerie sets and pink fuzzy handcuffs just to impress you for a night! this is great! my wallet loves this!”  

yoongi isn’t even paying attention to what you’re saying because what the hell is going on

“right. yeah. valentine’s day is… we’re not doing that. like 500% not doing it.” yoongi clears his throat and waits for a second to give you one more chance to start protesting

but again

absolutely nothing from you

it’s after you leave and yoongi is left by himself that the realisation hits him

oh god

you’re going to break up with him aren’t you

that’s why you don’t want to celebrate valentine’s day is because you’re going to bREAK UP WITH HIM

what’s he going to do

where’s he going to go he can’t go back to hell and he certainly doesn’t want to live out on the streets

you guys are bound together you can’t break up with him!!!!!! are you allowed to do that??? he literally gAVE you a piece of his AURA  

,.,.,.,.you’re going to break up with him and then you’re going to get together with jimin

oh HELL fuckiGN NO

yoongi immediately sprinGs out of bed

there’s no way in hELL he’s going to let that happen

“what’s the matter with you?” you snap out of your little trance when jungkook waves his hand in front of your face

“hm?”

“i’ve eaten like 98% of your fries and you haven’t made a move to stop me yet” he scowls when you smack his hand when he reaches for another fry “never mind”

“ah, it’s nothing.” you wave it off

“that’s a lie and you know it” kook points out before taking a swig of water

“it’s just… it’s valentine’s day today, y’know?” you murmur and pick at your cuticles

you didn’t think you’d care about valentine’s day and stuff but now that you’re in a relationship you.,., you wanna celebrate valentine’s day tOO :( you just wish yoongi would open up more easily to human traditions

like yeaH he’s a demon and naturally he’s the most pessimistic i-hate-the-world kinda guy but,.., u just want him to put in some effort sometimes

jungkook slowly lowers his water bottle and narrows his eyes a little “was i… was i supposed to get something for you?”

you scoff and raise an eyebrow and let your expression answer the question

jungkook lets out a small breath of relief because he deFINitely didn’t have anything prepared

he can make a rose out of your ketchup-stained napkin if you want him to

“okay, yeah, it’s valentine’s day… so… why are you so bummed out again? you’re in a relationship. i’m the single one here!”

“yoongi doesn’t do valentine’s day.” you roll your eyes at how woRKed up you’re getting over this

this morning you literally told him you didn’t care but here you are a couple hours later whining about how you’re not getting a valentine’s day celebration

you look over and see a couple snuggling up to each other

at another table a boyfriend is feeding his gal a damn chocolate covered strawberries and he even got her a bouquet of flowers!!!!

god

all these couples just ruBBing it in your face!!! DISrespectFUL

it’s odd

you’re not single but you certainly feel very single right now

you push your lunch towards kook before slumping down on the table

you’re not so hungry anymore

you feel a small tap on the top of your head and you look up

“…happy valentine’s day?” jungkook offers weakly as he holds up his makeshift rose to you

a small smile twitches at the corner of your lips and you take it from him before taking a whiff

ah

smells like ketchup and french fry grease

“ever the romantic, aren’t you?” you sit up straight and pinch at one of the petals

“tell me something i don’t know”

meanwhile

yoongi is going crazy

he can’t recall a time in his long, long life where he’s worked as hard as he’s working now

this is what he’s been up to since his little realisation

he made the bed

he did the laundry

he took the trash out

he vacuumed the entire apartment

and now he’s starting on dinner because it’s nearly 5 o’clock and woW time goes by so quickly when you’re STRESSING THE FCUK OUT

he’s in the middle of chopping up the onions (his eyes are stinging so badly but he needs to power thru for u) when he notices something

a presence

an.,,. angelic presence.,.,,

“what do you want??” yoongi groans immediately and turns around just in time to see jimin appearing in a golden glow

“hello to you too.” jimin snorts and picks a loose thread off his silky white shirt

there’s a little heart embroidered on his chest pocket

it’s valentine’s day after all!!

“y/n’s not here - but she will be in like an houR so you need to get outta here”

“i never pegged you for the devoted, stay-at-home-and-make-dinner partner, you know” jimin teases and pushes himself up onto the kitchen island

“oh, shut the hell up” yoongi growls and jimin raises his hands in defence

“goodness. what’s the matter with you today?”

“i’m just-“ yoongi stops himself and he lets out a small breath before putting down the knife and turning around “look, it’s nothing, alright? get outta here”

“you know i’m not going to leave til you tell me what’s wrong…” jimin whistles and plops back down onto his feet before nudging yoongi to the side and taking over the role of onion dicer

yoongi steps aside and slumps against the kitchen island and stares at the back of jimin’s blonde head

“i… i’m not good at… human things, you know?”

“makes sense considering the fact you’re far from human”

“no- you know what i mean, man. and i’m especially not good at… romantic…” yoongi cringes “romantic human things.” he clears his throat “i’m not good at them like you are.” he adds quietly

jimin pauses and glances over his shoulder “huh.”

he’s never seen yoongi so insecure before

interesting

jimin picks the chopping board up and slides the diced onions into the bubbling tomato sauce before putting the board into the sink “i don’t know what you’re talking about. the whole cleaning the apartment up and making a valentine’s day dinner seems romantic enough. don’t be so hard on yourself!”  

“i dunno…, i just feel like i’m screwing everything up and i really- i really, really like y/n and i don’t want her to feel like she’s.. stuck with someone like me for the rest of her life and stuff… am i making sense? like, i don’t want her to-“ jimin already stopped listening to yoongi like a good thirty seconds ago

he think it’s endearing how obviously whiPPEd yoongi is for you even though he’ll never admit it

jimin holds a finger out and yoongi trails off slowly before raising a brow in confusion

“-i’m willing to offer my services from the goodness of my heart.”

yoongi narrows his eyes and immediately feels jealousy prickling at his skin

“..,what kinda services.,.,.,. there’s no way i’m sharing y/n with you just because it’s valentine’s day i’m not going to give y/n the giFT of a threESOME you perv-“

“i was talking about sprucing up the romantic factor in the apartment, you idiot.” jimin snorts “sure, you vacuumed, you dusted, but you didn’t even put any decorations up! how’s y/n supposed to know about your romantic intentions?? and also, look at what you’re wearing!! that’s not appropriate valentine’s day attire” yoongi looks down at his t-shirt and grey sweats  

oh

right

“what am i supposed to wear?” yoongi furrows his brows and looks at jimin’s outfit “i’m not wearing anything like what you’re wearing”

“you can’t pull off silk anyway.” jimin purses his lips “i’ll figure it out for you, don’t worry about it!”

yoongi clears his throat “you’re doing this for free?”

“only because i like y/n and i think she deserves a nice valentine’s day. now - you stay here and work on dinner, and let me work my magic.”

yoongi lets out a breath after jimin leaves the kitchen

he sure hopes jimin knows what he’s doing

“you sure you don’t wanna come over to my place and binge-watch bad romcoms??” jungkook swings his backpack over his shoulder and you laugh lightly before shaking your head

“as tempting as that sounds, yoongi’s probably waiting for me at home. we’re getting takeout for dinner and his favourite chinese restaurant closes in like an hour so i better get my ass home otherwise he’s going to be gruMpy for not getting his orange chicken, you know him”  

“alright, well… happy valentine’s day!!” jungkook’s been trying to cheer you up all day and you keep insisting that you’re over it but he’s you best friend and he can tell you’re still a tiNy bit upset about it

as you sit on the bus back home you can’t help but let your mind wander

what if you and yoongi had celebrated valentine’s day tonight

where would he take you? what would he wear?

the thought of yoongi wearing a crisp tux makes your heart flutter

and then you remember his obscenely mint-green hair and that paired with the suit makes you giggle for some reason

also.,.,,. not to be that person..,., but you can’t help but feel like valentine’s day sex would be a loT more intense than normal sex

you feel your cheeks redden and you quickly shake the thought off

mM

look

no use getting hyped up over something that’s not going to happen

at the end of the day yoongi still makes you happy and that’s all that matters

you settle back against the chair and check the time on your watch

ooF

looks like you won’t be getting chinese takeout tonight

“i know i’m late but hopefully you’re willing to forgive me if i order us an extra large pepperoni-“ the moment you open the door to your apartment you immediately notice that something is wrong

well

not necessarily wrong

something’s different

you take a couple cautious steps forward and narrow your eyes “…yoongi?”

you don’t hear anything in response but you take this moment alone to take in the atmosphere

what the hell

is this your apartment “yoongi…”

..,.,did u walk into the wrong apaRtment

there are lit candles everywhere (they’re the ones you used to summon yoongi with lol)

the lights are dimmed

there’s.,,. classical music playing from your bluetooth speakers

what the hell is going on

you’re about to call out for yoongi again but then you hear someone clear their throat and you whip around quickly

your eyes nearly pop out of their sockets

heLLO

woW yoongi looks good

he’s wearing a black button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up

his shirt’s tucked into a pair of blue jeans

and did he

this bitch is wearing cologne

for the first time in forever

yoongi looks

nervous

min yoongi?? nervous??

“what are you-“

“this is for you” yoongi stammers and thrusts a bouquet of roses into your hands

“i-“

“i-i made dinner too” yoongi points over your shoulder and you turn around to see the dining room table all spruCed up

there are two plates of spaghetti sitting across from each other

a candle burning away in the middle of the table

he even brought your nice wine glasses out  

you turn back around to face yoongi and he has his lips pressed together looking like he’s waiting for you to say something

you set the bouquet down on the coffee table “i thought you were too good for the whole valentine’s day thing.” you tease gently in hopes that he’ll loosen up a bit because he’s literally sO nervous it’s kind of scary

yoongi lets out a breath and runs his hand through his hair “i mean… at first i didn’t think we needed to celebrate valentine’s day because i didn’t think i needed to prove that i love you through fancy dinners and flowers n stuff-“ yoongi looks down and picks at the dry skin around his fingernails nervously and he looks up to see you with a megAwatt smile on your face “…..what”

you shrug casually and take a couple steps closer to him with a pleased smile on your face

yoongi lets out a small groan “what?? you know i hate guessing games.” yoongi doesn’t budge as you wrap your arms around his neck

of course his arms snake around your waist instinctively

“seriously, what?” he pouts and you give his bottom lip a lil kiss

“you love me” you whisper

yoongi furrows his brows “…yeah no dUH i thought that was pretty obvious considering the fact i slaved away all day tryna give you the beSt valentine’s day ever-“

“say it again” you grin adoRAbly and yoongi is reminded of how TRULY w h i p p e d he is for you

yoongi clears his throat and rolls his eyes when you reach up and tap your ear as if you can’t hear him

“i love you… you needy, whiney, attention-seeking little human.”

“love u too you literal spawn of satan”

yoongi didn’t know why he was so worried you were going to break up with him

he knows he has you wrapped around his pinky finger

but he’s probably wrapped tiGhter around youR pinky finger if we’re being real

after dinner and dessert (yoongi made chocolate covered strawberries) you head upstairs to wash up real quick and you’re surprised to see a white box sitting on your bed tied up with a pretty red bow

huh

what is this

you approach it cautiously before peeling the little sticky note off the top

‘you can thank me later. happy valentine’s day!’ you raise your brow at the sticky note and yelp in surprise when it suddenly disappears and fades into sparkles- oHhHHHHhh now all of this makes sense

you knEW yoongi couldn’t fold the napkins into little swans without jimin’s help

it’s the thought that counts tho so you still appreciate it

you tug at the bow gently and pull the top off to reveal a lingerie set

you gasp at how pretty it is as you pull it out

jimin has good taste

it’s a practically see-through baby doll dress and it’s a smoky grey colour (kinda matches yoongi’s hair)

triangle lace cups

an empire waist with a shiny satin bow around it  

and of course you can’t forget about the matching thong

you let out a quiet squeal of excitement and clutch it to your chest

“yoongi?”

“gimme a second, jagi. i’m almost done with the dishes…” yoongi pokes his tongue out in concentration as he scrubs at a particular stubborn stain in the metal pot

he can’t help but wonder if jimin would be willing to help out with the dishes too

“yoongi…”

“one second, yeah?” he glances over his shoulder to acknowledge you and-

o fuk

yoongi immediately freezes and his mouth goes dry

he was certainly not expecting that

he clears his throat and turns back around

he reaches over and turns the tap off and sets the pot down in the sink gently

jimin really is an angel

you have your bottom lip tucked in between your teeth to keep yourself from bursting into giggles

yoongi dries his hands on a cloth before turning around and leaning against the sink and giving you a quick nod “c’mere, baby.”

you make your way over to him and his grip tightens on the edge of the counter

you look so good and he’s literally -1 seconds away from ripping that off of u

“happy valentine’s day.” you murmur with a small smirk and reach up to pop one of the buttons on his shirt

…,,..,yoongi wants everyday to be valentine’s day

[raywritesthings]

Baby Won’t You Please Come Home 9/11

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Quentin Lance, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Roy Harper, Moira Queen, Joanna de la Vega, Dinah Lance Pairings: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Thea Queen/Roy Harper Summary: Oliver returns to Starling City after the Undertaking only to discover that he’s not the only one who has absented it; Laurel Lance has seemingly vanished with barely a trace for the last four months. As he struggles to piece together the mystery of what caused her to flee the city they both call home, Oliver must also ask himself if he can make things right after leaving the woman he loves a second time. If he can find her at all. AO3 link

So...yes. I realize this fic has been in over a year-long hiatus, but as you might have been able to tell from my blog, I’ve worked up the spoons to care enough about these characters (okay mostly just Laurel) again. Very, very sorry for the unforgivably long wait, but if you’ve been hoping for a continuation then I am hoping you enjoy!

Six months ago

Laurel eased herself onto the barstool, tempted to kick her shoes off in order to rub at her aching feet. Eight to ten hours a day standing inside a cramped tent was killer for the arches.

As usual, it was Joanna who didn’t have any reservations voicing what was on her mind. “Please God, tell me this is almost over.”

“If I have to tell one more family we lost their papers in the quake…” Laurel couldn’t even muster the energy to finish that sentence, but it didn’t need to be. The other woman shook her head in commiseration anyway.

“Hey, come on, we didn’t come out to talk about all that,” Luis interrupted from her left. He passed them each a glass. “We came to forget it.”

Joanna raised hers with a “Here, here.”

Laurel gave their coworker a nod of thanks before taking a long pull of her drink and grimacing as it went down. “You know, I had to tell the Kims that I couldn’t find their deposition in our files—”

“So much for not talking about it,” Joanna teased.

“But,” she carried on, “it turns out the whole block of buildings their landlord owned went down in the quake. You couldn’t sue him for anything now.”

“And that’s why they say karma’s a bitch.”

She considered this, staring into her glass as she revealed, “Now twelve more families have lost their homes and two are dead.”

“Laurel.” Joanna laid a hand over hers resting on the bar top. “I know this is hard. Most days I can barely drag myself to work in the morning. But there’s nothing more we can do.”

“I know.”

“Have you been looking for a new position? We’ve all got to start thinking about the future, you know.”

“The future,” she echoed hollowly. What was the point? After five years of pushing herself forward case by case, client by client, she’d finally felt herself starting to come alive again. Now it was all gone—and Oliver vanished with it—leaving her worse off than she’d been before. Sara, Tommy, how much more was she just going to end up losing in the future?

“I’ve applied at Wethersby & Stone,” her friend blurted. She looked up in surprise at the sudden announcement. “Corporate, I know.”

“No, no, that’s good,” Laurel hastened to reassure. Joanna was being practical; she had herself and her mother to think about, especially after losing her brother. “I hope you get it. I know you’ll get it.” She lifted her glass decidedly, and with a grateful smile Joanna mirrored her.

But she couldn’t hide the disgusted face she pulled after her second taste of her beverage. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Laurel looked at it more closely. Maybe she just was feeling something stronger, but that didn’t explain why this drink should put her off so badly. “You know what? It must not be my night.”

“Oh, come on, Laurel.”

Luis and Anastasia both looked over with vague curiosity and disappointment as she slipped off her stool and stepped away from the bar. “You’re not leaving already, are you?”

“I’m just not feeling up to it.” She shrugged. “And I promised my mom I’d call her later.” It was a lie, but the two of them had been talking more as of late. It wasn’t perfect, but after five years of nothing Laurel was willing to take what she could get.

Maybe that was her problem.

Joanna didn’t exactly look thrilled, but she nodded her understanding. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t stay out too late,” she instructed them all, getting various reactions from too-innocent grins to rolled eyes.

Despite what she considered responsible actions, the next morning Laurel woke feeling about as worse off as if she really had stayed at the bar and long past closing time. How could she possibly be hungover?

Sitting up proved disastrous as her stomach roiled unexpectedly. She tried waiting the nausea out but was soon staggering to her feet and into her bathroom. Kneeling in front of the toilet was not the first thing she’d wanted to do this morning, yet even worse was that nothing seemed to be happening. Her stomach was still protesting, it just didn’t seem to be enough to provoke a reaction. Laurel didn’t relish the idea of throwing up, but it would at least allow her to feel better afterward. She’d prefer to just get it over with already.

Instead, Laurel was forced to sit with her knees tucked underneath her and her forehead pressed against the cool tile as her stomach gradually calmed itself. By the time she felt settled enough to risk getting back up, she’d lost half an hour and felt nowhere near ready to start the day. Slowly she shuffled back into the bedroom and took her phone off the nightstand.

“You didn’t need to check on me, you know,” was Joanna’s amused greeting after the second ring. “I’m leaving in fifteen.”

“Actually, I think I might not be able to make it in,” Laurel said with reluctance. “I’ve got some kind of stomach thing. Really queasy.”

“Oh no! Think it was something you ate?”

“I…don’t know.” She tried to think back to the last full meal she’d had. What was in her fridge?

“Well you better be getting back in bed,” Joanna advised. “I could stop by, maybe bring you some soup.”

“No, you guys are going to be swamped without me,” she dismissed. “It’ll probably just go away on its own.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. I’ll come in—”

“No, you’ll stay in all day, Laurel,” her friend countered, leaving no room for argument. “There is no point dragging yourself to work and making yourself sicker. Just take the day off and hopefully you’ll be feeling better tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright, alright,” she grinned in spite of herself. “But call me—”

“I won’t. Get well soon!” With that, the other woman hung up. Laurel rolled her eyes.

Well, if she couldn’t go into work today, she could still be productive. Laurel wrapped herself up in her bathrobe and relocated to the front room, powering up her laptop. She’d been falling behind in organizing her notes due to the bare-bones operation they were currently winding down, but a day off was just what she needed to get back on track. She flipped one of her legal pads to where she’d last been working off of and started transcribing her notes from page to screen. Client’s name, records they had or hadn’t been able to recover, and status of their case. It took her well into the morning, which just went to show how much she’d been putting it off.

A couple hours after that she decided her stomach had remained settled enough to try for some water and crackers. That was if she could locate any of the latter in her depressingly bare cupboard. Near the back she finally found a box—Tommy’s favorite brand. He must have picked them up the last time he’d made a trip to the store before he’d moved out...

Laurel took one out of the packaging and nibbled on the corner. The cracker was stale. With a shaky breath she dropped first it and then the box in the trash, the thump of it hitting the bottom loud and somehow final in the otherwise quiet of her apartment.

Laurel returned to her desk and grabbed a post-it note. A grocery list was definitely in order. New crackers, canned soup, maybe some ginger ale. Did she want to pick up anything for after this bug passed? She had no idea if she’d have the time or inclination to try making anything complicated. Still, Laurel jotted down a couple types of vegetables and pasta. She could definitely handle pasta.

That was her kitchen’s future planned. What about her future? She considered Joanna’s advice. CNRI was closing permanently, all too soon, and she needed to make a decision. She knew that.

Laurel eyed the email from Adam Donner sitting in her inbox. Truthfully she’d been surprised when the ADA had reached out to her. But that offer wasn’t going to last forever. It was time to stop sitting on it. She took out her phone.

“Assistant District Attorney Adam Donner speaking,” the man answered after a couple rings.

“Mr. Donner, this is Laurel Lance. I received your email earlier this week.”

“Oh! Yes, I’ve been hoping to hear from you. It’s my understanding that with CNRI’s future uncertain at the moment you might be looking for a new position. The DA’s office is looking for someone right now, and your qualifications make you an ideal candidate if you’re at all interested.”

“CNRI’s future is not uncertain. If we had any doors left to close, we’d be closing them soon. So I would be very happy to sit down for an interview with you.” She hoped the lack of a smile on her face wasn’t bleeding into her tone.

“Excellent. Let me just pull up my schedule so we can find somewhere to fit you in.”

They agreed on a time later next week, which Laurel wrote down before quickly making her excuses to get off the phone. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Donner, or even the prospect of working at the DA’s office. But moving on from CNRI just felt very...final. Like closing the door on a part of her life. It wasn’t a practice she was unfamiliar with, but it was just getting harder and harder to keep doing it. What was the point of moving forward if she had to leave everything and everyone she cared about behind?

If Joanna found out she spent the day being maudlin she’d be upset, so Laurel resolved that was enough work and self-reflection for one day. She closed her laptop and curled up on her couch, flipping through the channels on the television until she found a movie she could watch somewhat mindlessly. The only thing she could want for now was some ice cream—but that was a thought best not to dwell on either, so she dismissed it.

By the time she was yawning and heading to an early bed, Laurel felt she would certainly be rested and well enough to return to work tomorrow.

Which of course was why the next morning found her in the same exact position she’d been in twenty-four hours before, crouching over the toilet and willing herself to just get it over with already. This just didn’t make any sense. She barely had anything in her stomach at this point, so what could be making her sick?

Another call to Joanna meant another day off work. Laurel staggered back into the bathroom after she’d gotten off the phone and opened her medicine cabinet. There had to be something in here that would help her get over this bug. But she didn’t have much aside from aspirin.

She was running low on tampons, too. She’d meant to grab some last month, but what with hosting Taylor and then everything surrounding the earthquake—Laurel stilled.

Her cycle...she’d missed her period. Somehow in all the chaos it had slipped her mind, but she’d missed it. How had she missed that she’d missed it?

Her gaze landed on the tile in front of the toilet where she’d been crouched only this morning, feeling sick...Laurel gripped the edge of the sink and met her own panicked gaze in the mirror.

“No,” she murmured. “No, no, that’s not possible.” She’d been careful with Tommy, knowing how many other partners he must’ve had. She’d always made sure—

Except the one time she hadn’t. Except the one time Oliver had shown up at her door and there had barely been time to breathe let alone think, when the sense of right had outweighed everything that had gone wrong in their lives up to that moment.

Didn’t they always say that just once was enough? But she couldn’t know for sure, Laurel reminded herself as she passed a shaky hand through her hair. Not yet.

On trembling legs she stumbled back into her room, pulling on the first clothes she grabbed from the closet and nearly stepping into two different shoes on her way out the door. She spared a harried wave for the doorman before slipping into the flow of foot traffic outside the building.

Laurel kept her head down as she entered a convenience store several blocks away that she’d never been to in her life. It was quiet and seemingly empty of other patrons, yet her heart was pounding loudly enough to her that she wondered if it could be heard. She felt both hyper aware and yet removed from the situation, like she was watching a film from the uncomfortably close point of view of some other woman. Her whole body was tensed in anticipation of rounding a corner and bumping into a familiar face. How would she explain herself? It was for a friend? Just a precaution? None of their business?

She finally found the right aisle, looking to either side—coast clear—before stepping up to the section displaying various kinds of tests. Laurel worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she scanned the labels and instructions. Her attention was split, ears straining for the chime of the door signifying another customer. Finally she grabbed a test that seemed cheap enough and easy to use off one of the shelves and walked with it tucked under her arm to hide the label on her way to the register.

“Good morning,” the cashier greeted.

“Morning,” Laurel echoed, forcing what she hoped was a regular smile on her face as she placed the test on the counter. Of course, the other woman’s eyes immediately dropped to it, then darted first up to her face and strangely back down again...to where her left hand hung at her side.

Laurel felt her cheeks begin to heat up slightly as her bare fingers curled up into her palm before hastily stuffing her whole fist in her pocket. Not that it served much good now.

The cashier made no comment, simply scanning the box—which of course was when it occurred to Laurel she didn’t remember how much money was in her wallet. Using her credit card would be as good as handing over her name. A brief but frantic search managed to produce a twenty and a few smaller bills, and she barely suppressed the sigh of relief.

The door chiming shot her nerves to hell all over again, however, and Laurel resisted the urge to turn and look like some kind of idiot. By the sounds of it, at least two people had entered. Young, possibly teenagers, maybe even Thea’s age—God, Thea.

“Would you like a double bag?” The cashier asked with what felt to her like a knowing look, and Laurel didn’t manage to keep from starting guiltily.

“Yes, please,” she responded in an undertone. The teens were already making their way up to the register.

“Receipt?”

“No thank you.” They could be right behind her now. Had they seen? Did they know?

But when she turned around with the bag clutched tightly in her right hand, the pair were busy browsing magazines. There wasn’t anything for her to be fearful or ashamed of. She made her way calmly towards the door.

“Well, hope you get the result you want,” the cashier called to her. The teenagers paused in their conversation. She could imagine them looking up, curious and confused. Mortified, Laurel ducked her head back down and left without a backwards glance.

She had to fight herself not to simply run the entire way back or to constantly check that the double bags were not still somehow see-through. Nobody out here on the streets could possibly know what she currently held. They had no idea, and they never would. Nobody needed to know except her, and only just to check. Then she could throw it away, bury it deep in the trash—assuming the result was negative, that was.

And if it wasn’t?

Laurel was breathing heavily by the time she shut first the apartment and then her bedroom door behind herself. The door to the bathroom still stood open, the light on. She’d forgotten to switch it off on her way out. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to re-enter it, not yet. A part of her couldn’t believe what she planned to do, that it could even be necessary. A scare like this, it wasn’t supposed to be her.

She took the box out again, turning it over in her fingers. There was no use continuing to stare at it, she knew. Maybe this wasn’t the answer, maybe she really was sick and needed to see a doctor and was just wasting time. Whatever the result was, opening this box and taking the test would make it real. Was she ready for it?

It wasn’t as if she’d ever been ready for any other development in her life. Laurel pushed off the door she’d been leaning against and took the test with her into the bathroom.

It was the longest several minutes of her life, pacing across the small, cramped space, her heart continuing to hammer away. What was it going to say? What was she hoping for, what result did she want? Her mind chased itself around in circles until she couldn’t stand it and finally snatched the test up from where she’d laid it on the sink to wait.

Two lines.

The test slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor. Positive. It was positive. She was positive. She was pregnant.

Laurel sat hard on the lip of the bathtub. There seemed to be no other prevailing emotion than shock. She was pregnant. One of her hands came up to rest on the smooth expanse of her stomach. It didn’t feel as though anything was there, and yet the proof rested not two feet away from her that there was something in there. The beginning of a someone.

“Oh God.” Her mind, normally racing trying to keep track of her work, her family and friends, was drawing a distressing blank. Nothing in her life had prepared her for this, and wasn’t that so typical? For all she tried to be careful, to plan ahead, she could never resist the temptation to just throw all caution to the wind. Now it had landed her in bigger trouble than ever.

Though not just her. It took two, after all.

Oliver. Her head dropped into her hands. As if the mess of their relationship could get any worse. How could she possibly come to him with this? Going by his current behavior they’d be lucky to get him back in ten years if he heard this kind of news.

He’d left her. That should probably tell her what his possible desire to be involved in something like this should be, but...a part of her, that part that could never quite give up on Oliver Jonas Queen no matter how many people told her she was crazy for it, reminded her he didn’t have the full story. He couldn’t know that right now she was pregnant. That right now they were pregnant. If she was going to tell anyone right away, she wanted it to be him.

She needed to see him, speak to him at least. This changed everything. His leaving, her guilt for Tommy’s sacrifice. Things that had seemed insurmountable only a day ago felt like excuses rather than reasons to remain apart.

The only person she knew who might possibly be able to reach him was Thea. Laurel rose to her feet and found herself retracing her steps out of the apartment moments later. There really wasn’t any time to lose with this hanging over her.

She sent a text ahead and by the time she reached the lobby had gotten a reply back asking her to meet at the Verdant. She’d had no idea the place was staying open without Oliver to run it. In fact she hadn’t been back there since before the earthquake.

Laurel took a route that wouldn’t lead her past where Joanna and the others would be set up for the day, and by the time she arrived at the club the sun was nearly right overhead. Her stomach was grumbling, too, and she touched it again before moving her hand quickly away. How obvious could she be? Shaking her head, Laurel took a moment to compose herself before entering the building.

“Hey.”

Thea looked up from the stack of papers she was studying, her face breaking into a smile. “Hey!”

“Looks like you’re just about ready to reopen for business,” Laurel remarked with a glance around the place. A few employees were scattered about seemingly rearranging seating and the like, Roy Harper among them she noticed.

“Yeah, well, I figured it beat sitting around at home,” the younger girl told her, and Laurel nodded. She could relate to that need to keep moving, to throw herself into something and ignore her own problems. “Not to mention there’s no telling if my trust fund let alone my parents’ company will still be standing in a year.”

“Very smart.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, Thea preened slightly at the compliment. For how quickly she was being forced to grow up by her family’s actions, she was still so young. “Thanks. So, what brings you around?”

“I needed to ask you something,” she hedged. “It’s about Ollie, actually.” That was all she could trust herself to say. A part of her marvelled that Thea could have no idea what was happening right now, the same as her only hours ago. “I was wondering when he was planning to come home.”

“How should I know?”

Laurel’s hopeful smile faded. “You mean he hasn’t been in touch?”

Thea snorted. “He left me a note saying he went on a ski trip in Europe. Didn’t even ask if I wanted to get the hell out of here, too.”

Laurel hesitated a moment before asking, “Would you have wanted to?”

Thea shrugged. “It’s not like I’m exactly popular right now. But I got the club.”

“Just the club?”

Laurel bit back a smile as she turned to see Roy look up from polishing one of the tables.

Thea made a face at him. “You’re an employee of the club. And my boyfriend.”

“Thanks, boss,” Roy remarked dryly.

Thea was rolling her eyes as she shooed him further out of earshot before returning her attention to Laurel. “You want a drink? It’s on the house,” she offered, already reaching for a glass.

“No!” Laurel winced at the sharpness in her tone. “No I—I can’t.” She was pregnant, had been for at least a month...and she’d been drinking up to now, hadn’t she?

The younger woman didn’t seem too fazed. “Okay. Listen, I have no idea if he’s reading them, but I’ve been sending anything I want to say to his email. That’s your best bet. I’ll let you know if I hear from him, but right now I’m as in the dark about what Ollie’s up to as you are. Figures I just got used to him being back right before he disappears again,” she muttered to the bartop.

“I’m sure he’ll be home soon, Thea,” she attempted to assure her, though as distracted with worry as she was she didn’t know how sincere it came across. How much had she had to drink since she could have gotten pregnant? More than usual, if she was being honest with herself. What if it had affected the baby? What if there was something wrong? “I have to go. Good luck with the opening.”

“Thanks.”

The doorman seemed bemused as she passed him for the fourth time that day, and Laurel wasn’t sure if her attempt at a smile held up at all. She was too busy considering what she wanted to say. How did she break this kind of news over an email?

Or should she? Laurel wasn’t sure if it was fear or selfishness that had her wanting to make sure she could tell Oliver in person. She wanted to be able to see his reaction, know what he thought, talk to him about this like they should.

It took a few attempts, deletions, and rewordings, but she ended up with:

Ollie,

Thea told me you’re taking some time to yourself after everything that’s happened. I guess you needed the space. Maybe we all do.

But things have changed. I found something out and I have to talk to you about it. I know you feel like you can’t be in Starling right now, but this is important. I can’t do this without you.

Please write back when you can.

Love always,

Laurel

She held her breath as she hit send and stared at the little box that popped up saying her message had been delivered. Laurel wondered what time it was over in whatever ski lodge Oliver was staying in, when she might hear back. She didn’t know how long she could wait on this before needing to speak with someone.

She took her phone and dialled the number that would always come first in her mind, her thumb hovering over the call button.

But...could she tell her dad? He’d always dreaded something like this happening. Why would he be happy? He’d more likely be the opposite. He’d be furious at Oliver, there was no question of that. And her? She was an unmarried woman who’d been dating another man until shortly before getting pregnant by her ex.

Shame. Fear. Humiliation. Those were the reactions he would have. She could picture the ‘I told you so’ falling from his lips as clear as if he was standing in front of her, could see his hunched form at the bar grumbling into his drink epithets about Queen and his own gold-digger daughter. Laurel squeezed her eyes shut, willing the images away, and the phone slipped from her fingers.

She shouldn’t bother him anyway, she tried to tell herself. Her father was already dealing with so much, what with his demotion. God, this kind of blow to his reputation, it’d probably shatter what little respect he had left at the precinct.

What about her reputation?

She wasn’t exactly an unknown in the media thanks to the high-profile businessmen she’d gone after for her clients. Her various tangles with both the Queen family and the Hood didn’t help either. Was she the kind of person who would end up in a tabloid over a scandal like this? She didn’t want that for herself or a baby.

As selfish as it was, getting the hell out of here sounded like a great plan at the moment. At least until she’d figured out what she was doing. If Oliver replied by the end of the day, she’d need money to go and meet him wherever he’d holed up halfway around the world. If he didn’t...well, then she’d definitely need money.

The bank was about to close, so she’d have to go tomorrow or the next day. How much was she safe in taking out? She’d need money for plane tickets, food, shelter, possibly a visit to a doctor or some kind of women’s clinic. Bitterly, she recalled that with Rebecca Merlyn’s clinic closed, there wasn’t any such place she could go in Starling anyway. The nearest Planned Parenthood was at least a city over, so she’d need to be going out of town for a few days at least regardless.

Laurel found herself refreshing her inbox constantly over the rest of the day and the next, though it brought her nothing but the odd bit of junk mail. Oliver either hadn’t read her email or didn’t want to respond. She didn’t know which was worse.

But there was a way she could make sure which it was. She opened up a new message and typed the equivalent of an SOS:

Please Ollie, I’m running out of time.

If he could read that and not answer, he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was at all.

Say Oliver didn’t respond. Say he never responded. How long was she willing to wait? How long could she wait to make a decision?

The reasons against keeping it were distressingly numerous. She was on her own. She didn’t have any prospects for future employment as a pregnant woman. She couldn’t know when or what kind of support Oliver would be willing to give—not that her pride would ever let her accept his money. She wasn’t even sure if she could be a good mother, with or without the means.

But after everything in her life that she’d had taken away from her...would she be able to survive losing something like this?

Laurel rolled onto her side, wrapping her arms around herself.

Thea had said she wasn’t popular in Starling these days. Laurel doubted anyone related to the Queens would be. People were angry, and whether or not it was justified didn’t seem to matter. They’d hate her baby.

Was it even safe to keep it, if that’s the sort of life it would have? The life it would have in Starling, anyway. Laurel had never thought of leaving the city permanently. It had been her home, her one constant when everything and everyone else in her life left her. How could she even think of going?

But this couldn’t just be about her and her wants or needs anymore. Maybe she couldn’t save a city. Maybe she wasn’t strong enough to fight an army like Joanna had tried to warn her. But there was one person now whose life rested literally in her hands and her hands alone. She had to protect it.

Laurel pushed herself up to sitting, looking around the darkened room. “I can’t stay here.”

She was at the bank first thing the next morning, having barely slept the night before. Laurel scanned the available tellers, hoping she’d come on the right day...there!

She approached one teller in particular. “Mr. Ricci!”

“Ah, Miss Lance! Good morning!”

She had gotten to know the balding man quite well during the proceedings she’d guided his son through to prove him innocent of an armed robbery. If anyone at Starling National would be willing to do her a favor, it was him, and that was precisely what Laurel had been counting on.

“So good to see you!” The man was saying. “Now, what can I do for you today?”

“I wanted to make a withdrawal.”

“Of course. For how much?”

“Five thousand dollars?” She couldn’t help the slight uptick in her voice at the end.

The man’s eyes went wide. “That is quite a sum. I’m not sure…”

Laurel knew she had to think fast. “I’m treating myself to a bit of a vacation, and I want to take out the money so I budget myself. That’s all I’m letting myself spend.”

He nodded, clearly mulling it over. “Lots of people are trying to get away these days. But if anyone deserves a vacation, it is you. Alright, come with me, and we will get it all taken care of.”

Laurel did not have to fake her gratitude at all. “Thank you so much, Mr. Ricci.”

She stayed long enough chatting at the bank so as not to seem suspicious. It wouldn’t be good if it looked like she was about to make a run for it.

Once finally home, Laurel checked her email again. Nothing. Oliver wasn’t there.

If she stayed any longer, sooner or later she would have to face either Joanna or her father. Whether she went into work or took another sick day, they’d know something was wrong. If she didn’t want to involve anyone else, she had to be on a train out of the city by tonight.

A bizarre sort of calm seemed to settle over her — or perhaps she was just teetering on the edge of a complete breakdown — but Laurel took out her scarcely-used suitcase and began pulling things out of her closet. Comfortable, baggier clothes were prioritized; she’d have no need for dresses or pantsuits while hiding out to have a baby, and eventually she wouldn’t be able to fit them anyway. Toiletries were placed in a smaller case before being tucked away as well, and looking around the bathroom reminded her to get rid of her trash and the pregnancy test. She was sure her father would case her apartment all on his own if he had to, once he realized she was gone.

Laurel paused at her desk, pulling a notepad towards her. Should she leave him a message not to worry? Explain that she had to go away for a while? It’d probably only make him worry more and be that much more determined to find her. And it wasn’t as though she could give him a proper explanation or one that would make him happy with her. Better to leave him with what little good opinion he might have left of her.

She checked the time and knew she needed to get moving. With her phone wedged between her ear and shoulder, she placed a call down to the lobby.

“Hi, Mr. Powell, it’s Laurel. Would you mind calling a cab for me? I’m a little behind on packing.”

“Of course. When should it arrive?”

“Twenty minutes would be perfect. Thank you so much.”

She forced her suitcase closed and leaned heavily on it as she zipped it back up. Laurel left her phone on her bedside table and went to her front door. She turned back for one last look at the home she’d made for herself over many long, trying years. It seemed hard to believe she was about to leave it behind. But it was the only way.

Down in the lobby, Mr. Powell was waiting. “I can help you with that,” the doorman offered, taking a hold of her suitcase to stow in the trunk of the cab pulled up to the curb.

“Thank you.” She just barely bit back a goodbye. Instead, Laurel slid into the passenger seat.

“Where to?”

“The train station, please.”

Moments later, they were driving off and she watched as her apartment disappeared in the side view mirror.

“Going on vacation?” Her driver asked.

Laurel felt a wan smile lift the corners of her mouth. “Something like that.���

Four months ago

Laurel paced the scant floor space between the bed and the wall, her mind chasing itself around in similar circles.

She was running low on cash. Not enough for it to be an emergency yet, but even cheap motels like this one she was staying in started to add up night after night.

The minute she went to withdraw more funds she was sure her father would be on her trail. If he still had his detective’s badge she doubted she’d have made it this long without him finding her. And if he found her like this...it just wasn’t thinkable.

Laurel placed a hand over her stomach, which was decidedly firmer than it had been months ago before all this. Before she’d hatched a crazy plan to run away with a baby she didn’t even have enough money to get another checkup for let alone take care of once it was born.

She couldn’t do this on her own, but she had no one. By keeping an eye on any Starling news she could tell Oliver was still God knew where. Her father had enough of his own troubles, if he’d even want to help her after all the worry she must have caused him. Thea was much too young for her to depend on for this. She had nothing else that resembled family.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Her mother was just a short train ride away in Central, after all.

Of all people, was she really considering going to her mother? Maybe things were better between them than they had been, but nearly five years of no contact was a lot to forget.

But what other options did she have?

Laurel checked out of the motel that morning and headed for the nearest train station. She purchased another ticket in cash, this time to Central, and waited to board.

The entire journey she was a nervous wreck, thinking up all the many ways this could and would go wrong. It took everything in her to actually leave the Central City train station and not simply hop a second train out of there. From there she splurged a little on a taxi cab as she only had an address and no way of knowing how to get to her mother’s house just on the edge of the suburbs. Laurel paid the driver and got out, pulling her suitcase along behind her as she came up the walk for the very first time.

It was a one-level building, small without seeming too cramped. There was a tree in the yard and a couple different kinds of flowers that had mostly wilted, though they couldn’t hold her interest for long.

She drew in a deep breath, her hand resting just inches from the door. Could she really do this? She didn’t have many options, true, but what would her mother say? What if she refused to help her?

There was no way of knowing until it happened. She rapped on the door and then planted her feet firmly on the doorstep. The wait wasn’t very long, and soon enough she was once again face to face with her mother.

The older woman’s eyes went wide at the sight of her. “Laurel!”

She tried not to cringe as she offered a, “Hi, Mom.”

The next thing she knew, Laurel was being pulled over the threshold and into the older woman’s arms. It was so unfamiliar a sensation to her that she couldn’t help standing there stiffly for a moment before remembering to move her arms to reciprocate.

“Oh, thank goodness!” She felt lips against her cheek and then her mom was taking great gasps of air as she held her tightly. “Oh, Laurel!”

She found herself being pulled even further inside and led into a living room. Her mother’s home for the last six years, and she was just seeing it for the first time. There was a picture of both her and Sara on one of the end tables next to the couch her mom guided her to sit on. Laurel wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“Does Quentin know you’re safe?”

Her gaze dropped to the rug.“He doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“What? Why haven’t you told him?” Her mom reached into her pocket. “Did you need a phone? Let me call him—”

“No! No, mom, please don’t call him,” she begged.

“He’s been worried sick, honey,” her mother told her, and something twisted painfully in Laurel’s gut. “Your father loves you.”

“He won’t- he won’t love me if he finds out,” she managed around the lump rising in her throat. “He’ll hate me. If he doesn’t already—when he drinks he says things, he blames me for Sara getting on the boat, and then he says he didn’t mean it, but he would this time. He already thinks I’m a—you don’t know what it’s been like, you left.”

“Alright, alright, I’m not calling.” Her mother placed the phone down and instead knelt in front of her. “Tell me what’s happened. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

Laurel shook her head, wiping furiously at the tears that continued to spill over. This wasn’t really the plan. But her mother was here and listening, actually listening to her. And it had been so long since she could truly talk to someone she knew.

A tremulous smile rose to her face. “I’m pregnant.”

Her mother’s eyes went wide before darting to her stomach. She wasn’t showing yet, which was normal or so the scant reading material she’d been able to get her hands on said.

“Oh, Laurel.”

Her smile fell just as quickly as it had come. “I know.”

“I can’t imagine, and with Tommy—”

A choked sob left Laurel, and she shook her head as her eyes squeezed shut in shame. “It’s not Tommy’s.”

“Then who—? Oh, honey.” For the second time that night, her mom reached out and hugged her. Laurel held on tight this time, needing the comfort, needing the release.

“I know. I know it looks bad. We’d broken up, and then Oliver told me he still loved me, and I- I just didn’t think.” She sniffed loudly and swiped at her nose. “God, mom, I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.”

Laurel froze, and her mother pulled back slowly, her hands trailing down Laurel’s shoulders to rest on her arms.

“I know I haven’t been a very good mother to you — or a mother at all.” Her mom looked down, not seeming able to meet her gaze. “You should have felt able to come to your father or I the minute you found out, and if you didn’t I only have myself to blame.” She looked up again, and Laurel was shocked to see tears in her eyes. “I was so consumed with grief from losing Sara that I didn’t realize I was losing you, too. And I don’t know how I can make that up to you.”

Laurel found it nearly impossible to speak around the lump in her throat. “That’s okay, mom. It’s okay.”

“Tell me what you need. Whatever you need.”

She was rapidly becoming overwhelmed. “I- I was just hoping to stay for a week, maybe two? I need to find somewhere to work or I’m gonna run out of money, and I—”

Her mother shook her head. “You’ll stay here, but for as long as you need. Let me do what I should have been doing for you. You take care of the baby.” She rose up to place a kiss on the top of Laurel’s forehead. “I’ll look after the rest.”

Somehow, despite everything that had happened in her life so far, this was the moment she really felt she was dreaming.

Two months ago

Laurel had fallen into something of a routine. Wake up, eat with her mother, head out for a walk around the neighborhood or do some exercises at home while her mom left to teach. Even if her stomach was slowly beginning to grow didn’t mean she had to totally let herself go, and it wasn’t as though she had much else to do apart from the occasional check up on the baby. Then she read up on the news in both Central and Starling or picked up one of the paperbacks lying around the house.

Probably the strangest adjustment was just how much time she and her mother spent together now. They got dinner or Laurel would attempt to fix something that would then need to be salvaged once her mom got home from the University, on weekends they watched movies, and rather than a partner it was her mom that accompanied her to the classes on breathing and other what-to-know-about-expecting-and-parenting techniques. It was...nice.

These days, sometimes Laurel had the night to herself if her mom was out on a date, though she had yet to meet the boyfriend. The first few weeks, her mother had come straight home from classes and always seemed relieved to find Laurel still there. She hadn’t brought up contacting her dad again yet either, which she suspected was out of fear that Laurel might run for it. She couldn’t really say whether or not it was warranted.

It still felt unreal how well her mother had taken the news, and she didn’t know if she could hope for the same from her father. It didn’t stop the guilt from churning on the few occasions her parents talked, and her mother had to lie over the phone that she still hadn’t seen her. Yet still she relied on her mom’s silence.

Of course just when she’d gotten settled, everything changed again.

“Billionaire and son of the woman accused of conspiring to commit mass murder, Oliver Queen, has returned to his hometown and in just the nick of time. With Stellmoor International poised to buy the majority of shares in Queen Consolidated, the Queen heir will need to hope for another miracle not unlike his rescue from an island in the North China sea one year ago.”

“Will you tell him?” Her mom stood with her arms braced on the kitchen counter, eyes on the television.

“I don’t know.” It had been so long, she’d simply begun to assume none of them would ever hear from Oliver again. Now he was back and totally unaware of the plight she was in. Could she even hope he’d want to be involved at this stage?

He had a sense of duty to family, that was true. Laurel wasn’t sure if this counted. Did an accident borne out of a moment of passion warrant his concern? Did Laurel?

“Maybe I should let him get settled back in first?”

Her mother shrugged, leaving the choice up to her.

The next forty-eight hours saw an attack at Queen Consolidated, Thea kidnapped and saved by the Hood who made a surprise return, and Oliver only barely acquiring a co-ownership of his family’s company. And it only seemed to grow worse from there. Laurel watched in horror the next week as Alderman Sebastian Blood of the Glades whipped up an angry mob to swarm Oliver’s car, one member of the crowd smashing a window with a thrown brick.

“It’s just not safe, is it?” She asked her mother as she paced back and forth behind the couch. “And even if it was, Oliver’s just managed to hold onto the company, Mrs. Queen’s trial is coming up...their family doesn’t need a scandal like this.” Laurel glanced down at the bulge in her stomach her old Starling U hoodie wasn’t quite able to hide anymore. “And I couldn’t do that to the baby.”

“As much as I think he at least ought to know, I can’t help but agree. Anyone connected with the Queens right now seems to be in danger.” Her mother was frowning, but clearly resigned. “Keeping the baby safe is your first priority, Laurel. Maybe someday things will calm down, but...Oliver will have to understand.”

Laurel spent the next week restless and unhappy. Decided as she was, now more than ever she missed her home and the people there. In an ideal world, she could be picking out baby names with Oliver, mediating lunch with her dad, getting Thea’s advice on how to decorate a nursery...but ideal was the last way to describe her world.

Maybe it could be worth it. She’d been in danger plenty of times over the last year and always come out of it. Maybe if she let herself try, it could work.

Of course, one evening the news served a cruel reminder of just how unsafe Starling currently was.

“Serial killer Barton Mathis, also called the Dollmaker, broke his usual pattern tonight by abducting Officer Quentin Lance. Lance was responsible for Mathis’ incarceration just five years ago, and police are considering this an act of revenge.”

“Oh, Quentin.” Her mother was watching with a hand over her mouth and wide eyes.

“I should be there. God, mom, what have I been doing?” All this time, letting her fear over her father’s reaction keep her from spending time with him. What if that time had run out? What if she’d never get to tell him, never get to make things right?

She nearly had her suitcase half-packed when her mother cried out from the main room, “Laurel! Laurel, they’re saying he’s been found!”

She dropped the shirt she’d been folding and rushed back in front of the television. Early reports were indicating some involvement from the Hood, and she found herself once again unaccountably grateful for his existence, whoever he was.

“Are they saying what condition dad’s in?”

“Not yet.”

She had to know. With trembling fingers, she took out the phone her mother had gotten her when she’d started staying here.

“Laurel?” Her mother asked.

“Oliver will know if dad’s okay,” she said quietly, more to herself than anything. “I can ask him, and then maybe- maybe we can talk. I...I don’t want something bad to happen to one of them without them knowing.”

She’d entered the last digit and now hit the call button, waiting with her breath held as it rang.

Just when she was thinking he wouldn’t pick up, he did. “Hello?”

Her mind went completely blank at the sound of his voice, and Laurel couldn’t think of what to say.

“Hello?” Oliver repeated, a bit more tersely this time. “Is anybody—”

He’d stopped, and she didn’t know why. She knew she should speak, but her voice still wouldn’t come.

And then Oliver said one word. “Laurel?”

Her breath hitched. How? How could he possibly know?

And yet on the other end of the line, Oliver only sounded more certain of himself as he tried again, “Laurel, please, if—”

She ripped the phone from her ear, mashing the end call button, just barely catching his cry of “—wait!”

“Honey?” Her mom was watching her with evident concern.

“I—I just—” It felt like her throat was closing up, and the phone fell from her fingers as she dropped her head into her hands.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Her mother said, sitting next to her on the couch and wrapping her arms around her.

“How do I even tell him, mom? How do I tell him now?”

Her mother held her through her tears over the absolute mess she’d made of things.

Two hours ago

Laurel stood in line at the post office shifting her weight from foot to foot, and not only because they were tired of carrying her weight. Part of her still wanted to turn around and walk right out, but she’d made it this far.

The little box she held kept drawing her eyes, and she’d lost track of how many times she’d read the address she’d written on the side. The name on that address in particular.

Quentin Lance

After many long, late night talks with her mother, she’d finally made the decision to reach out. The baby was due in just under two months, and while she still couldn’t work up the nerve to go back to Starling City herself, it was long past time for her to face up to her actions. At least to her father. It hadn’t been fair to keep this from him, no matter what he thought of her as a result. Whether he chose to shut her out of his life permanently was his choice, but at the least he would know she was okay. As okay as she could be, all things considered.

She stepped up to the next available counter. “Hi, how are you?”

“Fine, thank you. And you?” The post office worker rattled off in a bored tone.

“Fine, thanks. How much is it to make sure it arrives before Christmas?”

“Well, we’ve got rates for priority or expedited shipping, overnight—”

“I’ll take overnight,” Laurel decided. Now that she was here and really doing this it seemed silly to wait any longer. Either her dad would forgive her or he wouldn’t, but it was the holidays, and this was the best she could give him.

Her abruptness caused a blink from the woman behind the counter, and she actually seemed to look at Laurel properly for the first time.

“Alright, press that button on the screen,” the woman told her. She handed over the money next and waited for her change.

“You have a good holiday.”

“Thanks, you too,” said Laurel.

“Is the little one coming before or after?”

She found herself smiling in spite of her nerves. “After. I’m still two months from my due date.”

“Well, you take care now. And good luck!”

Laurel left the counter and the package behind, not necessarily feeling any better about it but knowing it was out of her hands now. She’d just have to see what happened once her dad received it.

A man held the door open for her as she exited the post office, and Laurel thanked him before turning to find a bench just outside to sit on until her mom’s class let out that evening and she could pick her up. She didn’t mind waiting. It was plenty warm out for December.

As the time dragged on, however, storm clouds began to gather, causing the skies to darken even quicker than usual. She moved back inside for a time and made a stop in the restroom, but a glance at her watch showed she’d be forced out again soon enough.

“You got a ride home?”

Laurel jumped, but it was only the woman who had helped her at the counter. She was zipping up a raincoat and had an umbrella.

“Should be on its way,” Laurel answered.

“Alright, you have a good night then. Shame we’re getting rain like this instead of snow for the holidays.”

“Yeah.” Laurel watched the woman head out to her car, then exited the post office before one of the other workers felt they had to ask her to leave. The bench was still unoccupied so she reclaimed it and settled in to wait again and worry about the package and her father.

Even if it didn’t look or feel much like Christmas, she’d just have to hope for a miracle, because that was what it was going to take for this family of hers to come back together.

But it wasn’t a miracle that struck only an hour later.

[captain039]

REYLOOO

Kylo X Rey

　

Rey as a child has been sold and sold times over. But now she is older she has been sold into the sex slave industry What happens when Master Kylo Ren finds her and they have a force bond?

Kylo kills Snoke by himself because he's gonna be an evil son of a bitch in this then he turns nice cause Rey is his bae.

　

Warnings: Language, Smut eventually, selling of people?

Supreme leader Kylo Ren finds himself at an auction on some unnamed planet. His knights beside him bidding on what ever interest them he couldn't care less though. He sat with his leg propped over the other his mask on and his aura making people sit a meter away. He was feared in the galaxy killing his master Snoke for power. It was midnight when he finally had enough but then she came out. A delicate little creature with brown hair going to her shoulders her face sprinkled with freckles her eyes a forest colour. Her skin sun kissed she looked frightened as she came out in chains with other women. None of them interested Kylo though the young flower though had his interest. She flinched at the sound of the auctioneer shouting over the microphone in some other language. She wore red and black slave clothes showing off her skin Kylos eyes darkened behind the mask he was hers now. He stood up placing 1000 credits on the girl. Everyone gasped and she looked even more frightened. The Auctioneer went higher but no one bided. "SOLD" He yelled as she was brought around the back. He signalled his men they were leaving and they went to the ship. He went around to pick up his prize seeing her tremble in the arms of the guards pushing her roughly.

"GENTLE" Kylo shouted at them taking her from them he held her waist gently like she would snap. It confused him why was she so special?

He took her to his ship and led her to his quarters. He placed her on the bed and went into his closet. He handed her some clothes of his though they wouldn't fit she would be warmer. She looked up at him in confusion but took the clothes.

"Change" He said turning his back. She quickly did she wasn't stupid she knew who this man was.

"I'm done" She said in a small voice. He turned around and nodded she had a plain black singlet on which went to her thighs and a pair of his pants covering her feet.

"Sit on the bed a moment" He said and she did. He kneeled down and rolled up the pant legs making sure they would stay.

"Comfortable?" He asked and she nodded still cautions of him.

"I am not going to do anything un less you want to" He said she frowned.

"What's your name?" He asked

"Rey" She said. He muttered it pretty name he thought.

"Rest I will come back later with some food" He said leaving. She was baffled was the supreme leader nice to her?

She looked back to the large bed covered in black silk. She was extremely tired she laid down under the covers the plush bed soothing her aching body. She fell asleep like a baby as the ship flew through the galaxy.

Kylo stood outside the door leaning his head against the wall what was wrong with him? He should be ruining her making her life hell. But he couldn't.

"Fuck" He muttered. After an couple of hours he brought in some food simple bread and soup. She woke up as soon as she heard the door open and stood straight up. His lips twitched under the mask as he set the food down on her lap. "Eat ill fetch some water" He said walking off again.

Rey looked at the meal in front of her it seemed like luxury. She dug in hungrily as he bought back water. He stood by the window as she ate his hands behind his back clenched together. She finished her meal and thanked him quietly.

"We will arrive at the death star soon" He said taking the platter and leaving. The death star she shivered at the thought of that giant place. destroying planets.

　

When they arrived he had her securely under his shoulder tucked into his side. No one questioned him as he brought the girl to his much larger quarters. She looked at the room in awe it was massive with a bigger bed a large window and closet. A attached bath room to it.

"This is were you will be staying from now on you must not leave with out me or my permission understood?" He asked.

"Yes" she said and he nodded.

"Your clothes are in here If they do not fit just tell me and I will have some more come in" He said pointing to the cupboard.

"You may use what ever in the bathroom or if you would like something new also ask me just do not go into my study" He said pointing to the door behind her. A knock at the door interrupted him and he growled walking toward the door.

"What?" He asked harshly.

"Sir you presences is needed on the base" The storm trooper said. He sighed nodding.

"I will be back soon" He said and left. She stood not knowing what to do she felt nothing but darkness from this place through her force. She breathed in closing her eyes and sat on the ground. She touched the cold metal of the floor and looked through the place. Not one single thing light was in this ship except her but she got a flicker of something. Her eyes scrunched up seeing the supreme leader he stopped though he must feel her he turned and it was like he was looking straight at her. She broke the force off breathing heavily she had never felt that before.

　

Kylo frowned feeling something the force tug at him he turned around seeing Rey she sat on the ground palm against the floor she was using the force he knew there was something about her. She opened her eyes looking at him and gasped breaking it off. He felt the conflict again with in himself.

"Sir?" One of his men called he snapped out of it continuing.

Rey was shaking what happened if he turned on her maybe he's just being nice now. What if he ruins her destroys her then toss her out. She clenched her fist her panic rising she always got these panic attacks. They weren't getting better nor worse. She brought her knees to her chest her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Memories flashed through her mind as a child her parents leaving her, all the times she had been sold to slavery.

Kylo felt her panic and frowned why was she panicking? The feeling grew stronger and he left the base running to his quarters. He opened the door seeing her on the ground shaking breathing heavily with her knees to her chest. He walked in slowly not to startle her.

"Rey?" He asked she snapped her head to him and scurried away to the corner. He frowned through his mask. "Don't hurt me please" She whimpered. He shook his head but it wouldn't be enough. He moved his hands to his mask and took it off slowly placing it on the bed and walking closer to her shaking form. "Rey I'm not going to hurt you" He said kneeling down by her she tried to get away but was already so close to the wall.

"Rey you need to breathe" He said placing a hand on her shoulder. She had tears down her face as she looked at him. She lunged at him hugging his torso he fell over catching her though holding onto her tightly. He stroked her back as she began to calm down. He moved them into a more comfortable position with her sitting in his lap her legs over his thighs. She didn't let go of him she felt safe in his presence. She was such a small thing he thought he wondered why she was ever sold in the first place.

[ftwd-nicky]

Chaos at Broke Jaw Ranch | Part Three

Pairing: Nick Clark x Reader, Troy Otto x Best Friend!Reader

Authors: @ftwd-nicky & @lovefilledtragedy

Words: 3788

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! Here’s part three. Honestly, this is probably my favorite part because Troy and Nick get aggressive and fuck. I’m getting side tracked xD. Anyway, ENJOY!

Troy and Jake had tied down the intruders to chairs as they had blank looks on their faces. Troy paced in front of them, staring intently down at them. “Alright boys. Wanna tell us why you were sneaking into our ranch?” Troy asked, crossing his arms over his chest as they sat there, not saying anything. Troy laughed maniacally shaking his head as he crouched in front of them. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

The two guys glanced towards each other before bringing their attention back to Troy, the one on the right with the dark brown hair and almost pitch black eyes snorted and glanced up, spitting towards him. Troy closed his eyes, violently wiping the spit off his face, glaring at the culprit, standing up. The guy smirked at him and Troy narrowed his eyes a bit before punching him in the face. Troy brought his hand back to punch him again when someone had walked into the building.

 Nick closed the door behind him as Troy put his fist down, walking towards him. “Hey.” Troy muttered, standing close to Nick as Nick glared at the two men, barely being able to keep his anger in control.

 “Have they said anything yet?” Nick asked and Troy shook his head, glancing back towards them.

 “No, but don’t worry about it. You won’t like what I’m going to do, so you should just leave. If you see Y/B/N, tell her that I’ll see her later, okay?” Troy asked and Nick nodded his head.

 As Nick turned around to leave, he remembered what Y/N had told him and turned around. “Troy, wait.” He called out and motioned Troy to come back towards him. He leaned in close to him, whispering, “Y/N told me that these two are the ex’s.”

 Troy froze, feeling the anger bubbling inside him as he remembered the story Y/B/N had told them about these assholes. “Interesting.” Troy muttered bitterly, turning back towards them. “Get out of here, Nicky.” He mentioned as Nick nodded, walking out of the building heading back towards his place.

 Troy clasped his hands behind his back, walking in circles around them. “So, what’s your guys’ names?” He asked, looking down at them.

 “I’m Jack and this is Steven.” Jack, the man to his left, told Troy and he nodded, stopping in front of them.

 “So, who’s the leader of this pair?” He asked Jack and he stayed silent. “No answer? Okay, moving on, why were you trying to break in?” Troy asked, becoming a little fed up with them.

 “We needed supplies.” Steven, the one who had spit on Troy, muttered and Jack glared at his friend. “We were running low. We lost a couple of people a while back and they had most the supplies.” Steven lied and Troy clenched his fists behind his back.

 “Interesting. Did you guys ever think about asking? I’m sure we would’ve gave you some, but now? Oh, not now.” Troy teased, giving them a sadistic smile. “See what you guys did… was not very smart, because if it was Jake interrogating you this probably would’ve gone a lot cleaner. Me, however, I like to have a little fun.”

 -

 After a rather eventful night, the sun slowly crept its way over the ranch. Nick and Y/N had slowly begun to wake up, his arm tightly wrapped around her shoulder as he stretched, kissing on her temple slightly.

 “Hey Y/N, we need to get up, the sun’s rising.” Nick said, kissing her temple once more before he felt her shift a bit, pulling herself up.

 “We also need to check on Y/B/N and Troy. Come on.” She smiled, turning to him as she stood reaching her arm out to him, him gladly accepting it and following her out the door. Knocking on the door where Troy had been last, Nick opened it up to find him sitting up straight in his chair, watching the two men that they had brought in. Y/N kept herself hidden behind Nick so that she didn’t have to make eye contact with Jack and Steven, and she was grateful that she hadn’t.

 Troy had done a number on both of the men, both had bloody lips and bruised eyes. Nick nodded his head at Troy when he turned in his seat to get up, standing up in his seat to follow him out, turning back one last time to the two men, “I’ll be back later boys. Behave yourselves.” He laughed, patting Nick on the back and closing the door, locking it behind him.

 The trio made their way over to Y/N and Y/B/N’s room, and as Y/N opened the door to look in, she felt her heart stop. “She’s… she’s not in here.” She muttered, searching everywhere in the small cabin, not finding her anywhere.

 “What do you mean she’s not in there?” Troy asked, the worriness apparent in his voice.

 “Where could she possibly be?” Nick said, running his hands through his hair.

 “I’m not entirely sure, but we need to go look for her, now.” Y/N stated, pushing her way past her two friends, frantically searching for where she was. “I don’t want her doing what I think she may want to do…”

 “What do you mean by that?” Nick and Troy asked in unison.

 “I don’t want her trying to go off and find her way to Jack and Steven. After they both abandoned us, Y/B/N vowed that she would kill them herself and if she wasn’t able to do that, she’d take her own life for the hell they brought on us Just because we’ve made it this far, it doesn’t mean that we haven’t struggled at all. That is why we are here now, but she can’t kill them on her own, not without me; not without all of us.” She sighed, tears welling in her eyes once more.

 Nick and Troy both looked at one another, their eyes widened.

 “Please, come on. We need to go look for her.”

 -

 “Well, that guy sure was a charmer, wasn’t he?” Steven said, spitting up some more blood that had pooled into this mouth. Troy had repeatedly punched him in the mouth for talking back to him, causing some of his teeth to become knocked out.

 “More like a fucking psychopath if you ask me.” Jack spat, not appreciating Steven’s sarcasm in that moment. He tried to open his right eye, but the swelling around his eye had become so bad, he couldn’t do a thing about it.

 “This is the kind of treatment we get, all because we wanted some simple supplies? How thoughtful.” Steven continued, laughing to himself. “Thank fucking God this didn’t happen to us when we left Y/B/N and Y/N, they both were so fucking weak, they probably died that following night after we were gone.”

 “Who knows, I just know that I could care less. Ungrateful bitches, they could never stand a chance.” Jack agreed, also laughing.

 “Well, if we’re going to be stuck here for a while, might as well find out how we can get out of here before that military creep comes back.”

 “Agreed, I just want to manage to steal some shit and get out of here. We don’t need this.”

 “You still got that pocket knife on you in your back pocket?” Steven asked, smiling as Jack nodded his head, “Start cutting yourself out and then help me. When that piece of shit comes back, we attack him.”

 Jack nodded and shifted to lower his fingers into his back pocket, managing to slide it out after a few tries as the slight sound of the knife hitting the tape filled the room. Slowly, Jack managed to get both of his wrists freed, standing up to wipe some of the blood of his face with his shirt, approaching behind Steven to get him untied.

 “Hurry up man, we can’t fuck around with this.”

 -

 Y/N ran frantically around the ranch, asking everyone if they have seen Y/B/N, but they all shook their heads. Tears were streaming down her face as she stood in the middle of the camp, falling to her knees.

 “Hey, c’mon. We’ll find her.” Nick muttered to the crying girl, rubbing his hand on her back. He pressed his forehead to the side of Y/N’s head, whispering ‘it’ll be okay,’ to her. Troy ran a hand through his hair, sighing loudly as he glanced around, trying to think of where she would be.

 Y/N gripped Nick’s arm, hiding her face in his chest as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to her feet. “Thanks, Nick.” Y/N whispered, glancing up at him and he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, smiling softly.

 “No need to thank me. C’mon.” He muttered, pressing a small kiss to her head. Y/N rested her head against his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his waist. Troy walked in front of them, desperately trying to find the girl who managed to warm his heart.

 Troy stopped when he heard a small whimper, listening closely as he followed the noise. He gasped once he saw Y/B/N curled up by the fire pit that was currently not burning anymore. “Guys! I found her!” Troy yelled out, running towards Y/B/N. He kneeled down in front of her, pressing the back of his hand to her cheek, feeling her skin ice cold.

 “Y/B/N!” Her best friend yelled, tripping slightly as she tumbled to the ground, pushing Troy back a bit, placing both her hands on her cheeks. “Hey, hey, c’mon. Wake up… please.” Y/N cried, tears rapidly sliding down her cheeks.

 “We need to get her inside.” Troy mentioned, pulling Y/N away from her. Y/N cried, sitting on the ground, staring at her best friend as Troy lifted her in his arms, walking towards his place. She got off the ground, following Nick and Troy as she hugged herself, sniffling a bit.

 “Is she going to be okay?” Y/N called out and Troy glanced behind him, nodding his head.

 “She’ll be okay, we just need to get her warmed up.” Troy said, glancing down at Y/B/N, noticing that her lips were slightly blue from how cold the air was last night. Once they reached his room, he kicked his door open and laid her out on his bed, careful to not disturb her.

 “Y/N, Nick, stay with her and start getting her covered up, I have multiple jackets and blankets over there in that dresser. I am going to try and look for some more and maybe some hot soup that we can whip up.” Troy said, taking one last look at Y/B/N before running out of the room, rushing to the kitchen.

 Y/N reached for some warm wool blankets that hung at the end of Troy’s bed while Nick lifted her up to get her under the sheets. “God Y/B/N, why did you have to run back to there?” Y/N whispered, noticing the tear stains shattered down Y/B/N’s face along with her smeared mascara. Nick ran his hand through his hair as he paced the room back and forth. He knew that Y/B/N did not look well, but he tried to not say anything to upset Y/N but instead kept a watch out for Troy.

 -

 Troy rushed through all of the people around the ranch, making his way into the kitchen and finding Madison there, sighing in relief as he found her, almost knocking her over as he bumped into her. “Madison, please, you need to help us out.”

 “Woah, okay. What’s wrong?” She asked, glancing up and seeing Troy nervously rub the back of his neck as he choked on some tears.

 “It’s Y/B/N, I think she’s got hypothermia. She didn’t return to her room last night after those two intruders were caught and slept outside. I-I don’t know what to do.”

 Madison’s eyes went wide, “Take me to her, now. We need to get her into the infirmary if that’s the case.” Troy nodded and rushed out of the kitchen with Madison attached at his hip.

 Back in Troy’s cabin, Y/N couldn’t help but shake again as she placed the blankets over her best friend, all of the anger that she had boiling inside of her running through her once more. Out of all of the places those two could’ve found themselves, it had to be where the we finally felt safe, Y/N thought to herself, rubbing where her friend’s left hand was under the wool blanket gently, gasping at how icy she still was even under the thick material.

 “Nick, this isn’t good. She’s still cold to the touch and she has been under these blankets for a while.” Y/N said, the worriness apparent in her voice.

 Nick came up to where Y/N was sitting on the bed and glanced down at Y/B/N, noticing that her skin had begun to appear more pale than it had previously. He leaned his ear over where her mouth was, noticing that her breathing was very low and rigid. Before he could get a word out to Y/N, Madison and Troy came through the door and rushed to Y/B/N’s side.

 “Shit, is she breathing at all?” Madison asked, repeating the same action that Nick had just done moments before.

 “Barely.” Nick stated, glancing over to Y/N and Troy who both looked at one another, both trying to keep themselves together.

 “We need to get her into the infirmary now. Troy, I need you to carry her. Nick, Y/N, grab all of the blankets that you can find in here. We will also have to have someone go heat up some chicken broth for her to sip on to warm her when she wakes up.” Madison said, throwing the blankets away from Y/B/N’s body for Troy to lean down and carry her out of the room gently to where the infirmary was located. Nick and Y/N followed behind, both carrying the blankets along with them

 Madison motioned over to Troy for which bed to place Y/B/N on and began to remove the previous clothes that she had on into ones that were more warm for her. Troy watched intently as Madison and some of the other ranchers assisting in the infirmary began to hook Y/B/N to some oxygen to help her with her breathing and an IV, wrapping the multiple blankets that were gathered from his room over her one by one and placing Troy’s army jacket over her shoulders, careful to not disturb her too much. He couldn’t help but let some of the stray tears that he felt well up in his eyes. He had gone soft for this girl quickly, but she had been able to fill his heart like no one else had been able to before.

 Nick pulled Y/N close to him, hugging her tightly. Y/N couldn’t help but let some of her tears fall on his shirt; she felt that no matter who hard she tried, the tears would never subside. Nick didn’t mind, he knew that she was hurting and he was going to do all that she could to help her. Before he was able to say anything to her, Jake rushed into the infirmary with Alicia close behind him, both frowning at the sight of Y/B/N.

 “Oh my god...what happened to her?” Jake asked, approaching his brother.

 Troy wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve, glancing down at Y/B/N before focusing his attention on his brother, “We’re thinking she’s got hypothermia...she slept outside last night, guess she lost track of time.”

 Jake could tell by Troy’s tone and the look in his eyes that he cared about her, so he tried his best to comfort him, placing his hand over Troy’s right shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. He sighed before removing his hand and rubbing the back of his neck. “I know that this is such a shitty time, but we need to go check on those guys that tried to break into the ranch last night. We need to keep pressing them for answers, maybe figure out what we can do with them.”

 Troy nodded and turned to look at Madison, “You will keep an eye on her for us, right?”

 “Go on, she’s in good hands.” Madison smiled, adjusting one of the blankets that was placed over Y/B/N’s body.

 Troy nodded and then glanced to Nick, motioning for him to come along. Before Nick could move, Y/N grabbed his hand, stopping him in his tracks.

 “Let me come with you.”

 “Y/N-” Nick began before Y/N interrupted him.

 “No, just...I can handle them, okay?”

 Nick nodded at her before turning back to face Troy, Jake, and Alicia, who all nodded in agreement before heading out of the infirmary together. Nick gripped Y/N’s hand tighter as they followed along. Y/N knew that she was going to be face to face with Jack and Steven once again, but she knew she needed to do this; she needed to face them once and for all.

 Y/N’s hand gripped Nick’s as they walked towards the building Jack and Steven were held in, feeling her heart pound against her chest. Nick glanced down at the girl, frowning slightly at the nervous state she’s in, feeling her hand shake in his. He brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a small kiss to it as she looked up at him.

 “Just stay behind me, okay?” He asked her and she nodded her head, linking her arm with his as Troy opened the door. The four of them walked in, Y/N’s breath hitching as she saw Jack, memories of them playing through her head.

 “Oh look, the psycho brought friends.” Jack muttered, not seeing Y/N yet as she stood behind Nick, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand. “Here to torture us some more?” He asked, a smirk on his lips as Troy laughed slightly.

 “If you don’t answer the questions… maybe. I’m starting to think you actually like it, Jack.” Troy muttered, crouching down in front of him slightly.

 Y/N moved to her left slightly, trying to get a better view of them as her eyes connected with Jack’s. The anger began to boil in her, thinking about when him and his asshole friend left her and Y/B/N for dead.

 “You son of a bitch.” She muttered angrily, starting to walk towards him as Nick wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her back. “Nick let me go.” Y/N growled, glaring at her shitty ex-boyfriend as his lips parted in shock.

 “Wow, Y/N. I’m surprised you’re actually alive. Aren’t you going to tell your friends to free us? C’mon Y/N, baby.” Jack muttered softly and Nick stepped forward as Alicia grabbed Y/N. Nick stared down at Jack with a glare, he licked his lips a bit.

 “Do me a favor, say her name again.” Nick growled, narrowing his eyes at him. Jack laughed maniacally, shaking his head.

 “What you got a little crush on, Y/N?” Jack asked, smirking as Nick stood up. “Yeah that’s right. You won’t do anything.” He muttered and Nick closed his eyes for a second as his back was facing Jack. Nick quickly turned around, punching Jack in the face, knocking him off the chair, noticing the cut rope. Nick climbed on top of him, continuing to punch his face.

 “Nick! Nick stop!” Y/N yelled, getting out of Alicia’s grip, running over to them. Troy helped get Nick off of the beaten up man, her hands gripping his arms as Nick glanced up at her. “Stop. He’s not worth it.” She whispered and Nick stood up, his arm wrapping around her waist, leading her away from Jack.

 “Really Y/N,” Jack started, everyone glancing towards him as Y/N furrowed her eyebrows together. “You picked this guy over me. I mean, he’s no where near good looking as I am.” He muttered, wiping the blood off his nose. Nick went towards him again, Y/N stopping him as she continued forward.

 Y/N crouched, narrowing her eyes at this asshole as she laughed. “You really believe I’d forgive you for what you did? What the two of you did? You left us for dead, with nothing.” She growled, her eyes darkening with anger.

 “That’s not true.” He tried to lied and Y/N slapped him across the face. Jack’s eyes widened, holding his hand to his cheek.

 “Stop lying. You two know exactly what you did. Also, Nick’s not an asshole like you.” She muttered, standing back up, walking towards Nick. Jack growled slightly, slowly slipping the knife out from his pocket.

 He got up quickly, quickly walking towards Y/N with the knife in his hand. “Just fucking die, bitch.” Jack growled, raising the knife up. Nick pulled out his brass knuckles knife, stabbing Jack in the chest before his blade could come close to the girl he cared about.

 “Wrong move, buddy.” Nick muttered darkly, pulling the knife out of his chest as Jack fell to the floor, coughing up blood. Steven gasped, yelling loudly as he ran towards us.

 “You’re going to pay for this.” Steven told them, reaching for Jack’s knife. A gunshot went off, making Y/N jump as she gripped Nick’s shirt. Steven’s breath hitched, his chest beginning to bleed as he fell to the ground next to Jack, gasping for air.

 Y/N glanced towards Troy as he held his gun, the smoke coming out of the barrel. He glared at the two dying men, kneeling next to them. “I wonder how long it’ll take for you to turn. That was for putting Y/B/N and her best friend in danger.” Troy muttered lowly, laughing a bit as he stood back up.

 “Troy, we have to put them down.” Jake tried to reason and Troy shook his head. “Troy!”

 “They deserve to rot. They don’t deserve mercy.” He muttered, walking out of the building. He sent in two soldiers to grab the bodies, placing them outside the ranch before they turn. Y/N sighed, feeling a little relieved.