#i have been looking at these hr abuses

[shattered-pieces]

Anyone who has seen how russia treats its prisoners isn't shocked at the treatment of the terror attack suspects. It's is a common pattern: torture someone then film their "confession". Similar things are done to Russian political prisoners, foreign nationals, Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukrainian civilians..... with other variations, sometimes not filmed, sometimes even worse torture, sometimes sexual violence...

[riosnecktattoo]

I love Jamie and Roy's relationship so much but it does surprise me that Roy is often randomly aggressive and physical with Jamie and it's never an issue that Jamie might respond badly given his abusive father

[solemntitty]

me adding that fucking chili oil in to any soup: how did I grow up with unsalted chicken and boiled vegetables

[flowerfreya]

Complaint

This is part 11 of The Office AU

Chapter Index

a little tiff between wacky girlfriend and reader

Pairing Poly!141 x reader

You hear your name being called softly, you look up and see Gaz standing there. You give him a smile, “What’s up?”. 

You notice that his smile looks pained, not reaching his eyes and is starting to look like a grimace. 

“Can talk to you for a moment”, then nods back to his office, “In private”.

No, not really, “Of course”. You're raking your brain trying to figure out what you did wrong. DId you mess up Price’s meeting, missed an important email, took too long of a lunch, or maybe you did nothing wrong and they are giving you a raise. 

You try to meet Price’s gaze but he’s enthralled with his computer and his door is shut he wouldn’t hear Gaz anyway. What worries you is that Simon nor Soap will look at you. Not that odd for Simon since he only looks at you when you aren’t looking at him but with Soap who is always looking at you trying to distract you, his head is down and you know he’s not doing anything because he is just staring at the keyboard. 

You follow Gaz to the annex, “Take a seat”. 

You sit with your hands crossed in your lap, “Do you know why I called you back here?”

“No”

“How long have you had Simon’s number”, you look up then, surprise and disbelief on your face. Simon filed an HR complaint. against you. 

“Well, I have everyone’s number”, you start picking at a hangnail trying not to fidget in your chair, “you gave me your numbers”, you reply. 

“not in trouble, it’s just that some people are worried that you might be abusing or harassing Simon”, you can tell he is trying to do this in the nicest way possible, he has his best HR voice on. 

“Simon,said that?” , you ask back still not really comprehending where did this come from.

“You didn’t call Simon last night asking if he wanted to get dinner with you?”

“Well , I did yes but-”.

Gaz cuts you off, “That's not appropriate use of the number”. 

There’s tears welling up in your eyes. You never wanted to make Simon uncomfortable , you thought that you were friends and he was just as lonely as you were. 

“I’m going to get fired for this?”, you ask, trying to wipe the tears before they ruin your makeup. 

“No , `course not”, which has you relieved but now you're ready for this day to end. 

“So, can I head back?”

“Yeah”, and then he mentions not to worry about this, since nothing has been documented it was just a warning. Ha, you think, don’t worry about it. Now all you're going to do is worry about it. 

When you sit down at your desk you look up and see Simo giving you a question thumbs up.You nod once and then start typing on your computer to look busy. You decide to skip lunch , just trying to stay out of everyone’s way when a wacky girlfriend shows up. She doesn’t even check in with you before kissing Soap on the mouth. Loudly. Giving Simon a check kiss before heading towards you, “Did Kyle talk to you today” ,she ask sweetly. 

Who the hell is Kyle, “Kyle?”, you question. 

“Oh silly me, I forgot he only goes by his nickname, Gaz”. 

How did she know that you talk to Gaz today, “Yeah”, you answer slowly. 

“Good, I don’t want anyone to be uncomfy”, she giggles, “You know what I mean”. 

Oh.

Oh.

No you don’t because you didn’t do anything wrong, but you know what it looks like when a woman is trying to stake her claim on a man, “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean”, you reply back.

Masterlist

[lizardaggro]

on the flip side (twst bully!au) part 2

the first part is doing way better than i thought it would, so here's part 2! please note that i won't normally put stuff out this fast, but i got woken up by tumblr notifs and only got 2.5 hrs of sleep. if this is trash, that's my excuse. also working on something for bnha, but that sucker's looong.

part 1 part 3

genre: gn reader, angst trigger warnings: bullying, lil bit of yandere word count: 1082

The look on their faces was hilarious, to say the least. Adeuce were in shock, and Floyd looked like a kicked puppy. Not that you made a habit of that. It was a shame that you couldn’t hole up in here a little while longer, and you knew the door would take ages to get repaired, but it would be fine. The sudden shift in your attitude would still be jarring.

“Wha- prefect, what’re you talking about?” Ace asked incredulously. Deuce nodded vigorously in agreement. The two had been your first friends in Twisted Wonderland, after Grim of course, and then the first to turn on you once they got bored. You supposed it was just too much for their pea brains to bear.

“Did I stutter?” Your gaze was cold as you looked both in the eye in turn. “Every day, the poor defenseless prefect is beaten, abused, and scorned. And all for what? Your entertainment? You lot are sick in the head and it shows,” you berated them mercilessly. It’s not like you expected them to have a sudden change of heart. You wouldn’t forgive them even if they did.

Floyd had been silent since demolishing your poor door, which could be good or bad. You’d always found him hard to read. His mood could change at the drop of a hat, and you knew you weren’t his only victim. For all you knew, he’d start whaling on Adeuce instead.

And then he just had to go and open his mouth. “Aww, that’s cute, Shrimpy. You think you can get rid of me?” He taunted. Now that was a threat, and you knew it. Still, you never thought any of your former friends would describe anything you did as cute now. It was meant to be mocking, but still. Something about his demeanor was off. He seemed almost… hurt.

Nah, there was no way. You must be imagining things. There was no way Floyd Leech, of all people, enjoyed your company. You were alone here; Grim and the ghosts were your only allies. You shook your head to clear away the unwanted thoughts.

You turned to face Floyd, a sinister grin working its way onto your face. “Oh, whyever would I want to do that? I can do so much better, after all. I mean, who’s the one who told me all their dirty little secrets they’d never want to see the light of day, back when we were friends? Because of course the innocent little prefect would never dream of snitching!”

You weren’t bluffing. You didn’t have to. It was true, after all. Each and every one of them had confided in you to some extent, the Overblot victims most of all. You knew e~verything that ailed them, and it would be oh-so unfortunate if their less-than-kind peers were to find out. It wasn’t like you wanted to play the villain card, but you felt you had the right. They’d already betrayed you, so why shouldn’t you return the favor?

The three boys’ faces visibly paled after hearing your words. Everyone had something to hide after all, and they were no exception. Deuce had been one of the first to trust you with his secrets, as well as one of the most forthcoming. Back then you’d thought he was such a sweetheart; you never would’ve dreamed it’d come to this.

“Come on, surely you don’t mean that?” He begged. It was pitiful, really.

“Oh, I absolutely mean it if you don’t leave me the fuck alone.” No one at Night Raven College had ever heard you curse before, so it must’ve been a shock. Your voice was cold as you crushed their hope. No one had ever listened to you when you pleaded for them to please stop hurting you.

Once convinced that you really meant business, they promptly turned tail and fled. You didn’t blame them. You’d be embarrassed too if you still slept with a teddy bear. But this was good- great, even. Now you had the chance to put the next phase of your plan in action.

You’d start off simple, with a warning, in case someone didn’t think you were serious enough. You logged onto the school’s messaging forum, and anonymously exposed some poor random guy whose name you’d forgotten’s crush. Who also attended NRC, of course. It wouldn’t be much of a threat if no one knew who they were.

Not long after, there was a rapt knock on your door, or rather the adjacent wall. Thanks, Floyd. When you headed downstairs to greet your unwanted guest, you were mildly surprised to see Riddle Rosehearts, there in all his glory.

“Riddle? What brings you here? Are you going to blame me for not knowing the history of countries I’d never heard of until this year again?” You jabbed. Riddle was never one for physical violence; his Unique Magic didn’t work on you since you had none to begin with. Instead, he chose to belittle you for your lack of knowledge.

“I heard from Ace and Deuce that you’ve been airing students’ dirty laundry on the internet,” he said with a stern look. “I’m sure you’re well aware that this behavior is unacceptable.” Two could play at that game.

“Yes, Dorm Leader Rosehearts, and I’m sure you know full well that several of your students are guilty of assault,” you rebutted, using his position within the school for emphasis. “So tell me, do you really want to go there? After all, it’d be a real shame if your mother were to hear about this.”

You really hoped his mother never heard about this. Him being abused would only make you feel worse, and it certainly wouldn’t correct his behavior. The most you’d do was “accidentally” let the whole school find out he’s secretly a crybaby.

Riddle’s face grew as red as Unbirthday party roses. “You dare to threaten me?! I’d have your head if you had any magic worth sealing! But you don’t, so you’re lucky I even bother to tolerate your presence. I don’t even want to think about what your grades would look like if it wasn’t for my help.”

You really didn’t think shouting at you qualified as helping. But once again, there was that odd tone to his words, like he was implying that he wanted you around. There was no way Riddle of all people would agree to play some elaborate prank on you, so just what was going on?

[callsign-dexter]

Fight to Survive

Summary: The BAU gets called to a case in LA, California, everything is going great then tragedy strikes. Can the youngest team member be saved?

Pairings: Bobby Nash x Daughter!FBI!Reader, Athena Grant x Stepdaughter!Reader, May Grant x Stepsister!Reader, Harry Grant x Stepsister!Reader, BAU x Nash!Daughter!Reader

Warnings: angst, fluff, guns, gunshots stabbing, swearing, fighting, inaccurate medical talk, hospitals, bruising, being beaten up, strangulation, mentions of sexual abuse (to victims), kidnapping, cheating (not on reader)

Masterlist

A/N: After a long overdue wait I give you the crossover fic that you all voted on. Again sorry for the wait!

It was a late Friday night when everyone on the BAU team got the call that you all were headed to a case in LA. Luckily for everyone, everybody already had their go bags packed. When JJ got the call you, Y/N Nash, were all out clubbing together celebrating a case solved. You had walked outside to your car to call your dad, Bobby Nash, and mother, Athena Grant. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?" Your father's husky voice came through.

"Hey, Dad." You said quietly you always loved the sound of his voice.

"Hey, honey. How are you? You sound tired." He said a little bit concerned then you heard Athena's voice come through and ask if that was you and to put you on speaker phone.

"Hey, sweetheart!" Athena said in her cheery voice and you smiled.

"Hey Athena. How are you and everyone else?" You asked

"We're good! Missing you." She said and you quietly laughed.

"You didn't answer my question Y/N." Your father back on the phone.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. The last case got to me." You told them the truth. You always told them the truth.

"Are you allowed to talk about it?" Athena asked.

"I can tell you but it's not to be repeated." You said

"We understand." They both said at the same time.

"The case was about an unsub taking kids that resembled their kid that passed away due to drowning. They would keep them for 3 days and then drown them. We saved the last kid but they were around Harry's age." You told them and they were silent.

"Oh baby girl. I'm so sorry." Your father said. You looked up when you saw a shadow standing outside your window. You saw it was JJ.

"Hey guys hold on. JJ needs me." You told them and opened the door.

"Hey sorry to interrupt but we got a case." She sighed and you nodded.

"Ok let me finish up here and start rounding up everyone I'll drive whoever doesn't have a car here." You told her and she nodded and headed off to round everyone up. On the other end of the line Athena and Bobby were smiling at how you were taking charge, it must run in the family.

"Sorry guys. We got a case." You told them.

"You just got done with a case. Have you gotten any sleep?" Your dad asked concerned.

"Dad, I've gone on a lot less. I'll be fine this is what I signed up for when I joined the BAU. I love you guys." You told them, it was true you've gotten some sleep but not enough and you've ran on 2 hrs of sleep before.

"We love you too. Be safe. We'll talk later." Bobby said.

"Absolutely." You said smiling you said goodbye again and hung up.

About the time you hung up the team was heading your way. You got out to greet them. You all load up either in your car or separate cars, thankfully most of everyone took their own cars.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

When you arrived at the BAU headquarters everyone got out started to file into the building. Nobody was really complaining about being back except for Morgan who had been currently dancing with some lucky ladies.

"Always when I'm getting my groove thing on with the ladies." Morgan said as you all sat down waiting to be briefed. You just laughed.

"Morgan, I don't think you'll have a problem getting your groove thing back." He just laughed.

"You're just jealous that it's not with you." Morgan teased and you smirked.

"Oh, I'm just heartbroken." You faked hurt. He had always flirted with you but you had another man on your mind, a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed, with a unique birthmark, a few tattoos, and is firefighter under your dad's command, even though he has a girlfriend, you had no interest in Morgan. Hotch, JJ, and Garcia walked into the conference room.

"A body of a teenage girl was found dumped in a local park in CA. According to LAPD, this is the 8th girl taken. Her name was Amanda Hills." Hotch said as Garcia pulled up the pictures.

"The medical examiner has confirmed that they were sexually abused and then their throat slit post-mortem. Then dumped during the night in the park and found the next morning they're usually unclothed." JJ said. "We also have gotten word that a 9th girl has been abducted, Amelia Lanco." She reported.

"All the girls had signs of abuse. They also reported that they were stabbed in the same places beforehand and then strangled. They also had their throat slit afterward." You said looking at the tablet in your hand. You swiped the picture to get a better look at the victims and your heart stopped. They all look like May. You took a shaky breath before continuing "They also sent a video to LAPD which they gave to us." You said and Garcia played it, it showed the latest victim chained to a pole blindfolded, and dressed in only her bra and panties. Only a few seconds were played but that was enough for it to be engraved in your head forever.

"It also says here that he keeps them for 2 days and then dumps them." Rossi said to the team.

"Wheels up now." Hotch said and you all filed out of the room and picked up your go bags and headed to the jet. It was a 5 hr flight. As you were walking up the jet Hotch stepped you.

"Are you alright?" He asked you and you hesitated.

"All those girls looked like my sister, Hotch." You said and he nodded in understanding.

"Do you need to sit this one out?" He asked and you shook your head.

"Absolutely not." You said and nodded.

"If it gets too much come tell me." He said and you nodded your head. You both got on the plane and were up in the air in no time.

"It says here that the unsub keeps them for a total of 5 days before killing and dumping them. All of them were 18-24 years old." Rossi said. "The girls are taken during broad daylight but nobody claims to see anything." He continued.

"What if they do see it but just don't want to mention anything?" Spencer said and you nodded along with the others "It says here that 9-1-1 calls were called in from the same number but they always ended shortly after before help could help. All the numbers were the same and dispatch said that there were before the girl could say what was wrong a man came on and disconnected it." He said.

"Ok. I want Y/N and JJ I want you to meet LAPD and the fire department at the latest scene, we ask for them not to touch it until we're there. Reid and Morgan, I want you to go to dispatch and listen to the 9-1-1 calls. Emily, Rossi, and I will go to the police station to start setting up a profile." Hotch said and you all nodded in understanding. 5 hrs went quickly and before you knew it, you were touching down in LA. You all went to where you were supposed to go. You and Reid got into the SUV, you driving, and headed to the crime scene where you met your father, stepmother, and your current crush.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

You strolled up to the crime scene and saw the 118 firetruck and ambulance there along with several police cars including Athenas. You parked in front of the firetruck and got out and killed the engine and got out the same time JJ got out. You both had sunglasses on and walked to the crime scene.

"Welcome Agents. I'm Detective Lou Ransone." Lou announced and JJ spoke up.

"Nice to meet you. I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau but everyone calls me JJ and this is SSA Y/N Nash." She said nodding to you, everyone shook hands.

"Nash? As in Fire Captain Bobby Nash?" He asked and you nodded.

"That would be correct." You said just about the time when Bobby and Athena walked over.

"Hey! I didn't know you were coming to LA." Bobby said and you shook your head.

"Neither did I until 5 hrs ago. So what do we have?" You asked about getting into your professional FBI voice Bobby and Athena was impressed. Detective Lou answered your question as you all walked over to the body and you bent down to examine it along with JJ, who gave you gloves to put on.

"Call came in early this morning, around 7 AM from a frantic jogger that was jogging and discovered the body." Detective Lou said and you both nodded. You were watching JJ when she stopped and that got your attention.

"What do you got JJ?" You asked her.

"This is new." She said and pointed toward the left shoulder. "None of the other victims have had a bite mark on them." She said and your eyebrows shut to the one of confusion.

"You're right." You said, "Do you think we're dealing with more than one unsub or are they changing their mo?" You asked forgetting that the rest were there.

"There could be a good possibility." She said and about that time Buck, Eddie, Hen, and Chimney came over. You looked up and noticed the crowd. You got up which alerted JJ. She looked over and saw the news crew. You looked over at Detective Lou and Athena.

"Tell your detectives and officers that this does not get to the media. Not until we're ready to give a profile." You said and they nodded.

"Buck that means no telling Kelly anything." Eddie said and a surge of jealousy went through you. You didn't wait around to hear the rest. You went back to searching the crowd when you spotted something out of the ordinary. A man in his late 20s with a ball cap that was hiding his face and a jacket on with his hands in his pocket. He saw you and started to move.

"What is it?" JJ asked you

"There is someone in the crowd that doesn't look too concerned." You said and when you both went to question him he was gone.

"Let's get back to the station and get with Hotch and the rest." JJ said and you nodded and did just that

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

While you headed back to the police station you talked over all the details with JJ. When you arrived you killed the engine and walked in and to the conference room where you were set up for the time being.

You told Hotch what you had come up with. He nodded letting you know he understood. "I think we're dealing with more than one unsub." You had said.

"Why is that?" He asked asking for further explanation.

"JJ I forgot to show you but I got a picture. There was another set of footprints, smaller than the other. Also, new evidence has been found, there was a bite mark on the shoulder of the latest victim." You said and pulled up your pictures sending them to the tablets. "Also if you look back at the video you can see at least one male forcing moves on her, and another one holding the camera." You said and they looked at you and realization came upon their face. Gracia phoned you all and Morgan answered the phone.

"Talk to me momma." Morgan said

"Ok my lovelies I ran the names through all of the systems and it turns out that they all went to the same high school and lived in the same neighborhood." Garcia said.

"Do you have an address of the latest victim and the other one that recently was taken?" Rossi asked.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do. I'll have them to you in a jiffy." Gracia said and hung and true to her word she had everyone's phones pinging.

"Nash and Morgan I want you to go and talk to the parents of the latest victim, Mr. and Mrs. Lanco, and start talking to places that they frequently visited show them pictures of Amelia. Rossi and Reid start building a geographical profile and JJ start going through tapes and camera. Prentiss your with me, we're going to go and check out the Hills." Hotch ordered around and you all nodded and you left with Morgan with Preintess and Hotch following.

You both got into the SUV and headed to the address that Garcia had given you. It was in a neighborhood you knew all too well, it was the neighborhood your parents currently lived in. You arrived at the Lanco Residence and got out of the SUV when it was parked and turned off. Morgan stood right by you as you walked to the door. Morgan knocked and Mrs. Lanco answered the door.

"Mrs. Lanco, I'm SSA Morgan and this is SSA Nash." Morgan said introducing you both.

"Oh like fire captain Nash?" She asked and once again you nodded.

"Yes ma'am." You answered her. "Mrs. Lanco, we're here to talk about Amelia." You told her and let you both in and into the living room where Mr. Lanco was.

"Honey this is SSA Morgan and SSA Nash." Mrs. Lanco said her husband got up and shook both of your hands. She offered you a seat on the couch and you took it.

"First I want to say I'm sorry for your loss. Did Amelia have any enemies?" You asked then.

"No none at all. She was a very well-liked girl." Mr. Lanco said "She wouldn't hurt a fly." He continued.

"She always helped around the house and loved everyone." Mrs. Lanco said and you nodded.

"If you have any more to add, here is my card with my number. Please let us know if anything else comes up." Morgan said and handed them his card.

"We will. Have a nice day agents." Mr. Lanco said and got to show you to the door. Once out and in the SUV, Morgan was the one driving this time, you two began to talk.

"Ok so Amelia seemed like a nice girl. She helped out around the house and helped her parents." You said to Morgan and he nodded.

"She also didn't have any enemies, no one to hate her. That we know of." He said and it was your turn to nod. "I wonder if Hotch and Rossi got anything different." He said and you nodded. You started to visit each location the victims frequented but it was no use until the last stop who told you both a description of the guy and actually had videos from CCTV.

You both arrived at the station and got out of the SUV and made your way into the building. When you got to the conference room Hotch and Rossi were already there and were already talking.

"What did you both find out?" Hotch asked and so you spoke up.

"She was a really well-liked girl. She helped out around the house and wouldn't hurt a fly. She also loved everyone. Also, the last place they visited had a video that showed the victims leaving with one of the unsubs. Videos should be here now." You said relaying the conversation that you had with the parents and other information. Hotch nodded.

"This Hills said the same thing about their daughter. So why is this unsub going after friendly girls and who helps around the house? Rossi said and asked.

"He must be going after a specific person but can't have her or saving her for last." Emily spoke up and it hit you. May was like that so he must have May on his mind. You looked at Hotch and he was looking at you, you knew what he was thinking.

While you, Morgan, Hotch, and Emily were out. JJ, Reid, and Rossi had gotten the names of the unsubs, Jackson Phillips and Anthony Bennett. Garcia also gave pictures and. It was silent for a minute then Gracia phoned.

"Guys I just got a video of Amelia from the unsubs." Gracia said "Sending it to you now." She said before you all could get anything else out. Your phones pinged.

Just then Athena walked in "We just got a report of shots fired at 23 South Comet Drive."

"That's the same address that the video sent from. Ok guys let's go." Hotch said and you all threw on your Kevlar FBI vests and you were on your way.

You all got there at the same time as the 118 and the other police officers. You were the first one out of the SUV and then followed by Morgan and the others followed. You saw Buck and he was looking at you but you were too busy running to the door. When you got there you had decided to kick down the door.

"FBI! OPEN UP!" Hotch shouted and when you got no response he nodded at you and you brought your foot up and kicked down the door. In fluid motion and boy did you feel powerful. You all rushed in. Everyone split up.

"CLEAR!" Hotch yelled out

"CLEAR!" Morgan yelled out

"CLEAR!" Emily yelled out and then you got to the basement.

"Guys we need a medic down here!" You said into your comms just as the man coughed and blood spewed out.

Everyone else ran down along with Hen and Chimney. You were bending down when they came in. They worked on him and when they got him out onto the gurney he was awake and you went up to him along with Hotch. "Anthony Bennett?" You asked.

"Yes?" He replied.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Amanda Hills and 6 other kills and the kidnapping of Amelia Lanco." You said authoritatively he just looked down like he was upset that he got caught. An officer gave you cuffs and you handcuffed him to the gurney then turned the officer as Hotch spoke.

"I want an officer posted at his hospital room at all times and when he's healed take him away." He said and they nodded. He turned to you once they loaded him up and left. "You need to tell them who they're really after." He said and you looked at him he would never suggest that. He must've seen the look because he continued "They need to know and I know how you get when you have to keep a secret." He finished and you nodded.

You walked over to Bobby and Athena as well as Eddie and Buck. They saw you and saw the look on your face. "What's wrong?" Buck asked.

"This is not easy for me to say this but the unsub's target is May." You told them and the color drained from their face the same it had done to you when you saw it. "That's the same look I had when I saw it." You said and you felt bad "I wasn't allowed to tell you until now." And that was true even if it wasn't spoken you knew the rules.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Athena asked

"Yes. We want to put someone with her the entire time and we will be calling the 911 command center to let them know. I also want Maddie to know." You said and they nodded. You all talked more and then you needed to go.

"Y/N wait." Buck said as he jogged over to you and you turned. "How have you been?" He asked and you looked at him expression neutral. Even though you were jumping for joy on the inside but you knew he had a girlfriend.

"I've been fine Buck." You said and gave him a small smile.

"That's great! Hey listen maybe we can hang out after this is all done." He said and you sighed.

"We can hang out but Buck you have a girlfriend and I don't want to stand in the way of you two." You told him and he nodded his head "Do you have your phone?" You asked him and he nodded and so you held out your hand and you put your number in and then sent a message to yourself "I have your number now. Text or call me." You said and then turned away and back to the SUV. What you didn't see was Buck smiling like an idiot and what you didn't know was that he liked you too.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

It was the next day and you had gotten zero sleep. You just couldn't fall asleep not with that creep of a murder running around. Everyone greeted each other and got to work. "I think we're ready to give a press conference. Y/N want you to give it." Hotch said and that surprised you but got ready to do one anyways. "Tell them that we have a suspect in custody and tell them what and who to watch out for." He said and you nodded your head. The news reporters and several television stations were there. You were nervous but you were ready to give to do it.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Bobby had told Hen and Chimney what you had told them and Buck had told Maddie. "Hey the FBI is about to give a statement." Buck said and so everyone gathered around.

"I'm SSA Y/N Nash with the FBI. We have a suspect in custody but the other one is still at large. We ask you not to approach this man he is considered to be armed and dangerous. He is a white male in his early 30s and has black hair and blue eyes. He is usually seen in a black baseball cap and has a scar over his right eyebrow. Up on the screen is a picture that will help you identify him. We also ask any female to not be alone at all times while this case is going on. If you see this man or he approaches you please call the FBI hotline or 911. There will not be any questions at this time. Thank you." You finished your speech.

Everyone was silent. "She looks stressed." Chimney said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"She also didn't look like she got any sleep." Hen said.

"I just hope she's ok. Maybe I can convince her to stay a couple of days afterwards." Bobby said

"We would love to see and hang out with her again." Eddie said and again everyone agreed. Buck was silent he loved you and wanted to be with you but was too stupid and hid it, now he was with Taylor and he didn't want that anymore he wanted you.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Everyone at the call center gathered around the TV as the news began to play. There was chatter going around and questions. May and Maddie were together when it was playing and it freaked her out because she knew this person.

"I'm SSA Y/N Nash with the FBI. We have a suspect in custody but the other one is still at large. We ask you not to approach this man he is considered to be armed and dangerous. He is a white male in his early 30s and has black hair and blue eyes. He is usually seen in a black baseball cap and has a scar over his right eyebrow. Up on the screen is a picture that will help you identify him. We also ask any female to not be alone at all times while this case is going on. If you see this man or he approaches you please call the FBI hotline or 911. There will not be any questions at this time. Thank you." You finished your speech.

"Oh my gosh." May said in disbelief.

"What? What is it?" Maddie asked her concerned.

"I know that man. He's always in Cali Café. The café that I really like and the one I brought coffee to you from. He's a barista." She said and Maddie knew what she was talking about.

"Have you told Y/N?" She asked and May shook her head. "I think you need to." She said and May nodded her head and pulled out her phone and dialed your number. You answered on the first ring.

"May?" You answered

"Y/N I know that man." May said to you.

"You do?" You asked surprised

"Yes he's a barista at Cali Café. That's my favorite place to get coffee. He was fired last week though for inappropriate behavior towards women and taking off so often." She told you and you nodded tho she couldn't see.

"Ok. May we are sending someone to stay with you until this whole things blows over. I want you to be safe and if you need to stay with Maddie." You told her

"Ok. I got it." She said

"Good. I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you May." You told her

"I love you too sis." She said and then you both hung up the phone.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

You relayed the information to the team and they had sent an officer her way. Everyone was working and trying to figure out a plan and his plan when Athena came rushing in "They just found a body." She said and that had you all getting up and rushing off. When you arrived it was in a park just like he originally had done. There were strangulation marks around her heck and she was severally beaten and the new signature of a bite mark. The 118 also arrived a minute later.

"That is Amelia Lanco." Rossi said standing up from having been bent down.

"Someone needs to go and inform the parents. Reid and JJ you go." Hotch said and they nodded and headed to one of the SUVs.

"I think now that he's dumped her. He's going to go after May now." You said and they nodded in agreement. You all didn't care who heard since you had already told the 118 and Athena. "We have an officer with her, correct?" You asked and Athena nodded her head.

"Yes Detective Lou is with her." She said and you nodded your head. Hen and Chimney had loaded Amelia up and headed off.

"Good." Just then the media rolls up and to be honest you were pissed. "What the hell is the reporters doing here? How did they get information?" You asked sounding pissed and everyone could hear it.

"Rossi and Prentiss go take care of it." Hotch said and he nodded and headed that way then you looked at Buck.

"Did you tell her?" You asked in a pissed off voice.

"I swear I didn't. You have to believe me. Y/N I promise I didn't." He said defending himself and that's when Bobby spoke up.

"He didn't tell her anything. He hasn't even looked at his phone since he's been at work." Bobby said to you.

"He's been with me the entire time." Eddie said and you nodded believing them but it still infuriated you that she found out somehow.

"Agent Nash! Agent Hotchner!" An officer yelled out and you and Hotch turned and saw an officer waving you both over. So with one last look at Buck who had an expression on his face that you couldn't place you and Hotch walked over to the officer.

Buck stood there and looking in shock. He then turned to Bobby. "I swear I didn't tell her." He said.

"We know that Buck. She knows that too but she's just stressed right now and from the looks of it not getting enough sleep. She would never jeopardize a relationship that she truly believes in. Just give her some time." Bobby said and Buck nodded.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

You were truly getting frustrated and were getting little to no sleep. Hotch has pulled you aside and talked to you about snaping on people and that if you didn't stop he was sending you back to the hotel. It was in the middle of the day when you got the worst news any FBI agent or sister to get. Your face drained of color and you would've collapsed if it weren't for Hotch holding you up. Athena was also there when she got the news and you two comforted each other.

Once you got over your shock you really dived into your work not stopping to do anything. "Ok so we know that he keeps them for a total of 2 days. He usually abuses them, sexually assaults them, strangles them, and slits their throats post-mortem. He then dumps them naked in the local park. He used to have a partner but doesn't anymore so it's going to be harder to dump them." You said pacing around thinking. You turned to Rossi "Did it say where May was taken from?" You asked.

"Y/N." He said and you looked at him with a look you've never given them before and it scared them.

"Where Rossi?" You said sternly and he looked at Hotch and he nodded.

"Coming out of the 911 dispatch center." You could've sworn you felt your blood boil.

"Wasn't Detecive Lou with her?" You asked incredibly annoyed.

"Yes there was but they found him knocked out where the cars were. Cameras did show that a black Toyota Corolla stop and the unsub got out and knocked him out and pushed May into the car." Hotch said.

"When was she taken?" You asked sternly

"This morning after her overnight shift." Reid told you

"Does Bobby know?" You asked looking at Athena who had just walked into the room when she heard commotion.

"No he doesn't." She said and you looked at Hotch.

"Go tell him in person. You need to cool off." He said tossing you the keys to the SUV and you stormed out and got into the SUV and drove to the firehouse.

You arrived at the firehouse and blew past several people until you got to the kitchen. You looked him straight in the eye "May has been taken." You could see the color drain from his face.

"When?" He asked "What are you doing here?" He asked again.

"This morning after her overnight shift. They sent me to tell you because I was starting to snap at people. Hotch told me to." You said and he nodded. Just then your phone buzzed. You looked at the message it was from Garcia she gave you the address "1157 California Lane. Is close to here right?" You asked looking up at your father.

"Yea it's about 20 minutes away from here." He said, and you rushed down the stairs with everyone following they watched you throw on your Kevlar vest and then get in the SUV before any of them could say anything and speed off sirens blaring. As you were driving you got a call from Garcia.

"Hey you're on with everyone else including Athena and the 118." She said and you didn't say anything.

"We're right here with you Sweetheart." Your dad's voice came through your phone.

"I'm almost there." You said

"You wait for backup. Understood?" Hotch said and you didn't say anything too busy grinding your teeth "Agent Nash. Do you understand?" He asked again voice going authoritative.

"Understood." You said teeth clenched together.

"Good. Here is the plan. When we all get there we'll all go in together and get May put safely." Hotch said and you knuckles tightened until the turned white. You knew you needed to follow orders but you didn't like it.

They continued you talking but you tuned them out when you arrived at the house. You switched your phone to your comm. You hated waiting. Just then a scream came from the house and you couldn't wait anymore.

"Hotch I can't wait anymore I'm going in." You told them.

"Just wait for backup. We're 10 minutes out." Morgan said and you shook your head.

"10 minutes is too late. I can hear screaming." You said getting pissed.

"Y/N, Sweetheart. Just hold on a little longer. I know its hard and it hurts. We're 8 minutes out." Athena said and again you shook your head.

"Y/N please listen to them. We're almost there." Buck's voice came through and you closed your eyes you wanted to listen.

"Agent Nash. Stand down." Hotch said but you needed to go now.

"I'm sorry, I'm not waiting anymore." You said and got out and ran to the door. They were screaming in your ear but you ignored them.

You got to door and tried the knob and it opened so you pushed it open and quietly walked in. You cleared each room one by one. Until you got to the basement and then May screamed again and that had your aderline pumping and walking down the stairs. You say May and you started to walk to her she had blood coming from a cut over her eyebrow and brushing on her temple along with a cut. She also had some signs of strangulation.

"Y/N/N?" She asked looking up and you nodded you holstered your gun.

"Yea it's me. We're gonna get you out of here." You said and spoke in your comm.

"I have May. I-" you said and then May stopped you.

"Y/N/N behind you!" She said and when you turned around the unsub, Jackson Phillips, was behind you with a 2x4 and he swung it and hit you across the temple. It had knocked you down and your vision was disoriented. You saw him coming for you and you used the wall to help yourself up as he took a swing at you, you ducked and he hit the wall and you stumbled forward holding your head. He grabbed your shoulders and pulled you up and punched you in the face. You need to fight back and so you did. You took a swing and successfully hit him across the face knocking him to the side.

"Jackson Phillips we can work this out." You said

"Oh no. Working it out with you people means guns." He said and stood up and rushed you. You stepped aside and he quickly recovered. This went on for about 3 minutes and both of you were pretty beaten up. He grabbed a knife and got some good cuts and stabs in you but you quickly disarmed him and then he grabbed a gun and you quickly upholstered your gun.

"One last chance. We can work this out and I can get you a deal." You said standing up in front of May to protect her and labor breathing. He raised his gun.

"I'm not going back to prison." He said and both of you fired two shots. One of his hit your shoulder and the other just below your vest. Both of yours hit his chest successfully but somehow he was still alive but barley hanging on. You stumbled over to May and untied her and then collapsed. And spoke into your comm.

"Suspect is contained. I'm gonna need a medic." You said and your words were slurred.

Then everything turned black. You didn't hear May's pleas for you to wake up or the pressure she had on your wounds. You felt nothing.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Everyone could hear what was happening and it was breaking their heart. They drove as fast as they could. Buck, Bobby, and Athena were taking it the hardest.

They heard you fight with the unsub they heard every hit and every word.

"Y/N/N behind you!" May shouted and they heard you grunt in pain and then hit something metal. "

Jackson Phillips we can work this out." You said sounding out of breath.

"Oh no. Working it out with you people means guns." He said and more punching and throwing around could be heard along with grunting.

"One last chance. We can work this out and I can get you a deal."

"I'm not going back to prison." He said and both of you fired two shots. Everyone’s eyes went wide and they drove faster.

"Suspect is contained. I'm gonna need a medic." You said and your words were slurred.

Bobby had his head hung. Buck was looking wide-eyed. Athena was gripping the steering wheel. Hotch, Emily, Reid, JJ, and Rossi were in shock and afraid for their youngest member's life. They could hear May shouting out at you but you didn't respond.

"Y/N, please! Wake up! You can't leave!" She said but got no response back and they heard her start sobbing.

Everyone arrived and the BAU rushed in along with Athena and the 133 paramedics. Two other ambulances, 133 and 136, had arrived with them. Jackson Phillips was still alive but barley there. They loaded him up as Athena put cuffs on him and then the gurney "Keep him alive I want see him charged for murder and attempted murder of a federal agent." The 133 paramedics nodded and took off with him. Along with another officer to stand post at the room. The other suspect was healed and in prison already.

Emily had removed May with the help of JJ, she didn't want to leave but she knew she had to they took her the 136 ambulance to have her checked out. Hotch was bending down next you and putting pressure on. "Y/N, can you hear me?" He asked but you didn't respond. Chimney and Hen came down with a backboard. They started to put the pulse ox on your finger and hook you up to the heart monitor.

"She has a pulse but it's weak and her oxygen is dropping. We need to move her fast." Hen said and they all nodded and Hotch and Morgan helped them get you onto the backboard and helped them out of the basement and then onto a gurney. They got you into the ambulance and Bobby climbed into the ambulance. Chimney put an oxygen mask on your face as you started to come to and lolled your head the side and saw your dad there.

"Dad?" you asked slurred and he looked at you and you held your hand out to him for him to take.

"I'm here, Sweetheart." He said with tears forming in his eyes.

"Did I get 'im?" You asked eyes wanting to slip closed.

"Yea, Sweetheart. You got him." He said stroking the back of your hand. Then your grip loosened and fell out of his and your eyes rolled into the back of your head and your head lolled to the side as the heart monitor started to go crazy.

"She's flatlining!" Chimney yelled out and started to take your vest off and Bobby helped. Once it was off Chimney started to do chest compressions and then Bobby spoke up.

"Don't you leave me, Sweetheart. I can't lose you." He said and that seemed to work because your heartrate came back your eyes began to open.

"Hey, welcome back." Chimney said just as soon as they pulled up to the hospital. They got you out and wheeled you in and gave you off to the doctors "She codded in the ambulance once but came back." He said and they nodded. Now they had to wait.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

3 hrs. that is how long it took for you to be in surgery to repair some major wounds and remove the bullets. 3 hrs. is how long you spent fighting to survive. 3 hrs. is how long everyone had to wait nervously in the hospital waiting room. 3 hrs. is how long Buck had to wait for an update for the love of his life. Everyone had changed but Athena since she had to work still. Michael, David, Harry, and May were at the hospital as well waiting. Athena had arrived and spotted Bobby who was talking to Hotch and the rest of your team. "Any word?" She asked and they shook their head.

"No, not yet." Bobby said and she was about to sat something when your doctor came out and Bobby looked over and nodded his head.

"Family of Nash." Bobby, Athena, and Hotch walked over.

"I'm her father and this is her mother." Bobby said and pointing to Athena.

"I'm her boss." Hotch said and the doctor nodded.

"I'm Dr. Summers. I was Agent Nash's surgeon and doctor. We lost her twice on the table but she his stable now. I want her to stay here for a few days just to make sure she recovers well. You can see her but if she starts getting overwhelmed I recommend limiting her visitors." She said and they nodded their heads understanding "She's in room 555." She said and they thanked her and she was on her way.

They went over and told the others and everyone sighed in relief. Buck even collapsed in the chair. "We want to limit the people she sees to at least three." Bobby said and they nodded.

Hotch, Bobby, and Athena went first. They walked up to the room and looked through the window. They could see the brutal attack you went through. They walked in and you looked over to them. "Hey." You said weakly.

"Hey, Sweetheart." Bobby said for everyone.

"May?" You asked scooting up and groaning in pain everyone rushed to help you.

"She's ok, thanks to you. A little bruised and some cuts here and there but ok." Athena said and gently grabbed your hand and rubbed it. You smiled and then turned to Hotch, he knew what you were asking.

"They want you to stay here in the hospital for a couple of days. I also want you to take some time off and recover. You're not going to be able to fly for a few weeks so I thought you could stay here." He said and turned to Bobby and Athena.

"Of course. You don't even have to ask. It would be great to catch up." Athena said and you smiled so it was settled you'll be staying home for a couple of weeks.

Everyone visited you but Buck. You were a little sad but put up a wall and masked your feelings. You were just about to go to sleep when Buck knocked on your door and walked in and you smiled.

"Buck." You said his name and it brought chills up his spine.

"Hi." He said and walked over and sat down by your bed and you looked over to him "You gave me, well everyone, a scare." You smiled.

"Sorry about that." You said and chuckled but then groaned in pain and Buck jumped up.

"Are you ok? Do I need to go get a nurse?" He asked and you waved him off.

"It's ok. I promise." You said and he sat back down.

"Listen Y/N I really like no love you. I have ever since I laid eyes on you but never made a move. I was young and naïve and you were just visiting from Quantico. I want to be with you even if it is long distance." Buck said and you thought about it.

"I've always loved you Buck. You never seemed interested so I never went for it. You just never seemed to pay attention to me or knew I existed. I really do love you Buck but you're with Taylor and I don't want to get in the way of that." You said and before you knew it or continue his lips were on yours and you were kissing him back. You only broke apart when air was needed "Buck. What about Taylor?" You asked and he shook his head.

"I don't want her. I want you and only you. I'm going to break up with her when I leave here." He said and you nodded. He sat down and you two talked in a comfortable silence. Bobby and Athena walked back in, they had decided to stay with you until you were ready to leave. Buck left but not without giving you a kiss and a wink.

Bobby and Athena started asking 20 questions and you couldn't help but smile. This was the family you had been missing but you loved your job. Buck and you were finally together and everything was right now. Yes your job was dangerous but you loved it and wouldn't give it up for anything. You couldn't wait to start your recovery with the people you love.

[itstheghostofmypast]

Meow (Ch-4)

Choi San x (f)Reader

Summary: He had spent an entire millennia in solitude, waiting for her to come back to him, bearing this curse that was a constant reminder of his ignorance, his mistake, and his guilt. He had forgotten how fate had always been cruel to him, punishing him for all he had done, and so be it, meeting her in the 21st century should have brought him joy- there was only one problem, his love for her may not have decreased a drop, but she may love Poofy more than she ever loved him.

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Word Count: 15k

Est Read Time: 1 hr 15 min

Warnings: death of a major character, abuse, war, PTSD.

Rating: Mature

Networks: @cromernet @k-labels @san-network

Masterlist I Chp-3

He watched her walk out of the room, making sure to close it behind her, giving him some form of space, though he could hear the way she let out a sigh, so she was still afraid- no, perhaps uneasy at best. Well, he did leave some impression on her, invading her home, taking up her private quarters for two weeks, having her take care of him, such carelessness, San, it was not like you to burden such a delicate flower- visibly scoffing at the train of thought he huffed, laying back down as his head collided with the soft pillow breaking the blow, honestly, he had wanted it to hit hard enough to knock him out, for the way the Moon had fated him with a human was as exhausting as the time she had blessed him to be the protector of this land. However, he now preferred the latter any day. The more important and disturbing question that lingered at the back of his mind was the fact that neither of his brothers had looked for him during this time. Well, usually, he wouldn't let them wander around alone, especially in unknown areas that Yunho had not mapped, but he did feel like they could've sent the wolves to look for him. Or maybe they did and he didn't know? What if they couldn't find him?

The door slid open, causing him to close his eyes, and pretend he was asleep, he was still cautious of her, she had yet to prove her innocence. She may have been only taking care of him to gain a favour or his trust, only to exploit him later, or worse, ambush him, betray him, shattering the heart that had now begun beating for her- oh this was going to be a problem, he huffed, trying to keep his eyes closed and expressions relaxed.

She walked in with the tray, mindful of her robes, glad she had worn the light pastels with the gold highlights, a good first impression is important. Making her way around the bed she placed the tray on the small table, turning to face him, only to find him asleep.

"Oh...my, he must still be tired," she whispered, leaning closer to expect the damage, her original plan was to change the bandages after he finished eating, but since he was asleep now, she could just do it whenever he woke up. Her ears picked up his little huff, eyes flickering from his shoulder to his face, was he in some form of pain? Shifting ever so slightly she moved a bit closer, closer to his head, with deft fingers she brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes, noting the shift of expression when she gently carded her fingers through his hair, actually she was trying to aim for his kitty ears, but she needed to take it slow.

He bit his lower lip at the gesture, trying to control himself, his body had begun to respond to her actions, it was no longer following his will and that scared him. He knew that around your other half instinct would often take over but she was not aware of their 'fated relationship', what if he ended up losing complete control and giving into his desires, one which were infatuated by his heart and burning passion for her. Perhaps he should open his eyes and scare her away again, the further she stayed the bet- a loud purr emitted from his throat, causing his eyes to snap open as she froze, fingers still in his hair, giving him a sheepish smile- though the fear swirling in her eyes almost gave her away- almost.

"What...are you doing?" A strained whisper broke past his lips, finally shattering the silence as he tried to even out his breathing, his purrs growing louder when she began to scratch below his ear, petting him like a cat, "My apologies...but you have really cute ears...Poofy."

Clearing her throat she slowly pulled back, praying to the Moon that he did not notice her flushed face, truth be told she had never laid eyes on a man more beautiful, so alluring and charismatic. He intrigued her, made her turn back to the curious little girl she was, the same girl who found Yuyu hiding behind the bushes at their home, who brought Yuyu to meet her mother and forced him to become her playmate- but there was something different about Poofy, the way his piercing gaze lingered on her, she could feel the way he was scanning her, sizing her up, drinking in her presence when she had first introduced herself, it was...different.

He gripped her wrist whilst she was about to pull back, maintaining eye contact, admiring the way her face was near his, pretty sure with a tug he'd have her fall on top of him- perhaps another time. Slowly bringing her hand back to his head he placed his hand on top of her, letting out a quiet purr before closing his eyes, "You may proceed, tiny human."

Smiling at the gesture, she tried to ignore the tingling sensation of his hand on hers, he was so warm, she'd never really held hands with anyone before- technically this wasn't holding hands, well in a sense, oh god, this intimacy was going to driver her insane. Was it common for his kind to be this physical, Yuyu would always hold her hand too, well then, Yuyu was Yuyu, he was different, he was sweet and playful, and he was one of the few important people in her life- was.

That night she found herself sitting on the futon, back pressed against the wall, her fingers in his hair, playing with the strands, caressing his ears, with his head in her lap- truth be told she didn't remember how or when he'd way onto her lap. Still, he was snuggling closer and his loud, soothing purrs were lulling her to sleep, it had been long since sleep had come to her on its own, often she'd need to drink her sleep-inducing drops, prescribed to her ever since that day, without them she would lay on her cold, large bed for hours, listening to the silence, letting the bitter reality of her meaningless existence prick at her bones, tempting her to take matters in her own hands often. Still, then she would remember the promise, too afraid to take any action that might ruin the chances of her ever reuniting with Yuyu. Her fingers danced across his hair as she looked down at him only to find him staring back at her, causing her breath to him, he was...so...shameless, not an ounce of unease swirling within his brown orbs, staring up at her shamelessly, like he had every right to do so, he was doing it again, he was trying to read her, study her. She didn't want to break eye contact, but she was amazed and appalled by his audacity, the proximity and intimacy had her heart hammering against her ribs, bouncing around, yet, he was so calm, so relaxed and so warm, her eyes flickered to his lips, not wanting to look at him anymore, only to notice his lips slightly quirk upwards, before he spoke, "You think a lot, tiny human, your thoughts keep you awake and they're keeping me awake."

"You really are rude, Poofy." She huffed, only to squeak when he nuzzled his face in her lap, trying to push him off but he glanced at her, "Is this how you treat your patient, Princess of the East?"

Princess? She never told him- how? What?

"How do you...know?" She whispered, only for him to sigh, reaching for her hand that had stopped on his head, gently shaking it causing her to jerk out of her daze, she never knew she stopped it, only to start again when he sighed sleepily, "A conversation for tomorrow, Princess of the East, for now, tend to my wounds."

She could only shake her head in response, he really was something else, so closed off yet so clingy, like they had known each other for millennia, maybe if they had, things might have been different for her, for Yuyu, for her mother.

The Moon really did give her another Poofy.

.

The next morning, she had woken up by a loud snore, eyes snapping open at the volume, how could someone snore so loud- oh heavens. Her face warmed up at the thought of it, unfortunately, she couldn't even blame the sun, squinting at the light as she made her down the vast field. With her basket in hand, she was busy making her way to the other end of the field, near the trees, in need of some willow catkins, his wound was healing but the inflammation was still there, which is why she had made her way out of the cabin early in the morning, well because of that and the fact that if she had continued to lay on top of his chest, she would have combusted- not only was it extremely unladylike of her do to so, she has no memory of snuggling up next to him, all she remembered was him falling asleep in her lap and she had rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes for just a second.

A rustle from behind the bushes had her freezing up, she slowly turned her head to glance at whatever hid behind, only to let out a small squeak when a giant brown bear slowly walked out, though his eyes bore a form of gentleness she had barely seen before. She had no plans of getting mulled by a bear today, so she followed what all the books on survival she had read taught her, stay still, and pray to the Moon that the beast lose interest in her and leave. Though after ten minutes of standing there, unmoving she felt the sudden urge to sneeze- oh no. With an ungraceful sneeze, she fell backwards, the flowers cushioning her fall but before her, the bear stalked towards her slowly, and like the scared little girl she was deep down inside she sat there, closing her eyes, hoping it’d be quick. Though it never came, cracking open an eye she found its head stuffed in her basket, and that’s all it took for her to decide that this was the best time to escape.

Slamming open the door to the cabin she ran inside, not even bothering to close it, only glancing behind her to make sure it wasn't following her, then colliding with another body, with a squeak followed by a loud thud she gasped, pushing herself up on her hands, only to come face to face with a frown.

"I admire your brave advances Princess, but I believe I am not your type." He smirked, fingers twitching to grab hold of her, though he held himself back. Truth be told he had been looking for her as soon as he had woken up, and although he couldn't find her, he had decided to do something else, snoop around.

Unfortunately, if one were to break in, they'd find nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fact that this belonged to a peasant, a peasant woman, which is why mid-searching his goal had changed, to find all the places someone could break in from, especially given the knowledge that a woman lived here alone. This was not a safe arrangement for any woman, let alone one of her statures. Eleven, in total there were eleven places within this cabin where someone could break in, he needed to talk to her about it.

Apologising she slowly moved off him, only to lay on the floor, trying to calm herself down as she stared at the ceiling, lying next to him, she was too scared even to register his joke, too scared to ask him how he was feeling or how he had even moved? There were no bears in this part of the forest, hell, there were almost no predators in this part of the kingdom, that's why they had moved her here right? Not only because they wanted her to stay away from political matters but because it was safe too, right? They'd never...harm her?

He sat up quietly, turning his head to find her blankly staring at the ceiling, well, he could hear the little voices, squeaking around, but he was unable to make out any form of coherency, perhaps he still had a lot to learn from Hongjoong and Yeosang, the two could read thoughts, probably knit a whole gown with them and the person wouldn't have picked up on it- if he had actually listened to Hongjoong's lectures he could've plucked out these thoughts feeding off her life force, draining her serotonin- alas, that was not a trait he possessed and using words was always a quality possessed by Yunho or Wooyoung, but if he were to try...for her...just for her- wait, why should he try for her, what has she ever done other than saving him? More importantly, she is a mere mortal and royalty at that, a proper, spoiled, pompous and arrogant creature, of course, she would be no different from those who had visited their temple, demanding the land and its beauty- pitiful creatures of ignorance,  starting a war to take back what was never there's, this false sense of power than consumes them disgusted him, they disgusted him and she disgusted- his eyes flickered to meet her meek gaze, to notice the rosy hue spreading across her cheeks, licking her lips as she sat up, staring at him, before mumbling, "Are you...hurting, Poofy? You're scowling?" 

Truth be told she had stopped thinking about her family problems as soon as he had gotten up, somewhat proud of her medicinal skills, he was healing and he was healing quickly, sure, his supernatural powers had helped speed up the process but she was glad that she could be of use, of use to someone at least. Another new occurring issue however was the way he'd look at her, his eyes would be so serious and cold, a story untold swirling within his dark orbs that were often fixed on her face, her form and perhaps even her soul, but that never scared her, because with this cold stare accompanied a pout, one that would have her giggling inside, she had never seen a man so masculine yet so...cute? 

"I'm..." he tried to focus on the distant noise radiating from her, but it had begun to fade away, he had noticed this the first time she had introduced herself to him, every time she'd be sitting quietly the noise would grow in volume and frequency, often resembling the shrieks and howls of the demon fleets he fought off with his brothers at the brink of dawn, the trials the Moon had put them through to prove their worth, which is why he was often like this around her, though he could feel no ounce of satanic residue off her, what was more concerning how when she would become to converse with him, they'd quickly disappear into nothingness. Instead, he'd be staring at a warm, calm presence, just carefree in motion and living, much like how he noticed about the field sunflowers, swaying side to side as the wind would lovingly caress them, easing away all their frustration and worries, leaving them to look up at the sun and bask in its glory, just like that she'd smile at him, as tranquil as the summer sea, waiting patiently for him to speak his mind, "I'm just a bit hungry, Princess. "

That is exactly how the War Chief found himself back on the futon, in front of him a table filled with food for him, though he eyed her coming and leaving the room with more food only for him to grab hold of her wrist when she was placing a cup of juice, "Either eat with me or stop bringing more food."

She flinched at the contact, something he noticed but didn’t react to, nor did he loosen his grip, only tugged her down, making her sit near him. Clearing her throat she slowly moved to increase the distance between the two, but sat there with her hands on her lap, looking at him eat quietly, “Is it good?” she asked, trying to strike up a conversation, she had begun to follow her mother’s recipes, although no one at home would eat them, which is why she wanted his opinion, perhaps she could be able to make food like her mother did, the same food that attracted Yuyu to their palace.

“I haven’t had meat this tender in a while,” he cleared his throat, putting down the chopsticks, “I’ve been on my own for months, making rounds of dark patches, so I cook whatever I can hunt or just have a small snack,” turning to look at her quizzical look he sighed, “Dark patches are concealed areas, after the great war the earth was divided up, land was sectioned, our maps were rendered useless, now there are three types of territories-

“Oh, I know that.” She cut him off before quickly covering her mouth, dipping her head as an apology, “My apologies, please continue, that was out of my place.”

True, she knew, she had a lot of knowledge about the kingdom, before and after the great war, but the war had happened centuries before she was born, though she could read, her mother had taught her how to, and she could write as well, a quality her father disapproved off, especially after she had begun to show interest in the way the kingdom worked, from political matters to military actions. Truth be told, the war had always fascinated her, to think the human army had fought off the beasts that roamed the land freely, she too much like everyone else had believed them to be beasts, ones cursed by the Moon, even though her mother had often convinced her how that was untrue, she did not believe her mother’s claims and chose to believe what her ancestors and her father both talked about, how the beasts were pure barbarians that destroyed all that came in their way, or at least she thought she believed it till she had met Yuyu. Unfortunately, she was now afraid that her sudden interest would offend him, having him dismiss her like her father or brothers did, that very thought led her to bow deeper, an apology at the tip of her tongue but he cut her off.

“What are you doing, Princess?” he asked, out of genuine curiosity, this little human was definitely interesting, the Moon had really searched hard to find a cracked nut for him- so much for being the Moon’s favourite, “Why are you apologising? It has been long since I’ve met a human who knew about the history of the world, continue, I want to know if what you know is closer to the truth or have you been fed by the corrupted version?”

She peaked up from her lashes, noticing how he gave her a reassuring smile, before slowly sitting up straight, clearing her throat, unsure if he was serious, or not, but deciding to continue anyway, “Centuries ago, the land was split into three portions; man, beasts and demons. Humans were well, normal and unimportant, mortal beings such as me, we were at the bottom of the food chain, not directly linked to the Moon, but were under her supervision nonetheless, for she loves all the living equally,” he smirked at her statement, well, she did love the living, but he was definitely her favourite, “then came the two who were either cursed by the Moon or blessed, originally, human scriptures held the truth about the two clans, the Lurkers, those who were cursed by the Moon, often man or beast turned into Lurkers, they held within them essence of dark magic and were fuelled with the same passion of demons, and then the second clan was on top of the pyramid, the beasts, also…known as the guardians, such as yourself, you were blessed by the Moon, given traits similar to an animal that became your spirit, I knew one who was a canine, back then he was a puppy, I know not who or what he is now and …you’re the second guardian I’ve met.” She smiled at him, proud when looked at her with a look of sheer surprise, truth be told he was impressed by her knowledge, which pushed her to continue her little history lessons, “Now our scriptures hold lies, truthfully I used to believe them, choosing to ignore my mother’s stories, she had knowledge of the original scriptures hidden in the palace, our current scriptures claim how the beasts and Lurkers attacked humans, but the truth is that the Lurkers and humans worked together to bring down the guardians to take their lands and they almost did, until they turned on each other, the guardians used this as an advantage, they say that day the sun and the Moon stood together in the vast sky, the two dragons, lunar and solar guided and protected their armies below, one that was led by the Canidae, one that was led by the Ursidae, and one that was led by Felidae- they say the Felidae was the strongest batch, led by a giant black beast, its fur was as dark as the silent, deadly sky but its golden eyes were as bright as the piercing sun, some say it resembled a panther, that day the guardians won, but once again chose to honour the Moon’s decision of choosing them as the guardians, putting forth the request of showing mercy upon the Lurkers and the humans, so the humans were banished from certain areas, though they held more land now, and the Lurkers were…cursed into becoming goblins.”

She looked up from her hands to face him, to only squeak at how close he had moved to her, he was very much in her personal space, and again, instead of letting her move back, he gently pinched her chin, forcing her to face him as he studied her, “Tell me, princess, you know so much about us, yet you were afraid at the sight of another guardian today?” Her face contorted at his statement, she had met no other guardian today she had met no one else at all, no one but the bear- a small gasp escaped her lip as her curious eyes met his mischievous gaze, letting her pull his hand away as she gripped his wrist, whispering, “The…bear…but how did you know I met…someone?”

He let her hold onto his hand, somewhat surprised by how she didn’t pull back, perhaps she had not realised it, usually, she’d pull back like she was repelled by his presence, “I saw you leave with a basket, you came back empty handed and scared, the look in your eyes was not one held by a woman being chased by a man, I have saved many women as such as usually they are in fear of those bastards following them, you were not which meant it was a creature you thought was not smart enough.”

“Oh my…” letting go of his hands she covered her face with her hands, letting out a shaky breath, mumbling to herself, “What if they think I’ve done something to you- I was so scared, usually no animals come around here, the East is covered with the forest, but no actual animal life, if you have noticed, so I- especially not predators such as that- I am so sorry, maybe I should’ve talked to it-

He cut her off by pealing her hands off her face as he held her cold hands in his warmer, larger hands, “Who was it?”

“A…bear.”

“You met…” he paused for a moment, eying her, he still didn’t trust her enough to let her in, soulmate or not, that issue was still to be decided, “Jong,” he decided not to tell her his real name either, “ that is his animal spirit, I believe they sent him to look for me, as you know I was out cold for two weeks, before that, I had been out on my own for months, but I would send letters often.”

“I see.” She sighed, only to realise he was holding her hands, clearing her throat as she slipped out of his grasp, she got up, only to trip off his tail and squeak as she fell onto his lap, glaring at the way he smirked at her, truth be told he was still put off by the fact that she was a human, but her knowledge about the truth may have peaked his interest, that and the cute reactions she’d give when he’d tease her were of clear amusement.

“Very funny,” she huffed trying to move but he wrapped his arms, around her, making her squirm, “S-stop, this is in-inappropriate!”

“Aww, but I thought you liked sleeping on my chest” he chuckled, before it turned into a boisterous laugh at the way she whined, pushing off him trying to hide her blushing face. Ironically it was not her who had snuggled up against him the previous night, but when he had woken up, he had noticed the uncomfortable position she was asleep in, sitting there with his head on her lap, which is why he had helped her lie down, only to end up staring the futon with her, but her constant whimpering and small cries had him wrapping his arms around her, forcing the bitter thoughts away, trying to follow the method taught by Yeosang, to pluck away all the negative thoughts and memories, at least temporarily so she could sleep in peace, he was mindful enough to not interfere with her memories, choosing to respect her privacy, her past was a secret only for her to hold, he knew and respected that.

He let go of her, laughing when she mumbled how annoying she was, and declaring her exit with a, “You need to rest, I’ll clean everything up.” For a princess, she sure did live a domestic life. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, watching her stack up the dishes, taking in her side profile, he’d be lying if he were to say she was not one of the most beautiful creatures he had laid his eyes upon, perhaps the most beautiful human for sure- or was this feeling a result of her being his other half?

“Poofy?”

“Hmmm?” his eyes locked with hers, taking in the insecurities swirling within her gaze.

“You- you won’t disappear right?”

He took a moment to process her question, watching how she bit her lip, staring no longer at him but at his tail, then at the plates. Perhaps he took a minute too long because as soon as the silence began to grow, she cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice steady and gave him a small smile, “Forget what I asked- I’ll go bring your ointment-

“I will not.”

The way his words cut her off had her expressions relax, her typical faux smile turning into a thin line, as she stared at him, trying to take in any signs of insincerity, but she could find none, or perhaps he was too good at hiding them. At the back of their minds, both knew he had to go, she had no idea about ‘the one’ and he had yet to decide if he deemed her worthy to be her other half, even if the Moon had dedicated her to him.

.

“You- seriously you lost her?” Hongjoong sighed, looking up from another scroll to find the man staring at the floor, acting all guilty, of course, he did not tell his king how he had gotten distracted by the catkins in the basket she had left behind.

“I fear Jongho needs a good beating.” They heard a little chirp, causing the youngest to roll his eyes, and snap back, “I lost her because she has no scent you fool.”

That statement led Yeosang to look up from his book and finally speak up, "What do you mean?" He asked the youngest, every individual had a personal scent, perhaps she was masking hers somehow, "Was it masked?" 

Jongho shook his head, tossing the basket to Yunho who caught it, staring at the weaved basket, trying to find any traces of her, but he couldn't, odd, he clearly remembered her having a particular sweet scent as a child, one that had lured him to him- like of sugar syrup.

Mumbling something to himself Yeosang walked out of the chambers, leaving the rest confused, though Seonghwa sighed, before looking at Hongjoong warily, "I told you she's no good, we don't even know what condition he's in, what if he's hurting? What if she's torturing information out of him?"

.

"CAN YOU PLEASE STOP! THIS IS PURE TORTURE!"

He wailed, causing her to roll her eyes at him, ignoring him as she spread the ointment, snorting when he hissed like a cat at her. "How can someone as big as you cry like a child? It barely even stings." She chuckled, pulling her hand back when he sat up and glared at her, resting on his right elbow, "How can someone as pretty as you cause so much pain?" He finished before his cheeks flushed at his confession, eyes meeting hers for a split second before both averted their gaze, he cleared his throat and laid back down quietly, while she continued to spread the ointment on the healing stitches.

"I-I'll be gentle..." she whispered, not looking at anywhere but the stitches, though she felt him relax under her touch, earning a meek, uncharacteristic, "Thank you."

.

Yeosang slid the door open with such force that everyone in the room felt the tremors within the wall, "Look." He huffed, walking in, his blonde locks shining, emitting a warm glow - it had been a while since they'd seen his aura, watching him in his angelic glow, this was either good news or perhaps horrible news.

He walked up to the center of the room and placed a plant pot on the table, painted purple, it was San's. The once dirt-filled pot now had a little sunflower standing in the centre, its small petals glowing, much like the healer, "That's why you can't find her scent," he turned to Jongho, but much like everyone else the youngest was staring at the tiny flower in awe, the bittersweet reality seeping in, San had found his other half, and she was human.

"She...oh." Seonghwa's eyes snapped up at Yunho, taking in his defeated look, an irritable feeling bubble within him, San and Yunho had a stupid, juvenile bet, which one of the two would find a soulmate first, to be their 'one', although he never assumed San's one would be linked with Yunho, wonders of fate were still above her comprehension. Nonetheless, this foolish cat and dog race may prove to be troublesome.

"Wooyoung" his voice boomed, even Hongjoong felt the intensity of his thoughts, something was bothering Seonghwa, it had been for a while, not only did he send San to a dark patch without backup, but he had been the first one to notice his lack of letters as well, what was he looking for? Truth be told, although both the king and his advisors were dragons, one with the heart of the dear Moon and the other with the heart of the mighty sun, he never understood Seonghwa well enough to pick up on his little side quests, to him he was a mystery, much like the endless sky.

"Hmm?" He perked up at the call of his name, looking away from the little flower to the eldest, taking note of his glowing eyes, before letting out a tired sigh, "Fine, I'll go look for him..." he turned around though the firm grip on his shoulder had him wince as he mumbled an, "And talk to him."

.

Washing the last dish, she placed it on the rack, shaking the water off her hands before staring outside through the window, sighing as she welcomed the cool breeze, she loved nights like these, not a cloud in sight, only the stars twirling around their mother, the Moon, all watching down on her, keeping her safe, keeping her sane. 

Sighing she leaned against the sink, thinking back to how Poofy had called her pretty. Truth be told, she was often complimented on her looks, though most compliments seemed superficial, either trying to appeal to her father or for some political agenda, though both were completely pointless, for her father she held no worth, she was useless, and in terms of political control- well, she wouldn't be sent to this cabin out in the middle of nowhere if she were of any use or value, now would she? She was called pretty by only one other person before, Yuyu, and although she had felt the depth of his statement, felt the admiration, what she felt today was different- the way her heart had fluttered around in the cage of her bones, she felt her entire face warm up, and she knew for a fact that her hands were shaking after that statement, especially against his skin. He had decided not to speak to her after that, perhaps a guardian such as himself wanted nothing more with a mortal like her- technically he too was not immortal, sure he was centuries old but guardians too had a lifespan, only the longest out of the three species. Even when she had whispered how she was finished, he only quietly thanked her before looking the other way and mumbling, "I would like to rest, leave tiny human." He had stopped calling her Princess as well, she really did wonder why.

He lay there staring at the ceiling, the embarrassing memory of his confession flashing before his eyes, causing him to jerk himself back to reality and hiss in anger. On a serious note, he couldn’t believe he let it slip, it was just so out of the blue, especially when she was teasing him, her growing confidence around her was somewhat causing his self-control to slip out of his grasp and although he was somewhat enjoying it, he could not give himself the leverage of this love for two reasons; she was a mortal, she would grow old and would need constant companionship, as a War Chief who was also a guardian, he was always busy, always gone for war or for mapping quests, he could not provide her with the constant love and affection she...deserved? Or could she provide him with the undying devotion and time he was entitled to- though deep down he knew the only issue was the time given to them, not the love, if she was giving him her attention when they were mere strangers, perhaps she would shower him with more. The second and more pressing matter was that she was royalty, human royalty and humans had an innate sense of selfishness rooted within them, so what guarantee did he have that she would not leave him for another more powerful or she would not deceive him? Would she not be more loyal to her own kind? Her own father? Her siblings or even her nation, if she were to attain the throne. She had the wisdom and knowledge, and with a few years of grooming, she'd be fit to take the throne. With a huff he turned his side, taking in a deep breath but he instantly regretted it, she had laid here beside him the night earlier, her scent was all over the place, and his pillow was the epicentre at the moment- shit.

.

"Ow." She hissed, putting the needle down, apparently, the embroidery was harder than she expected, that and the giant slash in his vest left by the dagger was more of a nuisance.  Frankly, she was surprised how he never asked for where his clothes went, not his vest or coat, now that she got a closer look she could see the small crest imprinted right below the collar at the back of the coat, an infinity symbol, with a diamond on the centre- was this real? 

A little chirp caught her ear, followed by the nearby rustling of leaves. Usually, she wouldn't sit out on the porch, but the weather was just perfect tonight, and his constant, loud snores kept on reminding her of his alluring presence. Placing the vest on her lap she looked around, the few lit lanterns were not enough to show her what lay beyond the porch, normally she was afraid of the slightest of sound, any and everything would scare her, the dark, the violent wind, any storm passing by would have her shivering under the covers, especially when she was sent away to the cabin for long periods, such as this, it was never a pleasant experience, but then ever since he had arrived, it would feel as if the sun had finally decided to step out from behind the looming, dark clouds that were slowly suffocating her, as if she finally had something to turn to, to look up to, to bask in the glory of someone so warm, someone so soft, someone so safe, someone so - another chirp had her stand up, and slowly walk towards the end of the porch, stepping onto the final step before she'd touch the dirt path, a lantern in hand.

"Wh-who is it?" She called out, only to be met with silence, "I- are you...one of them?" She asked again, at this point she didn't know who she was calling out, but something at the back of her mind kept reminding her that it didn't matter because he'd come to rescue her, the Moon would bear witness to that. 

Something moved beside her causing her to squeak, and move the lantern towards the source, only to find a pair of golden glowing eyes, her breath hitched as she took a step back, only to realise it was a fox. She had never seen one up close, a small gasp escaped her and she moved closer, before stopping when it flinched, emitting a growl, only for her to clear her throat, "I-I won't hurt you...are you...are you here for Poofy?"

At the name the fox visibly looked confused, she could even make out the small frown he had, his tail tapping against the dirt, only for her to chuckle, "He won't tell me his real name, I need to know if you're actually one of them or an animal- I don't want to disturb him otherwise."

The fox moved closer and she froze, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Her worries died down when she felt him boop his wet nose against her hand, ducking his head so she could pet his head, which led her to giggle. "Wow, your fur is really soft" she mused, making sure to scratch behind his ear, which led his tail to tap faster, "You're really affectionate, aren't you? Poofy didn't even let me pet him for around three weeks of being here."

The fox pulled back and looked at her then at the cabin, letting out a chirp, he moved to slowly push her with his head causing her to gasp, "So pushy, all right, all right. I'll go get him." With that, she picked up her things and turned to give the waiting pretty fox one last look, before going inside.."Poofy?" She knocked before entering the room, making her way into the dark room, rolling her eyes at the sound of his snores, he was one heavy sleeper. Moving closer she reached for his head, slowly scratching below his ear, causing him to purr, stirring awake when she leaned closer to whisper, "Poofy, your friend is here to see you."

Cracking open an eye he whined, "Who is it?"

"A fox."

"Stay here." Instantly he sat up, causing her to yelp and fall back on her behind, looking up at him in utter shock, "What? Why? I thought-"

"No." He leaned closer, before grabbing her face, squishing her cheeks lightly, enough for her to whine and try to push his hand away. 

"Have you forgotten what state you found me in? Hmmm, Princess, when you found not a cat, but a man on your bed?" His smirk deepened at the way her eyes widened at his question, face flushing at the flashback of how when she had come to check up on the cat the next morning, she had almost screamed at the top of her lungs, on her bed lay a man in the nude- oh.

"Mhmmm, now be a good little princess and stay here." With that he let go only for her to cover her face with her hands, whining and complaining about bringing up a topic she had not touched on purpose, she had been trying to avoid it, even going as far as stealing one of her brother's pants for him- though she had to mend it, turns out guardians are bigger in size than an average man.

.

Closing the front door behind him he stepped out, his bare feet padding across the wooden porch, only to stop at the top of the three staired staircase, staring at the fox sitting at the opposite end.

"Took you all long enough." He huffed before tossing a sheet at the fox, watching it land on its head, only for it to chirp and whine, shaking it off, before looking up at the man with some sort of guilt- the foxie face as he'd say, a much better look than the puppy dog face, most would agree.

"Put that on, nobody wants to see a naked Wooyong."

"Especially her? Hmm, Poofy?"  

A pleasant smile graced his features as his brother stood where the fox once stood, tying the sheet around his lower half all tight, though San would've preferred if he had draped it over himself completely, he had brought a fairly large sheet, there was no need to show skin.

"Especially her." 

Wooyoung let out a giggle, "So it's true, she really is the one, huh?" He smiled, though it soon morphed into a frown at the way his brother was staring at the Moon, "What's wrong, Sannie?"

Typical Wooyoung, to delay the task handed down to him, only to deal with the emotional turmoil his brothers were going through, perhaps that is why the Moon had assigned him with the role of a subordinate and not a leader of any kind, though he was more than happy to take it, nature had always been his companion and he would happily spend his days lounging around in the sun, rolling around in the grass or even dipping into the crystal cool lake for a swim than being part of any other war.

 Sighing he walked closer to his brother, gesturing for him to follow. The two had begun to walk down the dirt path, into the very sunflower field where she had found him, on the brink of death. They needed to have the conversation away from the cabin, away from prying ears. "She is...but she is human...and she is royalty, a princess. She possesses the knowledge about the truth, but...I fear I- she might betray us, all humans do and-'

"Is that all you fear, San?" The younger one asked, turning to a sunflower, admiring the way nature worked, the sunflowers here were bigger, the head of the flower was as big as his hand, while the flower in San's pot was still small, was it to grow and bloom when their love would too?

"I," pausing for a moment he shook his head, "Of course, that's all, humans have been a source of worry and perhaps this is only a test the Moon has given me, to check if I can resist and stay steadfast to her truth."

"Then why haven't you come back yet?"

His question caught him off guard, watching the younger one with a look of scepticism, what was he implying, "Are you...questioning my loyalty, Wooyoung?"

"No, but I need to know why you are pretending to be sick, your tail and your ears, this is all for show, isn't it? I don't think it would take a War Chief, The War Chief of the Guardian Army, blessed by both the Moon and her brother the Sun, more than a month to heal, now would it Sannie?" He turned to look at the taller man, listening to the silence around them, on his way here he had noticed how no other life form but flora existed, no animals or insects, none, it was unnatural, it was as if a certain presence was keeping them away and he was sure this had been happening long before San had arrived, he was also sure that San had noticed this, but chose to ignore it. Within a second his nails morphed into claws, stabbing into the large sunflower, instantly earning a growl from the man in front of him, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" With that he ripped off the head, turning to look at the growling beast only to be tackled by him onto the ground as his grip tightened around the damaged flower, while the latter squeezed his throat, hissing at him, "Don't hurt the flowers."

"Why?"

"You know why!" His grip tightened as he yelled.

"She knows Yunho."

Immediately his grip loosened, slowly moving off him, features morphing back to a calm state, "What?" He breathed out, thinking back to how Yunho, when he was a mere healing pup, would escape from the temple, coming to the human world where he had befriended a human girl, for a long time he'd claim this human was his other half, though all of them would dismiss the thought, passing it off as a joke.

"She....come home Sannie, Seonghwa is calling for you, talk to Yunho, sort it out, I-" his fingers loosened the grip on the flower, "There's a sunflower growing in your pot...Yeosang wants to see you to- they're all worried about you, I'm worried about you." He sat up, staring at his brother who was sitting on his knees, staring up at the Moon, he was about to call him again, until he noticed the way his shoulders were trembling, and how he was biting his lip, trying to contain the overflow of emotions, of the confusion and frustration."Let's go home, Sannie."

.

"Poofy?" She sighed, slowly sitting up, and looking around the room. The sunlight blocked by the curtains was the only way she realised how late she had slept for- wait she was in her bed? Pushing the covers off her she stumbled out of the room into the small hall, "Poofy?" Calling out once more she looked around the cabin, before walking out barefoot, slamming the door open and onto the porch, squinting at the sudden increase in brightness, the sun sure was happy today.

"POOFY?!"

Her calls were becoming more frantic, more desperate, her small steps turning into sprints as she ran down the sunflower field, calling out his name. He couldn't leave like that, he said he wouldn't, also he wasn't healed yet! He was still sick and- she stopped at the sight of her sheet on the ground, a shaky breath escaping her as she knelt down to pick it up, only to spot a crushed sunflower head next to it. Her gut twisted at the sight of the poor flower, reaching for it instead as she cradled it in her hands, looking at it with blurry eyes, whimpering out a quiet, "There, there, you're safe now, you're not hurting anymore, you're loved."

.

"You can stop kneeling you know-"

"No. Let him, it's his punishment after all." Seonghwa scoffed from his seat, eying the way their king was pitying the overgrown, spoiled, obnoxious cat- not once did this foolish child think of how worried he was. How he was worried he was hurt, lost or worse, no instead, he was busy trying to mingle with a human-

"Since when did Seonghwa get the throne?" A deep chuckle resonated in the room, causing the youngest to raise his head off the floor, giving him a small smile, though the healer earned a scoff from the advisor.

"Sit up, lover boy, we need to talk." He said patting his shoulder as he placed the purple pot on the table that divided Hongjoong and San. Taking a seat on the cushioned floor beside the War Chief, "So, explain yourself, though I'd skip the erotic detai-"

"Nothing as such happened, Sangie." San quickly cut him off trying to ignore the way the king was now frowning at him, "I swear I didn't do anything- we didn't do anything!" He clarified quickly, "I'm not an idiot."

"I doubt that." Seonghwa mumbled causing Hongjoong to interject, "Enough. Please, can we please get to the bottom of this before this gets any more frustrating?"

"Okay, so this," Yeosang moved the pot closer to San, "Is what grew overnight, so, tell me, what happened that this happened overnight and don't lie or hold back important information." 

San looked at him and then at Hongjoong who encouraged him to continue, watching how everyone had entered the chambers, including Yunho, though he remained at the back and sitting next to the door quietly. He had been lost in thought since the day they had found out about San's soulmate.

"I was attacked by two of the Xikeys, came out of nowhere." He began only to be interrupted by Mingi, "Two small goblins? They caught u off guard, how?"

"Bet he was staring at a butterfly." Wooyoung snickered, causing the light laughter to resonate, only once it died down they were met with silence, all eyes turning to the War Chief who was staring at his hands, blushing like a tomato.

"For the love of- Demote him. Please." Seonghwa huffed, running his fingers through his silky locks, trying to calm himself down, "Are you serious?"

"I-it was a blue monarch butterfly, it's been so long since I've seen one." He mumbled before pouting at Hongjoong, "There were so many of them, and - and there was no other animal there, like the forest was empty, surrounded by flowers and these butterflies so I was confused about that too, it's awfully silent there." 

"He's right." Wooyoung added, only for Jongho to add, "About both things, there are no other animals there and it is deathly silent. What was in that area before the human kingdom took over the land of the East?" He turned to Yunho, all of them, except San, he was still staring ahead, not yet ready to face the map maker. 

"I'm not sure, I think it belonged to an old Lurker, Azmer if I remember correctly." He announced, noting how everyone was quietly staring at him, "I'm not sure where San went to particularly, perhaps that area wasn't under his rule, but-"

"Azmer was the only one of the ten Kings of the Lurkers, it's said that he refused to part take in the war because he believed all three nations could live in harmony." He sighed, only to lock eyes with San, who was now staring at him. A playful smirk graced the map maker's face, "What's wrong Sannie? I'm sure she would have told you if you asked her, "What did you learn about her in the past month?"

"Yunho..." Hongjoong warned, picking up at how the feline of the group was growling, turning around in all his pride as he stared at the mapmaker slouching against the wall from his cushioned seat.

"I did not want to learn anything about her-"

"Then why were you still there?" He cut San off, "You don't want her as your other half either, she's been through enough rejections as is and-"

"Funny, she mentioned a puppy who disappeared, I guess you rejected her too." He smirked, observing the way the colour drained from the other's face,  frankly, this puppy's smile had been a pain ever since he had come back.

"At least she remembered me."

"Yet, I'm the one she's paired up with-"

"You don't deserve her!"

"And you do, mutt?!"

"ENOUGH"

The hall went quiet, both Wooyoung and Yeosang exchanged a look, then glancing at Hongjoong, who was staring at Seonghwa, his fangs poking out, as he walked towards San and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer, "You were gone for a month, you wasted a month, risked our defence like and learned what? Nothing?" He hissed, feeding off the fear emitting from the younger ones' eyes, as the lunar dragon turned his head to the map maker, "What do you know?" the timber of his voice having Yunho dip his head in obedience, he tossed the War Cheif aside, watching him fall back onto the floor as he reached for the flower pot, fingers caressing the petals before his elongated nail clipped off a petal, earning a whine from the panthers. His emerald orbs flickered towards the Guardian, who was now kneeling once more, bowing to the lunar dragon, "P-please, my liege, do not hurt her." He whispered, his forehead pressing against the carpeted floor, hands fisted beside his head, no pride present within his being, something everyone noticed in the room. The War Chief had been known for his pride and prejudice, yet here he was, begging for - well, he didn't know either, perhaps he was just begging for love, to be loved, to share the ample love he had within him, to feel whatever he'd read about in those little stories he'd read as a kitten. 

"Seonghwa..." Hongjoong sighed, noticing his little kitty-cat trembling in all his mountainous glory, though he knew when his brother, the dragon birthed by the Moon, was much softer than he was deep down, though his anger knew no bounds, something the Solar dragon feared.

 "Yunho." Hongjoong turned to the map maker when his brother ignored him, not out of spite, but because he was too busy trying to read the man before him, he could sense the inner turmoil, he could tell this fool was holding back, perhaps he too would have done the same in this situation, but he should have been able to see past his emotions, to look at the truth objectively, not to let his emotions get the better of him, San had never neglected his duties, he had never let anything distract him.

"She's....Azmer's granddaughter." Yunho sighed, eying Mingi who gasped but quickly covered it up with a cough- the action had the youngest two choke on a laugh, earning a glare from the green-eyed serpent, quietening them down.

"San, did you...find something odd about her?" He finally asked the man who was still kneeling with his forehead pressed against the floor, it somehow bothered him how readily San was willing to throw away all he had for her, yet he knew nothing about her if he was not devoted to the Moon, he would've said that she had made a mistake, blessing San with an angel in disguise.

"Get up," Seonghwa mumbled before going back to his original spot, against the window, staring out at the setting sun, knowing that Mother would disapprove of him treating his brothers like this, she'd talk about mercy and lecture him about compassion once more.

Sitting up on his knees he placed his hands on his thighs, facing the room, his eyes not meeting a single pair that was on him, "She has nightmares...almost life-like, " he sighed, thinking back to how she was whimpering in her sleep the night she had slept next to him, she would struggle against the sheets, trying to rip out of his grasp when he had tried to calm her down, only to end up using magic to settle her unease, "There are voices, she hears them while she's awake too and they only stop or die down when I speak to her or when she's not sitting in silence....at first I thought I was imagining things, then I thought she was a witch but...they're always around her, it's so noisy, "he mumbled, a wave of guilt splashing over him as his eyes widened for a split second, something noticed by Hongjoong and Yeosang who shared a look.

"What is it San?" Hongjoong asked, leaning closer to the table, "What did you just remember?"

"She..." he turned to look at Yunho, "made me promise...not to disappear."

"She has Lurker blood." Yeosang finally intervened, walking over to where Seonghwa sat, looking out at the pale purple sky before reaching for a scroll on the shelf beside the window, "Lurkers turn the way they are because they are cursed, while the Moon wanted to show them mercy, her brother, the Sun believed they should be punished, so each Lurker is doomed to hear the screams of not only their ancestors but the victims' as well," opening the scroll he placed it on the table to show to Hongjoong, however, everyone had hudled around the king, a small smile gracing the King's lips, regardless of the seriousness of the matter.

San was reading the scroll when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, causing him to turn his head and meet Yunho's apologetic gaze, one he returned with a small smile.

"I...had to use the spell you taught him," he turned back to Yeosang who nodded, raising a brow, "Funny, how you said you'd never need it when I was teaching you."

"So, she's a Lurker, stay away from her, or kill her, either way, the king will use her for her own benefit." 

The harsh words had the War Chief biting his lip, trying to keep in the growl. Shaking his head Hongjoong finally stood up, and turned to look at his advisor, "Advice that advocates war and violence is not what a king needs, your personal grievances are noted, but San can not deny the path the Moon has chosen for him."

Seonghwa turned to face the king, a scowl gracing his angelic, handsome features, "Fine, my advice is he goes, but as a cat, she should not know he is there. He had his time with her and learnt nothing about her, observe her from afar." With that he stormed out of the chambers, his silk robes tailing behind him, swishing like his actual tail, slamming the door behind him.

San turned to look at the sighing King, only to pout at him when he raised an eyebrow at his War Chief and then the rest of the council, "All of you, prepare for San's quest- and please do not do anything that would put us or.... her at risk."

.

Taking in the fresh air he sighed, his elbows resting against the window sill as he looked far ahead at the forest below, the Moon watching him from above. Truthfully, he had missed his room, his soft bed and covers, his personal space- but oddly enough he missed the small futon of her more, his softer bedding was not warm enough, it did not carry her scent or her warmth, his room seemed too big for him now, too bland and empty. Seonghwa was right however, he knew nothing about her, but how knowledgeable she was, well informed, well, she could stitch and sew, she knew how to cook and clean, she even knew how to create her own medicine- she was very soft as well, warm too, her skin felt so cold against his, like the cool splash of water in the burning heat, was this enough to claim he knew her though?

A knock on the door had him turn from his place of brooding, watching it open as a familiar face stepped in, with a smile, in his hand he carried a plate of apples, "Yeosang said these are special, he grew them in his garden with Jongho, they'll help replenish your strength. "

With pursed lips he nodded at the taller man, gesturing towards the small table at the other end of the room before turning back to look outside. 

Yunho sighed at the way he was ignoring him, honestly, there was a point when these two were inseparable, but perhaps as they grew older, the feline turned more quiet, more reserved, perhaps even more shy than he claimed not to be, Yunho was the opposite however, the mapmaker was completely different. Ever since he was a young pup, he’d be adventuring around and about, even when they were mere children, young soldiers of their respective armies. Hongjoong did say they were different because Yunho belonged to his army, the Solar Dragon, while San was part of the Lunar Serpent’s fleet.

“Why did you leave her?”

His question caught the mapmaker off guard, having him quietly stand next to the man, closing his eyes when he felt the win caress through his hair lovingly, truth be told he loved nights like these, cloudless nights where the Moon would shine bright on them, watching their every move with her tender love.

“I…had no choice.” He whispered, opening his eyes to look ahead at the endless sea of dark green, the forest, the land that was under Hongjoong’s kingdom was more than what the Lurkers and the humans had combined.

“What do you mean?” San asked, turning to face him, trying to take in more information, perhaps to find something that would ease his guilt, “She looked…she feels…is it because she still likes-

“She never liked me Sannie,” he turned to him with a small smile, “Never like that, otherwise her little flower wouldn’t be grown in your pot.”

“I didn’t mean to-

“I know,” he cut off the feline, who was somewhat ashamed to look at him as if he had taken what belonged to the pup, “I know you didn’t, I never doubted that. When I had met her, she hit me with a stick, right over here.” He pointed at the top of his head, “I was growling at her before that- she was a real menace you know, the eldest of the four siblings, she was supposed to attain the throne after her father…”

“I don’t think she’s getting it now though, they’ve tossed her into this cabin…no one even comes to check up on her- she’s all alone, where is her mother?” he sighed, walking towards the table he sat down on a cushion, picking up a golden apple, Jongho and Yeosang had been trying for a while, to grow the ancient golden apple of health.

“She…passed away, a few days after I stopped visiting her.” He rubbed his palms together, walking over to sit opposite to him, taking an apple of his own, “When I met her, she followed the same story her father had told her, she was a vile child, I actually met them by accident, my paw was stuck in the fence and I first thought she had come to help me out, but she stood there with a stick, pointed at me and,” snorting he split the apple in half, eying how San was listening to him intently, like a curious kitty, “She ‘ordered’ me to become her pet, and I refused by growling, for which she hit me with the stick, it went on for around 20 minutes until her mother popped up out of nowhere. Bless that woman, she saved me…took care of me.”

Nodding at him San looked at his hands before letting out a chuckle, “She’s…different now, very shy…very timid and so scared, it’s like she’s just barely hanging on.” He could never imagine his little sunflower as a child like that, to him, she would always be the gentle-natured angel that found him, at the brink of death.

“When I transformed back she had threatened to report me, even threatened her mother, that was the first time I saw her mother angry, she had really…knocked some sense into her- I even met Azmer once, he used to come to teach her magic, though it was almost similar to the kind Yeosang possess, she could heal, she could grow, she even understood nature- though I used to think that part was a lie, until I plucked out a flower once for her, and she had started crying, full on sobbing about how the flower cried to her about how I hurt it,” he sighed, turning to look up at the Moon out of the window, “honestly, I started liking her the day she said that, she was still a menace no doubt, but her grandfather and mother put in a great amount of effort to mould her for a better queen, my lov-” he paused when his ears picked up the way the other man’s breath hitched, “admiration for her increased when Azmer told us about the prophecy, a child of human and Lurker, would bring peace across the land, tying all three nations together, the child would be offered to a guardian,” he turned to face San again who was staring at him in shock, truly amazed, so the Moon had not blessed him randomly, but this was a prophecy, “That’s why, for a long time- well, until today I thought it would be me.”

“But…I…” he paused for a moment, trying to form a coherent sentence, one that was not too insensitive, “Is not that a child of damnation?” He knew Yunho knew what he was talking about, a similar prophecy surfaced many years ago, “A child of a Lurker and human would cruse the land, bringing chaos among the guardians, wreaking havoc across the three nations.”

“It’s a… double-prophecy, if…as Azmer said, she was to choose the path of the Lurkers or one decided by the humans, such as her father, she would be fulfilling the Yin prophecy, if she were to take her own path, she would be fulfilling the Yang prophecy- for which she was promised a sincere other half, one who would stand by her to no end.” He sighed, standing up as he dusted his hands, eying San who was looking up at him curiously, “Go to her, observe her like Seonghwa has told you, not because we don’t trust her, but so you can see how much her mother and grandfather groomed her, how she is going to fulfil the Yang prophecy and what better partner to have than the great War Chief, the Moon’s blessed soldier, my very best friend and dearest brother…you.”

San sat there silently, letting the gravity of the situation weigh down upon him, slowly her actions and her insecurities began to make sense, and her promise, she had lost Yunho whom she must’ve assumed was her other half, perhaps his arrival had helped her realise it was not Yunho, but him, for whom she was meant to wait be-, his head snapped up at the door, words coming out quicker than he could stop them,

“Why did you leave her?”

Yunho’s hand was on the doorknob when his question had him freezing in spot, a long sigh broke past his lips that settled with a frown, “One of her brothers, Lauster, overheard us one day, and he reported it to the father…the king. The king had exiled the old Lurker, and a few days later news broke that their grandfather had died…supposedly attacked by a group of goblins, the queen was devasted and horrified, she had made me promise to protect her daughter when I’d grow older but also told me not to return until I was strong enough…so I did.” His forehead pressed against the cool mahogany as he closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay, clearing his throat so his voice wouldn’t betray him, only San was no fool, he could tell what was going to come next was horrible, “The next day…the Queen took her life- I…I know that’s not true, that’s why she doesn’t stay at the palace for too long, she hides in that cabin, you think she is banished there but that’s her safe haven. Her mother would tell her how Azmer’s cabin could protect her from those who’d want to harm her, one way or another, perhaps that’s why they cannot get rid of her, though the Lurkers in her mind, the ones leaching off her soul was something even Azmer couldn’t control,” he opened the door before whispering, though he’d know San could hear him with his sharp hearing, “Her other half- well, you already told us you could stop the voices, make sure they never get to her, San.” With that he walked out, gently closing the door behind him.

San slowly got up, walking over to his cupboard, opening the cupboard he reached behind his clothes to take out a small box, from within he took out a red handkerchief, staring at the cloth his thumb stroked the small embroidered sunflower at the corner,

‘Why is it always a sunflower?’

‘Hmm…because they're warm and pretty, Poofy, they are easy to grow, they adapt well and always turn to the light, the darkness can never attract them.’

‘You know, just an; I like sunflowers, would’ve worked too.’

‘You can be real mean sometimes, you know that Poofy.’

So, that’s what she meant, she grew the flowers herself, she wanted to be surrounded by the light, she wanted to be surrounded by the warmth that was promised to her, the warmth and light that would pull her out of the claws of the Lurkers within her, and he was supposed to provide her with that help, yet, he had abandoned her- not anymore.

.

Three days, he had been watching her for three days and all she’d do was sleep, clean, eat and repeat. There were moments of the day when she’d stay in the washroom, in the tub a bit too long so he’d have to go up to the window, and discreetly open the windowsill with his paw, to peak in, only to find her crying in the wooden tub. At night she’d sit in front of the mirror, brushing her hair in silence until the tears would begin to slowly cascade down the apples of her cheeks, dripping onto her silk gown, to say that he had not wanted to jump into the room to pull her into his arms, or into the tub to squeeze out all the pain and agony would be a lie, yet, this time he had decided to obey orders, to obey Seonghwa. Even Hongjoong had told him to stay out of her way, to stay hidden in the shadows so he could observe her, to note any abnormalities, perhaps she had put up an act for so long while he was at her residence, though his notes so far just told him she was a sad little girl being tormented by her thoughts, thoughts that he could push away if the dumb king and his dumber advisor had not instructed him otherwise.

It was not until the seventh night, that he had decided to take matters into his own hands, to make his presence known, at least to some extent. Her nightmares had become too extreme, he had thought of intervening that night, but before he could step into her room through the open window her shrieks had him flinching, waking herself up. What horrified War Chief was how she ran towards the kitchen, slamming open a drawer to take out a knife, taking in a few deep breaths she pulled up her other hand, staring at her wrist, her eyes void of any emotion as she mumbled to herself, "There, there, you're safe now, you're not hurting anymore, you're loved."

But before the edge of the knife could touch her skin something crashed in her room, causing her to flinch, letting the knife go in the process, flinching once more when it clattered against the wooden floor. Sighing to herself she rubbed her eyes with her palms, mumbling a curse she walked back into her room, only to find the window completely open. She turned to her cupboard which was slightly ajar, oh no, was someone inside? Perhaps she should have listened to Poofy when he was lecturing her about the safety measures, she should take to ensure no one breaks in. Grabbing the nearest object, a cane- oh, her grandfather’s cane, perhaps this cabin really was alive, always protecting her, well it better protect her now. She slowly walked towards the cupboard, slamming it open and swinging the cane around like a blind woman, hitting everything she could- only to calm down after a minute and realise she had been yelling and beating nothing but her own clothes- oh. Grumbling to herself she marched over to the window, slamming it shut then locking it, stupid wind, turning around she looked at the bed, only to gasp, before her, on her bed, laid spread out his uniform, Poofy’s uniform, particularly the coat she was working on when he had gone, with the half-embroidered sunflower across the gash on the cloth.

“Poofy?” she called out, looking around before quickly opening the window again and looking out for any signs of him, only to be greeted by her usual sunflowers, nothing unusual- wait, her eyes widened at the realisation, they were not facing the sky where the sun would smile down upon them, no, her flowers were turned to face the forest, right across from her, the entire field of flowers, the sunflower heads were facing the evergreens that separated her cabin from the rest of the world. He was here, he had to be.

That night she had no nightmares, instead she had dreamt of her grandfather and mother, both having tea in this very cabin, sitting on the porch as they stared at the sunflowers under the sun. Perhaps the thoughts inside her head could sense his mighty presence too, perhaps they did fear him after all. She had woken up a bit better that morning, putting in the extra effort of bathing in scented water, picking out her prettiest outfit, and her hair brushed and styled to perfection, ironically, the cathead pin had found its place back in her hair, the bell chiming with every move.

Since that day, she would sit on the porch during the day, somehow making sure all of her time was spent outside, tending to the flowers, cleaning around with the door and windows wide open, not a care to spare, because he would protect her, he was bound to. She’d even sit outside when the sun would ease into the sky, tending to his torn coat and vest, making sure to stitch it up well. At night, before finally retiring inside the cabin, she would place a plate of warm food, looking around the sunflowers, trying to spot two pointy ears or at least a tail, but she never could, yet, every morning she’d come outside to find the plate empty, and beside it a little gift, once it was a small origami heart, the next day it was a flower crown made from her sunflowers, she was please to know how the flower had allowed him to use them, telling her how this mysterious man filled with admiration and what they called love would use nimble fingers to skilfully pluck them out. Another day it was a purple silk ribbon, one she began to wear in her hair each day.

By the next full Moon, his gift for her the next morning had her fall to her knees, a silver pendant with a sapphire heart, placed neatly in the handkerchief she had given to him. She had run across the entire field that day, to look for him, wanting to find him, to confront him, yell at him for abandoning her like that even though he had promised to never leave, yet she could not find him, not a tailor pointy ears in sight. Out of spite, however, that night she had left him no meal, and next morning she had woken up to no gift, much to her disappointment, what was his problem!? Why was it so difficult to communicate with him? And just like that the meals stopped and so did the gifts, the only things that remained were that she would no longer suffer from nightmares and she was still trying to fix his coat, only this time, she no longer did it outdoors, fine, if he wanted to play hard to get, she could give him the silent treatment too.

.

San sighed, sitting on top of the branch usually gave him a good view, of not only the field and cabin but the window inside as well, it was a pleasant view, a view he truly appreciated, making him thank Mother Nature, making him thank the Moon-

“You’re a real perv, aren’t you?” the deep voice had him flinch, quickly standing in battle stance only to scoff at the taller man before shoving him off the branch, watching him land on his feet, following in behind.

“It’s my view, not yours.”

“San, I don’t think watching her bathe is anyone’s view”, Mingi sighed, rubbing his neck, of course, the idiot would be doing this, he was greedy and perverse when it came to attention as well, “So,” he decided to change the topic, “How is it going? Seonghwa and Hongjoong don’t know, but Yeosang sent me to check up on you, is everything okay?”

Sighing the man shook his head, rubbing his face, “She’s giving me the cold shoulder…she knows I’m here and-”

“How?”

He turned to look at Mingi, “Look, before you say I wasn’t allowed to do so, she was…she was about to do something reckless okay and I had to stop her somehow so I made my presence known and I helped her with her nightmares, that led to another thing and…she left me food so I left her gifts, it- it's like an exchange policy you know! It’s a cat thing- I think dogs do it too and then she stopped so obviously I stopped but I guess she’s mad about that?” He finally stopped to look at the librarian who was looking at him with great disgust, “What?”

“San…women…well…I…you’re an idiot.”

“Thank you, I’m sure your books make you very smart.”

“They do, they also teach me to communicate.”

“What?”

“Talk to her, you buffoon,” he sighed, before turning around, “Talk to her before you or she does something else that’s beyond stupid, listening to Seonghwa or Hongjoong for matters of the heart is idiotic, the dragons have been blessed by the love of all, including the Sun and the Moon, they didn’t have to earn it, like us, like you…or like her.” With that the man walked into the forest, disappearing behind the dense trees, a distant howl being the only sign of his departing presence.

.

Sighing to herself, she hung the fixed suit onto the handle of her cupboard, admiring her work, the large sunflower on the shoulder smiling brightly at her, much like the littered, smaller embroidered sunflowers, trailing up into his breast pocket on the left side. She had originally thought of just fixing the gash, but with the time she had, her creativity had gotten the best of her, which led her to give his clothes her little touch. Not that he’d know, since he had almost disappeared once again, her only assurity of his presence was that the nightmares had stopped, so perhaps he was still around, or maybe she had just outgrown the Lurkers within her?

The sound of a loud knock caught her attention, who had come to visit her at this hour? Walking out of her room she walked towards the door, Azmer’s cane in hand as she called out, “Who is it?”

“It’s us, you leach.”

Of course, it was midmonth, the time when her father would send either her brother or brothers or sometimes the royal guards with the food rations, sometimes clothing if needed, often she’d prefer the presence of the last option, at least the guards showed her some respect.

Opening the door, she moved aside, watching them enter like this cabin was theirs to claim. Lauster walked in with all his faux glory, his robes dragging across the floor as he stared around the cabin in disgust, “Really sister, if I were you, I’d get hitched, this filth is no place for someone related to us.” Pulling back a chair he sat down cross-legged, eying the way his sister stood with the cane, “Is our useless sister now a limp?” earning a chuckle from the younger two.

“No, but if you’d like I can turn you into one,” she smiled at him, earning a scowl, then she turned to the other two, “And I’d appreciate it if you’d show some respect, Jinju, don’t you think so, Maghroor?”

The younger two looked at their brother who scoffed, before snapping his fingers, “You really think you’re getting the throne aren’t you?” Maghroor stood up, slowly walking into her room when Lauster continued, “Haven’t you heard the news sister dear, father had come up with a great proposition, you are to be wed to the son of the first king of the Lurkers, I heard Ghalazat is a great guy, all big and strong- heard he breaks girls like you easily-

“Are you out of your mind?” she asked, walking closer to him, only to be stopped by Jinju, standing tall in front of her, “You really think we’re afraid of you sister? Father cast you aside the moment you let that whore of a mother we had and Azmer fool you with their little fairy tale.” The youngest hissed, leaning closer to her, only to bounce back, his hand on his stinging cheek as he sucked in a breath, glaring at her, with blurry eyes.

“Choose your words wisely, weasel,” the androgynous tone of hers caused the second oldest to freeze in spot, to scare her was part of the plan, but this was something they had not prepared for, deep down they were unsure of what she would do if the Lurker within her won. She was their father’s favourite not only because she was the firstborn or because she was smart, but she was the only child of his who was part Lurker, and although he had tried three more times, none of his sons had inherited the gene.

“C-come now sister, we were only joking.” He laughed, pulling back his youngest brother, “No need to get upset, I’m sure Jinju would apologise if you were to ask, he never meant to call Mother a whore.” He smiled, trying to calm down his sister who was frowning at him, glaring at them.

“No, I think he was right.” The third voice intervened, as Maghroor stepped out of her room, smirking at how the colour had drained off her face, her voice switching back to its usual octave, a whisper breaking through, “No…”

“Hmmmm? What was that?” He asked, dangling the coat in the air, “Come on whore, use your words, we know you can.” He smirked before tossing the coat to the eldest of the brothers, watching the way her eyes widened, almost afraid they’d break something, “Do you know what this is, brother?”

“No,” Lauster frowned, grossed out by the embroidery, “Who does this belong to, hmmm? Sister dear?”

“Put that back,” she hissed, moving closer, only to be slapped by the youngest, with greater force than she had used, causing her to stumble against the chair and fall onto the ground, as she stared up at Lauster with blurry eyes, too focused on Poofy’s clothes to care about the pain, that is until Jinju grabbed her by the hair, tugging on her strands, causing her to let out a strangled cry, “He asked you a question, wench.”

“None of your business, I said put it back-”

“Oh…I’ve seen this crest before”, Lauster hummed, turning to Maghroor, “This coquette’s been sleeping with the enemy.” Maghroor let out a faux gasp before turning the vest around in his hold, clucking his tongue at the crest, “You’re right brother, and here we were, giving our angelic sister to a noble prince, do you think he’d want a filthy, used slu-

“That’s not true!” she yelled, struggling against the youngest, finally shoving him off as she ran to her brother, wanting nothing more than to protect her work, to protect her dignity, a part of her wish if Poofy was here, he could come save her, but the fact that his clowns had been here, tormenting her only meant she was wrong, it was never Poofy, perhaps some homeless thief or a goblin fooling with her.

Her thoughts came to a halt when a blunt force knocked the air out of her lungs, causing her to fall to her side, the throbbing pain in her head made her vision blurry, and the ringing in her ears echoed as the blurry figure of her brother crouched down to look at her, brushing away the hair from her face, before gripping her cheeks hard, “Then why do you have this, hmmm? You sneaky little liar.”

“What punishment is given to a liar I wonder?”

“Oh brother, don’t you mean a whore?”

“True, true, Lauster, Maghroor is right, she is a whore that has been lying to the king, what punishment do you think is fit for something as unworthy and useless as,” the youngest paused, only to press his foot against her back, causing her to let out a muffled sob, “our filthy eldest sister.”

“Perhaps we should cleanse her before she is given to Ghazalat, I’m sure he’d be fine with a whore that can’t speak.” Maghroor suggested, tossing the vest onto the floor, as he walked towards the hearth, using the shovel to scoop out a good amount of burnt wood, admiring the simmering amber ashes, “For all the lies she has told her kingdom.”

“Mark her with our crest.” The youngest cheered, pulling out a dagger, before reaching down to rip a portion of her gown, exposing her back, their menacing laughter echoed when she covered herself, ensuring none of her chest was exposed, only for him to press his heel onto her back, pushing her crouching form onto the floor, laughing when she let out a strangled cry, pleading them to stop, “For bringing dishonour to her kingdom.”

“Let’s add one more,” Lauster hissed as he met her glare, her tear-filled eyes boring nothing but hatred, “I’m sure her husband-to-be wouldn’t mind a blind plaything, he shouldn’t have to suffer the same agony we did, that arrogant look she gives us,” he hissed, pulling her up by her hair, knowing her arms were busy covering herself so she couldn’t put up a fight, “This look of arrogance and pride you hold, sister, is it worth it? Is it worth the guardian you whore out for in the night?” he raised his palm, waiting for the youngest to place his dagger on his open palm, waiting for his sister’s response. She had never allowed them to torment her like this, to abuse and belittle her, her arrogance and self-pride had always been far too important for her, not changing her ways even when her father had pleaded with her, standing there in the meeting of the royals, demanding to end the war, embarrassing her king, her kingdom, yet when asked to apologise she only escaped to the cabin, promising the man she’d take over once he was dead- but she couldn’t now could she? No, this plan of his was wonderful, Lauster had been told by a Xikey of the great Prince who was looking for a match, one that would help him fulfil the Yin prophecy, this way, he’d get rid of her and obtain the throne, he thanked every entity out there when his father, the king had agreed.

“Well, sister, is he worth it?” he asked, shaking her head, pulling her back to consciousness when he noticed she had almost slipped into unconsciousness, only to be met by that fierce gaze once more,

“He is…I’d rather die than betray, San.”

“So be it.” He snarled, making sure to teach her a lesson she could never forget, his figure radiating with glee at the sight of her eyes closing in defeat, her mind racing back to him, Poofy no- San.

.

Taglist: @edenesth @yessa-vie @the-kpop-simp @mlysalt @spooo00oky

[chaotic-mystery]

Pairing: dbf! Joel miller x f!reader

Summary: You and Joel go to your dads annual BBQ after that shitfest at White Pony. You felt something that night in your living room with him that you are unsure to pursue. He slowly starts to realize why you have such a rocky relationship with your dad as you spend more time together, but does he defend you or sit there and let you take it when they start grilling you and embarrassing you in front of him?

Content Warnings: daddy issues out the ASS, eventual smut so 18+ only MDNI! Family issues, swearing, lovers to enemies, dbf!joel, trauma/childhood trauma, drinking, smoking, arguing, verbally abusive parent, age gap but unspecified, no outbreak! Joel, meanish Joel!

Word Count: 4.9K

Your eyes open slowly to the curtains blowing in the morning wind, the nippy air sending goosebumps up your exposed arm. As your phone buzzes on the nightstand, you wipe the sleep from your eyes. A few messages from Joel decorated the lockscreen, some from a couple hours ago and some from just a few moments ago.

“Do you wanna ride with me to your dads later? I can fix your car later this weekend if you want.” 2 hrs ago

“You plan on wakin up anytime soon?” 1 hr ago

“Stop snorin so loud I can hear you in the garage!” 20 mins ago

You giggle softly and swipe away the message, sitting up to look out the window when your eyes find Joel outside in his front yard putting out new landscaping lights by the porch steps.

“I don’t snore that loud, asshole!” You flip him the bird as soon as he shields the sun from his eyes to look at you in the window.

“Like hell you don’t! Come down’ere and help me would ya?” He hollers back and nods down at the lights that haven’t been put in the ground yet.

You think about it for a second before you pull the screen back down on the window and throw on something more appropriate than your big t-shirt and panties combo. Cascading down the stairs outside to his front yard, he tries not to watch you walk up to him but he just can’t help himself. The way your bed head is still so noticeable he can’t help but chuckle to himself.

You cross your arms when you stop right in front of him, casting a shadow onto his direction manual from the box.

“Would ya mind steppin’ a little to the left please, darlin’?” Something about the way he calls you darlin’ makes your heart flutter a tad and the heat rises in your cheeks.

You sit on your knees next to him and start to put the lights together while Joel takes another look at you, watching your hands twist and turn to get the post in the correct way.

“So uh, not too sure if you read my messages, lord knows it took me forever to type them. So whaddya say? Carpool with me and I’ll fix your car tomorrow, how’s that sound?” He sounded nervous asking even though he had no reason to be. It was just carpooling.

“Uhh yeah, w-we can carpool to my dad’s together. Just remember- don’t tell him about White Pony, okay?” You glance at him and give a small smile and hand over the light so he can put it in the dirt.

“I know, I know. It’ll be okay. I’ve got shit in the house Sarah made to bring over before she left for her friends house so we’re squared away with that.” He grunts as he pushes another light into the dirt.

“Do you think we can go into town? I need somethin’ to wear and since my car doesn’t work…” Your eyes look up at his and his eyebrows drop, staring at you with a deadpan face.

“All those goddamn clothes in your closet and there’s nothing in there you can wear?” With a smile growing on your face and a laugh erupting from your lungs, Joel groans in frustration.

“No, Joel there’s nothing in there cute enough to wear! Cmon I’ll even give you gas money! Please?” You beg and plead, grabbing onto his arm and throwing yourself back and forth dramatically.

“It’s a fuckin’ family barbeque, who the hell are you dressin’ to impress at a family event?” Joel raises an eyebrow in your direction, glancing down at his arm that’s in your hands. You two just stare at each other and without blinking you give him an honest answer.

“You aren’t family.” A small grin appearing on your lips, Joel chuckling dryly.

“Didn’t answer my question, little girl.” A small tickle inside you starts forming and suddenly your hands get clammy.

“Myself, of course.” Was all you managed to get out before getting yourself to your feet and brushing your ass free of any dirt you may have sat in. Little girl. It kept replaying in your mind and egging on that tickling feeling. There was no denying everything felt different ever since the other night when he beat up those assholes. Michelle hasn’t been around much but you knew he still was with her considering the loud phone calls you could overhear through the open windows late at night.

Joel shook his head and grumbled as he stood up, his hands rubbing over his knees gently. “Well let’s go then, don’t got all damn day.” He starts walking to his truck and you run over to your place to grab your purse and keys, spraying some perfume on you before you close and lock the front door, Joel already backing out of his driveway slowly.

He stops just at the tail end and lets you climb inside on the seat, bouncing around to sit up straight and get your seatbelt on. “Try that little thrift store on fifth avenue, I heard it was good but I haven’t been there.” You adjust your jacket as he starts to take off down the road, pulling down the center console to lay on the middle seat for an arm rest. Joel nods and heads that way into town.

Since you left all those years ago to follow your mom, you didn’t realize the town had changed so much until you came back. The empty building where your favorite little grocery shop used to be was the first thing that caught your eye. Your dad would take you there all the time and get stuff for breakfast on Sundays. Waffles with whipped cream and apple pie filling on the top. The cashier would give you a sticker with a smiley face on it and your dad would hate it because you’d stick them everywhere in his truck. “Wait- slow down, Joel.” You sit up in the truck, grabbing onto the handle above your head and you look closely at the shell of the place you had some great memories from.

“What happened to the grocery store?” Joel glances out your window and looks at you like you’re joking.

“It burnt down all those years ago, remember? Thought you heard about it, I’m surprised your father didn’t tell ya.” You could feel the tears pricking your eyes and you blinked slowly, taking in the memories flooding back to you. It was a stupid fucking grocery store, that’s all it ever was. You couldn’t figure out why it was making you so fucking sad. Maybe because there was no way of ever going there one more time with your dad, him chasing you down the small isles with the cart trying to hit your feet and your giggles filling the shelves with life. You knew you were never going to be that little girl ever again.

Joel notices how quiet you’ve gotten and he dips his head down to see what you’re feeling, what you’re thinking.

“You okay, sweetheart?” His soft voice brings you back to the present time, snapping you out of the sappy memory lane you put yourself in.

“Hm? Yeah I’m fine. You don’t have to go in with me if you don’t wanna, I won’t be long.” You give Joel a fake smile but he can see right through it. Joel parks in front of the thrift store and turns off his truck, unclicking his seat belt.

“I’ve got nothin’ else better to do anyway. Let’s go.”

He’s out of the truck and walking to the door before you even have your seatbelt off and you chuckle softly, making your way next to him. Joel opens the front door for you and you’re hit with that smell of old clothes and an air freshener plugged in somewhere to mask the old smell. A woman greets you and you start running your hands all over the clothing racks, Joel following closely behind.

They had just a little bit of everything, most of it was old lady clothes. Joel never wandered away from you though, not even to go look at the mens clothing.

As you fished through the third rack of clothes, your eyes find a dress that you immediately want to try on. It was pink and had little white flowers all over it, knee length. With some quick alterations you could probably save it and make it look somewhat decent.

“I’ll be right back, gonna go try this on.” You mutter to Joel and disappear behind a curtained dressing room. Joel kept looking all over the room, scanning clothing racks that were piled full of shit no one wanted anymore.

He walked over to sit down in the chairs they had out for customers and tired husbands who were groaning about being there, and in your case: your dads best friend. You tugged the dress over your hips and stared at yourself in the mirror for what felt like ages. Nothing was looking good on you. A pile of stuff you previously tried on was becoming bigger on the floor but never once did you hear Joel complain. “Joel nothing is working out. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to waste your time.” You called out from behind the thin curtain and you groaned in frustration.

“Let me take a look, see if I can find ya somethin.’”

Joel’s callused hands start to flip through the hangers like a book with thousands of pages, not stopping until he found exactly what he was looking for. He was making it his mission to at least make your day a little better, even if it was a dress that you’d wear once and forget about it in the back of your closet.

As Joel moved onto the last rack along the wall, he spotted a dress hanging lower than everything else around it and he parted the clothes around it, observing the material. A floral cami mini dress with a small slit on the side. It wasn’t something Joel would want you to wear by any means but it wasn’t for him. He knew you’d like it, the way the lace lays over the satin material, just the right length for you. God was he aware you loved short dresses and skirts.

You watched the tall shadow get darker as he got closer to the curtain and suddenly there was fabric being held over the top of the dressing room rod holding up the only thing separating your half naked body and Joel.

“Try this, let me know whatcha think?” He grumbles and lets go of the hanger when he feels your hands and he steps back, clearing his throat before sitting down once more. Joel taps his fingers on his knee a few times as he glances around the place to take in everything on the walls.

You zip up the back and smooth down the fabric, loving the way it hugs you just right. Of course he picked one out with a slit on the side, why wouldn’t he. With your hair tucked behind your ears, you push open the curtains and step out to where Joel can see you and tell you how fucking amazing you look.

“So uh..how do I look?”

His head snaps up in your direction and you can see him freeze in his seat. His hand rubs over his scruffy beard in complete awe of what’s before him.

“Doesn’t matter what I think. You like it? Make ya feel pretty?” Joel watches you closely when you turn to look at yourself in the floor length mirror. The smile on your face is infectioness, he can feel one growing on his lips.

“Yeah, I like it.” Your eyes lock with him in the reflection and for a second everything goes silent. You suddenly can’t hear the music on the speakers above you, you can’t hear the hangers being scooted back and forth, gazed at over and over.

For a moment in this weird situation, Joel didn’t feel like someone you shouldn’t be longing after. He felt like someone you wanted to impress, to seek his approval from.

“Darlin’ c’mon we gotta get movin’ before we’re late.” His voice makes you aware of everything and you’re yanked out of your own world once more.

The curtain is drawn before you can slip out of the dress and into your clothes, trying to be as quick as possible so you can hurry home and get prepared for the circus about to happen tonight.

-

It was getting closer and closer to 5 o’clock when Joel said he’d be ready and for the first time in your life you were ready on time. With your hair all done and the dress on, you felt some butterflies in your stomach waiting for Joel to see you. A honk from outside signaled you to come on out, and you made your way down to his truck. Joel was thankful his windows were up so you couldn’t hear everything he muttered on your walk to him.

“Well c’mon know we don’t have all damn night, watch the potato salad with that thing!” He hollered as you tried to toss your purse on the seat and barely missed the container with foil over the top.

You poke your tongue out at him and buckle yourself in, turning on his radio to something more your style. Joel just shakes his head at you and starts driving to your dads house. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting against the side of your headrest, he looks over at you a couple of times and wonders if he should even ask this or not.

“So is there anything I should watch out for tonight at this thing? First one you’ve been to in years and I dunno what a lil firecracker like you is gonna say.”

Flashing Joel a devilish grin, you light a cigarette and hold it between your index and middle finger just outside the window, finding the words to say to ease his mind.

“Well, I could pick a fight with almost everyone there if I get enough tequila in my sy-”

“Absolutely no tequila- uh uh. Not happening.”

You roll your eyes and continue your answer.

“Anywayyy! Or I could sit pretty and let everyone rip me to shreds and hear from my dad about how a phone works both ways and I should’ve come to see him more. How I was the coward for leaving when I got into an argument with Janet and my dad followed me to the porch, he grabbed me and shook me around calling me a bitch while telling me not to talk to her that way. Ironic, isn’t it?”

Joel’s brows furrow and he glances at you a few more times before gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“T-that actually happened?” He sounds surprised as if he was never told about this. Crazy to think that considering your dad likes to tell everyone why you left.

“Mhm. I was sixteen when he did that. He came close to hitting me but he didn’t. I was scared of him back then, back when I didn’t have a voice. I never argued with him or raised my voice, contrary to what he says.” You take a drag of your cigarette and decide to keep going.

“That was the day I decided I couldn’t do this anymore. I stopped going to his house every other weekend, I stopped calling and texting him, I did that for a year. He swore my mom brainwashed me but it was never about her. He just didn’t want me to see the monster he truly fucking is. Anyway, there’s more horror stories I could share but honestly? I’ve forgotten a lot because of how fucked up it was. He always chose his girlfriends over my siblings and I thought that was never going to change and it still hasn’t. I’m just full of so much anger now, I think. I wanna watch him crumble to fucking pieces.”

You told him a couple more stories, only the ones you knew he could handle. It was clear Joel knew none of this, your dad painted you as the bad guy and he loved doing that. By the time you were done, your cigarette was finished and you were pulling into your dads street. Joel’s knuckles were white from gripping the wheel so hard.

“He did that to ya? What a fuckin’ asshole. Darlin’ I’m so sorry- I didn’t know-” He was searching for the right words to say to you, something other than sorry. There wasn’t though, there was nothing he could say to take the sting away from that wound.

The look of shock on your face was all Joel needed and his hand grabbed yours after he put the truck in park. His thumb rubbed your skin softly and he met your eyes.

“I’m sorry he did that. I have your back in there tonight, I promise.”

Your stomach felt the butterflies again and you took a sharp breath in before tripping over your words, “We should go. The faster we go the faster we can leave this shit show.”

You two make your way to the backyard, Joel carrying the potato salad. No one except your dads family showed up and Janet’s sons. Joel’s greeted with open arms and hellos, while you’re met with stares and scoffs about your outfit. Oh how things never change even with company present, you think to yourself.

“Well hello everyone, Dad.”

He stops patting Joel’s back and looks at you, not a word coming from his mouth for a moment.

“Well hi, sweetheart. How are you?” He didn’t really care, he just wanted to know if you were staying out of trouble.

“Fine, how are you?” He looks at Joel and Joel nods awkwardly.

“I’m fine honey. Say hi to Janet.”

“Not a chance in hell.” You laugh and light another cigarette, pouring yourself a whiskey. Joel never said anything against having whiskey.

Joel set down the potato salad on the glass patio table and grabbed a beer from the cooler as he watched you sip your drink, the gears in your mind turning while you thought about how you wanted this night to go.

Everyone sat down after making up their plates, Joel at one end of the table and your dad on the other end. You sat next to Joel, feeling a sense of comfort and safeness from him.

Janet cleared her throat as she poured more wine in her glass, a spiteful look shooting at you.

“So I heard you have a job now? What is it exactly?” Even her tone was like nails on a fucking chalkboard.

You take a bite of potato salad and brush your hair behind your shoulder. “I’m a waitress at a bar.”

She laughs sarcastically and takes a sip of her drink. Her claws are in you now and there is nowhere to go. Your dad just shovels food into his mouth and lets her start her shit with you, clearly not seeing her game.

“You mean the bar from the other night some guys got beat up at for no reason?” She squints at you and smirks. You can feel your face get hot with anger and Joel’s hand reaches under the table to rub your knee, calming you down.

Joel takes a drink of his beer and looks at Janet, his hands folding in front of his face as he thought carefully on how he wanted to dive into this topic.

“If i may..they weren’t beat up for no reason. They were grabbin’ on her the whole night and being assholes. I did what I thought was best, she deserved a better tip than what they left her so I tried the calm approach and they escalated it.” Joel’s stare was tight on Janet, who was turned to the side fully to give Joel her full attention. The wind started to blow softly against your hot face but something inside you told you this wasn’t even close to not being talked about anymore.

Everyone was silent. Not a scrape of plastic utensils on the paper plates, not a bottle of condiments being squeezed. Just the wind in your ears. As you dropped your head down towards your lap you could feel the flame still burning inside you, Joel still rubbing your knee to sooth you.

“But honey you can’t just chase after customers because they tip badly. Your service reflects your tip. I raised you better than that, now.” It was almost impossible not to visibly react to every word falling from his mouth. He didn’t raise you, he never did even when you were at his house for the weekend. He could sit at the end of the table all he wants and pretend like he had some credit for how you turned out but you knew the truth and that’s all that matters. Your dad was so deep in his lies he fully convinced himself he was a good father to you, to your siblings, and the reason you fucked up so bad and had to move back to Texas was because of how your mom raised you.

“You didn’t raise me.” You mutter quietly under your breath just before you swallow your words with whiskey. Thankfully he didn’t hear you as Janet was talking to him, probably talking about you under her breath.

“Alan, I just told you I was the one who went after them, not her. She was in the bathroom crying and Michelle and I felt bad, so I took care of it. No need to make her feel worse about shit she didn’t have any say in.” His tone was getting more and more agitated the more he was brought back to that moment, seeing the sadness wash over your face and the humiliation you felt having to pick up that three dollar tip. It was unclear though as to why Joel said Michelle felt bad for you too. She didn’t give a second look to you when you ran to the bathroom. Not once did she ask if you were okay, her man did. Joel. did.

Joel’s jaw clenched as took another sip of his beer, a small glance to you from the corner of his eye. He turned to look at you fully and mouthed softly, “ You okay?” A soft smile and nod was all you answered with and that was enough for Joel not to push you further.

Your dad groans at the opposite end of you and fiddles with the napkin on the table, smoothing it over with the fork a dozen times. “You don’t have to stick up for her, Joel. She’s a big girl. Think she’s had enough people clean up her shit for her and she’ll never be responsible if you keep bailing her out. Lord knows I did it too much and her mother certainly didn’t care to raise her right. Hell, she’s got no manners, she doesn’t greet my wife who I’ve been with since that girl next to ya was twelve years old, over some bullshit I can’t even remember. She’s gonna amount to nothin’ if she stays on this path. Insane she still has her job after that stunt.”

There it was. The real him. The real him he’s been hiding from Joel for all these years. This was the exact reason he never talked about you to his friends, you pissed him off so much for who you were and he hated how you could make him show his true colors just by speaking about you.

“Where did I go wrong, dad? Tell me! Tell me where I went wrong in my life for you to hate me!” You shot up out of your chair and threw your glass down, spilling whiskey everywhere and your chair flying back. “You tell me where I went wrong for you to despise me so much to let her sit there next to you and talk about your flesh and blood like that.” By this point the hot tears streaked down your face and Joel’s head was in his hands. “Baby girl..” Joel whispers only enough for you to hear it and he sighs, shaking his head.

Your brothers left the table and all that was left was the four of you, Janet with a smirk plastered on her face. “I haven’t done anything, this is all your mess. Your father has done nothing but take care of your sorry ass while you mooch off him and take his money, you fuckin’ gold digger.” The spitefulness dripping off her words didn’t even faze your dad. He didn’t move an inch. His arm was pushed against the table as he leaned back in his chair, those stupid fucking sunglasses on top of his head like he always wore them.

“He was my dad, you stupid bitch. That was his job, to take care of me.” You choked out and your stomach dropped, heart feeling that familiar hollowness you haven’t felt since you were a teenager.

“Don’t call her a bitch, you know better. Why did you have to do this shit tonight? Huh?!” Your dads voice booms against the trees and through your lungs.

There was no room in your body to hear anymore of this bullshit, so you grabbed the whiskey off the table and Joel’s keys from his belt loop, walking to his truck with mascara running all down your neck. Janet and your dad were shouting but it was muffled and it was probably for the best if you didn’t catch a single word, you wouldn’t survive in jail. You could barely get the passenger side door open before you collapsed over the seat, sobbing your eyes out onto the felt material. Finding all the strength in your body to get in the truck and wait there for Joel, you climbed up like you had wounds all over your body, sobbing and sniffling until you got upright.

Not even five minutes went by before you watched Joel trek across the tall grassy front yard, his jaw still clenched with the wind blowing against him, pushing his shirt against his body. He got inside silently, placed his hand on the back of your seat, and reversed out of the driveway. No one said a word on the way home, no one moved. The radio was playing softly like you had it earlier, now the songs sounding so boring.

Joel pulls into your driveway and shuts the truck off, keys still in the ignition. All that could be heard was the crickets coming out now that the sun was set and the keychain of the soccer ball Sarah got him as a christmas gift you guessed.

You wipe the back of your hand under your nose and sniffle loudly, Joel turning his entire body to you. His hands gently made their way through your hair to the back of your skull, and he lightly pressed a kiss to the top of your forehead. The gentle nature from Joel only made you cry again, this time from just missing that feeling. You missed someone being gentle with you, an older man being gentle with you and caring about you and how you feel.

“Baby…I’m so fuckin’ sorry that happened. No one should talk to their daughter like that and I’m sorry I didn’t see it before. I’m sorry you had to go through that. You did nothing wrong-” You start to sob and drop your head further into his hands. “Look at me, baby. Look at me.” He softly instructs, lifting your head up once more. Your blurry eyes meet his and you can see the pain he’s feeling. The anger.

“You did nothing to deserve that, okay?” He quickly pulls you against his chest as you start to sob again, your tears running off your cheeks and onto his shirt. Joel kissed the top of your head as he smoothed over your hair, just holding you until you felt like you didn’t want to cry anymore. You two stayed like that for a half hour, Joel humming soft songs in your ear as he held you and let you cry on him.

There was nothing Joel could do to fix your dad. Nothing could fix your dad. He was too set in his ways and nothing was ever going to happen. Part of you wanted to know what happened after you left, why you heard all the shouting.

“J-oel what happened after I left? I heard you guys shouting..” You whispered as you sat up slowly, looking at his face with puffy eyes.

A small smile is all he gives, “I’ll tell ya one day, but that’s not right now. Okay sweet girl? You’ve dealt with so much today and I’m so proud of you.” Joel leans in just a little and you close the space between you two, pressing your lips on his softly. He didn’t kiss you back immediately, but once he did, he didn’t want to take his lips away from yours. Not for a second.

[yparkwrites]

SON OF THE MOB SUNGHOON FF

Pairing: Mafia Sunghoon x Female reader (Y/N)

Content warnings: explicit content (smut), mentions of abuse, bruises, blood, etc.

Word count: 18k+

Synopsis: When Sunghoon, the son of Mr. Park meets a fearless girl everything will change around him as he tries to fight for his freedom from his father's nest.

Note: this is my first ever Enhypen ff, it is published on Wattpad as a complete story.

© 2024 Y. PARK WRITES. All Rights Reserved.

NO MINORS ALLOWED 18+ ONLY

Part 5 - 6

CHAPTER 7: Memories

1

After Sunghoon left, his father brought him to Italy where he continued to let his men train him. There Sunghoon met a lot of people like his father, dangerous people.

One time during his training he had an accident, his father hit him way too hard on his head leaving him in coma for 2 years, when he woke up, he didn't remember anything and his father took advantage of it.

His father changed him completely, replacing all his good memories with bad ones. As he turned him into a completely different person, Sunghoon never had the time to remember anything from his past. 

Sunghoon became an aggressive person, like his father. He suppressed all his emotions like this father. He thinks like this father too. He hurts people like how his father would hurt people. 

After 3 years, his father decided to send him back to Seoul, making him choose a course he wants to study there, but nothing interests him, he decided to just sign up for a course that appeared on the university website. 

2

“How was the University son,” Mr. Park asked.

“Boring,” Sunghoon responded coldly while eating his dinner. 

“Tristan will be back here soon to keep you company,” Mr. Park said, before leaving the dining area to go to his office. 

Sunghoon went to the university after having breakfast. 

As soon as he arrived there, students started whispering again, and he got used to it already, until he heard someone whisper, “Did you see the night he kissed Y/n before giving her that necklace?” He turned to look at that person who avoided his gaze. 

He looked at the necklace on his neck, the one he took from Y/n, ever since he took that necklace from Y/n, her teary eyes bothered him so much, his heart hurts everytime he remembers how she winced in pain, everytime he remembers her eyes. His heart is telling him that something is wrong.

“Should I give her back the necklace?” He asked himself.

Sunghoon sighed before removing the necklace and putting it on a piece of paper, wrapping it, and leaving it on Y/n’s desk, not forgetting to leave a note: you can have it back, sorry for hurting you. 

3

When Y/n entered the class, she found Sunghoon already there, sleeping. When she went over to her desk she found the note he had left her. She opened the wrapped paper on her desk and found the necklace, her eyes became teary as soon as she saw the necklace. 

Y/n put it around her neck again, keeping the note on her bag. 

The class started as soon as their professor entered the room. 

After that class ended Y/n headed towards the library to study as she doesn’t have any classes not until after lunch, which means she has 2 hrs to study. 

Y/n sat down at her usual spot at the library, near the window. 

After 30 minutes of sitting there someone placed down an iced coffee in front of her. Looking up she found the most unexpected person. 

Sunghoon flopped down beside her and put down his head on the desk to sleep. Y/n only looked at the iced coffee Sunghoon had bought her, confusion written all over her face. 

“I didn’t poison it,” Sunghoon mumbled.

Y/n took a sip of the iced coffee before putting it down again at the desk. She looked over at Sunghoon who’s now sleeping. She smiled a little while looking at him before she went back to studying. 

Meanwhile, Heeseung had his fist clenched watching the scene in front of him. He left the library throwing away the iced coffee he had bought her. 

4

Y/n’s friend had been roaming around the university trying to look for her until they found her studying at the library. They all entered trying to approach her carefully, but to their surprise she’s not alone, she’s with a sleepy Sunghoon who had been watching her study.

“Seeing you study makes my head hurt,” Sunghoon said, gaining Y/n’s attention.

“Seeing you sleep in class, and get away with it makes me want to hit you,” Y/n said through her gritted teeth. 

Sunghoon just chuckled at her.

“Can you stop annoying me?” Y/n asked him.

“My heart keeps telling me to annoy you so, no,” he responded, making Y/n groan in frustration. 

“Hey,” Jake greeted them.

“What time is it?” Y/n asked them.

“Lunch time,” Jungwon said, avoiding Sunghoon’s glare at them.

Y/n gathered all her stuff so they can all leave. 

“Let’s go to the convenience store,” Jay said.

Y/n followed them while Sunghoon tailed behind her. 

5

When they entered the convenience store, everyone looked down as soon as they saw Sunghoon. 

Sunghoon grabbed all his snacks and paid for it. 

“You’re not staying?” Y/n asked.

“Nope, going home, it’s boring here,” Sunghoon said before leaving.

As soon as they sat down they just looked at Y/n looking for answers.

“Don’t look at me, I don’t know what he’s up to,” Y/n said, munching her food.

“I didn’t know he liked candies.” My mom said, approaching us putting down Jake’s favorite ramen.

“Your mom is the best,” Jake said, hugging Y/n’s mom.

“I know you liked that one, so I kept it for you,” Y/n’s mom said.

When Y/n’s mom left Yura scoffed seeing the necklace back on her neck.

“He gave you back his necklace?” Yura asked.

“Yeah he did,” Y/n responded.

“Damn, Heeseung doesn’t really have a chance,” Jay said laughing. 

“Shut up” Y/n said trying to contain her smile.

6

Sunghoon arrived and found his father talking to Tristan.

“You’re home early,” Mr. Park said, seeing Sunghoon back.

“It’s boring there and I’m having a headache so I’m gonna sleep,” He replied before going back to his room. 

At night.

Sunghoon woke up at 7pm with tears streaming down his face. “Y/n,” he whispered, a piece of his memory he dreamt of, the ball night.

Sunghoon went downstairs to drink a glass of water, the house was empty. 

Sunghoon went back to his room and sat on his bed. He stared at the wall, trying to remember more memories, why did he leave her, why was he crying. Questions rushed in his mind, giving him more headache, holding his head. He kept remembering the scene of them kissing that night, but he couldn’t seem to remember the reason.

CHAPTER 8: The New Villain Born

1

Sunghoon sat on the edge of his bed, his mind a swirling vortex of confusion and fragmented memories. Images of Y/n’s tear-stained face flashed before his eyes, mingling with fleeting recollections of laughter and tender moments they had once shared. He pressed his palms against his temples, as if trying to physically coax his memories back into coherence.

“Why did I leave her?” The question echoed in his mind like a haunting refrain, demanding an answer that remained frustratingly elusive. He knew he had hurt Y/n, but the reason eluded him, buried beneath layers of forgotten experiences and manipulated emotions.

As he sat there in the dim light of his room, Sunghoon couldn’t shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at him from within. Despite his father’s assurances and the facade of indifference he often wore, a part of him longed to understand the truth of his past and the connection he shared with Y/n.

Meanwhile, Y/n sat at her desk, the weight of Sunghoon’s returned necklace hanging heavy around her neck. She couldn’t shake the sense of unease that lingered in the air, a feeling that their brief interaction had opened a door to a past she thought was closed.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed the passage of time until a soft knock sounded at her window. Startled, she glanced up and widened her eyes at the sight of Sunghoon struggling to climb into her room.

“What the hell, Sunghoon! There’s a door!” Y/n whispered, opening her window to let him in.

“Can we talk?” His voice was tentative, almost hesitant, as if unsure of how she would respond.

Y/n hesitated for a moment, her heart pounding in her chest, before nodding silently.

2

Y/n sat on the edge of her bed as she watched Sunghoon glance around her room, as if searching for something.

“What do you want to talk about?” Y/n asked, breaking the silence.

“Why did I leave?” Sunghoon asked directly.

Y/n looked at him, confused, before repeating his question. “Why did you leave, Sunghoon?”

“What happened to me?” he asked.

“Answer my question first,” Sunghoon replied, impatient for the answers he sought.

“Because of your father,” Y/n responded, looking up at him. “You never told me what your father did, if that’s what you’re going to ask next. On the night of the ball, you showed up in front of me and told me you were leaving to protect me. Then you gave me your necklace and left. We barely knew each other, but despite that, you told me you were thankful you met me. Then you left,” Y/n added, trying not to burst into tears.

“Why my father?” Sunghoon asked.

“Jake told me your father is dangerous and might have found out about me, but you never told me the real reason why you left,” Y/n replied, slightly raising her voice. “I waited for you for three years, and you decided it was better to forget me,” Y/n added, standing up from her bed to approach Sunghoon. “What happened to you?” she asked, looking directly into his eyes.

“I don’t know. I woke up, and my father told me I was in an accident and couldn’t remember a thing. I’m here because I dreamt of that night—the night I kissed you, the night I left you,” Sunghoon replied.

“You should go home before your father finds out you’re here,” Y/n said, looking away from Sunghoon.

“Please, look at me,” Sunghoon pleaded.

“Why?” Y/n asked.

“I’m seeing something,” Sunghoon responded as he held Y/n’s face with both hands, forcing her to look at him.

3

As Heeseung stood alone in his dimly lit apartment, a sinister smile curled upon his lips, tainted by the bitterness of jealousy that simmered within him, his gaze drifted to the cityscape beyond the window, where the lights of the bustling metropolis seemed to mock his solitude. 

In the depth of his envy, Heeseung found solace in the power he wielded over others, relishing the control he exerted over their lives. Yet, beneath the veneer of confidence, lurked a festering resentment towards those who possessed what he could not. 

As he poured himself a glass of whiskey, Heeseung’s thoughts turned to Y/n, the object of his unrequited affection. He watched from afar as she laughed and smiled with others, a sharp pang of jealousy piercing his heart with every glance. 

In the privacy of his apartment, Heeseung revealed in the fantasies of revenge that danced through his mind, each one more twisted than the last. He knew that he could never possess Y/n, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to destroy anyone who dared to stand in his way.

But even as he plotted his machinations a voice in the back of his mind whispered of the futility of his desire, reminding him that true power could ever be gained through manipulation alone. And as he raised his glass in a silent toast to his own delusions, Heeseung couldn’t escape that bitter truth that his jealousy would ultimately consume him from within.

4

“Where did your father take you?” Y/n asked, now lying in her bed with Sunghoon beside her.

“Italy,” Sunghoon responded, turning to look at Y/n.

“So maybe we can find someone who can help us uncover the truth of what really happened to you,” Y/n suggested.

“I don’t remember anyone except the person I saw my father fighting with before he sent me back here,” Sunghoon said as he hugged Y/n from the side, burying his face in her neck.

“Do you at least remember his name?” Y/n asked.

“Lorenzo,” Sunghoon responded, his face still buried in Y/n’s neck.

“Your father will kill you if he finds out you’re here,” Y/n said, trying to push Sunghoon away.

“Stay still,” Sunghoon murmured.

“Hoon, don’t,” Y/n warned as she felt him leave sloppy kisses on her neck.

“You smell nice,” Sunghoon said, pulling Y/n closer to his chest.

“You should go home,” Y/n said as she finally turned to face Sunghoon.

“A little more, I missed you so much,” Sunghoon said.

“Fine, but if you ignore me tomorrow, I’ll make sure you never see me again, not even a glance,” Y/n said, burying her face in his chest as they cuddled.

CHAPTER 9: New Memories

1

The next day.

Y/n couldn't focus in class. Her mind kept replaying the scenes last night. How Sunghoon held her close to him. How he kissed her. How he almost made love to her, but her mom interrupted them by entering her room and telling Sunghoon to go home before he gets hurt again. Y/n tried not to smile as she remembers last night knowing that Sunghoon is watching her. 

During lunch, Y/n and her friends sat together in the cafeteria. 

“What!?” Jake yelled, garnering attention from the other students as Y/n smacked him in his head.

“Can you keep your voice low,” Y/n whispered.

“So you’re telling me, Sunghoon snuck into your room last night you both almost ended up doing it?” Jay asked quietly, making Y/n blush.

“Damn, he’s fast,” Yura said, taking a bite of her sandwich looking away as she saw him approaching them.

Sunghoon put down on their table Y/n’s strawberry milk he had bought at the convenience store before whispering in her ear “I’ll be waiting for you, we have to finish something we started,” not forgetting to bite her earlobes and making sure Jake hears it as he looked at him smirking seeing the reaction on his face before walking away.

“Damn, I didn’t need to hear the business you both will do after lunch,” Jake said looking at Y/n with wide eyes.

“Shut up, we need to help him,” Y/n said, gathering her friend's attention.

“Help him about what?” Jungwon asked. 

“Follow me after lunch,” Y/n said.

“No thank you, I don’t want to see what you and Sunghoon will do,” Jake said as he earned another smack from Y/n.

2

“So we’re here because we need to find something that we don’t even know if we’re gonna find it,” Jay said looking at Sunghoon and Y/n who’s making out in the corner of the library.

“Let’s start looking for the files,” Jay said looking away.

“What?” Yura asked.

“Nothing,” Jay replied. But being curious to what he saw, they turned to look at Sunghoon and Y/n eating each other's faces.

“What the fuck,” Jake whispered as he covered his eyes and started looking for the files and the others did the same. 

“Sunghoon, we need to help them find the files,” Y/n said in between their kisses. 

“A bit more,” Sunghoon replied as he deepened their kiss, shoving his tongue inside her mouth and sucking her lips. 

“Can you both stop eating each other's faces and help us find the damn files,” Yura said, who now approached the two, crossing her arms.

As they all looked for the files together they didn’t notice a pair of eyes of someone who's been watching them from afar. 

“Are you sure his name is Lorenzo?” Jungwon asked Sunghoon.

“Yeah, he always calls him that,” Sunghoon responded.

“Do you at least know his surname?” Jake asked.

“Lorenzo Giordano,” Jay said, making all of them turn their heads on him.

“We missed this,” Jay added, smiling.

3

“So what do we know about him?” Y/n asked.

“His Italian name is Lorenzo Giordano, he has one brother and he used to be friends with Mr. Park.” Jake said.

“That’s it?” Jay asked.

“There are 500 papers in here, we have to read a bit more if we want to know more,” Jungwon said.

“I don't have more classes, I can take them home, and read them.” Y/n offered.

“You’re not gonna be able to read that alone,” Sunghoon said.

“You can help me,” Y/n replied. “But we’ll read it here, I know what you have in your mind,” Y/n added after seeing Sunghoon’s smirk.

“Yeah, that’ll be safer for you two, since we don’t know what his father is really up to these days.” Jake suggested.

“And we can also help after our class,” Yura added.

“Ok,” Y/n said.

“I’ll buy us coffee.” Sunghoon said, pecking Y/n’s forehead before leaving to buy coffee.

“Damn he remembers you and now all he wants to do is kiss you,” Jake said, teasing Y/n.

“Shut up,” Y/n said as they all laughed at her red face. 

4

Y/n started going through the files Jay had found, not forgetting to take note of important details. 

“He’s the cousin of Mr. Park?” She asked herself as she went through the 4th file. “He killed his own uncle for money?” She asked herself again. As Y/n went through the 5th file she saw something.

“Mrs. Park was killed while Mr. Park is out on a mission and their main suspect is CEO Sim,” Y/n read. 

“Hey,” Sunghoon said as he put down the iced coffee he had brought her. 

“Found something?” He asked. 

“Nothing much,” Y/n replied.

“This 5th file is written by Lorenzo, a file where he stated about your mom’s death.” Y/n added. “But Jake’s father was mentioned in this file, I don’t understand it,” Y/n mumbled. 

“I’ll read that, read the 6th file.” Sunghoon said smiling at Y/n. 

5

Heeseung leaned against the wall, his gaze fixed on Y/n as she interacted with Sunghoon. Despite his efforts to remain composed, a surge of conflicting emotions swept through him. He couldn’t deny the pang of jealousy that tugged at his heartstrings, knowing that Sunghoon’s presence stirred up memories and feelings he had long tried to suppress. 

But jealousy was just one facet of Heeseung’s complex emotions. Beneath the surface, there was a deep-seated concern for Y/n’s well-being. He had seen the pain in her eyes when Sunghoon had left and it tore at his sould to witness her suffering. 

Despite the turmoil raging within him, Heeseung couldn't deny the undeniable truth: he cared for Y/n deeply, more than he had ever dared to admit. She had become a integral part of his life, a source of light in the darkness that threatened to consume him.

Lost in his thoughts he didn’t notice that the bell had rang a few minutes ago.

“Why are you standing there?” Yura asked Heeseung, making him turn around. And Yura saw the scene and she smirked. “You’ll never have her, Sunghoon has been sucking her face since last night,” she added, smirking triggering Heeseung.

“What did you say?” Heeseung asked as he unknowingly grabbed her by her shirt collar, making her gasp. 

“Heeseung what the fuck!” Jay yelled as he saw the scene in front of him, gathering Y/n and Sunghoon's attention as they widened their eyes. 

Heeseung who suddenly came back from his senses, widened his eyes.”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry, I’m an asshole,” Heeseung said, apologizing only to receive a punch from Jake. 

“Jake!” Y/n yelled as she ran towards them to stop him from attacking Heeseung again. 

“I know you fucking like Y/n, but don’t fucking take it out on my sister!” Jake spat at him.

“What’s happening here?” The librarian asked. “All of you to the dean’s office,” she added.

“No, this guy right here grabbed my friend from her collar,” Sunghoon said coldly, glaring at the librarian.

“Heeseung dean’s office now!” The librarian yelled looking at Heeseung. 

6

“Yura what happened?” Y/n asked as she sat beside her friend. 

“I don’t know, I saw him watching you and Sunghoon and I told him he can’t have you then he suddenly grabbed me like that,” Yura responded.

“Are you hurt?” Jay asked, concerned.

“No, I’m fine,” Yura responded.

“Next time don’t talk to him,” Jake said. 

“Wait, what do you guys know so far?” Yura asked raising her eyebrows.

“Nothing much, but it keeps mentioning your father,” Y/n responded.

“Huh?” Yura and Jake said at the same time.

“On every file, like from the 5th file it keeps mentioning Mr. Sim,” Y/n said.

“That’s weird.” Yura said.

[mynameismckenziemae]

All of Me

Part 14

(previous part here, next part here)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x You

Summary: You hire a nurse and Jake takes you on a real date.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI! Smut, teasing, exhibitionism, handjob, oral sex, (m receiving), etc. This chapter also has discussion of domestic violence/abuse, please message me if you have any questions prior to reading.

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

The next few days are busy for you and Jake both. Feeling like two ships passing in the night, with only having lunch once and a few texts here and there. But you’ve made plans to spend the weekend together again.

You smile as his name appears on your phone.

Jake: Our hop was rescheduled to this morning, lunch with me and Bradshaw today?

Reese: 👍🏻 I’m interviewing a nurse at 11:00, usually takes 30-45 minutes.

Jake: Perfect, we’ll grab lunch on the way to your office.

Jake: Do you have anything planned for tonight? Can I take you out?

You snort as you realize you two haven’t actually been on a date yet.

Reese: I’d like that. Maybe I’ll even put out if you’re good.

Jake: I’ll be on my best behavior.

Reese: Quit crossing your fingers.

Jake: I’m not.

Jake:…anymore.

Reese: 😐

Jake: Gotta go, we’re suiting up. See you in a bit.

Reese: 😘

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

“Hi, you must be Shae,” you smile as you shake the hand of your third interviewee. “I’m Reese, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” she replies.

“Please,” you gesture to the chairs across your desk, “have a seat.”

The sunlight catches her pretty face as she sits, making your stomach turn as you notice the yellow under her eye of a healing bruise.

While she did a good job of concealing it, it’s all you can see as she hands you her impressive resume.

“I also have letters of recommendation from my nursing instructor and a few of the doctors I’ve worked with,” she hands them over too, cheeks flushing.

A quick overview of the information provided shows she’s an excellent nurse and her answers to your questions are well-spoken and appropriate.

Her calm, gentle demeanor is like a breath of fresh air in this often-hectic environment filled with loud, testosterone-fueled men.

“Well, I’ve seen enough,” you smile, “you can expect to from HR soon for the formal offer,” you continue. But your brow furrows slightly when you glance down again at her resume, “Oh, is this current?”

She pales as her hands begin to twist nervously in her lap, “Yes, it’s current.”

“It’s okay,” you reply softly, her anxiety palpable, “HR will ask why it has been 2 years since you worked last. What should I tell them?”

A haunted look crosses her face before she dissociates, looking out the window blankly. “My husb-I mean, ex-husband…he didn’t want me to work.”

You nod as you piece together where the black eye came from. “Shae?”

She flinches slightly as her eyes snap to yours.

“I’m just going to tell them it was due to family reasons,” you say, watching her sag in relief. “Are you safe though?”

“I am,” she replies hesitantly as she brushes the slight discoloration under her eye, “I am now. He’s…a few hours away, and I got a dog.”

“Okay,” you reply with a small smile as you reach for a pen and notepad.

You know it’s unprofessional, but a little voice in her mind tells you she needs someone in her corner as you write down your number and hand it to her.

“Here’s my number if that changes okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers, before meeting your eye. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you reply, rising to your feet. “Hope to see you again soon.”

“I hope so too,” she smiles genuinely for the first time.

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

“HR will be in touch soon,” you tell Shae as you escort her from your office, smiling at Jake and Bradley approaching down the hall. “Have a good weekend.”

“Thanks, you too,” she replies, following your eyes, blushing when Roo flashes her a grin before ducking her head and rushing off.

“Who was that?” Roo asks, nearly breaking his neck as he watches her walk away.

“Hopefully my new nurse, Shae,” you reply, stepping aside to let Jake in, who presses a kiss to your lips as he drops a package of peanut butter cups in your scrub pocket.

“Wow,” Roo says, smiling again when she glances back, “she’s…” he trails off, seemingly speechless for the first time since you’ve known him, “really fucking pretty. Is she single?”

You laugh, rolling your eyes at his choice of words as you follow him into your office.

“She is,” you reply, hesitating before you continue. The last thing you want to do is betray her trust, yet he needs to understand why pursuing her isn’t a good idea. “Newly though. Sounds like she’s recently divorced and I don’t think it was a good situation.”

“How so?” Jake asks, handing you your lunch.

“I asked about the gap in her employment history and she said he didn’t want her to work,” you answer, “but I think he didn’t allow her to.”

“Why not?” Bradley asks.

“I’m not sure,” you reply, “men like that are usually paranoid and want complete control.”

“Men like what?” Jake asks quietly.

“Men that beat up women,” you answer, watching as his eyes close at your words. “She covered it up well, but she’s healing from a black eye.”

“Fuck,” Bradley curses, shaking his head, “is she okay? Is he around still?”

“I think so,” you reply, looking at Jake who’s now white-knuckling his fork, “she said he lives a few hours away and has a dog. I gave her my number too, and told her to let me know if she needs anything.”

“Okay, good,” Bradley says, noticing Jake too. “Hey, you okay?”

Jake releases the breath he’s holding, opening his eyes as he sets down his fork. “There’s nothing I hate more than men that lay hands on women.”

You and Bradley both nod in agreement as you wait for him to go on.

“My dad…he used to beat up on my mom,” he continues, looking down at his lunch. “He was mean as hell so me and my little brother avoided him, and he was thankfully gone a lot for work. I was around Drew’s age when I started noticing she had a lot of bruises and split lips and it was always around the time he was home. Woke up one night to a crash in the living room, he had hit my ma so hard she fell into the glass end table.”

“Oh Jake,” you whisper, tears filling your eyes as you reach over, placing your hand on his while Bradley squeezes his shoulder.

“Her eye was already swollen shut and her hands were all cut up but she told me to go back to bed…and I just lost it. I don’t really remember, I think I launched myself at him, and he backhanded me so hard my ears rang. My ma always took the abuse so that was the first time he ever hit me and the last. We left the next morning. Never saw that fucker again.”

Now you know why Jake never talked about his dad, just his mom and younger brother, Matt.

“I’m so sorry man,” Bradley says while you nod.

“I’m okay now,” Jake sighs, finally looking up at you, “Mom made us go to therapy and it helped, but hearing about it still makes me so fucking angry.”

“I get it,” you say, “I hope she doesn’t need it, but she has my number now.”

“I’ll keep my distance too,” Bradley says, “well, I mean I’ll talk to her if she’s around 'cause that’d be dickish but I won’t like, flirt with her. Wait-should I? I don’t want her to think there’s something wrong with her because I’m not-“

You can’t help but smile; Roo has always been so cool and smooth with women so you’re enjoying the way he’s second-guessing himself.

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Bradley does a good job of lightening the mood and soon the lunch hour is over.

“I’ll be over around 6,” Jake murmurs before kissing your cheek, “should I pack a bag?”

“Yes, bring your laundry over too,” you reply, leaning in so Bradley doesn’t overhear, “I’m not letting you out of my sight this weekend.”

“Alright, alright. Get a room,” Bradley scoffs.

“I have one,” you tease, “you’re in it.”

“Ha-ha,” he rolls his eyes. “Come on, lover boy. We better go get our post-flight docs done.”

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

Jake rings the doorbell like he hasn’t already spent the night several times, handing you a bouquet of daffodils when you open the door.

He holds your hand in the comfortable silence of the drive and you light up when you see where he’s taking you.

“The drive-in movie theater? I’ve always wanted to go to one of these,” you smile as he parks.

“You’ve never been?” He asks, continuing when you shake your head, “Me either.”

You settle in while he gets popcorn and he’s back just as The Shining begins to play.

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

The sun sets halfway through the movie and you snuggle into his shoulder after setting aside the half-eaten popcorn.

There are vehicles on both sides, but the darkness and the blanket draped over you two give the illusion of privacy to trail your fingers over his thigh.

His leg tenses under your touch but you pretend not to notice when he looks down to see what you’re up to.

Eventually, he relaxes, and his attention returns to the movie, you strike. You kiss his neck and he’s already hard as your fingers slide over his groin to undo the button then the zipper, giving him a slow stroke once you pull him out.

“Can you be quiet for me?” You murmur against his skin, just like he did to you when Bradley was asleep just steps away.

He nods his head once and you get to work, jerking him steadily. Precum eases the glide of your movements as you kiss up his neck to his ear.

“Tell me when you’re close,” you whisper, smiling at his soft, strangled groan. He thinks you’re going to stop.

Your hand begins to move faster on his cock; as you want to draw this out, the movie is nearing the end.

His hips start to thrust up into your strokes as he grits out, “Close-I’m close.”

“K, stay quiet,” you nip his jaw before ducking below the blanket to suck him into your mouth.

“Fuck!” He wheezes, jerking when you moan at the taste of his cum filling your mouth before swallowing it greedily.

His hand snakes below the blanket, and you squeak in surprise when he tugs you out by your hair to meet your lips in a deep, bruising kiss.

The way he groans from tasting himself on your tongue sends another pulse of heat between your already slick thighs.

“I need to touch you, taste you, be inside you,” he murmurs against your lips, “let’s go hom-back to your place.”

Even in the dark, his cheeks pinken with the Freudian slip.

“Let’s go,” you agree, smiling as you realize it’s felt more like home than ever since he’s been staying over.

•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>•<•>

A/N: this chapter was kind of all over the place…fun in the beginning, a little heart breaking when we meet Shae and then find out a little more about Jake, then an official date and a little smut ending with some sweetness.

I haven’t decided for sure, but I may end up tandem writing Bradley and Shae’s story while finishing up this one.

Also, Shae and Bradley’s story will be dedicated to my sister, who nearly lost her life in a domestic violence assault with her ex-husband.

As always, any interaction is appreciated but I love hearing what you think in the comments/reblogs!

Please let me know if you want to be added to (or removed from) my taglist!

@lexixstewart

@dizzybee03

@its-the-pilot

@hookslove1592

@hisredheadedgoddess28

@atarmychick007

@littlezee80

@buckysteveloki-me

@k-k0129

@phoenix-rising-starbird-one

@jessicab1991

@djs8891

@lonelysoul504

@mrsevans90

@landpiranha-blog

@bellaireland1981

@angelbabyyy99

@writtingrose

@shanimallina87

@mizzzpink

@dempy

@linkpk88

@hardballoonlove

@lynnevanss

@entertainmentgirl80

@coldmuffinbanditshoe

@midnightmagpiemama

@emma8895eb

@seitmai

@fandomology101

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@amiets2

[wonysugar]

domceo!yeji x subfem!reader hcs

a/n: I WASN’T EVEN PLANNING TO WRITE THIS BUT FUCKCKC the thought has been in my mind all day i couldn’t help it

tags: smut, wlw, office au, boss x employee, idol x reader, yeji, itzy

content warning: mild manipulation, power abuse, kinda consensual non-con, power imbalance

word count: 542

you’ve been working at this company for a long while now, your coworkers know you take your job very seriously. so much so that you sometimes stay overtime

but only you knew that you don’t do it solely for the work, you also do it to see your boss, miss hwang yeji, more often

being the one who inherited the company from mr. hwang, her father, she also takes her job very seriously and is an insanely strict person. everybody in the company is incredibly terrified of her due to her cold eyes and attitude, but you’re… weirdly attracted to it?

you acknowledge that it’s insanely unprofessional and immoral to view your boss in a sexual manner, but she’s just so hot? like insanely hot?

the way she runs her hand through her hair before fixing her glasses, the way she puts her hands on your shoulders whenever she’s checking out your work, or the way she ties up her hair in a ponytail always cause you to stare

“good job, y/n, great work as always.” as she rubs your back and you’re sooo turned on from it, despite trying very hard not to be, ‘it’s wrong’ you tell yourself

what you don’t know, though, is that she has those same exact thoughts about you

she often talks to you just to hear your voice so she can fantasize better about you screaming her name as she fingers herself later on<33

ever since the day you overheard her moaning in her office (the same day your idiot self came in without even knocking because you thought she had gotten hurt), you guys have been fucking undercover

she knows how much you like to be praised, so she calls you her good good girl while you eat her out under her desk, she’s stroking your hair and looking down at you while you’re working your mouth on her

she rewards you for every assignment you get done by fingering you, or sometimes when she’s really proud of you, she pounds your pretty cunt with her strap<3

“does my pretty little bitch like that, hm?” ughhh I CAN’TTCJSJF

SORTAAA manipulates you into fucking her when you don’t feel like it, abuses her power, basically (but you like it, and she knows you do)

“you wouldn’t want me to take 15% off of your paycheck, would you now, princess? now come on, get to work.” as she motions for you to get undressed aghh<3

occasionally eyefucks you when walking around the office, fully aware that your coworkers may see her

orders you around all the time, whether it’s for work purposes or just so she can use your body properly. she wants everything her way, and you love that just as much as she does

“don’t speak unless I tell you to, got it?” while she’s using a vibrator on you, gripping you by the hair

“shit, keep fucking me like that, y/n..” as she leans back on her chair, biting her lip trying to surpress her moans GUYSSCKD

she loves marking your body (hickeys, bite marks, etc.) and she lives for the days when you don’t try to cover them. it did get HR on your ass though, but it’s okay, she defended you :]

[nicestgirlonline]

sneaky

Pairing: Bucky x Reader 

Warnings: None! Just fluff!

Summary: You and Bucky decide to keep your new relationship a secret with somewhat disastrous results…

Word Count: 3.7k 

A/N: Here’s my entry for @the-slumberparty week 2 challenge blast from the past! I don’t really have an old WIPs, I was trying to jumpstart my writing again with this sleepover. So here’s a little sequel to dumb dumb, since you guys really really seemed to like that one! Hope you enjoy! Feedback is always welcome! <3 

part 1

That Valentine's Day was possibly the best night of Bucky’s life. He had finally gotten to express everything he had been feeling for you. Friday night bled into Saturday morning, neither of you getting much sleep. The months of yearning and pining all finally erupted into passion, lust and love.

Saturday morning quickly became Saturday afternoon, with lots of pillow talk, telling each other little secrets about yourselves, sharing childhood stories. A simple Postmates order and quick text to Steve meant no one to bother you, and no reason for you to leave his bed. 

Saturday night, or what Bucky was calling round two became Sunday morning and that brought about a little thing called the Sunday Scaries.  

Amidst the bliss and happiness there was a lingering thought that kept bothering you. The two of you lounged in his bed, enjoying each other's quiet company, the moonlight of the early morning making the room glow blue. 

You bit your lip. Time to rip the bandaid off. Real life was going to be starting too soon again. 

“Bucky I’ve been thinking…about us.”  

“Really? Me too.” He started to pepper your face with kisses. “I’ve been thinking about all the ways I can have fun with my girlfriend.” You giggled as he started to tickle your sides. You wiggled your way out of his grasp. You propped yourself up on your forearms and did your best to put on your serious face. Which was very hard when Bucky was being so cute. 

“I mean it! I’ve been thinking, maybe we should keep this private? For a while?” You tried your best to keep your voice soft, the face Bucky made broke your heart, which was what you were afraid of. He looked extremely scared. 

“What’s wrong, what’d I do? Was girlfriend too soon? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, ” He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close against him. 

“No, no, you’re my boyfriend now.” You assured him. You took his face in your hands and he leaned into your palm in relief.  “I am really excited to be with you but we do work together. And there’s HR and office gossip and I don’t want that to affect us when we are still figuring out us. I guess I’ve never really thought about the power imbalance between us.” 

Bucky nodded albeit a bit reluctantly.  He untangled his arms around you so you were both lying on your side looking at each other. 

“I mean…I understand. You know I don’t really think of myself as a big superhero or something, but it is a ‘power imbalance’. Does it…bother you?” He asked scratching his face to avoid eye contact. You sat up, suddenly very confused. 

“What are you talking about, I’m the scientist who’s studying you? I’m the one abusing my authority here. It's all very unethical!” You exclaimed. 

“I don’t feel taken advantage of here, Doll. If anything, people are going to think I’m taking advantage of you.” Bucky chuckled. 

“Why?”

“I’m a bit older than you. I’m sort of famous for not so great reasons. I’m also literally more powerful than you?” He held up his left arm as if to show you proof. You dismissed it with a hand wave. 

“You don’t know that you’re more famous than me. I’ve been published in many academic journals.” You pointed out. Bucky shook his head. Gosh he liked you so much. He couldn’t even believe this was really happening to him half the time.  

“There were weeks of press coverage for my trial.”  You just rolled your eyes at that. Bucky was always so afraid that everyone saw him as a villain, but you’d never once felt any sort of danger from this sweet man. 

“Well, agree to disagree. But I still think maybe for the first two months we should just keep it quiet. So we don’t have to worry about anyone but each other. Just lowkey.” He pressed a kiss on the top of your head. 

“Yeah. You’re right, you’re totally right. We will keep things low key.” 

X

“Hey Steve, uhhh we’ve got a problem.” Bucky rushed into the breakfast room, thankful that Steve was the only one there. Steve queried his eyebrow at his panic stricken best friend. 

“What’s up Buck?” He asked. Bucky, seemingly slightly out of breath grabbed the side of the cabinets, he closed his eyes to try and get his 

“So you know how I told you about…on Valentines Day…and then we…so the weekend was…” He waved his hand to emphasis his pauses and Steve nodded along.  

“Of course,  I’m happy for you two, Bucky!” He said brightly, of course this must be some sort of post confession bliss the two of them were in making his friend act so strange.

“Well that's just the thing. Did you…tell anybody else about it?” He asked, his voice a bit strangled and his tone grim. 

“Uhhh was I not supposed to?” Steve asked, his face falling immediately. 

“Can you answer my question?”

“I told Sam about it. The two of you have been dancing around it for so long that we’re all just a little excited for you.” Steve started to explain but he could practically see the fury radiating off of Bucky in waves. His signature death stare was fixed on him. 

“Look, I really appreciate the um, support for my relationship. But here’s the thing, she doesn’t want anyone to know we’re dating.” He ground out, his teeth still clenched. “So we are going to be low. key.” 

“Look who it is. We were about to put out a missing person alert .” Natasha had slunk her way into the breakfast room, her voice dripping with self satisfied condescension.  “Getting provisions for the love nest?”

“God damn it, you told her too?”  He cried out. She shrugged, innocently looking away. Bucky grabbed his head, he was going to throttle Steve. 

“Oh come on, Y/N loves Nat. I figured she already knew.” Steve held his hands up in surrender, the captain certainly hadn't thought this was how his morning was going to go. Bucky turned his attention back to the super spy who was a bit too pleased with the unfolding drama. 

“Nat, did you tell anyone about this?” 

“Please, I’m a spy. I don’t just go around giving out important gossip with nothing to gain.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question, Romanoff!” He snapped back. 

“I’m still a bit confused why she doesn’t want anybody to know? Is that a modern dating thing, not telling people you’re dating?” Steve asked. It didn’t make much sense to him, what exactly did she think was going to happen if people found out? 

“She just doesn’t want the gossip and the pressure of everyone knowing about us to color the beginning of our relationship.” Bucky explained but his tone belated his true feelings. He absolutely did not want to keep this a secret. “So I told her I wasn’t going to tell anybody but I forgot I already told the biggest blabbermouth on the team.”  He quickly turned back to anger at his teammates. 

“I’m not the biggest blabbermouth…hm crap wait I forgot, Clint knows too.” Steve closed his eyes, wincing, ready for the smack upside the head he sorely deserved. 

“Loose lips sink ships asshole! ” Bucky was exasperated. 

“I didn’t know this was top secret information!” Steve countered. 

Nat stayed at the breakfast bar watching the two super soldiers argue, it was amusing but she had her limits. She had to intervene before Bucky had an aneurysm. 

“It's not so bad, we can do damage control. Tell Sam and Clint to keep quiet about it.” Nat said before taking a sip of her coffee. “And Wanda.”

“AND WANDA--” Steve looped an arm around Bucky’s waist before he could lunge at Natasha. 

x

Bucky Barnes: Hello Sam,  I am texting to inform you that Y/N and I are NOT DATING and please disbelieve the rumors to the contrary. Yours, Bucky Barnes

Sam Wilson: please learn to text like a normal person

Sam Wilson: You know I saw you making out with her in the elevator on Friday right? 

Bucky Barnes is typing…

Bucky Barnes: Sam, please disregard my previous message and meet me in the training gym on level 5 ASAP. Yours, Bucky Barnes

Sam Wilson: You don't have to sign your name I know it's you 

Sam Wilson: forget it

Sam Wilson: yeah I’ll be there

X Something wasn’t quite right. Your love life had never been better, Bucky was an amazing boyfriend, it was all you could do to not spend all of your time with him. The two of you would meet up after work hours and spend blissful hours back in Bucky’s apartment. But the rest of your work life, well it was starting to feel like people were avoiding you. 

Like the other day at lunch, you were sitting across from Bucky which wasn’t too unusual, you had been friends before you were seeing each other. The very tips of your shoes were touching, a special little secret way of holding hands. The two of you were discussing movies that were coming out, a totally neutral non flirty conversation. But then Steve walked in, looked at you then immediately spun on his heel and walked away. You furrowed your brow. That was a bit weird.

Or when you had bumped into Bucky at the gym on level 5. It had actually been a happy coincidence, you decided to do some yoga as you sorely needed to stretch your body out after being hunched over a microscope all day.  Bucky had been working out with Sam, Bucky lifting weights with Sam on the treadmill. You waved to the two of them and made your way over to say hi and Sam without saying a word jumped off the treadmill and started to jog out of the gym. 

Even Nat, which hurt the most, flaked on the movie night you’d wanted to have in the TV room. Then it was the domino effect, Steve dropped out then  Wanda and Vis dropped out too and soon it was just You and Bucky. 

“Oh nooo. What are we gonna do, watch the movie by ourselves? Just the two of us?” Bucky whispered in your ear as you were pouring popcorn into a large bowl. He grabbed you by the hips and waggled his eyebrows at you. You let out a little sigh and snatched the bowl before heading to the TV room.  You weren’t in the mood to flirt with him. The tv room was ready for what you had thought would be a big group. The lights were already dimmed and there were plenty of blankets and pillows around. 

You and Bucky settled next to each other on the couch. He grabbed a big fuzzy blue blanket and draped it over the two of your legs. He gave your leg a little squeeze beneath the blanket and winked. You just let out a sigh and grabbed the remote to fire up the Roku. Bucky frowned, this was certainly not what he thought their movie night would be like!

“What’s wrong Bambi? You seem down.” He asked, concerned. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his body. You let him cuddle you, resting your head on his chest 

“It just feels like all of our friends are avoiding me. I mean I thought we were friends. Co-workers I guess, you know I’m not great at reading people.” You sighed and buried your face in his chest. Had you grown more annoying these past few weeks ? He grabbed your chin and tilted your head up so you were looking up at him. 

“Honey, you’re great at reading people, don’t let your insecurity tell you otherwise. I’m not really a people person anyway so I was excited that it was going to be just us. Nobody’s avoiding you I promise. Want to just reschedule this night?” He offered. 

You shook your head. Rescheduling wouldn’t make you feel any better. Besides it was nice to be able to spend time with Bucky out in the open like this.  You still felt like your friends were all acting weird, but you trusted Bucky enough that you decided to let it go. 

“Well since it’s just you and me, we still have to watch The Princess Bride.” You relaxed into the couch, already pulling it up on the screen. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

X

You were working away in the lab, it was a little past lunch time but you simply couldn’t stop in the middle of your project. You could push yourself just a little bit and finish this in time to actually leave at a normal time tonight. You had a date tonight. You smiled to yourself. A secret date.

You were deep in the process, so much so that you didn’t even notice the secret date, arriving hours early in the lab. He gave your sides a squeeze making you yelp. You spun around to see your smirking boyfriend. 

“Bucky! Um, what are you doing here!” you asked, trying not to sound too excited. 

“I'm here to help you out with those samples you had requested from me.” He projected his voice around the lab. But it was for the benefit of no one, you were the only two there. You smiled, happily playing along. 

“Oh right! Those samples I requested.” 

“Those spit samples.” He grabbed the back of your head and crushed his lips to yours in a sloppy wet kiss. You slapped his chest as you pulled away from him giggling.

“Ew! Bucky, that's so gross, why would you say it like that!” But you couldn’t stop giggling. He smiled, clearly feeding off the laughter. 

“You’re the one who wants us to have this clandestine affair, I’m just trying to keep up appearances.” 

“"Why are you even here? You’re a little early.”

“It's my lunch break and I wanted to say hi and give you a kiss.” He took  one of your hands in his. You reached out and grabbed his vibranium hand as well so you were holding both. It made his heart flutter, how unperturbed by his arm you were. When he was with you it was like he was just a normal guy.

“Hi.” He murmured, rubbing his nose against yours. 

“Hi.” you breathed back. This time when your lips met it was sweet and soft. He slowly moved his lips against yours, you opened your mouth just slightly enough that his tongue could slip inside and ---

“So I’m pretty sure the Erskine notes were in here.” It was Bruce! Bucky felt a sudden rush of fear. Bruce wasn’t one of the inner circle who would just pretend not to notice their closeness. They could actually get caught!  

You quickly as hard as you could pushed Bucky away and he clamored backwards. You wiped your mouth, hoping somehow that would disguise yourself. Bruce poked his head in.

“Just looking for the Erskine notes. Uh, everything ok in here?” He took stock of each of you, freshly shoved apart. 

“Yeah, just leaving!” Bucky cried as he raced out of the lab. 

“I’m indifferent to him leaving! I’ll go grab the notes for you Dr. Banner!” You raced to the file cabinet not looking at anything but the ground. 

Bruce cocked his head at the strange interaction he just encountered. 

X

“Good morning Bucky!” You greeted cheerfully as he entered the breakfast room in the morning, Steve and Sam in tow. “Morning Steve! Morning Sam!” You quickly added as they filed in. As not to raise suspicion. 

“I get a good morning? Wow. Don’t I feel special.” Sam said with a smirk. 

“I say good morning to everyone. I’m just a morning person like that. How are you doing Sam? I feel like you’ve been so busy, I barely even see you these days.” You asked, trying to sound casual. You still felt like everyone was acting so weird around you. 

“Oh you know, mission after mission. None of them were in Hawaii either, it's all been Nepal, Siberia, whatever frozen wasteland they can dump me in.” He sat down next to you. You nodded along as he continued talking about his missions, eager to connect with your friend again. 

“Good morning troops. Ah and good morning Beaker. Didn’t think I’d see you this early on a Monday.” Tony Stark, sunglasses still on, his closes wrinkled like he’d just come in off a jet. It had been awhile since he was on at the Compound.  

You hoped you weren’t blushing at the comment. Bucky had talked you into another Sunday night sleepover, you were trying to be subtle about it but you were a morning person, it didn't make sense to pretend to show up later.

‘I didn’t think I’d see you at all Mr. Stark. It's been awhile, since you’ve hunkered down with us mole people in the lab.” You always had a professional but good natured relationship with Tony. He was your boss after all, which is why you found it a little weird to call him Tony. 

Tony let out a chuckle and started to make science small talk, about the lab and the projects you’d been working on. 

Bucky and Tony were not great friends. They had buried the hatchet, sure, but it wasn’t like the two drank beer and watched the game together. Cordial coworkers are best. 

Except Bucky didn't feel very cordial with Tony right now. Considering he had taken the only open seat next to you. He gruffly sat down at the table next to them with his coffee. 

You wanted to invite Bucky to come sit with you, or go over to his table, but that would probably be a bit too much for just friends. You peered over Tony’s shoulder to your grumpy boyfriend darkly having breakfast. You tried not to make it too obvious and still listen to his anecdote about building a mini laser. 

The two of your eyes would catch more often than not. Quickly turning back to whatever they were doing. Tony picked up on this immediately, he looked over his shoulder

“What do you keep looking at?” He spun around to look directly at Bucky who was frozen in place.  “What’s going on here? Are you two fucking or something?”

It was like everything happened all at once.

“Tony -- out of line.” “Uh HR?” “No no no you misunderstand.” “Which one of you told Tony?”

Everyone burst into action, all speaking over each other.  Wait what? You swung your head from pleading with Tony to your secret boyfriend.  The three soldiers froze. Sam took a deep breath. 

“I’ve had enough of this! Nobody told Tony. You two idiots are just so obvious that anyone could see it.” Sam said. As soon as he did Steve let out a huge sigh of relief, his shoulders rolling forward like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.  

“I won’t have this, no way, not on my watch. Y/N. My beloved employee. With Mancurian Candidate? Under my nose, in my own lab?” Tony said indignantly,  putting his hand over his heart as if he was scandalized. 

“Tony! That’s really not very funny. You shouldn’t call him that.” You said your face a hard frown. and Bucky felt his heart burst with happiness. But then your gaze turned to him and he felt your icy stare.

“I--I can explain. You see I had actually texted Steve before we decided to be lowkey. It was before so really if you think about it. I didn’t do anything wrong. And Steve and his big mouth told a few people. But it’s just the people in this room. And Nat. And Clint. And Wanda. But that’s all.”  Bucky tried to explain to you as best he could. His eyes were pleading, he felt weak in the knees. You remained silent, your arms crossed. 

“Yikes, you’re in troooouble.” Tony taunted. 

“So basically everyone! Everyone I see on a daily basis. I can’t believe this. So they’ve all known the whole time?” You looked at Sam and Steve who both sheepishly nodded. You turned back to Bucky, you let out a shaky breath. People knew, and nothing bad had happened. Your friends had actually gone out of their way so you two could have some privacy.  “Well I guess there's no point in keeping this up then.”

“Hm?”

“I'm having breakfast with my boyfriend now, so if you don’t mind gentlemen.” You grabbed your breakfast bowl and moved your chair so you were sitting next to Bucky. You grabbed his hand and placed it on your lap. 

“Ugh, I'm nauseous you two are so fucking cute. Guess that’s my cue.  Come on, Commandos, take a hint.” Tony got up signaling to the other two who also rushed out of the room, more than happy to get out of the tense atmosphere. Once you were completely alone, you finally spoke. 

“I can’t believe everyone knows. Why didn’t you just tell me?” 

 Bucky let out a deep sigh. 

“I mean I kept it a secret from some people. Tony being one of them. I just…I wanted to give you what you wanted. But I mean to be completely honest I did want to tell everyone. I’m all in.”  

“I’m all in too!” You cried clutching his hand and kissing his knuckles. “That's why I wanted to try and slow things down so I couldn’t mess anything up. Now it just all seems so silly. I tried so hard to be sneaky too!” 

He took his hand off yours and gave your thigh a squeeze. 

“I mean…we can still sneak around sometimes. If you want. ” He had a playful glint in his eyes. “I mean, I had plans, Doll, a lot of plans. I was fully prepared to take you on every inch of that lab table.” 

“Sergeant Barnes! ” You gasped. “I think we may be a bit too loud for that level of sneakiness.” He took your chin in his hand and rubbed his thumb down your lip.

“I’m sure we can find a way to keep you quiet.”

[madwomansapologist]

lost in your fire | camille l'espanaye

Navigation | More Camille L'Espanaye | AO3

synopsis: When you survived the entire selection process to be Camille L'espanaye's new assistant, you certainly didn't expect to find this type of employment contract. You could bet your life that the worst thing that could happen to you would be a Miranda-Andrea type of employement. Good thing you didn't.

warnings: smut. strip tease. oral. fingering. degradation. praise. pussy slap. age gap. dom/sub. s&m. co workers. tw: use of 'needy pretty slut'. sugar mommy? that can tagged as abuse of power? prostituition? female!reader. gif: @azrphales

You never thought that graduating in journalism would be the answer to all your problems. It isn't an easy profession, nor is it respected or pays that much. You didn't expect your life to be perfect once you got your diploma.

But damn.

Horrible bosses, jobs that added nothing to your life, laughable salaries. Little free time, little rest, little leisure. Little of everything, except work and stress. Those were always a lot.

And all because you didn't have money. If you had been born into a wealthy family everything would be so different. So much better. Because you know you have talent and determination, what you lack is chance. Is luck. And anyone alive knows that luck is just another name for money.

So when you went to the job interview to be Camille L'espanaye's assistant, you weren't surprised that you did it well. You for sure were surprised to be chosen over someone with an established surname. Or that had a least already finished college. Someone older, experienced. But what surprised you more were the terms of contract.

You didn't know for sure if Camille L'espanaye had too much courage or just lacked the shame, but she was the one to give you the contract. Not someone from HR, not a group of lawyers that would speak for her, but the woman herself.

She did like it was just another thursday for her. Maybe for Camille it was.

You dropped the contract on her desk. "So you want a whore?"

Before that you were so polite. Even thought Camille barely looked into your face, you kept on that thankful-employer act. You said it would be a honor to work for her. But after reading that, nothing mattered anymore.

"I need an assistant," Camille didn't look up from her notebook. She was writing something, the way her fingers moved showed concern while her voice was uterly disinterest. She didn't look up from it since you entered her office. "Someone that I can trust to gather information, follow my orders, know when to speak up and when to shut up. But I also require certain things from my assistants."

"Do I look like a whore?"

Maybe you were wrong. Maybe it wasn't the lack of money or a renowed surname. Maybe all your rich colleagues got into great jobs while you rot was because... they are better for you. Maybe that's the only thing you are capable of: work on horrible places because others wouldn't be stupid enough to hire you.

Camille chose you because she wants to fuck you. Not because you are talented, competent, competitive. Not because of your writing, your morals, your desire to become something more. Camille saw you as a fuckable body with a pretty face and nothing more.

"It's not my problem to give a shit about your..."

"That was the reason I made till the finish line?" Camille was the one surprised now. Not only you interrupted her, but there was something on your voice. It sounded almost dissapointed. "Because you wanted to fuck me?"

Camille looked at you for the first time.

Her platinum hair moved along when she bent over the table, her face founding a support on her open hands. Camille was something. There was a fire on her eyes, a flame that just couldn't die.

When Camille L'espanaye looked at you, it burned.

She was more than the daughter of someone important. Camille was the very next best thing.

"I read your thesis. The gatekeep theory and it's changes during the last decade," Camille didn't look bored. Not anymore. "And I read your articles. Your blog. But you know what surprised me the most?"

You found difficult to open your mouth. "What?"

"Your empty curriculum," she laughed. You would have feel ofended, but she kept on talking. "You have talent, that's for sure, but no one noticed it yet. I know you're starving for a opportunity. Now all you need to do is chose: will you grab it, or will you spend the rest of your life hating whoever made the right decision?"

You glared at the paper. "That's not safe for me," you didn't realize you're were gaving in until you opened your mouth. That shocked you. To know that just a few words from Camille turned your no into a almost.

Camille noticed that too. "Item IX."

You thought she would say something more, but at the end you had to open the document again. Item IX was about... limits. Safewords, six different spreadsheets to be filled with your answers about anything related to sex, Camille's own boundaries, NDAs that protect the both of you.

You spend a few minutes in silence. Just thinking to yourself, trying to find a answer. Yes or no? You looked at Camille, and it startled you to see that she was glaring at you. She was so blasé, but her burning eyes showed you interest, curiosity.

Hunger.

You grabbed the pen in front of Camille's smartphone and signed where it was needed. You left the contract on her table, grabbed your purse and didn't looked back.

And what a shame. Because if you had, you would've see how Camille L'espanaye observed every step you gave.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Most of your time is spend with you running from one place to another, gathering information about anything that Camille think is troublesome. Making the right questions, tooking the right photos, knowing when to get out before people get upset.

If Camille senses that something stink, your job is to show her how much of shit is involved on it.

Except by your first day of work. That was unusual. It included getting measured for your uniform and an appointment with her hairdresser. You also run a few blood tests, consulted a gynecologist and signed documents in front of a scary lawyer.

But today was a calm day, and your feet were so grateful for it. It was the first time in two weeks that you could just sit still. Organizing Camille's agenda, confirming her presence on a few events and denying any request for a interview, you took your heels off.

That's the thing about news channels and saturdays: everyone that makes things interesting are too busy enjoying their day off. Normally you are one of those people, but Camille needed you here today.

The phone rang, and she didn't even gave you the time to answer. "My office. Now."

Your heels announced your presence. White dresses, gold earrings and black heels: that was your uniform meanwhile the real one was being made.

Camille was paying attention to her phone, tipping as fast as humanly possible, when you entered her office. Everything was black and white, just like your clothes. "Open it," Camille murmured gesturing towards a golden box on her table.

You got near it, leaving your table beside the box, and opened. Inside it you found the reason why you're working today. Your uniform was there.

Camille clearly can have anything she want, all she needs to do is open her mouth. But there is no way she could speed up a sewing process. Not without getting bad clothes.

You took it from inside the box and notice how it looked just like those school's uniforms that appear on series about rich people. It was soft, warm, and beautiful. There was also a pair of new, black shoes.

She really wanted you to look young.

"And... done," Camille closed her eyes, and passed her fingers throught her hair. It must have been a really stressing conversation. "Now put it on."

"Alright," you put everything inside the box ans took it on your arms, going to the bathroom at the end of the corridor. But before you could made to the door, Camille's voice stopped you.

"Do it here."

Camille demanding you to get dresses in front of her should have make you want to vomit. You shouldn't want that, or her, or that fucking job.

But you do. Fuck, you want that.

Camille told you to grab the opportunity. She show you that it wouldn't wait for you. And it was the right choice. Not only your payment is really good, but she is also paying your college debt as a act of encoragment — her words. Working for Camille will open so many doors for you, and those that won't you can open with her money.

And all she's asking is for you to fuck her.

You fucked girls for free, and none of them were directly responsible for you buying a new car. Why not put a price on your body? Camille is willing to pay it.

It helps that she's hot as fuck.

So you put the box on a couch and gave her the show she wanted. You started just taking off your earrings and necklace. Then you opened the ziper of your dress, slow enough to make her sigh. You let it slid of your body, revealing that you wore nothing bellow it.

You twirl the dress on your fingers, then throw it at her. It feel right beside Camille's phone. Once more her facade broke a bit, her smile way closer to a laugh then to a smirk.

As you put on your new clothes, you gave her a little spin. "Come here," was all Camille said.

You licked your lips and walked towards her. Right in front of Camille, you felt her eyes analizing every single detail of you. She gave you smirk.

"Kneel for me," she ordered. You did as she wanted, your heels digging on the skin of your feet. "Now use your mouth. Prove me your worth."

Camille opened her legs, the dress went up her tights and revealed her black thong. You touched her skin, your fingertips just brushing against her knees and thights. You slid them across her covered pussy, a touch so delicate it felt like a ghost.

Looking into Camille's burning eyes, you put her thong aside and revealed herself to you.

From then on, you were nothing but a starving woman.

Camille held on by your hair. She wasn't delicate. She just grabbed you, almost like you would run away. How could you ever do that? Not with her being so sweet. Not with her lips so warm against your lips.

"Fuck," she whispered. Her incoerent words showed that you were doing a good job. "Just like that."

You looked up, and then you saw Camille looking deep into your eyes. It made you go even harder on her, totally focused on making Camille reach heaven.

"What a pretty thing you are," Camille moaned. Her hand, before pulling your hair with no regards, now carressed your cheeks. "You're such a needy pretty slut, aren't you? My fucktoy."

You moaned against her dripping pussy, drunk on her arousal, and felt Camille shaking bellow you. She's so blasé, so colected, but now you saw her breaking bit by bit.

More confident, you grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to you. Your tongue brushed against her sensitive clit, your fingers spread her pussy from inside. The sounds she made were the prettiest song you ever heard.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Camille couldn't stop screaming. That all put together bussinesswoman you meet were long gone. She was just a woman in need of a helping hand. "I'm 'bout to, oh god..."

Your felt her melting against you, her legs trembling against your arms. You stopped when her body collapsed against her armchair.

"Get up," she murmured. This time not out of disinterest, but because she was lost on her own pleasure.

Standing, you turned your back to her so you could get your things and leave. But before you could walk away, two hands grabbed you by your waist.

Camille, standing before you, caressed your skin. "Where are you going?" She bit your shoulder, and her teeths dig on your skin. It wasn't delicate, but it was good. "Already running away from me?"

"I thought you were done," you whispered. Her taste was still on your mouth. So sweet it could give you toothaches.

Camille kept on bitting your neck, licking it right after, until she made to your ear. "I'm not done with you," she whispered, and you didn't knew if she was mocking you.

"Sit on my table," she slapped your ass when you moved. "Open your legs." She once slapped you, but this time on your pussy.

The moan that escaped you made Camille force herself against your mouth. She tasted herself on you, but she also felt the taste of your lipstick. Camille licked your lips, trying to get more of you, then went back to explore your mouth.

Her fingers played with your lips, so wet for her, and entered on your tight pussy. So warm, so made for her. Camille curved her fingers, and you held into her. "Just like that," you moaned. "Please, just..."

Camille went harder, so hard you knew that it would hurt the other day, but you didn't care. Camille could hurt you however she wants, as long as she keep on making you feel like that.

"Be a good bitch and cum on my fingers," Camille grabbed you by the chin. That made you open your mouth, and Camille noticed the way your lips covered on her saliva shone. "Show me your tongue."

Camille spat on it, and you gadly took it. You blinked to her.

"Fuck," Camille fingered you as she pinched your clit. You were so close. "You really have a talent for that, don't you? Thinking about making you mine. Chain you to my bed so I can use you whenever I want."

"Do it," you whimpered against her lips.

She spread her fingers inside you. You gasped, your body chocking against her. You couldn't think, you couldn't see, all you did was moan as you came.

Camille continued until you were too sensitive to take it. She licked her lips, now addicted to your taste, and stepped away from you.

She took off her thong and thrown it at you. Camille moved your body, taking her phone right behind you, and sat on her armchair. You breath as you watched her go back to work, but you also smiled when you noticed her trembling feet.

"Cover yourself," Camille started. "Clean my agenda for tomorrow, scheduled a meeting Pym and find someone that make a coffee that doesn't suck like yours."

"But you swallow," you murmured as you put on her thong. It was wet from her arousal and your spit.

"What did you just said?"

"You heard me," you took your tablet and didn't gave her time before you walked away.

Camille L'espanaye observed every step you gave. When you were gone, she throw her phone away and closed her eyes.

"I am so fucked," Camille whispered to herself.

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Hey in you villian au I had a few questions about Kai if you don't mind.

First you talked about kai and him being a cult leader, whats the gist of that, something similar to chen? A death cult, a fire worshiping soceity, a volcano conclave?

And secondly, whats his relationship with his sister, ambivilance, getting along in the 'Oh lets go on a pilaging and raid together thats sounds like top tier sibling fun' sort of way or a bipolar could be fun or could be fatal depending on the way the wind blows kinda way?

Finaly (and sorry for being long winded) you talked about his main thread / power came from societal manipulations, is this more cloak and dagers or populism / manipulation, the steel in the dark vs the gilded spider web so to speak?

PS fun au, realy cool designs my favourts are probaly kai pixal and jay, all just fab :)

Disclaimer: long ass ramble about my Villain AU.

so many questions today, not that I'm complaining! I love to talk about my aus. Kai's an interesting one too.

Kai's cult doesn't actually have a big base or anything, at least not in it's fully developed form. It's not ironed out but, I have the thought that the basis is that by joining the cult, you protect yourself from the end of the world snake of fire (definitely not it's actual name lol). By joining, you get into it's good graces, it won't eat you when it returns to Ninjago. By worshiping Kai, who presents himself kind of like a human-form of the snake, you fully ensure your safety. It's a complete lie of course but by the time the AU officially starts, it been over 200 years since canon, so it's had a long time to marinate. That's another thing, because of that time span the cult is huge. Functions more like a society than a small-time cult. Whole generations of families have been born into the cult, it's really soaked into the population. One thing I like to think about how you could walk into a random, harmless looking town and be completely unaware it's cult territory. That everyone in it is a member. I like to call them snake-dens (also what they're called in story).

(also note: since you mentioned Chen, Kai's cult does actually have similar snake imagery if that isn't clear lol.)

As for Nya, well, that's kind of complicated. See, Nya isn't a villain in the same way Kai is. Most of the art I've posted about her have been of her post-reformation design. Essentially within the two centuries since sea-bound, she'd developed into a sea monster. More akin to a destructive force of nature than a traditional villain like Kai. A lot of her destructive stemmed from anger, people abusing and polluting the ocean. Namely, Zane's kingdom would throw a lot of oil, trash, and broken/old tech into the ocean before an event where Sea-Nya had thrown it all back over the walls of the kingdom down onto it through a huge wave (hugely destructive, had a death count, just plain disgusting). Sorry for the ramble about her but I thought some context would be important lol.

So, Kai and Nya didn't actually talk like at all during those two centuries. Pre-seabound but post ToE their relationship was -- very bad. Nya was very, very angry at Kai for leaving them behind and becoming so awful. They never resolved that before Seabound. Kai felt guilt about that, what happened to her and that he never went to fight for hr or save her. But he never changed, so how bad he really felt is -- up to interpretation. it's a big part of why he and Jay fight/fought so much. After Nya had returned to (mostly) human, their relationship is interesting. Nya kind of hates him but it's -- muted. She can't stand the person he's become, how he threw everything away and never changed. That he had a real choice when she didn't and he used it to be -- a violent, cruel cult leader. When he comes around, she doesn't tell him to go away. She thinks he's pathetic. Kai wants his sister back, but he's not willing to change. They're complicated.

I'm going to say it's a 'gilded web' type thing but it also is very shady. He has a lot of connections and is just a plain focal point within the underground crime scene (or overground because this ninjago is really fucked up and dangerous lol, the entire land. ninjago city itself is completely gone). For instance, in Zane's kingdom, up in the ranks an advisors runs a smuggling operation for citizens to 'escape' (before Zane was de-overlorded anyways, after that he opens up the borders). Only about 50% of the time would those citizens actually get out of the city, the other 50% of the time they'd be sold to someone/somewhere or killed. Kai's allies with them (I haven't figured out exactly who that is yet lol). Another ally is Wen Xia (oc talk sorry) who's just a general power. Usually runs a fighting ring(s) but does a bunch of other stuff. Very dangerous and very rich. Kai just has a lot of connections and a strangle-hold on a lot of ninjago. MAN this got LONG. thank you for the questions I love the chance to info dump, haha!

(and TY!! Jay's one of my favorite designs too)

[bump1nthen1ght]

The Prince of Hell is Not a Gentleman (F!Reader x M!Demon)

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Male!Boss!Demon

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Warnings: Non-Con, Forced Exhibitionism, Forced Infidelity, Abuse of Power and Work Dynamics, Degradation, Misogyny

Word count:  2815 words

Summary: You’ve tried your best to ignore the ridiculously inappropriate behavior of your boss, desperate to keep your job and knowing a filed complaint will get you nowhere. But one fateful meeting pushes your relationship to a whole new level

Request: I got a request!

Female human coworker with a scummy male demon boss. When I mean scummy I mean a proper PoS. Coercing her into sex when she is already with someone, smoking cigars and blowing it in her face, and making her call her partner while he is fucking her.

Isn’t workplace sexual harassment supposed to be subtle?

You think to yourself, simultaneously wondering how the fuck you got in the position to be thinking such a thing in the first place.

You’ve been to HR training, seen those types of creepy bosses. The ones who hide behind being overly “friendly” and saying “everyone’s so sensitive these days.” You’d known to report them, to not stand for their gaslighting. 

But nothing really prepared you for this.

Sugartits, in my office ASAP. 

The crude sticky note stuck to your computer monitor reads, sending your heart all the way into your gut.

You’ve only been at this job for two months, settling in nicely to the routine and your fat paycheck every two weeks. The only issue so far has been your boss.

The demon himself is named Solvaloth, AKA Sol, and is the supervisor for your entire department. He’s a high prince of hell that no one felt like dealing with down there, so was kicked upwards and saddled with a cushy position in this hell-associated company. He’s big, loud, and frustratingly handsome. The kind of handsome that has treated him well his entire life and in turn convinced him that he’s Lucifer’s favorite creation.

You’re the only human in this whole department and that novelty probably drew him your way in the first place. He quite literally cornered you on your first day, his clawed hands pressed against the wall behind you, a leering smile full of canines looking down at his new toy.

“Damn, it must be my lucky day.”

Since then, he has been the bane of your very existence. Grabbing your hips when he ever needs to “scoot” by, whispering dirty compliments in your ear, even looking down your blouse whenever he “pops” by your cubicle. Not to mention the patronizing nicknames.

“File these papers for me, won’t you sweet cheeks?”

“Looking good today, princess.”

“C’mon baby girl, give me a break here.”

Guess you can add Sugartits to the list.

You try not groan audibly as you trudge your way to his office. Knowing that no matter what he does, how inappropriate he is, HR will do nothing. 

(You would know, you tried. The message of “don’t bring this up again” was made very clear.)

His door is stupid tall, meant to accommodate his giant size and extra large horns. You open it as slow as possible, trying your best to delay this ‘meeting.’

“You know how to keep a demon waiting, honey.” Sol turns around in his opulent office chair, legs spread wide and head thrown back without a care. His hair hangs loose and wild behind him, a white mane tucked in between two curving horns. Despite the snarky tone, he’s got a sickeningly sweet grin on his face. “Lock the door, please. We’re gonna need privacy.”

Ugh, I cannot deal with this today.

But you comply, flipping the lock. You don’t notice the way his curtains have been drawn, or how everyone else has been encouraged to go on a long lunch. 

“Is everything okay?”

Sol leans forward, that smug grin still on his face. He puts a hand up to his ear, batting his eyes in a cartoonish display of “what was that?”

You sigh.

“Is everything okay, sir?”

“That's my girl.” Sol laughs, slapping his knee and gesturing for you to sit down.

You pull back your chair, keeping your ankles crossed. You curse yourself for wearing a pencil skirt today, chiding morning-you for forgetting where you work. Sol’s eyes burn as they roll up your pantyhose, not even trying to hide his leering.

“Actually, everything’s not okay.”

That has you sitting up, a seed of worry in your gut. As much as he sucks, this job pays really fucking well, and you can’t risk loosing it.

“You see, I overhead Mazey in accounting gossiping over the water cooler. Said something about how the human has a new boy-toy.” Sol crosses his arms across the table, making his large chest seem even bigger.“That true?”

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Of course he called you in for that.

“Not that it’s anyone’s business, but yes. I am seeing someone.”

A nice human guy you met at a bookstore, named Rich. He was cute, with fluffy hair and a sweet smile. You had only been on a couple dates, nothing exclusive yet, but you saw a potential future with him.

Sol clicks his teeths, his eyebrows furrowing as that smug grin drops down to a disappointed pout. 

“That’s gonna be a little problem, because last I checked-” Sol gestures back and forth between you two, “-I’m your boss.”

You raise a brow. “So?”

“As your boss, I kind of get final say in everything. I mean, everything.” Sol leans even farther forward, gut pressed into his desk. He’s so close you can feel his breath, see the way his hair falls from behind his pointed ears. “That includes who you spread those little legs for, capische?”

A hot blush runs up your neck, a combination of shock and anger shot through you like adrenaline. 

You had kept a stiff upper lip for most of his shenanigans, for his stupid ego and this job, but this? This was crossing a line.

“That is not-”

“You want to keep your job?”

In just a sentence he steals the thunder out of your voice, a vice grip clutching around 

your heart.

“You wouldn’t.”

Sol shrugs, eyes rolling.

“Why not? Can’t have a little slut like you distracted all day, thinking about some human.”

He says the word like a curse, practically spitting it.

“This, this isn’t-” Your lost momentum has you floundering, trying to find ground to stand on. But you’re trapped; You know it, and he knows it.

You take a deep breath, trying to reel in the desire to leap across the desk and strangle him.

“What do you want.” You state, not ask.

His lips curl up, his devilish nature on full display.

“I want you to do what you were always meant to do.” Sol leans back, tapping his chin. “You’re gonna plant that pretty pussy on my face, and let me show you a good time.”

Your ears feel hot, tears bubbling at the corner of your eyes. There's a distinct taste of shame in your mouth. 

But you can’t lose this job. Can’t be blacklisted in the industry, which this spiteful bastard probably would do to get back at you.

So you sit up, kick off your heels, and ignore the way Sol licks his lips.

Your thumbs go down under the waistband of your skirt, before Sol stops you.

“No, keep it on.”

You stop, wondering what his plan is, and tepidly walk towards him.

Sol’s eyes elevate up and down, switching the knob on his chair to recline slightly. He pats his chin again, a long tongue poking out between his teeth.

“That’s right, baby. Come to papa.”

You hate the way the curdles your stomach, the way your legs begin to shake.

Just to be an asshole, Sol does nothing to help you climb up his chest. He sits with his arms crossed behind his head, smug as you struggle up his body.

Your skirt begins to naturally hike up as you shimmy, almost to your underwear by the time your legs are around Sol’s shoulders. You have to lean your hands in the walk behind his head to stay stable, a deliberate placement that forces your crotch right in his face.

With your legs slotted around his neck Sol's hands find their place in your ass, yanking you forward and taking a deep whiff of your pussy. A wet tongue follows it soon after, soaking the thin fabric and rubbing dangerously against your clit. You bite your lip, feeling the skin almost burst under teeth and pressure. He’s already humiliated you enough, Sol is not getting noises out of you.

Sol is ravenous, his sharp canines deftly tearing apart the fabric of your tights and panties, just missing the fat of your thighs on their way in. He has no patience once he reaches his prize, thick tongue shoved in with little preparation. Your hands scratch at the cheap company paint of the wall behind you, still refusing to let a peep out. Even as your body betrays your mind and your pussy begins to slicken.

Your eyes can’t help but wander downward, a jolt shooting up your spine when you realize Sol is looking directly at you. His nostrils flare as your eyes meet, his tongue curling and stretching open your walls. He must see the way your brow scrunches, how flushed your face is getting. There's a look of pride in his eyes that makes you burn.

Sol nuzzles his nose, digging his tongue deeper inside and you hate the way it rubs against your clit and makes your toes curl. It sucks how good he is at this, how your legs are beginning to tremble not from fear but from pressure. You’ve been able to stay quiet so far, but the moans are fighting towards the surface with every sultry lick.

You know you’re in trouble when one of his hands sneaks from your ass and over your thigh, Sol’s thumb coming to rub and flick at your clit. A moan crawls up your throat and you try to choke it down with another bite of your lip. But your legs clench around Sol’s head, your hips chasing the friction as he pulls you taught like a bow string.

Damnit, it had given you a sort of satisfaction to assume he was one of those guys who was all talk, no action. A dirty mouth that probably never went down, never brought his partners pleasure. This is just another slap in the face.

“Hmmph!” Your hand throws across your mouth, hunching forward as Sol finds that sensitive spot inside. Electricity shocks across your abdomen.

Please, no.

Sol is relentless in his chases, spurred on by your noise and fucks his tongue like a piston against your g-spot.

Too good, too good. I’m gonna-

“Angh~!” Your back arches, breath finally escaping as your orgasm hits you like a tidal wave. You refuse to look down, refuse to see the satisfied look on the bastards face.

But you never get a chance, as Sol hooks his strong arms around your legs and picks you up like a ragdoll. With a surprising gentleness he is able to sling you down his abdomen, turn you around to your stomach and pinned to his desk. Your skirt stays bunched around your hips, the slutty hole in your stockings ripped wider by fervent claws.

“Hey, kitty kitty~” Sol coos, fingers spreading your pussy’s lips wide open for him. “I knew you’ve a nice cunt, baby. Knew it right when I saw you.” Sol slaps your pussy, chuckling when you flinch. “Perfect for daddy.”

A hot head presses against your entrance and you know immediately that he is too big for you.

And he has a big dick?! What the fuck?!

“Wait, Sol-”

“Waited long enough, sugar tits.” The head presses deeper, the stretch cutting any words right out of your mouth. “Let’s fuck that attitude right out of you.”

Sol plunges in, aided by your slick and a fresh glob of spit. The dam being broken, your humiliation at its peak, you don’t try to hide your gasping breathes.

“Fuck!” Your shout, hips traitorously swinging backwards, urging him deeper into your guts. There's a deep groan from Sol’s chest and the scratching of hardwood. A glance to your side sees his claws have dug lines into his fine desk.

“S-shit. You’re fucking tight.” Sol gives an experimental thrust, the desk and bouncing forward. “That little boy toy of yours must have a pencil dick or something.” A large hand grabs your jaw, forcing your back to arch as he pulls you back to him. “Or has he not fucked you yet?”

You don’t dignify him with a response. Sol clicks his teeth.

“Whelp, I guess we’ll have to ask him.”

That jolts you awake, eyes widening as you realize Sol’s slipped your phone out of your skirt's pocket. The home screen is in front of you, your face unlocking it with ease. That fight instinct comes back and you begin squirming.

“Ah, ah.” Sol needs only one hand to pin you down, back on your stomach now that he’s on your phone. “What’d Mazey say his name was, Richie?” Sol casually scrolls through your contacts, humming as he spots Rich’s contact, with an emoji heart next to it. “There he is. Let’s give him a call, clear this up.”

You squeak in exertion, trying your damnedest to wiggle away and escape. But Sol’s grip is like iron, and Rich answers on the second ring.

“Hey there, what’s up?” 

Sol leans down to look at you, tapping the speaker option, and makes a motion for you to talk.

“N-nothing much. Just-” Sol gives another hump, the desk legs squeaking against the linoleum. “-just thinking about you.”

You hate how Rich’s ‘aww’ is tainted by Sol, tainted by the noise of his hips slamming against your backside. You pray Rich’s phone has shitty audio, that he’s totally oblivious today. That he overhears the slapping of skin and the shaking of the desk to be some weird aspect of your demon company, and not what it really is.

“Thinking about you a lot too.” Richie says, and you try to dim the breathy moan that gets through. Sol’s nails dig into your hips, yanking you like a fleshlight. “Wanna meet up this weekend?” Sol slams a hand down, clawing a NO into the hardwood. Rich tone switches to concern. “Woah, what was that?”

“S-sorry, dropped a stapler, heh.” You throw your head down, chest heaving as another knot pulls in your stomach. Your words are beginning to feel foggy, your brain fuzzy as Sol finds your g-spot and starts brutalizing it with his cock. “Can’t this weekend unfortunately. Got some extra w-work to do.”

“Damn, wish I could help.”

Sol barely muffles his chuckles, patting your ass as he leans forward, whispering filth in your ear.

“Cum around my cock, baby~ I know you want to.”

You shake your head, tears dripping down your cheeks as you nuzzle your face into the desk. Sol laughs into your neck, his cock twitching at your frustration.

“Well, I gotta get back to w-work. Just wanted to-” You suck in a deep breath. “-hear your voice.”

“I love hearing your voice too, babe.”

Your heart aches at the sincerity in his tongue, imagining his sweet face. Wishing it was him behind you right now, making you feel this good.

“Ok, see you later.” Your voice whines as a shaky hand taps the phone to off, making sure you’ve hung up before collapsing back into the desk.

Sol cackles behind you, hips swiveling.

“Sounds like a fucking loser. I guess I was right.” Sol’s tongue licks up the side of your cheek. “If he had fucked you, he wouldn’t be calling you ‘babe’.” Sol pitched his voice up high, mockingly, before pulling back his teeth in a snarl. “He’d be calling you whore.”

Sol yanks on your hair, baring your neck and sucking huge hickies right below your jaw. His hips begin to stutter, the balls slapping against your clit feeling tight as he exhales through his nose.

“Please…not inside.”

“I know you’re on birth control, bitch. I do what I want.”

Sol detached with wet lips from your neck, hand now on the back of your skull and forcing you down to the cool desk surface. Your breath leaves a foggy trail in its wake, your eyes rolling back as Sol reaches a peak in his intensity.

“Fuck, fuck!” Sol cries, claws digging lines into your skin as he begins to jerk and twitch. Soon after you feel a heavy warmth shoot deep inside of you, rivulets of cum dripping out between your two bodies and on to the desk.

There's a distinct feeling of emptiness in your gut when Sol pulls out, even with the sticky strings of semen stuck in between you. A thick finger pushes back in any lealing cum, Sol’s cooing voice admiring your fucked out pussy.

You can hardly think, your brain caught in a self-defensive haze as you just try to catch your breath. If you think you’ll hear Rich’s voice, have to feel the intense shame burning inside your chest, feel the red hot anger that you’re too tired to act on.

A warm hand caresses your face, pushing messy hair out of the way. Somewhere distant, Sol chuckles. “Yeah, just like I thought.” You hear the brief click of a camera. “Such a perfect cock-slut, all for me.”

[solar-sunnyside-up]

What is your opinion on Youth Liberation? Given that our society is extremely against YouthLib, it's hard to imagine one where children have rights. Thus far I am thinking about having more places for children, including places where they can stay instead of going home (so they don't have to stay in an abusive environment) though obviously I'm concerned about their safety... Would there need to be a guardian at these places? And how do we prevent them becoming dangerous too? I want a world where kids are free, but I also want a safe world for them...

Oof I do a lot of work with this everyday as a parent and neighbor to many Littles. While I am well versed in gentle and anarchy parenting I'm been making the next step into straight up Non-coercive parenting as coined by Rythea Lee.

Minors have so much less control, agency, and high expectations it's fucking wild!! I could list tons and tons of examples. But the easiest example is work load alone.

My oldest kiddo is in elementary and is basically working a full 40 hour work week. She's also expected to be a person, to do extra curricular, and soon chores?? Crazy!! As we acknowledge the insane work load of a 40 hr work week we must also adjust this to minors.

As gentle parenting has more and more data showing how it effects nervous systems and anxiety and sleeping patterns I really think Non-coercive is the next step.

For those unfamiliar, Non-coercive parenting as defined by Rylae in "Your Kids Don't Suck" podcast really helps give language and idea of what this dynamic could look like. "Non-coerive is a confrontational way of saying we are stepping out of the collective agreement that children are less then equal to adults and that we can make children do whatever we want them to. Traditional parenting practices are built on the inherent power of the parent to control, suppress, and enforce children to act in certain ways through punishments, conquenses, threats, manipulation and other various acts of harmful coercion. Non-coercive parenting speaks to what we don't want to do anymore. Non-coercive parenting is de-colonized and non-hirarchy lacking any power dynamic between parties and breaking down domination behaviors. This allows for a shift in relationship focus and dynamic, allowing children to be equal human beings in value and opinions, their wants and needs carry just as much weight. And their emotional, physical, social needs carry full autonomy. The emotional bond between parent and child is the main focus. Collaboration is the main basis of communication and study."

Its a lengthy description but primarily bc it's so different then the parenting we have any info on. It's sooo othered that it's an entire breakdown and tossing away of old ideals that's the method behind finding your own way through it.

Sorry for the ramble, kinda got off topic but I could go on and on about this kinda thing.