#i didn't expect them to say they thought they already knew they were soulmates. that's so interesting

[mlobsters]

jared padalecki and jensen ackles spn dc con 2024 - main panel (youtube)

Q: In season 5 episode Dark Side of the Moon, Sam and Dean found out that they were soulmates and it was never really addressed after that, so what did they think when they found that out? Jared: I think they knew.

[pha55ed]

You and I | F2 (kimi bday celly!)

type ::fluff tw/cw :: fem!reader for all :( contains :: kimi!, ollie, paul, pepe request :: you and i w kimi ollie paul & pepe plsss (literally my top 4 drivers LOLL im surprised by how many f2 requests there are) link to kimi bday celly!

Kimi Antonelli | 04

Being one of the only girls in F2 meant that you were basically shipped with everyone on the grid, no matter if you ever talked to them. It was odd, but you expected all the ships to die down eventually, which most did. Except one ship: you and Kimi. It made sense, since you both are teammates after all.

Kimi doesn't know how to react to the shipping. Because on one hand, he knows it's inappropriate since you're teammates but on the other hand, he has a huge crush on you so he doesn't really mind it. So he's stuck in the middle, not sure what to do when asked anything about you.

When people ask him things like, "Have you seen the (Y/N) x Kimi fans?" or "Have you considered dating (Y/N)?" he just awkwardly laughs. Which is the worse option he could have done, since it just fueled the fanbase even more because he wasn't outright denying it.

But, he might have planned that: since he does love seeing all the edits of you two together :)

Ollie Bearman | 87

Since he's one of the most popular F2 drivers, he's already experienced being shipped with other people often. But usually he's shipped with boys, and he's comfortable with his sexuality to not get offended by the shipping since he knows he's not gay. The only issue now with being shipped with you is 1. you're a girl, 2. he does like you.

Whenever he's asked about you, he gets slightly flustered. It's clear to many that he might have a crush on you, but thanks to his delusional fan girls (I'm one of them) they spam Twitter and Instagram stating that you're just platonic soulmates with Ollie.

But Ollie is secretly basking in the ship edits of you and him. He doesn't want to be your platonic soulmate, he just wants to be your soulmate, period. Since he scrolls online so often to keep feeding his crush on you, he accidentally likes one of the ship edits.

This sends twitter into a meltdown, tons of moms and teen girls sobbing over Ollie basically confirming that he likes you. But thankfully, they gaslight themselves into thinking he thought it was a platonic edit. He knew damn well what he liked, but he's not allowed to say anything since it's a risk for PR and contracts - having two drivers date each other can get messy so fast. But he'd be ready to risk it all for you.

Paul Aron | 17

He's surprisingly bashful about the ships of you two, it's cute to watch him turn slightly pink in the ears and cheek at the mention of your ship name. Whenever he's asked about you, he can't help but try and lead the interviewer on - yet never give them a full answer of your relationship.

Your team won't allow you two to date, due to the high stakes and PR damage it would do. Especially since you're both so sought after - Paul being wanted by every girl, and you being wanted by every boy. But Paul didn't care for any girl besides you, you're all he wants and he's determined to get you. Most likely by dating under the table, hiding it from the world.

Whenever interviewers ask him things about his love life, he always hints that he has his eye on someone. Or whenever he's blantanlty asked about you, he can't help but smile a little and give a cheeky shrug, since he can't speak much on the matter.

As your teammate, he does try to flirt with you - but not in a douchebag way. Which is surprisingly, since his Instagram posts and friends scream frat-boy, he's different from them. He tries to take it slow with you, not wanting to scare you away by being seeming like a weirdo or asshole in any way.

Pepe Marti | 21

Being shipped with you made him happy and he's unable to hide that. He's naturally super smiley, so when he hears your name - it's almost as if you can see his tail wag at the mention of you. Just like a puppy, he has major puppy-love for you.

But he tries his best to not feed into the ships due to it going against the contracts and policies in place. His face just can't hide it though, he's grinning ear to ear when asked if he would ever date you. Only for him to reply, "Only if I got the chance to :)"

Basically: he makes your PR team work overtime to ensure the audience that you two are JUST friends. But it's hard to do when Pepe straight up tries to hold your hand in the paddock. Or when he posts on Instagram that you're visiting his family for dinner.

Thankfully, the PR are great at manipulating the public to believe you two are just friends - which you are technically,,, but you both know you're so much more than that.

[shalotttower]

A Heart Deceived

Title: A Heart Deceived

Fandom: Far Cry 5

Characters: Jacob Seed x Reader (female)

Summary: AU where soulmates share the same marking and Jacob doesn't have to brand you any further.

Word count: 2900+

Notes: soulmates, yandere!Jacob Seed, Reader is not the Deputy, captivity, violence, emotional manipulation, dub-con kissing, scars and injuries description: Reader has a mutilated ear and facial scars from a wolf attack and is not happy about it, a mild form of Stockholm Syndrome.

His fingers are surprisingly gentle. You don't expect it from him, the gentleness, Jacob is not kind or caring. Jacob is not warm, not nurturing, not indulgent. Yet his thumb skims across your jaw with quiet focus. Down the side of your neck, up your chin to follow the slanted line there, then it repeats the whole procedure on a different scar. They had long healed by now and turned into uneven ridges of mismatched tissue.

It hurt when the damned wolf bit you, the next day, and for many following days; the effective and precise killing machine aimed for the throat, and if you didn't twist the last moment, would have succeeded.

Jacob never punished the wolf, it was serving its purpose, while you, you were supposed to think before acting and understand the possible consequences.

The pain could be endured and later forgotten, what could not was the humiliation of lying on the dirty ground and the shiny view of Jacob's boots growing larger until they stopped in the line of your vision. A moment of painful awareness: the escape attempt which failed so abruptly and so brutally had become laughable. Jacob grabbed your hair and shook you like a disobedient puppy. "That's on you, sweetheart. Be wary of the quiet ones, they say."

Those last words sounded as if he were talking to himself, rather than anyone else.

"I warned you."

He did.

Jacob is right, not in everything, but in many things. One can try and deny it, another can scoff, but the bottom line is the same: Jacob is right in many things, and at times it's better to listen. Even despite an involuntary gagging reaction.

Your heart hammered and every single beat of it brought to the surface what you already knew — there would be no other attempts. The paleness from fear or perhaps blood loss must've shown on your face, because he let go of you and crouched down. "Pathetic."

It lacked genuine heat, disappointment, or any emotion. Being disappointed would mean that Jacob expected something in the first place. He pulled off his jacket and pressed it to your face, stemming the bleeding. The ground seemed more interesting than ever, dry soil dotted with rocks and grass blades scattered everywhere, trampled by people's feet.

You don't want to look at him or acknowledge the touch to a small sword on your wrist, identical to the one above his left elbow. The mark is a clean reminder and a binding claim for life. You don't want to see it or remember how Jacob's face twisted when he realized just who you were.

Like someone had slapped him.

A lot has happened; Montana turned different from what you saw on TV and the world suddenly shifted under your feet, rearranged from a little road trip across the states into his territory, his commands, his people. A part of you — a foolish, soft part — wished you could've met under different circumstances, in a different place and you told him once about it in a moment of weakness. Jacob stilled at first, but then kept cleaning his gun. "We're here, sweetheart. Nothing we can do 'bout it."

Could've beens and never happeneds weren't worth wasting thoughts on.

Now Jacob is tracing your scars. He's not handsome, not really, there's too much roughness to the lines of his face, dark circles and untrimmed beard, but... you frown. You don't know how to describe Jacob Seed or why you even bother trying. It's odd to think about him this way. Weird.

Jacob catches your eyes. "What?"

You close them. "Nothing."

He makes a noncommittal sound, then leans in. The kiss to your forehead is unexpected and brief. A lot of them are — quick kisses on your temple when Jacob thinks you're asleep, on your nape when he leaves the bed before dawn. They make you wonder just what he wants from you.

He never expects affection back.

Doesn't try anything further, and you both are suspended in this limbo, neither being the first to break it, nor acknowledge its growing significance with every passing day. One part of you craves it, to yield in a different way, not because it is required, but because you want, yet Jacob doesn't ask, so perhaps it's for the better.

Another gets nauseous. He breaks people. Like dry twigs, discarding the pieces when they have no more use. You've seen his Chosen training until they begged, cried and crawled, their pride crushed along with the body.

There are days you can't bear looking at him.

***

Sometimes, sometimes, you wish him dead and gone from the world, then the mark on your wrist aches like a fresh wound.

"When will you take off the chain?" You ask and wiggle your foot a bit. It's long enough to reach the bathroom, to wander around the quarters, but not to walk outside. Jacob doesn't look up from his book. The cover is worn out and you suspect he read it many times already, military stuff. Strategy. Survival tactics, you have no idea.

"When I know you've learned your lesson."

So, not today.

You sigh and roll onto your stomach. "It's stupid."

He doesn't respond.

It's annoying more than anything. Reason — you're his soulmate, not some runaway cow ready to get lost in Montana wilderness — didn't help and only gained you a blank stare followed by a lock click. The chain rattles with each movement, loud and distracting; Jacob just keeps reading as if nothing happens.

Sometimes, sometimes, you catch yourself thinking that this isn't so bad after all. He treats you well for a cult leader: fed, clothed, clean, sheltered. Compared to the cages his future Chosen sleep in, you don't get to complain. You have a comfortable bed instead of cold dirty floor, normal meals rather than a chunk of raw meat, privacy and silence without old school music 24/7.

You frown. No, it's not nice. It's Stockholm Syndrome, plain and simple. You should be free, away from this place.

"Are you angry?"

Jacob turns another page. "No."

His room smells of pine wood and gun oil, with an undertone of metal. The furniture is scarce and practical. A wardrobe, a desk with a radio placed on top, one bookshelf. Bare walls except for a giant map pinned opposite the bed; you've memorized all the markings on it during your stay. The areas which got liberated by Deputy are red, his outposts are circled in blue. Jacob doesn't talk about Deputy much, but the way he clenches his jaw over the radio frequency makes you think they must be a real pain in the ass.

Secretly you hope they blow Eden's Gate HQ to pieces soon.

What would it mean for you?

These are questions, vague and inappropriately timed, coming to mind. What if Deputy happens to eventually tear the Project apart? They escaped John, escaped Jacob and you were to personally witness his foul mood for two days straight. You overhear bits and pieces of conversations, the Chosen talk if they think no one listens — Deputy is strong and clever. Persistent and cunning. Maybe that's the reason Jacob's so obsessed with them.

What if...

You glance at him from under your eyelashes and rub the mark. They say there's a connection between soulmates. If one dies, another experiences it on a physical level. Jacob said that was bullshit. His brother didn't confirm or deny when you asked him after a sermon.

Joseph Seed unnerves you. Not just because he believes himself to be God's vessel. There is something in his voice, quiet and soothing like the distant rolls of thunder, it raises goosebumps when he starts preaching and you're forced to sit through it. Something in his eyes behind yellow-tinted glasses sends shivers down your spine, very little to do with his religious fanaticism.

What would you feel if Jacob died?

The thought creates an unpleasant twist in your stomach, unwanted bond or not, it leaves you queasy. You curl on the bed. Jacob has reading glasses, you barely held back a snort the first time you saw them propped up his nose. He shoots a flat look from above the pages but doesn't comment on your inquisitive stare.

By now you know when to speak and to remain silent (mostly). He dislikes unruly ones and finds satisfaction showing them just how insignificant they are, how mistaken in every single sense. Weak. That's why you annoy him mildly when feeling particularly brave or in need of interaction, but never play soldier or power. It triggers something which is best avoided, gets people punished, then shot in front of others. Or sent for trials, you're not sure which is worse.

Jacob marks a page and sets the book aside. "What?"

"What 'what'?" You ask back, fiddling with the hem of a grey camouflage shirt. It's way too big on your frame, Jacob likes the look of it, judging by how much of your wardrobe consists of his stuff now that you don't leave the room.

"I can hear the wheels in your head turning, spit it out."

"What would happen to me if something... happened to you?"

You're afraid of saying 'if you die' because it's final, even though Jacob seems invincible most of the times. A mountain against hurricanes. Yet everyone dies eventually and the Deputy keeps winning against all odds set before them.

"Nothing. Joseph takes care of you."

This is news, and frankly not the answer you hoped for.

('You'd go free' was. He didn't say 'I won't die' either.)

Tension seeps into your shoulders without a conscious thought. "Why? I am nobody to him."

"You are my soulmate," Jacob replies, simple as that, like it explains everything. Perhaps in their cult world it does, but not yours.

"So?"

He pats his thigh.

It's a gesture without much interpretation required, but you stay rooted on the bed. Cautious. You've grown familiar with each other after living together for months — sharing a space tends to do this to people — still tonight is different, full with awkwardness you haven't felt since that time he walked in on you changing.

Jacob's stare is intense. Heavy, cold blue eyes linger on your wrist where the sword surrounded by flames peeks from under the long sleeve. You swallow a lump in your throat and get up on unsteady legs.

"So he will do it out of memory. You're family, pup, whether you wish it or not."

With the same caution you sit on his lap, war memories written in pink-red skin decorate his face. Just like yours, you think, the only difference is the place and origin. There's something intimate about being like this. Jacob holds you in place once you settle down, not comfortable, but not exactly uncomfortable either.

"Never took you for a cuddly type," you say to shield yourself from growing unease. "Why the change?"

Jacob's thumb presses to the corner of your lips. "Got tired of those puppy eyes staring at me the whole evening, sweetheart. You can have a closer look."

"I don't have puppy eyes. And maybe I like looking from afar."

"Yeah?"

His beard has a prickly feeling to it.

You know your face will never be the same after what happened. From his point of view, Jacob can probably see where the scars begin in the hairline, then continue downwards only an inch away from your eye; small miracles and such. Half of your ear is missing, a good solid chunk. It's not a nice look.

"Don't touch them," you mutter.

You don't mean to share your thoughts in such an abrupt manner, but these intimate moments become a source of discomfort, like a sharp, twisting knife. Jacob doesn't flinch at the sight, he probably saw worse things, still it feels humiliating being reminded of your shortcomings and the fact that this is your face — permanently marked.

Jacob doesn't stop.

"Beauty dies fast, darlin'," he says slowly. "This here... this'll stay."

He never sugarcoats anything. Never lies to spare feelings, ruthless and pragmatic with a clear understanding of what matters and what doesn't. Only the weak need empty reassurances; his words. You hate this side of Jacob just as much as admire it on occasion, right now you wish he said something else. Beauty dies fast.

"Thank you Jacob, very comforting. Top ten phrases you should tell someone who got mauled by a Judge." You cross your arms, wondering why the hell are you talking about this. With Jacob. The worst choice possible to bring up sensitive topics, or maybe the only one, since there's not a lot of people around anyway.

"I ain't here to stroke your ego, sweetheart. This," he traces a scar, "is a lesson to remember. Next time when thinking 'bout running — think again and think good."

There will be no next time regardless of how he phrases it. The chain rattles every night when you shift under the blankets and falls down with an annoying bang as soon as you get up. There's nowhere to run too, the Whitetail Mountains belong to Jacob, he rules them like a king would rule his kingdom, with iron fist and strict order, and who knows what the local Resistance will do to you if they catch you first.

If they figure out whose soulmate you are.

You're trapped between the Deputy destroying outposts and Jacob hunting them across the region, like a mouse stuck in a corner while cats keep prowling around.

The sky outside has an orange-pink hue, casting Jacob's face into soft light and deep shadows. He takes off his glasses, setting them on the book's cover, then wipes a stray tear from the corner of your eye. "You gonna cry over looks?"

You sniffle. "Yes. I wish I never met you."

He stiffens. For a second you worry it might have pushed a wrong button. Jacob never hurt you physically, still there's a healthy dose of fear, not necessarily born out of past experiences. At times his presence just radiates off in silent waves so thick you can feel them crashing into yourself before he walks away and doesn't return for days, leaving you alone with the Chosen stationed behind the doors to watch over and report back to their Herald.

Jacob leans closer until your foreheads almost press into each other.

He doesn't initiate touch often. Once in a while he lets you sleep on his arm instead of a pillow or allows you to sit closer than usual during meals, but that's it. There are boundaries set, most of them are unspoken rules which you picked up along the way: you can ask questions and be generally yourself within reason — as long as it doesn't border on disrespect, Jacob will tolerate occasional attitude in very small doses; you can request certain items provided he approves; he prefers silence during breakfast.

Never challenge him publicly and don't talk bad about his siblings.

This confession can't be taken back, nor do you wish to, because it's true. You regret meeting him, and it was much better to wonder and guess, create images of a faceless man somewhere in the depths of your mind and fantasize about possibilities. How does one even go back to normal life after this?

(Not that any chance of doing so exists in the foreseeable future.)

"I figured, darlin'," Jacob says finally. His voice lacks anger, as if he expected those words one day or another, Jacob isn't naive or stupid and is surprisingly aware of himself in a lot of matters, of the fact that very little would want to end up where he dragged you and being imprisoned under the heavy metal chain doesn't add to fond memories either. "Fair enough."

In all months you two lived together, sharing food and space, in all months, he never kissed you.

Now he does.

His lips are chapped, dry and slightly rough.

You find yourself going rigid at first, unsure what to make out of it. It's different from what you imagined, the fantasy version seemed more... violent and harsh, less intimate and private. He breaks the kiss briefly and then resumes it again.

Slow-slow-quick, Jacob steals your breath away bit by bit until your head spins, until your hands feel clammy and then, when you think you can't take it any longer, he pulls back.

"Won't apologize 'bout the scars, pup. You deserved a lesson."

Your throat feels parched.

"But not of this kind. Never wanted it for you."

It doesn't sound apologetic, neither regretful, but it is what it is, probably the closest to it Jacob will ever be capable of. His hand strokes the back of your neck in slow and repetitive circles, and in an odd way, it does seem soothing.

He takes you to bed minutes later, maneuvers you closer under the sheets and turns off the light. The window is open letting in the sounds of evening wildlife: crickets chirp loudly nearby, some owl hoots in the distance; Montana smells different than other states. Sharper, wilder. You lie like this for a bit, curled against his side and he's always so fucking warm, a human furnace incarnate.

"The moment I saw the marking — I wished you never met me too."

[krystalcat]

can I get a slight fluffy soulmate au ot8 oneshot of (me) meeting ateez after a show and catching their interest when I say something in my native language out of nervousness 🙈

since I am kinda tall (172cm), to have that as a mental image

Of course! This was my first time writing a soulmate AU, so I had to search a little to be sure of the story ideas. I hope I didn't drive away from what you were expecting and that you enjoy this! Also I'm so incredibly sorry for taking so long to post this, I was constantly rewriting the ending but finally came with something I also enjoyed.

This is also my first time writing ot8 so I tried my best to every member have some spotlight as well

What Is Love?

ღ Pairing: AteezOT8 x afab!Reader ღ Genre: Fluff, Soulmate AU ღ Word count: 1,8k ღ Warnings: some cursing and I think that's it ღ Summary: For everyone, it was a known fact that the name of someone's soulmate appeared on their skin after meeting them. Spending your whole life watching your friends and acquaintances getting those marks on their skin made you believe perhaps you didn't have an assigned soulmate. ღ Disclaimer: This is only fiction, by writing this I am not trying to represent the members in any way. Not proofread!

It was that time of the year again, a week before Valentine’s day. Once again, you were out with your girl friends in a cafe, discussing how everyone was spending their Valentine’s day with their soulmates. Except you.

Your 23rd birthday was coming up, and you still didn’t find your soulmate, despite visiting tons of places and currently living in the South Korea. Almost every one you knew had already found theirs, so saying you didn’t feel left behind was a blatant lie, despite it being no one’s fault.

At this point you had lost hope, you accepted you were part of the small minority who didn’t have an assigned soulmate. Your friends and parents suggested that you could start a relationship with someone else who also didn’t have a soulmate, and oh man you tried. Unfortunately, there was either always a spark missing or your date had to tell you they had found their soulmate.

It felt like it was destined for you to be forever alone, like the stars played a cruel prank on you.

“Yn? Did you hear me?” One of your friends woke you up from your deep thoughts, making you realize the table was looking at you.

“Sorry what was it? I was just thinking about something”

“Do you have any plans for Valentine’s day?” The same friend asked you, almost in a whisper. They knew they were touching a sensitive topic, but they still had hoped this year would be different from all the others.

“Probably the same as last year, being alone on my apartment and binge-watch some movies and series” The air now thick after your answer, leaving your friends both feeling bad for their nosiness and your situation.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with you, but I think I should go. I shouldn’t make you guys feel bad for something that is out of your control” You grabbed your things and gave them your part of the bill.

“Wait, just to make sure, you’re going to Ateez’s show tomorrow right?” She asked after you got up

“Of course I am, bye!” All three of them said goodbye as well as you left the café, making your way back to your apartment.

Seeing all the couples hugging and holding their hands felt like a stab in your heart, you just wanted to know what it was like to feel loved. You wanted to know what love felt like. Was it sweet like candy? Was it addicting? Could it make you feel like you were in heaven? Could it hurt you?

Ever since your teenage years those questions lingered around your mind, still left unanswered.

«—— ღ ——»

You were now waiting outside for Ateez to leave their music show to greet the fans, it was your first time going to one of the k-pop music shows, so you had no idea of how it functioned, but nevertheless you had a great time watching Ateez perform.

By the end your throat was sore from all the cheering and fan-chanting, you would hype each and every members during their parts along with your friend, despite knowing your screams would combine with everyone else’s. Every single one of the members looked so charming and charismatic with their stylish outfits and stage presence, too bad they couldn’t manage to get the win, losing only by a few points, you would’ve loved to hear them sing the encore as well.  

“Look yn!” Your friend patted your arm as screams erupted, making you look up from your cellphone, the members were leaving. Lucky you, they were passing right by your side, just on the other side of the iron fence.

You nervously clutched the album you brought for them to sign, your mind rehearsing what you would say. It wasn't every day that you got to meet your favorite group, after all.

The members approached, greeting fans and signing merchandise. As they drew nearer, you couldn't help but marvel at their charisma and genuine smiles. One by one, they signed your album, each exchange leaving you more in awe than the last.

When it was finally your turn to meet Hongjoong  you felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. You handed him the album, and he smiled warmly, ready to engage in a brief conversation.

As you stammered through your words, you inadvertently let out a nervous laugh and muttered something in your native language. The members exchanged curious glances, and Hongjoong's eyes lit up with interest. He leaned in, asking, "What language was that?"

You blushed, realizing you had unintentionally piqued their interest. "Oh, sorry, that was just my native language. I tend to switch to it when I'm nervous."

Seonghwa, who was standing nearby, grinned and joined the conversation. "It sounded beautiful. What did you say?"

You smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease. "I just said that meeting ATEEZ feels like a dream come true."

The members exchanged appreciative glances, and Yunho chimed in "We feel the same about meeting our fans. It's like a dream for us too"

They brisked towards the van, continuing greeting the other fans until disappearing inside of the van. You could see some of the girls looking at you weirdly, but as you stared down at them they diverted their gaze and stomped away.

“Girl you were noticed by them! We need to tell the others about this! It was so cool and honestly a little funny when you basically said ‘fuck off’ with your stare to the other fangirls”

After talking for a little while, you said your goodbyes and went to your house.

«—— ღ ——»

You tossed your little purse anywhere and took off your shoes right after closing the door behind you. You immediately went to the bathroom, pulling your hoodie sleeves up to wash your face after a long day. It seems only now your face had cooled a little.

But you noticed something on your right arm, the Ateez’s members names were written on it. You scrunched your eyes, not remembering when you had written their names there, shrugging your shoulders after thinking it was probably something you and your friend did out of boredom waiting for the queue to the music show.

Grabbing some soap and washing your arms didn’t seem to work, which made you even more confused, and then it dawned on you: it was your soulmate mark.

Water kept splashing against the sink as you kept staring at their names with an agape mouth. After all this time cursing the destiny at how you didn’t have a soulmate, you had finally gotten, not one, not two, but eight of them.

But now there was another problem: how the hell were you supposed to see them again? Their promotions are ending, they don’t have any fansign planned anytime sooner and you sure as hell wouldn’t be stalking them with a chance to talk to them. Especially when they didn’t even have your name, sure they might have it on their arm now, but who could say they would associate your faceto the name on their arm?

Needless to say you barely slept that night, and the one after that, trying to find a solution to no avail. It seemed like you had to wait even more time before you could meet them once again and talk about all of this.

«—— ღ ——»

It is now Valentine’s day, and you still haven’t seen the members. At this point you had accepted you would only see them next comeback season, which at least 4 months waiting. Different from the other years, where you would hide in your cave, today you were going for a walk, seeing the various couples dining in restaurants.

You were only sad you couldn’t spend the day with your soulmates, deep down knowing sooner or later you would meet them once again.

You sat on a bench, still seeing all the lively cafes and restaurants adorned with red and pink decorations, music buzzing through the walls, the loving gazes couples would give to their significant other.

“Excuse me?” A voice behind you interrupted your thoughts, “Is this yours? It was on the floor” turning around you saw a man wearing a mask holding a butterfly hair pin, touching your hair, you realized it was actually yours.

“Yes it is, thank you” He gave the pin back and walked away after mumbling a ‘you’re welcome’, you pin it on your hair more securely and turn to the path you were facing before, only to turn your head back once more when you hear quick footsteps approaching you.

The same man from before sprints into your direction, stopping in front of you, “Ex-Excuse me once again,” He says between breaths, “Is your name y/n?” You quirk your eyebrow, backing away from the man.

He takes off his mask, leaving you dumbfounded: it was San, Ateez’s San right in front of you, in casual attire. “I’m so sorry for scaring you, I realized you seemed like a girl I saw a few days ago” He backed away, giving you some space.

“Y-Yes I’m y/n, I’m the one you saw”

“Oh my God, we thought we’d never see you again” He gave you one of his signature dimple smiles, turning your belly into mush. “Are you busy? Do you have any place to be?”

“No, I was going back home in a few minutes”

“I’m actually a bit late to a dinner with the other members, but I’m sure they would forgive my carelessness if I brought a guest, don’t you think?” Nodding, San put his mask back on and gave you his hand - which you obviously accepted - guiding you to the restaurant.

«—— ღ ——»

They were dining in a secluded part of the restaurant, as you greeted them with a smile, you could see them changing their annoyed demeanor (due to San being late) to a surprised and happy one and called for the waiter to add another plate.

As the dinner progressed, you quickly began getting used to their attention and personalities. It was crazy how you turned from strangers to lovers in such limited time.

You finally understood what is love. Love is unconditional, the greatest gift you could ever give or receive. Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own. To love is to be vulnerable, to trust others. Love is pain, and the enjoyment of it is anesthetic. To love is to admire with your heart, and to see something positive in every person. It is blind and the energy of life.

But you’d choose it everyday over being alone in a world devoid of connection and warmth.

[mccn-bcys]

JUST A TOUCH OF YOUR HAND pt. 3

pairing: moonboys x fem!reader

summary: jake finally makes his debut to ask the reader a question the boys have been dying to ask. reader gives her answer and jake is just a cutie.

warning: jake (he's a warning, yes), just some nice fluff for ya.

authors note: okay ik a lot of you have been wanting this chapter for a long time (sorry about the long wait, I had a lot going on the past couple of months). this chapter isn't as long as the others but it just felt right to have this one be short and sweet. the next chapter, maybe we'll see some more of marc 😏🤭

word count: 1,028

and then there was jake. it was funny actually. he'd been dreaming of meeting his soulmate since he had gotten the stain. and he had so badly wanted to meet you when you first brushed against their hand on the sidewalk that day.

god how he wanted to meet you. and yet he couldn't make himself front. even when steven or marc would hand it over to him, especially when you'd plan days to meet and spend with him, he just couldn't front.

none of them understood it. it's like he'd freeze up. it was eating him up. he was pretty sure he was in love with you – actually he was positive he was in love with you. and he'd never even actually met you!

you, being the amazing person you were, were so patient with him. whenever you'd see the boys on the days you were going to meet jake, and find out he wasn't fronting, you'd have marc or steven tell him you didn't mind waiting.

"you boys are all worth waiting for," you'd say, making them melt.

and jake would try more to front around you and it just wouldn't happen. he couldn't figure out why. although on a deeper level, he knew why.

he supposed he wasn't much different than marc. as much of a hopeless romantic as he was, he also knew his reputation. it was said reputation that caused him to romanticize the thought of a soulmate. he never really thought himself capable of being loved. if marc thought his hands were stained with blood, jake was swimming in it.

if he was realistic, he couldn't imagine why you would love him. he was ruthless, he could be cold, he had a tendency to shut people out if they got too close.

But he wanted you to get too close. He wanted to able to talk to you, learn about you and not through the other two. He wanted to hold you and comfort you, and be held and be comforted by you.

but like marc, he'd been scared. scared you'd run for it, if you knew him. everyone else did.

and yet here you were: sitting across the table, smiling so wide, eyes so patient, like he's your favorite person in the world. if you kept going, he's sure he would probably cry.

"jake?" you called cautiously, breaking him from his thoughts. his eyes snap to yours, smiling at you. he thinks: 'they're right...the way she says our names is addicting.'

"sí, amor?" he answers softly, but you seem to brighten up even more.

"yes," you simply said.

his eyebrows furrow. had he asked a question?

yes, you did, you bloody idiot!

holy shit...she actually said yes...

"yes?" he repeated, since his alters weren't helping him at all.

you laughed at that, at him seemingly forgetting his own question. he loved that sound.

"you asked me to move in," you reminded him patiently.

"and you said yes?"

"I did."

"but you don't know me," he tries to reason, because how on earth would you have agreed to move in with the mess of these three men?

"I know that i love marc and steven, and if I love them, i already love you too," were you trying to kill him?

"why?"

that threw you for a loop. you hadn't been expecting it. why did you love this man you've never actually met?

"well...for starters, we're soulmates-"

"that doesn't mean that I'm not a terrible person." steven had warned you of this. that he might try to talk of himself like this.

"but you're not-"

"you don't know that."

"except that I do."

"how could you possibly know that?"

"because I just do-"

"amor, that's not an answ-"

"I know because you're a weirdo who wears gloves while he drives a limo. You send a bouquet of my favorite flowers every time you can't front when we planned. I know because I can feel you follow me home every night after work when you're patrolling, making sure I get home safe. I know because marc's told me that you can't pass a cat without petting it. I know because I *know.* You're a *good man,* jake," you say, looking at him completely serious.

and for the first time in a long time, every voice in his head is silent. they're at a loss for words. there's this strange feeling in jake's heart and he's never felt it before.

what is that, he thinks.

that's love, jake.

it feels like a heart attack.

yeah...it's great, innit?

you watch him closely while he's silent, watching to see if you've overstepped somehow. to try and see what he's feeling. amd when he stands, you're worried he's leaving. that he's going to change his mind about wanting you to move in.

but he quickly crosses over to you and he cups your face, gentle as he is urgent, and leans down and kisses you, deeply, passionately. and for a moment, you're confused. but you quickly kiss him back, matching his energy, his passion. after a moment, he pulls away, both of you panting lightly, breathless from the kiss. he presses his forehead to yours, looking into your eyes so intensely you swear he can see your soul.

"te amo jodidamente mucho," he says, voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you too," you say back softly, meaning every word.

jake has feel that twist in his heart again, but he knows what it is now. it's love. and it's strange and foreign but...he thinks he likes it. he feels like he's never smiled so wide in his life. he presses one more soft kiss to your lips before moving back to his seat at the table.

"so...tell me about these gloves you bought me," he grins.

and you start talking about them, explaining every detail about them and why you thought he'd like them. he swears he's never smiled so dopey in his life, talking to you about anything and everything you wanted to talk about. he'd finally fronted and he'll be damned if he doesn't take advantage of every single second he gets with you.

______________________________________________________________

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[dira333]

Lucky at Love - Akashi x Soulmate! Reader

Akashi Seijurou is used to the idea of an arranged marriage. He is used to the idea of a marriage of convenience, to a choice that is not his. So it's not that much harder to get used to the idea of having a soulmate.

After all, not all people have soulmate marks. Not all people with soulmate marks actually find each other. And in that small group of people... not all fall in love.

Love is a broad term. Respect is so much easier to understand.

Yet, and he only ever thinks about this in his most vulnerable moments, he loved his mother. And though it's sometimes hard to understand, he knows he will not be able to hold back against this feeling. If he marries someone he does not love, he does not know if he will be able to keep up the facade in the face of love.

So he does what he does best. He researches the shit out of every possible option - if he were to use Ryota's language.

-

What he doesn't expect in all his calculations, is to meet you on his first day at Rakuzan, clipboard pressed against your chest as you listen to his speech.

It's cliche as hell. He's the Captain and you're the Manager. His father is one of Rakuzan's biggest sponsors and you're here on a scholarship. He's confident and you're not... He's in love and you're pretty much clueless.

Akashi knows, weeks before he spots the familiar mark on your neck, that he doesn't care.

He thought himself a rational thinker, not overly emotional, yet he's fallen so hard for you he's forgotten how to get up.

"You need to drink more water," he tells you gently as the heat beats down on all of them. "It's no good if our manager succumbs to dehydration."

"Of course, Captain," you respond, seemingly unaffected as your hands touch when you hand him his water bottle.

God, he's hopeless.

Flirting is hard when you've never had to do it before.

Everyone else already loved him for who they expected him to be. All he had to do was keep up the expectations.

-x-

"Are you okay?" You ask.

The rest of the team had advised against it. Losing the Winter Cup, especially against an Underdog Team like Seirin, had shaken the Captain pretty hard. He'd still been in there when Mibuchi left as the last of the team, gentle hand on your shoulder trying to lead you away.

"He needs to be alone for a moment," he'd told you but you just smiled and nodded and told him you'd see him in school.

Akashi is... exceptional. Probably always has been.

You'd been unable to keep from researching him, watching hours after hours of old Teiko games, heart beating faster every time you spotted his blurry red hair.

There's something about him that keeps you on your toes, heart beating faster, breath catching in your throat.

It's not just his looks, you know, because you'd hoped it'd only be that. No one, not even the guys on the team, can deny that he's attractive. Your hand had brushed his hair barely once and you're still unable to forget it, the silky texture, the bright red.

There's also the fact that he doesn't ask for attention, he just gets it. He never gets flustered, or nervous, or scared. Even faced with the harsh reality of half the team quitting because they didn't want a first-year as a Captain he didn't despair.

He treats everyone with respect and you, the manager, with kindness.

How could you not fall in love with him?

And then there's the fact that he's your soulmate.

-

His fingers twitch in his lap. The strap of your bag is digging into your shoulder.

"You haven't lost often, have you?" You ask, lump in your throat. "I know your stats."

His soulmate mark is on his left shoulder. You'd seen it once by accident, at your second-ever training when some ass "accidentally" poured his sports drink over Akashi's jersey.

You wonder if it tingles right now like yours does whenever he's near. You wonder if he'd care if he knew. Not that it matters right now.

"This is my first." He says, eyes on his hands. His voice is empty.

You take a seat on the bench opposite to his, heart quivering in your chest.

"I'm sorry," you tell him, because you are. "I know it must hurt. It hurts me too. But..." You swallow. "I don't think it's that bad. Everyone loses sometimes. And it's better to lose one game than your life, right?" You're not sure what convinces you to say the next words. But they're out of your mouth before you realize it.

"I heard bad luck in games makes you lucky at love..."

His head shoots up so fast you fear it's going to give him whiplash.

His eyes zero in on you and you have half a mind to wonder how they seem to have changed color - or at least one of them did - before he speaks.

"Do you mean that?"

"Huh?!" You ask, surprised by the intensity of his tone.

"Do you mean that? That I'd be lucky at love?"

You blink.

"You're Akashi Seijurou," you tell him, voice quivering with emotion, "Who could not love you?"

He says nothing for a long moment. Then, the movement so painstakingly slow it hurts, he pulls his shirt off his shoulder.

"Do you love me?"

my Kofi if you want to tip me

[honeycreammilkshake]

HELLO HONEY i just saw the full leaks and i don't know what everyone else is thinking i saw some people are sad yuji didn't end up together with sukuna or that yuji wasn't much the focus but. i personally LOVED it? let me explain why its still sukuita soulmatism. would i have liked to hear more of yujis thoughts sure but, his last smile is because of sukuna, he smiled up at the sky before we saw sukuna chose to change, he Felt that sukuna knew what love was and I've been losing it because sukuna literally changed because of yuji he turned his back to mahito whos a curse unlike him hes the manifestation of hating humanity and Chose that next time he'd like to walk a different path, loving others, the way he returned love by comforting uraume because yuji taught him love and as kashimo was saying "how can you return something you've never received" this ending for me wrapped up the whole story in such a sweet way it's not perfect but it's just as much about sukuna as it is about yuji. yuji changed him. and to me the "let's try again" and the "next time it might be nice to walk a different path" are clear signs that the two will reincarnate and be together in the next cycle however that will be we know reincarnation is canon. again this isn't perfect because i personally have many gripes with the story but its such a powerful heartwarming ending still? i take back something i said before i don't think gege hates yuji and sukuna he just probably got overwhelmed with having so many characters he was trying to balance everyone out and writing characters he already knew probably came easier, imo the worst he treated were nobara and megumi, but the last panels of his manga are yuji smiling because of sukuna saying that his finger is now the perfect talisman (something that protects) and sukuna choosing to go north because of him, choosing himself to change instead of yuji forcing him to change, but still because of yuji. im sorry for rambling i wanted to explain my view. what are your thoughts? i hope your day goes well! ❤️ i genuinely didn't expect to get sukuita at the end it made the ending so satisfying to me

hi, jenjen! so sorry for the late reply.

i just saw the full leaks and i don't know what everyone else is thinking i saw some people are sad yuji didn't end up together with sukuna or that yuji wasn't much the focus but. i personally LOVED it?

as much as i'm a huge fan of sukuna and yuuji either living or dying together, i'm also happy that this was the actual ending because it's more than i expected. and honestly it's very fitting for both of them. it really was such a subtle nod that yuuji was the reason why sukuna is headed on a different path, but it's still there and it's amazingly beautiful after everything they've been through together.

would i have liked to hear more of yujis thoughts sure but, his last smile is because of sukuna, he smiled up at the sky before we saw sukuna chose to change, he Felt that sukuna knew what love was and I've been losing it because sukuna literally changed because of yuji he turned his back to mahito whos a curse unlike him hes the manifestation of hating humanity and Chose that next time he'd like to walk a different path, loving others, the way he returned love by comforting uraume because yuji taught him love and as kashimo was saying "how can you return something you've never received"

the way yuuji's last scene is one with so much happiness....

i believe that after spending that much time tied to each other, sukuna and yuuji can still sense at least some of each other's feelings. yuuji looks so hopeful and at ease here. he's gotten through everything alive, with his friends by his side. but more than that, sukuna is no longer so serious a threat.

yuuji says "it's not dangerous anymore." even though the power contained in just one finger is what started this whole series, it's no longer a threat now because i think that sukuna's malice, his hatred, is finally subsiding as he considers a different path. and yuuji, perceptive and empathetic as he is, can sense that.

he's also looking down at his missing fingers, both the ring finger and little finger (i read a really amazing post about that just recently). i feel like the way yuuji is looking almost fondly at those missing fingers (the little finger for a promise and the ring finger for love and loyalty) shows us how much it means to him for sukuna to finally learn love.

him choosing to not restore one of those fingers indicates that he would rather have it missing, almost like an eternal reminder of what he and sukuna were to each other. because he knows that their time together has ended (for now....) but he's accepting of that because he and sukuna are both at peace, finally.

as for how yuuji taught sukuna love, i believe it's because - unlike everyone else - yuuji treated sukuna like a human, something neither gojo or yorozu or the rest did. and i believe that was the first time in a long time, if ever, that sukuna received such empathy.

i noticed in this scene how in his conversation with mahito, sukuna seems so much more open and even willing to reflect back on what he previously believed in. this is completely different from how he was hostile or cold to anyone who challenged him before. he only ever felt doubt over his ideals when yuuji confronted him, because yuuji alone had the kind of power to affect the unshakeable sukuna in such a way.

i've been a long time believer that sukuna became the king of curses to spite those who deemed him cursed at birth. and it makes sense that he would prey on those same humans (and curses) to not only maintain his status as the strongest, but to also get away from the fact that he almost starved before he was even born. such a horrifying experience more than likely led him to believe early on that only pure strength could protect him from such a fate, and only those at the top deserve that kind of immunity from suffering.

yet i feel like sukuna was suffering. he himself said "i feared my own curse would immolate me." so being the strongest didn't keep him insulated from those feelings, that loneliness and hatred. he couldn't keep being indifferent or 100% hateful either.

and i think sukuna understood that only when yuuji took him on that little date in his special memory mind palace (or whatever his domain is called since we don't know its name).

instead of attacking sukuna or making assumptions about how sukuna feels or projecting his own feelings onto him like gojo or kashimo did, yuuji is instead being open with sukuna, the most open he's been with anyone.

and sukuna is just shocked into silence for most of this. (i like to think his inner voice is freaking out at how intimate yuuji's being with him, recounting the smallest details of his childhood and walking sukuna through his life story).

this scene was particularly interesting because of how yuuji's describing the kind of feelings that come with discovering his first home town was pretty much abandoned, much like how there were so few people to mourn the passing of his grandfather's friend. you would expect someone to feel upset or even shocked about that, but yuuji wasn't. he said he wasn't "shaken" by it. and sukuna's silence, the expression on his face, seem to indicate at least some thought. for someone he called weak, yuuji is proving to be strong. emotionally and mentally because he had a foundation to keep his feelings tethered his whole life: his grandfather. wasuke's care allowed yuuji to be the kind of person he is, and it shows us that yuuji draws his strength from others, contrary to how weak curses come in packs or how sukuna feels like being alone is the only way to be strong.

something i think that did impact sukuna during their date was how yuuji is being emotionally vulnerable with the self-proclaimed king of curses, someone who wants to be seen as an inhuman force of chaos and evil, someone who considers himself above the "suffering of the weak" and the "loneliness of the strongest." sukuna, who claims to put no value on love or fulfillment, yet yuuji is showing him how such little things and memories gave meaning to his own life. he's talking to sukuna like an old friend, he's showing sukuna how he thinks and feels. not because he believes sukuna deep down is the same way (he even admits to knowing better than that, saying he expected sukuna to reject his ideals even before he tried to show them to sukuna) but because he wants to get closer to sukuna, to connect with him.

their souls are tied together. they were practically fated to end up together, and yuuji was made literally for sukuna. the only who could endure sukuna's poison, the only one who could control the king of curses. yet, despite all his advantages and strength over sukuna, yuuji never forces sukuna into anything. he's always given a sukuna a choice: "free megumi and come to me" or "live together with me because i only will accept you." because yuuji understands sukuna. not fully, but more than someone like gojo did, who only ever saw sukuna as an opposition because they were both "the strongest."

and yuuji wanted to understand sukuna more. to give him not just a second chance but to provide that fulfillment that wasuke and yuuji's friends gave to him. the fulfillment that sukuna denied needing. but yuuji understood that sukuna became a monster who ate humans for their "fleeting taste" as a way to pass time until his death because of that lack of fulfillment. (i feel like yuuji understood these basic feelings even if no one explicitly told him what sukuna talked about with kashimo. being so empathetic, i believe yuuji picked up on sukuna's true feelings both during and after the time they shared a body).

but for all that yuuji and sukuna understood each other, sukuna couldn't fully believe or accept yuuji's proposal because he would rather die being seen as the thing he was perceived as from birth on: a curse. he pushed yuuji away, but i have a feeling it was because he simply couldn't conceive of someone caring for him that much.

but yuuji comforted him even during sukuna's death, and held him tenderly. he never forgave sukuna, and he probably never would because yuuji knows that even if sukuna became a monster because of others, sukuna still did terrible things. he didn't offer sukuna redemption: he offered sukuna fulfillment. and that is so much more sincere. yet sukuna turned his proposal down because, though he was touched, it was simply too much for him.

but it did change his outlook. it did finally "free" him from his own curse.

this ending for me wrapped up the whole story in such a sweet way it's not perfect but it's just as much about sukuna as it is about yuji. yuji changed him. and to me the "let's try again" and the "next time it might be nice to walk a different path" are clear signs that the two will reincarnate and be together in the next cycle however that will be we know reincarnation is canon.

i have a strong feeling this isn't the last we'll see of sukuna. and to be honest, i have a crazy hope that this also isn't the last yuuji sees of sukuna. as you said, yuuji was willing for them to "try again" and it seems like to me sukuna has had a change of heart towards yuuji. he might not resist yuuji as much in the next life as he once did.

i think he needed to be away from yuuji in order to really feel something positive about yuuji's words and process everything. and yuuji respected sukuna's decision to die rather than come back to him because they both knew it was too late for them in this life. sukuna and yuuji could coexist, but whether or not they should after all of this is probably something they knew wouldn't happen. even though yuuji would be willing to fight for them, sukuna would probably consider it a form of punishment to be stuck back in the brat (even if he doesn't hate it or even if he comes to love it) because i feel like he would remain bitter about losing for a long time.

but him choosing death has let him have more control over his own choices, and in the next life he might just choose to make his way back to yuuji, too. still, even if yuuji didn't keep sukuna from dying, he still gave sukuna that choice. he showed sukuna he wasn't a true curse like mahito, that sukuna was in fact human and more than just a chaotic force of strength alone. he essentially freed the king of curses from his own curse.

and sukuna looks happier (and softer) because of it.

he's finally giving up on his vengeance. and it was because of yuuji, who he lost to, that he won against his own curse.

i take back something i said before i don't think gege hates yuji and sukuna he just probably got overwhelmed with having so many characters he was trying to balance everyone out and writing characters he already knew probably came easier, imo the worst he treated were nobara and megumi

i agree with you, jenjen.

i feel like the editors/publishers highly discouraged gege from giving more depth to sukuna and yuuji's story together, but gege resisted and gave us amazing interactions anyway, even if they were a bit rushed and sudden. i do feel, however, that gege undervalued yuuji a bit. i can see a personal bias in gege's tendency to spend so much time and focus on yuuta, but other than that it's exactly how you said it: gege was trying to give attention to all the characters, but being rushed certainly didn't help their story at all. yet gege did the best they could, and i think this ending really reflected their writing skills.

i do agree that both nobara and megumi were treated terribly by the narrative, and i wish they were handled better, but at least they're happy and all back together now.

the last panels of his manga are yuji smiling because of sukuna saying that his finger is now the perfect talisman (something that protects) and sukuna choosing to go north because of him, choosing himself to change instead of yuji forcing him to change, but still because of yuji.

i love how this doesn't really feel sinister at all. like it could be just me but it looks almost peaceful how the last finger is just sitting there, with the leaves around it. despite how threatening it looks, yuuji trusts it to be a talisman that protects, not damages.

and it's the perfect way to say yuuji and sukuna have gone their separate ways for now, but there's a chance they'll meet again. they made their choices without either of them being forced into it, but they were still the most significant people in each other's lives: sukuna because he put yuuji through a living hell but also awoke yuuji's sense of purpose and belonging, and yuuji because he led sukuna north and changed their narratives.

all i can think about is how sukuna once screamed that yuuji's future was his. and it's true. sukuna being inside of yuuji changed his entire life, even to this day, because there are still reminders of sukuna with yuuji's missing fingers. but it's also true that yuuji changed sukuna's future as well. they both impacted each other so much, in all the best and worst ways.

there will never be anything quite like them. i'm really going to miss them so much...

hope you've been keeping well, jenjen! thank you so much for the wonderful ask <3

[shadowynn]

| in love and lore | eight |

pairing: ateez x fem reader

genre: fantasy/daemon/soulmate au

warnings: some cursing, mentions of death and violence

summary: the daemon king and his seven black generals. names and faces of these eight had changed over the years as each new king was crowned, but their reputation as the most powerful daemons always remained the same. upon hearing the rumors one of the seven led the charge of the nearby battle, you should have stayed close to the encampment. you should have never wandered out on your own. but you did, and your life would never be the same again. good or bad, you would just have to wait to find out.

“There’s no need to be afraid, angel.” His words were a breath against the side of your neck. “You’ve done so much for us, let your king now return the favor.”

wordcount: 14.5k

| seven | eight | nine |

a/n: ahhh, it's finally here and so much longer than i originally planned. when i first started this chapter, i planned on it covering the entirety of their travels back to the daemons' kingdom, but here we are, and you'll come to see that journey will be for the next chapter and we're still outside maehwa by the end of it. oops. but i am super happy with how this came out. don't really know how it did or what possessed me, but it did and it's here. so i hope you all enjoy. :)

also, taglists will be moving to reblogs as i think you guys are so awesome and cool, a singular post can't contain you all so those will be following here in a few moments after this posts.

~

"May I sit with you?"

You glanced up from the pen and paper in hand at the voice that spoke above you, though it was done more out of habit than to see who it was. You already had that piece of information, having felt his gaze on you for the past half hour.

You had done all you could to avoid Hongjoong and his generals over the past few days, but any success you had found hadn't been on your part, but their own attempt in giving you the space you desperately craved. While you had woke up early and spent the past hour curled up next to the barrier to watch the sunrise by yourself, you had been well aware of Yeosang's nearby presence and wondered if he would ever make a move.

You met his eyes briefly before turning back down to the paper before you, simply shrugging your shoulders instead of bothering to verbally answer his question. You didn't quite have it in your heart to refuse him, but you did hope the defensive stance your body had taken at his presence would have been enough to deter him. It didn't, not that you had really expected it to, and he simply took your silent response as an excuse to sit down on the ground next to you. Not quite close enough to be touching, but close enough for you to shift your stance a bit before busying yourself with the paper you had been doodling on in an attempt to clear your mind. It had worked well enough up to this point, but his new proximity to you caused your anxiety to spike once more.

He had to have wanted something. While your attempts at completely avoiding them had been futile, none of them had approached you in the manner Yeosang now did. Any interactions with them had been brief and awkward. There was much they wanted to say. Either to apologize or convince you in some manner, but they held their tongues, fully knowing you didn't want to talk about it at this point.

The constant guard from before had been dropped from that night, and though you had more time to yourself than you had ever had since they had brought you here, you found little relief in the matter. Not with the barrier you had run across that first night remaining up and present. They had claimed it was simply an added precaution to keep you safe after the incident at the masquerade, but you weren't an idiot. You knew they had simply exchanged one guard for another. The thought of running had crossed your mind more than once since that first night, though not in the way they were worried of. Part of you did want to run and escape this fate that had been placed on you, but you knew it wasn't something you could or would succeed in. And even if you did, where would you go? You had nowhere to go or anyone to run to. But the fleeting thoughts you had made of it must have slipped over in their minds as well, and the barrier was the needed precaution they had taken to keep it from happening.

Honjoong had claimed they could only read the thoughts you outwardly projected, and only then when you were within a certain proximity of them, but without any other explanation of the process, you struggled to understand what exactly he had meant by it or how you could control it yourself. Based on your past experiences, you were certain things had slipped through, but without knowing which thoughts had or hadn't, it was impossible to tell just how much they had gleaned from you in the meantime. And with the way you struggled to control the panic that took root in your stomach each time you saw one of them, you had the sinking suspicion they knew more than they let on. The glances they sent to each other when they thought you weren't looking was all the evidence you needed of that fact.

"Hongjoong has informed us that the treaty talks have come to a conclusion."

You tensed at the mention of him, shifting your position against the barrier you had been using as a backrest. And though your eyes stayed focused on the sketch in your lap, you caught the way Yeosang's body extended past the barrier out of the corner of your eye, a fact that had your grip tightening its grip on the pencil in hand.

You hadn't seen Hongjoong since that night.

Wanting nothing more than to be alone, you had strayed near the edge of the camp long into the night, contemplating over everything he had told you. You had run through everything he had said over and over, and yet, you still struggled to make sense of it all to this day. No matter which way you wrapped your head around it, parts of it would still not make sense. You couldn't have been his mate. Not when you weren't a daemon. Not when you were someone who should have never been born. And then, if it was true, and you truly were his mate, then he shouldn't have been fine with the fact as much as he seemed to, not with the giant gap between statuses. Not when he was a king.

As much as you knew you should, you had yet to divulge the information to Soomin or Hyunwoo. You were well aware telling them could perhaps give you some much needed advice or reassurance, but the courage always left you the moment you opened your mouth. You didn't know how they would react or whether or not they would hate you for it. And you could already hear the teasing statements Hyunwoo would make from it, only serving to fuel the flustered state the knowledge left you in already.

The two of them had taken the occupancy of a nearby tent after the masquerade, Jongho's statement of them being brought back with you proving true when he had allowed you a brief visit before your talk with Hongjoong. It was there that you had returned to that night once your tears had finally dried up, unable to go back to your own tent at the prospect of being forced to see him again. Neither one of them had been asleep when you had slipped inside and had been quietly conversing on the edge of one of the cots when you had appeared.

Your sudden presence had surprised them, as well as the state you were in, but they hadn't tried to press for anything more than whether or not you were safe for the time being. They were curious as to what had happened and the meaning behind their behavior, that much was obvious, but you hadn't had the courage to tell them. So when Hyunwoo offered up his bed instead of pressing you further, you had nodded your appreciation and curled up inside it without another word.

But as much as you had wanted to hide inside that tent forever, it was impossible. Despite never telling them where you had gone off to, Mingi had still been waiting for you outside the tent when you had woken up the following afternoon, chatting idly with Hyunwoo. Though he had made no mention of anything that had occurred the night before or why you had retreated into your siblings' tent, you had felt the concern he extended towards you all the same, and it had been impossible for him to completely hide the care that had laced his tone each time he had spoken.

You had never been entirely comfortable with any of them before, but this... This threw away any sort of progress you had made towards it since you had met them. You didn't know where you stood with them anymore - not that you really had before - let alone how to act around them now. The revelation of your newfound relation to them hung heavy in the air each time you were forced to interact, leaving you feeling more vulnerable than ever. It was impossible to look them in the eye, let alone stop the blush that came creeping up the back of your neck whenever they referred to you by those damned nicknames of theirs. Each use of 'angel' or 'pretty' only now served as a sharp reminder of how you were now stuck here with them, sealed to a fate you had no control over.

You had been right when you had told Seonghwa how harsh reality could be at times that night so long ago, and though you had hated how clueless you had been before, you almost wished you could have your ignorance back, almost preferring the anxiety it had brought over the anxiety the truth brought with it.

"We'll remain here for a few more days to ensure everything is properly instated, but preparations for the journey back to Taeyang have already begun." If he noticed your discomfort, he didn't show it, continuing on with his previous train of thought as he gazed upwards at the city's walls. "If you wish, I can escort you back to the city and help you gather anything you might wish to take with you."

"How generous of you," you murmured, "allowing me the time to grab a few comforts of home before stealing me away."

Up to this point, no one had explicitly mentioned what was to happen now, and if Hongjoong had been going to, you had left before he got around to it. You weren't completely clueless, however, and were able to read between the lines. If Hongjoong really had told you the truth, and you really were their mate, and they really intended to act upon this fact, you knew you wouldn't be staying here. You knew you would be left with no choice but to go down south with them, and the casual mentions the others had made of this had all but secured this fact for you. And yet, despite fully aware of what was coming, it did little to lessen the blow upon finally hearing it.

"Would you prefer to stay here with the humans, then, and continue the life you had led before? A life where you were overworked, insulted, and hated?"

"No," your body tensed, "but that doesn't mean I wish to go with you either."

"Then where do you wish to go? What is it that you wish to do if it's neither staying here and continuing the life you had before nor a new one with us?"

"I don't know," you shrugged, "somewhere..."

"Somewhere you could open up your own shop? A place where you could do whatever you wanted on your own terms and no one else's?" he answered for you, the corner of his lip tilting up. "We could give you that you know? Perhaps not in the exact way you always imagined, but we could give you anything you needed to grow and brew whatever it was you desired."

His words were a reference to a time that now felt like a different lifetime altogether, a time where you had been clueless to his true identity and in awe of the attention and kindness he had extended your way. A time where you had thought him nothing more than a concerned human who had truly seen you for who you were and not for the blood running through your veins.

Upon first discovering he was a daemon, you had originally thought it had been nothing more than an act. Something to get you to drop your guard and pin the murder of Hak Seongmin on you. But now that you knew exactly what was going on, the weight of his actions hit in a different way. And the implication he had made when he had mentioned what it was he yearned for if things had been different hit you hard in this moment.

You had thought his wish had been odd at the time. The idea that someone like him could never settle down and find someone to marry had seemed impossible with his attractive features and suave personality, but now you understood. For the majority of his life, he had been told a mate and family was something he would never have. That he had been born with the sole purpose of serving and protecting his king. And yet, everything had changed when Hongjoong had been crowned and the bond between them had snapped in place. Unlike you, the life he had craved was now at the tip of fingers.

"Was anything you said that day true?"

With all motivation to draw thrown out the window, you dropped the pencil you had been fiddling with into your lap and exchanged it for a loose strand at the edge of your sleeve.

"I know how it might seem from your view, but let me assure you everything I told you that day was true." His gaze was trained on you, but you refused to meet it. "The only thing I hid from you that day was the fact I wasn't human."

"And what if," you found it hard to speak, afraid of the answer to the question that had been burning in your head for days now, "what if I wasn't your mate? Would you have treated me with the same kindness you had shown me that day? Or would you have turned the other way like everyone else and simply let me die?"

Ever since you had gotten over your shock and come to accept everything Hongjoong had told you was very well true, the question had haunted your thoughts. What if you hadn't been their mate? What would have happened then? Would they have treated you with the same kindness they had shown you by your deeds as the Black Angel and the people you had saved, or would they have killed you where you stood when Seonghwa had revealed your identity? Was the only reason they were kind to you and treated you like everyone else simply because you were their mate and nothing more? And if things had been different, would you even still be alive?

Yeosang was silent for a moment, brows furrowing as he mulled over his answer to your question. Each moment that ticked by only serving to further fuel your insecurities, telling you what you had known all along. That things would have been different.

"You're right on the account that things would have been different, but not in the way you're assuming."

This time you did look up at him, eyes narrowing at the way his reply ended up being a response to your thoughts and not the question you had verbally asked him.

"Sorry." He had the decency to look ashamed for a moment, fingers digging into the ground beside him as he frowned. "It's just, without any proper training, you're akin to an open book. The heightened emotions from the past few days has made your thoughts and emotions overflow to the rest of us whether you mean them to or not, and sadly, we have very little means to block them out."

His apology felt sincere, but it didn't stop you from pulling your legs in closer, feeling more embarrassed than you had before now that you knew just how much they must have gathered from you. The pitiful looks they had sent you the past few days now worse than before.

"It won't always be this way though. We can teach you to control them, if you'd let us. Though you would probably excel the most with Mingi. Out of us all, he's always been the best at maintaining his thoughts."

"You said things would have been different," you replied, returning the conversation back to the question Yeosang had avoided earlier. "Different how?"

"Well, you did save Seonghwa's and the others' lives, so we would have happily followed through with our promise to repay you for your deeds and ensured your safety through the war's end. After that, well, it's a bit hard to say what Hongjoong would decide, but I imagine he would have extended an invitation for you to come back to Taeyang with us and hired you as a healer based on your natural talent and daemon ability."

"Forgive me when I say I have a hard time believing that." He might have said he had yet to lie to you, but that didn't mean he hadn't hidden things from you before, and you had a hard time believing he wasn't hiding something now when his claims of truth seemed so far-fetched. Perhaps they would have extended an offer your way, but you doubted you would have been given a choice in the matter, and would have only landed yourself in a similar position to the one you had before with the humans. Only this time with daemons calling you names instead of the humans. "And even if you are telling the truth, and you would have kept me alive to the end, would you have still done it if I had no healing capabilities? Or would it have just been a way for you to get a hold of my blood and use me as the humans have?"

"I understand how it might all appear from your view and I'll be the first of us to admit your worries do not come completely unwarranted. The daemons have not always been kind to those without a pure lineage and hundreds, if not thousands, of people have suffered and died under this obsession they've had. For it was the daemons who hunted down and killed the half-daemons when the war began and not the humans. And it would be easy to blame that occurrence and any similar one on the former king and his growing paranoia, but it was from centuries of prejudice that carried those acts to fruition and nothing I say or do will ever make up for it."

"You hunted them down?" It was hard to keep your voice level at the wave of disgust that coursed through you. You had known the daemons often killed your kind for no other reason than their hatred for your existence, but hearing how they had actively been hunted down for something they had no control over was something else altogether. "Why?"

"Hongjoong's father was not a nice man, and he craved power more than anything else. And the more time went by, the more his lust for it increased, and with it, came paranoia. He was afraid of anything and everything that could challenge him for it, including Hongjoong who he kept under a strict watch. He knew Hongjoong had the power to overthrow him, just as his father had overthrown his grandfather, so he did everything he could to ensure that would never come to pass." Yeosang's body had become tense as he spoke, his previous relaxed state hardening. "So, when the war began and he heard the humans had decided to gather up as many half-daemons as they could for the war efforts, the order to hunt and exterminate any and all half-daemons was given. It's the reason why the war hit the borders so hard in the beginning; the daemon troops under orders to burn them all to the ground, no matter whose side they were on."

"And you wonder why I was thankful to have been born among the humans," you retorted, voice full of bitterness.

"Things are changing though. Hongjoong is not the man his father was. When he heard what his father was doing, he recruited us to do everything we could to save as many of his people as he could, but there was only so much we could do before it was too late. There were only so many people we could save."

"And why's that? Why did he care? Why did any of you care?"

"Now that is a question that requires a long and rather complicated answer, one that I am unable to fully answer myself, but I will do my best to explain to you what I can." His head tilted, black eyes catching yours, and for the first time since he had appeared you didn't look away. "Has anyone explained to you or mentioned what my ability is?"

You shook your head, wondering what that had to do with the topic you were just discussing, but you knew better than to question him on it. After all, you did hold some curiosity to what his and the others' daemon abilities were.

"I can create illusions, making those around me see, feel, and hear whatever it is that I wish them to. Take this butterfly for example." A hint of a smile reappeared on his face as he reached his hand out for the insect, allowing it to take rest on his finger. "It's not real; simply an image I'm projecting inside each of our heads at the moment." To prove his point, he raised his opposite hand to swipe at the bug. To your surprise, his fingers ran through it as though it was only air, causing the image to ripple for a few seconds. "Believe it or not, it took years of training for me to pull off tricks like this one. Tasks such as changing my appearance or disappearing from view entirely took little more than innate talent, but mimicking another living being to where it was believable was something much harder altogether."

The butterfly's wings extended, taking off from Yeosang's hand to make the short trek over to your knee. You eyed it closely, in utter disbelief to discover it wasn't real. That it was nothing more than an illusion the man next to you had created for you to see. Everything about it felt real, down to the way its wings fluttered in the breeze to the way its feet tickled your skin as it moved along the back of your left hand.

"It's the same guard ability your father had."

"You knew my father?" Your lips twisted, teeth pulling at the bottom corner of your lip, unsure of just how this revelation made you feel. On one hand, you had no desire to learn about the man who had destroyed your family when he had killed your mother, especially not that you now knew just what sort of man he had served, but another part of you was curious. Curious to know if he really did match the rumors or if perhaps there might have been a chance there was some truth behind Soomin's hazy memories of the man.

Yeosang nooded. "When the new members of the guard pop up, the current members devote quite a bit of time training them up and teaching them how best to utilize their abilities. Since I shared the ability of you father, we spent quite a bit of time together in my youth and we were quite close before he was sent to Maehwa." He paused for a second, and you could feel the way his eyes had traveled back to you. "Did you know your brother looks just like him? So much so, it took me by surprise the first time I saw him, and for a second, I thought it might have actually been him until I saw his eyes." The butterfly on your hand vanished then, causing your eyes to lock on his for a split second. "But I see now that you were the one to inherit them instead."

You struggled to control the way your stomach twisted at his words and were quick to divert your eyes. The light expression on his face showed he hadn't meant anything negative by them, but that didn't stop the wave of insecurities that hit you as he commented on the one feature you had spent years wishing you could change and the reason behind them.

"You're a lot like him, you know?" Yeosang's voice softened and a hand was placed on top of your shoulder. "A little stubborn, maybe, but incredibly selfless and kind. Someone who could see beyond the status of daemon and human. He would have absolutely adored you."

"Just like he adored my mother?" you rebuked his statement, pulling back far enough to cause his hand to drop.

"It's not that simple."

"What do you mean? He killed her, didn't he? What more is there to tell"

"It's... complicated." You were quick to see the way Yeosang had tensed up again, dropping his gaze back to his lap. "And though I played a small role in an attempt to stop the events that occurred that night, it's not my story to tell. If you wish to hear what happened, you would need to speak with Hongjoong. It's his story to tell."

"No, you can't leave it at that." You shook your head, forcing him to meet your eyes. You weren't going to play that game again. You weren't going to let them keep their secrets from you and brush off your questions. "He was my father and it was my mother, so I think I have a right to know. So, tell me, did he kill her?"

"I'm sorry, angel, truly, but I shouldn't be the one to explain that night to you. Trust me when I say you need to hear it from Hongjoong. After everything he went through to get here, he deserves to be the one to tell you." And despite the way his words frustrated you, you could see the desperation in them, as though he truly believed it would be best if you heard it from Hongjoong. "But something you should know is that your father was a good man. He knew I wasn't fully daemon, and yet, he never once treated me differently for it. And it was him who helped me gain the courage to finally tell the others."

You couldn't stop the sharp inhale his words brought, eyes widening as you process what he had just said and wiping away any remaining thoughts you had about the conversation before for the time being. He had mentioned it so casually, that you had almost missed it, caught up in figuring out what it was he had hinted about.

Yeosang wasn't fully daemon.

Yeosang, one of the Seven, and one of the highest ranking daemons in this part of the world, wasn't even fully daemon.

"My father was full-blooded, but my mother was a half-daemon like yourself. Because of that, it's not something anyone would be able to know unless they tested my blood for it, but still enough to where many daemons would shun me if they knew. So, when my horns and eyes turned black on my thirteenth birthday, I was shocked to say the least. The thought of being a member of the Black Guard had never once crossed my mind due to my lineage, so I was certain a mistake had been made. Why would the maetha choose me? Someone the daemons considered impure? And I was terrified. I knew what it was like in the capital and what they thought of those like me, and I was terrified of what they would do to me if anyone found out." He shifted, pulling his right leg in towards him and wrapped his arms loosely around it. "So, when I discovered I had inherited the guards' illusion ability, I used it to hide the new color my features had taken and prevented myself from being sent away."

You struggled to wrap your head around what he had just revealed to you, barely hearing the words that followed as your brain was too busy repeating the fact Yeosang wasn't fully daemon. More daemon than you were and with enough of their blood running through him to easily pass as one, but none of that changed the fact he was just like you in some ways. Someone who didn't quite fit into the status quo of the world.

"But they found you?" You straightened up, taking in his figure next to you in a whole new light.

"No," he shook his head, "in the end, I went to them on my own accord."

"Why?"

"Out of spite and a broken heart," he huffed, but a hint of a smile once again appeared and the slope of his shoulders relaxed. "There was a girl in my village that I fell in love with when I was around sixteen, making me more motivated than ever to continue keeping my identity hidden. For if I did, I would be able to stay there and live the normal unassuming life I craved. But, you see, she had only ever been stringing me along. She thought I was sweet, but could never see beyond the fact I wasn't fully daemon and thought I was someone beneath her. She craved a life outside that little village, so when someone else came along that she thought could fulfill her needs, she broke things off with me in the cruelest of ways. At the time, it nearly broke me, and I couldn't stand to be there any longer, so I left to fulfill the destiny that I had denied for so long. Any concerns I had previously had before didn't worry me anymore. If I ended up dead because of it, then so be it. I didn't care anymore."

"I'm sorry." It was you who reached out for him this time, resting your hand on top of his as a wave of empathy rolled through you. You may have never had your heart broken before, but you understood exactly what it was like to be rejected and turned away based on something you had no control over.

"I'm not," he shook his head, smile widening as he looked at the hand on top of his own. "If I had stayed where I was, I would have been miserable. At the time, I didn't understand why I was chosen, and perhaps a small part of me still wonders why the maetha chose me of all people, but ever since you showed up in the picture, I think I've finally begun to understand."

"I wish I could say the same." You retracted your hand, pulling it back around your legs as his words brought you back to the reality that surrounded you, reminding you just who it was you had been comforting. "No matter which way I run through things in my head, it just doesn't make any sense. A little over a month ago I was just another half-daemon trying to survive in this crazy world, and now I'm being told I'm the mate of the daemon king and his seven generals. It's just a lot in a small amount of time, and I'm having a hard time processing it all."

You stuck your chin against the top of your knees, looking up once more at the walls that had been your home for the past twenty years. There had been a time when you had yearned to leave them behind, but not like this. Not when your path only led you to another prison. A different city, but with the same walls that had tormented you as a child.

"My whole life I've been seen by nothing more than my status as a half-daemon. It's dictated my entire life, telling me what I can and can't do because of it. And not once has anyone ever taken the time to see what lies beyond it. To see me, the real me. Not the half-daemon y/n. Not the Black Angel with the magical blood. And not your stupid mate. Just me. Just y/n. And lately," you took a deep breath, shaking in the exhale, "I've been wondering if she's even still there."

You hadn't meant to tell him any of that, but the words had fallen out before you could stop them, fueled by his earlier revelation and you could feel his gaze on you as you finished, heavy with unspoken sympathy.

"You mentioned you were here to escort me back to the city, right?" You spoke up before he had a chance to reply, not wanting to hear what his response might have been. "I don't like it, but if I'm left with no choice in the matter, then I do wish to take you up on that offer. I don't have much, but there are a few items I would rather not part with."

"Of course."

If he wanted to push you further on the matter and prod your brain for what exactly you had meant by any of your earlier thoughts, he didn't. Instead, he followed your lead and pushed himself back up to his feet, stretching out the muscles in his back. When the action caused his shirt to lift and reveal the toned surface beneath, you immediately turned your gaze unable to stop the heat that rose up inside you.

What the hell was wrong with you?

It wasn't like you hadn't ever seen a shirtless man before, let alone other more intimate areas. So, maybe, it wasn't in that specific context before, but rather in the numerous injuries you had healed in your lifetime, but never once had you felt that rush through you before and you only hoped it hadn't leaked through the bond. The last thing you needed was for them to realize a part of you was physically attracted to them and use that to their advantage. You didn't think you could survive if they did.

"Just give me a second to get the barrier down." If Yeosang noticed, he did a hell of a job hiding it, rolling out his shoulders once more before turning to the barrier behind you.

"This was you?"

He shook his head. "No, the barriers are all San's doing."

"It's his daemon ability?" you asked, head tilting as your hand brushed against the invisible wall.

It seemed so obvious now that you knew, the feel of it beneath your skin strangely familiar to the daemon you had danced with so many nights ago. The energy in which it thrummed feeling distinctly of him, and the only explanation you had for the strange phenomena was the bond that now tied you to him-

- Maybe that was also the explanation for the way you had reacted to Yeosang earlier and the reason your heart was still beating just a smidge too fast. Yes, that had to be it. Why else would you have felt that way?

"How does he maintain it? It's been up for days." And you would know, having snuck off more than once the past few days for no other purpose than to see if it was still there or not.

"Barriers of this scale and complexity require the use of his blood to create and maintain, but if you're still curious about it, you should ask him. He could explain it all better than I would be able to and says he would be more than happy to give you a demonstration as well."

"He says?" You looked back at Yeosang as your hand dropped back down to your side. "You're talking with him right now? How?"

"Through the bond," he replied. "It ultimately stems from Hongjoong's ability to speak with us at any distance, though the bond limits the rest of us to a certain distance. With a little training, though, not only can you learn to control those thoughts, but you can also learn to direct them to certain individuals instead of everyone within distance."

"Is that all it does? Just sort of link everyone's mind together?"

"No, it affects each of us in different ways, and some more than others."

With the barrier now down, Yeosang motioned for you to follow him. You paused for a second, tentatively reaching out with your hand and half-expecting him to be lying to you. But your hand wasn't stopped this time and merely slipped through the air. Whatever barrier had held you back the past few days was finally down.

"Take Seonghwa for example. His ability only allows him to teleport to places within a certain radius around him, but the bond gave him the ability to also teleport directly to anyone else he's attached to, no matter the distance," he continued, guiding you in the direction of the city's gate. "That's why it was so devastating when it was him who had been injured in Binna. If it had been any of the rest of us, Seonghwa could have gotten them back to the rest of us, but it just had to be him. And by the time we realized just how severe it was, he had already lost too much blood. If he had tried to teleport to one of us, he likely would have died. Our only chance of saving him was keeping him there on the off chance you would show up. And you did." He looked back at you, gaze softening. "I know things have been rough for you since that night and things might have happened in ways they shouldn't have, but if you only knew what it had been like for us. To not only have Seonghwa alive and safe, but to have finally found you. It was... overwhelming to say the least. Enough so, that even Mingi lost his grip on his mind for a moment."

"And now that you've found me," your arms wrapped around your body, finding it hard to control the shiver his words elicited, "what do you plan on doing with me?"

It had been a question that had plagued you since your emotions had finally settled down and you had regained a grip on your mind once more. In your initial panic, you had left Hongjoong as quickly as you could, needing time and space to process the overload of information he had just dumped on you. And it was only once you had calmed down that you realized the amount of question you had for him now that you were thinking logically once more. He had claimed you were their mate, but he had never gotten around to stating what it was they intended to do with you because of it. Did they plan on accepting you and forcing you to play the dutiful mate? Or did they plan on rejecting you for something as trivial as your mixed blood?

Hongjoong's words and actions from that night had all but confirmed acceptance, and the others' only then served to reaffirm this thought. But you felt no relief from it, instead you wished the opposite would have been true. It might have hurt to have been rejected, knowing full well it had only been because of your lineage, but it wasn't anything you hadn't been through before. It wasn't anything you couldn't have handled.

It would have hurt, yes. You may have faced enough rejection over your lifetime to have become used to it, but that didn't mean it still wouldn't have stung in some ways. But it would have made sense. He was the daemon king and you were just a halfbreed. Just a mutt. Your father might have been someone of a higher class, but you weren't. And you never would be.

That was why you were so confused as to why each of them seemed so intent on accepting it. How each of them thought it was normal for someone of their status to be with someone of yours just didn't make any sense. Not when you were someone history had dictated would never belong in their world, and just because they seemed fine with it didn't mean the others would. You hadn't been around many daemons in your life, but you knew the reaction it would pull. You knew they would never accept you as one of them. Because you weren't. The sooner they came to realize this small fact, the better.

"Well, you are our mate," Yeosang replied, and you were unable to control the shiver his words brought this time. "We were hoping you would accept it. Accept us."

"And what if I don't? What if I say I don't want any of this? That I don't want any of you?" It was hard to speak, throat tightening on you as the inevitable hit you once more. "Would you accept my refusal and let me be?"

Your answer was in the silence which followed your question. The length it took him to come up with a suitable reply all but telling you what you had already known to be true. That there was no way out of this. It didn't matter what you wanted. It didn't matter what you thought. They had decided your fate when they had bonded you to them. The only choice you had in the matter was whether to try and fight it or just give in and accept it.

"Is that what you want?" Yeosang did his best to keep his response level, but you heard the way his voice still wobbled, hinting at the emotions that wavered treacherously beneath his carefully calculated expression.

"I don't know," you sighed, "but it would be nice to be given a choice. To have time to process everything and come to my own conclusion without you all butting in and deciding it for me."

"And if we had, would you have accepted us then?"

This time it was your silence that answered his question. The uncertainty of the situation making you pause for a second as he turned the table towards you. If things had been different, and it hadn't been forced on you in the manner it had, you honestly didn't know how you would have responded, but you had an inkling it would have been similar to how it was now. While you harbored strong frustrations towards each of them for taking your choice away from you, that wasn't why you were so hesitant over it all. That wasn't why you were so terrified at the prospect of being their mate.

If you were able to put your insecurities and frustrations aside, you thought things might have been different. There was no mistaking the physical attraction you felt towards each of them, the earlier incident evidence of that, nor the inward pull that had you yearning to get in close and stop avoiding them. Whether this was because of the bond that Hongjoong had put in place, the fact you were mates, or something else, you weren't sure. After all, you had felt some sort of connection to Seonghwa before the bond had taken hold, left in awe of the man before you.

You still remembered the strange pit that had formed in your stomach when he had drank of your blood. Of all the times you had proffered it to heal another, it had never felt like such an intimate act as it had that night. At the time you had just assumed it was your nerves, terrified of the man in front of you, but what if it had been something more?

And though you didn't know them, not yet, at least, the attentiveness and kindness each of them had shown you during your time with them had been nice. You would never admit it out loud, but you had enjoyed that time with them more than you ever had with the humans. Having plenty of time to rest and recharge, being treated as a normal person, it was more than anyone had ever given you before. Never in your life had anyone ever treated you in such a way before. To have looked beyond your slit eyes or the lack of horns on your head and treated you kindly. It would have been the best week in your life if it hadn't been for the fact your life had hung in the balance.

And yet, there had been a reason they had chosen to look past what others had been unable to. They hadn't seen you as either daemon or human, but they hadn't seen you for who you truly were either. No, they had simply seen you as their mate and then treated you accordingly. And that singular fact hurt more than it would have if the opposite had been true. If they had simply treated you as the halfbreed you were.

"I'm aware that all of this is probably normal for you, that finding out your someone's mate is a more joyous occasion, but nothing about this is normal for me. It's foreign, confusing, and more than a little overwhelming. Having and finding your mate might simply be a way of life for you, but it's not the way I grew up where who we end up with is a choice rather than something decided by fate. And though it might be a bit different for you than most daemons, Hongjoong has known about me my entire life and has had two decades to think things over and make a decision. And I didn't get any of that. I had it forced upon me before I even knew what was happening, so forgive me, pleasse," you took a deep breath, hands clenching at your sides and causing the nails to dig into your skin, "if I seem to have some reservations about it all."

"Which are perfectly valid, however hard they might be to hear." As you neared the city's entrance, Yeosang reached out to you, pulling you to a stop next to him so that he had your full attention. "And though it may be wrong of me to ask this of you after everything that's happened, could you at least give us a try? Things may have started off badly, but is there nothing we can do to redeem ourselves? If it's time you need, we can give you that. All we ask, all I ask, is that you give us another chance before throwing it all away. Please, angel, I'm begging you."

The desperation in his voice caught you off guard. The way his eyes pleaded with you in that moment made your stomach twist and you were unable to hold his gaze for more than a few seconds as the feeling of vulnerability hit you once more. Here was one of the Seven, one of the most powerful beings in your world, all but begging for your forgiveness for the wrong he had done you.

You didn't know what scared you the most in that moment. The raw emotion buried within his words, the way he was looking at you as though you were the only thing that mattered, or the fact it was working.

You didn't want it too, still hurt and bitter about what they had done to you, but goddammit, he was right. As someone who had grown up helping others, you had grown up believing that everyone deserved a second chance at life, no matter what they had done. It was why you had been so willing to save the injured daemons. It was why you had been willing to save Seonghwa. Because who were you to decide whether or not they died? People made mistakes all the time and these mistakes were bound to hurt others, especially the ones closest to them. So, who were you to deny them that second chance when they seemed more than willing to change? When they were all but begging for you to let them redeem themselves?

"You said you can give me more time," you spoke slowly, trying to keep your own emotions under control. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Yeosang straightened up, the grip in which he held you with tightening at the hopeful prospect your response elicited. "In whatever way you needed. We would ask that you still come with us to ensure your own safety and wellbeing, but we won't rush you into anything that you're not comfortable with. We can do things on your time if that's what you so wish."

"My time," you echoed his words, letting the implication of them hit. It wasn't ideal. Not since you had been forced into this whole ordeal to begin with, but it did offer you some small comfort knowing that the way things could and would proceed from here on out could be done at a pace and way you were comfortable with. "And all of you would be okay with that?"

"Of course. Anything you may need or want, we'll do. All you have to do is ask."

None of it truly changed what would happen, and you were fully aware that despite how you felt, you would still be going with them. It all just boiled down to whether you would go willingly or by force.

And yet, there was still some relief in knowing you now had time. You may have very well been in the same position you were before, having no real say in whether you got to stay or go, but there was some ease of mind knowing you could do things on your time, that you had some time to sort through your thoughts and feelings and not be forced into anything else you weren't comfortable with. There was peace in knowing you had some of the power in your hands, in knowing you still had some control over how exactly your fate would play out. It wasn't much, but it was more than you had before.

"Okay," you took another breath, doing your best to stop the blush that was creeping up the back of your neck at his words. You knew he didn't mean they would do absolutely anything for you, not if it meant losing you, but it still made your stomach flop. "I'll think about it."

~

Do you need something?

You jumped at the voice that rang out in your head, breaking the inner monologue you had been mulling over for the past twenty minutes in your attempt to decide whether it was a good time to approach him or not. Looking up, you saw Hongjoong had stopped sparring for the moment to talk with a daemon soldier, but his gaze had turned in your direction, brow raised as he awaited your response.

Can we talk?

To your surprise, he nodded. You hadn't known what exactly you were doing when it came to talking to him through the bond, but it seemed as though whatever you had done had worked and gotten through to him.

You had little time to celebrate your accomplishment, quickly noting the way he grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped up his conversation with the lesser daemon before making his way over. After talking with Yeosang the day before, you had spent the majority of that day and night thinking over everything he had said and what it had meant for you. And the more you pondered over it, the more you came to realize what your next step would have to be. Talking with Yeosang could only do so much. If you truly wanted to hash out what was to happen with you now and set the boundaries you wished to set, you were left with no choice but to speak with all of them. But first, you needed to clear a few things up with Hongjoong.

It had taken you nearly an hour to gather the courage to go through with it once you realized it was the next reasonable step for you to take, and then another once you had narrowed down his location in the camp. When you had seen what he was up to, you very nearly retreated then and there, especially since Wooyoung, San, and Jongho had also been there. This wasn't the first time you had found them here, often catching sight of one or two out in the fields on your way to some corner of the camp. And though you often diverted your eyes and hurried along, that hadn't stopped you from sneaking a few peaks as you did, especially today.

You had retreated to a nearby tree, doing your best to shroud your body in shadows as you attempted to wait him out before fully giving up. And though your eyes had done their best to focus on the sketchbook in hand, it hadn't stopped them from peaking over the cover every so often. You had told yourself it was to check and see if Hongjoong was free yet, but the excuse never covered the way your eyes lingered for a few extra seconds before returning to your lap.

You knew they were skilled, but it was still something else seeing them in action. Even if they weren't using their full potential against each other, it was still clear to you why none of them had ever been stopped before. Your eyes had struggled to keep up with their movements, not just from the speed in which they moved, but the way their muscles had rippled, eliciting a very similar feeling to the one with Yeosang before.

"C'mon, why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"

You jumped once more at his approach, quickly shutting the sketchbook in your lap and hoping he didn't take notice of the fact it was him who you had been drawing. Only once it was safely tucked away did you take the hand he extended towards you and allowed him to help pull you to your feet.

You struggled to get a read on him, taking quick note of the distance he had put between the two of you since the last time you had talked. He was guarded, more so than he had been the last time, and you were quickly reminded of the way things had ended between you. Of the last words you had said to him. And though they had been the truth, you still began to regret them in that moment, fully aware of the way they had cut him and how you would have never dared to say it if it hadn't been for your own heightened emotions.

"I'm sorry if anything I said or did that night hurt you," you started once he had led you back to the place where it had begun between you. "It's just, everything happened so fast and nothing you said or did could have prepared me for what you said and I panicked."

"You have no reason to apologize. You were right in what you had said. I never should have bonded you to us then. Not without your consent, and in doing so, I had hurt you." He leaned against the table that took up the center of the room, looking everywhere but at you. "It was just so overwhelming finally seeing you after all that time that I didn't think. I was terrified of losing you, and after everything I had been through to finally get to this point, I acted on impulse to make sure I never would. It might not feel this way from your view, but I did it for you. Everything I did was for you. To ensure your safety. To ensure your happiness. And yet, I've already failed."

You sunk down on the edge of the bed, the effect his words had on you making you unstable. The intimacy in his tone making you all the more uncomfortable, even more so since it was coming from him. Even with all the time you had spent processing everything, to not only be in his presence, but at the end of his concern, was still so strange. You weren't used to this type of attention, this care and concern they all seemed to shower onto you, and it only added to the insecurities that had plagued you since he had revealed you were their mate.

"What you did wasn't right, and I'm still struggling with my frustrations towards you all for it, but after talking with Yeosang and thinking over some things myself, I think I might be willing to give this all a chance, but," you raised your hand before he had a chance to respond, "I still need to clarify a few things with you and the others first. And then, if I'm comfortable with the answers you give me, maybe we can work something out. Or at least make me more willing to go with you."

"Of course. Please, ask away."

He did his best to contain the reaction your response gave, but you still felt a shiver of excitement roll through you in that instance. And though you didn't know exactly how you knew it, you were fully aware that emotion hadn't been your own, but the man's next to you. His emotions momentarily leaking into you through the bond that linked you.

"In a minute." You shook your head. "Not only do I think that it would be best if everyone was present for them so I can hear from you altogether, but there's still something I need to discuss with you before we can move on to that."

"Your father," Hongjoong answered for you. "Yes, Yeosang said you would probably come asking about it."

"I need to know what happened. If he was innocent, and someone else is to blame for my mother's death," your breath shook, the thought of finally discovering what had gone down that night was nearly overwhelming, "I think I deserve to know."

"I'll tell you, but," he lifted a finger to stop the rebuttal that began to claw its way out of your throat at but, "it won't be easy to hear. And I don't doubt you'll wish to be alone once the story has been told in full. If you wish to talk to us about making things work, I doubt you'll feel much like talking once we're done here."

You took a deep breath, the ominous message behind his words making you shiver. Yeosang had said things were more complicated than they seemed from the surface, but both had hinted at the truth being hard to hear. And why was that? Because they had allowed the thought of your father actually being a good man to bloom? And to hear he had still snapped and killed your mother would only serve to make it worse for you than it had been before?

"Then I guess you'll just have to wait." You set your face and nodded your confirmation. Hard to hear or not, this was something you still needed to know. Especially if the rest of them had also played a role in it all.

"My father was not a kind man, and he did many terrible things during his reign as king. He craved the power his position held and did everything he could to gain more, no matter the cost. He loathed the fact that I was stronger than him, that I could take everything away from him if I so wished, so he did everything in his power to ensure I kept my place beneath him." His words mirrored a similar sentiment Yeosang had held towards the the former king and you were quick to notice how they elicited a similar response from him. "And as time went on and the daemons became less happy with his rule, his paranoia became increasingly worse and only served to add to the cruelty he showed them. It was clear that someone needed to put a stop to it, and that I was one of the only daemons who was able to stop him, but I didn't know how. I was stronger, but he knew my weaknesses and played them to his strengths. He knew how close I was with my own guard and had no shame in exploiting it. He may have been no match for me, but my guard was not and they were the ones who suffered whenever I stepped out of line."

"He hurt them?"

It was just as much a statement for yourself to process just exactly he was hinting at as it was a question to him, absolutely appalled. When Yeosang had mentioned the previous king had been cruel, you had expected a cruelty akin to the rumors you had grown up hearing about daemons as a whole. You hadn't expected to hear of a man who was so jealous of his own son and the power he held, that he actively hurt others to make sure he did exactly what he wanted him to.

"My father took great pride in the ability he obtained from my grandfather, the one that allowed him to take control of another person's body so long as some of his blood had entered their system. For reasons we never did quite understand, it did not work against me, nor was I able to use it against him, so all I could do was stand and watch as he made them enact his cruelty on them, themselves." Hongjoong shuddered, and despite everything he had done to you, it didn't stop the wave of sympathy that filled you in that moment. "They always insisted it was fine. That it wasn't my fault, but how was it not? If I so much as questioned anything he did or showed the slightest ounce of disobedience, they were the ones who suffered for it."

"But they were right." You stood up from your seat on the bed, cautiously approaching him and placing your hand against the one he had braced against the table behind him. "It wasn't your fault. That blame lies on your father. Not you. And no matter what he might have said to convince you otherwise, he's wrong."

"Thank you." He seemed surprised by your presence, but he didn't push you away. Instead, he only leaned further into you, shifting his body closer towards yours. "That means a lot coming from you, even if I don't quite believe or deserve it. But, you didn't come to me to hear about my past, but what happened to your father." He paused for a second, taking a deep breath before continuing. "You see, your father may have been one of the king's guards, but he hated the man he had become. He refused to stand by and allow the cruelty to continue, so one day he approached me when my father was out of town. He told me what he had been thinking and proposed a plan to assassinate my father. It was a good plan if done perfectly, one where no one would end of being killed, but before we could follow through with it, it fell through. Despite the precautions we had put in place, my father still somehow received word of something going on. And I swear, if it wasn't for your father or Seoyun, all of us would have probably died that night."

You shook at the wave of fear that coursed through you in that moment, tightening your hold on his hand as you blinked back the tears his sorrow caused. The pain and anguish that filled him was nearly overwhelming, and it was only a fraction of what he had felt that night.

"Angel, I'm so sorry." His frown increased when he looked up to see the tears that lined your eyes, suddenly aware that he had slipped and allowed his emotions to flow over into you. "I didn't-"

"It's okay." You shook your head, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze to tell him it was fine. "I don't mind. I mean, can I really complain after the hell I've probably caused you to go through because I can't control mine yet? You don't have to worry about keeping them locked away, at least not for my sake."

He nodded, though you still felt the emotions pull back from you in the moments that followed. "Seoyun was able to settle his rage before anything got too out of hand, and to ensure something like this never happened again, he sent Minsu away to the humans. And for the next fifteen years, I didn't dare step another foot out of line; at least not until you suddenly appeared in my life."

"This Seoyun you mentioned, who is she?"

"A... childhood friend and someone who's saved our lives more times than I can count. You see, she's one of the daemons who have seemed to slip through the cracks of the spell and was born with a unique ability. Without her ability to influence others' emotions, we never would have been able to quell my father's rage when he got worked up."

You nodded, wondering why he had paused in mentioning his relation to this woman and if it meant what you thought it meant. You didn't care. Really you didn't. You knew Hongjoong was your mate, but that didn't mean that you wanted him in that way. At least not yet. And if he had past relations with other women, you didn't care.

"But, like I said," Hongjoong continued, pulling your thoughts from Seoyun and what might have occurred between the two of them before, "your father was sent to observe the humans and I didn't dare to try anything else until my first vision of you appeared. Even to this day, I can still see it clearly. Of Minsu's face staring down at you as though you were the most precious thing in the world. If the shock of you finally being born wasn't enough, it was knowing you were Minsu's daughter. And unfortunately for all of us, I wasn't able to hide my emotions well enough and it wasn't long before my father found out."

"He killed them, didn't he?"

You had known it was coming, but it did little to lighten the weight of it as the realization sunk in. You had never known either of your parents; at least not long enough for you to count knowing them, but knowing the truth still hurt because it changed everything. You had had your suspicions over the years through Soomin, but knowing that he had truly loved her, had truly loved you, sent you reeling.

"We tried to stop him. Once I recieved word he was traveling to Maehwa, Yeosang and I raced after him, but we were too late to save your mother. Fortunately, Minsu had some warning, as you and your siblings were gone by the time my father arrived. And to ensure he didn't spend the next weeks hunting you three down, Yeosang used his ability to fake your deaths."

You were silent, fighting the wave of emotions that soared through you. Hongjoong had been right when he said the truth would be hard to hear, but not in the way you had expected. Hearing your father was actually a monster would have been easy to hear compared to this. Compared to the knowledge his and your mother's deaths were all because of you.

"No," Hongjoong shook his head, hearing the direction your thoughts had taken. The hand under yours slipped out, reaching for your chin and forcing you to look up at him. "It wasn't your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's me. If I had done a better job at hiding it, he never would have found out and your parents would have never died. It's my fault, angel. Not yours. It's my fault for not standing up to my father when I should have. So if you have to put the blame somewhere, put it on me."

It was strange; mourning people you had never even known. Mourning a life that had never been yours and yet, could have if things had only played out a little different. For years, you had kept everything bottled up inside, hiding the pain behind a mask of anger. And now that the anger was gone, there was nothing to stop the sorrow that had built up all those years.

You're a lot like him, you know, Yeosang had said. He would have absolutely adored you.

At the time you had hated those words, hated him for comparing yourself to your father, but now, now they sent a wave of warmth flowing through you.

"I won't lie, a part of me wants to, but I can't and I won't." You closed your eyes, understanding now why Hongjoong had warned you about hearing the truth and why Yeosang had insisted it was him you hear it from. "Because it's not true. It's not right. Your father's sins are not your own and he's the only one we have the right to blame here, however hard it may be."

"Angel." The word was nothing more than a breath and before you knew what was happening, he had pulled you flush against him and into a tight embrace.

You tensed, fully aware of just who was holding you as though his very life depended on it. But at the soft, mumbling "Thank you," that followed, you allowed yourself to slowly sink into his touch, wrapping your own arms around him. After everything the both of you had gone through to get to this point right here, this was something you both needed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have." Hongjoong was the first to pull back, stepping fully away. "Do you wish to be alone?"

"No," you shook your head, "You may stay if you wish. I... I might have more questions for you in a moment."

"Of course," he nodded, "whatever you need."

He guided you to back to the bed and you sank down along the edge with little resistance, giving your legs some much needed rest before they collapsed on you. He sat down beside you, far enough away that you had enough space to be comfortable, but close enough to know he was there if you were to need anything.

"You came after me. You could have just left me and the others to die, but you didn't. Why?"

"Because you were my mate. I would have done anything and everything to keep you safe."

“But I was a halfbreed.”

"Perhaps when I was younger I might have cared. I'm not proud to say that I viewed half-daemons differently then and I could blame it on the way I was raised and the community I grew up in, but I should have known better. I should have known that one's lineage or blood had nothing to do on their character." He took a deep breath, carefully gauging your reaction out of the corner of his eyes. "It was your father who helped to change my view, as well as other members of my guard who had spent their first few years of life differently than I. So, when it came to be known that Yeosang wasn't fully daemon, I realized everything my father had told me was wrong. They weren't a pest or scourge so many daemons liked to claim. They weren't any less than those pure of blood. For how could they, when one of them had helped to save myself and the other guard members from my father's wrath so may times?

"And never once did I ever think negatively of you for your lineage. In fact, I cherished it. Because I knew through you, change might finally come."

"I think," you spoke after a few moments of silence, "I think I'd like to have that talk with you and the others now."

"Are you sure, angel? You don't have to, we can-"

"No, I'm sure." You nodded. "Knowing the truth of what happened to my father might have been difficult to hear and it might be a while before I can fully take in what happened, but there is also great relief in it as well. I'll now mourn for them and the life that could have been, but knowing that my father was innocent has lifted a weight on my shoulders I didn't even know was there. And for the first time in my life, I'm... I'm proud to say he was my father." Tears pricked at your eyes, the weight that was lifted at admitting those words causing another wave of emotions to course through you. "And after everything you've just told me, about him and the others, there are other questions I wish to ask, but feel as though it would be better if everyone was here."

"If that is what you wish, then I will call them."

"Thank you," you replied, doing your best to wipe the last of the tears away and to straighten yourself up before the others arrived.

At no surprise to you, Seonghwa was the first to arrive, teleporting next to you mere seconds after Hongjoong had informed you they were on their way. You had expected him to pull such a move, wanting to beat the others to you, but you still jumped when he suddenly appeared beside you.

Mingi and Yunho were next to arrive, whispering between themselves as they entered the tent. Their words fell away when they saw you sitting in between Hongjoong and Seonghwa on the bed, and they each sent a reassuring smile in your direction alongside their greeting.

San, Wooyoung, and Jongho followed closely after, the dust scattered across their clothes and the hair that clung to the back of their necks and face showing they must have continued sparring throughout your conversation with Hongjoong.

The last to arrive was Yeosang, and his appearance quickly brought back everything Hongjoong had said about him. How he had saved your life when he used his ability to make the former king believe you to already be dead and how he had also used it to save the others from him as well.

Just what had they gone through before? Hongjoong mentioned no specifics when it came to the way his father had punished each of them, but the pain you had felt through Hongjoong was all you needed to know. The suffering they had gone through at his hands was something you could never fully understand, but it didn't stop the burst of sympathy that came through you or the sudden urge you had to comfort them. To tell you how sorry you were for the pain they had endured and how you wished you could have been there to ease it.

But that would have to wait. Now was not the time nor place for it, and if you wanted to get to that place, you would need to secure your footing with them now. You couldn't afford to let yourself get pulled into their lives when you were still wondering just what your place with them was.

"I called you all here because I've done quite a bit of thinking these past few days," you began, eyes trained at the hands fiddling in your lap, "and despite things starting off rather badly, after talking with Yeosang and Hongjoong, I think I might just be willing to give this whole thing a try. To give you all a try, but I do have some final questions for all of you before I make my final decision. The first being what exactly would it look like if I were to accept?"

"I should think it would be obvious," Hongjoong began when the responsibility of the answer fell on him. "You are my mate, and through the bond that now binds us all, you are also theirs. Each of us are in agreement to treat you as such. You'll be taken care of, given anything you may require or desire, and when the proper time comes, you'll become queen."

"And you're all okay with that?" Your voice shook, unable to ignore the fact Hongjoong had just explicitly stated he had full intention of making you his queen when the time came. But you pushed it aside for the moment, choosing to focus on the more important topic at the moment; the one that your fate balanced upon. "This whole sharing a mate thing, I mean. You're all okay with it?"

"It was a bit strange at first, sure," Mingi was the one to respond first, beating Hongjoong. "I don't think any of us were expecting it to happen when Hongjoong was crowned and the bond reached its full strength, but you have to understand the bond between mates is unlike anything else, and many consider it to be the most sacred aspects of the maetha inside us. As someone who had never experienced this feeling until a few years ago, I'll be the first to attest that it's not something you can just easily push aside. And the additional bond that ties us all together only further intensifies those feelings."

"It's not very often mates end up rejecting one another, and there's good reason for it," Yunho continued. "You might not feel it quite as strongly as us due to your human side, but I'm sure even you can feel it to some extent, especially with our other bond. A yearning that starts in the pit of your stomach, growing stronger with each passing moment you spend together and subconsciously pulling you in closer, filling you with a desire that becomes harder and harder to ignore. And then that terrible aching in your chest when you're apart from each other, growing worse the longer you're away. Not enough to kill you, but enough to drive you to near insanity."

"It's why the Black Guard are born without mates." Seonghwa added at your side, and you were quick to note the truth behind Yunho's earlier words. At some point in the conversation, Seonghwa had placed his hand down on the bed behind you and you found yourself slowly leaning back into it, nearly closing the gap between you. "To neglect them of a bond that powerful would be torture and they would never be able to fulfill their roles and put the king before any and everyone else. Hongjoong knew this, so when we discovered what had happened when we each saw the vision of you on your eighteenth birthday, he wasted little time in deciding what would happen and that we would all just share you."

"It might be strange, but we've almost spent a century together at this point. Our entire lives have been spent leaning and trusting on one another. The idea that we would now all share a mate felt more natural than any of us had expected. And as someone who's always yearned to experience a relationship such as this, it was like a dream come true." Jongho's face tinted pink at his confession, and the sincerity in which he looked at you in that moment almost caused you to blush.

It was the very same sincerity that traced each of their features, all but ensuring each of them were speaking the truth. As crazy as it was to you, none of them seemed bothered by the fact they would be sharing you, nor show any trace of jealousy, at least at the moment. Not even Hongjoong, who made no motion to rebuke any of the their statements, caring more about them and their own wellbeing than being upset by the fact he would be sharing his mate with each of them.

"I'll admit you've each put up a pretty convincing argument," you began after a few moments of silence, "but you're all skipping over a rather important piece of information, especially if you're convinced of treating me the way you claim you will. How are the other daemons going to respond to this? This bond between us and your history with my kind might have made it easier for each of you to accept me, but what about the others? What will you do when my presence causes an uproar? Because believe me, it will."

“If anyone were to speak ill of you or attempt to harm you in any way, they’ll be dealt with accordingly-”

"In which case you don't mean murdering them, right?" You quirked a brow over at San, knowing exactly what the hand of justice looked like to the daemons. Hongjoong might have not been his father, but his past actions had shown he was just as willing to kill for the right reason. "You can't just go around killing anyone and everyone who has wronged me in some way. Not only is that a terrible way to foster a better relationship between daemons and my kind, but it makes me feel terrible," you continued, stopping him or anyone else who tried to rebuke your sentiments. "And besides, if you did, then just about everyone in this world would be dead, including each of you."

"You make a valid point, but," Mingi responded, elbowing San in the side to get him to shut up before he said anything else that might have upset you further, "if anyone dared to threaten your life or safety, none of us can guarantee that we would be able to reign in our wrath the way you might want us to. We're not quite as merciful as you are, angel."

"Not that anyone would ever be able to make it that far though," Wooyoung piped up. "None of us would ever let anything happen to you. Your safety and happiness are our top priority."

"Perhaps there may be times when death is unavoidable, but I hope you would only act on it if my life was actually in danger and there was no other choice. Otherwise, I would prefer not only for you to not kill them, but to let me deal with it on my own. I may not be very capable in a fight, but I can handle a few nasty words thrown my way. I've had my whole life to practice, after all," you sighed, already fully aware of the chaos your presence was going to cause and wondering what the hell you were thinking to consider willingly subjecting yourself to it.

"Which leads me to another important note. If this is going to work, you're going to let me do things my way and on my own time. I'm still beyond frustrated at you all and the way you forced me into this. And though coming to learn your actions might have been done with a pure intent, that doesn't excuse them or change the fact they still hurt me. For weeks I was left confused and terrified for my life. I thought I was going to die, and then you dump this crazy, fucking mess on me, leaving me even more confused and terrified than I was before." You paused for just a moment, catching your breath. "My whole life I've been told I'm nothing and that I'll amount to nothing. I've been called any and all the names for a person of my status and have been rejected because of it more times than I can count. And sure, you learn to ignore it after a while, otherwise you'll drive yourself insane, but that doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt. Each and every insult and rejection slowly chipping away at me." You pulled your knees up to your chest, burying your chin in between them. "And when everyone around you holds that same sentiment towards you, it only takes so long for it to start creeping in. You can only tell yourself it's not true for so long before you start to fall for their lies. Before you start to believe it yourself. So when you tell me something completely different than what I've been led to believe my entire life, it's... hard. And it hurts. It hurts because..."

I know if I wasn’t your mate, none of you would have made a passing glance in my direction. 

You didn't dare voice it out loud, not quite ready to bare yourself that much to them, but at the way Seonghwa's arm tensed behind you, you knew you had just done it again and each one of them had heard the words that had just rang through your head.

"And believe me when I say I don't blame you for it. After all, why would you?" Your words were soft, muffled against your legs as you sunk further into yourself. "I mean, you're the fucking daemon king and his seven generals; the most powerful men in this part of the world. And I'm what? Just someone who was lucky to be born. So why would any of you have ever given me a passing thought if it wasn't for the fate that now ties us altogether?"

"Angel-"

"No," you shook your head, cutting Yunho off. "I didn't tell you any of that to gain your sympathy or pity, so please don't give it to me. It'll only make things worse for me. I only wish for you to understand why I reacted in the way I did. To understand why I hold so many reservations towards it all and why we have to do it my way for things to work. Because if we continue down this road you've started, it's not going to end well for any of us."

“Take any and all the time you need, angel,” Wooyoung responded. “We’ll be here waiting whenever you’re ready.”

“Even if it takes years?”

“We’re daemons, remember, pretty?” Seonghwa doesn’t miss a beat beside you. “Once you start nearing a century, a few years is nothing.”

“And what if it was a century?”

“I’ve waited that long already, what’s another one?” Hongjoong returned. “Especially now that I’ve finally found you.”

“If that’s what you believe, then you’re crazy,” you huffed, but a hint of a smile tugged at your lips. “No one is worth that long of a wait.”

“Then I guess we’re all just crazy,” San hummed from across the room. “Because I, for one, think you are more than worth the wait.”

At the murmur of agreement that traversed the room, you found yourself burying your head in your legs once more. No longer from an attempt to comfort yourself, but from the way their words left a blush to bloom across your face. Never in your life had anyone expressed this sort of sentiment towards you, and you struggled to control the way your stomach flipped at the thought. 

And for the first time since you had met them, you couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this life wouldn’t be too bad. If maybe the fate that had tied you to them wasn’t the end of the world. That maybe, just maybe, a part of you was almost happy to be their mate. 

~

a/n: taglists will now be in a reblog :) thanks for all your love and support

[zerobaseonefics]

stuck by you from the glue ㅡ park gunwook (requested)

for my dear separation issue anon, i'm sorry it took so long </3

park gunwook x gn!reader

genre : fluff

hearing the multiple notifications on your phone, your eyes fluttered open. when you woke up earlier that day, you realized you were feeling too sick to go the school. you were so tired that you forgot to tell gunwook about it.

gunwook and you were friends. like, really good friends. the type of friends that are always sticking together at school. you two walk to school together, you share the same classes, you eat together, and you go home together. there is not a minute not spent together in the day and you even see each other on the weekends. really good friends, right? good friends can hold hands under the tables, in the streets, on the bus like you do...

good friends can crumble dramatically against your door when you tell them you won't be at school today because you're sick.

gunwook put his phone in the pocket of his jacket, comtemplating the mess he was in (mind you, it was just a school day without you). but gunwook just hated when you were separated for too long, and it was the same for you. at least, you were in the comfort of your bed, but he had to go the school...

gunwook let out a heavy sight, getting up from the doorstep to make is way to school. he walked alone to the bus station, waiting for it. when it came, he find a place, once again alone, and he sat. his friend junhyeon got in at the next stop, making its way to gunwook with a genuine smile.

"where's your soulmate?" asked junhyeon teasingly. dramatically, gunwook let his head bang against the window.

"is this how life is supposed to be...?"

"what? y'all broke up?"

"we were never dating but i feel like they broke up with me today..."

"uh?? damn, i was saying this as joke and didn't expect it to be true. what happened?"

"they are...sick."

junhyeon, who was worried about his friend, was now wearing a straight face. gunwook turned to look at junhyeon when he didn't hear any reactions from him. "what?" he gently asked.

"are you kidding me? they are just sick they didn't give up on you!"

"i still come to school to see them when i'm sick..."

"and that's because you're a freak!" stated junhyeon.

gunwook didn't respond, letting his head fall on junhyeon's shoulder. he closed his eyes to try and get some sleep. junhyeon let him on his shoulder, but didn't stop talking.

"well. you can spend the day with me today."

"you will leave me once taerae comes around."

"no, i'm not like you and y/n... plus, taerae and i are actually just best friends."

"y/n and i are just friends!" said gunwook, pulling away from his friend shoulder.

"because you're scared to ask for more."

gunwook pouted, crossing his arms against his chest. he knew junhyeon was right. but it wasn't the subject for him! the problem here, was that he had to spend an exhausting day at school without you. he absolutly loved junhyeon, but it was not the same as staying with you.

that day went incredibly slow for gunwook. sure, he laughed a lot with junhyeon and taerae. the "you're in love with y/n conversation" didn't come back around because junhyeon tried his best to help gunwook think about something else. but during the lunch time, when gunwook realized he unconsciously looked for your hand under the table, the train of thoughts named you couldn't stop.

"what's wrong gunwook? you don't seem to be with us" asked taerae with an evident worry in his voice.

"oh, nothing. i was wondering if y/n felt better."

junhyeon sighed heavily, realizing his mission have failed. but taerae had a smile on his face. he just find you and gunwook so cute.

"maybe you should text them. they'll probably be happy of hearing from you."

indeed, you was wondering if gunwook was mad at you. how come he didn't text you at all and it was already lunch time? gunwook was actually thinking about texting you the whole morning, but he just didn't want to disturb you. if you were sick to the point you were missing school, he wanted to let you rest.your face lit up when you saw the text. you were craving to be with gunwook as much as him and you were glad he finally texted you.

"why don't you go see them after school? just to say hi. i'm pretty sure it's gonna help them feel better." proposed taerae.

"you think so?"

"yeah! bring them their favorite snack or something."

gunwook saw this as an amazing idea. all the means were good to see you! he feels like he forgot your face since it's been so long... (24 hours he is just a dramatic ahh simp). so, after school, he rushed to the convenient store to buy you you're favorite snack and a little plushy he find there. he felt kind of nervous for some reasons. what if you rejected him? what if you didn't want to see him...

what are you on, gunwook? it's not like you're gonna confess, right? you're just... checking up on them.

soon enough, he ended up in front of your door. gunwook tapped on his own shoulder to give himself comfort, before knocking three times on the door. your parent came to open.

"oh! gunwook, you're here. how are you doing?"

"hello! i'm fine, i wanted to check on y/n, actually"

"this is gonna be such great news for them! they complained about not seeing you today"

"r-really?"

your parent only nodded with a smile, letting gunwook in. no, he was not blushing, his cheeks were rosy because of the cold weather. that's it.

he made his way to your room, knocking gently with anticipation.

"yes?"

"y/n, can i come in?"

"gunwook?"

he heard a loud noise in behind the door, and loud footstep rushing somewhere. after a few seconds, gunwook dared to ask again.

"uh... you're good? i heard noise? can i come in?"

"y-yes you can!"

hesitantly, he opened the door to find your room completly in the dark. you were tucked in bed.

"were you sleeping?"

"uh, yes."

you were absolutly not sleeping. you just rushed to pull down the certains because you didn't want him to see the way you looked right now.

"i'm sorry to disturb you then, i just wanted to see you... i bought you something!"

he made his way to your bed, sitting next to you on the corner. gunwook gave you the back with what he brought for you. "you didn't have to..." you shyly mumbled as you took out the surprise. your eyes widened when you saw your favorite snack and the cute plushie he just bought you. "that's so sweet! thank you"

"y/n why are you still in the dark, it's too late for that!" your parent entered the room and went to your curtains, pulling them to let the light enter in your room. gunwook was glad to finally see the face you were hiding for him, while you felt the whole contrary. your parent didn't say much more, leaving the room and closing the door behind them.

gunwook could see you were sick and in bed the whole day. you were still wearing pajamas, your hair were messy, and you had dark circles. gunwook scrutinized your face with a tiny smile he was restraining, and you felt uneasy at the idea of him finding you ugly. to your surprise, gunwook took your hand in his.

"how do you manage to look good when you're sick" he sighed. "what?" you said.

"i said you look good."

feeling your cheeks warm up, you let go of his hand and lied back under the blanket, hiding your face up until your eyes. gunwook chuckled.

"you're all red. is it the fever?" he asked, taking his hand to your forehead.

"yeah, it must be it... anyway, how was today?"

"terribly long." he simply said.

"you missed me?" you asked in a singing tone.

"you wouldn't believe me! i was eating lunch with taerae and junhyeon and i was looking for your hand before realizing you're not here."

you laughed the nervousness away.

"oh, you're being dramatic." you stated.

"i'm not. did you not miss me too?"

you simply nodded to say yes, too shy to say it out loud. gunwook smile widened, and he dared to sneak his hand under your blanket to take your hand again. he gently pulled it out of under the blanket to drag it to his mouth, planting a soft kiss.

"you better recover soon, i hate it when you're not here."

[baki-tiene-un-simp]

Hi 🤗

I don't know if you're writing soulmates au but if not you can just pretend it's a classic s/o

Would you write about Hanayama, Baki, Kureha and Yujiro about having a soul mate (fem or gn) who is of another nationality like in Japan the cultural mix is ​​still rather frowned upon by the most older (especially with Chinese and Korean). I'm especially thinking of a scenario where someone criticizes the fact that their soul mate is foreign, how would they react ?

I love your writhings 💜

Situation: Soulmates Au

Characters: Baki Hanma, Kaoru Hanayama, Kureha Shinogi and Yujiro Hanma.

You were able to be together, thanks to you, you were the one who had the courage to leave everything you knew, all your family, your friends, your job and the life you had already built to venture into a risky search to meet a person you had never known before. Seen, but that you knew it was out there. Waiting for you.

[Your Baki boy] admire your determination and bravery wondering if he had been capable of the same, would he have run into your arms without being sure that you would really receive him waiting? Would he have abandoned everything he achieved with effort and sacrifice to meet you, far from his country, his friends and his goals? He probably wouldn't have been capable of that, he knows, he always feared what could happen if he ran aimlessly for his soul mate, he would never do something so reckless for fear of the consequences that his careless actions would drag. However, you are different from him, you decided to take this risk for both of us. [Your boy from Baki] couldn't do anything but open his arms and comfort your tears of joy at finally finding him, you stood before him as confused as one could be in a strange country without a solid foundation of the language; that they found each other was a complete miracle.

He took care of you for a while until he could teach you Japanese and you could settle in the country on your own, all while the two of you were getting to know each other and cementing a relationship, I couldn't believe you were finally together.

Despite all the time you've spent together, you haven't seen much of Japan other than the places you frequent with [Your boy from Baki], who thought it would be a good idea for the two of you to go out together so you could get to know the city. . You were delighted by the idea, needless to say. Soon they would be touring the center of the city to familiarize you with your new surroundings, huge buildings looming over your head, while bright lights flickered, drawing your full attention with every step you took. [Your Baki guy] didn't think he would impress you with so little, but your smile is so cute that he's definitely satisfied.

He takes you by the arm to show you one of the busiest parks in the city, it is full of vegetation and you can stop for a moment to rest under the shade for a few seconds. Your vibrant accent tickles [Your Baki guy]'s ear, you're lovely, he listens intently when you talk about how amazing your day has been and how much you thank him for taking the time to do this with you.

Baki Hanma.

He smiled happily when you got lost in the details that have interested you so much, your corners don't stop stretching and you get so close to him that he starts to get nervous. He really don't expect the feelings he has developed for you to overwhelm him that much, he is very happy.

However, he catches the distant gaze of two old women who are looking at the two of them in a … strange way. It's a kind of look that carries some form of judgment, as if its very existence is wrong.

"Young people these days only know how to go against good customs" is the only thing they let go when they intentionally pass close to you, pretending not to have noticed you.

You shrink in your seat, visibly less energetic than before, Baki grimaces at this, "elders can be so reckless sometimes" he ignores the faces of the women who still heard him, "Don't listen to them, I couldn't be luckier to have someone like you by my side"

Kaoru Hanayama.

Hanayama is happy with your enthusiasm, his attentive eyes don't leave your figure for even a second, it's all the cute expressions and amazed phrases that you let go that keeps his calm. His big arm on the back of the seat to protect your shoulders carefully.

"Ugh, damn foreigners" the voice surprised you and made you shiver uncomfortably due to the deep hatred that could be perceived just by hearing it, "how dare they do something like this in public?"

Kaoru stands up to his full height and faces the man behind you with a stern look, the other person has to step back to meet his face, "Did you say something?" He does not receive more response than an incomprehensible mutter before the subject moved away.

He comforts you by holding you in his arm, circles drawn on your back comforting you, "Don't pay attention, you're all I could ever want."

Kureha Shinogi.

"What a careless way of talking" the voice behind the man is heard higher than it should be a whisper, Kureha looks over her shoulder.

"Lower your voice! They might hear you" the girl who came with the boy scolded him covertly, "Why should I? We are in our country, foreigners only come to corrupt our bloodline"

"What comments are those?" Kureha whines inattentively at the walking away couple, he sounds like a conservative old man who still believes in blood purity, "I thought the people who said that were already retired. "

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. Don't listen to what they say. Some people just get carried away by old rumors, but that's all. I couldn't ask for anyone but you to share the rest of my life with."

Yujiro Hanma.

I don't think I've made this point clear enough, but, his soul mate (S/O, Y/N, You, ___, etc.) would be better off without him, just living their life without having the bad luck to cross his path.

He can't defend you from the comments of others because it's simply not his problem, in fact, he would make the comments worse just to tear at the fragile fabric of human sanity.

I would write a whole book about why and how his soul mate stays away from him, living happily and peacefully. I just hate him.

Versión en español.

Ustedes pudieron estar juntos gracias a ti, fuiste quien tuvo el valor de dejar todo cuanto conocía, a toda tu familia, tus amigos, tu trabajo y la vida que ya habías construido para aventurarte en una búsqueda arriesgada para conocer a una persona que jamás habías visto, pero que sabías que estaba ahí afuera. Esperándote.

[Tu chico de Baki] admiro tu determinación y tu valentía preguntándose si él hubiera sido capaz de lo mismo, ¿él habría corrido a tus brazos sin estar seguro de que realmente lo recibirías esperando? ¿Hubiera abandonado todo lo que consiguió con esfuerzo y sacrificio para conocerte, lejos de su país, amigos y metas? Probablemente no hubiera sido capaz de eso, lo sabe, siempre temió lo que podría pasar si corría sin rumbo por su alma gemela, jamás haría algo tan imprudente por miedo a las consecuencias que sus descuidadas acciones arrastrarían. Sin embargo, tú eres diferente a él, tú decidiste tomar este riesgo por ambos. [Tu chico de Baki] no pudo hacer otra cosa más que abrir sus brazos y consolar tu llanto de alegría por encontrarlo al fin, te presentaste frente a él tan confundido como se podría estar en un país extraño sin una base sólida del lenguaje; el que se hayan encontrado fue un completo milagro.

Él cuidó de ti durante un tiempo hasta que pudo enseñarte japonés y que pudieras asentarte en el país por tu propia cuenta, todo mientras ustedes dos se conocían y consolidaban una relación, no podía creer que estuvieran finalmente juntos.

A pesar de todo el tiempo que ustedes han pasado juntos no has visto mucho de Japón más allá que los lugares que frecuentas junto a [Tu chico de Baki], quien creyó que sería una buena idea que ambos salieran juntos para que pudieras conocer la ciudad. Estuviste encantado por la idea, esta de más decirlo. Pronto estarían recorriendo el centro de la ciudad para que te familiarices con tu nuevo entorno, enormes edificios se alzaban sobre tu cabeza, mientras que brillantes luces parpadeaban llamando tu entera atención a cada paso que das. [Tu chico de Baki] no creyó que te impresionaría con tan poco, pero tu sonrisa es tan linda que definitivamente está satisfecho.

Él te lleva del brazo para que conozcas uno de los parques más concurridos de la ciudad, está repleto de vegetación y ustedes pueden detenerse un momento para descansar bajo la sombra durante unos segundos. El vibrante acento que tienes le hace cosquillas a [Tu chico de Baki] en el oído, eres encantador, te escucha atentamente cuando hablas de lo increíble que ha sido todo el día y lo mucho que le agradeces por tomarse el tiempo de hacer esto contigo.

Baki Hanma.

Sonrió contento cuando te perdiste en los detalles que te han interesado tanto, tus comisuras no paran de estirarse y te acercas tanto a él que empieza a ponerse nervioso. Realmente no espero que los sentimientos que ha desarrollado por ti lo abrumen tanto, está muy feliz.

Sin embargo, capta la mirada distante de dos ancianas que los miran a los dos de forma… Extraña. Es una especie de mirada que carga alguna forma de juicio, como si su sola existencia estuviese mal.

"Los jóvenes de hoy en día solo saben ir contra las buenas costumbres" es lo único que dejan ir cuando pasan intencionalmente cerca de ustedes, disimulando no haberlos notado.

Te encoges en tu asiento, visiblemente menos enérgico que antes, Baki hace una mueca ante esto, "los ancianos pueden ser tan imprudentes a veces" ignora los rostros de las mujeres que igual lo escucharon, "No las escuches, no pude ser más afortunado de tener a alguien como tú a mi lado"

Kaoru Hanayama.

Hanayama esta feliz con tu entusiasmo, sus ojos atentos no dejan tu figura ni siquiera un segundo, son todas las lindas expresiones y frases asombradas que dejas ir lo que mantiene su calma. Su gran brazo en el respaldo del asiento para resguardar tus hombros con cuidado.

"Ugh, malditos extranjeros" la voz te sorprendió y te hizo removerte incómodo debido al profundo odio que se podía percibir solo al escucharlo, "¿cómo se atreven a hacer algo como esto en público?"

Kaoru se pone en pie en toda su altura y encara al hombre tras ustedes con una mirada severa, la otra persona tiene que retroceder para mirarlo a la cara, "¿Has dicho algo?" No recibe más respuesta que un murmullo incomprensible antes de que el sujeto se alejara.

Te consuela al estrecharte en su brazo, círculos dibujados en tu espalda que te reconfortan, "No prestes atención, eres todo lo que podría desear"

Kureha Shinogi.

"Que forma de hablar tan descuidada" la voz a la espalda del hombre se escucha más alto de lo que debería ser un susurro, Kureha mira sobre su hombro.

"¡Baja la voz! Podrían escucharte" la chica que venía con el muchacho lo regaño de forma disimulada, "¿Por qué debería? Estamos en nuestro país, los extranjeros solo vienen a corromper nuestra línea de sangre"

"¿Qué comentarios son esos?" Kureha se queja sin prestarles atención a la pareja que se aleja, suena como un anciano conservador que todavía cree en la pureza de la sangre, "Creí que las personas que decían esos ya estaban retiradas"

"¿Hm? Oh, no es nada. No hagas caso a lo que dicen. Algunas personas solo se dejan llevar por antiguos rumores, pero eso es todo. No podría pedir a nadie más que a ti para compartir el resto de mi vida"

Yujiro Hanma.

Creo que no he dejado este punto lo suficientemente claro, pero, su alma gemela (S/O, Tn, Tú, _, etc.) estaría mejor sin él, simplemente viviendo su vida sin tener la mala suerte de cruzarte en su camino.

No puede defenderte de los comentarios de otros porque simplemente no es su problema, de hecho, él haría que los comentarios fueran peores solamente para desgarrar la frágil tela de la cordura humana.

Escribiría un libro completo sobre porque y como su alma gemela se mantiene alejada de él, viviendo feliz y en paz. Simplemente lo odio.

[the-batcats-mder]

Description of Book

About Her

Soulmates

Chapter 1 The Start

Chapter 2 Ok

Chapter 3 What!?

Chapter 5 Happening

First time posting: [july 1st, 2024]

Chapter 4 Stayed

Third person pov.

Violet did not expect her day to turn out this way.

She didn't expect Damian Wayne to corner her in the kitchen of Mount Justices and basically explain that he was on to her for being his soulmate; she didn't expect to enter the main area in Mount Justice to come into a semi packed room with her other soulmates, and her other other soulmates.

The other other soulmates are referring to the ones that mainly do not live in Gotham city, the ones she hardly gets to see in person. They mainly live in New York areas.

She semi did and didn't expect her to be left behind on this mission when they said they needed anyone they had here.

She also didn't expect that one of her soulmates would have tricked the others by 'going' with them, but really, it was his clone that got on the jet with the others. His soiled form had stayed in Mount Justices with her.

This left just the two of them alone in Mount Justices now.

He was smart and made sure that he was hidden and only showed himself when he knew the others were fully gone.

Violet knew right away that he was still here, so she kept her masks on even when they left and just waited for him to show himself to her.

Loki, the son of Odin and the son of Freya, walks slowly over to his masked up soulmate with his devilish, handsome grin on his face. "I'm compelled to know why you weren't allowed to come on this mission? Your teammates made a big deal to keep you off the field." He was curious about what would cause that.

Loki knows Violet can handle herself in most situations. The mission they were off to, she would be a great help to it, so seeing her not go with them makes him wonder why.

He knows a lot about her. The dreams that the two share tell him enough. Soonish, those dreams will become more between them.

Violet shrugs her shoulders and pushes off the wall she was leaning up against, "'Got hurt' on my last mission, so I can't go on this one," she said bluntly to him.

She is trying to act like she isn't his soulmate. Like she does with her other soulmates, like she did with Damian.

She can tell by what's happening right now, Loki was very similar to Damians' ideas. She did and didn't want him or the others knowing who she was for their safety. So acting like she didn't 'belong' to him was what she was trying to do. Though she is fifty percent sure, this won't even work on him. It's Loki, after all.

Loki can see through her little act and just ignores it and continues on.

"Do you still hurt Love?"

The mental freak out when he called her love was so fucking strong, but she kept herself in control. Somehow... it's just... Loki.

She was lost for a few seconds because of him, "Uh, what? Oh, um, no, I'm doing better now," she said.

"Hmm..."

She looks past him to the empty room and then back to him, "Why aren't you with the others, I mean fully with the others. Do they know you're here?" Again trying to play everything off as friendly talking and nothing more than that.

"No..." Loki started but stopped and thought for a few seconds, "Thor might have figured it out already, and the witch would have figured it out, other than that, no."

Violet nods her head, "Ok... My question still stands waiting for the answer that I asked," she waits for his answer.

Loki shakes his head. He has the same grin on his face as he spoke. "Love, don't even try. We both know why I'm still here."

Violet went to start to play what he said off and say something like she was confused about what he was saying, but just looking at him, she knew it wasn't worth it.

Looking around the empty room, she sighs and shakes her head. Even if it was empty of people, aliens, gods, and so on, there's cameras.

She walks over to her soulmate and places a hand on his shoulders, and they aren't in Mount Justices anymore. "I don't know why I even tried with you. After all, you're the God of mischief, " she mumbles out and flings or waves her hands around a bit.

That was true of her. She didn't really understand why she even tried lying or acting with him. He was the God of mischief; what did she expect?

Yes, her mind is very strong and hard to crack open, but with soulmates, that's kind of a different story.

Plus, if Violet made a list on who would be able to figure out who she really was, it would be Loki and Wanda.

Those two are powerful in both physical and mental powers and it wouldn't be long until they try to tap into the source of her magic; and feel their soulbonds when the others don't even feel it even if they're in the same room as her.

But they didn't need to do any of that. The fact that they are so strong in their field of magic, they were able to see their soulmate face right away when the two started dreaming of their soulmate.

They didn't have a blockage when it came to seeing her true form and some of her past life. Not much with the past life, but they were able to see some of it.

Loki chuckles, "I can see why you would try. You've been lying for quite some time now," he said.

Violet felt guilty with those words. She didn't enjoy lying to them, but she did. "I'm sorry," she grumbles out.

"Like I said Love, I can see why" he said.

Violet wanted to know how much stuff he knew about her. She wanted to know why he would understand her?

It's Loki. He, out of all of them, would understand her more. He'll just have to explain it to her.

Loki looks around himself. He can see he was moved to another living quarters. It felt homey, a place he's seen in his dreams maybe once or twice. "Is this your place?"

"Yes."

--------------

I hope you like it.

I’m sorry for any short chapters.

I'm also sorry for any bad grammar or spelling errors.

I would very much like to say thank you for taking the time to read my chapters, I really appreciate it.

----

There's warnings ⚠️ for a reasons. If you skip them, that's fine, but not my fault if you're taken back by what I write for.

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[noxdont]

"Bound to You"

(Scaralumi Soulmates AU)

Scaramouche didn't bleed. Yet he could vividly feel the clean cut from a blade that wasn't even in the same space as him. Its sharp edge danced on his skin before the stinging sensation followed. After checking his surroundings, annoyance and confusion struck him both at the same time. If it were a Fatui agent then he would already have his hand wrapped around the rat’s neck. But there was no enemy nor any sense of danger in sight and the pain has yet to subside. Only after a few hours it had finally disappeared and he merely brushed it off as a minor inconvenience. Until the sensations keep coming back.

At the very beginning, he even thought of himself as being broken. The following sensations were not limited to pain but other emotions as well. Scaramouche could unconsciously and suddenly feel the odd excitement, the crestfallen disappointment and constant yearning at different times without any prior interaction that would cause such emotions. And it was beginning to irritate him.

He did not speak of these experiences to anyone else, most especially not to his fellow harbingers until one day he knelt on the ground and clutching his chest in pure agony.

"Well this is quite an interesting surprise.”

Unfortunately out of all people, the Doctor had to be the one to witness him in such a state. But if there was anyone else who could figure what was happening with him, Scaramouche would have no doubt that this arrogant prick would have an answer. And an answer he did have when Dottore managed to laugh his guts out in the open after Scaramouche explained his predicament in frustration.

“Are you done laughing like a madman or have you finally lost it?”

“Please do know that it was not my intention to offend you, Scaramouche. I simply did not expect a heartless being like you would ever be capable of having your own soulmate. Quite an interesting miracle I would say. Wouldn’t you agree?"

It seemed more like a cruel joke. Soulmates, to Scaramouche, have always been a mystery and another reminder of how different he was from what he silently yearned to be all those years ago. Soulmates in Teyvat share a special bond where involved parties are able to feel the other’s pain or strong emotions. For decades, Scaramouche never bothered looking for his own considering what he was in the first place and nothing significant or out of place occurred which made him think otherwise. Not until today it seems.

He didn’t know what to make of it. And before he could even stop himself from involving himself any further, it was already too late. Scaramouche grew more observant of the people around him– their reactions, their experiences and their emotions. He watched and silently sought out that ever invisible yet special connection until it led him to Liyue's solid grounds. Her name came up a few times amongst the Fatui since Signora brought the Anemo Archon's gnosis. A delicate looking stranger who managed to not only thwart the Abyss's plans and became Mondstadt's rising hero in a few days time.

"She may not be much of a problem now although I have a feeling she'll pose as a larger threat if we don't get rid of her soon." Signora's words left them all with a burning curiosity. But such curiosity soon led to interest after their swift encounter.

Lumine. Her name was as delicate as she looked yet the way she wields a blade erases any ideas that would portray her as some sort damsel in distress. Daring and reckless with a sickeningly pure heart. She was everything he hated and everything he couldn't achieve to be.

"You actually managed to find this place. Congratulations." He mocked.

All previous thoughts on his alleged soulmate long forgotten until he could sense the swelling anger coursing rapidly through his veins. And all it took was one look from her and then he knew.

"Hah. Barely two words in and you already look like you want me dead."

He couldn't believe it. Out of all the people in the world it just had to be her. Destiny truly is marvelous for crafting such a comical irony.

"You're getting all worked up over nothing. You've changed…"

In the end, what use would it be if he was fated with his own enemy?

"You're getting weak."

Scaramouche drank her fury link fine wine and it was richer than any kind of anger he has ever encountered. It was an interesting sight if he does say so himself. To watch the oh so righteous hero everyone looked up to slowly be poisoned by their own malice and grief. It almost made him want to hold her.

[daydreams-to-passages]

Soulmate Au | MC x Kalim. Gender-neutral Pronouns. | Angst

"Thank you for saving my butt!" His hands grabbed mine as a golden hue spread across them.

"Midas' touch." I wished looking up to him in shock but he had already tittered away to his Vice Dormhead who scolded him for being so careless. He didn't seem to have noticed. A heavy pang in my chest. As I reached out to him but he was already gone.

I looked for him across campus but didn't get any results I even asked my seniors, thankfully Cater knew who I was talking about.

"Hes about ya high, red eyes, tan skin-"

"Oh! Your talking about Kalim he's in the light music club with me! Why are you looking for him?" He asked coyly seeming as how I barely knew anyone.

"He's my soulmate." I stated with a blank look to which Cater put his hands up defensively, "Soulmate? You can't possibly know that you haven't even officially met yet. Your sounds a little creepy, cutie pie."

I groaned a shook my head, "I've heard stories of places who don't have soulmate bonds but to think I actually came to one. No, i don't mean it stalkery. He grabbed my hands and thanked me at the enterance ceremony we have midas' touch. It's a golden color soulmate bond. So we he grabbed my hands they started to cover in gold. And the longer or more he touched say like a hug it would have became veiny and spread. The better the bond the brighter and more healthy both mates are." I tried to explain to Cater during lunch but as one should know everyone who has even slightly better hearing could hear bits and pieces of the explanation. Lilia was the most curious and popped up near us asking various questions. I answered him to the best of my abilities.

...

Time went on Lilia and Cater both mentioned things to me about Kalim about how friendly and how much he liked parties saying how I'd be invited at some point and would be able to talk to him then. But no time went on days turned into months which turned into half a school year.

Finally I was done waiting. My bond ached in my chest straining to get to him. I went to the light music club with some vague directions from a third year. Just as I was about to knock on door an argument started, "Kalim why are you rubbing your chest?"

"Hmmm...? It's a bond."

"A soulmate bond?"

"Yep! They're super rare but its talked about in some books Jamil had me read when I was younger!" His voice light an airy with sounds of happiness specially when he mentioned the name Jamil.

"Oh who is it?" Lilia asked coyly already knowing but testing the future sultan.

"Oh its MC. But I cant." He mutters softly, I placed a hand on my chest feeling the bind strain and pull as if the tether was going to snap.

"Why not?"

"Cause I can't love her. I already love someone. I mean I feel bad so I'm staying away. I don't want to hurt her more." He said mournfully as if he had to choose between his destiny and his heart. And he chose his heart. Tears blinked from my eyes as I feel the bond snap.

A soul tear. Who would have thought my pineing after someone who wound me this way. I can't hear anything else, everything had faded away into silence as my feet moved away darken cracks spread through my skin. If one side of the soul bond is rejected while the other doesn't reciprocate it could be life-threatening. I was always told to be kind and love them with all my being but who would have thought fate would be so cruel.

"Hey are you alright?!" Someone asked but I couldn't process what they were saying as I collapsed on the floor. My chest in so much pain everything shook. I closed my eyes willing the pain into a box to never reopen.

Just wishing I never met him. My destiny.

______________

Bum bum bum~ End (for now. If requested I'll add a second part <3)

Soulmate Au with Kalim! I'm sure a lot of people expected to be more sugary but I like to personally HC Kalim is actually devoted to one person *coughcoughJamilcough* a whole of a lot more than we originally thought. So a touch of a love triangle! I also wanted to make Kalim a touch more human and personified sunshine.

[amethystina]

Hello, for the questions for fic writers :

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

<3 <3 <3

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

Since this question was listed twice I'll just go ahead and give two concepts/AUs!

The first is a Soulmate AU. I've always liked the concept but haven't really found an idea that I like enough to actually want to write it. I'm so busy and have so many other projects going on that I don't really have time to go searching for fic ideas. Instead, my brain has to present a fully formed idea and basically pitch it to me before I'm willing to even consider writing it. And since Soulmate AUs haven't really been high on my list of priorities, that hasn't happened yet. I guess my brain has been busy plotting other fics instead?

(Well, aside from that The Devil Judge Soulmate AU I suddenly came up with and am very intrigued by. So maybe? Who knows?)

The second is a Vampire AU. I cannot believe I've never written a Vampire AU. That's not to say that I'm necessarily obsessed with vampires (I like them a normal amount) it just surprises me that I've never written one. So that I definitely want to do at some point!

(And, unlike the Soulmate AU, my brain has actually tried to present me with a number of ideas for Vampire AUs (the latest one being a The Devil Judge fic, predictably) but I've kept myself at bay for now because I already have too many fics to write. Woe is me.)

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

The sequel to Gravitational Pull? Though "currently working on" might be slightly misleading in this case. I wrote 840 words two months back and have been staring blankly at the document ever since x'D I think I just need to sit down and force myself past that first hurdle because I know exactly what's going to happen, I just need to write it down. But yeah, here's an excerpt:

Ga On tried his best not to look at Yo Han.

The tension lay thick inside the car, the silence pushing against Ga On's eardrums. Judge Oh, who sat in the back, probably assumed it was because of the crisis at hand — apprehension at the thought of what lay ahead of them — but that was only partially true. Ga On was also struggling with an insistent, nerve-wracking hum of concern, making his spine stiff and throat tight.

Yo Han shouldn't be here. He was still injured — only just over a day had passed since he got shot.

No matter how grave the situation was, Yo Han should be at home, resting, not driving them to an area of Seoul that was quickly becoming as chaotic as an active war zone.

Ga On gritted his teeth — until his jaw began hurting from the strain — and looked down at his hands. They were tightly clenched in his lap, his thumb rubbing restlessly over the other. Perhaps Ga On was being too selfish, but he didn't want Yo Han to put himself in danger like this — not when he wasn't at his best. Ga On could admit that Yo Han hid it well but, since Ga On knew where to look, he could see the subtle delay in Yo Han's movements and how he held himself slightly more rigidly than usual.

Yo Han was still in pain.

He still had a hole in his stomach but pretended that he didn't.

And Ga On had to play along, since Kang Yo Han couldn't show any weakness. The people around them could know that the chief judge was injured. The fact that their opponents did was already bad enough — and was probably why they chose now to try and overthrow him. They didn't think Yo Han would be able to fight back as fiercely — with as much precision — as he normally would.

They were expecting an easy victory.

But, even injured, Yo Han was a force to be reckoned with and, as always, would do whatever it took to win.

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

Possibly TMI incoming and TW for bullying and verbal abuse.

I think I'll take this opportunity to say how happy I am that I started writing fanfics. Which is extra hilarious when you consider the fact that it started with a thought as basic as: "I want to write at least one before I die." And then, ten years later, here we are. And I'm in no way exaggerating when I say that it changed my life.

One concrete example is that had I never written Autonomy, I would never have met the people who finally told me I was a good person — after hearing the exact opposite for over two years. To make a very long story short, there were several people in my life at the time who, when in pain, took it out on me, often by projecting. They told me how selfish, self-centred, and unsupportive I was. That I lacked empathy and always put myself first. That I was arrogant and a bully, who belittled everyone I spoke to and thought way too highly of myself, my intelligence, and my worth. And, well, I believed them.

Because I can be very firm and dominant, especially in person. So it's very likely that I might (unknowingly) assert myself too much. And since this abuse only happened in private, none of my other friends or family knew about it. This narrative of me being a terrible person was, for about two years, the only thing I heard. Because, to all my other friends, I was so stable and confident — how could I possibly be doubting myself? And why should they remind me that I was a good person since, surely, I knew that?

Except no — I didn't. Because I only heard the opposite. For years.

Until, suddenly one day, I got a DM on Tumblr asking me if I wanted to join a Discord server because they'd read one of my Winteriron fics and loved it. And so I did. Despite being scared to death because oh no, now these people who really like my fic are going to find out I'm a terrible person and they're never going to want to read anything I've written ever again.

But, to my absolute surprise, the opposite happened.

The people on this server LOVED me. They genuinely seemed to enjoy my company. And I quickly earned the nickname Steve (it was a Marvel server — I promise it made complete sense to us at the time) because I kept everyone in line and, apparently, was always ready to throw hands for a good cause.

I even had my own gif! The command was !amy and was used when someone was misbehaving to signal "You're on thin fucking ice, buddy."

Sometimes, I'd even wake up to find that the gif had been used in my absence, when other members on the server had basically gone: "Oh man, Amy's going to be soooo disappointed in you when she gets back RIP it was nice knowing you."

And rarely have I been so confused. Or felt so much like a liar.

Because that's what I thought I was doing. I thought I was lying to these people about who I actually was. That I was somehow able to masquerade as a Good Person all while actually being a despicable, selfish monster behind the scenes who hurt every single person I came into contact with.

And, eventually, I cracked. Not in a very visible way to most people, but enough to ask my most trusted friends on that server if I was a bad person. And I was unanimously met with a VERY confused: "What? Why do you ask? You, of all people?"

Because, according to them, not only was I the one who kept everyone in line, but also one of the kindest, most considerate people on that server. I was the conscience. The voice of reason. The one who always listened. The one who always knew exactly what to say when people were hurting. The one who made sure to de-escalate a situation before it could turn into something dangerous or hurtful.

And that changed my life.

Because, all of a sudden, I had a completely different narrative that competed with the one I'd heard for two years. In a matter of days, my world was turned upside down. We're talking a full-blown existential crisis. Because everything I thought I knew about myself was suddenly called into question and I had to figure out where I ended and the lies I had been told by other people began. It was a painful, gruelling, and utterly exhausting process but well worth it for how much it helped my mental health and self-image.

All because of a fanfic. Kind of amazing, isn't it?

The point I'm trying to make is that you'll never know in what place or what shape you might find the support and stability you need to have the kind of epiphany that I did. Perhaps it starts with a gigantic Space AU you wrote because it sounded fun, followed by an invitation to a whacky Discord server? Who knows?

And that's why I still write. And why I still post. And why I try to reply to every comment and ask if I can.

Because I know there are people like the old me out there. People who aren't seen or heard in the way they deserve. And maybe I won't be able to give them that with my limited reach, but I can at least try. I can write stories they relate to, stories that give them solace, stories that make them realise things about themselves, that make them question the abuse they've been submitted to, without even knowing it. That makes them see. That makes them want to forgive themselves and love themselves. That can help them find community and like-minded people.

If my writing can offer comfort, safety, and a feeling of belonging, then it's all worth it.

If I can help one person in the way those people on that server helped me, then it's worth it.

And that's why I'll always be grateful for deciding to write fanfics. Not just because of how it's helped me, but because it's given me the opportunity to help and bring people together.

It's never "just" a fanfic.

So, if you've ever read one of my works, I'm so grateful for your time and attention. And I hope I was able to make you smile or, perhaps, made you feel a little less lonely, even just for a short while.

I appreciate you and wish you all the best. Take care 💜

Questions for fic writers

[violentlydone]

annie cresta, victor from district 4 faceclaim : karmay ngai

CHILDHOOD /

-annie was a career tribute, but not really of her own volition. her family wanted her to win to gain prestige, and they trained her since birth with that exact project in mind. perhaps despite her parents' wishes, she grew up to be kind and sensitive. still, they thought she had all her chances of being chosen as the capitol's sweetheart. -however she didnt volunteer during all her earlier years -her family was pretty wealthy. she was an older daughter. her little sister, nettie, died of drowning around seven or eight. -the male tribute, felix cove, was a career tribute too, very ambitious. his family was... rough, especially on him. had been beating him for years, ever since he had turned 11 and hadn't volunteered. being now 18, this was their last chance... they both knew that if felix didn't participate in the games, his family would never forgive him (they probably threatened him too). and annie knew that if she wasn't the one volunteering first, he wouldn't go (ambitious, but not brave) annie and him were basically best friends, so when her hand was raised, it was as much for him than it was for her own family -she didn't know what she was getting into when she joined the games. she followed her mother's expectations of her, she did it for felix, but she didn't really realize what these expectations actually meant until felix's death -felix was her first friend, her first boyfriend, her first everything. while it didn't work out romantically, they both agreed they were each other's soulmates. they were extremely close, almost twin-like, always in each other's space. -felix and annie knew finnick rather well, had been training with him for a long time. felix used a trident too, while annie's specialities were traps with fishnets and being endurant. -she had a crush on finnick, which felix was well-aware of. he probably tried to set them up during the tour (mostly to avoid talking abt what it would mean if one of them came back and not the other) she definitely fell in love with him. -she got along with mags very well, and immediately saw a family figure in her. finnick probably noticed that too. annie is a gentle person, who doesn't really mind quirks and accomodating her personality to make it easier for others to interact. literally the kind of person to go on her knees despite being in a beautiful and precious dress just to say hi to a kid, so the kid won't have to look up and feel self-conscious.

THE 70th HUNGER GAMES /

-during the games, felix and her sided together. they survived a few days, until other tributes found her. the tributes were... more hungry for violence than they were for actual death, which is probably why few had been killed after the first bloodbath. the career tributes liked to Play. -people often assume annie's trauma comes from the beheading, but it's a little bit more complicated : they held her while they did it, making sure she'd see, and then told her to run so they'd be able to chase her. -them letting her go just to make the game go on longer pissed off the gamemakers, who triggered the earthquake, which. definitely made the games go faster -she ran and hid until the dam broke. i think she might have already been near the water when it happened, which made it "easier" to welcome the added water rather than try to outrun it as most would. once the water filled the arena, she didn't really want to swim, but she couldn't let herself die either. maybe she got a gift that she knew finnick had obtained for her, so she held on and started swimming -she spent a Long time swimming, fr. she is strong. like. swimming for days & keeping herself alive despite having no solid ground to stand and rest on kind of strong. -also note that all that time was spent listening to other tributes drowning, or drowning others. she got her win by drowning a desperate tribute who attacked her. this is probably what truly broke her : this last act of violence that wasn't the arena, but hers -when she won, she didn't really. realize

POST-VICTORY /

-they didn't celebrate her as much as they usually do with victors because... she didn't really kill much, and to people watching on tv, her accomplishment didn't seem that big. on top of that, it was evident from the moment that she stepped out of the arena that she had very severe ptsd and physical conditions that couldn't be ignored -because of how long she spent in the water, she had ear infections relatively severe that needed to be treated immediately. because the capitol wanted to parade her a little, and because she didn't express her pain in a way they understood/believed, they didn't immediately give her the treatments she needed, which led to a loss of hearing -she can hear loud noises, as well as guess what has been said from reading lips. with people close to her (such as finnick and mags) or people who know how to, she usually signs -she is believed to hear noises that don't exist, which is often sounds from the sea, like waves rushing against the shore. triggering events or very loud noises can lead to hallucinations of screams similar to the gurgling sounds of drowning tributes, hence why she puts her hands over her ears. she also hears the voice of nettie, which is why she may giggle at inappropriate times -after the games, she has settled in the victors' house and spent a year without approaching the water. its finnick who helped her get reacquainted with what she loved most. after that, she can be found floating in the water, eyes closed, smiling slightly. it helps her calm herself down

SECOND REAPING, THE REBELS /

-when she was reaped her second time, it was so triggering that she felt like the dam had broken once more. she thought she was back there, that she was going to die. it's like all these years of trying to learn how to be alive didn't matter, because the capitol was going to steal it all from her. -when mags volunteered instead, annie couldn't stop crying. contrary to popular belief, she is aware, she is extremely aware. she knew what it meant for mags to go instead of her. the guilt of her death is still with her -she made finnick promise a thousand times to come back to her. it was all that seemed to matter to her. -i think annie made the choice not to be told about the rebels. told finnick to do what it takes to get out. told him that she didn't care what happened as long as he came back -when the capitol captured her… let's say it was both triggering and underwhelming. the torture was good in the sense that it was real. it was bad in the sense that it felt like dying. the most triggering and scarring for her wasn't the torture but the screams from the others, like peeta and johanna. -i think even if she shies away from the truth of that event, she knows what happened and she has an acute understanding of the bond shared between peeta, johanna and her. especially so with peeta bc they're definitely made of the same wood, both fighting for someone else and both suffering from an unstable sense of reality -the wedding was the most beautiful day of her life. the proof that they had survived. -annie was not aware of her pregnancy when finnick left. -they kept his death from her for as long as they could afford, which was not a very long time. despite what everyone expected, annie did not fall to the ground wailing crying sobbing throwing up. she went incredibly quiet. an uneasy aura circled her and swallowed her. -she continued to help as much as she could. especially with children and food. she did what she was asked, stared into oblivion when she had nothing to do -when came the votes for new games, not only did annie vote no, she also explicitly stated that finnick wouldn't have wanted that either. it's the first time she showed any kind of assurance, a brief reflection of who she might have been prior to the games -when the war ended, she went back to district four and had her son, tild.



[dira333]

Lucky at Love - Akashi x Soulmate! Reader

requested by Anon

Akashi Seijurou is used to the idea of an arranged marriage. He is used to the idea of a marriage of convenience, to a choice that is not his. So it's not that much harder to get used to the idea of having a soulmate.

After all, not all people have soulmate marks. Not all people with soulmate marks actually find each other. And in that small group of people... not all fall in love.

Love is a broad term. Respect is so much easier to understand.

Yet, and he only ever thinks about this in his most vulnerable moments, he loved his mother. And though it's sometimes hard to understand, he knows he will not be able to hold back against this feeling. If he marries someone he does not love, he does not know if he will be able to keep up the facade in the face of love.

So he does what he does best. He researches the shit out of every possible option - if he were to use Ryota's language.

-

What he doesn't expect in all his calculations, is to meet you on his first day at Rakuzan, clipboard pressed against your chest as you listen to his speech.

It's cliche as hell. He's the Captain and you're the Manager. His father is one of Rakuzan's biggest sponsors and you're here on a scholarship. He's confident and you're not... He's in love and you're pretty much clueless.

Akashi knows, weeks before he spots the familiar mark on your neck, that he doesn't care.

He thought himself a rational thinker, not overly emotional, yet he's fallen so hard for you he's forgotten how to get up.

"You need to drink more water," he tells you gently as the heat beats down on all of them. "It's no good if our manager succumbs to dehydration."

"Of course, Captain," you respond, seemingly unaffected as your hands touch when you hand him his water bottle.

God, he's hopeless.

Flirting is hard when you've never had to do it before.

Everyone else already loved him for who they expected him to be. All he had to do was keep up the expectations.

-x-

"Are you okay?" You ask.

The rest of the team had advised against it. Losing the Winter Cup, especially against an Underdog Team like Seirin, had shaken the Captain pretty hard. He'd still been in there when Mibuchi left as the last of the team, gentle hand on your shoulder trying to lead you away.

"He needs to be alone for a moment," he'd told you but you just smiled and nodded and told him you'd see him in school.

Akashi is... exceptional. Probably always has been.

You'd been unable to keep from researching him, watching hours after hours of old Teiko games, heart beating faster every time you spotted his blurry red hair.

There's something about him that keeps you on your toes, heart beating faster, breath catching in your throat.

It's not just his looks, you know, because you'd hoped it'd only be that. No one, not even the guys on the team, can deny that he's attractive. Your hand had brushed his hair barely once and you're still unable to forget it, the silky texture, the bright red.

There's also the fact that he doesn't ask for attention, he just gets it. He never gets flustered, or nervous, or scared. Even faced with the harsh reality of half the team quitting because they didn't want a first-year as a Captain he didn't despair.

He treats everyone with respect and you, the manager, with kindness.

How could you not fall in love with him?

And then there's the fact that he's your soulmate.

-

His fingers twitch in his lap. The strap of your bag is digging into your shoulder.

"You haven't lost often, have you?" You ask, lump in your throat. "I know your stats."

His soulmate mark is on his left shoulder. You'd seen it once by accident, at your second-ever training when some ass "accidentally" poured his sports drink over Akashi's jersey.

You wonder if it tingles right now like yours does whenever he's near. You wonder if he'd care if he knew. Not that it matters right now.

"This is my first." He says, eyes on his hands. His voice is empty.

You take a seat on the bench opposite to his, heart quivering in your chest.

"I'm sorry," you tell him, because you are. "I know it must hurt. It hurts me too. But..." You swallow. "I don't think it's that bad. Everyone loses sometimes. And it's better to lose one game than your life, right?" You're not sure what convinces you to say the next words. But they're out of your mouth before you realize it.

"I heard bad luck in games makes you lucky at love..."

His head shoots up so fast you fear it's going to give him whiplash.

His eyes zero in on you and you have half a mind to wonder how they seem to have changed color - or at least one of them did - before he speaks.

"Do you mean that?"

"Huh?!" You ask, surprised by the intensity of his tone.

"Do you mean that? That I'd be lucky at love?"

You blink.

"You're Akashi Seijurou," you tell him, voice quivering with emotion, "Who could not love you?"

He says nothing for a long moment. Then, the movement so painstakingly slow it hurts, he pulls his shirt off his shoulder.

"Do you love me?"