#i mean it's only symbolically ten minutes since I was not born at midnight

[mossy-thing]

In ten minutes, i turn 18.

[juniorgman187]

The Bones (Reid Series) Part 1

Summary: Almost a year after Maeve’s death, Spencer reaches out to the recipients of Maeve’s donated organs to reconnect with his lost love. However, when the receiver of her heart, Reader, doesn’t write back, Spencer goes on a poorly-motivated mission to find her. 

Playlist: “The Bones” by Maren Morris & Hozier   (BONUS: song includes major foreshadowing)

A/N: There is an OC in this story because to me, writing “(y/n)” over and over again cheapens the story and doesn’t flow well. It was a personal decision, and to anyone it sincerely bothers, I’m sure there’s a way you can insert your own name instead. This fic is also inspired by “Things We Know By Heart” by Jessi Kirby. Category: Series, Soft Angst, Eventual Smut + NSFW content* Pairing: Spencer Reid POV x Fem!OC Content Warning: allusions to death, mourning, loss, recovery, arrhythmia (this is an intro chapter, so it’ll get more interesting from here I promise) Word Count: 2.2k

This will be a multi-part series.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

It all started that first autumn after Maeve’s death - just five weeks past a year since I parted with her. I was absentmindedly reading when, rather out of the blue, Mary Donovan called to inform me about a Mrs. Rachel Larsen. 

Although we didn’t learn her actual name until later, she was first known to us as the recipient of Maeve’s liver. Not a single one of the three of us - Maeve’s parents and me - had expected a recipient to be in contact with us. That inability to predict such an event was caused by my neglect to remember Maeve was an organ donor. It wasn’t particularly relevant in the grand scheme of things, and for that forgetfulness, I was truly ashamed, but after reading Rachel Larsen’s letter together with the Donovans, it all came back to me. 

Every single thing. 

You see, despite the anonymity of the person writing to us, it was as if I could actually feel Maeve’s soul coming alive again, as strange as that sounds. 

She was still here with me ... in some form. 

Later that night, when I would return to an empty apartment, I would wonder why I hadn’t thought of reaching out to the recipients before. Even though I’d already started writing a thank you letter back to Rachel, the thirst for more of Maeve became increasingly insatiable. 

While I did have fond memories of her to live by, I couldn’t thrive off of them in the way that I did with that letter. Our only moments together worth reliving were those spent over the phone, a time when I didn’t even know what she looked like. But that letter from Rachel Larsen ... it was somehow more wholesome and pure than any memory of the living Maeve that I could cultivate.

You could say I was doing this to ease my mourning, meaning it should’ve made me feel better, but that didn’t stop the guilt from eating away at me piece by piece as I wrote letters to the rest of the recipients. 

The Donovans had no idea I was doing this, but I reasoned to myself that they would appreciate the surprise. Though they were still undeniably riddled with grief, smiles embellished their sullen faces when they read about Rachel’s quality of life now with a new liver. So maybe, just maybe, hearing from the rest of the receivers would be good for us all. At least, that’s what I told myself.

In one of those rare moments when inspiration strikes and it courses through your veins at the speed of lightning, I found myself being more productive than I had been in nearly a year. By midnight, I’d successfully composed five letters, each dedicated to the receiver of one of Maeve’s major organs - none of which, though, included my identity.

Given the fragile process of contacting the transplant coordinators, getting consent forms, and premeeting counseling, it would be months, if not years, before I would be able to really speak with these faceless people. Nothing against Donor Family Services - I’m sure they do the best they can - but for me, their best wasn’t good enough. So instead, I enlisted the help of someone I knew could never let me down. 

“Are you sure you want me to do this?” Penelope peered up at me from her seat, her pinky finger hesitantly hovering over the ‘enter’ button. 

“Yes.” 

With just one click, she discovered the addresses of each one of those faceless people. This singular operation, albeit somewhat unethical, was the final piece to my puzzle. All there was left to do now was send the letters to them, with the tenuous hope they might send one back. 

Luckily for me, not a single recipient questioned how I managed to find them or why this process wasn’t being handled by Donor Family Services, but I suppose if they did wonder those things, they didn’t feel comfortable asking me. Especially not after they learned who I was in relation to their donor. I didn’t intend to guilt-trip anyone with what I wrote in my letters nor did I want to take advantage of anyone’s empathy, but how could you possibly make a foe out of your organ donor’s grieving boyfriend? Exactly - you can’t. So you don’t. Instead, you send an inviting letter back, telling me you’d love to meet. Which is what four of them did.

Only one person didn’t reply, and while an 80% success rate was great, I simply couldn’t let this one go. Trust me, I would have ... had it been any other organ. 

For quite some time, I was the one with Maeve’s heart. 

I just needed to see where it was now.

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

The heart has several definitions and corresponding connotations. 

Scientifically speaking, the heart is a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. However, figuratively, the heart can be seen as the central or innermost part of something. The heart of a city, for example. But in literature, the heart is symbolic of love. It is often regarded as the source of all knowledge, which is where the comparison between the head and the heart comes from. The head operates logically, whereas the heart functions emotionally, but despite the rationality the head holds, the heart is what people advise you to listen to because it holds the ultimate truth. 

The heart, because it is equipped with your truest feelings, supersedes any logic and reason the head might hold. 

But you see, I only ever knew Maeve’s mind. I could understand the inner workings of it - I’d probably be able to navigate through her consciousness if I entered it given the fact that our intellect matched one another’s - and I shared nearly identical thought processes with her, but that was all that I ever knew. 

And if that was how much knowledge she held in her head alone, then, undoubtedly, her heart held so much more.

Science defines the heart as an organ. Figurative language uses the heart to establish a focal point. Literature likens the heart to love. But I compare her heart to the ocean. Like the sea, Maeve’s heart was 80% undiscovered, and exploration was simply calling my name. 

For that reason, and that reason alone, I couldn’t abandon my pursuit of it. 

That’s not to say I wasn’t ashamed of this mission, though. If anything, shame for the man I had become in the face of Maeve’s death was the only feeling I was truly capable of anymore. Any other emotions were fleeting or insincere. 

Unfortunately, that slimy, disgusting feeling was only amplified times ten when I found myself driving two hours and forty-five minutes to get to Virginia Beach. 

No sane man would drive this far on a weekday for even their most prized possession, and yet here I was, exactly 180 miles away from home, seeking out someone who hadn’t had the courtesy to even write me back, let alone agree to meet with me. Who knows if she’d even give me the time of day. 

She being Valerie. 

“Valerie Elise Bishop was born on August 5th, 1988 in Henderson, Nevada, to parents Andrew and Sara, but when Valerie turned seventeen, she was diagnosed with arrhythmia,” Garcia explained to me over the phone on the car ride here. “It’s when-”

“When the electrical impulses that coordinate your heartbeats don't work properly, causing your heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly,” I accidentally cut in. Realizing I interrupted Garcia, I brought her back into the conversation by asking, “I know there are more than 3 million cases per year in the U.S, but isn’t it usually common for ages 60 or older?” 

“You are most certainly correct, Boy Wonder. It is more common in ages 60 and older, however, her maternal grandmother passed away from arrhythmia, so the family history increased the likelihood.” 

At the sound of this news, I had to pull the car over and physically stop just so I could grasp the weight of what I was really doing. 

“In Henderson, Nevada ... maternal grandmother passed away ... family history increased the likelihood …” Garcia’s voice rang in my head. 

It was then that I came face to face with the gravity of reality. 

Valerie wasn’t just a faceless name or a recipient of Maeve’s heart, she was a person. And her humanity only became more apparent to me the more Penelope spoke. 

For god’s sake, she and I grew up in the same state. She and I saw the same sunsets from the same little corner of the earth. She drove down the same highways and byways - we might’ve even crossed paths at one point or another! Not to mention that she lost her grandmother to the same disease that she was suffering from, and if there was one thing consistent about arrhythmia, it was very likely she’d been living with it for decades, if not her entire lifetime. It’s a long term disease that takes years to improve but only seconds to kill. All it would take is just one irregular beat, and she’d be dead. How can you possibly live with that constant fear looming over your head? 

She is a person. I had to remind myself. Not just a means to explore more of Maeve. 

“Hey, Garcia,” I turned the car back on. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 

“What do you mean?” I could just feel panic begin to rise in Garcia. 

“No, I’m not talking about life, I’m talking about this.” Though she couldn’t see, I grandly gestured to the location, the car, and the passenger seat that was cluttered with files on Valerie. “I don’t feel right invading her privacy like this. It’s just selfish.” 

I wasn’t the only one mourning something here. 

“Are you sure?” Penelope clarified. Which was ironic considering she was the one who was unsure of doing any of this, to begin with. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have dragged Garcia into this. Something as immoral as this was totally against her character, but she did it anyway because her loyalty to her friends conquers all. 

Like I said, my shame multiplied times ten. If not for Valerie, then certainly for Penelope. 

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m heading home.” 

“Okay,” She softly returned. “Be safe.” 

“Oh, and Garcia?” I asked before ending the call. “Thanks.” 

“Of course. Anything for you, Dr. Reid.” 

By the time I ended the call, the sun was already setting - that’s how long I’d been on the road for. The nearly-three-hour drive I would have to make for the second time today meant I wouldn’t be home in time to beat the pitch-black sky, so considering I was already in for a long night, I made a little detour for the one thing I couldn’t go home without.

A piping hot cup of coffee. 

I felt something as rewarding as caffeine was well deserved for the self-restraint I demonstrated minutes ago. And maybe it was my exhaustion, both mental and physical, that brought me to the near conclusion that I would truly let this go, but I was honestly feeling like I could accept this. An 80% acceptance rate. Not bad, right? 

Though I was basically half-asleep while waiting for my coffee, I could not miss the barista when she said, “Valerie! Your order’s ready!”

What are the chances?

A jolt of energy surged through my body and brought me back to life, causing me to whip my head around at the slightest semblance of movement. On instinct, my gaze gravitated to the woman walking towards the front counter. My pull to her was so strong that even if I hadn’t studied file upon file on her that included pictures of what she looked like, I still would’ve recognized her in a heartbeat.

I just knew. That’s her. 

I had no plan whatsoever for how I should approach this, and yet I still rose from my seat, motivated by nothing more than the single belief that I needed to.

Was this the universe telling me that I was meant to run into her after all? That I needed to meet the woman with an oceanic heart?

But when I finally got to where she was, she glided effortlessly past me, not paying any mind to my presence. Why would she though? To her, I was no one. To her, I was the faceless person. 

“Excuse me!” I bolted to the front counter after realizing I might’ve just missed my opportunity. The barista, stunned and concerned, furrowed her brows while she waited for my question. “Is that girl a regular here?”

“Valerie?” She pointed in her direction, to which I nodded rapidly. “Oh, yeah. She comes in here all the time. She works just across the street.” 

When I came to this coffee shop, it was simply by chance. It wasn’t even the closest cafe, but it was the one I chose to go to for some inexplicable reason. 

I’d like to think it was fate. I was meant to be here after all. Because right behind me stood the storefront of a building I had only briefly read about in Valerie’s file.

The Bones,  Art Gallery & Studio

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

PART 2 HERE!

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[mylovelyfandoms]

Jeonghan’s backstory

The Symbol of the Cloud

Basic Information

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: Torture by burning, depictions of blood, cutting arm, kind of clueless Jeonghan

(GIF not mine)

- Unlike the others, he has no clue who his parents are

- He was ‘bred in captivity’

- When the affected turn 20, they’re taken from their cells into the ‘undergound’

- There, the soldiers do more extreme testing

- The tests usually depend on their powers

- For clouds, they’re used to breed/cross breed

- The scientists in the underground use them to make more of the affected so they can test them from birth

- They experiment to see if their powers are genetically passed

- He was the result of one of those experiments

- When he was born, he was a fire elemental

- He was kept in solitude, the only people he ever saw were the soldiers and scientists

- They called him ‘1004′ because all of the experiments were given numbers, not names

- 1004 was either in his room or in the lab 

- He thought that everything they did was normal

- He thought that all the pain they caused was normal

- He didn’t know anything else

- When 1004′s fifth birthday was coming up, they did extra tests than usual

- 1004 didn’t even question it, he just went with it like he always did

- They kept him in the lab the day of his birthday, studying him closely

- When midnight passed, the scientists gave him a piece of hair and told him to focus on it

- He did as they told and nothing happened 

- 1004 spent the next few days in that testing room

- Everything had started to become routine and 1004 knew what they wanted him to do before they did

- On the third day after his birthday, he held out his hand for the piece of hair before they could try to explain anything to him again

- He did as he always did and closed his eyes, focusing on the hair

- But something different happened this time

- 1004 felt lighter for a second before he started to feel incredibly heavy

- When he opened his eyes, he was taller than he was used to

- 1004 blinked as if to try to wake himself up and started looking at his appearance

- When he looked down, he saw that he had busted out of the shirt that he was wearing

- Luckily the pants only ripped in the back so the front was completely covered

- Instead of his own body, there was a foreign one sitting below him

- It was larger than he was ever used to and his stomach was bigger than he thought it could get

- His hands and feet were thick and rough rather than soft and thin

- His skin was dark and there was hair all over him

- When he looked up at the glass in front of him, he saw that it wasn’t him sitting there, but one of the guards that he’s seen before

- “Hey!” He exclaimed

- 1004 saw the man’s mouth moving, and heard his voice, but it wasn’t him

- In a panic, he dropped the piece of hair and watched as purple sparkles surrounded him and his body started to shrink down

- “What happened? Something’s wrong with me!” 

- The door opened to reveal the scientists walking in with accomplished looks on their faces

- The male scientist gave 1004 a small smile, something he had only seen the soldiers and scientists give to each other

- He didn’t know why it caused a strange warm feeling in his chest

- “You did excellently, number 1004.”

- The female scientist that was with him hit his arm

- “Don’t talk to it like he’s one of us.”

- The male scientist glared at the female as he gave 1004 a fresh pair of clothes

- “He’s just a child.”

- They called in a soldier and he walked in with some sort of small machine

- Since 1004 had already pulled on his shirt, the soldier decided to bring the machine down to his leg

- 1004 yelped out in pain the minute the tip of the machine touched his skin and carved ink into it, branding him with a cloud symbol

-  Afterwards, 1004 was finally able to go back to the comfort of his isolated room where they gave him a pair of leather gloves

- He stayed in there for a little while, only seeing a couple of soldiers when they brought him food

- Then he was back to a schedule

- Years passed and he stayed on the same old boring schedule

- The only thing that changed was the type of tests he would be taking each day

- But even that was on a weekly schedule 

- So one day, when 1004 was brought into testing room, he was completely surprised to find a boy around his age sitting on the chair that he usually sat on

- There was a chair facing the boy, so 1004 took a seat there

- “Hello,” 1004 shyly greeted, not used to seeing people that were his age

- “Hi, I’m Joshua.”

- 1004 furrowed his eyebrows

- What kind of number was Joshua?

- “I’m 1004.”

- The boy blinked at him in confusion

- “You don’t know your name?”

- He cocked his head to the side

- “What’s a name?”

- Joshua opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out

- 1004 looked back over to the doors and furrowed his eyebrows

- Usually the scientists came in by now to do some sort of test

- “A name is something your parents call you. What do your parents call you?”

- 1004 started to feel frustrated

- “I don’t know, I never met my parents.” 

- “Oh.”

- 1004 hated the sudden silence that came in the room 

- “Are...are you a shifter? Like me?” 

- Joshua looked up at the sound of 1004′s voice and smiled at his attempt of conversation

- “Yeah, I am.”

- The two started to talk and get to know each other better

- 1004 was suspicious of what the scientists might do, but he was also fascinated by everything Joshua told him

- That was the day he learned about the outside world

- That there actually is an outside world

- After that day, 1004 left the testing room feeling...warm

- It was the same feeling he had when that soldier smiled at him

- He wasn’t physically warm, he had checked his own temperature, but he still felt it

- His lips were tugged into a smile the entire time he went back to his room

- As the days went by, 1004 hoped that he would walk into the testing room and see Joshua sitting there again with a welcoming smile

- But that day never came

- For the longest time, 1004 was starting to convince himself that Joshua was just a dream or a hallucination that the scientists made him see

- It had been more than a year since 1004 last saw Joshua

- And he was almost completely convinced that he wasn’t real

- Almost

- When 1004 walked into the room and saw Joshua sitting in his chair, just like he did a year before, a smile instantly appeared on 1004′s face

- “Joshua!”

- “10-4!”

- 1004 felt that warm feeling again

- 10-4 was probably the closest thing to a nickname that he ever had

- (He had learned from Joshua what a nickname was last time; a title that a friend calls you)

- He also had to learn what a friend was

- “So, I’ve been thinking, maybe it’s time you had a name.”

- 1004 raised an eyebrow

- “You mean another nickname?”

- Joshua smiled, “No, a name. Like a real name, not a number.”

- 1004 felt a wave of excitement wash over him

- He would have a name, a real human name

- “How about John? Does John sound nice?”

- 1004 leaned in closer with furrowed eyebrows

- “Jeong?”

- “That works too.”

- 1004 thought a little while longer

- “It sounds a little plain, doesn’t it?” 

- After what felt like hours debating, 1004 and Joshua finally came to an agreement

- “Jeonghan. My name is Jeonghan.” 

- Joshua smiled at him, “I can call you Hannie. It sounds like ‘honey.’”

- “What’s honey?”

- After their time was up, Jeonghan walked back to his room happier than he was the other time

- That night, Jeonghan laid on the spot on the floor where he usually slept, staring up at the plain white ceiling

- He repeated his new name over and over again, loving the way it felt familiar on his tongue

- The next day, he stepped into the testing room and was not expecting to see Joshua again for the second day in a row

- Though, this time, there were three soldiers in the room wearing hazmat suits

- One of them, Jeonghan recognized as the one he first shifted into

- The other was a soldier he had seen many times before

- But the third one was shorter and smaller than the others

- Interrupting him from his thoughts, Jeonghan heard the familiar sound of the door opening and footsteps walking in

- “1004, 1230,” The female scientist greeted

- Jeonghan turned to Joshua and saw him scowl at the sound of his number

- “If you both cooperate, this will be over before you know it.” 

- She pulled on a pair of gloves and pulled out a piece of Jeonghan’s hair, making him wince

- She pulled Joshua’s glove off of him and placed the hair in his palm

- “Shift.” She demanded

- Joshua closed his eyes and did as he said

- Jeonghan watched Joshua start to shift, completely amazed by how it happened

- He had never seen it from an outside perspective before

- Joshua’s features started to change into Jeonghan’s and before he knew it, he was staring at his own body in front of him

- “Woah,” Jeonghan mumbled in  a dazed tone

- It was as if he was staring in a mirror, but the reflection wasn’t following his actions

- Bringing him out of his daze, the scientist roughly grabbed onto his wrist

- As he whipped his head to her, he saw something glint in her hands

- Then, he felt a sharp and stinging pain, making him thrash around in his chair and yell out in pain

- When she was done cutting a line into the outside of his forearm, she threw it to the side and Jeonghan inspected the cut, touching the crimson red blood that was dripping onto the floor

- Once Jeonghan looked up again, he felt panic rise in his chest as the scientist grabbed onto his reflection’s Joshua’s arm

- Just as he was about to speak up, the scientist tutted and placed the knife down

- She looked at the watch on her arm and turned to the soldiers at the doors

- “Alert me if there are any changes in ten minutes. And don’t let 1230 shift back to his form.”

- Once the scientist left the room, Joshua immediately leaned forward to look at Jeonghan’s arm

- “Are you okay?”

- Jeonghan brought his arm out to show Joshua, but Joshua must have dropped the hair because he shifted back to his true form

- Jeonghan’s eyes widened and Joshua stood still, paralyzed in fear.

- “Hey!” The soldier’s voice boomed as the other one spoke into his earpiece

- “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry. Please, please don’t hurt me.”

- Jeonghan’s heart sank at his friend’s quivering tone

- Joshua sank back onto his chair with his head in his hands as the door opened and the scientist walked in

- “You couldn’t even follow directions for 5 minutes? Typical useless affected,” She spat.

- “Please don’t hurt me,” Joshua begged

- The scientist scoffed and plucked another hair from Jeonghan’s head 

- She grabbed a piece of tape and taped it to Joshua’s palm

- Joshua closed his eyes and shifted again, but this time, when he shifted into Jeonghan, he let out a yelp of pain

- The scientist stopped glaring at him and her eyes widened

- “Fascinating...” She muttered as she crouched down to inspect the cut that mirrored Jeonghan’s 

- Jeonghan saw Joshua open his mouth to speak and shook his in an attempt to stop him

- Unfortunately, Joshua didn’t see and spoke up anyways

- “Does this mean I’m not getting punished?”

- The scientist looked back to him with a glare and took the hair out of his palm, watching him shift back to his true form 

- She inspected the arm where the cut was and saw that it was gone

- Jeonghan grimaced as she stood up and roughly grabbed Joshua’s wrist, dragging him out of the chair and out of the room

- Jeonghan sat in his spot for a while, clutching onto the cut on his arm and trying to get it to stop hurting as much

- When ten minutes passed, the doors opened again

- Jeonghan sat up and hoped for Joshua to be back, but he saw a couple of soldiers instead

- “There’s a situation in the underground, it’s all hands on deck!”

- The two soldiers widened their eyes and looked between Jeonghan and the third shorter soldier

- One of the soldiers turned to Jeonghan

- “If you try anything, this sun is going to make you rip your own skin apart, got it?”

- The two larger soldiers ran out of the room and followed the crowd of soldiers running in the hallway

- Jeonghan gulped as he turned back to the short soldier, or ‘sun’ as the soldiers called him

- He felt his fear spike when the sun started to walk up to him, keeping his eyes on the door

- The sun took his helmet off and Jeonghan widened his eyes

- The sun seemed to be around his age

- Jeonghan watched as the sun reached up to his own head and plucked the hair from his head, handing it to Jeonghan

- “Get out of here. They’re scared of me, so if you just raise your hands to them like this-” the sun lifted his hands so that they were extended in front of him- “they’ll run away and you’ll be able to leave!”

- Jeonghan nodded quickly, grabbing onto the hair and taking off his glove

- He held the hair in his palm, closing his eyes and shifting into the sun’s body

- Without a second thought, Jeonghan sprinted out of the room and ran down the hall

- Since Jeonghan didn’t exactly know how to get out, he had to slow down at every door, trying to figure out which one was the exit

- “Hey!” Jeonghan heard, making him freeze

- He turned around and saw a soldier running right towards him

- Jeonghan remembered what the sun said and lifted his hand, making the soldier stop in his tracks

- With a small smirk, Jeonghan turned around, ready to run, whne he bumped into another soldier standing behind him

- The force caused the piece of hair to slip from Jeonghan’s fingers, and he felt himself shifting back into his own body

- The soldier that he bumped into snarled and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up and pressing him against the wall

- “How did you get that hair? Where are your gloves?”

- Jeonghan was paralyzed in fear

- He wanted to answer, he wanted to speak up to save himself for any further punishment he would get

- He wanted to tell the soldier that the sun was the one who gave him the hair

- That the sun was the one that told him to run

- But he knew that he’d get punished anyways

- “I...I swiped it! I grabbed it from the sun’s hair and I ran!” 

- The soldier scowled and took Jeonghan off of the wall, throwing him on the floor

- It was then that he was painstakingly reminded that his forearm was cut open

- He held onto his forearm as he got back to his feet

- “Where is the sun?”

- “H-he’s in that testing room.”

- The soldier gripped onto the back of Jeonghan’s shirt and dragged him to the room that he was pointing to

- When they got into the room, the sun was sitting on the floor, as if he didn’t know whaht to do next

- “Sun!” The soldier’s voice boomed, making the sun scramble to his feet

- “Yes sir!” 

- As the soldier dragged Jeonghan into the room, the sun’s face fell

- “Is it true this cloud got the better of you and took a piece of your hair?”

- The sun’s head whipped to look at Jeonghan

- Jeonghan could tell that the sun wasn’t expecting him to defend him

- “Y-yes sir.”

- The soldier tsked at the sun and shook his head

- He then turned to Jeonghan with a disgustingly evil smirk on his face

- “You’re going to see what happens to sticky fingers.”

- The soldier took Jeonghan and the sun to the west wing

- He already alerted the other soldiers and scientists what was about to happen, so a crowd had gathered around the table that was sitting in the middle of the room

- Jeonghan was confused, looking around at all of the unaffected waiting with anticipation as he took a seat on the chair

- When he glanced at the sun, Jeonghan saw a grim expression on his face that caused fear to embed itself in his chest

- Jeonghan’s eyes followed the soldier as he lifted Jeonghan’s hands and trapped them in a rubber pillory

- He glanced all around the crowd 

- When they started to cheer, his eyes fell on the area where the crowd was splitting

- In walked in someone that seemed almost twice Jeonghan’s age

- The more Jeonghan looked at him, the more he saw the tattoo that was clearly on the base of his neck

- It was a raindrop with the letter ‘F’ next to it

- He was a fire elemental

- Once Jeonghan realized what they were about to do, he started to thrash around, tugging at his hands in hope that he could somehow break free

- The fire elemental took a seat in front of Jeonghan, making him look at the elemental in fear

- “Please...” He begged, knowing that there was no point

- The soldier stepped back to stand with the crowd

- “Come on, sun,” The soldier gruffly laughed, nudging the smaller boy that he stood next to. “This one’s for you.”

- Jeonghan didn’t hear anything else

- He was staring at the elemental with wide eyes, as if silently begging him not to do what he was forced to

- Jeonghan didn’t even hear the count down

- The next thing he knew, the elemental’s body started to glow and Jeonghan was in pain

- Even before the flames met his hand, he yelled out, already feeling the heat

- Jeonghan didn’t even notice when the elemental stopped

- His hands were so hot that they were almost cold

- They were sensitive to everything, stinging even when the air slightly picked up

- So when the soldier decided to poke at them, he was in agony

- Jeonghan didn’t even notice that he was screaming until the soldier clamped his hand over his mouth

- Ever since that day, Jeonghan didn’t dare step out of line again

- The only times he ever felt like himself was when he was with Joshua

- But that was still once or twice every year

- He went back to a boring schedule that he wished was different

- On a regular night, Jeonghan was laying in the same corner of his room when he heard a distant siren

- At first he thought he was imagining it, but then the doors swung open, making him sit up

- “What happened?” Jeonghan asked, as if they’d answer

- The soldier spoke into the radio on his shoulder

- “Number 1004 is accounted for. All the clouds in the south west wing are accounted for.”

- And just like that, the soldier was out of the room

- Jeonghan let out a breath and fell back onto the floor, covering his eyes with his arms and trying to tune out the alarms that were still ringing

- That was about the most out of ordinary thing that happened

- Everything went back to normal

- Jeonghan was back to his same old boring schedule

- Weeks passed since the day of the alarm and Jeonghan was excitedly counting down the days until he saw Joshua again

- When he stepped into the testing room, instead of seeing Joshua sitting in the chair and waiting like he usually did, there were guards scattered all over the floor

- “What the hell?” The soldier from behind him asked, putting his hand to his belt for his weapon

- The soldier walked into the room carefully, looking around for the culprit

- Jeonghan heard a couple of footsteps from the hallway and snapped his head to see what it was 

- There he saw  the sun and another boy inching towards him with a finger to their lips to keep him quiet. 

- Jeonghan gave a small nod and turned back to look at the soldier

- He was crouched down on the floor, feeling the necks of the soldiers on the floor

- Just when the soldier was about to turn to his radio, the sun ran into the room, sticking his hand out and bringing the soldier to his knees

- “Come on, let’s go!” The other boy exclaimed, grabbing Jeonghan’s arm and running with him

- Jeonghan turned back to look at the room as he ran, adrenaline rushing through his veins like he never felt before

- He followed this boy that he really had no reason to trust

- While the boy had a serious look on his face, Jeonghan was laughing

- He laughed like he never did before, feeling relief and happiness as he made his way to the other side of the walls

- When the boy brought him behind a couple of trees next to the opening of the facility

- There, Jeonghan saw Joshua crouched down with a smaller boy at his side

- “Joshu-ji,” Jeonghan said, using the nickname he made up for his friend

- “Hey, Hannie,” Joshua smiled

- The two boys introduced themselves as Hoshi and Woozi

- The sun, S. Coups, met up with them soon after and they all made their way into the forest

- Woozi led them through, explaining how they were starting a clan called ‘Seventeen’ and that there were already a couple of members already

- “We’re going to break in and rescue more people like us,” S. Coups explained

-  “We’re starting with the people we know, and then we’re going to get more and more until there’s no one else to torture and test in that facility,” Woozi added.

- “Are you with us? Because we need all the numbers we can get,” Hoshi asked. 

- Jeonghan and Joshua shared a look

- When they turned back to the three leaders, Jeonghan shot them a glinting smile

- “We’re with you.”

- Jeonghan went with S. Coups to every rescue mission and raid that they planned

- He loved that every day was different

- Jeonghan made sure to keep Joshua by his side and the two became even closer than they were before

- They worked together to gather different kinds of DNA and keeping them in little jars that they raided from a crafts store

- They helped each other master their powers so that they could shift without using as much focus

- And Hoshi trained them with weapons since their powers weren’t exactly the best for offense

- And when they weren’t working around the campsite or rescuing others or training, Jeonghan was pranking people

- The warm feeling that he only usually had once or twice a year became a common thing

- Jeonghan never had a boring day again

[andyet-here-we-are]

Happy birthday, sweetheart. May all of your dreams come true, and I wish you aaall the love and happiness in the world, all of which you deserve.

I feel so lucky to have you as my friend, @3tothe1​ . You’re the raddest person ever 💜 (btw, if there are any Bill Hader fans on my blog, they should follow her because her blog is rad just like her~)

I hope you like your first gift! ^^

…and I hope life gives you daffodils soon.

I love you so much.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829619

Richie The Daffodil by Moreid

Summary:

Richie gives Eddie flowers more than twice a week, and at one point their home is one week away from looking like an actual garden. There are flowers EVERYWHERE, so Eddie tells his lover that he should stop giving him flowers.

Being the stubborn man he is, Richie doesn’t stop.

Words: 1,652  Chapters: 1/1 

Richie loves flowers.

He loves how beautiful they are, loves the way they smell, the way they brighten up the room, and more importantly: he loves giving Eddie flowers.

Eddie teases with Richie for it every time, because  “Flowers? Seriously? Since when you got that sappy?”

The truth is: he finds this really romantic and adorable. He blushes like crazy every time Richie shows up with flowers in his hands. That’s one of the reasons why the taller man keeps giving his boyfriend flowers, he loves to make him blush, and the way his eyes light up like a kid who is watching the fireworks for the first time.

But the thing is, Eddie is the one who takes care of them, and he cares about each of them because Richie gave them to him, dammit! He just can’t let them root, and even though sometimes he dry them in books, he can’t simply dry all of the flowers.

Richie gives him flowers more than twice a week, and at one point their home is one week away from looking like an actual garden. There are flowers EVERYWHERE, so Eddie tells his lover that he should stop giving him flowers.

Being the stubborn man he is, Richie doesn’t stop.

***

About a month later, Richie is away for a week because of his stand-up shows.

On the fifth day, when Richie calls Eddie -it’s Sunday and morning for him, but Eddie knows it’s almost midnight in where Richie is- Eddie answers the call as soon as he hears it.

It’s a video call, but the other man turns off his camera immediately before he can even get the chance to see him, and Eddie can’t help but worry. Because since when Richie turns off his camera when he is away?

“Why did you turn your camera off?” he asks, a little frown appears on his face. “And why you sound-”

“Didn’t want ya to catch me doing things that got me on Santa’s Naughty List, baby,” Richie jokes, because of fucking course he would try to brush off the fact that he sounds terrible.

“Richie, what happened?”

“Nothing. Just missing you.”

Eddie sighs before he says: “I know. I know you do. I miss you, too, baby. But you sound so… Off. So I’m asking you once again, what happened?”

Eddie thinks Richie will make a joke again instead of telling him what’s the problem, but Richie surprises him after a moment of silence as he says “It was so damn crowded today, and I couldn’t sleep well last night and it’s just- that’s so stupid, never mind me.”

“Richie-”

“Can we just- like, not do this right now? Let’s talk about you.” Richie lets out a yawn, “Tell me about your day?”

Eddie doesn’t force him to talk, because he knows that he eventually will when he wants to talk about it, let it be ten minutes later or when he gets back home two days later. So he talks about his day -well, more like his morning- giving him all the details.

Eddie can wait.

About fifteen minutes later, the only thing that comes from the other end of the line is his boyfriend’s soft snores, and Eddie smiles to himself slightly. He doesn’t want to end the call, there’s a good chance Richie will have a restless sleep tonight, and even if Eddie can’t be next to him physically, his voice can be there at least, in case he has nightmares.

So, he keeps talking.

And if he says  "Fuck work, I’m staying home today,“  no one has to know.

At one point he finds himself in their living room, not really surprising when you consider that he’s the type of person who paces around like crazy when he is on the phone. Or when he is overthinking things. Once he realizes that he is pacing, he stops, then settles on one of the ridiculously comfortable black chairs that stands in front of their window.

"I never told you that, but… I named one of the flowers  ’Richie’.  That pretty daffodil you gave me two weeks ago,” he starts, smiling fondly at the memory.

“Sometimes, okay okay, more like every time  you are not around, I talk to it,” Eddie admits, “…it reminds me of you.”

“Do you know what they symbolize, Richie?” he asks, pausing as if Richie will answer at any second before he decides to continue again:

“They symbolize a new beginning. Rebirth. I wonder if you knew that when you got them. Probably you didn’t, though. Did you? There could be a flower which meant  'I hope you go to hell, dickface ’ for all I knew and you would still get it for me just because you thought it looked beautiful,” Eddie lets out a chuckle.

“Anyway. What I’m trying to say is… You, Richie Trashmouth Tozier, are my daffodil. You gave me a new beginning and, I feel like… I feel like after all these loveless, dull, meaningless years… I was born with you again.”

He doesn’t notice that the snores had come to a stop.

“Geez, Eds. And you say  I am  the sappy one,” There comes a gravelly voice, and one very sleepy, but also happy looking Richie greets him on his screen.

His first reaction is murmuring a soft  "fuck"  as if he is caught doing something wrong, which makes the taller man laugh.

“…how much of it did you hear, you sneaky bastard?” He asks after a moment, pink spreading through his cheeks down to his chest. Not only he is embarrassed because Richie probably heard all of it, but because after all these years, that laugh still does things to him.

He can swear that Richie’s laugh is the most wonderful sound in the whole world.

“Just a moment ago you were telling me that I was your daffodil, and now you are telling me that I’m a bastard. Wow, Eddie Spaghetti, you wound me.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“I thought you hated flowers,”

“I never said that I did.”

“Oh, you sure ‘bout that?  'Stop with the flowers, motherfucker. I hate these fuckin’ flowers, fucker!’ ” Richie imitates, “You were  literally  turning into a cute, midget version of Samuel L. Jackson whenever I gave you flowers.”

“I- Don’t talk like that in front of it. Flowers are affected by the way we talk,” he demands, and a wave of regret washes him over immediately after.

Richie will never let him live it down, will he?

“Now you’re just being a hypocrite. You are not exactly Mary Poppins either, ya know. And one more thing, I am affected by the way you talk to me either, but that doesn’t stop you from breaking my heart. Oh wait, I don’t have one.” Richie yawns:“ ’t was stolen from me yeeeears ago.”

“Go back to sleep, Rich,” Eddie tries, even though it’s not likely that he will listen.

“Sleep is for the weak,” claims the other man as he props himself up on his elbows on the hotel bed. “It’s overrated.”  

“Your sense of humor is overrated.”

“Ouch. That one hurt, Eds,” Richie brings one hand over his heart, feigning offense “that one hurt.”

“I’m not gonna apologize for speaking the obvious.”

“You’re the meanest robber ever. Remind me why I’m dating you again? I should seriously reconsider my choices.”

“Because you love me, dickwards. And no one can love you more than I do.”

That brings a smile on Richie’s face.

“Yeah, that’s also true.”

“Did you just say  'also’ ? So you  do  accept that your sense of humor is shit.”

“At least I have one. Can we maybe get back to the moment you were admitting your undying love for me?”

“Nope,” Eddie refuses, popping the 'p’ “that train is long gone.”

“Damn, I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“But we all know that keeping your mouth shut has never been one of your strong suits.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Richie laughs again. “Hey, Eds.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t wait to meet little Richie.”

“You’re the one who gave it to me, you already met-”

“But it didn’t have a name back then! Now it’s not the same flower once it was. Its whooole life changed when you gave it that name.”

“Also,  little Richie ? Please don’t call it that. It sounds like you’re talking about your dick. I clearly remember you referring it like that. It was a traumatic experience for me.”

Richie chuckles at that before he defends himself: “It was just that one time! I call it  'Big Richie’  now, cause ever since you came back to my life-”

“Oh Jesus, I should have never answered your call,” Eddie complains again, running a hand over his face.

“You know you love me.”

“You’re lucky I do.”

“For real, though… I can’t wait to meet Richie The Daffodil.”

“I’m sure it can’t wait to meet you properly as well.”

They both don’t say a word for a while until Richie calls his lover’s name again, Eddie only hums in response, letting his features soften.

“You’re my daffodil, too,” Richie says softly, and Eddie smiles so brightly that his eyes nearly go missing as his dimples deepen. “It’s not fair that I’m not there to poke your beautiful, adorable dimples,” he then whines, pouting like a child. “Poke them for me.”

“Leave my poor dimples alone, you weirdo,” teases Eddie, still smiling widely. “Go to sleep, and maybe you can see me and my dimples in your dream if you’re lucky enough.”

“I am lucky enough, Eddie,” Richie whispers, “I am lucky enough.”

“We are lucky enough, my love” Eddie corrects him, “we are lucky enough.”

And despite everything they both have been gone through, they mean it.

Because it’s the truth.

Because life is not always kind.

It’s not always sweet.

But if you’re lucky enough;

It gives you daffodils.

[panda-noosh]

wip prep tag

rules: answer the questions and then tag as many writers as there are questions answered (or as many as you can) to spread the positivity! even if these questions are not explicitly brought up in the novel, they are still good to keep in mind when writing.

FIRST LOOK

1. describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch).

(give me strength i can never do this) young girl can’t seem to find a way to tell her family that she does not want to follow the path they have set out for her, until she meets a young boy who is determined to help her live the life she wants. 

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

at the moment, it’s a single book. but there is definitely potential for it to go on into little sequel novellas if i’m not tired of the story yet. 

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

bruised knuckles. textbooks. late nights spent overthinking. hearing birds chirp outside your window, bringing you back to reality as you realise you haven’t yet slept. cats. broken families. 

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

the relationship of Julian and Emma in Lady Midnight etc by Cassandra Clare really got me in the mood for writing for Angels Camouflage, though the stories are absolutely nothing alike. 

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel.

these are from my characters pinterest board, so they’re more about the characters than the story - but you can still get a pretty good idea of what i’m tryna get across.

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

Jaime Bardow (yes i changed the spelling of her name), a young girl who is at that point in life where she thinks she needs to have everything sorted, but she soon comes to realise that she does not, in fact, have everything sorted. 

7. Who is their closest ally?

her best friend and ex-girlfriend Lenna! Jaime and Lenna have such a pure friendship, and i’m so excited to explore it and how they help balance each other out. 

8. Who is their enemy?

probably Leo, even though she actually kind of loves him?? like, he causes her so much trouble and puts her through so much stress sometimes, but she still cares for him a whole lot. she kind of believes that she has to care for him, since they’re siblings. 

9. What do they want more than anything?

freedom to do what she wants. a life of her own. a chance to prove to others that she isn’t just the second-coming of her older brother, but her own person with her own hobbies and skills. 

10. Why can’t they have it?

she’s a bit of an anxious mess tbh. her parents have had her entire life planned out for her from the moment she was born, and the idea of turning around and telling them that she doesn’t actually want to do any of what they have set out for her is so nerve wracking that she just plans on holding it off for as long as possible. she doesn’t want to disappoint people, or make people angry, even if it means putting herself through stress and heartbreak first. 

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

that she won’t be good enough on her own. she’s been raised in the shadow of her older brother, has been raised being known as “Leo’s little sister!” it’s all she’s ever known, and so she truly believes that she will simply fall apart without her brother there to keep her together. 

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

she’s around 5′5 (my short lil bean) with short, wavy chestnut coloured hair. she has freckles across her nose and steel grey eyes. she always has a slightly reserved and awkward way to how she stands; her hands folded in front of her, her eyes cast to the floor, her shoulders a little bit stiff as if half expecting someone to come up behind her and tackle her. 

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

100% her internal conflict stems from her fear of being alone and her need to be independent; it’s a difficult situation to get out of. she’s so afraid of going out into the world and doing things on her own (the things she actually wants to do) but the idea of staying chained to her parents plan for her life drives her insane. she really doesn’t know what to do. 

14. What is the external conflict?

there’s a fair bit of external conflict between Jaime and a number of people in her life. Leo is the most prominent one, considering his disapproval for Jaime doing literally anything on her own terms - he doesn’t like her relationship, he doesn’t like that she often puts school before her business with him, he doesn’t like that she’s quiet instead of outgoing. but there is also conflict between Jaime and her parents, though this is a lot more subtle and a little bit one sided?? her parents are kind of oblivious to the things Jaime wants to do, since she’s too afraid of letting them down, meaning they’re upsetting her without even really knowing. 

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?  

well, considering her worst fear is her family turning on her, probably that. even though her family have been lowkey toxic to her ever since her grandmother passed away and she was forced to move back in with them, she still loves them?? her parents are so oblivious to what they’re doing to her mental state and she knows she needs to just speak up and tell them what’s bothering her, but she can’t. the idea of her finally turning around and telling them the truth, only for them to be disappointed and unsupportive is the worst thing that could happen to her, since that’s what she’s been trying to avoid for so long. 

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

i can’t really say any without giving away spoilers?? let’s just say that Callum (the other protagonist) isn’t exactly what you’d expect, and there’s some moments where Jaime and Callum have to make some very gut wrenching decisions. 

17. Do you know how it ends?

KIND OF. 

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?  

i know it sounds super cheesy and Young Adult but, the main theme is definitely love and the power that that kind of emotion can hold. 

19. What is a recurring symbol?  

cats??? it makes sense, i promise. 

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

London!! so, very crowded and pretty at night. we spend a lot of times in the estates, so there’s graffiti everywhere and people in tracksuits, and McDonalds bags thrown everywhere. but overall, it’s very nice. 

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

so many. so, so many. i don’t know where any of them are going to go, but we’ll figure it out. 

22. What excited you about this story?  

the relationship. i love writing relationships. romance is my all time favourite part of a book to write, and the ideas i have for Callum and Jaime just give me butterflies because i love thinking of them two just being happy together and living their best life. 

23. Tell us about your usual writing method!  

i sit down, open the word document, stress and cry over the first sentence for a good ten minutes. if those ten minutes pass and i’m able to move on, i can write for hours. but it’s not very rare that those ten minutes pass and i’ve still got zero words. i often just give up and leave it until later lmao.

i’m a MESS when it comes to starting a writing session. unless i’ve left off in the middle of a damn sentence, i will spend a good hour just trying to figure out where to begin. 

i’m tagging @tayluinwrites because i’m thirsty for more information on her WIP thank you very much.