#i don't understand why she can't figure out how to operate a door

[pigeonclaw]

My cat, bless her heart, is SO stupid (affectionate) 😭 My door was closed most of the way, just open a crack, so she could open it further and come in if she just pushed on it lightly. Instead she stuck her paw under the door and started clawing, trying to pull it open.

[inkskinned]

the thing that gets you sometimes is the frustration. for every time someone else sees you being late, losing something, forgetting something important: there are hours in your day dedicated to it.

you have strange, fae-like rituals. the keys have to go in their special bowl, because if you forget even once, they will be gone forever. you stack items on a stool in front of your door so that you can't leave without touching them. you can't take your wallet out of your bag, ever, it will simply fade away.

everything has to be written down. everything, everything. whatever you need to do, you need to do it now. you check and re-check the busmap only to still get lost on the same route you've always taken home. you start getting ready to go 3 hours early and still end up 15 minutes late, unsure even of where the time has gone. don't sit down, there's something strange about your bed or the couch or the floor - once you sit down, you'll get stuck.

you are very used to operating without instructions. people say you're good at winging it but really you've never really known where the rules are coming from. you have to live in constant strange anticipation - when your brain does fail you, how can you predict every horrible outcome. maybe today you will have a minor curse, and forget to brush your teeth. or maybe today you will wake up - and no matter what you do, your whole body begs to return you back to sleep. maybe today you will break a glass and then just stand there, surrounded by the shards, frozen in place - because you need to go to the bathroom, but you also need to sweep.

and everyone else seems to have gotten the memo, and it's easy for them, and it never, ever gets easy for you. make plans and keep them. they roll their eyes when you say sorry it's too messy we can't go over to my apartment. they ask why did you leave something so big until the last minute. on instagram, your friend makes a reel where she says if they cared, they would change. they literally do not care. someone says it's a symptom, and in the comments, all they get is then go to therapy! it can't control everything you do!

so you go to therapy. and you work out to calm down and you do your self-care and you try to be grateful for the small things. and you structure literally your entire life around it, around the ways you can't live right. you have failsafe over failsafe over red flag. you have shelves of organizational manuals. you have alarms for things like did you remember to eat that you still manage to figure out how to snooze. you have time-blocked sites and deleted apps you get lost in and you are constantly trying. because you also want a life where you are not stepping over laundry. juggling knives, you spend your whole life feeling like you're ice skating.

and still. she sighs at you. i mean, it's just. i don't understand how you constantly miss all the small stuff. i mean, this is the easy part. you're just not trying hard enough.

[those70scomics]

Fictober Day 9: "don't listen to me, listen to them"

That '70s Show Fanfiction

Hyde paced W.B.'s office at Grooves's headquarters. Angie was present, as was Jackie. She'd taken time off from her busy-as-hell schedule for this meeting.

"It's a dumb idea," he said. "I shouldn't have even brought it up."

"It's not dumb, and I'm happy that you told us about it." W.B. grasped Hyde's arm, stopping him near W.B.'s desk. "You're turning twenty-nine in less than two months. You're engaged. You should want more."

Angie's facial expression showed that she'd been waiting for this day. "I dreamt of running a record store since I was a kid. Then of running all of Grooves someday, and now I'm the company's senior VP of operations. You're allowed to pursue your dreams, too."

"I've already got more than I ever freakin' dreamed." Hyde glanced back at Jackie, who'd remained silent so far. "It ain't fair to to risk it all."

"You don't think creating Grooves was a risk?" W.B. said. I was married to Angie's mother, who was pregnant with Angie. We needed the security of a regular paycheck, but her mom wanted me to be happy. And my risk eventually paid off more than anybody could've imagined."

Hyde gestured in defeat. "I can't imagine this workin'."

Jackie stepped toward him and touched his hand. "Neither can I."

"Exactly."

"But don't listen to me. Listen to them."

Hyde stared at her. "Who the hell are you, and what've you done with my chick."

"Steven." She jostled his hand. "I'm redesigning my whole spring collection. I can't imagine that working either, but I'm doing it anyway. This time next year on October ninth, 1990, you'll have put out your first record on your own label."

"A sub label of Grooves Records, of course," Angie said with a smirk.

Hyde bowed his head and hunched his shoulders. "That's nepotism."

"That's expanding the family business." W.B. patted Hyde's back. "I'm not taking an opportunity away from anyone else. You've earned this. The demos you've played me, you have the ear, son."

Hyde sat in the closest chair. His legs were shaking from what was being said, being offered.

"You've been apprenticing under Frankie Branch to learn audio engineering, music production, for how long?" W.B. continued. "Picked up the guitar expertly in three years of lessons and learned as much by listening to songs. Taught yourself bass guitar. Became Cam's favorite drum student, and that's saying a lot."

Angie gazed at the high ceiling and shook her head. "Edna and Bud gave you no chance to realize you have perfect pitch. You didn't understand what you were capable of. You've had to play catch-up in your mid-twenties."

Jackie stood in front of Hyde and rubbed his arms over his long sleeves. "Your childhood was stolen from you. You once told me all the doors were locked for you but one. Your family, your true family, has unlocked so many. You've walked through a lot. Don't shut this door and walk away."

Hyde covered his face in his hands. His emotions were getting to him, breaking through his defenses. As a kid, Formans' folks signed Forman up for jazz guitar lessons, which he abandoned. Only the acoustic guitar remained, and Hyde played that thing every second he could at the Formans' house.

He used Forman's beginners' workbook to learn tabs that were printed alongside sheet music. Hyde couldn't read music for shit, but tabs he got. Songs on the radio, on records, stuck in his skull like recordings. He figured out how to play the guitar parts himself and, back then, had no clue why could do that.

He understood now.

"Son, are you all right?" W.B. said.

Hyde raised his head and wiped his eyes. "Yeah. Just ... when ya don't believe something's possible for you for so damn long -- and then it happens? Kind of a mind fuck."

"So you'll start your label?" Jackie smiled at him with such hope, such support, he would've fallen in love with her if he hadn't already fallen twelve years ago.

"Yup."

Jackie cheered, and W.B. congratulated him in a proud, fatherly way Hyde was still growing used to.

"What are you going to call it?" Angie said.

Hyde grinned. "Burn-Out Records."

[zylophie]

🏮 . 月 — day two featuring shiraishi an

knock knock!

heres some mail!

ଘ(੭´꒳`)°* ੈ‧₊ 💌

⌨️ᶻᶻᶻ...anon is typing... ♡

↻ᴹᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ˡᵒᵃᵈᵉᵈ !

❝2 and an please? I'm so excited for your event and I look forward to it lots❞

━━❝How can you think it's wouldn't hurt me?❞

It was a few days before Christmas when...

"I'm so sorry about this..."

There, in front of your doorstep was your friend, An, looking so dejected as she keeps on apologizing "We couldn't find any other day where all of us are free..."

"An, it's okay...I understand you and the others are busy people so don't be so sad, okay?" You tried to comfort her, deep down you understand the situation but a small part of you can't help but be a little upset...

"I haven't got any plans on the 26th either. That day can be our Christmas!"

Trying not to let the disappointment show on your face, you smiled even brighter than before, hoping to help cheer An up.

"But you were looking so forward to it..."

"Don't worry about it! I understand that things just happen unexpectedly"

No matter what you said to try and comfort her, An still looked so sad.

It's hurt to see her looking so utterly dejected...

Just then, you were hit with a sudden realization "Ah, that's right!"

"Huh?"

"Uh... nothing! Nevermind"

"... Really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely!"

You glossed over it with a smile, putting your hands on her shoulders "Anyways, isn't it late? You should get back home soon, it's dangerous to be walking alone at night!"

"But..." She paused, glancing over her shoulders as you gently pushed her to the door "...Are you sure you're really okay?"

...

"Yeah, I'm okay really! You don't have to worry, alright? I'm stronger than you think I am!" You give her a sweet smile, trying to ease her doubts but she didn't seem very convinced...

"Okay...I'll text you later then?" She give up on questioning you any further before a soft smile appears on her face "I'm going now...see you in a few days"

"Bye, An! Be safe out there~" You wave her off, watching her figure slowly becoming smaller and smaller... until you can't see her anymore.

...

You slammed the door shut.

"...ough!"

There was blood on your hands, you couldn't stop coughing...and before you knew it, the world was spinning...

CRASH!

...

»»-----► a few week later... ❍✧

"Still no reply from (name)..." An sighed, staring at her phone for who knows how long, her golden eyes look concerned.

"Did you try going to their home?" Kohane asked, getting worried.

"I did but no one was home..." She let out another sigh, dejected.

"Maybe they went to pay a visit to their grandparents' house?"

"But they would definitely let me know if they did since we have plans together..."

"An-chan..."

An couldn't understand why you weren't responding, did something happen? Did you lost your phone or something? were you hurt?

So many questions left unanswered...

The thoughts scared her.

It's can't be right?

No, you are definitely okay.

There is just no way...

"Uh... excuse me but aren't you the girl who always hangout with (last name)-san?"

.

.

.

"Excuse me, (last name)-san..."

You put down the book you were reading on your laps, looking up at the nurse who was standing near the doorway of your temporarily bedroom.

"Hmm, what is it?" You asked, quietly.

The nurse give a complex expression, unsure how to explain the situation "There is...a young girl who wants to see you, we don't know her name yet..."

Ah, so she heard.

"Can I go see her now?"

"H-Huh? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, we have some time before the surgery...I want to see her before the operation if you don't mind..."

.

.

.

The door slammed open, the nurse push the wheelchair towards where the black haired girl was before stopping and slowly back off, giving the two of you some privacy...

"Hello, An... it's nice to see you're doing well"

"..."

"Ah...I guess you won't want to see me right now... that's understandable"

"...Why?"

"Huh?"

An turned around to face you, red puffy eyes "Why...why didn't you tell me about your illness?"

You keep your mouth shut, avoiding her gaze to hide your heart... "Because...I thought it was better if you didn't know..."

"How can you think it's wouldn't hurt me?" Her vision blurred with tears, so fragile as if a single touch break "Not knowing you were struggling this whole time...and I...I"

"An..."

You tried standing up, only to fail miserably as you fall onto the ground...you couldn't even feel your own legs...

"(name)!" An is immediately by your side, holding you close to her "Why did you try to get up?!"

"...I couldn't bear seeing you looking so sad" You glance up to her, nuzzling your face into her clothes "... Because seeing your smile is enough for me"

For I... would not be able to feel your warmth

Time is running out

So let me be selfish today

Let me be in your embrace for a brief moment

Before I enter the slumber of no return.

(っ'-')╮=͟͟͞͞💌 You receive a letter from Yue

↻ᴹᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ˡᵒᵃᵈᵉᵈ !

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

I genuinely don't like making an cryyyy like idk if it's just a me thing but seeing such a happy person break into tears always get me ToT

calling... @nogenderbee , @akitosheart

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[islandtarochips]

Heyo girl! I was just thinking about an interaction between Koa and post-Bell Diana/Annika and I wanted to hear your thoughts 😭

We’ve discussed Diana running away to New Zealand and reconnecting with Koa after the nukes hit, so I’ve been thinking about how the first interaction would go!

(TW out of decency: implied suicidal ideation)

Diana would be fully convinced that Koa hates her, and would be repeatedly apologizing for everything she’s ever done wrong. Things she’s done even before she became Bell, or even before she became a Perseus operative.

After having a nice, long mental breakdown, Diana confesses to Koa that she doesn’t want to be alive anymore after everything she’s done. Diana ends up begging him to kill her cause she’s too scared to do it herself.

How would Koa react to the absolute emotional train wreck she is? Let me know your thoughts 🤭

Talofa Liberty! Been a LONG time that I've seen your ask in here! Lol. And I would gladly write down of how Koa feel about Diana/Annika!

Ok, so! After Diana/Annika had said where Perseus is at. Which it's in Dulag! I know she would have told or beg Koa to leave instead of taking this mission. He felt a bit strange from this but understood it. So he tries to make an excuse of telling Adler that he can't take this mission. I'm...still thinking of WHAT kind of excuse that he should tell the team. We'll get back to that later.

And he went. He doesn't exactly understand WHY would the kid tell him to not come. Until he saw the news about the nukes. Which completely SHOCKED him. He doesn't know how to feel when he figured that Diana/Annika told him to leave because of THIS.

Until like maybe a few weeks or a month later, Koa had heard a knock on his door. He went to answer it and stood there shockingly to see her. He was about to ask her something before he saw her crying and breaking down as she started to apologize for everything she had done.

She explained to him about how she got her memories back and how she worked for Perseus. He could see the shame and regrets in her eyes.

And when she started to beg Koa to kill her. That's when he started to stop her and hugged her instead. Hugging her so tightly as if he doesn't want to let her go. And said this...

"DON'T. Don't you ever fucking asked me to do that. NEVER in your life. You may have made mistakes and you may have caused PAIN to others. But...you are just a child...being used by the man who hurt you so much."

Koa will keep on hugging her tightly and keep talking to her to calm her down.

"You deserve SO much more than death. And...that's why...I'm giving you a chance to live with me."

Don't know how she'll react but I know she'll be sobbing right now to hear those words from him. Koa will be happy to have her. Which means she needs to find another identity. She can keep ACTUAL name, Annika, if she wants to. While Koa has to find a way to get new documents for her.

So imagined him asking his Colonel for help and will take FULL responsibility if anyone found out her TRUE identity. The Colonel trusted Koa and helped him and Diana/Annika for their documents. He even gave the two an adoption paper just in case anyone asked about their relationship since Annika looks different then Koa.

And after everything is done! The two lived their happy lives together! However, Koa will still have to be in the army. I don't exactly know if Diana/Annika is going to do. Maybe finding a job? Or joined the army with Koa? Up to you of how you wanted her to live her life in New Zealand!

I hope this is ok for your question, Liberty! And I enjoy seeing the two having a father and daughter relationship! It makes me feel like Koa deserves a second chance though! Hope you have a nice day/evening! Love ya, pele!

[thotsforvillainrights]

Hi how are u and your baby? I hope the baby inherits your beauty darling 🤭. I watch the video where in the Korea funfair have like those spinning thing (I think it disco pang pang it kind of match making people who ride) and they go with their crush. How all of the villain reacts (you can do either it lov or shie hassaikai or mla only) when the reader who sit across from them and falls on their laps while the host (the host who controlling that thing is a devil himself) intentionally moving that thing making the reader bouncing on their crotch.

Thank you so much and I hope u, your husband and your baby stay healthy as always ❤️❤️❤️

(I wish I could handle the rides like that! The videos always seem like so much chaos but I've been doomed to only handle like 2 fair rides and that's it lol. Anyway, I'll just take this as a cue for the MLA, thanks!)

-ReDestro: A fair? Sure why not! To be honest, growing up the way he did means he missed out on a lot of things other kids got to do. Rich kids problems weren't bad, don't get him wrong. It's just that he has a lot of regrets when it comes to this kind of thing. That's why when you invite him to go to one, he absolutely agrees on the spot. Overlooking the fact that he ALSO has a crush on you too by the way...Anyhow, he's up in age but fit for a man like himself. Fair rides (as long as they aren't too crazy) is something he figures he can handle. It's the current situation you both found yourselves in that leaves him a bit speechless and embarrassed as well. He likely apologizes profusely after the ride is over. He knows it's not his fault the operator was a maniac, but he still apologizes regardless of the situation. You calm down and let him know it's all good, but the two of you take a long break from rides for the rest of the night and instead opt for eating and watching magic shows.

-Curious: Oh a fair? She's in for sure. As someone who spends majority of her time shopping and doing spa days for fun, this should be a nice little mix up for her. You're just busy silently panicking that your crush actually agreed to go with you on this unofficial date! You're hoping she can't tell you've got a huge crush on her by the way you've been acting all night. Even though she may or may not be able to tell, the ride operator on the spinning wheel sure as hell could. He decided to take this and use it to his advantage to either help you or perhaps completely degrade you. You suspect it's the second option. Although you're mortified right now, at least she's laughing at it and having fun.

-Trumpet: There is a 98% chance that if he's your crush then you're probably his crush too. Honestly, the two of you have a weird relationship where you might as well be dating but not quite official. Neither of you has made a move...unless you count tonight. You asked him to go with you to the fair and you wouldn't believe how fast the man said yes. In fact, he was already slipping on a good pair of walking shoes and heading out the door to meet you. It's always nice spending time with Koku since he doesn't really ever judge you and always seems to listen to whatever you have to say. He's a good conversationalist. He's kind to you, understanding, a little annoying sometimes but you can handle it. Tonight would've been a great night to confess how you feel about each other had it not been for that meddlesome ride operator embarrassing the shit out of you by causing you to bounce on his lap for a minute straight...I'm sure you'll get around to it eventually lol

-Skeptic: It's so funny to think about because he really likes you too but hasn't confessed it and likely won't for another damn year or so. The reason why he's accused of liking you is because he's caught doing a lot of stuff with you that he would never agree to for other people (not even Rikiya himself). He's over your place 90 percent of the time to the point where he might as well damn move in with you. He's always going to lunch with you, meeting you out when you run errands, going with you to the movies etc. When you asked him to the fair, he didn't bat an eye. Well...he complained of course because it's him of all people, but he still didn't wait to go. He's not too keen on fairs and carnivals. He just wants to eat fruit in an overpriced cup or maybe a funnel cake but not much else. He hates the smell of the animals, the overstimulation of the noises and the lights, the overcrowding, it goes and on. He'd rather die than admit that he's happy just to be here with you (because he is). You convince him to get on one ride only and that it won't be so bad, you promised! Oh how wrong you were. This particular ride left him with a blood red face, and some other aspects he dare not mention. He was probably flustered for a good long time after that, but he won't admit he went home and dreamed about it later that night. Oh my!

-Geten: Fair? What's the point of it? Oh well, he's got nothing else going on anyway. He's done all his training for the day and ReDestro convinced him it would be a good idea to just get out and have some fun for once in a while (the old man knew you had a crush on Geten of course. He was playing cupid lol). So Geten goes with you and tries to get into it while he's there. He considers you a close friend but doesn't ever really express it too often. He of course pays for your food and whatever else you want while you're there. He even uses his meta ability to cheat at fair games and get you a prize. He hates being told it's not allowed so it might've partly been done to spite the fair workers. The only complaint you might've had was the way he was fussing at the damn ride operator to stop the ride so you would stop bouncing on his lap. He sounded extremely angry and his face was definitely covered in a deep blush. You don't get time to be embarrassed due to having to stop him from trying to kill the man when the ride ends. It's unclear of whether or not you two get kicked out later that night. It likely depends on how strong you think you are at stopping a pysical altercartion betwen Geten and the operator.

[luxmaeastra]

She didn't know what was happening, why this was happening. She was restless, a fire in her that blazed brighter and brighter.

If she wasn't careful it would get so bright it would burn her alive. She needed out, she needed away.

She'd told Elizaveta alone where she was going. She wasn't sure why she didn't tell Caelum, of all of them wouldn't he understand the best?

He always said he'd follow wherever she lead - but if she wanted him to?

------

She stared at the building, if she hadn't been told she would have walked right past it. She stepped up to the door and inside.

Her finger touched the blood lock on the keypad, a ring of black stone appeared on her finger - to track her movements.

She stared at it, wavering for the first time. How bad did things get that they needed to be tracked?

How bad did things get that she knew she wouldn't tell?

That's how this place operated after all - a place of lawless immunity.

A place that would track anyone down who tried to destroy it.

She moved through the crowd, down and down, past the fighting pits. Past the pleasure and opium dens.

She stopped at the lowest level, at the second blood lock. If there was ever a time to turn back - it was now.

She pressed her finger to it, feeling more blood than before be taken. She didn't want to dwell on why.

She stepped through the smooth stone door that slid open for her.

"What are you looking for?"

She jerked, staring at the Valg who waited for her. But the make of his suit he worked here, and he was paid well for it.

He smiled when she didn't immediately respond. But there was no heat, he simply held out his arm to her.

"You're knew then? What are you looking for love?"

"I need - I'm so angry."

She didn't know why she listened to him, why she let him in. He hummed, turning with her, his sleeve rolled up to show his mate mark. Something in her loosened - would she have let him if he wasn't?

Gods she didn't desvere him.

After everything she'd been through, after everything he'd been through, this was how she repaid that?

The male followed her eyes and smiled softly.

"They allow mated to work here love. Too volatile otherwise. So you're angry, do you want someone who doesn't fight back or someone who will?"

She bit her lip, she should say someone who had fire right? Someone who she could have plausibility deniability over?

"Someone who doesn't fight back."

The male hummed and lead her past a few doors, stopping before a bend in the hallway.

"What would you like to do then?"

She recoiled, the dark gleam now definitely suggestive.

"Not - is that truly allowed?"

"This place does not have laws love, so yes it is....don't worry those ones feed on the energy, they're compensated well."

She didn't know any such race that fed on energy like that. The Valg smile went wider.

"Would you like to meet one? You don't need to do such things with them, they'll feed on energy given to them."

She nodded, her mouth dry.

------

The hallway was dark, quiet here. The torch lights burning low and hot. They stopped before one room. The Valg let her arm go, fishing a key from his pockets. She had the distinct impression it had appeared because the occupant allowed it to.

"They are collared so they can't manipulate you. I say that... everything you do will be on your own volition. There's a button under the door and both nightstands to call for help. This one is usually docile so I doubt you'll need it."

"I -"

Had her parents dealt with this? They'd never spoken of this floor, of any of this. Perhaps her aunt and uncle knew more. She should have asked before coming here.

The door opened and shut behind her. The figure moved from the bed, the furnishings warm and rich. It was homely, did they ever leave?

"What would like to do to me? Who would you like me to be?"

The voice was flirtatious, sinuous. The figure stepped from the bed curtains to stare at her. She blinked, taking the female in.

"Are you a changeling? I've never heard of one -"

"No. And if you came here for knowledge I will not provide it. That isn't what I'm being compensated for little one. So what -"

"Get on your knees."

The figure complied, raising her chin to stare her down. Estrella slid her blade free, the figure didn't twitch only smiled. She imprinted the image of the male she wanted, cycling between many to find the most nondescript male she could.

One she didn't know the name of, one she wouldn't feel guilt for. The form appeared slowly, like water rolling over the kneeling figure.

"How is this?"

The figure smiled, quickly adapting to the personality she was given.

"You have me on my knees, you have a knife and still you don't act? A female through and through aren't you? One so weak they can't -"

Estella growled, drawing the blade along their cheek and down her jaw, the blood spilled, and something shifted. She felt her anger leave her in bits and peices.

Feeding, this thing was feeding on her.

The figure waited, tugging at her emotions. Tugging at her mind - a calm whispering through her. Not her own but the creature's.

That it's okay, that they wanted this - that this was how they served their god. To take as much of their flesh as she could stand - they'd regrow, they'd survive, they'd cleanse her.

"What? That's the best you can do little one? A thin cut on my cheek? I'm terrified of -"

The blade dug deep, it found a home within the soft flesh of his throat. The warm liquid coated her hand, the crimson coating her skin as if the floodgates just released. All emotions, all thoughts. It was if the whatever had blocked her just gave, and suddenly there was relief.

—————

There would be no questions, no looks of sympathy. There was a mutual understanding between the two of them, she knew her sister as well as she knew her own heart. Elizaveta stood just outside of their home as she watched her sister return, her robe was wrapped around her to shield off the cold while she held Estrella’s in her hand.

She had needed this, she had needed this outlet more than she probably knew she did. In the recent months she had watched as her sister seemed to start drowning, as her course and dreams seem to become clouded from view. As the lights seemed to dim, the uncertainty.

Elizaveta moved forwards, wrapping the robe around her sister’s shoulders before she looked at her hands. Dried blood, she was sure she had tried to clean up but after the release of all of what was held in she was probably numb.

“Come, I made sure the baths were empty and forbade anyone to let anyone inside,” she said softly as she guided her. “Did you find what you needed?”

[the-firebird69]

Few more things we have had enough of certain characters and they are bothersome and I put in for some relief and I want to run something that we used to they agreed and it's good

Hera

I only have some announcements and yeah we're going to run what she said. And we do understand it. We have several automobile manufacturers at our door because they said we took their factories they were using them and they were not using them and they're defaulting on their loans and we don't own the finance company but we are taking it because their lack of action is an act of war and they didn't like the answer they pounded on the door this morning for a long time and then it stopped. We're going to repeat the process.

---is a huge number of factories that we have to grab and we need a lot of troops and we need them now and we need people to sign on we are undermined and understaffed always and he's saying again he doesn't want to sound like John remillard and he's not and he says don't ever associate it when I'm ordering with him because I know it clearly a lot of people have personal lives and our people are doing jobs and holding and I think that it'll get ruined if they stop when they're simply not holding enough there's too many people and they're not doing the job and I'm going to insist that we look at that there's got to be a way of convincing them and he says you tell them what they have to know if you do not sign on you're going to be suspect and if you don't sign on you're going to be left here and Fry like a french fry we have ways of assisting people in the transition to keep their family and friends safe we don't even necessarily change your operation we just make it more or less full-time with 30 out of 40 hours instead of 10 and they will like that but that's what it is and he said to put it that way if it doesn't work we have to initialize so we have to do it and he says I want to be responsible because it's going to harm me if we don't do this and I learned it from you he said he's talking to me since time for me to shovel it over you and I am and I'm taking the responsibility I do see what you're saying it's not working when I can't even numbers it doesn't work that great and your ideas are going ahead I'm going to put it forward we have about a third of them we're cautious about you what you say is you actually have to do a complete throw vetting anyways and then it's ongoing but it really at first nobody's going to get through it so what's the deal and I understand that if they're not clean they won't and they always have issues but we know what they are and they're complicated but we do know how to figure it out all the time we've never lost anybody from screening we always have our people I don't even get going on this it's starting to be ridiculous and I do know what to say

Thor Freya

You're saying in a way and we've been repeating it but yeah we have to be more concise we have to show them the threat and it's intense and we have to make sure they know it and they hear it and they just don't get it what are you going to stop it with corky he can't even get in there without us and we mentioned it and told people why and how and he will not do the job we want he goes after our son all the time let's be clear and think straight and sign on

This job is great you get a lot more income you get things you want and things you need your children get an education and second to none for the future of our races and kind

Frank Castle hardcastle

We're moving out with this idea I want to go get it going it's terrific and I'm going to send it up and he says that will send it up and we'll get it going and we will get permission and do it with hours if they don't do initialize it with theirs and we'll do the testing and present the testing I'm going to go ahead now

Duke Nukem Blockbuster yeah limited conscription and I did it in the United States I don't know why I wouldn't work

We do hear him he had to do it

Olympus

[aitian]

Wed 8/1/24 1:32 am

meant to write last week but i have been procrastinating. its making me feel rly bad. i have some stuff i need to send to professors weeks ago & its feeling rly burdensome.

anyway.

fucked a dude two weeks ago. he had a big dick & it was cute to feel the wet spot he made on his underwear from kissing me. thinking recently that im so greedy for intimacy.. not just from someone im fucking but from everyone who interacts with me. even with acquaintances, i want to understand each other deeply & care for one another. it's stupid. makes me feel dumb & strange. other ppl r just existing according to environmental circumstances, but im always rejecting that & digging out intense ways to give & receive.

i flew back from visiting emmy in nj on sunday evening, 7/14. got to the airport 2 hrs early & got so nervous waiting & waiting. the boarding time kept getting pushed back every half hour. i got anxious bc it meant that i would miss the last bus from denver to boulder. ended up arguing w united staff & getting on the standby list for another flight. i was 6th & after boarding all the passnegers, they called 5 ppl to go board the plane. pissed. then they came out & called whoever was next, & i knew it was me but this older couple indidted that they were next. the lady was behind me when i went to the counter & she knew it too, she argued that we were there at the same time (bullshit.). there was only one seat left anyway.. her husband wanted to get on without her, and she stopped him, insisting that they get on the same flight. anyway i board, & they can't figure out which is the last empty seat. after holding me by the door for 10 mins, they tell me 10B (nice, close to the front). when i get on i see the most annoying & rude guy from my flight sitting into the seat, & a flight attendant yelling that seat 36E is open. i knew he was seated in 36E but was taking my seat instead. whatever. i walk to the back of the plane & sit down.

when i sit down, i call mom & tell her i finally got on a plane, & complain abt the seat i got in the back of the plane next to the toilet & someone who smells bad. the annoying gate staff come back to find me after 10 more mins & ask why im not in 10B, i say someone else was sitting there & they leave. finally, we take off.

a chinese dude is next to me in the window seat, & he starts chatting me up. says he's going to boulder for work, & he also had a terrible day of delayed flights that ended up moving him to this flight. rly weird fate to end up sitting together. he works in biotech & lives in boston. i ask how he's getting to boulder, & he says he has a rental car. he seems like an honest dude, so i go ahead & ask him for a ride.

we end up talking for the whole flight. we talk abt school & work.. he grew up in queens, studied chemistry for his phd & works in pharmaceuticals. i tell him abt my work, abt lion dancing, & mention my partner. he tells me he's bi, & his gf is too. & that im cute, by the way. tells me that he has an open relationship, & wants to fool around if im free this week. i tell him i'll think about it. i ask him a lot of stuff abt his relationship bc im curious how these two queer chinese immigrant millenials operate. sounds like his gf is just open-minded & likes femme dudes, & he enjoys dl hookups. i think he's kinda cute in the low glow on the plane. i like that he's nerdy & extroverted, & very direct about his thoughts & feelings. our arms r touching for the whole flight bc the armrest was up, & the guy in the aisle seat is huge. it's a bit sweaty & disorienting, but in the low light we r both loosened up to chat.

on the drive back, i ask him abt the logistics. he says he's clean, & he wants me to suck him off. i can tell he's excited to hook up.. he asks me if i want to go to his hotel with him, we don't have to do anything sexual. i refuse bc it's almost 2am & i have work in the morning. i tell him i wont do anything until after i talk with emmy.

i walk to his place the next evening. there's a park between my apartment building & the residence inn. the park is so close but i hadn't walked in that direction before. the sun was setting, & i felt a bit displeased that i was walking 20 mins instead getting picked up via a 2 minute drive. it's just what happens for hookups i guess, especially with repressed, closeted dudes. he didn't want his colleagues noticing.

when i got there, he immediately starts kissing me, & pulls me toward the bed. the sex was okay. i liked how he smelled & felt, but there wasn't anything romantic about it. i also liked that he was rly big & leaked a lot of precum.

afterward, we start chatting a bit & he starts scrolling on ig. a lot of stupif american political propaganda.. biden this, trump that. i ask him to lay with me. i turn into a baby koala. its nice to lay on his chest & feel him all over. sigh.. neither him nor emmy r good at holding me close. he starts to fall asleep, & says i should just sleep over. i tell him he needs to send me home.. i'll sleep over tomorrow.

the next day, i walk over (it's a pleasant walk this time) & we spend the night chatting. he's rly nosy & asks me to show him pictures of everyone in my life. i don't want to though. i think he was a bit nervous to make conversation. i make him answer all his prying questions too. we exchange instagrams, & he confesses that he's actually married. i also tell him honestly that it was fun to hook up, but i like chatting as friends more.

one interesting story he told me was abt the first time he had an orgasm. he said his family was rly poor when he was little & they wouldn't bathe much. he went to a city once & stayed at a place with a good shower, & the pressure running down the front of his dick felt so good. he learned by replicating that sensation. i told him that i touch myself differently than guys do, by pressing down at the base. we didn't do anything sexual, just a bit of squishing, & sometime after midnight we went to bed.

i woke up an hour or two later & started touching him. he woke up too & started rubbing my taint like a pussy. his big hands felt really good, & i thought i was going to cum a few times but i didn't. he came pretty quickly, so i asked him to stroke me instead so i could finish too.

the next morning i left after a hug & a kiss. he sent me a message later in the day telling me that im sweet, and he hopes we'll meet again.

i think im too vulnerable & giving. he is a nice and honest guy, and even he had completely self-serving actions. i don't think i want to change how i behave. i should protect myself, but it's futile to try controlling what happens in life. i think we did genuinely touch each other's hearts, & had the bravery to go for it because of strange circumstances.

today too, im craving intimacy, connection, & discovery. part of me feels ambivalent toward becoming a bottomless pit for pleasurable experiences, and the other part wants to insist that life is simply the sum of my experiences. i should make myself open to positive experiences like intimacy, connection, & discovery. this time things fell right into my lap.. maybe i shouldn't be scared to broaden my reach. undecided..

[engagemachine]

Hiya, hope you're having a beautiful day! I was just curious, let's say Ressling completely unintentionally saw Taylor in a vulnerable position (changing, or nude or without pants or something) would the Joker feel the need to get rid of him? Or would he figure as long as nothing happened and he was told right away that Ressling is nothing to fret over?

Hello baby doll! Thank you so much for your question! I hope you are having a beautiful day too! Thank you for the well wishes. You're so sweet.

So, here's the thing: I feel like a lot of my readers think that Ressling is a lot more expendable than he really is. Like, I need everybody to understand that the Joker trusts him -- as much as the Joker possibly can trust another human being -- and the Joker doesn't trust just anybody.

But the irony is that even Taylor operates under the assumption that she could easily be rid of Ressling, that she could "sign Ressling's death warrant" (she has this thought back in chapter five) if she were to lie and say that Ressling did something untoward to her. However, this lie would hinge upon the assumption that the Joker wouldn't be able to tell she's lying, and, let's be honest: she's a terrible, terrible liar, and also, she's incredibly easy for the Joker to read. He would see right through any attempts at dishonesty.

No, Ressling would have to do something very, very bad for the Joker to ever consider getting rid of him, and even then, he might just find some way to punish him for it without actually having to kill him. He's too valuable to kill. The three of them might as well be considered a trio, for as tightly wound up in this relationship as Ressling is with Taylor and the Joker.

But, my gosh, can you imagine a scenario like the one you described?!

Maybe Ressling is by the house one day when the Joker's out -- the Joker has asked him to retrieve something, and of course he doesn't bother to tell Taylor that Ressling is coming over -- and Taylor is just...

doing her own thing, thinking she's got the day to herself. She showers with the bathroom door wide open, pads naked to their bedroom and flops onto their bed so she can lie down and relax in her post-shower haze, skin all warmed and pink. She's lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling and humming softly to herself as she picks at the covers, thinking about how their unmade bed smells so much like the two of them. It's why she doesn't hear the front door open, or the sound of footsteps coming down the hall.

In fact, she doesn't hear anything at all until there's a muttered, "Oh, fuck," and, in her horror, she registers the body standing in the doorway. The body not belonging to Mr. J, but Ressling.

She screams, scrambling for the covers, and Ressling, in his shock, at least has the decent to turn away, though it's a little late.

"What are you doing here?!" she cries.

She can feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She pulls the flat sheet from the bed and wraps it around herself as best she can. Her cheeks are flaming hot. God, he must have seen everything.

"I'm sorry--" he starts, and she can hear the regret in his voice. She screams again when he attempts a weak glance at her.

"Don't look!" she screeches, and he quickly turns back around.

"Jesus! I'm sorry--I'm sorry," he repeats, more earnestly this time. "I can't talk to a wall. Are you... are you decent?"

"N--no," she says, voice shaking. What in the world is he doing here, in the middle of the day? Is Mr. J here, too? Will she get in trouble for not wearing her clothes?

Ressling turns back to look at her--as if knowing she's lying--and sees the sheets wrapped around her body, tucked tightly under her arms. She's still beet red, though now she's more scared than embarrassed.

She swallows, gathers her voice. "Please--please don't tell Mr. J," she says.

Ressling sighs, eyes lowering to the carpet. He scrubs a hand over his jaw. She notices he does that a lot when he's stressed.

"Taylor... "

"Please, please," she begs. "I don't--I'll be in trouble," she says, in a tiny voice. "Please don't."

Ressling just looks at her, and he looks so sad.

"You should put some clothes on," he says. "He'll be here soon."

[sleepy-achilles]

Mob boss x Doctor au- Finding out aftermath

Rough because I haven't actually planned Shawn finding out. Just the aftermath. Weird. Also I'm not a writer.

------

Pat would tell Shawn he was sulking, Sherri would tell him to stop frowning before he ruined his beauty. Shawn couldn't care. He couldn't believe bascially everyone he knew was lying to him.

He keeps his gaze on the run down table in the break room as cena drops down next to him with a huff. "Your shifts just started, can't be that bad" Shawn tries joking. "Just found out a good friend of mine is in a gang. Asked me to clean him up" cena whispers. Shawn let's his eyes fall shut. Either to stop himself from crying or just laughing hysterically. "Found out all of mine are in gangs" Shawn mutters to himself. "I can't believe he kept this from me. We are roomates. What if it follows him back to our apartment? We could both get hurt. Our other roomates could get hurt." Cena snaps. Shawn slowly opens his eyes.

"What should I do?" John asks him. Shawn just stares at him. "I don't know." Shawn whispers. John pauses. He thinks back to the photos he's seen around shawns locker. The photos on his phone. "Oh!...oh...your friends-" "Yes. And I only found out last night when all of them wanted me to fix them up. Idiots, honestly. Why pick gang fights with your mates knowing you'd all have to goto the same place." Shawn scoffs. "Randy. He said hunter wanted everyone to say it was a bar fight." John states. "Hard to believe that when my boyfriend was also jumped. My friends and my boyfriend are all in rival gangs and I never even knew" Shawn sighs covering his face.

"Im so stupid" Shawn whispers. He jumps slightly as cena grabs his hand, lowering. "No. Your not stupid. Your busy being the best doctor ever. I've seen you save someone's life on two hours sleep, when no one else could figure out the problem!" Cena snaps. Shawn winces. "Maybe don't tell our bosses I'm operating on barely any sleep. But thank you john" Shawn smiles. Cena chuckles. "Besides, they're the stupid ones. Not us" cena grumbles. Shawn watches as the kid slouches down. "Damn straight." Shawn nods. Cena smiles slightly. "There's some curry in the fridge. Help yourself to it." Shawn tells him. Cena sit up with wide eyes. "Seriously?" Cena asks. "Mhm, your favorite aswell" Shawn smiles. "Thank you" cena smiles.

"Shawn, the ceo of deadman Inc is here to see you...I know it's your break-" Sherri gets cut off by Shawn standing. "Its alright. I'll deal with him. I'll make him leave" Shawn tells her. "Oh no rush pretty. He's easy on the eyes" she smirks before walking off. Shawn rushes out of the kitchen to see taker leaning against the desk, charming some of the nurses. He storms over and grabs takers arm, dragging him to the staircase.

"I thought you didn't have a shift tonight." Taker states as the door shuts. "Why do you care?" Shawn snaps. "Did you take a shift knowing I'd come by your place to talk to you?" Taker asks. Shawn looks down. "No." A complete lie. He didn't want to talk to any of them. "Shawn. We didn't want you to find out this way. Hell, I didn't even know you knew those punks" Taker huffs. "How was I supposed to find out?" Shawn demands. "Im not sure yet, alright? I just know it wouldn't be with us bleeding half to death and turning up for help." Taker admits. Shawn leans against the wall. "Dont be angry doll, please. I didn't want to put you a risk. If the police found out we were seeing each other. I didn't want you to lose all of this" Taker sighs. "Yeah, I'd really miss the sleepless nights in prison" Shawn mumbles.

Taker chuckles. And shawn, shawn hates it. He hates that he loves that sound. That it makes his stomach twist. "I understand if you don't want to see me anymore shawn. I just wanted to make sure you were OK. And you weren't answering the phone and, well I was just scared something bad had happened." Taker tells him. Shawn had to give the bigger man credit, he was the only one who contacted shawn or even bothered to come find him. The other boys just told him it wasn't a big deal and they'd deal with him later. Taker? Taker seemed to actually care about shawns feelings about it. "What if I asked you to stop?" Shawn asks. Takers eyes widen. "I mean. It would take a couple of months, you know, for me to hand the gang related stuff to kane, but I'd just have my business as my main form of money." Taker tells him.

Shawn looks at him. "You'd give the gang up for me?" Shawn asks shocked. "I love you shawn. My businesses have always been there as a way of an out. I just...I just never had a reason." Taker admits. "And kane and Paul?" Shawn asks. "Oh they'd hate it and be contacting me everyday. But, if that's what you want. I'd give it all up" Taker promises. "Its not fair. I can't make you give It up...that would be like asking me to give this up" Shawn sighs. "Would you? If I gave up the gang, would you give this up? Come join my business." Taker questions. Shawn looks down before slowly shaking his head. "I couldn't. I want...no I need to help people. I can't leave" Shawn whispers. "Good. I'm not asking you too." Taker tells him.

"Dont give up the gang. Not yet. I'm sure our relationship will get to a point when we both know its over for the gang life." Shawn states. "I get a call during our wedding?" Taker smirks. Shawns cheeks heat up. "Our relationship is on thin ice, you cannot go talking about our wedding" Shawn tuts. Taker chuckles before pausing and thinking for a moment. "How about I take you to coffee? As a sorry?" Taker asks. Shawn looks at him and a massive smile breaks out on his face. "You are so cheesy" Shawn chuckles hitting his arm. "Is that a no to the coffee?" Taker asks. "God no. Infact, to make it up to me, you can get the whole ward a coffee" Shawn smirks. "Yes sir" Taker salutes. "Good boy" Shawn smiles. Taker smiles before giving Shawn a quick kiss and walking back onto the ward.

Shawn raises an eyebrow and follows. "Alright! I'm getting the whole ward coffee. What do you all want?" Taker asks. The nurses and doctors quickly start giving their orders. Shawn just watches in awe as this big bad mob boss is being cooed at by a bunch of old nurses about coffee. Sherri stands next to shawn as the younger lot give their orders. "Hes a keeper" Sherri states. "Why? Because he gets you lot coffee to say sorry to me?" Shawn asks. "No. Well yes. But, because he actually remembers how you got your first date. And he actually cares about you. And well, he's cheered you up. I hate working with miserable shawnie, you know that" Sherri smirks. Shawn chuckles. "Yeah. He did." Shawn huffs.

He pauses. "Wait, how did you know we got our first date over apology coffee?" Shawn asks. "Your needed in room 5 Shawn!" Sherri calls as she walks off with a chuckle. "Sherri!" Shawn whines. "Cmon Shawn. We've got a patient. And coffee soon" cena yawns. "How are you tired? Your shift just started" Shawn huffs as the sleepy man drags him off. He gets one last glance at taker who's still taking orders before he's shoved into a room to deal with a child who has a toy car stuck up his nose.

"This will be a long night" Shawn huffs to cena. Cena just cracks a smirk and both men enter doctor mode.

[sorryimananti-romantic]

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 6

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 14k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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

Seohyun woke up with a groan, her head feeling heavy. She opened her eyes, blinking as the events of last night came to her. San was no longer here though. She checked her phone, and there was a text from him, saying his parents had called him.

After a shower and a cup of coffee, Seohyun sat in front of the television, thinking what she was gonna do. It was Saturday so they had no school, and she'd caught up on her sleep. She wanted to go out, but it was risky. The ghost- that evil, evil thing could turn up anywhere. Plus, she had no idea where Gayoung and Youngjae were.

Seohyun bit her lip as she thought about solving this problem; there was no way this ghost would come to her senses with mere words. It didn't look like she had faith in god anymore too, so a simple exorcism would be difficult. So what could she do? She had never dealt with such a dangerous one before, someone who was hell-bent on killing her.

And this time, it made sense why the ghost wanted to kill her so badly. All the evil ghosts she'd encounter in her life had never had an actual reason to harm her except being angry at life and whatnot. But this woman; what she had said made sense. And if it was true...

She wished there was another mediator she could consult with. But there was the matter of it being an inherited-once-dead thing. She could consult with the shaman she knew. Maybe he could help her communicate with a wise old ghost who'd actually give her a few tips.

The ghost's words rang in her ears: Don't tell me you didn't know? When a mediator dies, there is a short time period during which there is no other mediator in the world. That's when ghosts can do whatever they want; trespass, interact with humans, and much more. She cursed the previous mediators for not making an account of their knowledge and findings. She made a mental note to write a mediator guideline for the next unlucky person.

Seohyun got up, deciding she'd go to the shaman herself. No point waiting; she wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. The shaman was not too far from where she lived. She would take a taxi, just to be safe.

Seohyun was wondering where those two siblings had disappeared off too. She had allowed them to come and go as they pleased; it was unusual for them to be gone so long. Seohyun reached the place where the shaman lived after 10 minutes, getting off and finding the doors locked.

"Just my great fucking luck," she sighed, going to the market right in front of that place and asking if they knew where the shaman had went. She found out he had moved recently. She mentally cursed herself for not keeping his business card with her; she would have to go home and check if she still had it. She usually made some other use of business cards, such as making airplanes and boats out of them. Her origami was going to be the death of her.

Seohyun was just calling for taxi when she felt her heart sink in, realizing the evil ghost was near. She quickly stepped into property instead of hanging around the street, but nothing appeared. Maybe she was going insane, finally.

After waiting for two solid minutes, she was about to sit in the taxi when she heard a voice say:

"I saw that pretty boy leave your house in the morning."

Chills ran down her spine as she finally met her eyes with the ghost. "And what of it?"

"I found it interesting that he has the sight. I was wondering how that could help me."

"What do you mean?" Seohyun paused- this was not happening.

"He can see me. He thought he saw me in the morning but I hid. So I, with the help of those two kids who were too scared to disobey me, led him somewhere. And if you are a decent human, you'd follow me."

"You're lying."

"Go ahead and check if I am," she countered.

With a wildly beating heart, Seohyun pressed call, once, twice, thrice. He was not picking up. She texted in the group chat if anyone had been in contact with San since today. And everyone replied they hadn't.

Seohyun sighed in defeat as she said, "Lead the way."

The woman howled with laughter, making Seohyun grit her teeth and want to strangle her, but she walked, taking her god knows where. Seohyun tried to ask if she really wanted to kill her, and if so, why wasn't she already doing it. Why wait?

They were out in a clearing, near the expressway where cars and trucks rushed in full speed. What was she gonna do, attempt a ritual? Seohyun didn't understand.

"Just tell me where San is. And don't even think about hurting me. You want me, you have me."

"Oh dear," the woman walked towards her, and Seohyun tried to keep her calm as she grew closer, circling her once before whispering in her ear, "I don't have you. Not yet."

Seohyun winced at her foul breath, the woman raking a nail across her neck, drawing out blood. "I can't give you a mortal wound. I can only hurt you so much. That's why you mediators have it so easy."

Even if Seohyun's neck was on fire from the pain, she felt a spark of hope in her heart. That would mean she could run- she could escape.

"But that doesn't mean I can't do it indirectly," the ghost smiled, baring her brown teeth, and it was the evilness in her eyes that made Seohyun gasp as she realized.

She had been stupid- but she had no guarantee that San was safe. That Gayoung and Youngjae were safe. She couldn't run, not exactly. The woman flicked her hand, and Seohyun winced at the sound of a car crashing. She turned sharply; the car had hit the truck. The car had crashed the other way, but the truck-

It was tumbling and was coming right for her- unnaturally.

Seohyun forgot about everything else and ran, but somehow the woman was able to control the movement of the truck. She jumped in an attempt to dodge, the woman was cornering her. She had no choice but to step on the road, but one of the speeding cars failed to dodge the crashed car and struck it, skidding across the road and hitting Seohyun with a tremendous force that sent her flying before her head hit the traffic barrier and everything went black.

The woman laughed even as she cried out in pain. She had emptied the last of her powers on this crash, and she screamed as she felt herself burn from the inside out. But Seohyun was surely dead- she had to be. If she was dead, this wouldn't happen to her.

The woman screamed one last time before disappearing into thin air- this time for good. But it was no good now. Seohyun lay unconscious on the road, bent in a painful angle as people surrounded her and called an ambulance. A student checked her pulse; it was growing weaker by the second.

Seohyun was rushed to the hospital as soon as the ambulance arrived; her heart flatlined once before she was revived again, having escaped death from a hair's breadth. She was put on hold for her surgery as they called her mother for consent.

Her mother had rushed into the hospital- face streaked with tears. She had only had time to touch her face once before she was taken to the operating room, and she sat on the waiting chair, motionless. Her friend, Aunt Yuri that Seohyun had always liked, had comforted her mother, making her drink water and relax a bit. All they could do was pray.

Seohyun's phone, which was now in Yuri's hand, rang. It was Yunho. Yuri picked the phone, inquiring if he was a friend, and when he assured her that he was indeed a close friend, Yuri revealed the accident to him.

Yunho had almost dropped his phone as he heard, terror washing over him as he realized it must have been the evil ghost's doing. He washed his face, sighing as he tried to control his trembling hands. He was not ready to lose a friend.

Yunho called and told each of their friends individually, keeping San for the last, frowning when he did not pick up. He decided to go to his home and check. Before he reached his home, he found San walking outside the house as if looking for someone.

"San, hey," Yunho rushed to him, "Why weren't you picking the phone?"

"I lost it, but then Gayoung and Youngjae admitted they had hidden my phone. I was just going after them; I don't know why they'd done so. What's wrong?"

Yunho bit his lip as he thought of how to reveal it to him. He told him then; Seohyun had been in an accident, and she was under surgery now. They weren't sure if she was gonna make it.

San put a hand to his head, shaking his head in disbelief. "Was it- is it because of the ghost?"

"Not sure," Yunho said, "But seeing how Gayoung and Youngjae hid your phone, it must be. Seohyun was trying to contact you all day."

"Shit. Shit!" San punched the air in frustration, his lip trembling. How had it come to this?

"Which hospital is she in? I need to go."

So Yunho and San took a taxi to the hospital, and Yunho kept a hand on San's trembling one the whole ride. He seemed intent to keep his calm. When they arrived, they asked the reception for Seohyun and rushed to the floor she was in. They saw two women right outside the operating room, and figured it had to be Seohyun's mother and her friend who'd picked the phone. They sat on a distance, and San put his head in his hands as they waited.

Yuri, who had noticed the two boys, came towards them, asking if one of them was indeed Yunho. "We're praying for the best, but the doctors say it's risky. You both should head home, this surgery might take a while."

"It's fine," San finally said, "I'll wait."

Yuri raised a brow but then nodded, saying she was going to grab some coffee for Seohyun's mother and she'd grab some for them too. After drinking and some comforting from both sides, having found Seohyun's mother fallen asleep, the boys decided to get some air.

They walked in the hospital garden which was pretty big, lit by several lamps, and some of the patients could be seen sitting or walking. San's eyes were on the ground; he was afraid if he looked up he'd cry.

Yunho patted San's back and he put his face in his hands, sighing. He'd never imagine this. And the way Seohyun had been last night, so scared, he should have known. The things she said, he should have believed it wasn't just her being paranoid.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa came along with Yeosang; the rest lived too far away and couldn't join at this hour. Yeosang looked visibly pale and he kept rubbing his hands as if he felt cold. Upon asking, Yunho told them she was still in surgery, and yes, her mom was here with a friend too.

They sat in the garden. Seonghwa had bought some sandwiches from home; he knew some of them wouldn't have had dinner yet.

"You should eat, San," he said, "We don't know how long the surgery is gonna be. It's no good if you're on an empty stomach." He handed him a sandwich and San halfheartedly nibbled on it. The rest of them were pretty much silent too, at loss for words. They found comfort in just being together.

After finishing, they decided to go up and check the situation and maybe go back home to sleep. San dusted his clothes as he walked, and stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a familiar voice call his name.

"San."

The rest of them paused, looking back at San, whose eyes were wide with terror. "What's wrong?" Hongjoong asked.

San dreadfully turned back as if not quite believing, and the water bottle he'd been holding slipped out of his hand.

It couldn't be.

In front of him was Seohyun, unscratched, smiling sadly.

She was a ghost.

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

"Seohyun?"

San couldn't believe his eyes. Seohyun stood unscratched in front of him, but it was not her. It couldn't be. She was in an accident, how could she be in front of him like this?

A cry of pain escaped from Yeosang as he realized, covering his ears as if that could mean he was wrong. Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked at each other, and Yunho stepped towards San, stopping when he found him staring in the distance.

"How are you... here?" San managed to ask, walking towards her, but she took a step back, leaving San's hand dangling in the air. His brows were furrowed in a pained expression.

"I don't know, San," Seohyun said, smiling sadly. San went for her abruptly, and his hand went through her.

"No... This can't be...." San's knees gave out and Yunho rushed to him, massaging his back as tears finally escaped his eyes. He sat down, his face in his hands, now almost touching the ground. Seohyun bent near him as if she could touch him.

"It's my fault," San sniffed. Yunho wiped his eyes, looking back Hongjoong- pale with shock, Seonghwa clinging to him, holding Yeosang's trembling hand.

"It's not your fault. It's that witch's fault. And you have to listen-"

"It's mine," San whispered. Seohyun bit her lip as she began to speak but was cut again as he said, "I'm sorry I didn't pick your phone."

"I know what happened, don't worry-"

"I'm sorry-"

"CHOI SAN LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND!" Seohyun shouted and San jerked, forcing his head up to face her. "I don't think I'm dead. Not fully, at least. You have to go and ask the details."

"What do you mean? You're a ghost, doesn't that mean-"

"Maybe not. Please do that."

San nodded, explaining to the others that there was a possibility she was alive, though it did not make sense to him. They started walking to the building, and Seohyun said, "And please wipe your faces. Don't show that you know anything. I don't want my mom to know that I'm a ghost, even if I'm dead."

San winced at that but did so, and they went upstairs in the waiting area, where Seohyun's mother was crying. Yuri was patting her back but looked okay. Upon seeing San and Yunho with other friends, she whispered something to Seohyun's mother, who casted a glance at them and nodded, and Yuri walked to them.

"Seohyun's alive for now. She's in a coma. The surgery was successful but this was unavoidable, so we can expect her to return sometime within 3 months or more, depending on Seohyun now. Can't say anything about that. You guys should go home. They'll let you see her tomorrow."

Seohyun sighed in relief despite herself, and the boys finally managed a smile and asked San if she was here. San nodded, looking at Seohyun. She smiled happily now for San's sake, but he was still gloomy.

"You're gonna smile back or I'm gonna haunt you in your dreams, Choi San."

San let out a short laugh. "I guess you can do that now. Let's go out."

They went to an empty street and San asked Seohyun what had happened. She told him how the woman had used San as a bait for her to call her out. San told her that Gayoung and Youngjae had only taken his phone, assuring her he'd been home all day. Seohyun assured him it was still not his fault, that sooner or later this would've happened.

"So where's the ghost now? If you're still alive, won't it come after you again?" Seonghwa asked.

"I'll have to ask around," Seohyun said. "I can actually teleport now. I'm gonna try and find Gayoung and Youngjae. They must have been pretty scared if they did her bidding."

"Stay safe, Seohyun," San said, and Seohyun brought her hand near his face as if she meant to touch him.

"I will. Don't worry. Go home guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, we'll tell the others too now," Yunho said, "They'll be shocked."

"San, please tell Yeosang to stop trembling. I'm alive!"

San looked at Yeosang. He still seemed pale and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. So he did what Seohyun would have done for him; took his hands in his own, telling him it was alright. Seohyun was alive.

"I just can't believe it," Yeosang said, "For a second- when you said her name- I thought-"

"Yeah, I know, me too," San admitted. "It's alright. She's okay."

They waved her goodbye as they went home, and Seohyun cursed as loudly as she could, now that no one could hear her. Then she decided it was time to teleport to that hill, Gayoung and Youngjae must be given an earful.

She closed her eyes shut and imagined being sucked into space. The familiar tingling sensation ran from the top of her head to the tip of her toes; one moment she was here and the next, cold wind hit her face. She was there.

She peeked into the 'cave', basically a home to the ghost siblings. She found them sitting with their knees close to their chest. It was crazy how much they were like each other.

Seohyun cleared her throat and walked in, and the two of them stumbled back, almost falling.

"Are you alive?

"Are you dead?"

"Neither," Seohyun replied, "I did not know going into a coma would make me a ghost."

"Seohyun, I am so sorry-"

"Don't," Seohyun put a hand in the air, shutting them up. "Just tell me what made you do this."

"She threatened to hurt our parents. She knew where they lived. They're who we're staying here for, if she hurt them... I'm sorry," Gayoung looked down in shame.

"She actually asked us to 'take care' of San. We didn't promise her anything, just that he wouldn't interfere," Youngjae added.

"Well, thank you for that," Seohyun smiled, sitting near them. "It must have been hard for you both."

The two of them looked at each other, on the verge of crying.

"I swear if a tear falls down your faces, I'm personally gonna kick you out of this ghost realm."

Gayoung laughed a little, quickly wiping her eyes, and Youngjae did the same. They were just kids, Seohyun thought. They shouldn't have had to think it was their fault or anything.

"But what happened with the witch?" Seohyun asked.

"After she thought she killed you, we saw her screaming. We had just teleported to you when we sensed you were in danger. She just... vanished. And this time I mean like dissipated in the air like ashes. I guess she died again..." Youngjae said.

"Wow. Serves her right!" Seohyun sighed in relief.

"Did you meet San?" Gayoung asked and Seohyun nodded, looking grim.

"I don't think you should leave him alone tonight. He's gonna take this badly."

Seohyun's heart sank. She was right. Seohyun expected San to be alright, but that was just her own expectation. She wasn't actually so sure he would be.

"I don't know where he lives," Seohyun said.

"We'll take you to her," Gayoung said, holding out her hand to her and squeezing it, muttering an earnest thank you. Seohyun nodded, and they teleported once again.

It was an average looking house, much like the ones along the whole street. But somehow it felt more like a home than Seohyun's plain house looked.

"Do you think I can enter?" She wondered out loud, and Gayoung grinned.

"You should try. You should be able to since you're a mediator anyway."

Seohyun shrugged, taking a careful step forward. Indeed, she was able to enter. It seemed like she did have special benefits being a ghost. "I feel like I'm intruding."

"Oh he's your boyfriend, just go," Gayoung waved her hand at her, dismissing her as Youngjae grinned, wriggling hi brows at her. The two snickered, waving bye and teleporting back.

Seohyun stood awkwardly at the front door, afraid she'd be intruding their privacy. She paced back and forth, wondering if she should call San, or just go up and give him a little scare in the process. He probably wasn't in the mood for fun and jokes. She'd seen his face when he'd thought she'd die, and it was something she wished she could erase from her memory.

While she was biting her nails in confusion, she heard the front door open, and for a second, she panicked. But it was only San.

"I saw you from my window," he said, holding the door open, "Come in."

Seohyun bit her lip and nodded, entering. San closed the door behind him and led her upstairs. They went past his sister's room before entering his. Seohyun looked around, his love for plushies obvious by his large collection.

"Which one is Shiber?" Seohyun asked.

"That one," San pointed at the bed. It was a shiba plushie. San slept with it, it seemed.

"Poor thing," Seohyun grinned. San gave her a little smile as he motioned for her to sit. He sat on his bed and Seohyun brought the chair close. "Not how I thought I'd come to your home."

San shook his head, looking down. Seohyun almost leaned forward to touch him until she realized she couldn't. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not, to be honest," San began, meeting eyes with her, "I really thought you... were dead. When you appeared like that. I'm still not over that feeling."

Seohyun felt guilty. She'd found herself a ghost at the site of the accident, right when they were taking her to the hospital. She'd made it there, but she couldn't bring herself to step inside the hospital. She'd spotted San and Yunho from there. "I'm sorry."

"Oh no, you don't have to be," San shook his head, "Not your fault. I just wish I could... touch you right now. Hold you so I'd know you're real and it's not me going crazy."

"I know San," Seohyun almost whispered, "Me too."

They looked at each other sadly, and Seohyun put her hand in front of him, and for a moment San thought she was gonna ask for a high-five. "Put your hand here," she said.

San put his hand forward, and before he could touch, Seohyun pulled hers a little back. "No touching. Just... close. Like this," she put their hands close until there was only a hair's breadth of distance between them. San could have swore he could feel her warmth.

She smiled at him and drew her hand back. "The sibling duo was threatened by that bitch too. I feel sorry for them."

"That explains," San thought, "they didn't seem the type to just turn away like this."

"They apologized thoroughly. But it's okay now. It's only a matter of waking up from that coma... If I can make it."

"Keep your hopes up," San scolded and she smiled sheepishly. "How do you feel though? I mean, now that you're... a ghost. Does it feel any different that being a human?"

"I don't exactly feel weird inside," Seohyun realized, "But there does seem to be something different about this world now. It's like there's a veil over my eyes. Everything is a little cloudy now. Like I have bad eyesight."

"Does that mean you can't see me clearly?" San wondered.

"No, it's like there's a filter now. You know like the ones in the camera where you can decrease the clarity? That's how it feels. Weird."

San nodded. "Will you sleep?"

"I honestly don't know," Seohyun admitted. "I'll watch you sleep though. Maybe that might put me to sleep."

"I don't think I can sleep with you watching me," San huffed. Seohyun let out a short laugh and asked, "Do you want me to go?"

"No- stay. Please," he said, getting up to turn off the lights so there was only light from the little lamp on his desk. He lied down on his bed, facing her, watching her as she stood by the window, peeking out.

She was a ghost, San thought. He wanted her to wake up as soon as possible. He wasn't sure if he could live if Seohyun, god forbid, died and remained a ghost. He couldn't even imagine it.

As if sensing his thoughts, Seohyun turned, staring at him for a moment, those cheekbones pronounced in the shadows. She walked towards him slowly as he watched, and dropped to her knees in front of him, resting her head on the little space on the bed near San, and he crouched too, until they faced each other. She tested once, let her hand hover over his, putting it on top of him- but it passed through, making San shiver a little. So she drew her hand a bit back, until it almost touched at the fingertips.

They stared at each other, and San's eyelid drooped, shutting as he fell asleep. Seohyun closed her eyes too.

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

Seohyun must have actually fell asleep because when she awoke, when she opened her eyes, she was not in San's room but in front of her body, lying still with tubes coming out of everywhere. Her mother was sleeping rather uncomfortably on the sofa.

Her mother. She looked disheveled, and it made Seohyun gasp a little with surprise. She had always seen her so composed, so calm and full of control. She couldn't bring herself to go to her mother when she'd seen her crying of relief, back when they'd heard that her surgery had been successful.

She was glad that her Aunt Yuri had kept her company. She would have to thank her when she woke up. If she ever did. Seohyun shook her head, ridding herself of such thoughts.

Seohyun figured this was where she was gonna wake up every time she slept. She peeked out of the window to see that it was already morning. She felt like she hadn't slept at all, which was weird.

Her mother groaned, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. She looked like she had forgotten for a moment where she was, and as she took in her surroundings, Seohyun saw realization hit her as she jerked violently.

Her mother stared at her for a long while, before sighing and throwing her head in her hands. She thought her state must have been a nuisance for her ever-busy mother, but then she saw the tears fall down her mother's eyes as she hastily wiped at them.

She fell back on her seat, laughing, probably at the situation. And then she spoke:

"When your dad left me, I thought nothing could break me anymore."

Seohyun's eyes went a little wide at the sudden mention of her dad, who had passed away due to his heart problem a little after Seohyun's birth. Her mother had told her fragments of her life with him; they had met at work and fallen in love, spending a few years together before marrying and having a daughter.

"Your dad... he had my whole heart. So you can't blame me for my lack of love because it went with him to the grave. I tried loving you, and I thought it would be very hard. But somehow... I didn't even realize that I already loved you, way before you were born. I loved the thought of you."

Seohyun's heart sank. She thought she was invading her privacy by hearing all this... But technically, her mother was talking to her, wasn't she?

"I realize now. Now that you're looking like your dad in his last moments, I realize how afraid I am to lose you. If you followed him, I'd just be an empty shell."

Seohyun wanted to hug her mom and tell her it was alright. She wanted to give her a sign that she was here... but she figured it would do more harm than good.

"I hope you come back, Seohyun. My little girl. I promise to be a better mother, just- come back."

Seohyun's eyes shone with silver as she smiled at her mother's word. So her mother really did love her. She watched as she got up, straightening her clothes. "I'm going to distract myself until you're back. And then I will give you all the time in this world. Take you where you want to. Act like a proper mother that I should have done years ago. I'm- I'm sorry for not doing that earlier."

She walked to Seohyun's body, planting a kiss on her forehead and Seohyun could have sworn she felt a tingle of it too.

Her mother left after smiling at her, and Seohyun inhaled. She needed to distract herself too.

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

"I'm making a video of this, and no one is gonna stop me."

"What if someone sees it, Yeosang?" Hongjoong asked, shaking his head.

"I don't care," he replied as he did exactly as he had said. Make a video of Seohyun drumming furiously.

Except you could not see Seohyun and it looked like the drums were playing itself.

"I could start a YouTube channel and earn money from videos like these," he smirked.

"If you start earning money because I'm on the borderline of death," Seohyun had stopped drumming now, "I'll actually haunt you for the rest of my life."

San, who was watching the whole thing while sulking on the sofa, told Yeosang exactly what she had said.

"Good. At least I'll have company for the rest of my life."

Seohyun threw the drumstick, aiming for his head, and it hit home as he yelled in pain, a few colourful words escaping his mouth.

"You deserved it," Hongjoong laughed. Yeosang threw the drumstick back and Seohyun caught it, putting it down. She was done playing. She took the notebook they'd given her for communication and wrote: If I do end up dying, I'll help you all make money. At least I'll still be useful after death, you morons.

She held the notebook for them to read, trying to hide the view from San, but he ended up peeking too, and shook his head again, sulking even more.

"Back with her death jokes," Hongjoong looked at the book with disapproval.

Seohyun threw the book back at the table and came to sit with San, mirroring his sulking position. "It's so boring to have only you to actually talk to, no offence."

"Some taken," San said, "Be grateful I can see you. Imagine if I hadn't followed you that day."

"Actually grateful for that," Seohyun grinned. A ghost of smile crept on his face.

She heard the door of the warehouse open as the rest of them arrived. "Is Seohyun here?" Wooyoung asked, looking worried.

Hongjoong said yes, and he looked around saying, "Wherever you are, I'm so sorry about the accident, Seohyun. I don't want you to die, please come back! I can't lose you!"

Seohyun picked the pillow and threw it with considerable force at Wooyoung, who screamed and Mingi laughed. "Glad to see you're in good spirits."

"Are you okay though?" Jongho asked, having realized she must be sitting with San, "Does it... hurt or anything?"

San told them she said it was fine, it was just like being alive except no one can see her anymore which is making her sad and bored. He skipped the part where she had said that San was kinda boring these days too.

"Glad to hear," Wooyoung put the bag of snacks on the table. "I bought snacks, but... can you eat?"

Seohyun decided it was time to test that theory. She hadn't felt the need to eat, but she supposed theoretically she should be able to eat. She picked a packet of chips and opened it, the rest of them watching her curiously. She picked one in her hand, and then slowly put it in her mouth.

She could eat.

She danced in victory, making the rest of them laugh as Yunho hooted, "Time to loot the stores!"

"Nice idea!" She yelled back, coming back to sit with San, offering him some. He refused first but she made him open his mouth and put one in it. "This feels good. It's like being able to touch you."

San smiled. He felt that too.

Seohyun got up, going to Seonghwa and waiting for him to open his mouth. He was confused for a second but then opened, and Seohyun put the chip in his mouth. "This feels weird," he muttered, but smiled.

One by one, Seohyun put chips in their mouths, making them laugh. Yeosang filmed the whole thing, saying he was gonna make a compilation video once she was back.

San watched her with a curious look in his eyes. She had been acting a bit... different. More cheerful than she should have been. Or maybe he was too gloomy? When Seohyun came back, San folded his arms. "Did something... happen today?"

Seohyun got quiet for a second before she told him about how she had heard her mom talk to her. San wished he could hug her. Even though she sat right next to him, she felt so distant. His heart ached.

"At least now you know for sure that your mother does love you, in her own way."

"I suppose so," Seohyun sighed, folding her arms, watching Mingi and Wooyoung have a little brawl over who was better at drums, "I haven't ever seen her like that. Makes me want to not... die. Not that it's in my control anymore."

"Don't think like that," San turned towards her, "Your willpower is important."

"Is it?" Seohyun countered, and San narrowed his eyes. "I'll have to test that theory-"

"Do not even THINK of trying something reckless-" His voice was raising.

"I'd like to see you stop me-"

"HEY!" San got up abruptly, and everyone turned to look at him, "Does your life mean nothing to you?"

Seohyun instantly got deja vu. He'd said something like this before too. She stared at him as he groaned and pinched his nose bridge in frustration, pacing back and forth and then stopping again. "I thought your life meant something to you now. You had friends- you had us. We love you and care about you so much. I care about you so much. Your mother does. But all you care about is yourself?"

"San-" Blood rushed to Seohyun's cheeks as she realized, "I didn't mean-"

"You did mean it, Seohyun," San sighed, "I- I thought you finally had something to live for."

"San, I do. Believe me, I do."

San looked at her, shaking his head, and Seohyun felt like she could disappear. "Think about it, Seohyun."

He turned and started to go, and Seohyun grabbed his hand- or tried to- but it passed right through.

"I need some time to clear my head," he muttered as he left.

Everyone watched San leave the warehouse, and their eyes went back to where San had been standing, where Seohyun now stood. She felt disappointed in herself. She slumped down on the sofa, the others realizing she was still here.

"What was that about?" Seonghwa asked out loud. Seohyun just clenched her hair as she groaned loudly, cursing herself, glad nobody could hear her right now.

Hongjoong came and sat near Seohyun, saying, "If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

Seohyun thought it was sweet of him. He'd brought the pen and notebook too, placing it in between them. Seohyun took it, scribbling in it.

I messed up big time

Hongjoong read it, scooting a little closer, the notebook seemingly in her lap. She wrote again:

I'm a disappointment to San.

Hongjoong shook his head, "You're not. Trust me, you're not." He took a deep breath, having figured out what the fight was about. "I know you've had it rough, and you're not used to all these new relations. But whatever happened, you can set it right. San won't stay angry, but he'll be truly disappointed if you don't."

Seohyun thought about, and didn't realize her tears were falling on the notebook. Hongjoong could see it.

"You haven't cried since the accident, right? You're very brave, Seohyun."

Seohyun laughed a bit as she realized, making her cry even harder. She scribbled Thanks in the notebook, putting it aside. She knew what she had to do. Apologize.

She got up, walking towards the piano. Seating herself, she tested the keys, giving everyone a little scare before she started to play.

It was the piece Joon Hyuk had taught her. It was utterly sad but beautiful, and it had took her months to get better at it. As she played, she realized her muscle memory was better now. So she lost herself in the sadness of it, her fingers dancing on the keyboard.

When she was finished, she opened her eyes, breathing. it took her a good minute to come back to reality, and when she did, everyone was staring at her. Or the piano.

"Tell me someone got it on their phone," Yeosang mumbled.

Seohyun threw her head back and laughed out loud as she watched the boys fight over why no one took the liberty of filming this moment.

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

That night, Seohyun was pacing in the park near San's house, wondering how she should make things right. A simple 'sorry' wouldn't suffice. She wished she could touch him, hug him. Maybe that would have put more depth to the apology.

She was out of options. And as she was muttering to herself about how much of a bitch she had been, San came walking in, stopping abruptly when he saw her still pacing and cursing. She hadn't noticed yet. So he shook slightly with laughter as he heard her rather colourful vocabulary.

Seohyun sighed, looking up, and finally saw San, her heart sinking to her feet. "Gosh, you gave me a scare," she put a hand to her heart as she breathed.

"It's not like you can die of a heart attack now," San said.

Seohyun paused, narrowing her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

San shrugged, but lost his demeanor as he finally laughed. "Oh how the tables have turned!" Seohyun gasped, kicking a pebble at him, glad when it struck his leg and he winced.

She gave him a long look. "Are you okay?"

"I am," San said, motioning to the swings and they took one. As they bobbed lightly, Seohyun finally took a deep breath and said, "I am sorry, San."

"For what?" he asked, looking at her.

"For everything," Seohyun said. "I've been a terrible friend."

"No you're not," he smiled. "I just wish you'd give yourself more credit. You don't have to apologize to me. You should be apologizing to yourself."

"Damn, that's poetic," Seohyun said and she could've sworn she heard San mutter 'insufferable', but he still laughed. "Alright. I'll give myself more credit. I won't make death jokes again too."

"Now what would Seohyun be without her death jokes?"

"That is a very valid point," Seohyun smiled. "Alright, I'll just... be a better person. You know."

It seemed like San was enjoying her struggle to find words. "I know what?"

Seohyun's jaw tensed. "Be glad I can't hit you, San."

San smirked.

That cocky little-

Seohyun got up, searching for something to throw at San, who just laughed loudly as he ran away from her.

---------

Days passed. Weeks passed.

A month passed- yet Seohyun was not awake.

Every morning, Seohyun awoke at the hospital, no matter where she slept. She had made the warehouse her home now, since going back to her house was just a reminder that she was not alive, but not dead either.

She wasn't sure how she felt about this situation. The first few days, everyone had been super sensitive about what they said in front of her. But now, everyone was busy with school too. So Seonghwa advised her to attend school too, to not get behind her studies. But Seohyun said that technically, she was still in hospital which meant she could skip school now.

It took her one day without them, bored out of her mind, and she decided that yes, she would go to school too.

So everyday, she sat in her seat, not really paying attention to the lectures but still feeling like she was a part of this world. A part of the living.

And she'd help a lot of ghosts too. Ghosts didn't find her like they did when she was alive, but occasionally she'd stumble upon a lost ghost and help them out, saying she was 'experienced' in helping the fellow-dead.

She was out helping a ghost, a little girl barely 7 years old. She missed her mom and was still hanging on because she had to give her mom a gift, she had promised to. Seohyun's heart went out for the little girl, and she decided to help her.

Seohyun took the girl to her own house, and the little girl went 'wow' when she realized she could touch things now. So Seohyun gave her a nice page and colour pencils while the girl made a drawing. The gift to her mom.

Seohyun hadn't been home in quite a while now. She walked around her room, memories of San and Jiwoo coming to her mind. She smiled as she took the painting of Jiwoo in her hands.

"I'm done!" The girl said, and Seohyun placed the painting back, going to the desk.

"So your name is Yerim?" She asked and Yerim nodded. She had made a cartoon of herself and her mom, labelling it.

"That is a beautiful drawing, Yerim. I'm sure your mom would love it."

Yerim smiled and Seohyun pinched her cheeks. "Now let's give that to your mom."

Yerim guided her to her home, and they went inside, deciding to hide the painting in Yerim's room so when her mom would come, she'd find it, and think she had already made it before she died.

"Thank you, unnie!" Yerim hugged Seohyun and she marvelled at the feeling. She hadn't touched anyone since she'd been a ghost.

Seohyun picked the girl in her arms. "You're so light!" Yerim laughed and hugged her again. They got out of the house, walking randomly, Yerim still in her arms. The black cat started following them too.

"The cat can see you?" Yerim asked.

"Oh yes. When I was... alive, it was my friend. It's still my friend when I'm ghost."

"That's cool," Yerim said as she waved at the cat.

Seohyun asked, "Now that you have done what you stayed here for, you should go now. There's a better world, where you'll wait for your mom. She'll be there soon."

"Will she?" She asked and Seohyun nodded.

"Can we go to the park over there? I used to come there to play with my mom. It has so many flowers too."

"Of course," Seohyun looked at where she had pointed. The park was full of kids and their parents, playing around. "That's a nice place."

Seohyun dropped Yerim and she asked if she would be able to touch the cat. She squealed in surprise when she could.

"What's the name of this cat?"

"Ah. I haven't named it yet..." Was it Shiber or Byeol?

"You can call it Yerim!"

Seohyun paused. She got the strange urge to stretch her cheek.

"You're very cute, Yerim. I'll call her that," Seohyun smiled.

Yerim nodded, looking at the kids, and Seohyun watched her fade away. Feeling the sudden urge to cry, she shook her head and motioned for the cat to follow her.

After roaming around aimlessly, Seohyun reached the warehouse, finding it utterly dark. Not even the usual light was on.

"Where did everyone go?" She muttered, turning to go out, almost jumping out of her skin when she heard what sounded like a blast.

It was a party popper.

"Happy birthday!"

Seohyun turned to find everyone clapping and holding a cake, the only light in the room from the candles. San was laughing at Seohyun's horrified expressions. She truly had forgotten that it was her birthday. She shook her head, laughing.

"You guys, you're- how did you plan this?"

"It took us days to plan," San admitted, and Wooyoung said, "We had to think of a way you'd be busy today."

"But I was busy today because- no way. No way!" Seohyun looked at San in disbelief and he nodded. "I found her before you did and asked her to keep you busy. She was more than happy to."

"Wow," Seohyun shook her head, pinching her nose bridge but smiling at the effort.

"Blow the candles," Seonghwa said, and Yeosang took to his filming.

Seohyun felt strangely happy as she blew her candles, not bothering to make a wish. Hongjoong turned on the lights and she looked around, noticing the various gifts lying in the corner, and her favourite dishes on the table.

San led them to the table, where she cut the cake and made everyone take a bite from her hands. She couldn't thank them enough; this was the first time she had a surprise- or even a celebration.

"I wish the circumstances were different," Seohyun sighed.

San told them what she said and Yunho answered, "It doesn't feel any different. Only we can't see or hear you, so we have to visualize. Oh, and we get more jump-scares now."

Seohyun laughed, and they dug into the food.

After they all were done, they asked her to unwrap her gifts. So Seohyun grabbed the largest one first, which was from Yunho. It was a school bag, with space for laptop too.

"I noticed yours was kind of worn out," Yunho grinned. Seohyun scribbled on the notebook, saying 'Thank you for noticing! :)'. The others applauded him for the approval.

The next one was from Mingi. It was a beautiful leather band watch, which she loved, saying she wished she could put it on right now, and wondering for a moment that if she did, where would it go when she was back?

Yeosang had gifted her some chocolates from abroad, conveniently his father had been out of country. And since he knew her love for chocolate was one to be appreciated, he decided on it. Seohyun almost cried when she spotted her favourite ones.

"I do have another gift, but you'll have to wait for it," he admitted. Seohyun narrowed her eyes, scribbling 'It better be worth it' and moving on to the next.

Jongho had given her a scented set; shampoo, lotion and candle. Hongjoong got her a cap and sunglasses, rather stylish, and Seohyun had to admit she was impressed by his choice. Seonghwa had gifted her a black cat plushie- very, very similar to Yerim the cat. Seohyun admitted it might be her favourite gift. Wooyoung had gifted her a set of earrings, and she appreciated that it was just her taste. And San got her a couple ring, making everyone including herself gasp when they saw it.

"I didn't know what to get..." San scratched the back of his neck.

"No, I love it. It's so pretty!" It was just her style; a silver band with a tiny diamond in the center. Seohyun tried it on, showing it to San excitedly who laughed, approving. He wore his own too.

"Aw, this is so sweet. Except it looks like San proposed to himself," Wooyoung said, earning a smack from Seonghwa.

Seohyun took it off, handing it to San. "I'll wear it when I'm back."

"You wanna go for a walk?" San asked, and she nodded, getting up and asking him to convey her thanks to everyone, that they should keep this stuff here and she'll properly receive them and thank them when she was back.

After everyone said goodbye, San and Seohyun started walking aimlessly around, San telling her how it had taken them a whole week to plan, which included panicking over gifts too. Since it was their first time with Seohyun, it was more difficult to decide on what she'd like.

"I would have loved anything you gave me, even if it was stupid. I appreciate the gesture more."

"I know," San smiled at her. Seohyun was looking at him with a smile on her face, taking in the details on his pretty face, that she didn't notice a bike rushing and on its way to hit her.

Of course she wouldn't get hit, but out of impulse, San grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the side, "Even if you're a ghost, you should be careful-"

"How- how did you did you just touch me?"

San looked at her, then looked down at his hands, then looked at her again. "Did I?"

Seohyun frowned. Slowly, taking a step towards him, she touched his face, and they sucked in their breath.

She could touch him.

Seohyun laughed in disbelief, touching his face, feeling every angle and curve of it, and San's hands went to grab her hands, marvelling at the touch. He hugged her, not quite believing it until he could feel her arms around her.

Seohyun broke the hug, joining their foreheads, for a moment forgetting everything else as she kissed him. God, it had been too long. They kissed each other in a frenzy, until San felt like someone dumped water on him and he broke apart.

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Seohyun breathed, "I don't know, I-"

Seohyun fell to the ground, clenching her head in her hands as she cried out in pain.

"What's happening?" San asked, panic lacing his voice, and Seohyun muttered that she did not know.

"I think I'm dying," Seohyun said, wincing because of the sharp pain, "Or something's happening. I'm being pulled back. San- I'm scared."

San was sitting down with her now, holding her in her arms, caressing her head, "It's gonna be alright," he said, pressing a kiss to her head, "It's gonna be alright."

He didn't know how long he stayed there comforting her as she breathed and faded. And he did not know how long he stared at the empty space in front of him, where Seohyun had just been.

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

It was utter chaos at the hospital- the doctors and the nurses were rushing around, everyone was borderline panicking. Seohyun was going into shock- her mother was crying hysterically as she watched the doctors go around her in a frenzy. A nurse told her to pray- she would either make it or pass away.

Her mother watched her heart beat flatline and the doctors resuscitate her. Her mother almost fainted as she watched the monitors- she was having flashbacks from the time her husband had passed away. Her friend Yuri came rushing in, leading her outside, rubbing her back and telling her it was better to wait and pray instead of watch what was going on.

Meanwhile, San, who had been staring at the empty space in front of him, where Seohyun had just been, slapped himself to reality and called Hongjoong, quickly telling him what had happened as he rushed through the streets, trying to find a taxi. The boys joined him, their faces pale, and they ran to the main street until they found taxis and drove to the hospital, not being able to calm their loudly thumping hearts.

As soon as they reached the hospital, they looked at each other once, nodding, scared for what they would get to hear. Most of them were trembling now- but they followed each other to the ICU, where they spotted the doctors coming out of the room.

Yunho spotted Yuri and ran to her, "How's Seohyun? What happened to her?"

Yuri narrowed her eyes at Yunho, "How did you know...?"

Yunho internally cursed himself before making up an excuse, "I was passing by here when I heard the doctors call the others to Seohyun's room- I called the rest. It wasn't looking good."

Yuri nodded, "She's okay now. She's awake, in fact. Look," Yuri pointed at the door that was slightly open, and Yunho saw her mother smiling through tears, holding Seohyun's hand, who was smiling too.

Yunho sighed in relief, almost falling on his knees. He thanked Yuri and motioned the rest to join him, and the rest knew it was good news with the smile on Yunho's face. They watched the mother and daughter smile and talk to each other, and they hugged each other in relief, their eyes wet.

Seohyun spotted the group of boys outside, waving at them. The boys waved back and they watched her say something to her mother, who nodded, getting up after kissing her forehead and coming out.

"I never thought Seohyun could have so many friends one day," Her mother smiled at them.

"It's good to meet you," Jongho said, and they bowed in greeting.

"You can meet her now- try not to be too loud," she laughed, waving at them.

The boys walked slowly to her room, taking in Seohyun's appearance- there were shadows under her eyes, a few scars on her face and hands, but her smile was the only thing they could see.

"Come here. I missed you all so much!"

Jongho went first, shaking hands with her, the rest coming one by one, holding back from hugging her or ruffling her hair because of the bandages on her head and everywhere else. They were all a little speechless, having seen Seohyun after so long now.

Even San was speechless- he had seen Seohyun everyday, but not like this.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," Seohyun looked at San.

"I... I am, I just-" San shook his head, looking down as he trembled from trying to hold back his tears, "I really thought... that you were gone."

Seohyun sighed, pursing her lips. "I have given you all a hard time, haven't I?"

They all shook their heads, Mingi and Wooyoung rubbing San's back who was trying his hardest not to cry but ultimately failed. Hongjoong said they'd give them a moment and they left the room.

"San. Come on, look at me. San!"

San sniffed, wiping his eyes before looking at her. Tears formed in her own eyes and she wiped them.

"I'm so sorry, San. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," San leaned forward, taking her hand in his- it had been too long. "Nothing to be sorry about, except scaring the shit out of me."

Seohyun laughed, "I scared the shit out of myself too, not gonna lie."

"I can't believe you're real," San admitted, bringing her hand to his face, reveling the feeling of her touch, "I am awake, am I not?"

Seohyun slapped his face lightly with her other hand. "Very much awake."

San took his sweet time not saying anything, just looking at her face, his lips on her hand.

"Say something, San. You're being weird."

San shook his head, kissing her hand. "I am never leaving you, ever. Get that in your head. No amount of death jokes are going to scare me away. You're stuck with me now until I die."

Seohyun flushed at the sudden confession. "Are you sure? I can make horrible jokes."

"As sure as I will ever be."

Seohyun smiled until she was laughing, tears running down her face. "God, I love you, San. I'm not leaving you too. Even if you're angry with me, disappointed in me, or whatever, I'll keep bugging you."

"Good to hear," San grinned.

"Come here," Seohyun motioned, and San asked her if it was okay. Seohyun just grabbed his collar and gave him a light peck on his lips.

"I can't hug you right now, but I can do this."

San smiled, returning the favour. They both stared at each other, smiling.

"Now that is a creepy sight I wish I will never see again. Tell me you got that on camera, Wooyoung."

"Right on," Wooyoung replied to Hongjoong, and Seohyun tried throwing her pillow at them, groaning in pain when she turned too harshly. San told her to calm down, throwing the pillow himself.

"It's our turn now, you've been seeing her for months now!" Yeosang shouted, and Seohyun laughed as she watched them push San out of the way, making him sit in the corner and pout while they sat in front of her, taking turns to talk to her.

"How did it feel while you were a ghost?" Wooyoung asked.

"Like I was alive, but not real?"

"Did it hurt when you became a ghost, or when you went back?" Seonghwa asked.

"When I went back, yes, I felt like my head was about to burst-"

"Can you still see ghosts now?" Mingi asked.

"I don't know yet-"

"Let her rest!" Hongjoong clapped once, "We'll have plenty of time to catch up when she comes home."

Seohyun pouted and Hongjoong patted her shoulder, "Glad you're back, Seohyun."

Seohyun smiled, wriggling her brows at him and they all waved at her before leaving, San coming to kiss her hand once before leaving. Seohyun sighed- he was being so soft.

Her mother came in, trying to stifle her smile but failing. "You have many friends now, it seems."

"I do," Seohyun nodded, smiling back, "I have a boyfriend too."

Her mother raised one eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "Lee Seohyun! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Which one was he?"

"The one who left last, San."

"Oh," her mother gave her a thumbs up, "How did it happen?"

Seohyun told her to sit because it was a long story, and then told her all about how she had met San, how he was able to see ghosts now too, because of her, and how they, at one point, started liking each other.

"Were you a ghost when you were in a coma?"

Seohyun bit her lip, nodding.

"And these friends knew?"

"They did. San could see me, but he couldn't touch me. At least not until tonight, just before it happened."

Her mother sighed, leaning back. "Is there a reason none of them, and not even you, bothered to tell me that you were a ghost?"

"I wanted to- I slept every night and woke up here, with you. I heard you talk to me. I couldn't break your heart, mom. Not when I wasn't sure if I was going to make it."

"I understand," She nodded, earnest, "How did this even happen?"

"It was an old ghost- a vengeful one. Apparently when you kill a 'mediator'- that's what they call me, there are a few moments before the mediator thing passes to another person. During those moments, ghosts can trespass and interact with humans and whatnot. At least that's what that bitch told me-"

"Language-"

"I'm talking about the ghost who tried to kill me."

"Oh, that bitch, go on."

"So apparently ghosts can't kill the mediators. So she tried doing it to me indirectly, which ended up killing her."

"Good riddance! But I hope you will have stopped seeing ghosts now. I don't want you to get in more trouble," her mother's eyes were full of worry.

"I don't think that happened, but at least nobody will try to kill me now."

The mother and daughter sat thinking for a few moments. Finally, her mother spoke, "You're getting discharged in three days. If you want to take a break from school, if you want to go on a trip, I can do that-"

"Thank you, mom," Seohyun smiled, "I just want to live like I had been living. Normally. We can go somewhere during the New Year holidays if you're free- otherwise, I just want to go to school, spend time with the boys, do normal stuff."

"I took extra days off," her mother nodded, "We can go visit your grandparents in the countryside."

"Sure! I haven't seen them in forever."

"You can go with the boys somewhere if you want to before New Year. I won't be home for Christmas- I have business in Japan. But if you want me home for Christmas-"

"Please, it's really okay, mom," Seohyun nodded furiously, "I won't be alone this time. Just promise you'll be home for New Year."

"I promise," she smiled.

"Done. I'll plan something with the boys."

Three days later, Seohyun was finally discharged, the bandages off her and she felt light. Seohyun took a look in the mirror when she got home- the wounds on her face would fade with time. She was alive, and that was all that mattered.

The boys had paid a visit every night, and it was time for her to return the favour. Seohyun decided she would buy something for them each- a Christmas gift, a gift because she woke up. She told them all to be there at night while she went shopping.

Two hours later, several shopping bags in her hands, she stood outside the warehouse. The air felt incredibly different now that she was alive.

Seohyun closed her eyes, relishing the feel of the wind on her skin, blowing the hair away from her face.

"Home."

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

"Hi guys!" Seohyun stood awkwardly, waving the bags in her hands. The boys all turned, hooting as they rushed towards her, and for a moment, Seohyun almost had a heart attack.

"STOP!" She shouted, and they stopped in their tracks, realizing their mistake. "One at a time, okay? Go back and sit."

They obeyed, muttering things under their breath and San approached her, taking some of the bags away from her.

"Can I hug you first?"

"Not fair!" Wooyoung shouted.

Seohyun laughed while San glared at Wooyoung, "We'll have plenty of time later, but here," She gave him a brief hug, sighing into it. It was the first time she was going to hug everyone after the accident.

She had been discharged from the hospital the next night, after the doctors made sure everything was okay. The bandages were off now, mostly. Some scars remained- one running down her temple as well. She had been home the past days, not being able to meet anyone, taking her time to get her energy back, only going out shopping with her mom.

"Alright," Seohyun placed the bags in front of the table where everyone sat, "This is going to be a random pick. I got you all gifts for Christmas, so I'm going to pick a bag. Here-" Seohyun picked one, "Yeosang!"

Yeosang got up haughtily, flipping his hair, motioning at them to applaud and they did, faces grumpy as he approached Seohyun and hugged her, almost picking her up in the air.

"Don't crush me!" Seohyun laughed, and Yeosang finally broke the hug, patting her head.

"We didn't get you anything for Christmas yet."

"You don't need to, you got me enough for the birthday-"

"We'll just give you food then," Jongho suggested.

"Deal," Seohyun winked at him, handing Yeosang the bag. "Open it."

Yeosang looked at her pointedly, opening the box to reveal a small flying drone. Yeosang gasped in surprise and Seohyun looked proud.

"I may have noticed you doodling drones in your notebook."

Yeosang laughed and thanked her, saying she knew him well. Seohyun picked the next bag.

"Seonghwa!"

Seonghwa pumped a fist in the air as he ran to Seohyun, hugging her.

"You hug like my mom does," Seohyun muttered.

"Glad you're back," he said, kissing her temple before he broke the hug. He opened the gift to reveal a set of-

"Hey, how did you know to get me these!" Seonghwa looked at Seohyun in surprise while the others tried to peek at what Seonghwa was holding, who took the boxes out to reveal action figurines. Seohyun smiled as she watched the rest laugh in approval.

"When you guys crashed my first date and took me shopping, I may have noticed you eyeing these in the shop- I don't know what category they are- I just memorized one of the toys of that set and went there and found it, to my relief."

"You're very observant," Seonghwa eyed her and she curtsied, earning another thanks.

"Can I come next?" Jongho said, pointing at the giant bear wrapped messily lying in the corner, "It's a bit too obvious now to pretend I don't see it."

Seohyun bit her lip, trying not to laugh, "Please do."

Jongho smiled, skipping to Seohyun, hugging her such that she was dangling in the air, arms flapping wildly at the side, and then the two skipped to where the bear was- it was about Seohyun's size. Jongho tore the wrappers and laughed-

"You really had to?"

Seohyun smiled at the apple necklace the bear wore- it was a special touch she added to Jongho's gift. "I mean, I could have gifted you a crate of apples-"

Yeosang laughed out loud, causing the others to laugh as well, "The apples wouldn't have lasted a day."

"It's not that bad!" Jongho sulked, dragging the bear to the couch and hugging it, pouting. Seohyun shook her head at him, picking the next bag.

"Yunho!"

Yunho hooted in victory, pausing in front of Seohyun for a second before spreading his arms, and Seohyun gladly hugged him, laughing because she barely reached his shoulders.

"Glad you're back, you dwarf."

"Thanks, you giant puppy," Seohyun shook her head, breaking the hug and handing him the bag. Yunho eyed her before fishing out a long box, unwrapping it.

Seohyun watched as his mouth opened in surprise, and he looked at Seohyun, then back at the boys, then back at her.

"What is it?" Wooyoung asked, "Don't make me get up now-"

"How did you get your hands on this!" Yunho laughed out loud, taking out a wand from the box, "This is Harry's wand, right?"

"Harry's wand!" Mingi wowed, and Hongjoong shook his head, "Isn't this too much! When did you get the time!"

"Actually, this wasn't a Christmas gift," Seohyun admitted, and Yunho looked at her in surprise, "You remember when we talked about Harry Potter all day in school when I was... alive? Before becoming a ghost, I mean-"

"I do," Yunho shook his head, "You're still alive, you know."

Seohyun waved a hand in dismissal, "Anyways, one of mom's friends was in UK, and I had asked her to get me a wand from there, so I asked to bring another."

"I don't know- isn't this too much?" Yunho looked at her hesitantly, and Seohyun rolled her eyes, looking at San who was laughing silently.

"Shut up. Next!" Seohyun announced, ignoring Yunho and picking another bag. "Hongjoong!"

"When is my turn!" Wooyoung wailed loudly, Mingi joining, and Seohyun watched as the two started playing rock papers scissors to bet on who would be next.

"How did you even bring all these here," Hongjoong asked as he hugged her, long and good, "Wasn't it too much trouble?"

"It's okay," Seohyun rubbed his back before they broke apart, and Seohyun handed him the bag. "Here."

Hongjoong looked at her pointedly, "This looks the smallest."

"I can assure you, it was the most expensive-"

"Hey!" Hongjoong laughed, "I'm not opening this."

"Stop being so dramatic, we're waiting!" Wooyoung shouted, Mingi doubling over with laughter.

"I'll do the honours," Seohyun picked the box and tore the wrapper apart. "I had to."

Hongjoong almost dropped the box as he held it- it was headphones- but high quality ones- ones he wish he could have to make him hear the sound betters when he composed in his laptop. "Seohyun-"

"Don't-"

"How can I accept this!"

"You know I could get you better things- my mom's loaded. She was all too glad when I told her that you were the guys I was buying gifts for. Please, Hongjoong, it's not much."

Hongjoong shook his head, "I know it's not much to you, but to us, it is. I'd appreciate it if you don't spend money like that again-"

"Shut up," Seohyun shook her head, "It's my first time getting someone gifts. First time getting someone something meaningful, first time I actually put thought into all of this. First time I was excited. Please," Seohyun wrapped his hands in hers, "Accept it."

"You're gonna make me cry now," Hongjoong laughed, bringing her in for another hug. "Thank you. I won't forget this."

"Thank you for accepting," Seohyun laughed, and Hongjoong went back, flaunting his headphones as he examined them.

"Okay, Mingi, you're next."

Mingi almost fell as he got up in victory, waving his butt at Wooyoung and earning a smack, skipping as he came to Seohyun and hugged her dramatically, picking her and actually making her scream-

"Drop me, you giant!" Seohyun slapped his arms repeatedly, and he finally dropped her, pretending she had hit her too hard. Seohyun slapped his arm again, finally smiling.

Mingi went to where his bag was- finding two boxes- his recent two favourite anime's action figurines.

"You remembered!"

"I also got you the recent volumes!" Seohyun fished out another bag from under the table and Mingi wowed, checking as if he couldn't believe it.

"You have good memory! When did I tell you which volumes I had?"

"Some time in school?" Seohyun smiled, "I didn't know what else to get you- I already gave you the drums, I could have waited till Christmas I guess-"

"Oh come on, they're yours-"

"They're yours now," Seohyun announced, and Yunho started clapping, "I mean, I'm a co-owner. Deal?"

"Deal," Mingi ruffled her hair, thanking her.

"Finally now, it's my time!" Wooyoung came singing, almost running to Seohyun as he crashed into her, spinning her and kissing her forehead, "I cannot tell you how happy I am that you are alive!"

"Even if I was dead," Seohyun began, "I feel like I wouldn't have been able to move on because of you-"

"Hush, now," Wooyoung shook his head, laughing. "Hey, mine is the lightest! Hongjoong!"

Hongjoong was too absorbed in his headphones to respond and San finally got up, telling Wooyoung to hurry up so they could have 'alone time'. Wooyoung unwrapped his gift-

"BTS' ALBUM!"

Seohyun flinched at how loud he was and San came to cover her ears as Wooyoung shouted in surprise and amazement, thanking Seohyun to which she nodded, still flinching as he ran around flaunting the album.

"You brought this upon yourself," San laughed, and Seohyun smiled as Wooyoung crushed her in another hug, thanking her again and again.

"You want me to take it back!"

"NO!"

"THEN SHUT UP!" Seohyun shouted as loudly as Wooyoung who only grinned.

"I knew there was something about you that I just had to make you friend-"

"Anddd that's enough," San slapped the back of Wooyoung's head, "Let's go to dinner after an hour, guys. Meanwhile, I'm stealing her."

With that, San put his arm on Seohyun's back, guiding her out as the boys 'ooh-ed', making her flush. Seohyun couldn't help but smile as San led her out of the warehouse, taking her at the backside where the boys had set up a small place with a tent and couches for when the weather was nice and they wanted to sit out.

"I wish we could go somewhere else, but I don't want to waste this hour," San said, leading her to the couches, pausing to look at her, his hands hesitant as he touched her face, "How have you been?"

"Oh please, it's not like we didn't call at nights the past two days- I'm fine, really."

San touched the scar at her temple, kissing it, making her flush deeper, "I'm glad to hear that."

Seohyun pushed San's chest, "You're being too... mushy."

"Mushy?" San raised an eyebrow, laughing as they sat on the couch, facing each other.

"You're sometimes too romantic for me to handle, you know that?" Seohyun folded her arms.

"I haven't even begun-"

"Exactly what I mean!" Seohyun shook her head, and San laughed, scooting closer.

"Tell me you missed me. Tell me you missed... us."

Seohyun bit her lip, scanning his face- the moonlight making his cheekbones appear sharper, his eyes dark.

"Can't say I didn't," Seohyun sighed, "Let me hug you first."

San brought her closer and she wrapped her arms around him, almost in his lap, her head resting on his chest as she sighed, melting in the embrace. "I definitely missed this. I could sleep right here-"

"Don't you think about sleeping now."

Seohyun smiled, burying her nose in his neck, inhaling the scent of him- it felt like nostalgia, like home. "I never thought I'd appreciate hugs one day- not being in contact for these two months really put me in my place."

San broke the hug, looking at her face, "I could tell. You got Jongho that bear- you know he doesn't really like skin-ship but watch him cling to that bear for the rest of his life. I realized then."

"You're right, I'm surprised you noticed," Seohyun admitted, "He and I are alike in that. I knew he'd love it. Oh, and also, I got you something, but it's not here yet."

"What did you get me?"

"Don't be too surprised when it comes," Seohyun grinned, "I wasn't too sure- yours was the hardest to think of, but it just happened-"

"Please, I'm curious now," San pouted, whining. "I won't be able to stop thinking now that you reminded me-"

Seohyun kissed him to shut him up, breaking apart to look at his reaction- satisfied to see his eyes wide in surprise and then narrow in challenge.

"I guess I could use a distraction. We do have an hour."

Seohyun laughed, kissing him properly this time, taking it slow- it was the first time they were properly kissing since she was back. San held her face delicately, letting her set the pace. Seohyun's hands were more urgent, running through his soft hair, caressing his face, his neck, roaming around his back and chest as they kissed lazily.

"Don't hold me like I'm gonna break, Choi San."

It was all San needed to hear- he kissed her with a force that got her arching back until her back hit the couch itself, and San broke apart to caress her face and draw her hair back.

"I love you, Seohyun. Merry Christmas."

"And I love you, you mountain," Seohyun smiled, "Now kiss me."

The rest of the hour went by as they kissed, murmured sweet nothings as they sat in each other's embrace, or just watched each other, hands caressing hands. The hour went by slow yet it felt like a flash once it was over and they were interrupted with Wooyoung shouting at them to come inside already.

Holding each other's hands, they went inside and sat with the boys to plan where to go for dinner. Yunho looked at the two and burst out laughing, Mingi joining him.

One by one, they all started laughing, leaving San and Seohyun who stared at them. Even Hongjoong and Seonghwa- the serious ones were laughing.

"Did you two only make out during that one hour?" Yeosang shook his head, "Look at how disheveled you both are."

San and Seohyun immediately looked down, but their clothes were straight, and their hair wasn't messed up-

It was only when all of them burst out laughing that the two realized this was a trick- and San covered his face as he laughed while Seohyun gaped at them, getting up in search of something- grabbing a small cushion and running forward to hit them-

"It was Yunho's idea, don't hit me!" Mingi wailed.

"You're still an accomplice," Seohyun laughed as she ran at all of them, hitting them once on their heads to 'get their brains to kick start'. "So what if we only made out? I'll ask you all when you finally have partners, you loners!"

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

It was the first dinner Seohyun had with the boys since coming back to her normal life.

And it was chaotic, to say the least.

People had mistaken them for being a bunch of drunks one too many times, the way they were hollering with laughter and talking about ghosts as loudly as they could. But everything was okay- Seohyun hadn't felt happier in a while.

After a very lavish dinner, they all walked around the town, making fun of each other and playing, and before Seohyun could decide to leave for her home and bid everyone goodnight, Yeosang told her they had one last surprise for her at the warehouse before she went home.

"And why couldn't I get this surprise when we were back at the warehouse just a few hours ago?"

"You'll know why," Jongho teased, "Just come."

Seohyun rolled her eyes, secretly anticipating just what they had in store for her, and followed them to the warehouse.

"We'll be right back- stay here," Wooyoung said, dragging Jongho and Yeosang with him while the rest stood outside, waiting.

"Can I have a hint?" Seohyun folded her arms.

"Uh, nope." Hongjoong was firm.

"Is it something about a musical performance or a dance performance-"

"Can you calm down and wait?" Seonghwa laughed.

"Is this going to be a prank?" Seohyun raised her eyebrow.

"If it was a prank I would have been inside with them," Mingi raised his hand and Seohyun narrowed her eyes at him.

"Me too!" Yunho grinned, and Mingi and Yunho shared a look which set Seohyun pacing due to nervousness.

"Calm down," San laughed, his eyes full of adoration, "You'll love it. It's all I am allowed to say."

Seohyun pouted, eyeing the warehouse, not hearing anything at all. Another minute passed by which Seohyun had scratched near her fingernails out of nervousness when Wooyoung peeked out, giving a thumb up.

"Finally," Seohyun exhaled, and San took her hand in his as they walked inside.

They were greeted by the Siamese cat that Seohyun had gifted San, who finally named her Byeol. Yerim was their stray cat and Byeol was their pet cat, who loved staying inside the warehouse- her home.

Seohyun looked around. Everything was the same, except there was a projector now set up in front of the couches. "Are we watching a movie?"

"A short movie, you could say," Jongho took her other hand, leading her to the couch and making her sit in the middle, San sitting on one side and Yeosang on the other, and Wooyoung made sure everyone was sitting in front of the screen before he put the lights out, grinning as he sat on the floor mat in front of Seohyun. Seohyun playfully kicked his back, earning a slap to the leg.

"Okay, I'm starting it."

Yeosang clicked a button and there was static for a few seconds before music started to play- music she realized was from one of the samples she'd heard from Hongjoong. She raised her brow at him, and he just winked.

Seohyun went back to watching the screen, which went black and then a video clip started playing- she frowned as she realized where it was from- school.

"Hi," Wooyoung said, "I made a new friend today, but she's kind of scary so I don't know when I'll be able to get a proper vlog with her- ow!"

Seohyun smacked Wooyoung's head. The teacher was about to come in. Wooyoung hid the camera and Seohyun said, "I owe you one."

"You owe me nothing-"

"Should I tell the teacher what exactly you were doing?"

"Boomer," Wooyoung muttered.

Seohyun laughed out loud, "I never heard you call me a boomer!" She smacked the back of Wooyoung's head again, and he laughed out loud.

"This is exactly why you didn't hear me!" Wooyoung laughed, rubbing his head.

The clip changed and Seohyun recognized the scene again-

"I win," Yeosang smirked.

"Next game, come on."

Seohyun drew another blank page and the two restarted another game of tic tac toe. This time, Seohyun went first and she won. Seohyun put a line on her tally count.

"This will go on forever," Yunho, who was watching them, said, "Whenever Seohyun goes first, she wins. Whenever Yeosang goes first, he wins. You both have this figured out- why don't you just shake hands and accept the draw?"

"No."

Yunho laughed as the both had glared at him and said no in unison, flipping the page and starting another game. Mingi, who was filming, turned the camera to himself and shook his head.

"They're never gonna stop."

"We did stop," Yeosang laughed, "Only because the teacher came."

"So who won?" San asked.

Seohyun sighed, smiling, "We shook hands and accepted draw."

The scene changed again, and it was from when Seohyun had first seen the warehouse and revealed that she knew how to play the piano- apparently Jongho had caught her playing the melody that she remembered from Hongjoong. It followed by the clips of the truth and dare game they had that night- the one when Seohyun finally told the boys that she could see ghosts. Everyone had a good laugh over it and Seohyun felt nostalgic as she watched Hongjoong's Billie Jeans imitation and Yunho's golden retriever. Seohyun had stopped them from filming the ghost evidence back then.

The clips that followed were all... ghost evidence. The boys used to play games with Jiwoo- like cards, tic tac toe, or such games, and Seohyun watched with her mouth open in disbelief as the amount of 'evidence' clips passed.

"Good thing Jiwoo's not here- if she was, I would have personally seen her out of this realm."

San rubbed her arm, laughing, "You never stopped them from filming."

Seohyun just shook her head, smiling as the clips changed to a compilation of their last day with Jiwoo, of them playing in the water, playing games and just laughing and having a good time. Seohyun felt bittersweet at the memories.

"Now here starts the fun part," Wooyoung winked.

And sure enough, fun it was.

"It appears my definition of fun differs from yours," Seohyun flushed as she saw a compilation of clips of San and Seohyun being the most obvious couple- looking at each other adoringly, holding hands, talking, etc. "I feel exposed."

"This was my idea- to put these in," San admitted, grinning at her flushed self, "I knew you'd like it."

Seohyun rolled her eyes but smiled, and they all watched the various clips from their outings together, until-

"Oh," Seohyun realized why this gift from Yeosang was late.

The drums playing itself, the piano playing itself, food flying in the air, cushions being thrown- all Seohyun as a ghost, and she had to admit the direction of this movie was clever.

"I'm going to wait till the end credits to comment," Seohyun muttered, watching the day of her birthday, smiling because it really looked like they had filmed the whole thing.

Seohyun's grip on San's hand tightened when she saw the clip from the day at the hospital when she finally woke up- the 'creepy sight' Hongjoong had referred to and Wooyoung had filmed- the sight being San and Seohyun staring and smiling at each other, their foreheads joined.

"You really had to add this?" Seohyun kicked Wooyoung's back lightly, making everyone giggle.

"This is like the epilogue of the whole thing," Mingi said.

The video ended with a picture of the 8- which Jiwoo had clicked on the beach. The end credits rolled, crediting everyone except Seohyun- even Jiwoo.

"Come on, I must have made at least one of the videos or pictures there-"

"In case you haven't noticed, you barely use your phone," Yunho retorted, and Seohyun pouted.

"So," Wooyoung turned, "What do you think?"

Seohyun couldn't stop herself from smiling, looking up as she felt her eyes burn, and the boys started chanting "DON'T CRY", making her laugh harder.

"This really is a gift from all of you- the memories, though I think I should thank Yeosang first," Seohyun smiled at him, taking his hand, "Thank you. You didn't have to waste your time on this."

"It wasn't a waste of time," Yeosang shook his head, "I had this idea when you were still... a ghost. So instead of making it bleaky with only ghost memories, I decided to do something like this. Wooyoung helped me a lot too."

"You all make me cry too much," Seohyun wiped the corners of her eyes, "I was never this emotional-"

"Oh please," Seonghwa shook his head, "If we had a clip from every time that you cried-"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" Seohyun laughed, "Thank you, all of you. This, us here right now, is the greatest Christmas gift I could have from anyone of you-"

"Now don't go being all sentimental on us, Seohyun-"

"Ugh, you guys don't let me breathe!" Seohyun glared at Jongho, who was doubling over with Mingi, "I'm saying it again, and you all better not interrupt. I really love you guys. It's been a great few months, despite the bad things that happened. I wouldn't have made it back without you guys. Thank you for everything."

They all smiled, Seohyun taking time to make eye contact with everyone.

"Thank you for sticking with us, I guess," Seonghwa grinned.

Wooyoung nodded. "I know we can be a loud bunch-"

"You don't say," Seohyun muttered.

"See, you interrupt us too when we're all sentimental!" Wooyoung turned to glare at her.

"Hey, who's idea was it to befriend me again?" Seohyun shrugged, "You brought this upon yourself-"

"It was because we thought a girl in our group would so us good! If I had known you talked and sat like a guy-"

Wooyoung shut up when Seohyun kicked his back, harder this time, making everyone howl with laughter at the two of them bickering.

"Hey, she can be girly when she wants to be-"

"You're not helping, San!"

"It's imitation time, Yunho!" Yeosang called his attention and Yunho bowed, getting up and preparing himself to act like Seohyun.

He walked a few feet away, rolling his sleeves up, which already had the boys laughing, stealing Hongjoong's cap so he could complete the 'Seohyun' look.

"So here's how she walks-" Yunho hunched his shoulders a bit, his eyes darting here and there as he walked with light steps- a habit Seohyun had to make as less of a sound while walking as she could.

"It's because I look out for ghosts!" Seohyun folded her arms, slumping back as the boys laughed at the near perfect imitation, almost howling when Yunho slumped in the chair, sighing, legs apart but feet together, arms folded.

"That's perfect," Yeosang managed to say between laughter. Seohyun clenched her jaw, trying not to laugh.

"I feel exposed..."

"But that's how you really are like, baby," San scoffed.

"I could have been like one of those girls who's always walking like a model, sitting like this-" She tried mimicking those formal sitting positions, "And has her lashes fluttering every second, and is always worried about how she looks."

"See, I knew you'd fit in well with us," Wooyoung grinned, and Seohyun threw a pillow at him as San and Wooyoung started to bicker about Seohyun.

Seohyun smiled as she pet the cat that was now in her lap, looking around at the boys, all smiles and laughter, no worries. Yeosang noticed her expressions and raised his brows.

Seohyun smiled.

"This really does feel like home."

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

Thank you for reading and supporting! <3

[yamaoni]

The Second Great War of Remnant has begun. Once more, Vale and Mantle are embroiled in a massive conflict, only this time, they are on the same side against Atlas.

I don't think it was a coincidence that so many people drew parallels with the last episode and WWI. We've never seen people fight that way in RWBY. Grimm don't use projectile weapons the way humans do, so the benefits of the trench are diminished; especially if you compare it to the drawbacks.

Now, I understand not everyone in the Atlas military has their aura unlocked and the squishy soldiers need some cover, but if The Long Memory didn't nuke every grimm on Atlas, the lines would have been overrun and then there would have been nowhere for them to retreat to.

You think the very real hand to hand struggles in the trenches of WWI were bad, imagine being trapped in a narrow trench with a bear. Or having this thing explode out of the ground under you.

I refuse to believe no-one in Atlas ever thought, "if we put the dirt from the trench in a box, no only can we give our soldiers cover, we can also give them an elevated position to fire from."

The top of a wall has been the primary defensive position for the people of Remnant for a long time. You can see them in the establishing shots of most settled places the team has visited. So why are we seeing a trench now?

Simple.

Show, don't tell.

RWBY has done a pretty great job, especially in the last few seasons, of showing the audience what it is trying to convey without explicitly telling them. They especially like drawing from well known folk lore to give insight into the future of the show.

Only difference here, instead of drawing the parallel between characters, they're drawing parallels between worlds.

Remnant's first Great War started with Mantle suppressing freedom of expression, the destruction of Art and Color. Ironwood always has little in the way of color, but in his first broadcast since everything started hitting the fan, he has none.

That broadcast also included evacuation ships being blown up by fighter-bombers, Dunkirk. It threatend to level a city if they didn't surrender, Battle of Brittan. All delivered by a dictator trying to scare his opponents into submission through careful use of film.

Theories

If the rest of the season is WWII, I have several theories on plot direction. Considering how well they did keeping up with both ends of the battlefield it wouldn't surprise me if they followed all of them at the same time.

Operation Dunkirk

Or, the evacuation of Mantle.

Players: Penny, Nora, Ren, Happy Huntresses

The Happy Huntresses involvement is a given. Not only has saving Mantle been their goal the whole time, they're also stuck in the middle of it right now.

Penny is the Protector of Mantle. It would be a shining moment for her character to fully throw off the virus Watts implanted and overcome Ironwood's threats to do so. Just crossing my fingers that it doesn't end like the Iron Giant.

Nora is currently Penny's tether to sanity, so she has to go with, and I doubt they would separate Ren from her for the next arc so he's going too.

Surprise twist for this plot I'm betting will be the Starwars "they aren't warships, just people" scene everyone loves to rag on. After all, the broadcast went out that they needed help and, at least at Dunkirk, it was fishing boats and pleasure crafts that retrieved the 338,000 surrounded on all sides.

Why We Fight

Or, countering Ironwoods propaganda.

Players: Robyn and Qrow

For one, these two are unaccounted for and in the heart of Atlas' military machine. If anyone has means to do so, it's them.

The film, Why We Fight, also countered the dramatic cinematography of Goebbels propaganda by painting it as ridiculous and making a folksy call to action much like Robyn has done in the past.

Operation Fortitude

Or, the deception of Ironwood.

Players: Emerald, Jaune, Oscar

This is the mission to make Ironwood think the team is going after the relic. This theory is why I actually thought of and wrote out this whole thing. Thanks @maxiemumdamage, I had things I was supposed to do tonight.

https://maxiemumdamage.tumblr.com/post/644291955872890880/willing-to-bet-my-own-soul-that-emerald-uses-her

Only difference in my theory and their's, is Jaune is going to be playing the part of Penny.

I say this for two reasons. One, Joan of Arc pretended to be a man. While we've gotten both Jaune pretending to be something he's not and him in a dress, this would pose the first time in the story he could do both. Two, it would put him on a direct collision path with Cinder. It needs to happen at some point to bring his arc to a conclusion, but man I hope we're not about to watch him burn.

With Ozpin active again, Oscar has to go along to direct them to the vault. He's also one of two backing the idea of Emerald joining the team and Jaune wouldn't be willing to work with her without him.

Operation Overlord

Or, busting down the doors of Atlas Acadamy.

Players: Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Yang

Where Operation Fortitude was the faint, Operation Overlord was the real deal. For those that aren't history buffs, this is D-Day.

I think this is the reason we've only seen the main team fighting together once since their split from Beacon. And even then, that fight was at most pairs of fighters and not all four of them supporting one another.

RWBY tricked us into thinking season 4 was the post-timeskip level up we come to expect from anime when really we ended up watching the training flashbacks as they happened instead.

We've seen hints of it with the various team ups and combinations, but are we really ready for how much ass kicking they are about to do?

I'm hoping for a One Piece level of badass entrance that can give me shivers whenever I go to watch it again like the walk to Arlong Park still does to this day.

(Aside: if you try telling me RWBY isn't anime, I'm just going to ignore you. Anime is an art movement. If you don't understand what that means, watch this video. https://youtu.be/uFtfDK39ZhI)

Now last and certainly not least

Operation Valkyrie

Or, the death of Ironwood.

Players: Winter and Marrow

The long awaited defection. Plenty of speculation has already floated around about if and when these two where going to cave to their morals and jump ship. I don't know how many of us were expecting the straw to break the camel's back to be a nuke held over Mantle, but I certainly wasn't.

What worries me, is Operation Valkyrie failed and all its conspirators were executed. As if there weren't enough death flags for Winter before.

Even if it's not Winter that kills him. I don't see Ironwood surviving this season. Even if it means he goes out like another hated dictator. It's not like it would be the first time RT had a fallen hero chose to use his own sword.

Wildcards

Or, Murphy will have his due.

Players: Cinder, Watts, Neo, Tyrian, Mercury, Clover

These players can go any which way. Three we know for sure are going to be active in the coming episodes and I wouldn't be surprised if the other three play a part as well.

Oscar made a hell of a light show for Tyrian and Mercury to see behind them. Not to mention, Salem will still need a ride home when she pulls herself back together.

Clover keeps getting mentioned even though he's hospitalized. If he was truly out of commission for the rest of the season, they would have made us think he's dead before bringing him back like they did with Penny.

Up to now, what we've seen is a three way conflict. But one of the hallmarks of Remnant's First Great War, was making temporary alliances to fight off grimm.

The grimm might be gone, but the wild cards can't complete their own objectives if they are dead. The question is who's goals better align with their own.

Two surprise twists I can see here. One, Mercury stabbing Tyrian on his way to defection. He was raised by an assassin and has not going to get a better chance than that. Two, Clover joining Operation Valkyrie. He might have accepted that sacrifice is a necessary evil to ensure Atlas' survival, but might go Schindler's List on us and find horror in what Ironwood plans to do.

TLDR

I spent way too long writing this out. All the WWI imagery means we're getting a WWII movie with RWBY characters. Major death flags for Penny, Jaune, and Winter.

Also I finally figured out how to do a readmore. Apparently it's just been a long time since I updated.

Note: kept seeing things talking about clovers death and I kind of went ???? Isn't he barely alive in medical? Went back and watched that scene and though I am 90% sure he is dead still kind of weird that they have him in his own room instead of a morgue and the initial framing made my mind instantly think he was propped up on a hospital bed. I mean, I guess we needed to have all the ACEOPs there for their reaction to Ironwood... but it definitely made me think he was alive. That and they have a bandage on his chest wound... when he's supposedly dead. Also have a phantom memory of Harriet saying something about him being in critical but I think that's my memory playing tricks on me.

Having his face exposed instead of covered by the sheet and seeing him in the same frame as Winter being treated also didn't help my gut reaction of "Oh Shit! He's alive? How?!" If I'd followed up more on the "how" might not have made the blunder of writing his return as the final twist in my theory. Oops

[astro-rain]

delicate; b.barnes

chapter two - “bucky”

delicate masterlist

word count: 1.4k

summary: after arriving in wakanda, (Y/N) figures out who and what she’s there for (with the help of our fav young genius)

pairings: bucky barnes x fem!reader

[A/N]: not my photo

"Christ, you're astonishingly intelligent. How could you possibly need my help?" (Y/N) asked. "I'm kind of a joke compared to your big brain."

As the young Wakandan princess showed (Y/N) around her extremely impressive laboratory, she thought back to her conversation with Sharon.

***

"I'm needed? In Wakanda?" she said, dumbfounded. "What am I gonna do? Help them hunt for food?"

"Well, that's the thing," Sharon began. "Wakanda isn't what you think it is. The third world country we all thought we knew is just a facade to protect the true nature of Wakanda."

(Y/N) stared, not following. Sharon continued.

"It's actually a highly advanced, technologically progressive metropolis. They have some of the smartest people and most exceptional innovations in the world. It was all a cover up."

She nodded, finally understanding, "Well, I can't say that I blame them for hiding from the world. I can only imagine what would happen, especially from the hands of America."

Sharon chuckled. "Steve settled things with T'Challa, the former prince, and the royal family are allowing him and Barnes to take refuge there until further notice. Evidently, they have the tech and the minds to undo whatever damage Hydra did to Barnes."

***

"Well, I could do this by myself, but my focus is predominantly on electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and high-energy particle physics," the young princess explained, gesturing to various pieces of state-of-the-art tech around her lab. "I'm not really an expert in social sciences just yet; that would be you. I was told you were exceptional. Oh, and Captain Rogers needed someone he could trust on short notice. So, here you are, on account of a Sharon Carter, right?"

"Absolutely correct... your highness?" (Y/N) replied, though it was more of a question than anything else.

The princess laughed a genuine laugh, "Oh, no need for formalities! We're colleagues now and we're going to be working collaboratively. Please, call me Shuri."

"Got it," she nodded, smiling and slightly embarrassed. "...so, not to sound like more of an idiot than I probably already seem, but what exactly is this project we're working on? No one really thought it would be a good idea to tell me before I took the plane ride to another continent- which is lovely by the way."

"Well," Shuri started, gesturing her to follow along as they walked through the rest of the lab, "you know that man who allegedly bombed the UN conference in Vienna, consequently killing my father and forcing my brother to assume his place as king?"

(Y/N) gulped. "Yes."

"Yeah, he's here. He's the project. But don't worry! He didn't actually set off the bomb; he was framed."

Oh. Okay. What was she supposed to say to that? (Y/N) couldn't figure out an answer so she continued to nod and try not to look too idiotic.

"As you already know, he has suffered greatly. He's not in control of his own mind. Our job is to dismantle whatever programming Hydra drilled into his poor brain through years of abuse and torture."

(Y/N) remembered the horrible things she read in his file. The trauma, the cruelty, the destruction of humanity. Suddenly, she was no longer at a loss of words... or thoughts. She was going to help an innocent man. Well, the truly innocent man who was locked inside Hydra's homemade killer.

What was done to him was a monstrosity; it was, up to date, the worst thing she had ever seen done to a human being. And, if she can do anything to help take away or relieve some of that pain, she was happy to play her part. A good way to do that was probably to zone back in to what Shuri was saying.

"...and there's two main components to this. Number one is his physical pain. Meaning the biochemicals and neurons in his brain in addition to his arm and the nerve endings and anything else of his that they broke: the stuff I will take care of. Number two is his mental pain. Meaning his psyche, trauma, behavior, emotions, and all that other fun psychology stuff that you will take care of."

"So, I'm basically operating as a therapist?"

"Basically. Among other things."

(Y/N) stared at the floor in front of her, letting it all sink in. She was going to therapize the Winter Soldier. Whatever that was going to entail was a mystery to her. He was nothing she'd ever heard of. Of course she was extraordinary at her job, but this was new territory for her.

Unaware of what else to say, (Y/N) blurted out, "So... you said he's here..."

"Yes. Follow me, you can come meet him."

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to blurt. He is innocent, but that doesn't stop him from scaring her a bit... even though she's never actually met him in the person.

She followed behind as Shuri led her out of the lab and through a multitude of different rooms and hallways. She was nervous, indeed. She was in a place she'd never been with people she'd never met about to see a person with a caliber she'd of never imagined.

(Y/N) wondered what he'd be like. Would she be meeting who he was before Hydra sunk their claws into him? Or would she be meeting some hybrid of the man he used to be and the pain he's been forced to endure? She wasn't sure what to expect. But she didn't have time to imagine another scenario when Shuri opened a door and they were greeted by a freezing cold breeze.

"Don't mind the cold. It's supposed to be like that," Shuri said as she held the door open and walked inside.

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around her midsection before her mouth dropped. In the middle of the room stood a giant glass chamber holding no other than James Barnes inside. It looked so strange to her, surreal even. He was frozen? Suspended animation. She didn't think humans were supposed to look like that. He almost looked dead. The slightest shiver ran down her spine.

"He's in a state of cryogenic sleep," Shuri explained. "Completely alive, but the chamber reduces his metabolism to its lowest possible level, allowing his body to be preserved for long periods of time."

"That's... slightly horrifying. I've heard of cryogenics, but I've never seen it first hand. How does it even work?" (Y/N) inquired as she ran her hand lightly across the glass.

It's so cold. She couldn't imagine being in there.

"In cryogenic sleep, an antifreeze agent is added, replacing the water in his cells. Then, the tissue is cooled to -220 degrees Fahrenheit, but instead of crystallizing into ice, the chemicals clump together and become solid. They're actually molecularly similar to glass. This new glass form prevents the cells from bursting and, theoretically, this could hold him in stasis forever."*

"Wow," she mused, still awestruck, staring at the chamber.

"Something wrong?"

"No, I'm good," (Y/N) chuckled, "it's just that advanced science is just shocking sometimes. And when you said I was going to meet him, I didn't think you meant like this."

Shuri smiled. "Oh, I didn't."

And with that, all it took was the push of a button and the chamber came out of dormancy. It was whirring and hissing, and (Y/N) could feel the temperature slowly start to rise. She glanced up and witnessed what looked like a miracle as color began to bloom onto his previously blanched features. He too was coming out of dormancy; he was coming alive.

(Y/N) almost startled when his eyes opened, but remained completely still when the chamber door opened. James blinked a couple times, taking in his surroundings. He looked anxious; she could understand why. She tried not to meet his eyes.

I'll let Shuri take the lead on this one, she thought.

As if on queue, Shuri gave him a polite smile and started to undo his restraints.

"Hello Sergeant Barnes. Welcome back! My name is Shuri, T'Challa's younger and much smarter sister. This," she gestured to (Y/N), "is Dr. (Y/L/N). Together, we'll be conducting your treatment plan."

He stepped out of the chamber, shaking Shuri's hand. He had almost a foot over her but towered over both of them regardless. Then, he turned to (Y/N). She wasn't sure what to think.

"It's nice to meet you, Sergeant Barnes," she said with a curt smile, as she shook his hand. Cold. She pretended not to notice.

He looked down at her and for a moment she thought he looked docile. Benevolent and soft.

His eyes are very blue.

"Please," he said, a kindhearted gentleness coating his voice, "call me Bucky."

- - -

* = info on cryogenics from inverse.com

[deexchanel]

When he sees me

Word Count: 1400

Summary: Empriss prepares for her first date with Bucky.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x BlackFem!OC, Steve x Fem!OC

Warning: Fluff and singing!

A/N: (If you do not like singing in one-shots then read something else!) When I wrote this one-shot when I obsessed with the song . “When he sees me” from Waitress the musical.😆 so link to the song right here so you can listen to it while you read!

https://youtu.be/-H-uxwvJT2c

Empriss sat in front of her vanity nervous while Hermione curls her hair. Bucky had Steve to help him ask her on a date. They had been liking each other for a while but never had the nerve to ask each until he did.

"Are you nervous bestie?" Emma asked while working her magic.

"I stick with real things, usually facts and figures. When information's in its place, I minimize the guessing game. Guess what?" Empriss sing basically rambling not wanting to admit she was.

"What? Empriss answer the question. It's a simple one!" Hermione stated grabbing another piece of hair to curl it.

"I don't like guessing game, or when I feel things before I know the feelings. How am I supposed to operate if I'm just tossed around by fate? Like on an unexpected date?" Empriss sing turning to look at Alexis. She rolled her eyes letting the last curl fall.

"Empriss you're overthinking. It's just Bucky, this maybe the chance for you to get to finally know each other!"

"With a stranger who might talk too fast. Or ask me questions about myself. Before I've decided that he can ask me questions about myself." Empriss cross her arms over her chest. She stood up going to her closet.

"He might sit too close or call the waiter by his first name or eat Oreos. But eat the cookie before the cream." Hermione mocked jokingly so Empriss could hear how crazy she sound.

But Empriss thought she was finally understanding what she was thinking about. "But what scares me the most. What scares me the most?"

"Is what if when he sees me, what if he doesn't like it? What if he runs the other way and I can't hide from it? What happens then?" Empriss sing holding up a dress. Hermione tilt her head examing it but she doesn't like it so she shake her head no.

Empriss throws it behind her grabbing a couple more to try on. She wanted to pick out the best dress for him. "If when he knows me, he's only disappointed? What if I give myself away, to only get it given back? I couldn't live with that."

"So, I'm just fine, inside my shell-shaped mind. This way I get the best view. So that when he sees me, I want him too." Empriss sing confidently picking up the perfect dress. She shakes it in excitement then walks over to the bed.

"Dawn, don't you think you're being a little, I mean maybe just a tad." Hermione trailed off not wanting to call her crazy. Hermione phone dinged signaling that Steve texted her. "Steve said they're back in the building! Put a little pep in your step bestie!"

"I'm not defensive! I'm simply being cautious, I can't risk reckless dating. Due to my miscalculating."Empriss sing sitting in front of the vanity again. "While a certain suitor stands in line I've seen in movie. Most made for television."

She used her talents to do the best makeup look. "You cannot be too careful, when it comes to sharing your life. I could end up a miserable wife."

Bucky held the red roses bouquet in his hands nervously. "What if she doesn't like me Steve? What if she doesn't like my arm or how I eat or something. What-"

Steve cuts him off, "It's going go good Buck. I know Empriss personally, she doesn't judge people."

"Okay Steve, I'm going to take your word on it. Is she beautiful?" Bucky wondered since he haven't seen what she looked like yet. Steve pat a hand on his shoulder smirking.

"Beautiful as ever."

"Emrpiss you're killing me. Bucky is the best person I've ever known. He's so cute and super sweet." Hermione assured sitting on top of the vanity. " What are you so scared about?"

"Sorry girl, but he could be criminal, some sort of psychopath. Who escaped from an institution,somewhere where they don't have girls." Empriss sing letting her imagination run wild. Hermione sigh taking the brush from her hand so she could do upwards strokes on her face.

"He could have masterminded some way to find me. He could be colorblind. How untrustworthy is that? He could be less than kind." Hermione sing mocking her again. She leaned back once she was finished with the makeup. "Empriss I got to admit it. Your nervousness making you sound crazy."

Empriss rolled her eyes continuing. "Or even worse he could be very nice, have lovely eyes and make me laugh, come out of hiding. What do I do with that?" She sing somberly fumbling with a makeup brush. Hermione lifted Empriss face so their eyes could meet.

"Empriss this is going to be the best date okay?" Be the confident best friend I know. This isn't going to be like what you had with little dick Tyler. Bucky's going to treat you so much better."

Empriss smiled and her eyes twinkled in excitement. She rushed to the bathroom with her dress in hand. Bucky and Steve arrived at the door. The winter soldier hand was held in front of the door so he could knock until he heard the girl's inside.

"Why aren't you knocking?" Steve asked confused and Bucky held a 'shh' then pointed at his ear then at the door. Both guys placed their ear again the door so they could hear better.

Empriss twirled around in her outfit happily, "Oh, god what if when he sees me I like him and he knows it? What if he opens up a door and I can't close it?" She grabbed Hermione’s hands they both giggled dancing around the room.

"What happens then? If when he holds me, my heart is set in motion I'm not prepared for that. I'm scared of breaking open." Empriss sing hitting a high note. "But still I can't help from hoping."

The music get softer and Emrpiss fall back on the bed, "To find someone to talk to,who likes the way I am. Someone who when he sees me....Wants to again."

Hermione clapped at the beautiful song that she sing, "You're voice is amazinggg!! They should be here any minute, ready to go?"

Empriss nodded her head, "That's you with the beautiful voice bestie. I'm ready!" She gets up from the bed grabbing odds and ins to take with her. Bucky was blown away by her amazing voice. He knocked on the door and in a matter of seconds Hermione opened the door.

"Hi Bucky! Hey baby!"

"Hey Hermione." Bucky smile. Steve leans down giving her a sweet kiss on the lips.

"Hey baby."

Empriss walked over standing beside Hermione. Bucky mouth was agape from her being totally different from what he thought of. "I'm um- uh-."

He stuttered over his words blushing and Steve helped him out like a good friend would. "This is Bucky, my best friend."

All Bucky could do was hold out her flowers towards her which she happily took. "My name is Empriss and Thank you Bucky! These are beautiful." She stands on her tippy toes placing a kiss on his cheek. "I prefer hibiscus flowers but roses are my second fave."

"I'm glad you like them." Bucky smiled looking her lovingly. Hermione took that as a sign that they needed to leave.

"Well me and Steve are going to have dinner with Tony and Lori. See y'all when y'all get back! Have fun!"

Everyone bid goodbyes and it was just Empriss and Bucky left. She was putting the flowers in some water.

"Where are we going for our date? I wanna know if I'm too dressed up."

"Oh we're going to a restaurant and if you didn't mind, afterwards I was going to take us go the beach."

"I love the beach. Let me grab a swimsuit and we can go." Empriss smiled which hooked Bucky on. He bit his lip fighting every temptation to kiss her.Unknowingly to him, she wanted to as well. You only live once so fuck it.

Empriss grabbed his shirt placing a passionate kiss on his lips. Bucky grabbed her waist pulling her closer to him. He deepen the kiss as his hands guides down to her ass, gripping it. The both pulled back with smiles on their face.

"I'm going to enjoy this date with you."

"Me too. I like it already."

———————-

Hermione is @kalopsia-flaneur 💞

I hope you guys enjoyed it.

I thought this was really cute and corny.

Stay slutty my friendsss 😉

[roselen-mylady]

In Another Life

Bucky Barnes x reader ° part two

Summary: Waiting 88 years to find your soulmate? It was cruel. But it was a cruel fate Bucky would have to face whether he accepted it or not. Bucky was a tortured man all his life and he wasn't even granted the solace of having his soulmate at his side. All he had was the promise of one in another life.

They were separated by two different times.

But the pain in their lives were connected. Y/n had been alone ever since she could remember. All she could depend on was the soulmate that was destined to be at her side. Yet when the snap occured she lost him.

And Bucky never got to meet her.

A/n: For those who read this book before, I had to do some major redrafting so please be patient with me! Enjoy🤟

2014

“She’s a child, Fury.” The woman’s voice scolded. Y/n winced hating the fact that she was the source of conflict between the two. Fury wore his usual monotone and mildly pissed off expression as his eyes narrowed on the woman. Councilwoman Hawley’s face hardened as she turned to Y/n, “Do your parents know you're here?” She questioned, her voice loud and demanding. 

Y/n's eyes drifted to Fury, uncertain and intimidated. Councilwoman was right, Y/n was just a child. But she had a mind that only Tony Stark himself could rival and that mind quickly realized that the only way she was going to stay at S.H.I.E.L.D was if she lied. 

"Yes. They wanted to thank you for the opportunity S.H.I.E.L.D has given me." Y/n said cooly, trying to muster up enough confidence to fool the woman. Though she didn't seem convinced, Hawley was tired and after a few moments of staring down Y/n to see if she would relinquish her testimony, she sighed. 

Councilwoman then turned to Fury, looking at him with less than pleased eyes. "I trust you'll handle the affairs then." Fury offered no acknowledgement in return and Y/n wondered if everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D was this cold. "Fury, I'm taking a chance here for you. The minute this proves to be more of a burden than a service, I'm ending it." The harshness of her tone shot through Y/n like a bullet but Fury appeared unphased giving her a little solace. 

"You'll find the council will be grateful for what I'm doing here." Fury's proclamation seemed to grip the councilwoman, stopping her dead in her tracks as a conflicted expression fell over her features. She shot him a deadly glare however what rage bubbled up in her wasn't enough to compel her to reply and she continued on, leaving smothering tension in the air. 

"What are you doing?" Y/n asked cautiously, turning to the man who had convinced her to leave her old life behind. The leather of his eyepatch squeaked in protest as his eyebrows furrowed, his eye landing on her small frame beside him. 

"We are going to take the first step in protecting our world for the future. Welcome to the Next Generation Initiative." Y/n swallowed thickly to try and relieve the dryness of her throat as Fury moved toward the door. 

"We start immediately." His voice called and she quickly followed after him, hoping to not agitate him further. "First let's see what you're capable of." 

•••

The months that followed were hard, harder than she had naively expected. Fury was true to his word, providing her with a living space at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters along with necessities such as food passes and clothes, though all of them sported the S.H.I.E.L.D logo. 

At first it had been exciting to live a new life, the pride that came from becoming independent being enough to distract her for the first couple of weeks. But soon she found that being isolated from the rest of the agents wasn't just the normal separation from the pack that came with being new. 

Communication with other agents was limited by her new guardian and her access around The Triskelion was even more restricted. It didn't take much for her to catch onto the fact that she was meant to be a secret instead of an agent. 

This annoyed her but she hardly saw Fury which prevented her from questioning or even opposing the situation. And in the times she did see him she never got any answers. Fury pushed her constantly and while she knew she had signed up for it, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd made the right choice. 

In order to stay at S.H.I.E.L.D she had to avoid all contact with her parents and adjusting to her new life without them was hard. The only person she had to trust with her well being was Fury and while he made sure she was taken care of, he wasn't exactly a parental figure. He was cold and abrasive and having conversations with him were frightening and offered very little support. 

Her wish to be a hero convinced her that maybe it'd get better once she adjusted to the way things operated at S.H.I.E.L.D but it never did. Loneliness crept into her every second she was there and nothing she did seemed to help. 

Doubt seeped into her heart and she started to question the cause she now stood for. Her parents had always rejected Fury's propositions toward making Y/n an agent but Y/n had never understood why until then. Fury was shrouded in a thick layer of mystery and the appeal it once had quickly faded away when she began to realize she had left everything behind for a promise of doing something great. 

She felt like a naive and stupid child chasing the dream of being a superhero like so many children had and she longed for the guidance of her parents. 

Training was even more miserable than her solitude. Fury wanted her to be ready for anything even though all of her missions so far were from the safety of a control room. He trained her himself, claiming that it was easier that way instead of taking other agents off of missions.

While she felt like it was a lie she accepted it and attended training everyday. And it wasn't long before she learned that his cold exterior was frozen all the way through. 

"Agh!" Y/n cried out in frustration, forcing herself up from the ground. Fury almost smirked as she rushed forward, messily slamming her fist into his arms that had moved to block his face. A pained groan escaped her lips as she retracted her fist trying to conceal the red spotting through from under the wrap. 

Another hand entered her view and she gave a defeated sigh as Fury took her bloodied knuckles. "I don't understand why I have to do this. You just want me for my brain anyways." Her irritation flooding off of her. 

"It's so that nobody kills you. What good would your brain be if you're dead?" Fury said, offering no warmth or ease as he spoke. A frown tugged at her lips and she jerked her hand away, getting herself into stance. 

It wasn't long before she was on her back again, her lungs struggling to replenish the air that had been knocked out of her. But Y/n found herself strangely motivated with each failure. Each time she slammed into the mat she was filled with an overwhelming amount of rage and whether it had been his plan all along she didn't know but she rose to her feet again with more strength than before. 

With her fists drawn to her sides and her shoulders coming back in a brilliant pose of purpose, she stood before him anger radiating off of her. Her eyes narrowed on Fury with a determined shine and she advanced again, this time landing a hit to his ribs. While she wasn't too intimating in size, she easily calculated places to strike in which would leave the attacker most weakened and with her new found strategy, Fury fell.

Before she could even process her victory, a foreign sound echoed through the gym making her freeze. It was an eerie sound that shouldn't have sent a chill down her spine. A sound that heard from anyone else would've made her smile. Yet coming from the usually stoic man she couldn't help but recoil as if hearing it was the equivalent of being stuck. 

Fury's body shook in laughter as he pushed himself up off his knees. "Motherfucker." He exclaimed, his eye landing on her with a glimpse of something she'd never seen from him before. Pride? Amusement? Either one brought a disbelieving and hesitant smile to her face as she quickly moved to help him up. 

"I was wondering how many times it would take getting the crap beat out of you for you to finally put that brain of yours to use." Fury grunted, his hand coming to his ribs as he stood. Y/n's brows creased looking up at him in confusion. 

"Wait, you're not mad?" She questioned, rattled by how entertained he was with her finally snapping at him. He moved to unwrap his fists looking up at her with a lifted brow. 

"Am I supposed to be? Taking me down was your objective." He replied, glancing over his shoulder as she mimicked him, tugging the wrapping carefully as to avoid further hurting her split knuckles. She offered a shrug, allowing her prideful smirk to appear. 

"Well, you just got taken down by a girl." Fury's gaze hardened on her cheeky grin and he shook his head, his amusement diminishing with her childish humor. 

"Don't give me that bullshit. I've been training you for months, you taking me down once ain't nothing to be excited over." He grumbled, trying to dismiss her win. 

Y/n's smile lingered for the rest of the day. 

•••

"So what's the point of the 'Next Generation Initiative'? Aren't some of the Avengers, like, immortal?" Y/n questioned, poking at the keyboard in front of her. Fury's annoyed gaze fell on her for the fifth time in the past ten minutes and he sighed heavily pushing the keyboard away from her. She lifted her head off of her elbow and turned to face him as his chair swiveled toward her. 

"Thor's practically immortal. But the rest aren't." Fury explained. Y/n reached out to grab the pen on the table only to have Fury slam his hand down on hers, forcibly stopping her. "Do you always have to mess with something?" He questioned, his tone sharp. 

Y/n gave him a glare before retracting her hands and wedging them between her thighs. "What about Hulk? Not only did the gamma rays make him immortal, he can't die as either Bruce Banner or Hulk. And what about Captain America? I mean isn't he like 100?" She rambled. 

Fury massaged his temples, reminding himself that he had to put up with her if he wanted his project to succeed. "96. And no he's not immortal." He corrected, ignoring Y/n's mockful expression as she rolled her eyes. 

"Whatever. You didn't answer my question." She accused, shooting him an expectant gaze. He peered down at her, his brow lowering in an unamused scowl. 

"Like the Avengers Initiative, Next Gen's purpose is to protect Earth from all threats, whether it be from other worlds or our own." Fury droned, his own statement seeming to bore him. He'd given the same speech to the council a million times before and he wasn't someone that cared to repeat himself. Yet in enthusiasm Y/n easily had enough for the both of them as she listened carefully to his every word, enjoying the fact that he was finally telling her something. 

Sure she'd known that joining S.H.I.E.L.D especially with her skills would mean some kind of hero work. Fury had explained to her and her parents once before that with Y/n's brain she could help set the world forward into technical advances and with the right training become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. All she knew about S.H.I.E.L.D was what could be linked to the Avengers so she had automatically been hooked but her parents didn't share her eagerness. 

Yet never did she imagine becoming a part of a project similar to the Avengers, a team she'd grown up idolizing. Suddenly any doubt she'd felt washed away with her fascination toward becoming a superhero. The idea of putting her skills toward something bigger than herself was what had drawn her away from her friends and family after all. 

"So, the next generation of superheroes?" She assumed, unable to hide the thrilled smile that crossed her face. Fury nodded slowly, unsure whether he should be encouraging her so much. Her unwavering grin stuck as he turned back to the computer in front of him, tapping on the keys with a quick sweep of his hand. 

"Then why don't the Avengers know about me?" She questioned suddenly. 

"The council doesn't want anyone to know about you. At least not until this succeeds." He answered shortly, his concentration unbroken as he did so. 

"When will that be? And why aren't there more of me? I mean aren't there more superhero kids you should be scouting?" Y/n began questioning again making him sigh heavily. He was beginning to regret recruiting her, finding her intuitive and adolescent need to question everything bothersome. 

"You are what we call a trial basis. That's when-"

"I know what a trial basis is. I'm not stupid." Fury's eyes narrowed on the girl who'd interrupted him, nearly chuckling at the irony of what she'd said. 

"Well, then stop acting like it." He retorted, drawing an unhappy pout from her. With arms crossed and her brow creased she glared at him but he ignored her turning back to the computer. 

"I'm not acting stupid. Trust me, I'm sure I'd be a lot more help if I actually knew what was going on. This is the most I've gotten you to talk since I got here." She challenged, making sure not to provoke him. If she had there'd be no way to get answers out of him. "I'm just saying I left everything to be here and you can't even give me the time of day to explain why I'm really here. Why would you recruit me? I don't have powers, I just happen to be smart. Why would you pick me to start such an important project?" 

The doubt she'd been feeling for months was beginning to flood back as she confessed to him. His persistence in wanting to recruit her at the start had convinced her enough that she was worthy of being a part of whatever he had planned but now that she knew what it was she was becoming painfully aware of how minuscule she was in comparison. 

Fury kept his stare focused on the monitor before him, a sigh flushing through him and escaping out his nose as his hands stilled on the keyboard. He knew she was right. All the information he'd given her up to that point was the name of the project and the vague details he'd offered her parents. 

He needed to give her a sign of good faith, something to earn a bit of her trust and acceptance in order to continue with the project. 

Y/n watched with an intense gaze as he grabbed the mouse, directing the cursor toward another file. Everything in her was screaming to press for an answer but the contrast in his behavior kept her from doing so. Never had he gone silent before and she wondered if this was finally it. Was he finally going to reveal his true intentions? 

After effortlessly bypassing several forms of security, a file was brought up, her own picture dragging her attention away from his silence. To the left of the photo was her name, birthdate, social security number and several other pieces of information like her parents' names and her education records. 

Yet beside her name was another name, this one bubbled in quotations like an alias. 

"Next Generation Stark?" She read aloud, the words rolling off her tongue like she was accusing him of a lie. Fury sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as he studied her baffled face and slack jaw. "Stark? Like Tony Stark? What the hell does that mean?" She demanded, all restraint on herself to remain polite out the window upon such an absurd comparison. 

Fury pierced his lips gesturing to the computer, "Exactly what it says." He told her, his tone much more matter of fact than she felt was appropriate. Her head frantically shook as she tried to make him see how absolutely insane he sounded. 

"I can't be. Tony Stark is my hero and a literal superhero. Not to mention a billionaire, genius-" She was cut short by Fury sitting forward, a smirk playing on his lips as he snidely remarked. 

"I thought you were a genius. IQ of 224 and all." The sarcasm practically dripped from his words and Y/n's glare returned with more intensity than before. 

"If that's the only similarity between us we're going to have a lot of problems." She pointed out earning a returning glare from Fury. The fact that he was arguing with a teenager was enough to make him question his life choices but the fact that she was calling him out on the outlandishness of his operation was enough to make his blood boil. 

Though his pride was unwilling, he managed to release his irritation with a deep sigh. The entire program rested on his ability to train and create the next line of defense and though it frustrated him, the only 'defense' he had was Y/n. 

"Look. I didn't recruit you because I wanted you to be Stark." He began, the tension that built in his shoulders and between them easing some as he spoke. "I recruited you because you have the potential to be someone just as great." 

Y/n tried to fight the warmth that spread through her chest. It had been the kindest thing said to her in months and her need to please others simply jumped for joy at the praise. 

Her once defensive posture slacked a bit as she fell back against her chair, sending him an irritated yet pleased look. "You're strangely motivational. Were you born like that or did you take lessons?" She questioned, her snarky manner returning with the lightness in the air. 

"I know a guy." Fury shrugged before returning to his work. Y/n rolled her eyes, growing used to the way that everything he said had to hold a bit of secretiveness. 

"If you say yourself, I will slap you regardless of who you are." She replied, lifting her legs up and placing her feet up onto the desk. Fury eyed them with a disdained look before pushing them off with one swift movement. 

"You know that code name is all the more fitting with that attitude of yours." He countered, slightly entertained as her feet fell back to the floor forcing her to sit up right. Her expression remained annoyed unable to muster up the effort to glare at him once more. 

"Tony Stark wishes he had an attitude like mine." A short scoff escaped Fury as Y/n crossed her arms, a smug smile tugging at her lips. 

•••

The months that followed were easier with her new found purpose. As Fury had hoped, giving her more details on the project insured her compliance and even inspired her to take on more tasks and missions. 

It was a few months after their discussion before he decided to untrust her with Project Insight. With the help of the 15 year old genius the work went smoother and a lot of the technical issues they faced either became minor inconveniences or vanished all together. 

And with her new access to the labs containing some of the most advanced technology she spent almost all her free time tinkering away. Whenever Fury asked what it was she was devoting so much time and energy to, she immediately shut him down, a little embarrassed by the idea of telling him. 

But it didn't stop him from checking surveillance in the lab. He had to confess it was a pretty good replica of the famous Iron Man though he'd never tell her. He was almost tempted to alert Stark that his precious suit wasn't as exclusive as he'd hoped. 

Though it was slow at first and unwanted, Fury grew used to Y/n's presence and rather than a nuisance she became a normal figure in his life. He'd never admit it but whenever she wasn't at his side or where he'd left her a small bit of panic would set in. The instinct Maria pointed out to be paternal was often and annoyed him beyond belief but happened nonetheless. 

The feeling seemed to be mutual because Y/n frequently came to him with anything and everything that happened during her day to which he reluctantly listened. 

"Some of the other agents were talking about their countdowns. I can't wait to get mine." Y/n spoke, glancing up at Fury as he faintly listened from his desk. Not yet satisfied without his full attention, a mischievous smirk curved onto her features and she leaned on her palm to look at him. "Who's your soulmate?"  

The hard stare he directed at her would've been enough to make a grown man quake but Y/n had become immune to such glares. "None of your business." He replied, his tone callous and indifferent. But Y/n noticed something, a fleeting glance to his left just before he spoke. 

Her knowing smile riled through him and he huffed, moving aside his monitor to properly scowl at her. "Is it Maria? Nah she's too nice to be your soulmate. Or maybe it's one of those opposites attract types of situations?" Y/n unleashed every thought that buzzed through her mind and Fury wasn't sure which one to be most enraged by. So he remained silent, allowing her curiosity to brew. 

Sensing his disinterest in answering her she sat up, moving to climb to her feet. "Well, I guess I'll just have to ask Ms. Hill." The sigh that filled the air was playful as if getting the answers she so wanted was a chore but Fury knew she had no issue in seeking out the woman in question. 

"Leave her be. She's leading a covert mission right now." He cautioned. Y/n paused, sinking back into her chair as he folded his hands. "She's my soulmate, is that what you want to hear?" His confession sent a bit of joy through her from being right but she didn't speak her pride, instead allowing him to continue. 

"When she joined S.H.I.E.L.D we found out we were soulmates but we never let it get in the way of our work." The explanation came easily but the troubled expression on his face was anything but. She almost felt a bit guilty for dragging the truth out of him. 

"So you guys aren't together?" For the first time ever, she watched him shift uncomfortably. His action only seemed to urge her to press more, sensing him beginning to crack. 

"We are a part of the percentage of the world with platonic soulmates." He described. She nodded slowly, not believing him for a second. She may have only been there for a little under a year but she had never seen such a profound bond between two people. A little envy from their relationship had established itself in her even if it was a 'platonic' relationship. 

"Does she know that?" 

Fury froze, his single eye widening ever so slightly. She'd struck a nerve. 

"Y'know what? I'm done telling you shit." Fury snapped, turning away from her with an agitated growl. Y/n instantly sat forward, guilt grasping hold of her creased brow as she scrambled to apologize. 

"Wait no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." It came rushed but was heard making Fury haltingly glance back up at her. Her lip had been pulled back between her teeth as she chewed at it nervously. "My-my mom used to tell me that just because I know a lot doesn't mean I need to know everything. She usually keeps me in check but-..." 

Her words dropped off into a deafening silence. Y/n tended to question everything and while her mother believed it to be some form of OCD her father argued it was just her paranoia. Whatever the case it led to a lot of frustration for those who were being interrogated and Y/n realized for the past year Fury had been the focus of that. 

His hardened expression faltered and if one truly studied his expressions they would recognize a bit of remorse had surfaced to match her own. 

"I really miss her. My dad, too." Y/n confessed, solemn and longing. "I wonder if they're mad at me. Maybe that's why they haven't tried to visit me." 

An unfamiliar pang of guilt hit Fury's heart and his gaze fell onto the file in front of him. Anywhere to avoid looking at the child before him. How was he supposed to tell her that her parents had tried to see her? Tell her that each time he sent them away, insisting she was safe and that they should leave? Tell her how many letters and calls they'd received from them over the past year in hopes it might reach her. 

How did he begin to make up for such a wrong yet necessary act? 

"Maybe it's time you visited them." The statement left him before he even had a chance to properly analyze it. What was he thinking? Letting her leave would compromise the whole project. 

But he couldn't help it. Something deep inside him needed to make up for all the secrets and lies and his unwanted connection to the girl only justified his actions. 

"Really?" Fury nodded, yet again surprising the both of them. 

"I'll have an agent take you tomorrow. But only under one circumstance." He told her, the seriousness he was known for returning. She nodded instantly ready to pay whatever price to see her family.  

"You must come back to S.H.I.E.L.D." 

A tense feeling she'd only felt upon her arrival rested in the air, easily thick enough to make her choke. But the excitement she felt outweighed any rational thought. 

"I promise." 

Part three