#i had some of the information to put together what was happening but failed to do so

[anonymusbosch]

notified this morning of confirmed exposure to [unpredicted small quantity toxic industrial byproduct (well, predicted by someone at some point but unknown to me despite this)] at work over the last few months. sometimes touching metal for work is cool and rad and sometimes it's rly not

[harrysfolklore]

I’m cracking up at the thought of Oscar accidentally seeing a nude of his sister in Carlos’s phone

HELP I HAD TO ELABORATE ON THIS

read little bitch here

Hotel rooms are boring. There's nothing else to do other than lay in bed and shower.

You regret telling Carlos — because now he's your boyfriend, and you share hotel rooms with him, how wild — that you wanted to stay in bed all morning and not join him for practice sessions because now is nearly midday and he's not back yet. And you're bored.

Not finding anything else to do, you open your suitcase to put together your outfit for Quali tomorrow, you laugh when the first thing you see is a McLaren cap and a Ferrari one packed together. And to think that next year you'll be adding a Williams one to your suitcase for race weekends.

As you move a pair of jeans, you come into view with something you didn't even remember you packed — a red lacy set of lingerie.

You decide to put it on, after all, you don't have anything better to do.

Meanwhile at the Zandvoort Circuit, Oscar, Carlos, Lando and Max are lounging at a hospitality area. The sessions and meetings for the day were over, so they were just waiting for the call to head out.

"Lando, can I borrow your phone? Mine is dead and I want to check Lily's flight, it's supposed to land soon," Oscar says from his place on the couch.

"I can't mate, I'm sexting right now," Lando replies, making the group laugh and Oscar roll his eyes.

"Take mine, it's in the table," Carlos says, fixing himself a cup of coffee from the small station in the room.

"Thanks," Oscar grabs the device, failing when he tries to unlock it, "What's your pass code?"

"Your sister's birthday," Carlos says casually, stirring his coffee.

The room erupts in a chorus of groans and laughter.

"Oh my god, Carlos," Lando exclaims, barely containing his giggles. "That's so cheesy!"

"Seriously, mate?" Max joins in, "What are you, a teenager with his first crush?"

Oscar looks at Carlos with mock disgust on his face. "My sister's birthday? Really? I don't know whether to be touched or grossed out."

Carlos shrugs, a slight blush creeping up his neck. "What? It's easy to remember."

"Yeah, sure," Lando snorts. "I bet your wallpaper is a picture of you two as well."

Carlos doesn't respond, suddenly very interested in his coffee.

"Oh my god, it is!" Max howls with laughter. "You're such a sap, Sainz!"

Oscar shakes his head, chuckling. "I can't believe this. My sister's turned you into a lovesick puppy."

Just as Oscar is about to search for his girlfriend's flight information, a text notification pops up. Out of habit and muscle memory, he ends up tapping on it, opening the message.

Oscar's eyes widen, and he lets out a yelp, nearly dropping the phone. "Oh god, my eyes!" he exclaims, tossing the phone back to Carlos as if it were on fire.

The others look at him, confused and amused.

"What happened?" Lando asks, trying to peer at Carlos' phone.

Oscar covers his face with his hands, groaning. "I just saw something I really, really didn't need to see. Carlos, mate, you need to put a lock on those messages from my sister."

With a frown, Carlos opens his messages, tapping on your contact and finding what made Oscar scream in disgust.

A picture of you wearing the lacy red set, with the caption "we need to put these to good use before we throw all the ferrari red away"

Carlos glances at his phone, his eyes widening slightly before he quickly locks the screen. He clears his throat, trying to maintain his composure. "Ah, I see. Sorry about that, Oscar."

Oscar is still covering his eyes dramatically. "I'm going to need therapy after this. Seriously, Carlos, password protect those messages or something!"

"Come on, what was it?" Lando tries to sneak a peek at Carlos' phone. "It can't be that bad!"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Oscar groans. "There are some things a brother should never see."

"Look on the bright side, at least you know your sister is happy?" Max pats Oscar on the back.

"Not helping, Verstappen!" Oscar throws a nearby cushion at Max, which only makes everyone laugh harder.

"Sorry, hermano. I'll be more careful next time," Carlos says, putting on an awkward smile.

"There better not be a next time," Oscar mumbles, still looking traumatized. "I'm going to need therapy after this."

Oscar makes a mental note to never, ever touch Carlos' phone again, and Carlos makes a mental note to lock his girlfriend's messages. And put those lacy red sets to good use later, too.

[letorip]

kiss with a fist

“you hit me once, i hit you back, you gave a kick, i gave a slap”

===+++===

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: tara needs a favour from perhaps the person she hates most on earth, but it just ends up drawing the both of you closer together.

warnings: explicit sexual content, fake dating 🤯, enemies to lovers, contrived plot because ha ha ha

word count: 4.8k

A/N: kinda had a lot of fun with this one. might do a part two, might just leave it as is, but let me know. inspired by kiss with a fist by florence + the machine (duh), lovely night from la la land, and various other inspirations.

===+++===

===+++===

The moment your front door opened on its hinges, Tara Carpenter was pushing past you and barging straight into your apartment, stepping right over the threshold and checking you with her shoulder. You barely had a chance to process it, before she had wandered down the hall and into your kitchen in a blur.

You rolled your eyes, knowing you were in for an annoying ass conversation and slamming the door shut. “What do you want?” You called into your own apartment loud enough for her to hear you in the other room.

“Don’t be a prick about it. This is the last place I wanted to go,” she shot back, and you sighed to yourself in your dark hallway before fixing your hair in the mirror and following her inside. There was only about an hour of her bullshit you could put up with and then you’d be saved by the bell anyhow.

“Whatever happened to ‘hello,’ Tara?” You said, crossing your arms and coming in to against the doorframe. She had jumped up onto your counter, legs swinging and fingers gripping the edge of the blue ice glass tiles. In her left hand she picked up the bottle of wine you had left out next to some glasses and began to read the label.

"Lecture me later,” she said, not looking up at you, You were about to reply, or more aptly, tell her to get the hell out of your apartment, but she put the bottle down and narrowed her eyes at you, clearly struggling to say what she was really there for.

“Look, (Y/n), I need your help.” Ah. There it was.

"Hah," you scoffed without hesitation. "No."

She threw up her hands. "I didn’t even say what I was asking for.”

“Still, no. I’m not helping you.”

“Could you just not be an asshat for five minutes and listen to me? Like, is that too hard for you? Are you medically incapable?" She shot back.

"You're sitting on my counter. I didn't bust into your house and start making demands but here you are in mine,” you said.

"I'm asking for a favour," said Tara, raising her voice. "Asking."

"Wasn't much of a question though, was it," you replied. Maybe being a dick back to her would make her leave. She had always been able to dish it but never able to take it, and you wanted to make her. "You said 'I need a favour.' There's no question in that."

"No, I actually said I need your help, now would you shut up and listen?"

You scowled. "Y'know, I'm not really in a helpful mood tonight."

"Like you have something better to do,” Tara scoffed, raising her eyebrows at you.

"And what if I do?"

"Then I'd say you're lying. What, you don’t want to help me because you’re watching your stupid show, or reading or something?” she challenged back, getting up off your counter and walking towards you. You straightened up, glaring down at her. She only came up to about your chest, but the short girl still did her best to seem intimidating.

With you she always frustratingly failed to even make the smallest dent, though that probably stemmed from the fact you could pick her up and punt her like a football if you wanted to. On the days she managed to really piss you off, the thought grew more enticing.

"For your information, I was supposed to have a date," you said. Tara blinked at this, looking down from your stupid face. You wore a thick black turtleneck and some pleated black pants that hung stylishly from your waist. The wine made sense now, and Tara felt like an idiot.

“What’d you pay them?” she clapped back, covering for the feeling of intense heat rising to her cheeks. This was humiliating. She had come begging for your help of all people- you, and now she had nothing to show for it but the stupid, smug look on your stupid, smug face.

“Ha ha,” you said, dryly. “Get out.”

“No.”

“Yes,” you insisted.

"So you're busy then…” she trailed off.

“Yes.”

“Nooo,” she groaned, throwing up her hands in frustration.

You weren't sure what it was, maybe the pout of her lip or the shining of her eyes, but you shut your own for a second and let out a sigh. "Why? What's the favour?"

Tara shook her head in a generally amusing display of defeat. "It's whatever. Have fun on your date," she said, heading for the door and trying to brush past you, but you reached your arm across the doorway, stopping her from going.

"No, what's-" you stopped, rolling your eyes upon realising you were about to help Tara Carpenter of all people- "What's the favour, Tara?" Her face instantly lit up with a bright, beaming smile, the exact opposite of what it had been before, and it suddenly occurred to you she had been playing you like a fiddle.

"Oh my god, you're actually helping for once! Did you finally wake up on the right side of the bed?”

"Don't push it," you muttered. "I don't even know what I'm agreeing to, yet."

"See, about that..." she trailed off.

"What.”

“We have to make Sam really, really mad.”

"What?”

"Yeah..."

You shook your head at her. "Never mind. I'm not helping you anymore."

"What!?"

"You're trying to get me murdered," you said. "I don't have a death wish."

Tara was fully frustrated now, dark eyes fiery and staring up at you in the candle lighting. “You don’t even know what it is you’re doing to make her mad yet!”

“Doesn’t matter, if it’s Sam I don’t want to do it.”

“It would be a big help!” Tara said, clasping her hands in front of her like a prayer. You narrowed your eyes at her, more upset her expression and clear desperation was actually working on you, and that you felt compelled to help this idiot with an undoubtedly idiotic plan.

“What are you trying to do?”

Tara jumped up and down in excitement, smiling widely in a way you had rarely seen her. “Okay! Okay, so Sam said last month that she didn’t want me going to parties and meeting people because she was worried they were murderers.”

“Uh huh,” you said.

“Buuut, she said I could go if I had someone always with me. Like, someone with me that she approved of. So I didn’t wander off to hook up or drink, which is, y’know, the actual fun ‘college party’ stuff.”

“Uh huh.”

“The thing is though, that if I had a ‘partner,’” she raised her fingers to put quotes around it, “then Sam wouldn’t need to worry about me doing that, because she’d assume I’d be with them, hanging out, or even if we did go to a party, it would be together. Buddy system style.”

You raised your eyebrows, realising where this was probably going. “Uh huh?”

“Which is where you’d come in. Sam wouldn’t trust just anybody, if I told her I was seeing someone. But she would trust someone from our group, who she knows for sure isn’t going to murder me. And you- as fucking annoying as you are- are exactly that.” She had a twinkle in her eyes when she explained it to you, and you realised Tara had probably been plotting this- or at least considering it- for a while now, the little devil.

“You really expect Sam to believe we can tolerate each other?” You asked, squeezing your arms tighter against your chest. “She knows how much I hate you, and only person I hate more is her.”

“Trust me, I’ve complained about you to her too,” she rolled her eyes. “But you were literally my only option. Call it a romance of passion. We only ‘hated’ other to cover up for our real feelings or whatever. Sam doesn’t have to like you but she definitely trusts you.”

“How romantic,” you wrinkled your nose, disgusted by the suggestion. “Wait, why am I your only option? Chad is right there, he’s already in love with you and everything. He’s like the built-in boyfriend.”

She winced. “See, I thought about that. But I just know it would probably hurt him, with the hooking up and it not being real. He probably wouldn’t feel too great about me ‘cheating’ on him.” Tara did the finger quotes around it again and you let out a whistle.

“Wow, so you do have a heart.”

She scoffed. “More than you do. Besides, we only need to pretend to be together until I find someone actually tolerable. After that, you’re free again.”

“I had a date tonight,” you narrowed your eyes at her.

“But you’re still here talking to me for some reason?” She raised her eyebrows at you. “And the way you said ‘had’ I’m thinking you don’t anymore.” Tara could be annoyingly perceptive sometimes. She always seemed to zero in on the way you spoke or what you said.

“I wasn’t too excited for it anyways,” you grumbled, and Tara laughed, realising she had been correct and being all too pleased with herself. She clasped her hands together.

“Well then. Are you going to help me, or are you going to glare at me some more?”

“The second one sounds really appealing right now,” you shot back.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be too proud of an asshole to admit this is a great plan.”

“It’s a terrible plan, and it’s absolutely going to fail when Sam tries to murder me.”

“But you didn’t say no.”

You looked at her for a long minute, contemplating if this was really the path you were going to go down. You let out a sigh, shaking your head. “I’ll do it. But you’ll sure as hell owe me.”

“Yeah yeah,” Tara waved you off, beaming from ear to ear. “Great! We’re going on a double date with her and Danny this Friday.”

“What?!” Your mouth dropped open.

“Yep,” she said, annoyingly skipping down your hallway. “I’ll text you the address and time!” she said.

“Now wait a minute-” you called after her, but she had already latched open your door and left, leaving you to watch her go. Fuck, this would end terribly. You sighed again, taking out your phone to cancel your date.

===+++===

This was so unbelievably stupid. The longer you stood outside the Italian restaurant, the more you regretted agreeing to help her.

The restaurant was nice at least, with giant marble stones and dark red accents, and you could see through the massive float glass windows that the lighting mostly featured romantic candles and potted floribunda roses against dark wood. It would ironically be the most expensive date you ever had, and you realised that with bitter sentimentality.

Tara was late, like always, and you had begun to pace along the sidewalk, tracing the cracks with the centre of your shoe while you waited for her. It was boring, out on the street, and the more couples that passed you and walked right inside, the more nauseous you felt. You grabbed your phone out of your pocket, thumbing over the cracked display.

She was ten minutes late. You swiped open your text messages, still seeing nothing from her.

are you here yet???

You sent the message hastily, waiting for the typing icon to pop up or even show that she read it, but nothing. Suddenly the screen lit up and your phone started vibrating it, and you almost dropped it in surprise. “Fuck,” you cussed quietly, seeing the call incoming screen and Little Shit (do not pick up) appear at the top. You frowned, hitting the green button and accepting the call.

“Where the hell are you??? I don’t know if you noticed but we’re late,” you immediately said into the phone, aware of just how annoyed you sounded.

“Relax,” replied Tara on the other end of the line, and you could hear her eye roll from here. “Danny is a late guy too, Sam gets on him all the time for it.”

“Yeah well, I’m standing outside waiting for your late ass.” You felt someone awkwardly push past you and you winced, spinning around to usher them an apology.

“I’ll be there in a minute, I had to pick something up,” she dismissed you. “Just don’t let Sam and Danny see you. I told them we were showing up together.”

“Well how the hell am I supposed to do that?” You frowned, looking around. There was a row of bushes off to the side but you were too tall and not at all willing to crouch behind them like an idiot.

“I don’t know. Figure. It. Out.” Tara spoke slowly like you were a child and you narrowed your eyes.

“Y’know, I’m doing you a favour?”

“Ha!” Tara exclaimed, and you hissed, pulling your ear away from the phone’s speaker at the loud noise. “So you admit, it was a favour!”

“Shut up and get your ass over here," you grumbled before hanging up shortly, looking around and wandering down a side alley. It smelled disgusting back there, in the ironic, almost-dark of sunset, and it would've been a lovely night to take a walk on, had it not been for wasting it on Tara of all people.

You pulled out a box of cigarettes from your pocket, fumbling one out and sticking it between your lips. You stuck the box back in your pocket and pulled out your fancy lighter that had your name engraved on the side, thumbing over the lettering for a moment before lighting the cigarette and sticking it between your two fingers.

It felt stupid, to standing there next to the dumpster and watching some rats scurry by, but you let out a huff of smoke, remembering how much Tara had seemed excited for the parties and having fun. You didn't like her very much, nor could you really claim to be much of a saint, but you weren't a monster either.

"What are you doing??" called a voice from the end of the alley, and you spun to see Tara near the line of bushes with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. She had her eyes narrowed at the cigarette, looking frustrated.

"Having a smoke. Why, want one?"

She let out a sigh of exasperation, marching straight up to you. "You can't go on a double date with my sister smelling like cigarette smoke. You know she hates that kind of stuff."

"I've smoked with her, before. Her and Mindy," you argued, pulling it from your lips to take a breath in. "I've literally given her cigarettes."

Tara glared at you, taking it from your hand and crushing it under her heel. "Yeah, well, she still hates you, and now that we're allegedly 'dating' it's different. We can't give her any reason not to trust us, and you smoking cigarettes is going to make her think I'm going to start smoking cigarettes."

You shrugged. "If she hates me so much, then she's never gonna let us 'hang out' alone or go to parties anyway."

"No, she-" Tara rolled her eyes. "She hates you, but she sure as hell trusts you. Enough to babysit me."

"Fine. What's with the flowers?" you asked, crossing your arms.

"You got them for me," Tara shrugged. "Pinnacle of romance."

You whistled to be funny, but it was a little bit impressive that she had planned that out. The plan wasn't especially well thought out, but she at least had her moments of surprising intelligence, which you couldn't begrudge her.

"Well then," she frowned. "Let's go, lover." She clutched the flowers in one hand and slid her arm to interlock with yours. You narrowed your eyes but started to walk her in.

"Don't call me that. It's weird," you muttered.

"Get used to it. Tonight we're the happiest couple on planet Earth."

The restaurant was somehow even nicer on the inside than it had been on the outside. Tara gripped your hand, tugging you along with her as she headed towards Sam and Danny's table and followed the waiter, but you were looking a little dumbfounded at the marble columns and Italian frescos painted to the walls and roof.

You made your way back, led into a giant room with a lot of people. Danny sent you a welcoming wave when they saw you; Sam looked like she was about ready to blow a gasket. She stared at you, eyeing you up and down and then lasering in on the bouquet in Tara's hands with a frown.

"Did you tell her your secret partner was me???" you whispered to Tara as you approached.

She smirked evilly. "Nope."

Fucking amazing. "Hey guys!" Danny said, friendly and open. He seemed just thrilled to be there, while Sam seethed right next to him. Tara smiled right at her sister, gesturing for you to sit next to her.

"Sorry we were late," Tara says, a little awkward but trying to seem comfortable. "We were, um..." she looked at you for help.

You blanked, throwing out the first thing you could think of. "Kissing!"

Sam nearly spit out her water, eyes widening at staring at you. Tara whipped to you, jaw slack and you sent her a sorry glance. Improv was not your thing by any means.

"Um," Danny blinked at you. "No worries. You're here now," he said with an awkward smile. His hand went to Sam's, trying to give it a comforting squeeze, but she looked like she wanted to jump over the table and then jump you. She was glowering.

"So," she said, eyes narrowed. "How long has 'this,'" she gestured between you and Tara, "been a thing?" She looked at you intensely, and you looked to Tara, trying to shrug it off. You both laughed, playing the part of the happy couple.

"Oh, a month," you said.

"Two months," Tara said, at the exact same time. Fuck.

You tried not to glare at each other. "Well, which is it?" Sam squinted at her sister, and Tara sent a kick at your leg under the table. Your knee hit the bottom of the table with a painful 'thud,' and it took everything in you to not yell out in pain from your knee cap hitting the wood.

You tried to smile it off. "Tara just said two months, because we went on a few study dates, but it wasn't official until a month ago."

"So two months then," Sam said, crossing her arms on the table.

"I get it," Danny said, nodding. "I'm bad at dates and stuff too," he laughed a bit. "I almost forgot how long Sam and I had been together after our four month anniversary." You nodded, sending him your best grin. Sam didn’t look too happy about that either, though.

"Yeah, long day, I guess." Tara said next to you, sending you her best smile, her hand coming up to rub your back. It was weird, having her this close, but you put on your best face, as if she touched you all the time.

"You go to Blackmore too, right?" he asked, and you nodded. "What do you study?"

"I'm in architecture," you replied. Finally, something you could talk about without feeling like you were crossing a minefield. From the corner of your eye, you could still see Sam staring you down with suspicion.

"Oh! That's awesome!" Danny replied, taking a sip of wine from his glass. "I love architecture, it's interesting."

"Mhm," you nodded, looking over at Tara and smirking with just a hint of malicious glee. "I tease her- my degree is actually useful. People don't really like film majors. They usually smell bad."

"Do they?" he asked, genuinely curious, and you turned back, nodding.

"Yeah, it's an unfortunately common stereotype. Film majors are annoying, smelly-," your words were cut off, feeling Tara's nail dig into your back for revenge and trying to stifle a wince. She gave the table a fake giggle.

"Okay, that's enough out of you," she said, and you grinned, cursing her out in your head.

"Why didn't you tell me it was (Y/n), Tara?" Sam asked, leaning forwards and studying you both. She seemed a bit miffed with the whole situation. You sent each other fake smiles, as if you were about to share a secret.

"Well," she said, trying to seem excited. "We just didn't want anyone ruining it, really. It was kind of a secret, and we didn't know what it would turn into. But it's just...it's been so fucking magic."

"Magic. Mhm," you hummed in agreement, looking off into the distance and pulling out the menu. You were just a bit too hungry to keep up with the game for the moment. Seriously? she shot you a glare, and you snapped to attention. "It is genuinely one of the happiest times of my life," you rushed, quickly smiling and then dropping your attention back down to the menu to look at some pasta.

“Does Chad know?” Sam asked, sitting back and staring at you both. Tara shook her head.

“Not yet. I don’t want to hurt him, but really, (Y/n)’s the one for me.” This was also a little bit impressive. Tara seemed to be a far better actor than you were, and Sam just nodded, suspicious but trusting her sister’s words.

===+++===

The moment you walked down the block and out of Sam and Danny's eyesight, your hand dropped from Tara's. The sun was just about setting in the distance, and city traffic was starting to slow down a little.

"Oh. My. God. Her face!" Tara said, laughing. She keeled over, and you smiled a little, remembering Sam's look of disgust, but quiet monitoring of your hand clutching onto Tara's. She looked like a very conservative nun, witnessing a sin being performed in real time. It was a little funny, you had to admit, not that you'd ever be caught laughing along with her.

"Danny seems nice," you said, after you walked a little farther.

Tara nodded. "He's surprisingly not a douchebag. I thought he would be, like you or something, but he's not that bad for Sam."

You scoffed. "I'm not a douchebag."

"You definitely are," Tara said, shaking her head. "One month because it wasn't official? You said we were going on dates before then. That's definitely douchebag behaviour. Sam probably thought that meant you were seeing other people."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Tara said, rolling her eyes. "And 'kissing'??? Literally anything would've been better."

"I'm trying to help you, it's either this or nothing," you huffed in annoyance. "I'm not an on-the-spot person."

"Clearly," Tara said, shaking her head in overdramatic emphasis. She stopped suddenly and you jerked backwards, seeing her mess with her shoes.

"You good?" you asked, shoving your hands into your pockets.

"These damn shoes- making me walk home- god dammit," she grumbled, messing with the straps and the buckle on the side. You waited patiently, leaning against a stone wall as you waited for her to finish.

The sky above you had turned a deep purple, small hues of orange and pink in the form of clouds sitting at the edges. It was really something, and you stopped to watch it, whistling. Tara jerked upwards, planting her foot down to stomp her shoe into place.

"What is it?" she asked.

"The sky," you said, and she craned her neck up to watch it with you. "It's just really beautiful tonight."

She hummed for a moment before looking back to you. "It's a shame I'm spending it with you, of all people," Tara snorted. "I'm sure this would be romantic to any other couple."

"It would probably really be something," you said absentmindedly, looking up in thought. "A real waste on you and me though."

"Glad we agree," she said, leading the way. You and her had taken a separate path from Danny and Sam under the guise of getting some ice cream, but neither of you were willing to pay for it. Instead, you had to figure out what you would do with ten extra minutes.

"Do you want to cross?" you asked, gesturing to the other street, she nodded and you walked up, pressing the button. When you turned back to her, her nose was wrinkled.

"What?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. You just hit the button weird."

"What?" you blinked at her. "How can someone 'hit the button weird'?"

"I don't know, but you, like, pushed it weird. With your fingers."

You rolled your eyes. "Do you have a problem with everything I do?"

“Yep,” she nodded back. “It’s annoying.”

You guys kept walking in silence for the next block or two, making a square so that you could return to Sam and Tara’s apartment together. The sun had disappeared now and faded into night, and when you turned the corner to split off, she tugged on your arm.

“Hey wait, you have to walk me home.”

“What?” you raised your eyebrows at her.

Tara shrugged. “You have to, to make Sam think we’re dating.”

You blinked at her. “But we live on opposite sides of the city.”

“Still.”

“Tara if I walk you home I’ll miss the last train,” you grumbled. “That’s a long ass walk.”

“Cmon, we have to or she won’t believe it.”

You frowned. “You’re paying for my cab then.”

She sighed. “Fine, but come on.”

She tugged you down the long strip by the hand, stopping suddenly, a block from her apartment. “Here wait,” she said, turning to you. “Give me your jacket.”

“What?” you raised your eyebrows at her. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Oh just do it, do you have to argue about everything?”

You took it off with a glare, handing it to Tara. She tried to slide it on but it was massive on her, so she bunched up the sleeves. With the flowers in her hand and your jacket, it definitely looked like you two had gone on a date.

She grabbed your hand again, pulling you forwards along the street and smiling brightly in case anyone looked out the window and saw you both. It felt a bit odd to be playing dress up, but it was helping someone out, so you didn’t begrudge her on getting you to smile either.

“Wait wait wait,” Tara said, stopping abruptly.

You groaned. “Now what.”

She pulled you to the side, near a row of shrubs that sat next to the red brick of her apartment building. “Sam’s watching us through the window.”

You turned your head, trying to see for yourself, and there she was, hanging right out the window and watching you with intense suspicion.

"Don't look at her!" Tara snapped at you, whispering with a glare. You rolled your eyes.

"What do you want me to do then, Tara?"

She frowned, biting her lip while she thought. She gave you a grimace. "We need to do, like, a goodnight kiss or something."

You glared at the suggestion. "I think I'd rather die."

"Trust me, I don't want to either," she said, glowering right back at you. "But if we do this now, we won't have to ever again."

You thought for a moment. She'd probably taste disgusting anyways, and then it would just confirm what you already knew- you hated Tara Carpenter. "Fine. Just convincing enough though."

"Okay," she nodded. When neither of you made a move to close the distance, she frowned. "Do like, a countdown or something?"

"A fucking countdown," you repeated. "We're not five."

"Just do it!" she demanded, glaring again.

"Okay, fine, Jesus Christ. Three...," your face moved a bit closer to hers. "Two," you muttered quietly, still leaning in. "One," you said, and then Tara pushed her face onto yours.

It was a chaste kiss, probably sprouting from the fact that neither of you especially wanted to do it. Her lips were softer than you expected them to be and her breath nowhere as near as it would be in your head. You pulled away quickly, and there she was, smiling up at you in the fake way she had been at the restaurant.

"Party next Friday?" she asked. "Now that Sam thinks we're together she won't care if I go. Just pick me up and we can go 'together.' Plus there's a cute kid from my film class who said she would be there."

You nodded. "Whatever."

"Great," she said with similar shortness, and she brushed right past you, heading into her building. You watched her walk off, making sure she got in the door safe. Sam was still looking at you from overhead, even when Tara had gone, and you could see Quinn standing behind her, looking with morbid curiosity.

It had never even crossed your mind to kiss Tara, just because of how annoying her personality was, and you would have rather died than admit it had been nice- that she had been nice for a night. Instead you turned around, walking off. You were sure Sam was still watching you, as you went.

===+++===

part two??? it shouldn't be too long before the next one, i had to split this up because it was getting insanely long and there's another half to the story. i didn't want this one to be like 8k words long, i'll just probably have another one that's 4-5k soon.

[adieutristana]

Okay, I saw your post, and I really want something with vi x caitlyn x reader with them getting into an argument, but It has to be hurt/comfort plsss<3

of course! thank you for the request <3

just as a disclaimer, i’ve never written for a poly relationship before… nor have i written a full argument. i tried my best, but if you have any feedback please let me know

summary: vi, caitlyn and fem! reader get into an argument.

characters included: vi, caitlyn

tags/warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, yelling, arguing, drinking, poly relationship, slight s2 spoilers

men dni.

caitlyn and vi have been… off.

‘off’ is an understatement. your girlfriend, cait, has been more and more ‘occupied’ with her work as of late. doors opening and closing in the wee hours of the morning, waking up without her by your side, without so much of a note indicating her location.

vi, on the other hand, has been falling deep into a hole of self-loathing and despair. depending more on the effects of liquor than the comfort of you or caitlyn. despite your efforts to get through to her, vi would consistently shut you out.

“i’m fine, honey.” she’d say, the smell of vodka potent in her breath. “don’t worry about me. just keep doing… whatever it is you’re doing.”

how did it get to this point? everything started off so well. you’d been together about six months now, the three of you deciding to go steady after realizing holy shit, you all had feelings for each other. you’d moved in together at around the four month mark, with caitlyn helping decorate, vi trying (and failing) to build furniture, and you actually building the furniture. it was a dream come true- at first.

caitlyn would be out until around eleven every night, but would never fail to greet you with a gentle kiss and a drowsy, “i missed you, love.” she would bring back gifts from her patrols, telling you she stopped at a street vendor and couldn’t resist the urge to treat her darling.

vi was spontaneous. sometimes going out for pit fights, sometimes trying to smooth things over with jinx for the millionth time, sometimes simply parading the streets of zaun to get some air. either way, she’d always leave a messy note on your bedside table informing you of where she’d be; or just invite you to come along with her. her ‘partner-in-crime,’ as she puts it.

you had your jobs, and they had theirs. it worked out. you worked out.

until now, it seems. you’re sat in your bed, neither of your girlfriends with you. the air tense and sheets cold. a million thoughts are swirling through your mind, your eyes darting around the room looking for some kind of purchase.

vi swings the bedroom door open, and stands in the doorway for a moment, hand against the doorframe. although you’re a bit far from her, you can’t smell any whiskey on her- that’s good. that’s a start. however, she does have a black eye and fresh blood on her arm bandages.

“god, vi, what happened?”

she sits down beside you in a manspread, leaning over her lap and shaking her head.

“don’t worry about it. just got into a fight with someone off their ass on shimmer.”

you sigh, and shake your head. grumbling to yourself. feeling your shoulders begin to tremble and your fists begin to clench. vi was like this, she got into fights frequently. but to come home injured, and then act like it was nothing? what had gotten into her?

“vi, tell me what happened.”

you demanded, looking straight at her. but the woman refused to meet your gaze.

“vi, you can’t just come home with a black eye and covered in blood and act like everything is fine- you know what? you’ve been acting like this more and more. and you come home wasted and pass out beside me without a word and act like nothing is wrong.”

you ramble, your tone growing more stern and more loud with each word. you’re working up a sweat. your brows furrowed and your gaze fixed on your girlfriend who still won’t look at you.

“(y/n).”

she grumbles.

she finally turns to face you. her eyes look blank and tired, her expression is completely lost on you for the first time possibly ever.

“i fight. that’s what i do. i do what i have to do to scrape by and make my money and protect myself- and you, and caitlyn. and if i have to pop open a flask every now and again to get through-

“every now and again?! vi, you come home shitfaced nearly every night!”

you gasp. did you hear her right? did vi actually just say that?

“it is not every night, and you know that. you and caitlyn are busy and i don’t have painkillers or anything else to take off the edge, what am i supposed to do? sit with my thoughts?”

“give me a call?”

you suggest. vi looks off to the side, her hands clasped and at a loss for words.

"what's happened?"

you jump back for a moment. still in her cloak stands caitlyn, stripping it off to sit beside you and vi. the tension in the air is thick and heavy... neither you nor vi wanting to discuss what had just transpired.

"you haven't been yourself either." you mumble under your breath.

although your knees are turned away from caitlyn and you aren't looking in her direction, she could tell who that was pointed toward.

"meaning what?"

caitlyn asks. cocking her head to one side the slightest bit- she seems to not take it to heart.

you slowly turn to face your girlfriend- azure locks tied back into a slick bun, her hair tousled from a hard day's work and dirt covering her carved features. it looks obscene in a way, to see the facade of perfection disturbed. but that's what you've come to love- and what you've come to miss.

"meaning... meaning that you're always home so late! and you don't tell me where you're going to be! i get that you're busy, you have a job to do, but you could at least not shut me out?"

"i'm not shutting you out, (y/n). i have a job to do. you know that."

she scoffs, but you can tell that she's trying to reassure you at least-

"apparently i'm doing the same thing."

"vi."

“what’s this about?”

“apparently i don’t let her in enough, and i’m a drunk.”

“i did not say that!”

“your drinking habits have become… concerning, violet. i won’t deny that.”

“so now you’re against me, too?! is that what you’re saying?”

“nobody is against you!”

“then you’re against caitlyn?”

you blubber trying to find words. your hands coming up to tangle in your hair and try to ground yourself. your voice is trembling and your heart is beating with the fervor of a war drum. how did it get to this point?

“i- look, can we please just talk about this, like the adults that we are?”

you manage to mutter.

“we are talking, (y/n).”

caitlyn sighs. her shoulders are tense and it sounds almost as if she’s holding in a breath, scared to say anything else.

“neither of you are listening.” a tear falls. your voice, your resolve… it’s so weak.

you can’t do it. caitlyn can’t bring herself to look at you, vi’s practically glaring through you, and each time you open your mouth, it feels like you’re wasting air. if they don’t want to hear it, they don’t have to.

you stand up from the bed to leave. your knees feel weak, threatening to buckle under you at any moment. but one foot in front of the other- you need to be anywhere but here.

neither vi nor caitlyn try to stop you.

✧.*

your feet hover above miles of nothingness. sat on a cobblestone wall in piltover, the sky hues of pink and orange and the cold temperatures nipping at your skin.

you came here to clear your mind. the sky and nature was always something that grounded you. the sun setting soothed your fiery nerves after… whatever had happened the previous day. you decided to stay out for the time being.

you just couldn’t bear to be in that apartment, not now.

“(y/n)?”

you hear behind you, so hushed. so quiet, it might’ve been mistaken for the wind by anyone else. but you recognized that rasp.

your knees came closing in, hugging close to your chest. you place your chin atop your knees and let out a sharp exhale.

“(y/n), i fucked up. we both did.”

before you could snap back about you having done nothing to deserve what happened last night, you felt a firm grasp on your shoulder. out of the corner of your eye, you could see those sapphire locks you had grown to adore. god damn it.

but your rationale betrays you. you feel your head turn ever so slowly over the same shoulder your girlfriend took, and look up at cait and vi. your eyelids heavy, tears threatening to spill at any moment.

vi swings a leg over the cobblestone. pressing her lips into a thin line and glancing back at caitlyn, then you. caitlyn opting to stand behind both of you, an intimidating presence. you wipe your eyes with your shirt sleeve.

"please, listen. i know i haven't been doing my part. to you, or to caitlyn. shit's just... been hard. okay? i don't understand what it is, but the drinking helps."

vi pauses.

"it doesn't help. it takes the edge off. but it isn't fair to either of you. so i'll try to let up, but cupcake-"

vi swiftly grasps both of your hands in her bandaged ones, rough callouses and healing injuries against smooth skin. taking on an almost pleading tone.

"you gotta give me time. this thing won't happen overnight, okay? but i never meant to shut you out. i'll tell you exactly where i'm at. call on me."

looking up at her, you notice the sincerity and warmth in her eyes. the way her thick brows are furrowed, the dark bags underneath those piercing eyes...

your shoulders relax.

"might i add," you hear from behind you.

"i also realize that staying out all day working like a hound isn't fair to you. it seems silly, in hindsight."

she scoffs, crossing lean arms over her chest. it's then when caitlyn finally sits beside you, opposite of vi, and leans down a sizable amount to rest her head on your shoulder. a sea of blue falling over your shoulder and chest, the girl on your arm softly humming.

"i appreciate it... really."

vi squeezes one of your hands, cait places a hand on your lap. neither look directly at you, but out at the night sky. now dark, ursa major front and center. as if it was there only for the three of you.

"no more arguing?"

caitlyn asks, honeyed voice just above a whisper. a press of soft lips into the crook of your neck.

"no more arguing."

[ikeuverse]

anything for you | sjy

pairing: mafiaboss!jake x fem!reader  genres: lots of angst, smut, fluff wc: 12.5k+

꒰ 𝅄 warnings ꒱ : lots of swearing, blood, drugs, guns and knives, kidnapping, injuries, death, torture. jake is ruthless, but he does it to protect his beloved, you know. unprotected sex, sex in the shower, very vanilla. jake is soft because he wants reconciliation. lmk if i forgot anything!

꒰ 𝅄 synopsis ꒱ : when jake said he would do anything to find you, he wasn't kidding. he would go from heaven to hell. but what he feared most was that now, more than ever, he needed to tell you the whole truth.

꒰ 𝅄 notes ꒱ : did i hear an amen? part 2 of dual life is right here. idk if i liked it as much as the first one, but i tried to put together some of the things that people asked me to make happen, so… i hope you like it!

꒰ 𝅄 part 1 | masterlist ꒱

The only noise in the room was the footsteps of the men coming in and out, bringing back information and receiving orders to continue their work.

“So?” Jongseong asked as soon as Sunghoon entered, almost bumping into one of the henchmen who had just left. He heard a brief apology from the man before seeing him continue walking out of the room, leaving him to approach the huge table where the rest of his friends were.

“I managed to convince him to take that stupid sleeping pill” Sunghoon pulled up a chair but didn't sit down. He looked at Jongseong cautiously, then ran his eyes over every man there. Heeseung kept his worried eyes on his new friend, giving a little murmur of understanding. Then he noticed Sunoo's presence, the infamous computer right in front of him as he typed a few things. His gaze left the screen for a few seconds to greet him before returning to what he was doing.

“We can't let him leave that room before we've gathered the amount of information we need to go after whoever it is,” Heeseung said, and Sunghoon continued to stare at his other friends. Riki was on the edge of the table with a look of pure anger and he didn't know if it was because of the recently failed mission or because he was worried about Jaeyun. Few times had the friends seen the chief like this, one of them being at the death of Mr. Sim, when all the men had mourned for countless weeks. Now seeing him like that felt like it.

“I think we're almost there, guys.” Sunoo kept his voice upbeat to stay positive. He knew how difficult it was to be cheerful in that job, but he tried to keep it as brief as possible.

Hearing footsteps behind him and a movement around him, he knew that all his friends in the room were now perched behind him and his trusty computer, looking at the screen and seeing what had been discovered.

“What have you discovered?” asked Riki.

Curious eyes stared at a series of codes that Sunoo had decoded, tracking down security cameras until he found what he needed. The camera from the parking lot of the building where Jaeyun and you worked. It fit like a glove, the clear image and the exact time when the small van entered the parking lot, giving easy access to the license plate and the moment when a man dressed in dark clothes cornered you and covered your mouth with a cloth. Their stomachs churned strangely, watching the scene unfold before them and, minutes later, Jaeyun kneeling and shouting in the parking lot.

“Did you track the van?” Heeseung looked at Sunoo, not wanting to see the countless seconds his friend was being watched on camera, pacing back and forth with his cell phone in his hand. Everyone remembered the moment Jaeyun called, screaming that you had been kidnapped.

“Voilà” he always liked to boast when he achieved something so difficult in such a short period. But something caught Sunoo's eye as he pulled up the images on the small virtual map of where the van had been found “Shit” he cursed.

“What? What is it, man?” Jongseong snapped, lightly pushing Sunghoon who was closest to the one sitting in front of the computer. He looked at where Sunoo was staring, a little paralyzed, and his stomach churned once again “It can't be.”

“Can you two talk about what's going on? Shit” Riki wanted to shout.

There was silence for a while before Sunoo looked away from the computer and sighed.

“The address is Joseph Sim Fields' shed,” he said, “Joe Fields.”

That name sent a chill down the spine of anyone in that room. In that particular mob. Joseph had been responsible for the shot that had taken the life of Jonathan Sim, his brother and Jaeyun's father. Jake's uncle who he had admired for so long and who was to blame for all the trouble of making him take on something so young.

After the upset and Joseph seeing the fortress his brother had created for Jaeyun to take over, his plan had fallen apart. He wouldn't be his brother's successor, he wouldn't inherit the whole Sim mafia and all the luxury that came with it. So it made him feel disgusted with the family he came from, changing his surname and never wanting to be linked to the Sims again. Fields was even better and gave off a more frightening air, he thought.

“What do we do now?” Heeseung threw himself into the chair next to Sunoo, one of his hands almost pulling out the strands of hair and messing them up in the process. He looked at them one by one, seeing his friends as lost as he was.

“First we need to hold Jake back when we break the news,” Sunghoon said, “or he'll kill his uncle before we even find Y/n.”

Another chill ran down my spine. Now the problem had been doubled. Not only did they have to find where they had gone with you, but they also had to control Jaeyun when he broke the news that his uncle was behind it all.

Facing his friends who were just as apprehensive as he was, Sunghoon felt a lump form in his throat as he tried to swallow the amount of saliva in his mouth. Nervousness took over every fiber of his body as he saw more information being retrieved by Sunoo's tracking codes.

“Then we have to come up with a plan to go to the shed, confront Joseph, and bring Y/n back.”

The slamming of the door broke the silence that would settle between the boys once their thoughts had been aligned. All eyes went straight to the source of the noise, seeing Jaeyun enter with a red face and burning eyes. Anger was personified in him at that moment and his friends were thankful that nothing sharp or a weapon was near him.

“Jake” Sunghoon began.

“So you wanted to dope me up to find out that my uncle is behind this?” he laughed humorlessly, taking a few steps to lean over the table, on the opposite side from where everyone else was standing.

A little further back, Jungwon rushed in, panting. One hand clutching his chest as he struggled to breathe, he almost lost his balance when he got a little closer and put pills on the table.

“I wanted you to rest—” Sunghoon's eyes were on the medication placed on the table by Jungwon. He quickly swerved to Jaeyun's hands knocking the only two glass vases to the floor, the deafening thud of the shards rushing across the room.

“My fucking uncle is trying to kill my girlfriend and you want to give me sleeping pills?” he shouted. Fear was creeping up on him and the others, not because of Jaeyun's angry tone, but because of what he might be capable of. The skin on his forehead was wet and his chest rose and fell with fervor, his breathing completely accelerated as he leaned away from the table for a moment.

“Jake, we—”

“Lucky for all of you, I don't kill my best friends” he interrupted Heeseung with his words, raising one of his hands in the air to stop him from continuing. At this point, adrenaline combined with anger prevented him from shedding any more tears. But the absurd urge to cry persisted in Jaeyun's body. Even more so knowing that you were in the hands of a scumbag like his uncle. The hatred ate away at him even more after what he had done to his father, now his girlfriend was in the hands of the same man who had made his life a living hell.

Jungwon took a few steps closer to the others, glancing at Sunoo's computer and then at Jaeyun still standing in front of them. His breathing rate never slowed, worrying his friends that he might have a seizure or, worse, another fit of rage that could kill them all. No one knew what he might be capable of.

“Jake” Jungwon called out in a slightly calmer voice, earning him a glance. A mixture of anger, pain, and fear. Jaeyun was afraid and everyone in the room could see it in him because they simply knew him. And he hated it all. He hated being vulnerable in the hands of the same man who had taken away the most important person in his life, now being with someone else just as important “We need to line up a plan. I think the boys were already starting to think about it.”

“Were you?” he asked, looking at each of them until he stopped at Sunghoon.

“Did you hear what I said before I came in and nearly broke down that door?”

“Don't make me shoot you, Park. I swear to God…”

“Let's think about the plan, shall we?” it was Jongseong's turn to interrupt, clapping his hands twice to try and make it dissipate any negative energy, although everything there was so heavy that a simple act was proving impossible.

“Think of a fucking plan and get all my men together” Jaeyun bit the inside of his cheek, ready to scream a swear word that was stuck in his throat. But he just chose to swallow dry, Adam's apple dancing in his throat as he felt the rage consume him even more. As if he was completely blinded by his actions and needed Joseph Fields' neck between his fingers to ease it all “We're leaving for that fucking shed tonight.”

Just as quickly as he had entered that room, Jaeyun left, leaving the door ajar and all his friends frightened. And with the mission of agility to come up with a plan in a few hours to get out of there looking for him.

You could feel every part of your body ache at the slightest touch of air against your skin. This could only mean that you were injured, or that the position you were in had been the same for a long time. You really wanted it to be the second option.

Fear and dread still flooded your insides at the vivid memory of hands covering your mouth and then Jaeyun's agonized face through the dark glass of that vehicle they put you in. The person who did this to you could only have wanted something in return, perhaps money. You were so panicked that nothing could be heard apart from your screams calling out your boyfriend's name and his cries of horror as the car got further away. After that moment, everything seemed like a blur to you and you were so nervous that you were sure you had fainted. Now, the sound of footsteps around you made you panic again. It could mean that you weren't alone, wherever you were.

Would it be bad to open your eyes now? Or you could keep pretending to be unconscious to see if you could get anything else, but also… What could you do? Painful, helpless, not knowing where you were. Nothing could help you at that moment.

So the uncertainty made you open your eyes slowly, the light from the room burning your orbs as you blinked slowly to try to get used to the brightness.

“Come on, boss… Our girl's awake” the voice was unfamiliar, you'd never heard it before. So you had no way of identifying who it was, just hoping that he might say something else to you. But that didn't happen. Instead of the boy saying anything else, another man took the lead and started walking towards you, coming out of the darkness of the corner of the room with a serious, frowning countenance. A chill ran down his spine.

“You've been asleep for so long, darling” his voice was deeper than the first, and this sent another chill through her body. Perhaps the wind in the room was now giving you chills in addition to the physical pain. When he approached you, bending down to bring his face close to yours, you tried to move. Maybe run out of there… But it was obvious that your body was tied up. Who would kidnap someone and leave them loose? “Tsk, in a hurry, princess? We haven't even introduced ourselves.”

Every affectionate nickname made you want to vomit all over that man. You wanted to feel angry at the calmness and serenity in his eyes, but at the same time, fear was eating away at you because you'd never seen him before.

“You're Y/n, right?” he knew you, hell. Of course, he did!

No answer, no nod to confirm that it was… He didn't need one either. Although wanted that conversation to be between the two of you, it sounded like a monologue since you weren't saying anything at all.

“Great,” he said “I'm Joseph Sim Fields, but you can call me Joe.”

Joseph Sim… Was he related to Jaeyun?

Your eyes widened and that was the reaction he had wanted ever since he started talking to you. A devilish smile crept across the lips of the man in front of your.

“It's familiar to you, isn't it?” he asked softly “But I don't like joining the Sim, so you don't have to worry” he nodded to the boy who had been quiet until now. You felt nauseous just looking at the amusement of the two men in front of you, it seemed like the most normal thing in the world to have someone tied to a chair while they acted grotesquely.

“Boss!” someone banged on the steel door, making a small bang as you cringed a little more. Any lousy sound startled you.

“What is it? I hope it's important!” Joseph turned to the other man who was entering the room, you didn't even bother to face him, you didn't have the strength to keep recording faces all the time.

“I think they've found us” he said quietly, but loud enough for you to hear. Your ears perked up and, even though you weren't looking at the men who were talking, all your attention was on them.

“What do you mean?”

“Jake's call” he replied “Someone must have blown a hole in the operation and they found out.”

The young man had a cell phone in his hand, probably on mute as he passed the information on to Joseph. You looked up at the older man, who took the device in his free hand and brought it to his lips to silence you.

“Dear nephew! To what do I owe the honor of your call?” falsely the welcome he had never given his nephew. Clicking on the speakerphone and approaching you in cautious steps, surely he wanted you to listen too.

“What have you done to my girlfriend, you piece of shit?” he shouted across the line. That voice was familiar, you knew it. It was Jaeyun's, for sure.

“Oh, is that any way to talk to your uncle, Jake?” pouting, Joseph approached you and leaned towards you “Why do you think I'm with your girlfriend?”

Something crossed your mind, you didn't want to risk disobeying whoever had kidnapped you. But at the same time, adrenaline and determination coursed through your veins as you heard the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Jaeyun!” you shouted on impulse, and as quickly as it came, Joseph's free hand struck your cheek with a single blow.

“Bitch! I told you to be quiet!”

“Don't touch her!” Jaeyun said at the same time as his uncle shouted at you.

“Good, you've ruined everything” he said, your face beginning to take on a reddish tinge. Your lip had a small bleeding cut and your hair covered most of your face. He smiled with satisfaction at what he had done, knowing that on the other end of the phone, Jaeyun was squirming and thinking that you were even more hurt than you looked.

“I swear to God if she's hurt—”

“What are you going to do, Jake?” he laughed “First tell your sweet girlfriend the truth, maybe she'll decide if she wants to remain my prisoner or if she'd rather stay away from her lying boyfriend.”

“Joseph, shut up.”

That man's laughter sent your nerves into a negative trance and made you want to vomit. You noticed that he came closer again and, with the same hand that had slapped your cheek, he smoothed it.

“You know, darling… Jaeyun's just a fake” he began, his callused fingers trailing across your cheek until they reached your chin “God, Jake. Her skin is so soft…”

More shouts came from the other end of the phone. This seemed to excite the older man who insisted on touching her face even more. Then he pulled away.

“I want to know. How did you find out about me?”

“You don't have the smartest men, you asshole” Jaeyun took a deep breath, something moving in the background of the call and he assumed it was his nephew's hurried footsteps in the form of nervousness. He knew very well how to push the younger man's buttons. For a long time, Joseph was silent, trying to grasp the information he had received, feeling his blood boil when he heard the rest of the information “Kidnapping someone with a visible license plate isn't the best thing, is it?”

Shit. He should have checked when he asked some of his men to go after you. That was like the number one rule of kidnapping, even more so if they went to a parking lot full of cameras. Joseph glanced at Yunhee, who looked as shocked as he was, trying to find some excuse to get out of it and not show fear.

“What if I did it on purpose so you'd track the wrong place?” he asked, giving a wide smile even though the other couldn't see it. It was Jaeyun's turn to laugh heartily.

“Then you'd have to be smarter than me, dear uncle” he said.

What do he mean? What did Jaeyun mean by that? You watched the conversation quietly, your cheeks burning and a thousand questions running through your mind.

“Smarter than you? I made you think we were after drugs, I put that fucking van with a sign on it for you to track down in the wrong place—” Jaeyun's laughter echoed again, causing the older man to stop his ramblings midway through. He looked at you, his eyes wide as his nephew uttered the next words.

“Our call is lasting more than two minutes” Jaeyun said “Long enough for me to track down where you are, you piece of shit.”

“Jake.”

“Get away from my girlfriend!” he knew that his uncle wasn't bluffing, he also knew that he wasn't smart enough and that that shed was just the beginning. Jaeyun also knew that staying on that call while Sunoo tracked down which part of the shed you were in was just the icing on the cake for him to break into that shit.

And that's what happened next. You heard a bang outside, shouting, gunshots and swearing. It all happened so fast that you didn't realize when the door to the room you were in had been knocked down.

The first thing you saw amid the men rushing into the room and fighting, were Jaeyun's eyes. They were bright red, his pupils dilated and his face completely wrinkled. This only intensified after he ran his gaze over your face, stopping exactly at your bruised lip. Without saying a word, he saw his men getting into a fight with the men who worked for his uncle, dodging their bodily struggles to get to you. Kneeling in front of you and running his eyes all over your body.

“Did he hurt you anywhere else? Did Joseph do anything else to you?” as Jaeyun asked, his hands ran loosely through the ropes that were tied to your arms. It took no effort at all for him to untie the knots and loosen the cuffs so that they could stop hurting your skin.

“No” you replied quietly, your voice lacking intonation as everything hit you at once.

Jaeyun was wearing a completely different outfit from the one you used to see him in. Dark pants, a tank top, a leather jacket. It wasn't the expensive suits and gelled hair. The disheveled curls of his hair were tossed in any way so as not to obscure the view, while his lips were chapped and nibbled. Surely nervousness had taken over and made him do it.

After untying you, he looked up, looked into your eyes. You held his gaze for a while before you felt your vision blur. Your chest was aching, your heart was beating so hard that you didn't even know how you felt.

“Let's get out of here” he grabbed your hand, pulling you along with him. But to his surprise, you refused. You couldn't move from the chair or stand up, but you also didn't know whether to believe him. And when Jaeyun looked curiously at your rejection, he could see the fear and uncertainty in your eyes. “Love, I—”

“Don't call me that, please, Jaeyun” you whimpered, cringing when he approached again, crouching in front of you ”Or Jake? What should I call you now?”

A gunshot would hurt less than seeing the pain in your eyes and the way you were talking to him. Jaeyun knew it was your right to feel this way, and he knew you'd find out somehow. He just hadn't counted on the way it all happened.

“I'll explain everything to you later, we're just going to get out of here. All right?”

“Why so fast?” Joseph's voice alerted Jaeyun's senses and yours. You quickly got up from the chair and he instinctively tucked you behind his back. Protecting you like a shield as you watched your uncle approach. The gun pointed at Jaeyun as he looked at you over his shoulder with that nauseating smile “We haven't even talked as a family yet.”

“We're not a family, Joseph” Jaeyun spat. His hands went behind his back in search of you in case you strayed too far. You didn't know how, but your hands entwined in his and you could feel some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate with the contact, finally.

“Of course we are, I'm your uncle.”

“You ceased to be the day you killed my father” you swallowed back a sob, squeezing Jaeyun's hands with the new confession. Feeling his hands squeeze yours back, as a way of sensing that you were there, despite the confusion.

“But he didn't want to give me the job, that little shit boss” pouting again, the gun Joseph was pointing at Jaeyun was unsheathed. He put it back in his waistband holster, taking a few steps in the direction you and Jaeyun were facing “So he gave it to you.”

“You're crazy!” the younger man almost shouted when he saw that his uncle was close enough, receiving a laugh in response.

“Do you know what your boyfriend does behind your back, princess?”

“I told you not to talk to her like that” letting go of your hands, Jaeyun slipped away like sand between your fingers. He ran up to Joseph and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt the man was wearing. He walked with him to the nearby wall and threw the older man's back against the worn steel. The noise echoed throughout the room and made you cringe and put your hands to your ears in fear.

Joseph groaned at the sudden pain but kept smiling and looking into Jaeyun's eyes.

“Did he tell you that Sim Jaeyun is just a front to keep up appearances?” he looked away from you, noticing that your hands were gradually moving away from your ears “That your boyfriend is Jake Sim, the Sim family's drug kingpin and mafia boss?”

All the noise outside that room seemed to be inside your body now. Gunshots, running, and screams resembled the beating of your heart, the veins pulsing in your temples and your breathing starting to fail.

Jaeyun shouted so loudly that it didn't even bother you, and it was a blur for you to see the two of them grappling right in front of you. The first punch was thrown by Jaeyun, hitting his uncle in the jaw as he loosened his shirt collar and watched him stagger to the side. He took a few steps backward, feeling the older man return the punch and soon the metallic taste between his lips appeared with the force that was thrown back at him.

Joseph was angry, he needed to get it out, as did his nephew. So each time he felt the attack, he tried to go with the same intensity, knowing that the younger man was trying to take away his attention and skill by reaching for the gun in his holster.

“Y/n, get out of here!” Jaeyun shouted, getting his attention after Joseph managed to throw him to the ground in one blow. The older man threw a few kicks, hitting him once in the stomach and he groaned in pain even more. Your eyes were wide, your body was static and you didn't know what to do. You couldn't move as you saw Jaeyun bleeding and beaten right in front of you.

Get out of here now. He repeated each time he punched the man who was trying at all costs to hurt him even more.

“Heeseung!” Jaeyun saw the light at the end of the tunnel when one of his best friends appeared. He was hurt too, with a cut on his eyebrow and his mouth bleeding, but nothing compared to Jaeyun. He rushed over, managing to grab Joseph by the collar and push him away from his friend's body.

“Son of a bitch!” Joseph shouted as his back hit the ground. He groped his hips for the gun, smiling as he saw Jaeyun rise from the ground with Heeseung's help. His nephew's eyes never left his direction, watching as he picked up the gun and even as he cocked it and pointed it in his direction. Jaeyun whispered something to Heeseung, only for the boy to understand as he approached you.

Joseph might have thought it was beautiful, the typical scene where he knew his nephew would die from being shot. But he would protect his beloved from seeing the scene. When Jaeyun walked towards him, his steps slow and dragging, the younger man had his hands behind his back, almost showing his surrender. Would it be his redemption to die to save you? Pathetic, Joe thought. That was typical of the Sim family, not him.

“What are your last words, Jake Sim?” the gun was right in his chest, and Jaeyun felt his blood run cold. He didn't know what he was doing, but he was going to risk it.

He cut himself off from everything else. From your voice screaming and struggling in Heeseung's arms, from the men on the other side cursing and running, from the persistent gunfire outside. He only focused on Joseph's gaze and how that man had taken everything from him. But it wouldn't be like that anymore. Jaeyun wouldn't let history repeat itself, let alone let everything his father had built fall into the hands of someone like Joseph Fields.

He stopped in front of the man he once believed to be his uncle. His eyes were burning with the tears that were about to fall, his heart pounding against his chest and every fiber of his body ached with the uncertainty of what would happen next.

“Go to hell, you fucking scum” Jaeyun said slowly, with the intention of each word piercing Joseph even deeper. He laughed loudly, firing the gun at the same second that Jaeyun ran a few steps towards him.

A shot. A single shot hits Jaeyun and makes him bump into Joseph’s body.

You screamed, feeling Heeseung’s grip even tighter against your body, preventing you from getting closer. Bloodstained your boyfriend’s shirt, but what caught your attention was that Joseph fell first. His body collapsed in front of Jaeyun while a knife pierced his chest and ribs. Joseph quickly dropped the gun that had just been fired to run his hands over the wound in his body. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. His hands were shaking, trying to pull out the knife that Jaeyun had stuck in his hand, but with each passing second, he had less strength to do so. He staggered a few times until he leaned against the wall and slowly slid his body to the floor.

As you tried to process what was happening, you saw that your boyfriend's body staggered too. And before you could see him fall to the floor, all the shock and trauma made you faint in Heeseung's arms.

If someone told you that you had been sleeping in that hospital chair for a week, you would probably laugh in response. There was no way that much time had passed, and besides, the sound of the gunshot was still vivid in your mind. The amount of blood you saw, the times you passed out and woke up next to Heeseung and Jungwon. Everything was so confusing, but at the same time, so terrifying.

You wanted to wake up from that nightmare, forget that you had been through everything, and wake up in your bed or Jaeyun's bed. Hearing his sleepy voice and his grumbling about not wanting to go to work so early that day. Why couldn't all that just go back? Why did things have to happen that way?

Looking around, you noticed that you were in the presence of a tall man again. Burly and with a serious face, they greeted every other person who passed by in the hospital hallway.

Security guards. That's what Sunghoon had told you on the first day. Jaeyun wouldn't let you go unsupervised while his friends went in and out of the hospital, trying to catch Joseph's men who had still managed to escape. It was a load of crap to have someone watch you, but considering everything you'd been through, maybe it wasn't that much of an exaggeration.

“Miss Y/n?” the nurse's calm voice snapped you out of your thoughts, adjusting your body in the chair you were sitting in and standing up when she came in. Greeting the security guard, she brought a small tray with some things for you to eat. “I was asked to deliver them to you.”

“I'm not hungry, thank you” you politely declined, trying to smile at her while the woman just shook her head.

“But you need to eat, or Jake will kill us if he finds out about this” another voice interrupted your conversation with the nurse, and you both looked at the door to see Jongseong standing there. In this chaotic little week, you had met his friends, but you didn't want it to be under these circumstances.

You wanted to know how they had met, even if it was through illegal work, but at least it would be a story to tell. Or to know how long they had been friends. Anything normal that didn’t involve finding them all hurt, needing medical attention, and taking turns checking on you while they changed bloody bandages or bandages on your body.

“He—” hasn’t even woken up yet, you wanted to add. And Jongseong knew that would come out of your mouth. But with the same intensity that you thought, he decided to keep quiet. Not wanting to verbalize the fear he was feeling for not having any news about Jaeyun and that he had opened his eyes or made any progress.

Jongseong waved to the nurse who said goodbye to the two of you, leaving you with him and the security guard who was still at the door to make sure everything was okay. He waited for you to sit back down in the chair, silently approaching you, sitting in the chair across from yours.

“I… I don’t know what to say now” he confessed. Your elbows were resting on your bent knees and your posture was as intense as possible – or so he thought – while your eyes rolled over the amount of food that had been brought to you.

“Okay” you whispered, “I think you need to rest, Jongseong.”

“Call me Jay” he said next, his eyes going to you after inspecting all the food that was there, “And at least eat the toast. Jungwon said that all women like that kind, you too, don’t you?”

Your eyes quickly went to the food, letting a laugh escape between your lips. It was simple. A slice of cheese, tomato, and a few other spices. Nothing too grand and anyone would like to eat it. But their intentions were good and that made, for the first time that week, your heart warm a little.

You leaned over and took the toast, biting into a piece and receiving a slow smile from Jongseong in front of you.

“Eat with me then” since he was going to be there, you would feel bad knowing that he wouldn’t have eaten anything. So the boy picked up one of the chocolate muffins on the end of the tray and took a bite. The sound of biting and chewing between you wasn’t uncomfortable or bad, but it filled the room. You realize that your stomach hurts just from having coffee and some cookies in your stomach during the day, and Jongseong almost cries for eating something other than a pretzel that Sunoo had gotten for him the day before.

“Jay” you called his attention after a while. The two of you had just finished eating in silence and were now enjoying a glass of juice each, loathing the coffee that was the only drink they had had since arriving at the hospital. He looked in your direction, his eyebrows raised curiously at you “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure” he answered quickly.

You pondered. There were a lot of things to ask, not only to him but to all of Jaeyun's friends. But at that moment, just one was enough.

“Why did Jaeyun hide this from me?” it was a simple question, perhaps, if it hadn't caught him by surprise. You noticed that Jongseong became a little more tense, taking a long sip of the juice as he placed the glass on the table between the two of you.

“It was to protect you” he said simply, wiping his lips and holding your gaze before speaking again. “You were the first person he got involved with, Y/n. I don't think I've ever seen Jake so scared in his life.”

It was silly for you to ask, but it still came out. Scared of what? Almost a whisper that, if it weren't for the two of you being the only ones there, Jongseong wouldn't have heard.

“Scared of what happened that day happening” he looked for a piece of already cut fruit, playing with the shreds of the peeled tangerine as he looked away “Scared of you being in constant danger and, I don’t know, hating him for having this life.”

“I hate it” you laughed softly, knowing how much of a lie that could be. “I don’t know, I’m confused.”

“I understand” Jongseong looked back at you. “I think this is something that’s up to you and him, but know that everything Jake has done so far has been to protect you.”

The door to the room opened slowly, you and Jongseong looking at the newly arrived sound and greeting the nurse again. She seemed a little more energetic than before when she entered the room a while ago. You and he got up from your seats, waiting for her to walk the entire room until she approached.

“Miss Y/n, Mr. Jay,” she bowed slowly, greeting you as if she hadn’t seen the two of you in a while. You and Jongseong greeted her back, exchanging a few glances before looking back at the woman. “The doctor asked to let you know that Jake just woke up.”

Your eyes widened as much as the boy in front of you. You and he took a step forward, but he stepped back and turned to you.

“Go first. I’m sure Jake is asking for you.”

The nurse nodded as if confirming what he was saying. You felt like the toast and juice were almost coming back with the urge to vomit from being so nervous, but you were also anxious to be able to see Jaeyun again.

“Just follow me, miss” she said, giving you a small smile before calling you to follow her. You looked at Jongseong, silently asking if he could come with you. Even though you were safe now, it was hard to trust someone that much. The hallway to the rooms where Jaeyun was, along with the waiting room where you were, was filled with security guards and men who worked for the Sim mafia. Every time you remembered that, a chill ran down your spine. Everyone there knew you and knew who you were, Jaeyun had definitely talked about you. But what shocked you was that you didn't know all of them. At least you knew the names of his best friends and those closest to him over the last week, how could he remember the names of so many people like that?

"Anything, I'm outside, okay?" Jongseong called your attention, pulling you out of your thoughts when you realized that you were already in front of Jaeyun's room door.

Taking one last look at one of his best friends, you nodded slowly, unsure of what you would find behind that door. Of course, it was your Jaeyun. Their Jake. But it would be the first - and hopefully the only - time you would find him in a hospital bed. Taking a deep breath and controlling the sudden urge to cry, your hand grabbed the door handle and turned, your heart in your throat before entering the room.

Your eyes darted to Jaeyun's. It was the first thing you looked at when you entered the room. It was as if you were being hypnotized by him as you walked further into the room, walking slowly – because your legs were already shaking enough – and seeing that he didn't take his eyes off you either.

The first day you met him instantly came to mind. He arrived at the company very well dressed, his navy blue suit stood out so much that you knew you had never seen anything as elegant as that. Jaeyun had a perfect smile, was friendly to everyone and especially to you. He was polite, treated you like someone who held the position, and was respectful from the beginning. It was one of the reasons why you started to feel affection for him. It was a mutual respect between coworkers and it was certainly one of the criteria for accepting to have dinner with him the first few times.

Everything was always so natural between you and him. From the small, furtive glances during meetings, to the funny snorts and grimaces when some annoying would-be supplier started talking. The dinner conversations would go on for hours on end, even the subtle touches of his hand on yours when he offered to walk you home. After the two of you started dating in the last two months, it was as if everything was intensifying even more.

Jaeyun was loving towards you, overprotective and, above all, he gave you the security you needed about anything you were in doubt about. Whether it was between the two of you – because you didn't think you were good enough for him – or at work when someone still tried to put you down. He was always amazing, adding the daily dose of I love you now that he could shout to anyone that you were together.

“Hey” the weak voice took you out of your nostalgic thoughts, making you realize that you were already standing next to his bed. Jaeyun’s lips were chapped, his appearance a little pale and unkempt. But he was still so beautiful. He was still the most beautiful man you had ever met.

“Hey” you said back, your voice choked and the lump in your throat about to burst.

He had known your mannerisms even before you were together, but after he asked you to be his girlfriend, it seemed like Jaeyun knew you even more. It was then that he realized before you could even say anything, that your eyes were shedding cascades of tears.

“Sit here, please?” he asked, stretching his hand out as far as he could until he felt you holding it. Your fingers were trembling against his palm, taking a single step until you sat on the hospital bed, in the space that seemed to be reserved for you. Jaeyun didn’t have the strength, but he knew that your body was vulnerable enough that he made a slow movement and managed to pull you to lean against him.

“I’m going to hurt you…”

“No” he whispered, feeling your hands lean against his chest. Quickly wrapping the arm that had better mobility around your waist, the other one that still hurt from the injuries, Jaeyun decided to place his hand over one of yours that was against him. “It’s hurting me to be away from you.”

“Oh, shut up” the saltiness of your tears could already be felt against your lips, biting the lower one to keep from trembling in front of him. Jaeyun laughed, then grunted when a sharp pain hit his abdomen. “Jaeyun…”

“I’m fine” he was quick to try to reassure you, keeping your body close to his. “I just need you here with me.”

“I'm right here” you whispered. He slid the hand that was on yours, up to your chin and lifted your face to his. Leaning his forehead against yours, Jaeyun felt your panting breath hit his chapped lips. Your scent entered his nostrils and made his entire body relax. It was better than the medicine he had been taking since he entered that hospital.

“Great” he whispered back, slowly pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was so slow, even though you both were dying of longing for each other.

He wanted to take the time to feel your mouth press against his, the touch of your tongue massaging his and the fit of your mouths very slowly. Jaeyun had the memory of the last kiss you two shared, in his office room on the day you were kidnapped. It was the last time he could feel your mouth, your scent, have you close to him. That was why now, in the urgency of contact, he pressed his hand against your skin as he slid his fingers to the back of your neck.

You broke the kiss, not yet having the courage to separate your mouth from his or distance your faces. Feeling his warm breath against your mouth was calming you, in a way.

“I love you” he let out, that stuck in his throat making him even more anxious. Your eyes slowly opened to look at Jaeyun, the redness of his lips and the rosy color of his cheeks captivating you even more. “I love you so much” he said again, pulling your face closer to his and starting a new kiss.

Jaeyun wouldn’t say he was trying harder than he should by kissing you with a little more intensity. He remembered the doctor and nurse’s recommendations that he should make as little effort as possible, but the longing was so great that he couldn’t hold back. He needed to feel more and more of you. But he came back to reality when he felt the salty taste between his lips as he deepened a little more.

He didn’t need to be an expert or open his eyes to know that you were crying. He realized this not only from the salty kiss but when he ran his fingertips over your cheek again, drying the spot on the way to your skin.

“Babe…”

“I’m sorry, I—” you sobbed softly, pulling away and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. Jaeyun would always think that seeing you like that would hurt more than the shot he took.

“Don’t apologize, love” he answered you “I’m the one who should apologize now. I’m the one who should explain everything…”

As his voice was soft, trying to calm your nerves, Jaeyun’s fingers still slid slowly over your skin to wipe away every tear trail that had formed there. You nodded in agreement, pulling away enough so that you could look into those eyes that you missed so much. To be able to record even more of the man’s features in front of you because, the last time you two saw each other, it hadn’t been the best memory.

“You need to rest now” your hand ran through Jaeyun’s dark hair, intertwining some between your fingers as you slowly moved it down to his face. “The boys will be here soon to see you.”

He nodded, a small smile forming on his lips as he closed his eyes to feel your touch. The touch he knew he was addicted to since the first time he felt it.

“Okay” he knew he needed to rest, being anxious without hearing from you when he woke up had left him exhausted. Slowly shifting in bed, you leaned over to help him get more comfortable and stood up, standing next to him.

“Jaeyun?” calling his name, you heard him mumble something. A silent understanding that he was listening to you and that you could continue. So, without saying much, you leaned over to him, already standing next to the hospital bed to slowly place your lips on his once more. A kiss so quick and soft against his full lips. “I love you. So much.”

It was something he would never tire of hearing from you.

Sunghoon wanted to push that feeling of betrayal away from his chest. Never in his entire life had he felt that way. In the middle of his work, he knew what betrayal, deceit, and everything bad meant. But why was it eating away at him? Maybe because he had promised you, a month and a half ago, that he would take care of Jaeyun and keep him out of danger.

An argument – ​​and a week without talking to you – was the result of the conversation he had with Jaeyun about his entire life outside the office. You wanted to feel angry, end the relationship, and never look at him again. But at the same time, you wanted to see the effort he had put into finding you, putting himself in front of a bullet for you and almost dying because of it. Seeing the concern of his friends throughout the week as they all took care of you and made sure you were eating and feeling well. It wasn't a good thing to keep, but they were all adults enough. There was not much you could do but respect it.

Jaeyun's pleas for you to at least forgive him were endless, and after a long week of him sending you messages and showing up at your office looking like a puppy that fell out of the moving truck, you gave in. That man would do anything for you and that left no room for doubt. Mafioso or business partner, Jaeyun was willing to do anything to have you by his side and protect you from anything.

But you also needed to act on that, so you asked each of the boys to keep him out of harm's way. He could do trivial things, take care of business sitting quietly, without making much effort because, after all, the mafia was still his. You asked Sunghoon to be in charge of taking care of Jaeyun and preventing him from leaving the office or making any slightest effort.

He granted it. Sunghoon did that for the little time he had. A month and a half of banning Jaeyun from going out on small missions, from driving to warehouses with new cargo arriving, or collecting debts on rotten bar stools that they only needed to scare with a gun and a few punches.

But he didn't know that, a month and a half later, they would have Yunhee in the torture room in the basement of the mansion with Jaeyun with fists right on his jaw at every reminder of that day.

“Dude, that's enough" Sunghoon tried to pull him away, but Jaeyun pulled away. His face burning with rage and a few splashes of blood against his cheek. His fist was already covered in Yunhee's blood and he didn't even care about his clothes. Someone would wash them for him later.

“You thought you could hide, didn't you?" he laughed devilishly. With his hand clean of blood, he grabbed Yunhee's hair and pulled his head back, letting the man's frightened gaze penetrate his eyes flooded with rage “What were you thinking?"

“Jake…” Yunhee coughed, moaning and screaming as he pulled the man’s hair harder. The veins on his neck were visible.

Sunghoon, in the corner of the room, watched with some apprehension about his best friend’s actions. It was understandable that Jaeyun would act recklessly after he learned that Yunhee was alive and in hiding. After learning of Joseph’s death in the hospital, a week after he was discharged and went home, everyone began to wonder where Joe Fields’ right-hand man, his confidant, was. Yunhee had never shown up at the hospital, afraid that someone might catch him and kill him just like Jaeyun had ordered them to finish what he had started when he learned where his uncle was hospitalized.

He didn’t want to be next, but one careless mistake and Heeseung found him wandering around the city late at night. He wouldn’t need Jaeyun’s approval to put Yunhee in the car and take him to the mansion that early morning. Heeseung knew he would be applauded by his boss and best friend for this meeting.

“I—” Yunhee grunted as another punch from Jaeyun hit him, finally releasing the boy’s hair and letting his head fall to the side. With the amount of blood mixing with the saliva, he spat next to his body. A small pool of blood was already forming from the number of times he had done this “I didn’t mean to—”

Sim’s laughter interrupted him, echoing throughout the torturous room that was used for this kind of thing. Usually, Sunghoon or Jongseong did that job, but Jaeyun wanted to personally welcome Yunhee’s long-awaited arrival.

“Didn’t you want to touch my girlfriend? Didn’t you want to keep her tied up at my uncle’s request?”

There were countless questions he had to ask, even though he didn’t want to remember that day or know that those hands that were tied were the same ones that touched you. The same ones that held your body to tie you to the chair he found you in. Jaeyun felt a wave of fury rises throughout his body.

“You know… You know I obeyed your uncle, I—”

“You chose to do the wrong thing, man” Jaeyun said, waving to Sunghoon across the room to get something to clean his hand. His decision had already been made, so the job was also coming to an end. “But it’s a shame, you know? I liked you, Yunhee.”

“What— What do you mean, Jake?” he grumbled, his wide eyes bringing a bit of satisfaction to Jaeyun as he grabbed the piece of damp cloth to try – uselessly – to clean his hands.

“My men finished the job for me with Joseph still in the hospital.” Jaeyun walked over to Yunhee again, bowing to him and managing to connect the angry and dark look with the scared and empty look of the boy sitting and tied up. He gave a short smile, just a lift at the corner of his lips as he had the satisfaction of being in control of everything. “Now it’s your turn.”

“My… My turn?” he stuttered, the chill running down his spine as Jaeyun walked away. Taking steps back, but still keeps his eyes on him.

“Sunghoon” he called out. “Since he was so devoted to my uncle, his end will be the same.”

With a few words, Jaeyun walked past his best friend to leave the room. In time to hear Sunghoon cock the gun and Yunhee’s screams echo throughout the place. A shot rang out the same second he closed the door, and then the man’s screams stopped.

The job was done, Jaeyun could feel all the anger slowly dissipating because everything seemed to be getting back on track again.

“Jake” the voice in the hallway caught his attention, his gaze rising to see Jungwon walking towards him. He didn’t show any reaction of surprise because he already knew his friend, everyone knew this would happen. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but be horrified by the amount of blood Jaeyun had stained his body “You couldn’t be here, you have to take care of yourself.”

“I just needed—” he groaned, the pang in his stomach making him bend over slightly. Jungwon held him between his arms, the tip of his tongue itching to say I told you so.

“You could just ask, Sunghoon and Jay would take care of it” as he listened to the little lecture, he leaned on Jungwon to walk to the stairs at the end of the hallway.

He knew his friend was right. He could let his best friends take care of this at all costs, doing whatever he wanted with Yunhee before killing him. With each step he climbed with Jungwon by his side, a little realization hit him knowing that everything had come to an end. He worries about Joseph and Yunhee, no one would be able to hurt him and anyone he considered family anymore.

“Now stop trying, okay? Otherwise, I'll have to tell Y/n about this.” Jaeyun knew Jungwon would do it without thinking twice. So he laughed without much force, still leaning on his friend, when the two entered his office.

Jaeyun froze. The pain in his abdomen seemed to have disappeared the moment he connected eyes with you. There was your smiling figure, but it soon disappeared when your eyes passed over your boyfriend's body. Being supported by Jungwon, with blood everywhere and a slightly pained expression, not want to admit that the shadows of the wounds still haunted him.

I don't think you'll need to tell her, Jaeyun's gaze screamed about it at that moment.

“What…”

“I can explain” Jaeyun began as you stood up, completely forgetting what you were talking about with Sunoo and Jongseong at that moment. They were both probably trying to distract you to give Jaeyun time to do what he had to do, hurt someone for sure, by the way, he had appeared in the room at that moment.

“No” you stood up, your eyes fixed on Jaeyun the whole time, even though you felt everyone looking between you and your boyfriend.

“Honey, listen—”

“Jay, Sunoo” you turned to them, completely ignoring Jaeyun and what he had to say at that moment. “Thanks for the conversation.”

“Thanks for the candies, Y/n” Sunoo tried to smile, holding the large container you had brought.

Only then did Jaeyun realize. Today must have been the weekend because you were wearing casual clothes. Nothing like the usual office clothes he always saw you wearing. You were certainly waiting for him to sort something out with the boys so you could go to your apartment, eat the candies you tried to make the night before, and relax the whole weekend by his side. This would be the perfect day for you, but it certainly wasn't for him.

Avoiding Jaeyun and anything he was saying, you left the room and walked quickly through the hallways. Still a little lost inside that mansion, with the amount of doors and people walking around. But you knew where you had come in and how you should get out.

"Y/n, wait!" Jaeyun shouted, trying to run after you and ignoring the pain in his abdomen. That was nothing compared to the despair he was feeling when he saw you leave.

You wanted to wait, you wanted to listen to him like you did the last time. But the feeling of a lie lingered in your body and feeling betrayed, you knew your eyes were burning for that reason.

You swore that Jaeyun could just be lining up something, talking to his friends without trying. But no. While you thought you could surprise him and his friends by bringing him the candy that took your time and effort the previous Friday night, he was doing who knows what behind your back. The one thing you had asked him not to do.

“Baby, hey. Stop, I want to talk to you” he managed to reach you as soon as you reached the front door. The hand that held the doorknob was quickly removed by Jaeyun’s hands, who pulled you back to him and made your body turn towards him.

Your teary eyes were worse than death. He would rather die than see you like that, even though he knew he deserved it for lying to you.

“Please, I just need to leave.”

“Not like this” Jaeyun said “I won’t let you leave like this, mad at me.”

“You lied—” he leaned in and kissed your lips quickly, shrugging his shoulders and waiting for any reaction from you. A slap, a curse, anything. But he heard a soft sniff as he pulled away, watching you quickly look away from him.

“Look at me.”

“No. You’re covered in blood” your shaky voice made Jaeyun step back a little, slowly letting go of your arm.

“Then I’ll take a shower and you’ll come with me.”

He didn’t give you time to answer, much less for you to deny anything. Slowly pulling you back into the mansion, Jaeyun held your arm with the less dirty hand, heading towards his room in complete silence the whole way.

When you thought about accompanying him to his room, you were certainly supposed to be sitting on his bed waiting to be taken away. To wash all the dirt off your body and any trace of blood, no matter who it was. But Jaeyun's pleas for you to get in the shower with him, at least to wash his back and listen to him ramble on about everything that happened.

Maybe the conversation part was real, he did tell the details of everything. Hearing Yunhee's name while the steam from the hot water embraced you and Jaeyun in the middle of the shower was a mix of feelings. You remembered the man's face devilishly staring at you, laughing and saying things that weren't true. But at the same time, knowing that Jaeyun had avenged everything that happened left something inside you.

"You killed him…" your voice came out in a small whisper, your fingers stopped stroking your boyfriend's wet hair as you let some strands fall over his forehead.

He sighed, one of his hands falling to your waist and resting his fingertips against your skin. Now he could touch you without having your fearful gaze on him.

“I will kill anyone who even thinks of laying a finger on you, Y/n” his voice was serious, but he whispered each word as he leaned toward you. Jaeyun rested his forehead against yours, his breath hitting your skin hotter than the water falling from the shower at that moment “This is my way of protecting you by working with this kind of thing.”

There was no room for argument and you knew it. You also knew that you had every right to leave, not get involved with him anymore, and pretend that none of this had happened. But you knew that you couldn’t, that you didn’t want that. You wanted to be close to him, even though all of these things were new to your understanding.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, please” your pleas made him fall apart. Your tone of voice along with the look you were giving him could make Jaeyun give up on everything for a second, coming back to reality as soon as one of your hands touched his face.

It was addictive and calming at the same time to have your skin against his. Your fingers gliding along his cheek and going to his jaw, tracing the line to his lower lip. At that moment he closed his eyes, thinking about how lucky he was to have found you. How it was worth waiting, protecting you, and fighting for what you two had until that moment.

“I love you” Jaeyun would never get tired of saying it. He would shout it to the world if he could.

“I love you” you answered back, in a whisper, before leaning on your tiptoes to kiss his lips as your thumb fell back to his chin. Feeling the movement his jaw was making as he deepened the kiss, intertwining his tongue with yours and pulling you even closer to his body.

Jaeyun wished he had the superpower to hold you there, between his arms, and make you feel safe without having to distance yourself. Just the thought that you and he couldn't live together twenty-four hours a day made him anxious. You being in a corporate building while he stayed in the mansion for a while drove him crazy. Maybe you should move in with him, or he should move the company's office into the mansion, so the two of you could work together when he couldn't go to the building where he was still a partner.

“I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you” he whispered against your lips, placing small kisses on your lower lip before sliding his teeth over the fleshy part. You smiled slowly, agreeing with a small nod before resting your hands against his chest.

He was a work of art right in front of you, and you couldn't get used to how perfect he was. Every time your hand slowly moved down his skin, Jaeyun left small kisses on your lips, each one longer than the last. Until his fingers, trembling, passed over the small scar.

You didn't want to look away at that moment, your focus should have been on the kisses Jaeyun was still distributing across your mouth and chin, but that came back to your mind with fervor. Your eyes quickly darted down, your fingers stopped over the small mark where they had pulled out the bullet that had hit him. Involuntarily a breathless sigh escaped between your lips.

“Hey” Jaeyun called you, his hand resting on your waist, quickly rising to your chin to lift your face and make you look at him again. “Focus up here, okay?”

There was no way to be okay with the thought that he might not be there anymore. That it hurt him in a way you never thought you would see. And you didn't even want to see it anymore.

He kissed you again, a little more intensely this time. The goal was to make you forget what you had seen or at least get it out of your head at that moment, because he just wanted to enjoy it with you. The purpose of that bath was to make you not get mad at him, so Jaeyun would do his best.

While the battle of his tongue against yours took place, the dominance of the kiss taking hold as your lips danced against each other, he walked the few steps until he rested one of his hands against the wall and placed your back against the cold tile. You moaned against his mouth, making him smile at the reaction he had gained from you.

“Jae…”

“I want to make sure you forget anything bad for now” he whispered, sliding his mouth down to your neck, creating a path with the tip of his tongue until he reached your collarbone. He sucked your skin a little hard, and as soon as you responded with a moan, Jaeyun soothed the spot again with the tip of his tongue before running the tip of his nose over your goosebumps. Inhaling your characteristic scent mixed with the liquid soap you had applied a few minutes ago.

There was no way you could think of anything other than his lips on your skin and the way he positioned himself between your legs. Your hands quickly ran to Jaeyun's shoulders, seeking support in whatever was going to happen at that moment, you had no idea if he was going to tease you or what he was going to do. You just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“Y/n” he called your name, making your eyes quickly search for his. It wasn't hard to find the intensity of Jaeyun's gaze that was already staring at you in the same way. His forehead rested against yours, his hand slowly going to his hard cock and sliding between your folds.

“Shit” you cursed softly, knowing that the ease of Jaeyun's cock head sliding through your pussy was due to the amount of moisture you were, how wet you were, along with the water from the bath that made it easier. He knew exactly where to stimulate or tease you, giving good attention and the right amount of pressure to your clit when the head of his cock passed there.

Your hands ran up to Jaeyun's face, resting one on each side of his cheeks. The teasing of your clit didn't last long, he didn't want to waste time, so he took advantage of your wet pussy to slide down to your entrance. Without warning, he pushed his hips forward and shoved his cock into your pussy.

“Jaeyun” you moaned against his mouth as he pulled his face close to yours. Jaeyun pressed his nose close to yours when both of your faces were aligned with each other, sharing rapid breathing.

“I'll protect you from anything, love” he held his intonation so as not to moan in the middle of the sentence, starting to move his hips back and forth. Taking his cock out of your pussy to leave only the tip around your hole, penetrating deeply again until his cock reached its limit “To make sure you don't need anything else.”

“I just need you” your voice was a whisper, if he wasn’t so close to your face and focusing on your every movement and reaction, Jaeyun wouldn’t have heard what you had to say.

He smiled slowly against your lips, kissing you with the same slowness that his hips moved back and forth against your pussy.

With each slow and careful movement of Jaeyun, you felt your body heat up and press yourself even more against him. Feeling full with each deep but careful thrust of his cock inside you. A contrast to the persona you were getting to know from your boyfriend beyond what he had already shown you in the last few months. It was exciting to know that he would do anything for you, killing people who tried to hurt you, but at the same time being there. The most loving and slow sex you two had since you met.

As if he was afraid to go faster, to sink his cock into you and go all the way to your cervix and make you scream his name. Instead, Jaeyun had very fluid movements of his hips, hearing the sound of slapping the skin as his pelvis came into contact with yours. His cock was thrusting deep into you with slow movements, almost as if he wanted to tease you. But you wanted to feel him slowly entering, the prominent veins of his cock standing out against the velvety, warm walls of your pussy.

“I promise to always be here for you” Jaeyun pulled your body closer, your hand falling from his face to rest on his shoulder. As his hand cupped your neck and rested his thumb against the line of your jaw, “I promise—” he groaned as your pussy clenched around him. The sweet words along with the movements of his cock moving in and out of you were too much to handle. You were vulnerable and he seemed to be feeding it all. “Don’t squeeze me like that, baby.”

“I can’t…” you moaned as he thrust hard the only time since he put his cock inside you, as a small punishment as your pussy clenched around him again. You threw your head back, pressing it against the tile. Jaeyun wrapped his hand around your throat, pulling your face towards him and tilting it towards him.

“Eyes on me when you cum” he asked gently, but in a way that you couldn’t possibly answer while he was still thrusting his cock into you so slowly and precisely.

Your eyes were having trouble staying open as you stared at him, seeing your boyfriend’s dark orbs and the occasional moans he let out every time his cock bottomed out, nudging your cervix. You knew it was hard, especially with the firm way he was holding your throat and when his movements started to get more erratic.

“More… Faster, please” you begged, begging with teary eyes as Jaeyun tried not to give in to it. He wanted to go as slowly as possible, make love to you, and claim you even more than you already were his. But with your more than pornographic moan, he couldn't take it anymore. There was no way to stay still with that, encouraging him to go faster.

He lightly pressed his fingers against your throat, bringing his other hand to your waist to steady your body and start thrusting into you a little faster. The water between you two splashed and the sound of slapping skin became even louder than the moans you and he shared.

Jaeyun knew your body, he knew you were close to orgasm by the way your mouth was half open, letting the moans come out freely. The way your pussy sucked him when he stopped his movements for a few seconds just to hear you grunt, sliding your nails across his shoulders leaving half-moon marks against the skin.

Leaning forward and pulling your face towards his with his hand still on your neck, he joined your lips in a sloppy kiss. Drool dripping down the sides and lips messily slamming against each other, just trying to muffle any screams from your as he intensified his thrusts, going a little harder.

It didn't take long for you to feel your body falling apart. Jaeyun didn't have to do much to make it happen, just his existence alone would be enough to drive you crazy. You slid your teeth against his lower lip, keeping your eyes on your boyfriend's penetrating gaze the whole time as the knot in your stomach burst. The walls of your pussy squeezed him as you came, moaning Jaeyun's name like a mantra memorized by the heavens in your biggest and best orgasm.

He didn't last less than that, feeling his cock twitch and tremble against your pulsating walls as he released jets of hot cum, painting the inside of your pussy as he continued to thrust his cock into you. Staying strong in his last thrusts so that no fluid would be wasted while he still had your pussy wrapped around him. Pulsing and convulsing, your body trembling in his arms until you both came down from your climax together.

The long minutes that followed until you both recovered were slow and captivating. Jaeyun was careful as he pulled his cock out of you, whimpering along with you at the slight overstimulation of both of you.

Staying with his forehead against yours, he let his breathing calm down along with his heartbeat.

“I meant what I said” he whispered to you, his fingertips starting to get wrinkled as the time in the shower stretched on. But neither of you cared about that now “Nothing bad will happen to you.”

“I know that” you replied, forcing your voice to sound firm after using all your strength to moan his name minutes ago. Your hands tried to soothe the skin on Jaeyun’s shoulders that had been abused by your long nails “I trust you with this, but…”

“But?” he encouraged you, pulling away a little so he could look at you better.

“But I want to protect you too, it’s not fair that you do this for me when—” your eyes quickly went to the small scar. Even if he had told you not to look, there was no way you could just forget “You sacrifice yourself to that extent.”

“I know, love” Jaeyun sighed, his lips slowly leaving a kiss on your forehead. “I promise to be more careful with this, okay?”

“Okay” you tried to calm yourself down, seeing the sincerity in the tone of his voice that he offered you.

You wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a hug while Jaeyun rested his chin on the top of your head.

“I love you, Jake Sim” you said after a while, smiling against his skin as you left a kiss near his collarbone, making his body shiver.

Not even in Jaeyun’s best dreams would he hear you say that. Never calling him Jake, that name never being uttered by you so casually.

“I love you so much more, my love” he replied, pulling your face up to capture his lips in a quick kiss.

You knew that Jaeyun would keep taking risks if it meant keeping you safe. You knew he would only say that so you wouldn't worry and wouldn't be so mad at him if you saw him on another mission or going after such dangerous people again. But you also wanted him to know that with a mobster boyfriend, you could also learn a few things to protect him just as much.

© ikeuverse, 2024. do not copy, translate or steal my stories.

[kaciebello]

Love accusations

Masterlist George Weasley x Gryffindor! reader (fem) Summary: 3 instances where you deny dating George, and the one where you don’t. Much to Fred's dismay. warnings: Mention of sex, swearing, no use of y/n Authors note: one-shot. English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes beforehand. Proofread by me and me only (Ｔ▽Ｔ) Word count: 3k

A pair of Gryffindor sat on a sofa in a secluded part of the common room.  The two had previously worked on their charms homework together, however, one had seemingly finished and moved on to a book, while the other one took avoiding it as his main mission in life. However, any attempt to get a reaction from the girl goes unnoticed by her. Disappointed he returned to doing his homework. They both fail to notice his twin approaching with their friend.

“You two ARE having sex!” Fred yells making some heads in the common room turn in their direction with curiosity.  George jumps a bit in shock and looks at his brother. Eyes widening.

“Really? George, why didn't you tell me? I would have put my book down.” Says the girl lazily not even attempting to put her book down. She was not even bothered enough to pick up her gaze from it or bothered by her friend's antics.

“ We are not!” George argues back as Fred and Lee sit down opposite the couple. That however goes flat to their ears. Because if there is something Fred loves more than testing his brothers, it's teasing his twin brother.

“Fred, the only people having sex here, are the characters in my book.” She says, turning to another page. George leans over and tries to peek whether that is true or not. The girl shuts the book with a loud bang and places it gently on the table. Now finally giving all the attention to the overly loud Gryffindor duo. Lee's hand reaches for the book but she just swats it away.

“What do you want.” She asks.

“I want, you two to admit you're dating.” He says pointing a finger between her and George.

“Not gonna happen Fred.” 

“Why not?”

“ Because we are not dating, easy as that.”

“Bullshit!” Fred yells and slams his fist onto the coffee table. She leans back into the sofa and just shakes her head dissapointly. Kicking her feet up on the coffee table and crosses her hands over her chest.

“You have no valid argument, Fred. I will not debate this with you if you have no evidence.” She says looking into Fred's eyes, knowing damn well it will fire the boy up. He narrows his eyes at her and nods as if telling her he will play her little game. Quickly he turns to Lee and they start whispering sometimes glancing at the pair. The two of them made it look like they just thought of a groundbreaking strategy in quidditch.

“ You know what you're doing, right?” George leans back and looks at the girl. Giving up on the homework at this point. She just smirks and nods. Lee and Fred turn back and simultaneously clear their throats.

“We have proof.” He says seriously and pokes Lee in his side with his elbow. The girl just raises her eyebrow before motioning them to continue. Lee sits up straight.

“ I have seen you two almost kiss in the corridor before.” He says very proud of himself. Fred started franticly nod and a smile spread across his face. Gorges's eyes widen a little at this information. The girl, however, remained unphased.

“ You can't prove that it was us. I could have been anyone.” She argues back, looking at her nails, seemingly bored. Fred's smile flatters a bit before he jumps up.

“I CAN RECOGNISE MY FACE ANYWHERE!” He yells and points at the girl. She just lifts her gaze and him.

“You didn't see us tho. Lee did. Hence, could have been anyone.” Fred's and George's faces snap to Lee who gulps very loudly. Looking nervous between the two brothers and the girl. Lee felt like in the front line of a war.

“ We walked together to the library after tho.” He says.

“ You walked together to the library after!” Fred repeats seeing this as his victory. Placing his hands on his hips and making a superhero pose. The girl just sighs and takes her legs off of the coffee table.

“ Are you jealous about me almost kissing George? Fine. I can almost kiss Lee if you want. Even you if you desire so much.”  Whine leaves Geroge as Fred and Lee watch the girl in confusion.

“What.”

“You heard me, Weasley.” She says before getting up from her comfortable spot. Both Lee and Fred move a few inches back. She just chuckles and goes to pack her things. George sees this and goes to do the same.

“Plus it couldn't be me kissing George, as I fancy someone else.” She says after picking her book from the table and placing it in her bag.

“You do?” Say all 3 boys at the same time. She just rolls her eyes at their antics and turns to leave. George hurriedly followed her.

“ Where are you going?” Fred asks as both of them get up and move toward the exit. She just flashes him a smile.

“ To almost kiss your brother in the corridor.”

—

The four of them were on their way to Hogsmeade. The snow as fallen in a thick  layer and all there was to do was some shopping. The twins wanted to buy some trinkets from Zonks, while Lee and the girl had only butter beer on their minds. Walking swiftly to get from the cold and hoping their younger siblings don't catch up on them and they would be forced to take them with. Fred and Lee led the group, while the other two were falling behind. Fred and Lee could be heard from miles away. George opted for a much quieter conversation with his partner.

“ When are we going to tell him?” asks George the girl next to him. “Don't get me wrong, it's hilarious, but I miss holding your hand.” He continues and his hand brushes over hers. Although he dubs she could feel it over her gloves. To be fair, George finds it as much fun as she does. He just sometimes misses her despite being right next to her.

“You can hold my hand whenever you want to, but, It's too much fun, it's like he's obsessed.” A smile spreads across her lips as she stops her movements and looks at the boy. He also stops and looks at the girl. Her hand extends to him as a gentle offering. He takes it as fast as he can. Walking closer to her, he places his other hand on her cheek.  Smile adored both of them, as George leaned in, Smack.

Crumbs of snowball have fallen on her face, a giggle escaped her. George wipes his head around to see his brother and friend both with loaded-up snowballs. Before he can react, two more hit him. Effectively stunning him.

“OI! Hurry up you lovebirds!” yells Lee before he and Fred run in the direction of Three Broomsticks. George just curses and runs behind them. Leaving the girl to leisurely walk and meet them there.

When she got here, all of them had already shed their outdoor layers and had butterbeers sitting in front of them. One was in a space next to George waiting for her. She took her scarf and coat off. Something perked up Fred's attention.

“Is this your way of telling us?” He says pointing between her and George. 

“Telling you what?” She asks, sitting down. Not even being able to take a sip of her drink before Fred spits other nonces.

“That you two are together.” Lee is however faster and suppresses his friend in the explanation. The girl just rolls her eyes before taking a sip. A foam mustache forms on her upper lip that she quickly wipes with the sleeve of her sweater. Momentarily stopping to progress something.

“ Guys, we have been over this.” Defends George this time. Fred just narrowed his eyes at him before pointing at the girl, who was still frozen.

“Explain this then!” He says and grabs the sleeve of the sweater she was wearing. “ This is your sweater!!” Sudden touch wakes the girl up and she retracts her hand.

“Again Fred, you can't prove that.” He looks at her in disbelief, lost for words from the sheer audacity of this girl. Groan leaves George and Lee is just laughing at his friends' antics.

“Oh? So the giant G on the front doesn't mean anything?” Recovers Fred rather quickly. George chokes on his butter beer and Lee goes to pat him on the back. The girl looks down and stretches the sweater. There is indeed a giant G on it. No dubbed Mrs. Weasly work as always. She wondered if she did it to help herself to keep track of whose laundry she was doing.

“It's just a G, could mean anything.” leaves her.

“G for George.”

“ Or G for Ginny, ya know? Your sister.” She says, raising her eyebrow at him.

“Why would you have my sister's sweater?” he asks accusingly. She just shrugs and takes another sip from her drink. 

“ Why would I have George's one? I don't like him like that.” When she says it like that it makes sense for her to have Ginnys' sweater more than Georges.

“So you do like him!” Lee jumps on the accusation train. Another groan leaves George and he finishes his drink.

“Just how I like you, and Fred, and Padma, and Harry, And-”

“ Okay, okay, I get it.” Freds gives up and takes a sip. A smirk spreads on his face. “ So tell us, who do you fancy?”

“Hmmm, well, truth to be told, he's a Gryffindor, tall, and very cheeky and his name is- WELL would you look at that! I will get us another round.” She says and gets up from her spot. Knowing better than to take Fred's bait, she walked away to the bar. She can hear Fred turning to Lee and George.

“I'm telling you it's George, You can't fight me on this one!” Georges's giggles are heard throughout the tavern. “ Motherfucker, you ain't telling us shit!”

—

A scream is heard throughout the burrow, together with fast steps going down the stairs.

Harry, Hermione, and Lee turn to the sound startled. The 3 Weasleys, however, not even looking up from their card game. Fred places one card down making Ginny frown and carefully study her own. Ron just curses under his breath.

The girl appeared first with the other twin on her toes. She stops in front of the group, eyes gleaming with victory. George stops once he notices the other people, opting to just stand behind her.

“Are you okay?” Hermione asks, Placing her own card down without even looking. Ron curses again and tries to peak at Harry's cards. He just presses them to his chest, preventing him.

“Yeah, why?” The girl asks, clearly out of breath from running from the much faster boy behind her.

“ The scream?” Harry says, not really sure he wants to join the conversation. She just waves her arms at them.

“Oh no, don't worry. It's something George did.” The boy behind her straightens at his name. Looking at his sister who seemed to be winning the game with almost no effort.

“ Oh Merlin, he finally did it. He showed her the birthday suit.” Fred says.

“and it was SMALL.” Followed Lee, Fred's head snapped to his friend, he took full offense to that. Hemione's face twists in disgust. A small ‘ew’ can be heard from Ginny before she places another card on the table. Ron makes a fake gaging sound and George had nothing better than ‘dude’. The girl laughs at this.

“Oh Lee, I love you so much,” she says and goes to hug him. George whines and stops her by grabbing her upper arm.

“I can confirm that is not true mate.” Says Fred with full confidence. George just shakes his head. Hermione decided to force her cards on Harry, who was not very happy about it, and got up.

“I'm going to make some tea, you want some?” She says to the girl, she just nods and follower her to the kitchen. 

“ Count me in!” Says Ginny as she places her last card on the table, successfully winning the game. Her brothers and friends just groan. Ron looks like he might cry at this point.

The girls moved to the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was looking out the window, watching her older sons and husband work in the yard. She notices them walking into the kitchen and smiles at them. Ginny mentions something about tea and the girls sit down. After some time and bickering over what does and does not belong in tea, steaming cups were sat before them. Hermione breaks the silence.

“So, when are you gonna announce it?” Confused look from the girl, Mrs. Weasly just glances at them, seemingly paying them no mind. While she may be facing the window, her years are very much facing the three girls sitting at her dining table. Because be assured if something is going on with her children, under her roof, she is bound to know. The girls didn't even have time to answer before Ginny jumped in.

“Wait, are not just pretending to not know in front of Fred?” She asked, confused as well. Hermione stops putting sugar in her tea and fully turns to the girl. She grabs her hands into hers and looks her in the eyes.

“Are you?” The girl grows nervous. Curse Ginny and her watching people skills.

“I have no idea what you're on about Hermione.” she says with a full chest, then leans in and whispers.” Let's not talk about it in front of his mum!”

“Stop whispering, we all know something is going on between you and George. I know my brothers, and I know when they have that lovesick look.” Ginny blows on her tea before taking a sip. Somehow she manages to give both of them a pointed look. 

“I know what you look like with that look too, don't start Ginny.” says the horrified girl, still not comfortable that Mrs. Weasly is there. Ginny goes red and just looks away. Speaking of the older woman, she turns to them.

“ Who has a lovesick look?” She asks with a smile that feels a little bit too threatening to all of them, although others may see it as the sweetest one.

“You when you look at dad. What is he doing anyway.” Ginny says hoping to change the subject. The older woman just huffs, turns around, and looks out the window again. Ginny leans forward to the other two before she whispers.

“I'm just saying, let it really be my sweater you borrow next time.” A smirk on her lips when she retries. With the corner of her eye, she sees her brother trying to catch a glimpse of the embarrassed girl.

—

“Source?” Lee asks.

“ Dude, trust me,” Fred answers.

“ You know I am physically unable to do that.” The two boys were hiding behind a bush. Good view of the pair sitting on the bench.

“ I too was advised, not to trust you.” Pipes in Collin, who was dragged into this mess by an accident. The poor boy wanted a picture of that tiny firework Fred had, instead, he dragged him to this when he refused to let him borrow his camera.

“Collin, this is the talk. This is the news! I need you to take a picture of them when they kiss.” Says Fred, a creepy grin on his face. Collin scared a bit just nods his head and gets in position. After a few good minutes of spying, Fred gets impatient and turns to Lee.

“Should we find a better spot? My feet kinda hurt from squatting.” He says but then a shutter goes off. A little photo comes from the camera and Fred grabs it.

“AHA, GOT YOU!” he jumps out waving it in the air and running to the startled couple. Scaring the couple that jumps away from each other a little. Lee and Collin follow behind him.

“What are you on about Fred?” Asks him, George. Still holding the girl that had her legs on his lap. 

“ YOU TWO! KISSING! I GOT PROOF!” HE yells and shows them the picture. The girl just grabs it and looks at it. Fred is jumping up and down, hugging Collin and then Lee. Victory celebration. The girl gets up and walks to the poor younger Gryffindor. George is pulled up by Fred and forced to join a jumping hug.

“Hey Collin, can I keep this?” She asks the boy gently. He just nods, seemingly scared of the situation. The girl turns back to the three overgrown babies smile on her face. She can no longer argue about proof, as she was holding one in her hand. She turns to Collin again and tells him he can go. The boy just nods and runs away as fast as he can, very much terrified of his upperclassmen. 

 George wiggles out of the hug and makes his way to her. Cheers can be heard from his brother and friend. When they meet again, George stops right in front of her. One of his hands finds her waist and the other on her neck. They stay like this for a few seconds seemingly in their word, not noticing the cheers dying down. He leans in, their lips brush, when...

“Not in front of me Forge!” Yells Fred with the girl in his arms, running away with laughter, followed by Lee. George was frozen in his position, the girl missing from his arms. George shakes his head at his brothers' antics. Now that he looks at it, maybe living in denial wasn't the worst thing. Because if there is anything his twin loves more than teasing other people, is teasing him.

[goingmerryfics]

Reader fails at flirting - Mihawk, & Crocodile

Content: SFW content, clumsiness, ranting, & bad pick up lines

Notes* Thank you for your patience while I struggled through my writer’s block! This was a request from a looong time ago but I no longer have that ask to reply to it seems. I believe Smoker was also supposed to be here, but I’m just going to upload this and take it easy while I get back into the writing spirit :) 

Mihawk

Not the type for talking, attempts at flirting with Mihawk usually end up with long, awkward silences that you feel the need to fill, which makes you sound even more awkward as you bounce from topic to topic

He was always the first to show up at the Warlord meetings, and since you worked in the building, it gave you an opportunity to chat him up as you pour the champagne for each guest

He only barely glances at you every now and then as you try to get his attention, ranting on about whatever comes to mind in the moment and asking him questions that he doesn’t respond to

You always end up feeling defeated at the end of the day. Always left with the heavy feeling that he just doesn’t like you, no matter what you say

Eventually you decide that you can’t keep pestering him. Next time there’s a meeting, you decide not to shoot into chatter with him when he arrives

You keep your head down, silence in the room. You can feel his eyes on your back as you walk around, watering the plants and doing whatever you can do to stay in his presence without having to talk to him

And then,

“Is something wrong?”

You’re embarrassed by how fast you look back at him. It’s the first time he’s addressed you. You, stuttering like mad, tell him that nothing is wrong

“You didn’t greet me today.”

He sounds… Disappointed. You ask him why he never responded, adding that you thought you had been annoying him, and that you weren’t even sure he knew who you were

Then he says your name- your full one. He starts to repeat information you’ve told him about yourself, a mix of information that you had thrown at him over all the different times you’ve met him. It touches your heart that he remembers it all

“I know who you are very well, actually. If you gave me a moment to think of my answers, I would have been able to share. You speak too quickly.”

He explains it so bluntly, but now that you think about it- you didn’t really give him much time to think before you moved on to the next subject. So the awkward silences were just Mihawk trying to put his words together

He urges you to take a seat beside him, that way he can finally give you the responses you were looking for

“You should try to let the other person respond if you’re going to flirt with them.” 

He says it almost scoldingly, but he’s smirking at you

Crocodile

As a citizen of Alabasta, Crocodile was someone that many people looked up to. But only you were in semi-regular contact with him

Every now and then, he would come dine at your workplace and every single time, you were his server. Your co-workers were always too intimidated to potentially get something wrong- the man was intimidating, after all -so that meant that anytime he was in, you were the one to face him

He always ordered the same thing when he came, which made it easier after a while. You’d already be walking up to his table with the wine he liked while his food was in the oven before he’d even made his order

The problem was that your ridiculous crush on him made you clumsy as hell

The first few times you were safe- the tripping over your feet and dropping plates had only happened out of his view, where it was your co-workers that would laugh or chastise you for not being careful enough

But then it had caught up to you in the worst way

You were taking the wine to his table and, as always, you engaged him in some casual conversation. Something about the weather or asking how his casino was doing

He would always answer shortly. Something of a grunt that either sounded positive or negative, or a short answer of ‘good’ or ‘eh’

You were too busy staring at him and waiting for an answer to notice that you were completely missing the glass as you poured his wine

And in turn, he was too surprised at your new, sudden carelessness to answer

Eventually you’d noticed as the wine started to spill onto the floor. Crocodile got up from his chair as you scrambled to get the spill contained to just the tablecloth, but also trying to be careful of all the glass on the table

The white tablecloth would be stained for sure

Crocodile just watched the whole time, holding his cigar between his fingers

The next few times went similarly. You’d bring the wine, serve his food, and give the bill- and every time, you would do something wrong. 

Forgetting his silverware, serving him the wrong plate, etc.

At least he always tipped you nicely. That never changed

You’d been so determined to make sure everything went right that the next time he walked in, you tried to be extra careful. You brought him his wine and paused, noticing his hand covering his glass.

“Just water today.”

Three simple words that threw you off. Why? What was wrong with the wine? Was it you?

Your on your way back from getting his ice water when a co-worker steps back, bumping into you from behind and sending you off balance, tipping the serving tray and sending Crocodile’s ice-cold water all over him

Your co-worker all but bails out of the dining hall, leaving you slack jawed, staring at Crocodile’s ruined suit. You can’t even muster up the bravery to apologize to the man as the ice cubes slip off of him and onto the floor

Then he laughs. It’s a loud, booming laugh that seems even louder while the room is dead silent. You’re sure you’re going to die there either from embarrassment or his wrath

“I’ve never seen someone trip over themselves so much just to get my attention. It’s flattering.” He says, smirking down at you while you’re still frozen in place. Then he asks you what time your shift is over, and you answer that you’re done in an hour

He tells you to make sure you’re here in 3 hours, that way he can dry off and have a proper conversation with you

You’re left there, confused, wondering if it’s going to be a date or a murder when he returns

[leannswritings]

Our Designer - part 2

Syn : after that crazy dream you had of Viktor, you end up talking to friends about it. Now do you confess or let it go.

Warnings ! - Smut, slight slapping, choking, and whatever else I wrote that I can't remember...

Word count - 2.5k

A/N : Ngl i find Viktor so relatable as someone that has health problems..lwk understand why he almost took over the world. Anyways sorry if there's any misspelling + if the smut/confession isn't good it's been a while since i wrote so let me know what yall think I could change in the future, enjoy ♡ p.s should I make another part that's just fluff orrr...

A couple of days after the dream, you decided to talk about it with your closest friend, Caitlyn. You both had finally had an off day together, so you decided to head over to her house to hang out and catch her up on everything.

"SO let me get this straight..you had a dream, and not just a dream, but a wet dream about him? BUT you can't even ask him to go out with you."

Cait said as she walked back and forth in front of the bed you were sitting on. You nodded as you picked up a piece of fruit.

"Why don't you just ask him out...or sleep with him..."

She slightly whispered the last part. You immediately dropped the fruit in your hand to reply.

"Cait. I'm not gonna ask him to randomly sleep with me...are you okay? Are you feeling all right? Because you don't seem to be thinking clearly."

"I don't see the problem; maybe he wants it too; ever think about that."

She said with a shrug as if she knew something, you on the other hand, were in every way trying to convince her not to say such "nonsense"

"Cait..Caitlyn I'm not going to randomly ask Viktor to fuc—"

"Am I interrupting..?"

Jayce walks into the room with a smile on his face; at this point, you could've guessed he heard the conversation and was just creepily waiting behind the door. He quickly came and sat on the bed beside you, before reaching over you and grabbing fruit.

"I think you should. There's plenty of possibilities of what could happen if you confess, plus the worst he could say is no...as if that would happen "

Realizing he just said the last part out loud, he shoved the fruit in his mouth and turned away from you just for you to pull his face back towards you and hit him in the throat, forcing the fruit to come out his mouth. He choked a little before looking at you with those same puppy eyes he always does when he does something wrong.

"What did he say to you? What do you mean, wait? Wait, just tell me what he thinks about me; you already told me a little, so just tell me."

Curiosity and Joy were overflowing within you, and everyone could tell that you were starting to freak out. Jayce quickly ate some fruit and swallowed before getting up and backing up from you, before refusing to tell you anymore because he realized saying that little bit was enough. You chased him around the room, trying to get more information out of him, which failed even after you pinned him down.

"What if I said I told him to stop by your place tonight...I got tired of both of you."

"What. You asked him to come over to MY place, even though your apartment is RIGHT next door.?"

You quickly let go of Jayce, and started slightly freaking out before he explained that he convinced Viktor to go to your place for "research purposes" and by saying everyone would be there. Of course you didn't even know if he was even telling the truth by saying that, but either way it slightly freaked you out because you realized that your room was covered in papers of design and other future ideas for hextech, leaving a horrible mess. You quickly ate some fruit, hugged your friends, and left, realizing you had plenty of work to do at home.

————

You finally finished cleaning up what you thought made you seem messy, rearranging other things that might be slightly off-putting. You looked around worrying about what else you could change around as if he hadn't been over to your place before, including when the floors were covered in paper (which is now in a messy stack on the table since it's the topic of the meaning anyways), as soon as you tried to find something else to move you heard a knock at your door.

You quickly ran over to the door, looked around to make sure everything was in place, patted your chest to calm down, and opened the door. Your eyes met with his amber eyes, his eyes always looked as if they had glowed no matter the time of the day.

"Is Jayce here yet?"

He said as he walked in, looking around to see if Jayce would appear out of the blue. You shook your head, and then both headed to your room. In your room there's a floor table in the center that has all of the paper stacked on it, you moved some of the papers slightly to the side so Viktor had somewhere to write. You reached into your closet and got some pillows to sit on. Viktor just stood there and stared as you walked around the room getting things, saying nothing the whole time.

An hour had passed that you guys were studying and going over hextech and the future of the hex. It was really hard to focus on the papers and conversations that were held, Viktor had to snap at you multiple times to catch your attention. It seemed that Viktor was slightly getting annoyed at the fact you kept getting distracted by the littlest thing; if the temperature changed by 1 degree, it was like you could tell and immediately start moving around or talking about it.

"Do you have something to say?"

Viktor caught you staring at him once again; this time, you absolutely couldn't help it; you really liked the face he made when he got frustrated. You moved closer to him, leaning into his bubble until it popped, now inches away from his face.

"Yeah."

That was the only word you could sigh out before leaning into a kiss; you leaned back after realizing what you did. The feeling of regret rained down on you as you saw Viktor touch his lips in shock before he made eye contact with you. You immediately stood and tried to confess, yet out of fear, you apologized.

"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to. Viktor I reall—"

At that moment, got silent as Viktor pulled you by your arm, forcing you back down and into his lap. The silence was so loud, you were sure at this point he could hear your heartbeat, and feel the other one. Viktor gave you this look that you couldn't even explain before leaning into another kiss. This kiss felt so different from others in the past, the way his hands traced your face, how sweet the kiss felt, and the fact you could feel him under you. You fixed your position and threw your legs on both sides of him,centering yourself, your hands holding his face. His hands traveled down your body, tracing your outlines before stopping at your waist. You broke away from the Makeout to catch your breath, the fact that this was happening was pretty overwhelming. Viktor moved down your neck leaving kisses in every spot that he could, your body reacting to his every move, as your hips started to rock. There's been plenty of times you've stared at your ceiling but this time...you have never been so glad to be looking at the same o,ld ceiling.

"Vik-viktor hold on.."

You pushed yourself off of him and stood up, you helped him up and sat him on your bed. It'll be much more comfortable and more spacious than being on the floor, but you didn't have any time to say anything as you immediately went back to the sweetness of his lips that you liked so much. He pushed you onto your back and continued going down your neck, unbuttoning your shirt as he laid kisses down onto your skin, finally reaching the top of your pants, unbuckling your belting, and pulling your pants off. He looked up at you, his fingers traced around your hips and thighs holding off on actually touching you where you wanted. He really liked to see that pathetic look on your face when you couldn't get your way, he smiled before he slid his fingers in you, his thumb fooling around with your clit. He went back up, laid on his side, and continued playing with your lips as his fingers played inside of you. You moaned against his lips as you pushed your legs together trapping his hand there. Maybe being a workaholic and toying with things all day was worth it in the long run because now his fingers that usually fondle with metals,pens, and paper are now fondling with you. It didn't take long for you to have an orgasm; you've never had one that fast; maybe it was due to the built-up feelings and lust, or maybe it was just his touch. Your legs finally opened up, letting him remove his hand.

"Already..? That's disappointing.."

Viktor had this smug look on his face; if he could say more, he would, but he seemed to be holding back for now. You pushed him to lie on his back, taking a stressor off his leg. You both reached for his pants at the same time, rushing to take them off. Viktor was a very introverted person, not one to boast about what he achieved or has, but man this was something you think was reasonable to boast about. You sat on top of him; his tip, which was slightly sticking out of his underwear, was already starting to leak pre-cum. Your hand rubbed his face; your thumb found its way into his mouth; Viktor's tongue and your thumb had a short battle as he suddenly bit down on your thumb. You had a sudden and quick reaction, you withdrew your thumb and slapped him. The expected reaction was disgust or him being upset, but instead, you got a smile, and his face fell back into your hand. Viktor looked up at you that with those gorgeous amber eyes; it seemed that at, the moment, he viewed you as other-worldly.

"Shit..Viktor you're disgusting.."

You gave a soft laugh in response. "so he's one of those," was your thought process at the time; the thought of being roug,h with each other was such a turn-on; now the real question was, is he going to be rough with you? Your body continued to rub against his due to the thoughts running through your mind. Viktor laid kisses against your hands and wrist, his gaze was intense. His eyelids were low giving him this desperate look, his hands moved from yours to your hips. His grip on your hips was so tight, you were sure it would leave marks, he had pure control of how your body moved at this point. His hands made you grind against him at a slower pace than before, this annoyed you, you were already close to asking for him to fuck you point blank. Of course he did this on purpose, how else would he have fun if he couldn't see you annoyed or desperate for a feeling.

"You seem..ann-annoyed"

Viktor stuttered, it seems that his accent gets thicker in situations like this.

"I don't have time to play with you viktor.."

"Really? I have plenty."

A smart-ass just like his friend. This wasn't a joking matter for you, the hunger and need was hard to ignore or just toy with at this point. You needed Viktor bad, you needed the pleasure. You couldn't help that a few tears fell from your eyes from how annoyed you were.

"You really are that..desperate.."

Viktor seem to give in after seeing a few tears, he loosen his grip on your hips, giving you time to take his out his dick and line it up with your entrance. You were planning to go slow, but at that moment, he grabbed your hips and forced you down, and let out a loud moan. You immediately covered your mouth to try and suppress your voice, though you didn't do a very good job as your whimpers could be heard echoing off the walls. At this moment you could only hope Jayce and your other neighbors weren't home. The sounds of skin touching skin and voices harmonizing covered the room. You continued the bounce on him, hoping the roughness wouldn't leave him with any pain. He fit perfectly inside of you, as if he was made for you, rubbing against your insides. You could only hope this would go on forever as he continued hitting your G-spot. One of his hands left your hip and went to one of your hands that was on his shoulders, Picking it up and leading it to his neck, letting you know what to do.

"Vik- you're si-sick"

Even though that stumbled out of your mouth you didn't refuse. You wrapped both your hands around his neck as you continued to ride him. His reaction made you realize something about yourself you didn't think you wanted to know, adding the cherry on top of the knot in your stomach. Viktor eyes went from staring at you with such love and lust to starting to roll to the ball of his head; he seemed to be getting close,the pressure from your hands adding to the pleasure he felt from your warmth. Without any warning, you felt him coat your insides, and as a reaction, you let go of his neck. Soon after you hit your climax, it seemed like heaven on earth, the pleasure was something you've yet to experience before. The room was greeted by heavy breathing and other soft sounds. One more round wouldn't hurt..or a couple.

———

The sun shined through your bedroom window, both of you were supposed to be in the lab hours ago but decided to stay lying together. The sun shined just enough for Viktor's eyes to glow from the light, his lashes draped over his eyes in such a beautiful way. You moved your head from his arm to his chest so you didn't have to look him in the face, even though you've already seen more of each other than the average person it was still hard for you to explain what you wanted to truly tell him last night.

"V—"

"Y—"

You both called out at the same time; despite you telling him to go first afterward, he still waited for you to speak.

"Viktor, what I wanted to say last night is, I really like you and working by your side. I can't and don't want to see myself in any other place other than by your side. Cheesy I know but I seriously mean it."

Silence. Silence was who greeted you, you would've felt embarrassed if you were laying on his chest. His heart told on himself, it getting louder by the second, it was beating so fast you wouldn't be shocked if it exploded at that very moment.

"I- me too"

A few Czech words slipped out in the beginning but he just kept his answer simple, you guess his brain just went back to his native because of the situation. It was cute seeing him all nervous, something you've yet to see before. Something about the tenderness and comfort you got from each other was different from before, you never would've guessed such a quiet nerdy dude would be so...comforting and awkward.

[galedekarios]

gale & curing the orb - early access

writing my current series of cut content from early access made me think a lot, especially about how curing gale of the orb might have originally worked out if larian had kept to what had been set up in early access. it's no secret that a lot of things were changed or cut entirely, big and small, like for instance halsin's involvement with ketheric's fall, isobel and the shadow curse.

gale's condition, too, seemed different then.

what exactly was different in early access?

while only a few body models were unique in early access, gale's key art showed his left arm in bandages.

in early access, auntie ethel had vicious mockery lines, which hinted what might be beneath those bandages:

Auntie Ethel: I can smell what's under those bandages, wizard. You're all rot and ruin. Come to greet death early? You'll be a lovely spectacle.

we also had information from gale directly as to what happened to karsus in the aftermath of casting his spell:

Player: I was wondering about that “mighty lord” you told me about in your story. Gale: Ah, yes. Karsus Karsus was perhaps the most powerful wizard that ever lived. The child-who-would-be-a-god, the elves called him. And he tried. With a spell of his own devising he endeavoured to usurp in one fell swoop the power of the goddess of magic.  Mystryl, she was called then. Imagine what it must have felt like. To be a god. To know yourself to be untouchable. To be mistaken. As Karsus aimed his spell at her she began to unravel, and with her, the entire Weave. Too late did he realize what he had unleashed. It would have been the end of everything had not Mystryl sacrificed herself.  Gale: The goddess of magic is all magic. By dying, the entire weave was lost, and the spell that challenged a god failed. It was the end of Mystryl, the end of Karsus, and the end of an entire civilization. As the child-who-would-be-a-god was turned to stone, his empire came crashing down around him. The floating cities of Netheril were no more. An event that came to be known as Karsus’ folly.

which is in accordance with the lore:

Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the Weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions. This was to be known as Karsus's Folly. The stone form of Karsus eventually landed in a part of the High Forest, now called the Dire Wood. The city of Karse was built around its base. Karsus was never accepted as a petitioner by any god, nor did he go to the Fugue Plane when he died. Instead, his soul was bound to the Material Plane. Those with experience in pact magic could call up his vestige, where he appeared as a giant blood-red boulder, like the one found in the High Forest where his petrified form landed. Blood burbles up from the top of the stone, trickling down the side facing the summoner, pooling at the base. When he spoke, the pool fountained upwards, its height varying on the volume of his voice.

the netherese orb then seemed to have a immediate visible physical effect on gale, in addition to the ones that carried to the full release version of the game.

so putting these clues together, i think it's safe to say that the orb caused gale in early access to be afflicted with some form of corrupted petrification, which makes sense given that it's a piece of magic unleashed during karsus's folly.

at that point, this corruption seemed to be affecting his left arm the most, perhaps either from opening the book containing the netherese magic with it, or trying to shield himself with it - but that's just speculation on my part.

so what did the early access set up in terms of curing gale from his affliction?

gale in early access showed a great interest in the astral plane, especially in the absence of time there. he has several banters with lae'zel, which are still in the game now and showing his vested interest in the astral plane as well as any knowledge or insight lae'zel might offer on it:

Gale asks Lae'zel about the Astral Plane. Has she been there? Gale: Tell me, Lae'zel, what is it like on the Astral Plane? Your home realm intrigues me. Lae'zel: Githyanki lay their eggs on other planes. They cannot mature in the Astral. Lae'zel: I will only be welcomed once I obtain a mind flayer's head.

lae'zel notices gale's interest and initiates a banter of her own:

Lae'zel asks Gale what his interest is in the Astral plane, and he equivocates Lae'zel: Tell me, Gale: what is your interest in the Astral Plane? Gale: Time. Or rather: the absence of it. In the Astral Plane, everything is eternal. Lae'zel: It will be my home soon enough, should Vlaakith will it.

in addition to these banters, which clearly show gale's interest in the astral plane - which now in the full release seems merely academic - hinted at another solution to ridding himself of the orb.

what points to that quite conclusively is gale's dialogue when he reveals the truth about the orb to the protagonist.

this reveal differs quite significantly from the full release version. most notably, the protagonist was able to ask him about his own ideas for a what might be able to cure him from the orb.

gale had something very interesting to say to that question:

Player: What would permanently rid you of the orb? Gale: The orb was kept safe and inert in a pocket of Astral Plane, suspended in time. If I can somehow manage to expel it from my body while in the Astral Plane, it will be rendered inert again. Alternatively, I could learn to control it’s chaotic magic, that is; to succeed where I failed before. But without Mystra’s favour, I don’t see how that may come to pass. Of course there could be different answers as well. Faerun brims with more magic than any one wizard could fathom, let alone comprehend. Who knows what outlandish solutions may yet present themselves?

so what does this all mean?

in conclusion, i believe originally there were either more ways to cure gale from the orb - or maybe even in a different manner entirely - than there are in the full release version of the game (begging mystra to remove it, ascension, or accepting/keeping the orb).

perhaps even one that would circumvent having to beg mystra for forgiveness entirely, without gale having to sacrifice his mortality to do so.

i think these banters and lines of dialogue show that the astral plane, which would have rendered the orb inert and stopped the corrupted petrification of his body, would have played a bigger role in gale's quest.

[yuukiiqwq]

Dandelions: Sukuna Ryomen x Reader

His heart beats only for you while yours beats for someone else, so he made a wish on a dandelion, hoping it would come true.

Context/Warnings: Fem!Reader, Soft!Sukuna, swearing, unrequited love, flower language, a bit suggestive

Wc: 2.7k

Part 2

It's not like he wanted to fall in love with you. It was actually your fault. You weaseled your way into his life and then his heart. If only you had left him alone, then none of this would have happened. But you were too god damn stubborn to leave him alone. It was all your fault.

It was so stupid how he fell in love with you. Sukuna absolutely hated cliché stuff. And here he is going through the stereotypical cliché plot. He even told you how much he hated it. He remembers telling you how he rather die than read those stupid romance books you like to read. They were full of stupid plot with disgusting mushy feelings. Basically, it's the same thing in every story. He always felt like his ears were going to fall off listening to you talk about those stories. Recently, you started to read this one-shot called Dandelion. Something about a guy having unrequited feelings for a girl for years and the girl liking someone else.

Absolutely fucking ridiculous.

Sukuna remembers how he met you. It was a few years ago, back when they were still in school. He was minding his own business and then you fucking popped out of nowhere. He wouldn't tell you but you scared the shit out of him when you suddenly appeared.

"Yknow, smoking is bad for you."

He turned around to see you at the door smiling.

"Y'know, not minding your own fucking business is bad for you," he scoffed. "Get out of here. This is my spot."

You walked up to him and snatched the cigarette away. You tossed it onto the ground and put out the light.

"They can cause many health problems," you say as you crossed your arms. "And I don’t see your name anywhere on this rooftop."

He glared at you– "Listen here, you brat. What I do has absolutely nothing to do with you. So skip along to your friends and go bother them instead."

"What if you are my friend?" You said smugly. Your eyes were shining with mischief. "And since you said to go bother my friends, that's what I'm doing."

"You must think you're so fucking funny," he snarled at you.

You put your hands on your waist– "I am actually very funny."

He took a step towards you and towered over you. "Leave."

You looked up at him with a deadpan expression.

"No."

"Last warning. Leave."

"Make me."

News flash – He wasn’t able to get rid of you. He was unsuccessful no matter what he did.

You decided to bother him every single god damn day. Somehow, you always showed up at the rooftop whenever he was there. You just wouldn't leave him alone, so he decided to ditch the rooftop. To say he failed was something he didn’t want to admit. He didn't fail. He just decided to ignore you. But then you showed up in front of his classroom. You somehow found his classroom.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and quickly tried to leave before you could catch up to him.

Mission escaping the brat– failed.

You were a fast little thing. You immediately caught up to him and were now walking side by side with him. This caused a lot of people in the hallway to stare at both of you. You two were an unexpected duo to see together.

"Sukunaaaaaaa"

Great. You even found out his name. Amazing. Whoever told you his information is dead. He's going to kill them.

"Sukuna, if you keep looking like that, you'll end up being super ugly. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."

Sukuna turned around to face you– "You trying to pick a fucking figh–"

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence as you stuffed a mochi in his mouth. Where the fuck did that mochi come from?!

He quickly chewed the mochi and swallowed.

"Did you fu–"

"Was it good?" You quickly interrupted. "It's a new flavor that came out recently. A friend gave me some to try."

"I don't car–"

"It was a limited edition sale. My friend camped outside the shop for a whole day just to buy all the stocks."

You continued talking about it, and Sukuna wanted to just smack you. You were so annoying.

"I am going to smack you if you keep talking."

You immediately stopped talking and walking. You looked up at him and grinned mischievously.

"Wow, Sukuna. Didn't know you were kinky like that. It's ok, though! I like it rough, but take me out to dinner first. Bedroom activities can come later~"

This caused him to explode in anger. You were teasing him. He immediately stomped away from you. He could hear you laughing as you tried to catch up to him. Fuck. You were annoying as hell. Sassy and challenging him in every way.

Your eyes were gleaming with mischief. Did you have to say that? Now he wanted to put you in your place. Bend you over under him and–

Oh fuck. Now you implanted a curse in his head. Fucking minx.

After months of you constantly pestering him, he grew used to your presence. He started to enjoy it. Wait, no. He meant he was just tolerating you.

Yeah. That's right. He's just tolerating you.

"Sukuna! Stop!!!"

Sukuna immediately halted– "What's goin–"

"You almost stepped on some dandelions," you say as you knelt down to the floor.

Sukuna felt like he was going to pop a vein. He can't believe you stopped him for a weed. Can you let he walk to a restaurant in peace?! It was fucking Saturday. He should have never allowed you to follow him home back then.

"Are you fucking joking with me right now?" He looked down at you as you pluck the dandelion. "You stopped me for a fucking weed?"

"First of all, it's a flow–"

"It's a fucking weed."

"It's a flower!" You huffed. "And it's a wishing flower! You make a wish and then blow away the seeds!"

"Great, now you've gone crazy. Just the thing I need from you. As if you're not annoying enough."

"I have not gone crazy! People make wishes on dandelions!"

"And do you know if any of them got fulfilled?" He raised his eyebrow at you. "And I'm sure the people you talk of are kids."

"Well um–" You try to think of something to say as a comeback but come up with nothing.

He smiled smugly– "That's what I thought."

"That's not the point!" You quickly shoved a dandelion in front of his face.

"Get that weed away from my face. I'm starving for food, and you're stopping me for a weed."

"Geez, stop being a party pooper," you sulked. "Make a wish! Maybe it will come true and prove you wrong!"

"I am not going to do something so childish," he said as he pushed your hand away.

"I'll buy lunch!"

Sukuna stopped and thought about it for a second before saying– "And dinner."

If he was going to indulge in your childish antics and look like an idiot, he better get something out of it.

You reluctantly agreed, and he snatched the dandelion out of your hands. He made a wish and then blew the dandelion seeds away.

"There. Made my wish. Now I hope your wallet is ready."

"Whatever, you glutton! What did you wish for?"

"None of your fucking business brat."

The two of you spent a lot of time together. You eventually introduced Sukuna to your other friends. Which surprised Sukuna because at this point, with the amount of time you came and bothered him, he believed that your friends were imaginary.

A girl named Shoko Ieiri, who looks like she's sleep deprived. A guy named Suguru Geto, who, in his opinion, looks weird. Why is he smiling like that!? And finally, a guy named Satoru Gojo. He was the worst out of all your friends. He didn't do anything to him, but just looking at him makes Sukuna want to get rid of him. Cut him in half. Sukuna didn't understand exactly why until he looked at you, looking at him.

Although Sukuna personally knew nothing about love, he knew what he saw. He seen enough people do what they do when in love. He heard enough about the stupid love stories you like to read. He can see it in your eyes when you look at your friend. You liked him.

The way your eyes light up whenever he comes toward you. The way your cheeks start to turn red with a small blush. The way you nervously play with your hands. The smile you give whenever you're around him. A smile that can rival the sun. He felt a pain blossom in his chest as he clenched his fist. These are things he has never seen or gotten from you before.

He hated everything that was going on right now. He hated the way you would sneak glances at him when you think no one was looking. The way you lean into his touch. The way you looked at him with pure adoration and love.

He absolutely hated it.

It took a while for Sukuna to understand why he hated Gojo so much. Why just the sight of Gojo annoyed him. And it's all your fault.

He didn't even know when these feelings started. Was it when you guys first met and you stood your ground with him? Was it when you teased him? Was it when you kept bothering him? Was it when you guys would go out for lunch or dinner together? Was it when he took care of you when you were sick? Did he fall for your looks? Your personality? Was it because of the times you've spent together?

Fuck. He was pissed. Here he is, catching those disgusting mushy feelings for you. Something he sweared would have never happened, and he doesn’t even know how it even happened.

"Fucking hell," Sukuna sighs as he run his hand through his hair.

It should be fine, right? He'll just ignore this. Move on like he didn't realize he fell in love with you somewhere along this journey. These feelings won't last anyway. It will disappear soon. You liked someone else, too, so it should be easy to move on. Right?

Fucking wrong. He's never been more wrong in his life.

All of you have graduated and are now doing your own thing. You all meet up regularly to hang out. Although Sukuna made an effort to see you daily as much as possible–

Wait, no. Correction: He sees you daily because he knows you'll do something stupid if he wasn't watching over you. Nothing else, really.

It's not like Sukuna had trouble moving on. He's not dreaming about you daily. He doesn't want you. It's not like that at all. He obviously moved on from you while you still liked Gojo. No point in these feelings since they're a nuisance.

Deep down, even if he ignores it, he knows he still likes you. But it's not like you'll ever look his way like the way you look at Gojo. Unless an opportunity arrives and it just so happens to arrive. That opportunity came knocking at his door, and he isn't going to let it slip away.

After years watching you love someone else, now he is watching you get your heart broken by that same person. Honestly, he never understood why you fell in love with this guy. That guy was a child in a man's body. Like, who even drinks those sugary, coma-inducing drinks??

But here you are smiling through the pain. He saw small tears forming in your eyes before you quickly wiped them away and said there was dust in your eyes. Others may not notice it, but he does. He saw the hurt in your eyes when Gojo told them that he fell in love at first sight with someone.

Great. Now he wants to murder Gojo even more now for hurting you.

However, he can't help but feel happy? Relief? He doesn't know what he felt. He just knew that an opportunity was given. But he isn't going to be a shitty person and confess to you right when you got your heart broken. He'll wait until you heal. If you ever will. After all, he had already kept his feelings to himself for years. What's wrong with waiting a bit more?

He could make you happy. He would give it his god damn all to make you happy. He would never hurt you. He wouldn't make you cry. At least not cry in a sad way. You crying under him, though, is a different story–

He quickly shakes his head to get rid of that thought. He's getting distracted. You got him wrapped around your fingers, and you don't even know it. He couldn't help but sigh. He really is still in love with you.

He watches as you and Geto try to give Gojo advice on how to win over the person he likes.

"You're an idiot," he interrupted.

He stared at Gojo as he said it, but it was meant for you and himself, really. Both of you two are idiots. Both of you have unrequited love, like in those shitty stories you read. He really is living in the stupid cliché plot he hates. And it's all your fault.

A few months have passed since then. He knew you had mostly moved on. He can still see the hurt sometimes, but it's fading. He knew he should make a move soon. After all, if he doesn't, what if someone else approaches you? But he also knows that just because you moved on doesn't mean you'll see him as he sees you. So he's willing to wait for that day. The day you look at him the way he looks at you.

So here he is. Standing in front of a flower shop. Looking extremely out of place. If you told his past self that he fell in love with you and is now trying to pursue you, he can see his past self attempting murder. He really can't believe he's going to order flowers.

He took a few deep breaths and walked in.

The minute he walked in, a florist greets him– "Hello sir! How may we help you today?"

"Can you make me a boutique?"

"Of course, sir! What type of flowers would you like for the boutique?"

He wanted something to convey his feelings and message. He's done some research about flowers and their meaning. Many websites showed different things, but he eventually settled for one.

"I want..."

When he finally finished ordering the flowers, he went home. On his way back home, he noticed a dandelion.

"...it's a wishing flower! You make a wish and then blow away the seeds! ...People make wishes on dandelions!"

He stared at the dandelion for a few minutes before he clicked his tongue. He bent down and plucked it. He then made a wish and blew the seeds away. He didn't know why he did it. It's not like the dandelion would make his wish come true.

"Tsk. Can't believe I did this. It's fucking stupid."

You really made him a god damn softie so it's about fucking time you take responsibility.

A few days later, he asked you to meet him at your usual spot. A place that only the two of you knew. When he arrived with the boutique, you were already there. You were sitting on the bench, looking over the city.

He quietly stared at you for a while. You were so beautiful sitting there. If angels did exist, you'll be one of them. But then again, your personality was more like a devil. You cast a curse on his heart, and honestly, he didn't mind it. You can curse him for his entire lifetime as long as you accept him.

"Hey, brat. Look behind you."

When you heard the sound of his voice, you quickly turned around. You looked at him and smiled until you noticed the boutique in his hand. You gasped as your eyes widened.

Red chrysanthemum and astilbe. I love you and I will be waiting for you.

[enthusiasticharry]

the one where YN is no longer the governess to Harry's children, but she is his wife (part 2)

READ PART 1 HERE

author's note: part two of governess!yn (who is still my lil angel baby I cannot lie!) this took slightly longer than anticipated to get to you but i hope you will be happy with the final result! pls let me know what you think, and if there's anything else you'd like to see of these two (i'm certainly not ready to let them go just yet!)

word count: 14.1k of confusion, a lack of communication, friends to lovers, a meddling modiste who we all love, smut, pregnancy.

WARNINGS: discussion of death during childbirth, struggles with infertility (you have been warned)

let me know what you think of edelweiss here! mwah <3

YEAR FIVE

YN’s life had changed in ways that she never could have expected when she became a wife.

YN had never had an example of what a good marriage looked like growing up, and whilst she had worked for couples in the past – nothing could prepare her for the reality. The fact that her life had changed drastically from zero to one hundred within a few days was something that nobody could have prepared her for. It had been a true shift in the motion of her life, and even though it pained her to say – she did not know whether or not this was a welcome addition to her life.

Their wedding day had been a year ago. It took place in early June, which seemed very apt to their relationship. The first time that YN had joined Harry and the children for meals had been in June, and the summer held a very special place in their friendship – relationship? In all honesty, she did not know whether or not their marriage at this point was one of convenience or one that truly meant that something was between them.

As YN did not have a mother to talk her through life as a married woman, she was thankful for the information that she had managed to retain on her own in her life. Miss Francis had sat her down the day before her wedding and attempted to explain what a wedding night included, but YN had put a stop to that conversation immediately and tried to continue to assure the older woman that she knew what was to happen.

Even though YN knew what was to occur on the wedding night, it did not necessarily mean that the act would occur on the said night.

Harry had never attempted to initiate anything of an intimate context between the two of them. The last and only time that they had ever kissed had been on their wedding day, a necessity to ensure that their marriage was fulfilled. Even once they had returned home, she had received no advancements from Harry at all – and had concluded pretty quickly that maybe he did not wish to share this with her. YN knew that this was not completely shocking, seeing as though she was Harry’s second wife, and he had already experienced this before.

There was also a part of her that knew that men had needs. She had come to this conclusion pretty quickly after the husband at the other house she worked at left every night without fail to meet with his mistress (or mistresses, as YN had no idea about the fine details) and yet she could state with full confidence that Harry had never done so. She knew this with such confidence because they spent every evening together (with a considerable amount of space between the two of them obviously) before they retired to bed.

YN would be lying if she said that she had hoped that her marriage to Harry would offer some clarification on what it was she was feeling. She had spent so long denying her wish for marriage, and she thought that once that wish had been fulfilled everything would be put into some sort of perspective for her. Instead, it had confused and worried her more than it had before. The overwhelming, thought-provoking idea that ran through her head most days was that Harry had married YN just to appease her, to be a good friend and that was it. It made her think that Harry (no matter how many times he verbally denied it to her) did not wish for this.

It was not as though Harry required an heir to his estate – he already had one. That normally looming requirement of marriage was gone for him. YN was three and thirty now, and that could offer little in security as to whether she could have children, and with that gone she could not understand why Harry wanted to marry her. If anything, the only reason a man in Harry’s standing would marry was to ease a loneliness he had.

At first, Noah and Honorah had been confused as to why YN was no longer their governess, and instead their mother. YN had assured both of the children immediately that she could never take away their mother from them, and if they wished to continue to call her Miss YN, they could do so without any worries at all. Noah, who stood at ten when they married had huffed and refused to speak to his father or YN for the first few weeks (something that was inherently a trait of Harry’s, but YN would never outwardly tell him that). Norah, however, had only been seven at the time and saw the whole spectacle as something so exciting and had welcomed the change with open arms. YN assumed that since she had never met her mother, YN had been the closest thing to one for her – and she assumed that would be something difficult for both Harry and Noah to accept.

Even though these questions of intimacy usually loomed in the back of YN’s mind most days, along with questions of how the children were faring with the change. But, thankfully, her ole had changed within the household, and she now had duties as Mrs Styles that often took her attention throughout most of the day. The most prevalent job that took up most of her time now involved the children, and more specifically – finding a new governess for them.

To the blind eye, the task on the surface seemed so simple – but in reality, it was not. In the past year, the children (predominantly Noah) had managed to run four governesses out of the door – with the longest of them lasting two and a half weeks.

That was how YN had found herself now – sitting in the drawing room with the fifth governess she had hired who had lasted all of three days.

“… I am sorry, Mrs Styles, but they are terrors. The little boy placed a frog not only on my chair but in every drawer of my desk! And the little girl, well, she listens to everything the boy says and responds to all of my questions by ribbiting like a frog! They are completely unteachable!” Miss Morris exclaims, and YN has to physically refrain herself from rolling her eyes.

“And yet I managed to do it for four years,” YN mumbled quietly whilst running her finger across her eyebrow.

Miss Morris leant forward slightly in her seat, turning her ear towards YN, “Sorry, what was that Mrs Styles?”

“Nothing,” YN shook her head, offering a small smile to Miss Morris, “I do just have to remind you, Miss Morris, that they are children. They are not going to be easy to work with. Mr Styles has raised gorgeous, inquisitive and at times mischievous children – but they are no worse than any you may find with another family.”

Miss Morris shook her head, rather violently at that, “You are only saying such as they are your children – you see them through rose-tinted glasses. They are nothing but terrors, unteachable terrors!”

YN sighed before standing up, nodding at Miss Morris to do the same, “Very well then, Miss Morris. If you had not already claimed that you could not teach the children, you would lose your employment just by calling them terrors. You may have the night to arrange your leave, but you shall not interact with the children.”

Miss Morris opened her mouth as though she was to speak but YN shook her head.

“I would not say anything else if I were you,” YN spoke with a nod.

Miss Morris took one last look at YN, nodded, and turned to leave the room. It was not until YN knew that she was in the all-clear that she sighed and dropped back down on the settee again, exhaling a breath that she did not know she had been holding.

The list of once four failed governesses had now turned to five. Somewhere deep down YN knew this would be the case. It was not that she was necessarily full of herself, but more so that she knew she was the best of the best in terms of governesses. No matter who she presented in front of the children, and whether or not they were good governesses or not – they would never be able to help the children in the way that she did. That was the dilemma that YN found herself in day after day.

The sound of footsteps walking towards the room, and subsequently entering knocked YN right out of her daydream, or potentially it was a crisis – she would never know.

“I think Miss Morris just grunted at me,” Harry spoke, pointing back at the door with a confused look on his face.

YN sighed once more, running a hand across her face, “She can grunt all she wants, Harry! She is out of this house by morning.”

“Oh,” Harry sighed, dropping down on the settee across from her, “She quit?”

YN shrugged her shoulders slightly, “And I fired her. She dared to call the children terrors. Terrors, Harry! I was a moment away from doing something so regrettable I probably would have been sent away!”

Harry laughed with a slight shake of his head, “I told you there was no use in trying to find a new governess.”

“The children still need to be taught, Harry,” YN pointed out, as though she was stating the obvious.

“And you can do it,” Harry shrugged, as though he was the one stating the most obvious thing in the world, “I know that is not necessarily the way that things are done, but when have we ever done things that way?”

A smile taunted on YN’s face, “You would not mind? Having a wife that does not follow the correct rules of society?”

Harry just laughed, “If I cared about the correct rules in society then you would not be my wife.”

YN finally smiled and nodded her head, “I will teach them – God knows that nobody will ever be as good as me.”

“That is certainly more like it,” Harry nodded his head and stood up, “I did have something to tell you before Miss Morris grunted at me. I am going out tonight, a friend of mine is back from a trip abroad. We are meeting at the tavern for a few drinks.”

“Oh,” YN’s heart pummelled to the pit of her stomach, “The tavern?”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed, “Yes. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No,” YN assured quickly, trying her best to not make the twist in her stomach obvious to Harry, “I hope you have a lovely time.”

Harry nodded, the confused look returning to his features one last time before he offered her another smile and left the room. YN had seen the tavern but had never been inside. She had only ever seen it on her trips into the village. She also knew of its reputation, although she would not say that she wanted to. Those back rooms, and what they held were the thing that concerned her, she supposed.

More than anything, it turned her stomach so much she was unsure how she did not throw up. 

No matter how much she tried, YN could not sleep a wink.

The children had gone to bed hours ago, and surprisingly (to YN’s relief) without any stress. Her body, however, could not accept that relief due to how stressed she was currently feeling.

YN had tried counting sheep, and she had tried running through everything she had planned for tomorrow in her head, but she just could not shake the thoughts out of her head.

She could not shake the thoughts out of her head of everything that Harry was getting up to during his visit to the tavern.

Before, when YN knew that Harry was inside the four walls of this house and could therefore not be doing the things that YN was imagining in her head – there was no cause for her to worry. It was all fine before because she knew that whilst he was not being intimate with her, he was not with anyone else.

YN could not say that now because she did not know if it was true.

It was something that the two of them never spoke about – they never mentioned it. They both danced around the subject as though it was an open flame, neither one of them attempting to get closer to it. YN was truly regretting that now. At least if they had the conversation, if she had forced them to discuss this then she would have some peace of mind at least. Then again, she cannot imagine knowing he was doing such things would offer her any piece of mind.

After failing to succumb to sleep, YN had ended up wrapping herself in a blanket in Harry’s study, one of his books pressed firmly in her hand. She would say that she was reading it, but she had read the last sentence around twenty times and still not managed to finish it.

Then the door opened.

Harry’s head was lulled forward, his posture slightly hunched and his movements sporadic. He was drunk. Without even thinking about it, her eyes danced around his body attempting to see if there were any creases in his clothes that had not been there before he left. 

There was not, and for the first time that entire evening her heart slowed down to a normal pace.

“I saw the light,” He offered her a boyish grin, “I wondered who was sneaking around at this time – I should have known it was you.”

YN sighed in relief, dropping the book closed in her lap, “You are drunk.”

Harry nodded, not even trying to attempt to hide it. His body stumbled towards the other end of the settee from where she was. YN lifted her hand to her head when she watched him nearly fall off, but he caught himself thankfully before there was any need for her to intervene.

“Have I ever told you that you just might be the smartest person I have ever known?” He raised his eyebrow at her, a teasing look on his face.

YN gasped, immediately picking up the book in her lap to smack him on the shoulder with, “I should have known you were such a tease whilst drunk.”

Harry began to laugh, and no matter how much YN tried to resist it she could not help but join in. YN thought that she had seen all the sides to Harry, and yet there were ones that she was learning about every day.

“How was reuniting with your friend?” YN asked, watching as his head lulled back against the settee, dropping to the side slightly so that he was looking at her, “I suppose that is possibly a silly question given the state you are currently in.”

Harry nodded his head, “It was very enjoyable, although I suppose his constant discussion of beaches across the world did need to be taken hand in hand with a drink the further into the night we were.”

YN laughed, “I cannot ever imagine you not being interested in a conversation, Harry.”

He shook his head, leaning towards her slightly, “I was interested! The first time! It was just my luck that every time William had a drink it was as though his memory was wiped and he did not know he had already told me all of it before!”

YN did end up in a fit of laughter at his words. There was an ounce or so of further relief that she felt in that laugh, knowing that the stress she had found herself in was for no reason. It was nice to know that he had not withheld the truth from her – even though she was damning herself for even thinking that he would lie to her.

“It sounds as though you had quite the eventful night, then,” YN leant forward to place the book on the table in front of them before standing up, “Are you able to get yourself to your bedchamber, or are you staying here for the night?”

Harry grunted slightly, his head rolling to the side slightly to look out of the window behind him.

“What was that?” YN pressed, inching a step closer towards him, “You will have to use your words, Harry, I do not speak in grunt.”

“I do not wish to go to bed,” Harry mumbled with a shake of his head, “I do not wish to go to bed because the bed will be cold, and empty and you will be down the hall.”

YN’s lips parted slightly in shock. She knew that Harry was drunk, and therefore his inhibitions were lowered but there must have still been an aspect to it that was the truth. There was a slight part of her that was slightly annoyed by his words. She was annoyed that it had taken him a year into their marriage, on a night when he was drunk to say anything of this sort to her.

YN shook her head, “Harry, you must go to bed and sleep this off.”

“No, we do not have to go to bed,” He reached out to grab her hands, pulling her closer to him, “We can stay here, and we can talk, and you can sit next to me.”

“We cannot,” YN shook her head, unable to stop the pull he had on her, “We must sleep, otherwise we will not get anything done tomorrow.”

“That is fine, YN, we can have a day.” Harry nodded his head, “We could… we could just… we could be together tonight and tomorrow, and it would not matter.”

YN sighs, and she attempts to take a step backwards, but Harry instead wraps his arm around her waist. He rests his head against her stomach, and she can feel the heat of his skin through the thin material of her nightgown. The feeling itself was like pinpricks across the expanse of her skin.

YN did not know what to do – she did not know what to think. Instead of trying to pull away from him (which was impossible due to how tightly he had wrapped himself around her), and against her better judgment – she gave in to him. This was the closest that they had physically been to each other since their wedding day, and she knew it was wrong but there was a part of her that did not want this to end just yet.

Instead of pulling away, her fingers found their way through his hair until they were resting in the curls at the nape of his neck.

He sighed against her stomach, causing heat to rush over her skin that she had never experienced in her life. If this is what she was missing out on, she was cursing herself for not forcing them to have a conversation. She supposed that Harry’s behaviour tonight had made it so they had no choice in the matter.

“Harry,” YN whispered, bringing her hands from the nape of his neck towards his cheeks so that she could pull his face away from her and look at him, “Let us go to bed.”

“No,” He shook his head again, “I told you; I do not want to.”

“Harry,” YN sighed, running her finger across the skin of his cheekbone, “You are not listening to me – let us go to bed.”

When YN woke up the next morning, everything felt different.

This was still her room. There were still her curtains hanging above the windows, her bed she was laid upon and still her books that rested upon every shelf in the room – but things were different.

YN often woke up when the light started to seep through the crack in her curtains, and today was no different. This time, however, she was not alone in doing so.

Her entire body felt warm. There was an excess of heat covering her from behind, an arm wrapped so tightly around her waist making it so even if she wanted to escape – there was no way in which she would be able to. Harry’s head pressed firmly into her neck, his steady breathing causing goosebumps to cover her entire body.

Last night, after Harry had finally registered the words that YN was saying – he had allowed her to direct him to her bedchamber. She had tried not to, but she had been unable to redirect her eyes when he had stripped off his jacket, shirt, and trousers before climbing into her bed. They did not talk, only looked at one another. They had settled into bed for the first time since their wedding day a year ago together, without a single conversation as to why between them. Harry had pulled YN’s body close to his, and they had fallen asleep – and that was it.  

YN knew that it was early in the morning, and Harry would probably need a few more hours or so to sleep off the remnants of last night – but there was no way that YN would manage to fall back asleep. YN tried to pull Harry’s arm off of her, but he grunted slightly, and his arm felt even tighter than it had done before.

YN sighed, unable to do anything but move slightly so that she was on her back and could face Harry. There was something so boyish about his features when he was asleep. It was as though all the stress of being an adult left him the second he was asleep, and YN felt a sort of privilege that she was able to witness him in this state.

It was this that caused YN to lift her hand and run her finger along the soft skin of his cheek – just in the way that she had done last night. Her body jumped slightly in his arms when his eyes opened. This was, in fact, the closest she had ever been to him – and the fact that she could see those green eyes of his looking so closely caused her stomach to somersault.

“It is too early,” He whispered hoarsely to her, “Go back to sleep.”

YN chuckled slightly, her fingers slipping back through his hair, “The children will be awake soon.”

“And we have a staff willing and ready to help with them,” He mumbled, dropping his head further into her neck, “Go back to sleep.”

YN lightly shook her head again, “Even if I tried, I highly doubt it would be possible. Even so, the children have missed out on so much learning these last few months – and I am excited to get them back into a classroom.”

“Another day is not going to harm them,” YN could feel Harry’s lips moving against her neck as he spoke, and then they closed, and he left the lightest of kisses on her skin.

“Harry…” YN whispered, her head pulling away from his slightly so that she could look into his eyes, “What are you doing?”

Harry sighed, his head lulling backwards so that he was laid on his back, just as she was. Whilst they needed to have this conversation, there was a part of her that wondered whether or not being laid in her bed, with Harry possibly having what YN would deem as a slightly delicate condition was the best place for this.

“I…” Harry sighed, lifting his hand to his forehead, “I do not know.”

YN’s breath caught slightly in her throat, “You do not know?”

“I do know, but I do not want to offend or upset you,” Harry sighs, turning his head so that he is looking at her again.

YN sighed, reaching out to grab Harry’s hand, “Whatever it is, you must tell me, Harry. I am your wife; you can tell me anything.”

Harry lifted their joint hands to his lips so that he could place a kiss on the back of her hand, “I understand that when we married, we did so for ease. It was the best thing for us both at that time, and I understand that you may not feel the same but…”

His words stopped, and his eyes dropped down to her lips, lingering for just a moment before they bounced back up to her eyes.

“I may not feel the same how, Harry?”

Harry hesitated for a second, “That I feel as though my affections for you have grown.”

“Harry…” YN whispered, shaking her head lightly, “You cannot… You cannot say such words to me if you do not mean it…”

“I do,” Harry nodded, “I do mean it. I have meant it for a while now, but I never dared to say so. It seemed that all I needed was some liquid courage, and I could not stop myself.”

YN chuckled, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his, “You should not have been scared to speak your mind, Harry.”

“What?” He whispered.

“You should not have been scared to speak your mind because then you would have found out that I feel the same.”

Harry’s face broke out into a smile, and it was quickly after that YN’s followed. He lifted his hand to her cheek, brushing her hair away from her face. It was then that her heart rate began to speed up – when his face started itching closer to hers. Just as she thought that Harry was going to place his lips against hers, the door to YN’s room burst open.

YN pulled her body away from Harry’s, lifting slightly to see Honorah bouncing towards them – still in her nightgown and having obviously just woken up.

“What is it, Norah?” YN smiled at the little girl, watching as she pulled herself up onto YN’s bed.

“I went to Papa’s room, but he was not there, so I came here to find you and I found Papa too!” The little girl smiled, crawling up the bed so that she could drop down between YN and Harry at the top.

“You found us,” Harry mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of his little girl’s head as she cuddled up to him, “How did you sleep?”

Honorah nodded her head, “Very well. I dreamt of horses, and I have decided I quite like them.”

YN chuckled, “That sounds lovely, Norah. We shall have to take you to the stables at some point to visit the horses.”

“Really?” Her entire face broke out into a beaming smile, and she began to tell her father all about the horse in her dream.

As much as it had pained her to admit it before, this is exactly what YN had imagined mornings being married to Harry would be like. Lazing in bed with him, before being interrupted by the children and forcing them to begin their day sounding like complete and utter bliss. YN’s could not have been fuller than it was right now, but then she slowly realised that was not the case when the final part of the puzzle walked through the door.

“Good morning, Noah,” YN smiled, holding her hand out to the boy, “Norah was just telling us about her dream, do you wish to join us?”

The boy seemed to hesitate for a second before nodding, reaching out to grab YN’s hand and make his way onto the bed.

“Only for a little while, though,” He nodded with a shrug, “I am ready to break my fast.”

YN laughed, watching as Noah joined Harry and Norah in their conversation. To YN, it was at this moment that she truly felt as though she was a wife. That she was Harry’s wife.

YEAR SIX

Just as YN thought that one part of the puzzle that was her life had been laid to rest, another part reared its head to her.

YN wished for children.

Just as it was with the idea of marriage, in the past, she had been fine with pushing that thought out of her head and coming to terms with the fact that it was just not her fate. When she thought she was to spend her days as nothing more than a governess, the mere thought of children of her own was laughable.

Now that she was a wife, it was no longer laughable – and she wanted more.

YN knew how children were conceived, and she knew that with the amount that YN and Harry had been doing that act, there was a chance that she could be pregnant, and yet (just as it had been before) neither one spoke of it. YN was beginning to be infuriated by it.

“You know,” Harry spoke from the side of her as they lay in his bed, “To read a book, you have to look at the words on the page.”

YN had not even noticed that she had stopped reading the book she had in her hand and instead was staring above the words and at the rest of the room. YN sighed and closed the book, dropping it down with a slight thud on the bedside table next to her.

“I guess I am just not in the mood to read,” YN sighed, slipping down so that her head was on the pillow, and she could bring the covers up and over her body.

“That is not like you,” Harry turned to face her, a slight smirk settling over his features, “Are you in the mood for something else?”  

YN rolled her eyes with a shake of her head, “Of course you would think that. No, Harry, I am just not in the mood to read.”  

“Since when can a book not capture your attention?” He reached over and placed a finger upon her cheek, lighting and tapping the skin so she would turn and face him, “Some may say I can read you like a book… what is wrong?”

YN turned upon her side, slipping her arm underneath her head as she stared at Harry, those eyes of his offering her an ounce of comfort at a time in which her mind was filled with different thoughts.

“Do you ever… do you ever think about having another child? With me?”

Harry went silent, his eyes squinting slightly before he turned away from YN. Her heart dropped and the comfort that had been there immediately disappeared the second that his eyes were not on her.

“I… I do not know,” Harry spoke after a second or so.

YN’s breath caught slightly, “You do not know?”

“I do not know,” Harry slightly tipped his head at her, “I have not ever thought about it.”

YN turned once more so that she was facing the ceiling, not wanting his face to be in her eyeline anymore. Whilst she had spent days, maybe even weeks or possibly months thinking upon this topic, imagining all of the possibilities of how this conversation would take place – she had never allowed herself to think upon this as one of them.

She supposed in part that was her fault – for allowing her thoughts to run away with her without any true evidence.

“I am sorry, I should not have brought the topic up,” YN spoke after a few minutes or so, before deciding that it was probably time to leave it altogether. She quickly pulled the covers off her, “I shall retire to my room tonight, I think.”  

“No,” Harry reached to grab her hand before she could stand up, “You do not have to do that.”

YN shook her head and pulled her hand out of his, “I just wish for a moment alone.”

YN stood up, reaching over for her gown to wrap around her body. She turned and saw Harry still lying in bed, this time with his hand over his face. It did not seem as though he was going to say anything, so she took that as her cue to leave the room.

Just as YN was about to reach for the door handle, Harry stopped her, “I cannot see you go through that.”

YN stopped her movements and turned to face him, “What?”

“I have witnessed first-hand what pregnancy can do to a woman,” Harry sat up, pulling the covers off his body, and moving towards the edge of the bed, “I cannot… I will not let you go through that.”

It all made sense to her now. The reason Harry had never even thought about it. She was ashamed of herself that she had not even thought of it. He had lost his first wife during childbirth, and he was afraid of the same for her.

“Harry…” YN took a step closer to him, watching as his slightly glassy eyes met hers.

“I know that you love the children, you truly do,” Harry spoke, “Are they not enough?”

YN was slightly taken aback by that question, and in turn, she ended up taking a step away from him, “I cannot believe you would say such a thing.”

Harry sighed, his head dropping forward slightly as he rested his hands upon his knees, “I am only saying what is the truth.”

“No, what you are saying is an excuse – what you are saying is nothing more than offensive,” YN shook her head, “I understand your worries, Harry, I truly do but what I cannot understand is you ever saying that Noah and Honorah are not enough for me!”

Harry sighed, his eyes failing to meet hers, “I apologise, YN, I should have never said such things.”

“No,” YN quickly retorted, “You should not have said such things, and yet you have! I only wished to discuss the topic with you Harry and I would never do a thing that you do not wish to do.”

Harry nodded, finally meeting her eyes again, “I understand, I apologise again.”

“We share the love of two beautiful children, Harry,” YN sighed, unable to comprehend why she was even having to explain the love she held for the children, “I apologise for wanting to just share our love in a child of our own.”

Harry gasped, and YN was shocked herself that those words had left her lips. Whilst YN had felt that feeling, love, for Harry for longer than she could put a timeline on – they had never said those words. If the conversation surrounding children had not caused animosity between the two of them, she worried if he did not return the favour that this certainly would. It was their cycle, one that no matter how much they attempted to change – YN feared they never would.

Harry did not say anything, and instead stood up and walked towards her. YN worried as to what it could be that he would say to her, or if he would indeed just walk past her altogether. Instead, he reached for her hands.

“Of course, I wish that we could share… share our love with a child but…” Harry shook his head, “I cannot lose you, YN. I love you too much. I need you too much. I fear, well, I would not be able to go on if anything were to happen to you.”

YN just sighed, taking a step forward to wrap her arms around his waist, her head falling upon his bare chest, “You will not lose me, Harry.”

“You do not know that,” He muttered against her hairline, “You cannot promise me that.”

“I know I cannot,” YN pulled away, looking up at those green eyes of his, “But… your fear, Harry, and whilst I am not diminishing it could also not be the case.”

Harry sighed, “I love you so much, YN.”

“Then, please,” YN rested her hand upon his cheek, “Think about it.”

Harry leaned down, placing the lightest of kisses upon her lips, “For you… I will.”

After quite a struggle, YN had just managed to get the children down and in bed, both of them deciding today was the day that they did not need a bedtime – and that they were both, in fact, too grown up for a bedtime.

Once she had finally managed to wrangle them into their beds, she wanted nothing more than to drop into bed with her husband and sleep the day off. The only problem was when she walked into their bedchamber – he was nowhere to be found.  She set off throughout the house, looking at all of the different spots she usually found him in. It was not until she spotted a light coming from underneath the door to his study that a small smile crossed her face.

The door was slightly ajar, almost as though he had left it slightly open in hopes that she would find him. She stepped into the room and saw him sitting at his desk, with his books open on the desk in front of him. She knew that he had to be busy to still be working.

Harry had his eyes down, resting his head against his hands. He seemed stressed. YN leaned against the door, a small smile crossing her lips as she watched him. 

“If you continue to furrow your eyebrows like that they will stay that way,” YN joked, watching as his eyes lifted to her.

YN watched as the furrow in his eyebrow ceased, and his chest emptied the air that he had been holding in. It was as though all of the stress in his body had dissipated the second that he saw him in the room. She had not seen him all day, and whilst she had missed him – it was evident just by the look on his face now that he had missed her too.

“Forever jesting,” Harry smiled, leaning back in his chair.

YN shrugged, “You married me for a reason.”

“That I did,” Harry sighed. He held his hands out, beckoning her to come closer to him. YN walked towards him, placing her hands in his and accepting his invitation to sit on his lap, “How are the children?”

YN groaned, dropping her head back slightly, “They have decided that they do not need a bedtime anymore. That they are old enough to go to bed whenever they decide it is time.”

Harry’s body shook with laughter slightly, “I fear the older Noah gets, the more difficult he will become.”

“It certainly seems that way,” YN smiled, her fingers threading through those curls at the nape of his neck, “Are you coming to bed anytime soon?”

Harry sighed, pursing his lips slightly, “I can certainly be persuaded to come to bed.”

YN rolled her eyes, shaking her head at Harry’s words, “I should have known that was going to be your motive.”

Harry’s hands found their place on YN’s waist, his thumb itching ever so closer to the swell of her breast, “I do not know what you mean.”

“You have that glint in your eyes,” YN noted, pulling back from him slightly, “The one you have when you are scheming something.”

“No schemes here,” Harry shook his head, holding his arms up in surrender, “It is just if I am not mistaken… the best time of the month.”

YN could not help the pull of her cheeks that his words caused. It was one thing that YN had noticed very quickly about Harry, even more so when their relationship had turned into what it is now – he remembered everything. Everything that YN told him that was of some sort of importance, he remembered. Even if it was not of much importance, just a tiny, small thing that YN had mentioned in passing, he remembered. It was probably one of the things that YN found the most endearing about Harry. 

When YN and Harry had their conversation about children, it had taken him a few weeks to come to terms with her request. She had left him to think about it and assured her that if anything were to happen, he would be prepared. He would make sure the greatest doctors were at their beck and call the second that anything seemed wrong, and he would ensure her safety at every point. With these in mind, he had decided to oblige her request.

But, when YN saw Harry’s smug expression there was a part of her that knew that at this point, he had no qualms with what she had asked.

“Well, then,” YN smiled, “Since it is the best time of the month, shall we retire upstairs?”

“I was thinking that the best course of action was to shut the door,” YN bit her lip, attempting to suppress her smile but it was no use. She immediately clambered off his lap to shut the door to the room that they were in.

When YN turned back around from the door, Harry had moved so that he was leaning against the front of his desk. For a moment, she just stared at him. She was unable to control the wave of desire that rushed over her body just at the sight of him. It was crazy to believe that just over a year ago they had not slept in each other’s bed and that these feelings had not yet reached the surface. Now, YN could not sleep without Harry beside her.

YN attempted to not think of the past, and instead, she was to focus on the future.

YN took light steps towards him, not stopping until she was in between his open legs. It was then that he almost pounced on her. With such rigour, he dropped his lips down to hers so that their faces all but smashed together, but YN did not mind. Her hands grasped the lapels of his jacket, pulling him even closer to her if that was possible.

“YN,” Harry mumbled against her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist until they rested in the small of her back.

It was not long before their hands were pulling the clothes off their bodies piece by piece. Harry was especially skilled at unlacing a corset, something that made their recent penchant for these activities all the easier to complete. There was something about the comfortability with their movements, the ease, that YN had both longed for and never thought would be a possibility. It was now that they knew the ins and outs of each other, they knew what made each other tick more than anyone else in this world.

Their movements quickened in their speed, and Harry’s body fell back slightly. YN ignored the sound of the items that had once lined Harry’s desk falling to the floor. YN would be lying if she said that this had not happened once or twice in this room and that they did not know the logistics of it. She would be lying even more so if she said that they did not know the logistics of most of the rooms in the house.

Harry’s lips slipped from hers and across her cheek, placing light kisses until they reached her neck. Harry was completely, and utterly obsessed with her neck. He always put the most kisses on the skin between her neck and her collarbone, when they were in bed that was where his head was always placed. The one that excited YN the most was always when they were in public, and Harry pushed her hair off her neck. His fingertips would always linger there, and the touch was always ever so light that it would set her skin alight.

It was always tough work to get him off her neck once he was there, but a tug on the curls at the nape of his neck was always enough to pull him off her and elicit the lightest of moans from his lips. His hands moved down and came to rest at the seam of her chemise, pushing the lace up ever so slightly so that his fingers could rest on the skin of her thighs. His fingertips scratched her skin lightly, causing her to moan into his mouth.

YN pulled away from him slightly so that she could help him unfasten his trousers and pull them swiftly down his legs.

“Eager?” He mumbled against her lips again, his hands pushing her chemise up until they were resting upon her waist.

YN shook her head, “Not eager, just fed up with your constant teasing.”

Harry did not reply. Instead, he picked her up and switched their positions. She landed on the desk with a slight thud, eliciting a moan from her lips. Harry wasted no time in slipping his fingers underneath the thin strap of her chemise, allowing it to fall from her shoulder and expose her chest to him. As the material fell, Harry purposefully slowed his movements so that the soft material rubbed against her pert nipples. To her, it was truly as though he knew her exact strings to pull.  

“You are teasing again,” YN mumbled, pulling away from him slightly in hopes that he would stop the teasing. She should have known better.

His hands grasped at her waist, his fingers setting her skin on fire. He pulled her towards the edge of the desk so that his lips could attach to her nipple. YN gasped, her back arching towards Harry’s body.

He pulled away, his chin resting on the exposed skin of her chest, “You knew what I was like when you married me.”

YN shook her head, wrapping her legs around his body to pull him closer to her, “Not in this capacity I did not.”

Harry laughed, placing a kiss on her skin once more before his lips caught her nipple again. His hands ran up the exposed skin of her thigh once more, pushing it all the way up to her waist until she was exposed to him. His eyes locked with hers again, the slight darkness in them causing a shiver to run across YN’s body and pool in the pit of her stomach.

His assault moved downwards until he was face to face with her. He gripped the skin of her thighs, pulling his legs upwards until they were resting upon his shoulders. She bit her lip in an attempt to conceal the illicit sounds that threatened to escape them. There was nothing that could have helped her when his head lurched forward, his mouth attaching to her immediately.

“God, Harry…” Her body fell backwards, her chest rising up and down at a record speed as he continued his movements.

The mix of continuous flicks of his tongue against her clit, mixed with the suction his lips provided brought her closer and closer to the edge within minutes. YN also wondered if there was a part to play in that in how much she had thought about this throughout the day. It was as though she had been shown something, and now her entire thoughts were consumed by it day by day.

With each second she could feel herself getting closer, and her hands found themselves attached to his hair. Her breathing quickened, and her chest rose and fell at an exasperated rate.

Then it stopped.

YN could not help the moan that passed her lips at the loss of contact, tears brimming against her waterline. She watched as Harry wasted no time in lifting his body back up to her, his lips dropping against hers once more.

“You are cruel,” She mumbled against his lips, feeling the smirk that crossed his features, “You are cruel, and you are mean.”

“I am not cruel and mean,” He responded, his hand moving between them to pull himself out. He gave his cock a few strokes before lining himself up with her, “That is just not the purpose of the best time of the month, is it?”

“It could be, but you…” YN’s words were interrupted by Harry pushing himself into her. YN gasped, her nails digging into the skin of his exposed back, “Oh, god!”

The first time that they had sex was the night of the morning they had been interrupted. YN knew that if it was not for the children, it would have probably happened then. They had spent the entire day exchanging what can only be called longing and intoxicating looks at one another. In part, it felt like both pleasure and torture. YN had been slightly nervous, she would not lie, but Harry had made her feel like the most beautiful woman on this earth. He had not rushed her, he had made her feel comfortable the entire time and most importantly, he had reassured her time and time again that they were doing this together. That this was them showing their affection for each other, in a way that two people could.

All of their sex was not like this. More often than not it was sloppy, and it was rushed, and it was in the five minutes spare they had within the day when nobody from the estate or the children wanted them. If it was not rushed, it was often very slow and sleepy – but in a different remark still sloppy.

“Oh, Harry,” YN’s hands ran down his back towards the curve of his bum, where she pressed her hands against the flesh in hopes of pushing him deeper into her.

Harry groaned against her lips, “This is what you wanted, yes? You were wanting me to fill you up?”

“It was,” YN responded, gasping when he hit that particular spot inside of her that caused her to tighten around him. His hips never stopped their assault on her, and she did not want him to. The second that he slipped his hand between their bodies to rub his thumb against her clit, she was right back to where she had been minutes prior.

Harry’s head dropped into the nape of her neck, resting there whilst he continued to move his hips faster and faster against hers. YN had tried her best to match his pace, but she could not. It was as though she could not control her body when she was with him. He knew exactly what she needed, and he would be the one to get her there.

YN’s entire body went rigid, her mouth parting as a string of moans mixed with calls of Harry’s name left her lips as she orgasmed, Harry’s following just after hers. Their chest, pressed close to one another, were heaving in sync, their breaths ragged but smiles still dancing across both of their lips.

Harry pulled out of her gently and helped her clean herself up, pulling her chemise back on so it was not revealing her in such a promiscuous way. YN laughed, accepting a kiss from Harry when he offered her a hand to help her off the table.

“Do you think it worked this time?” YN asked, wrapping her arms around Harry’s neck.

“We can hope,” Harry nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “But we will not be disheartened if it has not, yes?”

“Yes,” YN nodded, saying the words as though she was trying to convince herself that they were true.

“Let us go to bed,” Harry nodded, reaching his hand out for her.

YN laughed, “We must dress first, imagine if we are to pass any of the staff in this state!”

“They have seen much worse. Now…” Harry dropped down, wrapping his arm around her legs and hoisted her up into his arms, “Let us go to bed… we can tidy in the morning.”

YN just laughed, allowing him to carry her to their room.

YN had been sitting on a blanket in the garden with Noah and Norah when it happened.

When she awoke that morning, she had certainly felt strange. YN had attempted to ignore it, to push the feeling so far down that it would not affect her day. There were things in life that YN could face head-on, with no worries about the consequences. This was something that she could not do. This broke her heart.

YN had smiled at the maid that was in the garden with them, giving her a look to instruct her to look after the children whilst she rushed inside.

She had stripped herself of her ruined clothes as quickly as she could, ordered a bath to be drawn and sunk into the water without a second thought.

They had tried and tried to conceive a child, but it seemed that no matter their efforts (which were frequent) it did not seem to stick. It was heartbreaking every time that this happened, and yet she could not control anything that happened. YN knew that she was older, but she had heard of women having children even older than her before. She just did not understand why nothing seemed to stick for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Harry walked in with a smile on his face, “Miss Harding told me you were in here. It is not like you to have a midday bath.”

YN looked at Harry and at those kind eyes that were staring into hers, and she broke down. The sobs that left her lips were loud, and they shook her entire body. He immediately rushed over to her, kneeling by the tub so that he could wrap his arms around body, trying to soothe the sobs that were wracking through her body.

It was at that point that he noticed her discarded clothes, and the stain upon them told him everything that he needed to know.

“Oh, YN…” Harry’s lips skimmed the top of her head, the realisation and seeing her in such pain stabbed at his chest also, “I am so sorry.”

YN shook her head, leaning against his shoulder, “There is no need for you to apologise, Harry. It is not your fault… I just… I am finding it more and more difficult to deal with the disappointment time and time again.”

Harry sighed, his lips placing a light kiss on her hairline before he pulled away, “Move forward, slightly.”

YN nodded, bringing her legs closer to her chest, and moving forward slightly, She watched as Harry stripped from his clothes, dropping them on a pile by the end of the tub and allowed his body to slip into the water behind her. YN immediately relaxed into Harry’s arms, the feeling of his arms around her body offering the comfort that she needed at that time.

“I do not wish to offend you with this, my love, but…” YN dropped her head back on his shoulder, placing her hands upon his that sat on the soft skin of his thighs, “Do you think that we should stop our endeavours?”

YN pulled away to look at him, “You wish to stop having sex with me?”

“No!” Harry’s eyes immediately widened, “No, God no. I do not wish for that, at all. I just mean that… YN I cannot see you go through this month by month. I just thought that we could, stop putting such a pressure on our actions.”

YN let out a sigh of relief and dropped back down next to him, “Oh… I suppose you may be right.”

“I thought you should know by now that it is often not the case that I am not,” Harry jested from behind her, his nose nudging her cheek.

“I think you are mistaken by that,” YN retorted, shaking her head, “I am more often the one that is right, and you know it.”

“So I do,” Harry lifted his hand from the water to tap her cheek, turning her head so that their lips were inches away from each other, “I just think that if we possibly put a little less pressure on ourselves, then you would hurt less.”

As much as YN would hate to admit it again, Harry’s word did hold some truth. Whilst Harry had never put any sort of pressure upon her, she was unable to say that she did not do the same for herself. It was more often than not she found herself worrying if it was her that was the cause of the problems. Harry had two beautiful children already, and yet the only difference between then and now was YN – and that therefore meant that she had to be the problem which was occurring.

“I think that is the best course of action,” YN nodded, dropping her head forward so that her forehead rested against his.

It was not long before he leant forward and placed his lips against hers. The kiss was soft, and light and the only word that YN could use to describe it was loving. It was as though no matter what mood YN found herself in or what was possibly going on in her head – the only thing that ever brought her out of such was him.

Harry’s hand lifted to rest against her cheek, resting against the soft skin and in part brushing all of the worry out of her body. It was a shock to her at what his touch did to her. She never, ever wanted it to end. She was the one to pull away first, placing her head against his shoulder again.

“We shall take the pressure off,” YN nodded, “And wait to see what happens.” “It will happen when the time is right,” Harry placed his head against hers, “And we should not worry ourselves until that time.”

YEAR SEVEN

From the last time that YN felt strange, this one was different.

The feeling itself was nothing that YN would say was significant – but it was there. She waited for the moment that her courses would come and prove to her that whatever she was feeling was just the prerequisite to that – and yet it never did.

YN tried not to worry herself, or to let her mind spiral but it was often difficult not to. It was as though there were some things that her mind just had to run free with. She did not tell Harry of her thoughts, as she did not want to worry him or to let him get his hopes up for something which could not be true just yet. That it could once again just be her mind playing tricks on her.

That was until, a month or so after her courses should have arrived that she started to feel waves of nausea race over her.

That was when her suspicions grew more into what she would deem to be facts. Her missed courses, the nausea, her constant state of fatigue and the fact that foods that she had once loved turned her stomach in ways that she could not express.

These feelings, which had been slight at first soon grew into something that she could not hide.

It was just a random Thursday that she had woken up and felt quite unwell, and whilst she had truly tried to get up and get herself ready for the day – she just could not.

The only way in which YN’s stomach did not churn uncontrollably was if she was laid down. That is how she found herself, on a lounger by the window in the drawing room. Her arm was covering her eyes, and she was focusing on nothing but her breathing – that was the only way in which to settle her stomach.

Even when she heard the door open, and Harry walked into the room – YN could not muster the energy to lift her arm and greet him. She could hear him talking to her, and yet her ears could not focus on the words that he was saying.

It was not until he dropped himself on the edge of the lounger she was laid on was it that she finally turned to greet him, but it was certainly not the greeting he was possibly expecting.

“Why do you smell like that?”

Harry chuckled, “Did you not hear me saying that I had just returned from my morning ride?”

“No,” YN shook her head, her features grimacing, “If I had, I would not be asking you why you smell like that.”  

“It is nice to know that you listen to me,” Harry jested, leaning forward to place either one of his arms around her body. He leant forward in hopes that she would return the favour, and yet she did not. She placed her hand on his chest and pushed him away from her.

“You… The smell…” YN placed her hand over her mouth, pushing Harry out of the way so that she could reach the chamber pot she had left at the side of her on the lounger.

Harry dropped down next to her, pulling her hair back from around her face. He was confused, and even more so when he reached out to wrap his arm around her body and she pushed him away once again.

“Do not come near me,” She held her hand out, instructing him to stay where he was, “You smell horrid.”

“Are you ill?” Harry ignored her orders, “Do I need to fetch a doctor?”

YN shook her head, leaning back against the lounger, “That is not necessary.”

“YN, you must tell me if you are ill,” YN sighed at his words, her annoyance growing by the second, “I cannot bear to see you in pain.”

YN raised her hand to cover her eyes once more, “I am not ill in the way that you think.”

“Then what is it?”

YN tried to swallow the feeling that was bubbling within her, but she could not, “Is there no way that you could change, or maybe even wash before we have this conversation?”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, “YN tell me what it is right now.”

YN sighed, turning to meet his eyes despite her stomach’s protests, “I have… evidence to believe that I am with child.”

Harry’s eyes widened as he looked upon her, “What?”

“Did you not hear me?” YN did not mean to snap, but she could not lie and say that her patience was not wearing thin with him, “I said that I believe I am with child.”

“I heard what you said, I just…” Then, his face broke out into a smile, “It is just that I am slightly in shock, but I cannot say not overjoyed by the news – and possibly a little apprehensive.”

Harry attempted to move closer to her, but she pushed him back once more.

“Harry, I wish nothing more than to hug you and kiss you right now to celebrate but I fear if you come any closer to me you might receive something else entirely.”

Harry finally understood what it was that she was saying to him. He stood up and immediately started to unbutton his coat and his shirt. He removed his suspenders, and his trousers came next until he was stood in nothing but his underwear in front of her.

“Would this suffice?” He held his arms open in front of her.

YN laughed, “You will have to come closer for me to make my decision.”

Harry laughed as he dropped back down beside her, wrapping his arms around his wife. He lifted her with such care and ease until she was upon his lap. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“We are having a baby?” He smiled, immediately leaning forward to capture her lips with his, “I cannot quite believe it.”

“Well, I cannot say for certain, but I do think that it is highly likely,” YN nodded, accepting the light kisses he was giving her through her words.

Sighing, YN pursed her lips in an attempt to keep her feelings down. Without his clothes on was certainly much better, but the smell was still lingering around him, and going straight towards her stomach.  

“Harry, I am sorry, but you need to bathe,” YN pushed herself up and off his lap, “I cannot be around you until you do.”

“I thought you vowed to love me – smell and all?” He pouted, still making no movements to stand up.

YN shook her head, “That was before such a smell did this to me. Please, freshen up and then we can continue our conversation.”

Harry just nodded, pushing himself up until he was standing, “I shall wash straight away.”

“I need to leave this room,” YN shook her head, walking towards the door, “Can you open the windows before you leave to air it out?”

Harry laughed but did as his wife wished. His wife that was indeed carrying their child.

“I must say, it’s been too long since you have been in my shop, YN,” Miss Francis spoke, passing her friend who sat on the settee in her shop a cup of tea, “I might have to come and have words with that husband of yours to let you free every once in a while.”

YN chuckled, “You should have seen him this morning. I said that I needed to come and see you and he was readying himself to join us.”

Miss Francis gasped and shook her head, dropping down on the settee with her cup of tea in her hand also.

As much as YN hated to admit it – she had slightly neglected Miss Francis and her friendship since she was married. She, of course, saw her whenever she needed a dressmaking or something altered – but they both knew that was not good enough. Miss Francis had been there with her through thick and thin, and she hated that it had let it get this bad.  

“Well, if I was worried about whether or not he loved you – I’m certainly not worried about that now,” Miss Francis offered the younger girl a smile, but that dropped once she saw the expression on YN’s face, “What is that face for? Are you… is everything okay?”

YN offered Miss Francis a small smile and placed the cup down on the table in front of them. She turned and reached over to grab the older woman’s hand.

“I need to apologise to you, Miss Francis,” YN spoke, squeezing Miss Francis’ hand.

Miss Francis furrowed her eyebrows, placing her cup down, “Whatever for, my dear?”

YN sighed, “For getting married, and not coming to visit you as often. It was despicable of me, and I cannot tell you how sorry I am.”

Miss Francis laughed with a shake of her head, “You do not need to apologise to me, silly girl. You were a newlywed; I am just your modiste – there is no reason to apologise for not coming to see me without a need for it.”

“No,” YN shook her head, “Miss Francis, you are not just a modiste to me. You are my friend I would say that you are my best friend. You encouraged me to marry, you held my hand the morning of my wedding. You gave me your family’s jewels to wear at the ball. And I… well I handled the changes in my life poorly when it came to you. I therefore need to apologise to you.”

When YN looked back up at Miss Francis, her heart broke at the sight of her watery eyes. She had never felt disappointment in herself like this before, and she was angry. She was angry at herself for abandoning this woman.

“YN,” Miss Francis shook her head, “All of that does not matter to me. I was happy just knowing that you were happy.”

“I am happy,” YN nodded, “And I promise you that I will never let it get to this again. I will come to see you as much as I can until… well…”

Miss Francis furrowed her eyebrows, reaching forward to pick up a biscuit, “Until what?”

YN pursed her lips in an attempt to hold back her smile, and yet she could not do it. This had been the real reason that YN had wanted to come and make amends for the guilt that she had been feeling. When she had finally come to terms with the fact that she was pregnant a few days ago, the first person (besides Harry) that she had wanted to tell was Miss Francis. She had wanted to tell her straight away, but it had taken her a few days for the nausea to not be so bad, and in fact for her to be able to get up and ready and even contemplate leaving the house. Harry had not left her alone these past few days, doing everything that he could to make her comfortable. That was why when she had felt fine this morning and had asked Harry to make sure the carriage was ready to take her into town – Harry had tried and tried to get her to allow him to come with her.

It had taken YN explaining to Harry the reason behind the visit, and how she needed to do this on her own for Harry to finally let her go without him. It was under the stipulation that she would go there and come straight back, and if she started to feel ill at any point she had to return immediately. YN, not wanting to upset him anymore nodded and accepted the stipulations with a light kiss to his lips. Any of the turning in her stomach that she felt today was more the nerves of the conversation she was going to have – rather than a cause of the baby.

“Let us just say that… life might be turned around once more in eight months.”

Miss Francis gasped, dropping the biscuit she had in her hand onto her lap and leaning over to wrap her arms around the younger woman. YN laughed, swaying with Miss Francis as they embraced.

“Oh, YN,” Miss Francis pulled away, the tears in her waterline now ones of joy, “I am so happy for you, darling.”

YN had her own tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. Another part of this which she had not expected to experience as well as the nausea was the up and down of her emotions. Harry, who probably had prior knowledge of this, had taken her constant changes of mood like a champ thankfully. YN, however, was struggling slightly with the changes.

“I wanted to tell you,” YN nodded, “I needed to tell you. I need you to be with me throughout this.”

“Of course, I will, darling,” Miss Francis smiled, running her hand across YN’s cheek, “I will be here for anything that you need.”

“Thank you,” YN nodded.

It was then that Miss Francis sprung up into action, walking over to the trunk where YN had brought some of her dresses with her. YN knew better than to interrupt Miss Francis when she was working, so instead she stood up and allowed the older woman to boss her around the way she needed her to.

“I did wonder when you showed up with the trunk what was happening,” Miss Francis spoke pulling the dresses out, “I should have known.”

“It is just the ones that I think with a bit of altering should have some give,” YN nodded, allowing the older woman to hold the dress up to her body, “Harry said I should have some new ones made but I do not see the need.”

“You might have to, YN,” Miss Francis explains, “Depending on how much altering I can do to these dresses.”

“Well,” YN offers Miss Francis a smile, “You have never been one to turn down a challenge.”

“That I have not,” Miss Francis laughs, “Now, you have to tell me everything. How did you tell Mr Styles?

“It is not quite the story you imagine it to be, I am afraid,” Then the two women broke out into a fit of giggles and it was as though nothing had happened between them at all.

Nathaniel Styles entered the world a mere eight months later.

Eight months of what some might conclude as torture, but others may count as bliss. YN had realised that her pregnancy would be a mixture of the two. She possibly should have realised when the first few months of her pregnancy were torture that she was not necessarily going to have the easiest pregnancy. It had been easy to realise that this experience was beautiful, and YN would not have changed it for the world – it was also difficult for her.

It had also taken a toll on Harry. He had already been particularly attentive before her pregnancy, but it seemed as though it was even more so when she got pregnant. She should have known the way that he acted when she had first told him that she was pregnant and that he was going to be that way. If she thought that Harry was bad before, the closer they were to welcoming their bundle of joy into the world – the more that he would not leave her alone at all. He was there, always in the room with her and ready to be there if anything happened. YN, whilst she may not have said so during time, was thankful for him.

By the time that YN had realised she was in labour, there had been no time to do anything. If Harry had not devoted himself to being close to her at all times (especially during the latter part of the pregnancy) then she would have worried about him missing the birth.

It was slightly scary the speed at which her labour progressed, there was not even any time to call for a doctor, or even Harry’s mother or Miss Francis. She had to rely upon Harry and the maids that were at hand in the house.

Whilst Harry had tried his very hardest to not make it obvious that he was worried, YN knew him too well and knew that he was. The speed at which her labour was progressing was the thing that worried him more than anything. It was as though he had kept worrying about something going wrong, and yet nothing ever seemed to.

It was in the mid-afternoon when their baby boy made his way into the world, making their two other children siblings once more.

Harry had not put Nathaniel down since he had made his entrance into the world. One of the first things that caused YN to fall in love with Harry was the love and care that he had for his children, and now that they had one of their own – that had certainly not changed. YN had been resting in the bed, unable to take her eyes off her husband sitting on the lounger next to the window, with their baby boy placed on his chest. Nathaniel was sleeping soundly against his father’s chest, obviously finding the comfort he needed in the skin-to-skin contact.

There was not a single sound in the room apart from a babble from Nathaniel now and then, until there was a knock at the door. YN’s face broke into a smile when she saw Anne, Harry’s mother peering her head into the room.

Anne held a similar smile on her face, “Are you up for any visitors?”

“Of course, I am,” YN beamed, any ounce of fatigue immediately dissipating from her body. She watched as Noah and Norah walked into the room, both of them rushing around the bed and towards her.

“Is that him? My baby brother?” Noah pointed to the baby bundled against Harry’s chest, his face beaming out into a smile.

“It is,” YN smiled, her head dropping against her shoulder as she watched the two older children walk closer to their new sibling.

It was not often that YN would say that she saw the two of them nervous. They were such confident children; it was so out of character for them. There was nothing in this world that scared them, and yet for some reason, they both seemed that way about meeting their new brother. As the children inched closer to their father, YN felt the bed dip at the side of her. She smiled as she saw Anne sitting there, immediately reaching out to grab YN’s hand.

“How are you feeling?” Anne asked, pushing some of YN’s hair out of her face slightly.

YN smiled, accepting the woman’s comforting touch, “Tired, but I am well. It all seemed to happen very quickly.”

“Harry’s birth was just the same,” Anne smiled, “If you need anything, do not be afraid to ask.”

YN smiled, “Thank you.”

Both of the women’s attention immediately turned to Harry, who was instructing Noah on how best to sit to hold his brother in his arms. The eldest boy’s eyes were wide, and he was listening to every word from his father’s mouth as he spoke.

“Keep your arms together, just like that,” Noah nodded, watching as his father moved Nathaniel from his arms and placed him down in his sons. His face broke into a smile once the little boy was safe and secure in his arms.

“He’s so small,” Noah commented, his eyes wide as he looked up to YN for just a second until they dropped back down to his brother.

“Well,” Harry sighed, reaching over to run the back of his finger across the expanse of Nathaniel’s small cheek, “You both were once this small.”

“Really?” Norah’s eyes lit up, “But you always say that I am your big girl.”

Harry nodded, suppressing a chuckle slightly before he reached his arm out to wrap around his daughter’s body, pulling her into the side of him, “You are my big girl, but you were once my small girl too, but you will always be my baby.”

Norah smiled, accepting the kiss that Harry placed on her cheek. It was very quickly that (just as her brother’s) Norah’s attention was placed upon her little brother, who had interrupted his sleep once again to let out a small whine before falling straight back into a slumber.

“Look at that,” YN smiled, “He feels safe with his big brother.”

Noah smiled once more before it was replaced with one of concern when Nathaniel broke out into tears, his little face turning red and his eyebrows furrowing. Noah’s eyes widened, looking between Harry and YN with a panic-stricken face.

“It is okay, bud,” Harry chuckled slightly, an amused glint in his eyes as they met YN’s, “He must be hungry.”

YN and Anne both chuckled from their place on the bed, watching as Noah angled his arms towards Harry slightly so that he could take his brother off him.

“I think that is our cue to leave,” Anne smiled, squeezing YN’s hand one last before climbing off the bed, “I am sure that there’s some trouble that we can get up to.”

YN smiled, opening her arms wide so that both Noah and Norah could come and hug her and kiss her before they left. Norah had a pouting face as she came over to YN. The older woman attempted to wipe it off her face, but she could not.

“And what is with that face, Norah?” YN teased, running her finger across the girl’s cheek lightly.

She pouted one more time, “I did not get to hold Nathaniel.”

YN smiled, placing a kiss on the younger girl’s cheek, “Your time will come, Norah, I promise. But he’s small now and needs me to feed him but I promise that once he has a full stomach – you will be the first to hold him.”

Norah sighed but alas nodded her head, “I suppose I can live with that.”

“I suppose you can,” YN smiled, “Now go, I’m sure Nana has plenty of things planned for you in the meantime.”

The children both nodded, accepting their Nana’s outstretched hands and walked out of the room. Both Harry and YN watched as the door closed behind them, a smile passing between them as it did. YN pulled herself up slightly so that she was in a sitting position, and smiled as Harry dropped down next to her, passing her Nathaniel as he did.

YN smiled at Nathaniel, and even though his little face was still red and scrunched with tears, YN would not change it for the world. Harry helped in pulling her nightgown down of herself, the act itself being sort of difficult with little Nathaniel in her arms. She sighed slightly as Nathaniel attached to her nipple, her body falling into Harry’s embrace as he wrapped his arm around YN’s shoulder, her head dropping down to his.

It was as though the second that Nathaniel had latched on, his face relaxed and peace was restored throughout his body. His eyes were wide, never leaving his parents faces as he began to eat. It was a beautiful moment, a moment that YN would never forget.

Harry sighed, lifting his free hand up to run his finger across Nathaniel’s cheek again, “He’s got your nose.”

YN chuckled slightly, trying her hardest not to shake too much and disturb the little boy pressed against her chest, “He does… it is no wonder I had so much heartburn with all of that hair – that’s certainly taking after you.”

Harry is the one who chuckles this time, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of YN’s head, “I hope he has your eyes.”

YN shook her head, turning so that she was facing Harry, “I want him to have your eyes.”

Harry smiled, leaning forward to place his forehead against YN’s. Harry’s eyes were one of the first things that YN noticed about him, and they will always be one of her favourite things about him. People always say that home is not a house, and instead can be found in a person. That was more obvious to her when she met Harry, and even more so when she looked into those green eyes of his. Those eyes, especially when they looked at her made her feel more at home than anything in this world. They were her comfort, her love, and more importantly, her home.

“Are you sure that you want him to have my eyes?” Harry questioned, pulling away slightly to look at her, “Because we both know we will not be able to say no to him.”

YN laughs before shaking her head, “I have no trouble saying no to you.”

“That is true,” Harry nods, “I suppose it shall be me that struggles to say no. I will compromise with the next one having your eyes.”

YN chuckled, “The next one?”

“Of course,” Harry sighed, “If you would want that.”

After sharing a slight chuckle between the two of them, they both turned to look at their son, who was becoming drowsier by the second. They decided that now was probably the best time to burp and place him down for a nap. Harry placed a cloth over his shoulder and carefully removed Nathaniel out of YN’s arms again, picking him up and placing him upon his shoulder.

YN watched with a smile as Harry started to walk around the room, gently rubbing Nathaniel’s back in hopes that it would coax a burp out of him. There was something so beautiful about the sight in front of her The fact that seven years ago YN had thought that marriage was out of the picture for her, and here she was now with a husband she could not love any more than she did and three beautiful children.

It was not long before Nathaniel let out the perfect burp, and his eyes began to close once more. He, so far, was the perfect baby. YN could not be luckier, and she also could not be luckier with the man she was raising him with.

“That’s it, baby boy,” YN watched as Harry swaddled the baby with a blanket, dropping him down lightly in the bassinet at the side of the bed.

There was a sigh from Nathaniel, and then not a single peep from him. Harry sighed, dropping back down on the bed next to YN, pulling her closer to him so she was resting her head on his chest. YN sighed into his body, dropping her hand upon his chest.

“Thank you,” YN mumbled, lifting her hand so that she was looking at him, “For everything.”

“No,” Harry shook his head, “Thank you.”

[bitter-me]

I Hate/Love You

Imbibitor Lunae . Dan Heng | M. Reader

----------

"Who are you? Cause you're not the man I fell in love with.. "

----------

Who..? Who is this person? The one standing in front of him? There's something about him... his face? His hair? His clothing? The way he looks at him? The way he talks with him? The man doesn't know why... but it drove him MAD.

This is a story of a man who was drove into madness by——

"Hey." The man turn around and was met by Stelle, she look at her friend with her usual neutral expression, everyone was happy and celebrating in the Express after defeating Phantylia and saving the Luofu but why is he sitting here? all alone. She took a seat next to him, wondering as to why her new friend is acting this way on a supposedly happy and joyful occasion as she look at him, expecting a respond.

"Hello, Stelle. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the others?" [Name] asked with a confused expression. Stelle isn't supposed to be here. She's supposed to be with the others, enjoying this momentous occasion. "I could say the same to you, why aren't you celebrating with us?" [Name] went silent at Stelle words, he turns back to look at the stary skies outside of the Express his expression turns somber.

"[Name]."

"It's nothing."

'Is it.. because of Dan Heng?"

"....."

Dan Heng... a name he didn't recognized... a name he wasn't familiar with... who is he again...? He doesn't know anyone by that name. "But isn't this your chance in reconciling with him?" She asked.

Reconcile? Him? Reconciling with Dan Heng? She got to be joking... why would he reconcile with someone he barely knows? 'There's nothing to reconcile." [Name] stated as his gaze turns cold. Stelle was taken aback by his statement she thought that. "But—" "You can't reconcile with someone you don't know, Stelle."

She's visibly flabbergasted by [Name]'s words, didn't... didn't Dan Heng said the two had some history together? Did she misheard it? Did she forgot some detail? "I can't put my finger on it... but every time I look at him.."

"I get angry—no—MAD. It's like I'm consumed by madness."

"Huh?" Stelle looks even more shock at this information. He's also a Vidyadhara, and yet he's dissatisfied with his previous High Elder? Why is that? Didn't the two have some sort of history together? What happened between the two?

.

.

Dan Heng... whenever he looks at that man.. he is reminded by his Beloved. Whenever he interact with him, that vision never failed to resurface. He saw Dan Feng talking to him once more. It's such a warm and wonderful feeling... to have your love talk and look at you in such a way. He's in pure bliss... such a serene moment... a moment he doesn't want to end..

But once Dan Feng does something out of character... reality starts to seep through as he is once again reminded that the one he holds dear is no more. And the man who stood there is in fact not Dan Feng... but Dan Heng...

Wha.. he can't... what..? It never failed to surprise him, every time.. he fell for the vision over and over again.. and shocked himself over and over again as he sees the reality seeping through his blissful vision. A vision he desperately clings onto.. every single time..

He fallen for this.. mind trickery... he can't help it..

This continuation of shock and disbelief. Drove him into madness. He had to do something. Anything. Anything to stop this madness!! Anything to get this horrible maddening feeling away from him!!!

.

.

"Is something the matter?"

This snapped the Vidyadhara out of his thoughts, a soft yet cold voice he's very familiar with, something he had grown to love. To adore. "It's nothing." [Name] answered calmly, his back facing the other. He doesn't seem to like nor believe [Name]'s words as they huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms.

Such a familiar sound and atmosphere... even with his back facing him, [Name] could feel the slight annoyance yet care in the man. This warm feeling he felt regarding it... such a wonderful feeling.. he want to stay like this forever.. for as long as he live.. before his rebirth cycle..

As a faint smile made it's way to his face [Name] turns around to see the other only for the serene feeling he have to disappear as he was met by someone else. Someone he didn't recognized. Someone he thought was his Beloved. They have the same hair, same voice, same nature... but it's not him.. and never will be. [Name]'s expression hardens before giving the other a small smile as to not come off as rude or impolite. "Ah... Dan Heng.." "I'm fine really."

Dan Heng isn't convinced at all by the man's words. But knowing [Name], he won't tell him a thing. He kept his feelings close to him. Careful as to not let anyone know anything about him and the man who hides under those layers.

So he dropped it.

.

.

Returning to the Luofu wasn't exactly a part of the plan but there's no harm in visiting old friends, no? As the crew visits old friends and catching up with them. Dan Heng can't help but think of one particular Vidyadhara, where is he?

So he did what his instincts tells him to do and visit Scalegorge Waterscape, there he was saw the man he remembered but the moment he reach out to him, he said the words he thought he'll never hear came out of his mouth.

"Who are you?"

Dan Heng was stunned. What did he say? Was he hearing things? No... he didn't just--"Oh? Are you perhaps a friend of my previous incarnation?"

Oh... so that's it... that's what happened...

The Vidyadhara he had grown fond of had been reborn. He had undergone his rebirth cycle and is reborn a new.

He had got what he wanted. To get the horrible maddening feeling away from him. In the end, that wish had came true and he is sane once more. No longer plague by the madness he was trapped in. The never ending torment... had finally ended.

And just as the previous High Elder began to feel his heart beating again. His heart was too slow.

But even so... their love will still be inflicted with madness as the other only saw Dan Feng, not Dan Heng and he could never let go of that blissful vision. ever.

The Dan Feng that [Name] knew is gone, and so does the [Name] that Dan Heng knew.

This is a story of a man who was drove into madness by his love for a person who no longer exist.

[drrden]

‘Study’ Leon Kennedy x Gender Neutral! Reader

I headcanon Leon was smart in highschool - in History majorly. So...

There's always bound to be that one student who pays attention to a hundred percent of the lessons taught, not letting their attention falter for even a brief moment. As if missing out on a split second's worth of information could tarnish their grades and ruin their entire future. In the majority of your classes, this is none other than Leon Kennedy himself, a friendly guy who's typically on the quieter side. Predominantly during lessons though, that is, since he refuses to let any of his friends distract him from achieving the best results in the exams that he can possibly get. Perhaps it's the desire to distance himself from his past, the one he's buried deep within himself, limiting to it a certain degree of obscurity. Figuring that, if he's academically successful enough, then he won't get roped up into some shady side of society; someone from his biological family's past might catch up to him one day. No way is Leon letting him continue the legacy of the family he admittedly misses more than anything, despite having lived with his adoptive parents for the majority of his life by now. All of this could be the reasoning, some twisted sense of inferiority to his classmates who had normal childhoods. Or maybe, just maybe, he's smart. Could just be as simple as that, he's just a guy wanting to do well in life - but it just appears to come unnaturally easily.

The class that he's most successful in at the moment is History, having a profound interest for events of the past, and how they've shaped modern society. And it just so happens to be one of the lessons you share with Leon, despite your enthusiasm not being as evident or intense as his. As any student with a desire to pursue other things than being shoved into a cramped yet quiet classroom would, you're not always in tip-top shape to be paying attention to every little detail. That's where a certain well-mannered American of Italian descent comes into the picture, being your study pal. Not that he exactly volunteered for the position for himself, but he didn't exactly have it in him to deny you of the privilege - being far too polite to let you fail any of the tests due to having no clue about some of the course content. Though it was imposed upon him suddenly a few months ago, he still puts effort into your weekly sessions; bringing flashcards for you to keep, with summaries neatly filling up the rectangular cardboard pieces. Which are all color coded by the way. For once, the topic you're studying is at least mildly interesting, since it's from a period spanning between just before World War One to a while after it. Despite this, the weekly meet ups between you and Leon persist.

Which is where the two of you find yourselves once again, nestled away in a quiet corner of the school's library - away from all the jocks throwing crumpled up balls of paper as if they're still in middle school. Leon flinches a little when he hears them in the distance, still having a sense of anxiety that they're going to come over here and disturb the one time he gets to talk to you. "So. Uhm. The Treaty of Versailles." The words not exactly tumbling from his lips, instead he speaks stiffly - like English isn't even his mother tongue, as if he's reading from an automated speech. Offering an encouraging nod, you urge him to continue, accustomed to the pattern of his timidness easing up the further you get into studying together. "Yeah, that's what we said you were going to go over today." A gentle reminder, and that's all it takes for him to straighten up, clearing his throat and glancing round; as if searching for the information on the cracked walls of the building. Snapping out of it after a short moment, his attention flicks back to you, nodding. "Ah, right. So...Germany were expected to face repercussions for starting the war in the first place." For a while, he rambles on about the reparations bill and how their army was limited to 100,000 men, all the basics as he gives you a rundown.

Reaching into his bag, he pulls out designated flashcards, decorated with little doodles and smiley faces, complimenting his endearingly messy handwriting. Leon passes them over to yours and you accept, fingers brushing against his momentarily - and you can almost swear you notice his unblemished cheeks redden partially. "You, uhm, seem to know a lot more about this than you do with other topics we've covered together." Though the sentence is more of a declarative, there's a tinge of a compliment within there, however he's much too unsure of himself to outwardly praise you. Not thinking much of it, you sheug, brushing the notion off with nonchalance. "Anything's better than learning about those art guys, Leonardo DiCaprio or whatev-" "Da Vinci." He corrects, eyes widening as he seems more caught off guard at his interruption than you are, having not meant to come across as rude. You him in response, not finding it not really offensive or anything, but Leon gets the wrong end of the stick. "Yeah-" "I'msorryIdidn'tmeantointerrupt." Being totally honest, you didn't really catch a word of that, but you've gotten the general gist that Leon's apologetic over one small interruption, but it's sweet in a way. Essentially panting over the exertion from speaking so quickly and letting his thoughts tumble out in an effort to soothe your nonexistent frustration.

It's like that awkward stage as a relationship is brewing, two people desperate to avoid any awkward silence when they're with the person who it's most enjoyable to talk to. But these introverted qualities only apply to Leon, and you offer him a blank stare - not deterred by his anticts in the slightest. Just continuing on as if nothing had happened. "Leon, it's fine." Though you brush it off, you can't help but notice there's a certain nagging feeling in you, sensing that his jitteriness is more prevalent than usual. "...Are you okay?" Following a quick glance around, you lean in and lower your voice; wearying over if someone else is around to hear. The answer is given, plain and simple, biting on the tip of his thumb and sharing his head frantically. "It's fine. Just the Literature test is coming up and I'm not exactly confident." Literature. You're actually decent at that, maybe he knows this already. Well, thinking of it now, there's not exactly been anything you've done to repay him. "I guess we could make our little rendezvous two times a week." A playful tease from you, but the suggestion is genuine. "And I do owe you a dinner, I guess." Looks like you'll be seeing a lot more of each other.

[mskenway97]

I've decided to write more about the next part of D 16 and Orion Pax while they were trying to find their little Human, I've put them both together ^^.

The cry of despair at seeing the garbage chute empty, without their poor little human. Neither of them couldn't talk about anything, the silence felt so cold until D 16 punched the glass again hard, seeing how it had dented its servos. Seeing his poor face looking at them and now there was nothing left there was just a big silence. Orion, on the other hand, felt guiltier than ever. He had left the door open when he realized he was looking for it, he started looking all over for it. He had left the door open and when he realized he was looking for it, he started looking all over for it. you used to stay in the room, although Orion noticed that you were looking at the bracelet on your suit… suit… Maybe they were sending you a signal from their planet or a location to find them… But now it didn't matter, you weren't there.

-D 16, I," said Orion as D 16 glared at him.

-How could you let her out of your sight! This wouldn't have happened because of you! - D 16 was exalted, leaving Orion shocked, he had never seen him scream like that before, his optics were glowing with anger, he saw his servos maculated. Orion was well aware that it was his fault, they had both sworn to protect you and he had failed both you and him. had failed you as much as he had.

-I know but she didn't use to leave, it must have happened? - said Orion with barely a voice

-Now she's gone! - D 16 shouted at him as he tried to hold back his flows.

-You think I don't know that! But that doesn't mean she's dead! You always have to look at everything from the negative side! She survived crashing with her ship! She stayed with us… You're not the only one who felt joy from her company! I… I… - said Orion no longer holding his fluids and his optics began to ooze as he sat down on the floor as he sat down on the floor. D 16 did the same staying close to Orion, he knew he adored you as he did, but for now they were both miserable…. The next few days were not easy for both of you, your absence was noticeable in the room. Orion was no longer so energetic, he had just been empty, just carrying out orders from the mine so as not to think of you… When you try to talk to him in his language or you would stay on his lap until you fell asleep.

D 16 had to support himself but he couldn't help but miss you feeling your little figure cut out in his chassis as you sang making his audio receivers have a beautiful harmony, giving him a little smile and a caress on your head. The nights were not the most pleasant for both of them… they had nightmares about the day you left, sleepless nights, ending up with more fluid in their optics when the darkness took over to give them some calm. Until certain rumors began to be heard that they had visited a certain critter or monster. Those rumors got to more information until they said something that caught the attention of both of them. The color of your suit… They knew you were still alive from the surface. Now they had two problems in mind:

You were in tremendous danger.

They had to get you to the surface. Orion didn't care if he was going to look for you and D 16 was even more determined than he was. They were going to take you home. No matter what.

[lihhelsing]

Part 3

Eddie can barely react when Steve offers to pick him up at his house for their date night.

Eddie is a nervous wreck at this point as he's been with everything that's related to Steve (or related to not-Steve). 

Ever since he first matched with him, Eddie felt like he was living in a parallel world because there was no way in hell someone like him would ever swipe right on someone like Eddie. And yet. It really happened. 

Well, at first it didn't, but then Steve called and said all those nice things to Eddie and fuck if he wasn't easy when someone flattered him. 

But Eddie was also a paranoid shit, so he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Steve to laugh at him and tell him it was just a prank. For him to ghost him - which maybe would be even worse. 

But Steve didn't and now he was waiting outside of his place in a fucking BMW? What the fuck was that? 

Steve looks good because he always does. They had been exchanging pictures of themselves as they talked and even when Steve was all sweaty and gross from a workout he still looked good. Eddie compensated with good angles and dork faces that Steve said time and time again were adorable. 

He insisted so much that he thought Eddie was cute that Eddie was almost believing him. He had also tried his hardest for their date, putting on some of his favorite clothes, a band t-shirt and ripped skinny jeans that made him look good. His hair was down because it felt like a good armor if he needed to hide from something. 

Steve doesn't even give him time to anything before he's smiling and saying 'you look so handsome,' and placing his hand on Eddie's thigh and fuck, he forgot how to breathe. 

"Thanks, you, uh, you look good, too," Eddie blabbers and Steve chuckles and it's adorable. He's adorable and Eddie is losing his shit. 

"Ready for our date?" Steve smiles and turns the car on, his hand heavy on Eddie's leg still. There's a part of Eddie that's sure he's the farthest thing from ready, but this is happening, no question. 

X

Somehow, Eddie tricks Steve into inviting him over after the movie is over. Steve said he wanted to take him to dinner, but he failed to mention dinner was actually eating popcorn and candy at a drive-in. 

Eddie had no notes. 

After the movie started, he managed to relax a bit. Steve seemed to feel it because he, too, relaxed and when they were done with their food, he offered his hand for Eddie to take. He felt giddy like a high-schooler and like Steve had, somehow, known Eddie never had the chance to do any of that in high school.

Despite his fancy car, Steve's apartment is more modest than Eddie expects it to be. He mentioned having a roommate who he's friends with, although he said he just met her over the internet and she hooked him up with the job. 

"So, is she like your best friend or something?" Eddie asks as Steve opens the car door for him as if he's a prince out of a fairy tale. 

"Oh, no. I mean, we're friends and we talk and I really like her company, but I don't think she likes me very much."

"Why not?"

Steve shrugs, but Eddie can tell it's a sore subject‌. Eddie gets it, though. For the little he knows Steve, he can already tell he cares a lot about people liking him or not. He also doesn't understand why someone wouldn't like Steve, but well, people are weird. 

"Is she out?" Eddie asks as they get in the elevator and Steve nods. 

"Yeah, she usually spends Friday nights at her girlfriend's place. That's why I normally get the Friday shift. I kind of hate being home alone and it's just a nice thing to do for her, I guess."

Eddie hums noncommittally. He's trying to piece Steve together, but it's hard because his looks and his posture sometimes say one thing and then he lets out this incredibly vulnerable information and it leaves Eddie confused. 

They walk in together and the place is small, but cute. There's an old couch and Steve tells him to sit down, saying he's getting them some drinks. Eddie doesn't want to drink, he wants to just grab Steve by the face and kiss him dumb. 

Steve doesn't take long and as he sits down, Eddie can't hold it anymore. He has no idea where all this bravado comes from, but he leans forward and pecks Steve on the mouth. Steve's eyes widen and Eddie is about to apologize when two hands cup his face and pull him forward. 

And then they are kissing. Really kissing. With tongue and little huffs that come out of Steve's mouth and Eddie feels like he's died. 

If he is, in fact, dead, then Eddie is going to make the best of it. He lets his hands move to Steve's waist and he pulls him in. He has no idea what he was trying to do, but Steve seems to be much more confident because he straddles Eddie's hips and then he's on top. 

"Fuck," Eddie says. He's completely out of breath and Steve feels so good like this. He grips his waist harder and Steve thinks it's a go-ahead for him to roll his hips down and Eddie sees stars. 

Steve kisses him like he's hungry for him, and it's a heady feeling. Eddie has kissed boys before, but no one that looked like Steve. No one that made his heart skip so many beats like he does. 

No one that seemed to want Eddie as much as Steve does right now. 

"Stevie," Eddie whispers. He's not even sure he managed to get the words out but Steve stops kissing his neck. His pupils are blown out and his mouth is red and swollen and Eddie did that. 

"Yeah?" Steve is out of breath, too. His chest rises and falls in quick intervals. 

"Can we slow down?" Eddie says when he catches his own breath. He's afraid of saying it because it makes him look pathetic, but he doesn't want to rush this. 

They've been talking for a month before they even went out, but Eddie still feels too raw and insecure and-

"Of course, baby," Steve interrupts Eddie's train of thought and he has a soft smile, but he doesn't move away. He's not repelled by Eddie. He leans in and kisses him softly on the mouth. 

The pet name wraps itself around Eddie's heart. He's desperate to believe all of this means more than just a casual hook up but he knows he can't. Not yet. 

"Oh, wait! I saved a video I wanted to show you," Steve says as if they weren't eating each other a few short seconds ago. Eddie chuckles. He likes it. He likes how Steve can just roll with whatever Eddie throws his way. 

"Yeah, let's see this video," Eddie smiles, takes a moment to just admire Steve, hair a complete mess thanks to him, face flushed a pretty shade of pink. He looks perfect and Eddie wants to keep him so bad. 

"Wait, can you call my phone? I don't know where I put it." 

Much to Eddie's disappointment, Steve gets out of his lap and pats his pockets, frowning. He starts moving around the house and Eddie fishes his phone, dialing Steve's number from his contact list. 

He watches as Steve disappears back inside the kitchen and listens as his phone starts to ring right beside him, on the couch. Eddie can't see it, so he pushes his hand at the edges and pulls out Steve's phone. 

They must've been making out pretty hard for the phone to go this deeper on the couch. Eddie chuckles and presses the red button at the same time Steve comes back into the living room. 

"Found it! I left it at the kitchen counter when I grabbed us water," Steve says, waving a phone he has in his hands. Eddie frowns at him and holds out the phone he found. 

"Me too."

It's Steve's turn to look confused. "What?"

Previous | Next

[punkshort]

look what we've become - ch.8

Chapter Summary: Your POV from captivity. You learn some interesting information about the Fireflies and run into an unexpected person from your past.

Chapter Warnings: language, graphic depictions of violence, blood, torture, one teeny tiny 'daddy' reference (couldn't help myself, more of a nod to the fandom than anything), infected, reader gets roughed up, description of injuries and pain

WC: 4.7K

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

"You said take the girl, so I took the girl!"

"I meant the fucking kid, not her!"

You stifled a groan, your eyes still shut tight, unable to handle the brightness from the overhead lighting. Your head was spinning, and if you moved too much, your stomach heaved, so you laid as still as possible, hoping and praying whatever was going to happen would happen quickly.

The smell didn't help, either. You had no idea where you were, but your cheek was pressed up against a cool, tile floor and the entire room smelled like rot. You heard a muffled, rhythmic thumping against a wall in the corner of the room. It felt damp and humid, like maybe you were in a cabin or a basement. And you definitely were not alone. Once you woke from whatever drug they had slipped into your neck, you did your best to still appear asleep, hoping that maybe you could find out some helpful information while your captors still thought you couldn't hear them.

The two voices continued to argue - a man and a woman - about the mix-up. Ellie. They were after Ellie, not you. That frightened you even more.

How long has it been since you've been taken? Hours? A day?

Joel would have made them leave. He wouldn't have kept her there after he realized what happened. If not to protect her, he would have moved to try to find you. As much as you didn't want him to come looking for you, to put Ellie in harm's way, you knew he would. You had no idea how many people were part of this group that took you, but it was definitely too many for Joel to handle on his own. And he wouldn't waste time going back to Jackson for help.

You needed to get out of there before Joel got himself killed trying to find you.

The voices continued to talk, the volume increasing, the words becoming clearer. They were getting closer to where you were tied up on the floor. Why did the one voice sound vaguely familiar? Did you know these people?

"We sent another crew out to fix your fuck up," the woman said, her shoes squeaking on the tile. "You better hope they find her, or it's your ass."

"Yes, ma'am," the man's voice said weakly.

"I know you're awake," the woman's voice said icily. Part of you wanted to remain still and call her bluff, but her boot was too close to your already tender head, and you didn't want to risk another hit. You allowed one eye to crack open, the light like an icepick in your brain. You brought your hands up to shield your eyes as you struggled to sit upright with your wrists and ankles tied together.

When you finally sat up, you leaned your head back with a sigh, trying to get your bearings and calm your churning stomach before forcing both eyes open to look at your captor for the first time.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," you croaked, surprised at how rough your own voice sounded.

Amy laughed and jumped up on a gurney behind her, swinging her legs back and forth over the edge, the motion making you nauseous the longer you watched.

Amy. Joel's ex-fiancée and the woman who helped lead the group of animals who took you both in long before you found Jackson, under the guise of it being a safe community but failing to mention that community ran on a very primitive form of currency.

"Yeah, thought you'd be happy to see me," she said with a chuckle, flicking her dirty blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Elated," you said dryly, sliding your eyes back closed.

"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't exactly thrilled to see you, either."

"That does make me feel better, thank you," you snapped, opening your eyes again to glare at her.

"You do realize I hold the key to your release, right? Maybe treat me with a little respect," Amy said, the fake smile slipping from her face.

"You and I both know I'm not getting out of here," you replied, but she shook her head.

"Not necessarily. If we can't find the girl, you're our contingency plan."

You narrowed your eyes, the rage beginning to burn deep in your chest. Knowing you would regret it, you asked the question anyway.

"What do you mean?"

Amy smirked as she slid down from the gurney and bent down to look you in the eye.

"What I mean is, he would do anything to get you back. Including giving up the kid."

Something in you snapped. You lunged forward, swinging your head and smashing it directly into her nose. You heard the distinctive crunch right as the blood began to pour out of both nostrils. She stumbled back in shock, clutching her face while she howled in pain. Even though your head felt like it was splitting in two, you grinned. Worth it.

Once the pain subsided, she dropped her hands, her face smeared with dark red blood, her nose turning purple and swollen, clearly broken.

"You fucking bitch," she muttered. She took one step forward and swung her leg back, the toe of her boot coming in direct contact with your cheek. You squeezed your eyes shut, refusing to make a single noise indicating you were in any pain, not giving her the satisfaction. But the blood that was pooling in your mouth told a different story.

Amy laughed as she watched you spit blood on the tile next to you.

"You're gonna regret that," she said, walking backwards towards the door. "Your people really had us chasing you all over the goddamn place, even lost a few friends. I got some guys outside who would love to break a few of your bones for all that."

As the door slammed shut, you finally allowed yourself to take a shaky breath in and look around. Even though you were alone, you still heard the thumping coming from the corner of the room. You leaned forward, trying to see what was causing the noise, but all you saw was a small room with a stainless steel door sealed shut. There were gurneys everywhere, some of them broken, some not. Between you and the door there were six flat, stainless steel tables in front of what looked like refrigerators. Chancing a look up at the lights, you noticed some appeared to be the type you might see in a dentist's office or an operating room. Then it dawned on you.

You were in a morgue.

You couldn't be sure how much time had passed. You lost consciousness a few times. Amy wasn't kidding. The men she employed were pissed, and they took it out on you with every punch and kick. Each time you woke up, you felt a new pain somewhere in your body. A new broken bone or a new cut. Eventually, Amy returned, and even in your wrecked state, you still found a sliver of pleasure seeing her nose taped up and the dark bruise blooming under each of her eyes.

"Had enough yet?" she asked with a smirk. You snarled in response and spit more blood on the ground.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to tell me where Joel and the girl are," she said, holding her hands out to her sides like it was obvious.

"I have no idea," you said truthfully, struggling to sit up.

"Okay, why don't you tell me where home is, and we can start there?" she offered, and you laughed.

"You should just go ahead and kill me if that's what you want," you told her, glaring at her with one eye, the other swollen shut already.

"Don't think we won't," she said, tilting her head to the side as she regarded you silently for a moment, her thoughts clearly drifting to something else.

"What?" you asked her through gritted teeth.

"Don't you think he's a little old for you?" she finally asked, her eyes raking up and down your body. You knew it would always boil down to this. You knew she could never see past your relationship with Joel. What he was willing to do for you, what he has done for you, what she lost and would never have.

"What, do you have daddy issues or something?" she asked with a scoff.

You smirked as more blood trickled down your chin, the cut on your lip refusing to heal.

"Sometimes he likes it when I call him daddy, if that's what you mean," you told her. The face she made was worth the kick to the head. You giggled and coughed, the pain and the smell and the insanity of everything happening finally hitting home.

"He's gonna kill you, you know," you said with a grin, leaning up against the cool tile wall. "Even if you kill me. Especially if you kill me, he will find you, and he will kill you."

Amy was smirking at you, but you saw the look in her eye. It was fast, but you caught it. She knew you were right.

"We'll see," she said, backing up so she could lift herself up on one of the stainless steel tables. She watched you for a moment, blood trickling out of every wound, bruises deepening in color with each passing minute. You were pretty sure your arm and a couple ribs were broken and you most definitely had a concussion, but you refused to show any weakness. You glared at her from your spot on the ground, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.

"Do you know what we do here?" she asked you. The question took you off guard.

"Other than torture people? No."

She laughed at that.

"We're trying to make a fucking vaccine," she told you, like she expected you to be grateful. You already figured that much out, but you didn't say so.

"How's that going for you?" you asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It would be a lot fucking better if we had that goddamn girl," she told you. Her emotions were getting the best of her. You could hear it with every word, and it put you even more at ease. They were desperate.

"Oh, yeah?" you said. "That's a shame."

"Do you have any idea how many people sacrificed themselves for this cause?" she asked, her brows furrowed. You shrugged.

"Enlighten me."

"Countless," she said, jutting her chin towards the room in the corner. You looked over at the closed door. The thumping was fainter when you were alone, but now that Amy was talking, the noise started up again.

"There's a lot of people who are immune, you know," she began, and you felt your muscles tense. "So many of them gave their lives to help us find a cure. We are so close. Our doctor just needs one more, and that kid is the answer." You began to put the pieces together, and the noise in the corner was starting to make sense. You felt your stomach roll.

"Sounds like a really shitty doctor if they let so many people die," you told her, and she scoffed.

"He's brilliant. You have no idea how difficult it is to extract DNA in this type of setting, and - I don't even know why I'm bothering," she said, shaking her head. "The point is, that girl could save us all."

"You said it yourself. There's a lot of people who are immune," you mumbled. You could feel yourself fading but you fought to stay awake. "Find someone else."

"Fuck that," she said, jumping down from the table and crouching in front of you. "Where is she?"

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you," you whispered, your good eye sliding shut.

"Don't you dare pass out!" she shrieked, slapping you across the face. The adrenaline perked you up for a few seconds, but the blood loss ultimately won, and you slipped back into darkness.

You woke up to the sound of gunfire coming from the floors above you. The noise was faint, but it was distinctive. Pop, pop, pop. How long were you out for this time? Was it nighttime? There were no windows, you had no semblance of time other than the hunger that gnawed at your insides as more hours passed without food or water.

You blinked and looked around, confirming you were still alone before trying to sit up. The blood loss was too much, your head was pounding, and your side felt like you had been hit by a bus. Slumping back down, you took a few deep breaths before trying again. The gunshots were getting closer, and your adrenaline was spiking, giving you the little boost you needed to force yourself up. You looked down, trying to assess the damage to your body. Your upper thigh had a big, weeping gash, probably the culprit for the majority of your blood loss. Your one eye was still swollen but you could crack it open just a bit now if you really had to. Your cheekbone felt like it might be broken, and a few ribs were definitely broken, but at least your knees and ankles were good. If you could cut the ties, you could run. Or stumble.

As the gunfire got closer, the thumping against the door in the corner of the room got louder. There was no doubt in your mind at this point that they kept infected in there, and you just hoped you weren't still tied up if they got out.

Your brain was foggy, you were having a hard time staying focused, but the panic began to set in. Why was there gunfire? What was happening? Then a hazy thought drifted by in the back of your mind. Joel?

There was no way he could have found you this fast. He wouldn't have put the pieces together. You barely could keep up with what was happening. But then the door handle jiggled and a small form snuck into the room quietly and you thought you must have been dying. Surely, you were hallucinating, your brain short circuiting as it began to shut down, because there was no possible way Ellie was actually crouching in front of you, repeating your name urgently as she tugged on your restraints to no avail.

"Shit, hold on," you heard her mutter, setting the familiar looking hunting rifle on the floor next to her so she could fish her switchblade out of her pocket. Yes, you were most definitely hallucinating. Joel wouldn't have given her his rifle. Unless...

"Is he dead?" you rasped, finally finding your voice. Ellie paused with her switchblade hovering over your ankles and frowned at you.

"Joel? No," she said, shaking her head as she began to saw on the restraints, freeing your legs and then moving to your wrists.

"What's..." you tried again, but you could feel yourself fading and all you could hear was that fucking thumping in the corner of the room and the gunfire down the hall.

"We're getting you out of here," she said, tucking her shoulder underneath your arm and hoisting you up with a grunt. You muffled a cry at the pain shooting down your side, blood gushing down your leg again now that you were moving.

"Oh, fuck," she whispered, leading you over to a gurney so you could steady yourself before she dug into her pack for an old shirt. She bent down and wrapped it around your thigh as tight as she could, wincing as she double knotted it before she stood back up.

"Can you move?" she asked, her eyes wide with panic. You nodded, but you weren't sure. If Ellie had the rifle, where was Joel?

As if an answer to your question, Joel burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind him, frantically looking around before pulling a table over to barricade it. You must have looked worse than you thought because when he finally turned around to look at you for the first time, his face crumpled for a moment before he quickly collected himself and rushed over.

"What'd they do to you?" he murmured in your ear as his arms came up to wrap around your middle. You winced and leaned back, your hand coming up to your ribs to tenderly cover the spot he just squeezed.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," he whispered, his eyes raking down your body, trying to take stock of your injuries.

"It's okay," you said. His eyes flicked to the corner of the room where the noise was reaching a fever pitch.

"Oh, shit," Ellie muttered, her attention also pulled to the locked door.

"We gotta get you outta here," Joel said, seemingly making the connection much quicker than you did. "Can you walk?"

"I think so, but I can't go fast," you said, bending over and holding yourself up with your arms braced on the gurney. For the first time, you noticed the blood. He was covered in it. Splashed up his jeans and boots and all over his hands, some even sprayed on his neck.

"That's fine," he said as he began to push the table away from the door. The noises from the locked room got even louder as the table legs screeching on the tile floor.

"There's too many of them, Joel. We can't-"

"Yeah, we can," he said, cutting you off. He was turning to look at you, still in disbelief while he opened the door, not paying attention as someone pushed their way in, knocking him to the ground with the stock of a rifle.

He fell with a groan, his hands coming up to clutch the side of his face as Amy quickly locked the door behind her. She aimed her rifle at Joel's chest, and he dropped his hands to the side, staring up at her like he was seeing a ghost.

"What the fuck?" he whispered, and she smirked.

"Nice to see you, too, baby," she snarled, her nose still taped and her eyes still black.

"Who's she?" Ellie asked under her breath at your side, but you just shook your head. Amy glanced up and let out a shaky laugh when she saw Ellie.

"After everything you did, Joel, you still lost," she said. You looked between them, confused and barely holding onto consciousness. What did that mean?

"What the hell happened to you?" Joel asked her, his voice laced in disgust.

"I got with the fucking program, Joel! That's what!" she yelled at him before taking a step back, the rifle still aimed at his chest.

The door handle began to rattle violently with all the yelling. You could see it being pushed open a crack from the other side, then hands wrapping around the edge of the door until the lock broke and it finally swung open.

Joel scrambled to his feet and grabbed his revolver from his side while Ellie shouldered the hunting rifle as infected came pouring out, their screams making you wince.

Gunshots rang out, a few infected fell, but Amy's gun jammed and a runner knocked her down. She rolled off to the side and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying backwards right into Ellie, the gun falling from her hands.

You picked up Joel's rifle as quickly as you could in your weakened state, but right as you took aim at the infected's head, you watched its teeth clamp down around her arm. You both screamed, Ellie in pain, you in fear as you lodged a bullet right into the back of the runner's skull, its body falling limply to the side. You dropped the gun to the ground, too exhausted and weak to hold it anymore. Ellie scrambled up and swiped frantically at her arm, watching as the blood trickled out.

"Are you okay?" you asked, reaching out to her. She nodded and looked up at you, her eyes suddenly going wide.

"Look out!"

You ducked just in time to avoid getting hit in the back of the skull with Amy's rifle. She fell forward on her hands and knees, then scrambled to grab Ellie's ankle, yanking her down and pulling her against her chest.

You vaguely heard Joel's gun still firing behind you, taking down infected, when you watched Amy's arm wrap around Ellie's throat, her face going red while she gasped for air. You didn't even think, you just reacted. Ignoring the pain, you surged forward and pounced on top of her, yanking her arm off of Ellie's neck with every ounce of strength you had. Ellie rolled to the side, kneeling and coughing with her hand gingerly touching her red skin while your fingers gripped Amy's neck. She clawed at your hands, panic filling her eyes as she looked up at you helplessly. You put all your weight into it, squeezing with all your might and praying you didn't pass out before ending this once and for all.

In one last ditch effort, Amy dug her thumb deep into your wounded thigh, making you cry out and loosen your grip. She tossed you off of her and you collapsed next to Ellie with a loud thud. Forcing herself to her feet, Ellie stood over you protectively, her switchblade held shakily in her hand as blood trickled slowly down her arm and dripped onto the tile floor next to your head.

The room finally seemed quieter. You chanced a look towards Joel. He was standing on the other side of the room, surrounded by dead infected and panting for air. When he turned to the three of you, you finally noticed the huge gash on the side of his head from where Amy hit him. His blood dripped down his neck and below his collar, his shirt absorbing the dark red drops.

Amy grabbed the rifle you abandoned and swung around, aiming it at the pair of you as she walked backwards. Joel kept his revolver trained on her as he slowly made his way over to your side of the room.

"You just ruined all our chances at having a fucking life again, Joel," Amy seethed, her eyes boring into his.

"Should've thought about that before you took what's mine," he grumbled angrily, standing next to you now. You curled into a ball on the floor, the pain too much to handle.

"If you'd have just brought us the girl in the fucking first place, none of this would have happened and we wouldn't have touched her," Amy retorted, jutting her chin in your direction.

"The hell's so special about the kid?" Joel asked, but before she could answer, a telltale click, click, click echoed in the room, and you all froze. Your one good eye popped open as you watched a clicker stumble from the room in the corner, snapping its teeth and swiping mindlessly at the empty space in front of it.

Joel glanced down at your state, knowing he wouldn't be able to pick you up and get out of there in time. Ellie gripped her knife tightly as she watched the clicker get further into the room.

You could see the look in Amy's eye. She was glancing around frantically, trying to figure out a way to use this to her advantage. But lucky for you all, you thought of it first.

Carefully, you reached out in front of you, your fingers picking up the bullet casing on the floor from when you shot the runner. Before you had time to overthink it, you tossed the casing to the other side of the room, the metal clinking right between her feet.

The clicker turned towards her and shrieked, its arms flailing wildly. Amy panicked and backed up, but her sneakers squeaked on the tile and that was all the clicker needed. You watched as its hands gripped her shoulders to hold her steady while its mouth ripped violently into her neck. Blood gushed everywhere, puddling on the floor and causing her to lose her footing. Her screams reverberated in the room. You covered your ears, trying to muffle the sound until her screaming eventually stopped.

While the clicker was still distracted, Joel snuck up quietly behind it and lodged a bullet in its head, and the room finally filled with silence again.

Joel turned around as Ellie was helping you back on your feet. He noticed the blood dripping down her arm and his body stiffened.

"You were bit," he said, staring at the blood seeping through her shirt. Ellie looked down at it and then looked back up at him, shaking her head and backing away slowly.

"N-no, it's fine, really-"

Joel held up his gun, pain flickering across his face.

"Joel, don't," you said, but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. She's bit, we can't-"

"Put the gun down, Joel, and listen to me," you told him, taking a few shaky steps to the side so you stood between him and Ellie.

His arm immediately dropped when you blocked his shot, and he looked at you with despair in his eyes.

"There's nothin' we can do, I'm sorry kid, but -"

"She's immune, Joel!" you yelled, cutting him off again. He froze, stunned, as his eyes flicked back and forth between yours and Ellie's.

"What?" he finally whispered.

"It's true," Ellie said from behind you, then she pulled up her sleeve and showed him her old bite. "Got it a couple months ago. See? It's all healed."

Joel stumbled back a bit, catching himself on the edge of a table as he tried to follow what was happening.

"Wh- how?"

"I don't know, some people just... are," she said, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"It's why they wanted her so badly. They were trying to use her as a guinea pig to make a vaccine," you added.

"You knew?" Joel asked, looking at you with hurt in his eyes. You nodded, your lip trembling.

"Listen, I would love to tell you everything I know, but can we do it in the fucking car?" Ellie asked, growing impatient. You could tell Joel was still struggling with this new revelation, but he knew you were in desperate need of medical care.

"You so much as twitch -" Joel said, storming over to her now and letting himself trail off.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Can we go now?"

If you weren't in so much pain, you might have laughed at how cavalier she was about the whole thing.

Joel found a beat up looking wheelchair and helped you into it. He instructed Ellie to push you while he led the way down the hall. He picked up an assault rifle from one of the dead bodies as he made his way to the elevator. You glanced around at the carnage as you waited for the doors to open, then looked up at him by your side.

"Did you do all of this alone?"

He looked down at you, his eyes lingering on your one open eye for a moment before nodding curtly. As you filed onto the elevator, you tried to examine him for any injuries, but aside from the hit to his head and a few minor scratches and bruises to his knuckles, he appeared fine.

The doors opened up on the main level and you gasped. If you thought the basement level was bad, it was nothing compared to the main level. Ellie pushed your wheelchair through the blood on the floor, her footsteps and the wheels leaving imprints as you went. Joel went up ahead to push some bodies out of the way and make a clear path for you to get to the front door.

"Truck's right out front," he said.

"Joel, how did you... do this?" you asked, still hardly believing what you were seeing.

"What'dya mean?" he asked, his hand on the front door, ready to push it open. You looked up at him and swallowed the lump in your throat, unable to comprehend what you were seeing. He let his hand drop to his side so he could kneel in front of you and pinch your chin between his fingers, giving you a gentle kiss.

"I did what I had to do to get you back."

Tag List @nana90azevedo @ninaminaromina @untamedheart81 @taz-97 @nastiasnow @amyispxnk @plz-be-solo @iloveramensm @caitlynsixxx @anoverwhelmingdin @harriedandharassed @jessthebaker @txtattoostark @merz-8 @sarahhxx03 @oscarissac2099 @motherjoel @silas-222 @b3l1nd5 @rocket-raccoon-silvie @missladym1981 @angie2274 @maried01