#i screamed at the top of my lungs and shattered my phone throwing it at the ground yesterday and i juzt feel so much shame

[stabyou]

being online makes me feel so isolated because i cant reach out to a single soul without feeling terrified of the rejection. im too tired to be any kind of meaningful friend or even mutual, but i have absolutely no one in real life. i come online for my crumbs of socialization and human interaction that i desperately crave, but once i have it i just feel more lonely. like people talk to me out of pity, out of feeling sorry, or just that they will always have people they like more. i feel like a baby. i feel like someone who will always be watching everyone else live the life i desperately want through the lens of social media while i rot alone in the house that killed me before i was born

[circlebuttons]

Broken- Rafe Cameron x Toxic!Reader

I wanted to try and write a toxic reader fic but idk i might redo it

-

Rafe Cameron knows what it's like to be broken.

He knows what it feels like to always be hurting, and yet also be the villain, that's why he stays.

Rafe had gone out without you and his phone died, so he had no way to contact you halfway through his night out. He should've found a way to charge it or even started making his way home, all of this would've been avoided, he's beating himself up for letting this happen. He knows how worried you get about him and when his location stops updating and your calls go to voicemail what else can you do other than assume the worst.

He got home so late and you stayed up, unable to sleep with thousands of thoughts running through your head, you were drained. The exhaustion you feel is quickly replaced with anger as Rafe tries to quietly enter, stumbling over himself, phone in hand. He sobers up completely as soon as he makes eye contact with your fired glare.

"Hey baby" he speaks timidly as he leans down to kiss you, but as an instant reaction you put your hands on his chest and all of your weight into them, shoving him away from you and making him stumble backwards a bit. "Don't hey baby me asshole, where the fuck were you?"

"I went out with Kelce and Top, remember baby you said I could" he tries desperately to remind you of the conversation that happened prior, anything to try and prolong the explosion that he knows is bound to happen.

"I said you could go out with them not cheat on me, like what the fuck?" You whine, fighting back tears and quickly letting your anger blend into sadness.

"Baby please, it's not like that" he approaches you again with caution, holding your hands in his until you drop them down, crossing your arms instead.

You wipe your eyes and abruptly stop whining, exchanging it for a glare. "I don't believe you, your location is off and I called your phone a thousand times"

"My phone died I-" you lunge forward and snatch his phone

"If it powers on rafe I swear to god i'll fucking kill you" You scream at him, fumbling with his phone, hands trembling with anger. He chews on his lip in anticipation as you hold the power button. The phone powers on and you don't even wait to see the battery percentage at three percent, or wait to see it almost immediately shut itself back off, you just react. You throw his phone as hard as you can towards him, but he dodges it, making the phone spike the ground. he knows it's broken without even looking at it, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care because you breakdown in front of him crying. You're crying because your constantly convinced and scared he's cheating on you, crying because you feel guilty about breaking his phone, and maybe even crying a little bit because its how you manipulate him, he's a sucker for your tears after all. "Do you want to break up with me?" you cry at him.

He rushes to your side, holding your head in his hands and wiping your tears softly, "No baby, of course not. I love you so much. I'm sorry I should've just came home so you wouldn't have had to worry." It's 2am and his phone is on the ground shattered, his body still holds the weight of the harsh slaps and pushes, yet he holds you as you cry.

You nod, agreeing with him. "You love me?" you ask pouting up at him.

"I do. I won't ever let my phone die again I'm sorry" he promises like he always does, always making and trying to upkeep the most outlandish promises if it meant making you happy.

You flash him a sweet smile and pull him into a hug that he quickly reciprocates. "It's okay Rafey, I forgive you. Im sorry about your phone"

He pulls back, smiling down at you, relieved that you’re back to your normal self again. "Don't be princess, I'll buy another, get you an upgrade too huh?"

[crystalbeetle888]

Voyage into the Unknown Pt.1

Master List

Pt.1 - Pt.2

The cold wind nips at the back of my neck, as I trudge through the thick brambles whacking them out of my way with my machete. Dark clouds roll over the mountain tops, spitting down a freezing shower. I flip the hood of my poncho over my soaked head. My legs burn from hours of walking through the wild, my hands swollen from constant swaying, my lungs heavy from the frigid air. Relief washes over me as the sight of the wooden cabin finally breaks through the tree line. The howling wind almost knocks me over as I march up the steps and through the heavy front door, slamming it shut behind me. I exhale heavily, the warm air embraces me gently, the sudden halt of the deafening wind in my ears is a shocking contrast to the silent cabin.

I slip my day bag off by the door and make my way towards the bathroom, stripping off as I go, leaving a trail of sweat and rain soaked clothes behind me. Hopping into the shower the burning hot water washes the dirt of the day away, soothing my aching muscles. I grasp the soap and begin scrubbing the filth off. I gently run my hand over my left shoulder, the smooth ridged feel of the scarred skin no longer holds any feeling in it. I follow the mark down the length of my arm finishing at my wrist, the skin looks pink and agitated by the hot water. I open my right hand, branded with the same angry scarring on my palm. 

I moan in annoyance finally hopping out of the shower and wrapping myself with a towel. I exit the bathroom and begin to dress in my thick nightwear. Suddenly, the cabin walls begin to shake loudly as the wind rages outside “Fucking hell” I mutter to myself. The wood creaks and groans a little too loudly for my comfort. Worried, I pick up my phone, no signal. “Shit” I toss the useless thing into my pack, it clatters loudly against the small handgun I've not so subtly hidden.

“I guess this getaway trip is going to be longer than expected” I mutter to myself in annoyance “The gallery is going to kill me”  Another loud gust of wind shakes the cabin more violently than before. The ground shakes and the ceiling rumbles, picture frames on the hearth rattle and fall onto the ground shattering loudly. The bricks around the fireplace crack, dust falls from the rafters. “Shit! If the fucking weather doesn't kill me first!” I yell to myself over the roaring noise. Throwing my belongings haphazardly into my bag I shrug on my coat and bolt outside, making a dash towards the car. I only take a few steps across the grass before the wind throws me off my feet and across the clearing. I hug my body close to the muddy ground and scream in fear as the winds tries to take me again “FUCK!”. My screams are silent in comparison to the booming noise surrounding me. A faint chanting travels on the winds ‘What the shit?’ I think to myself as the chanting gets louder and louder until a man's voice is clearly heard above the belting winds. The foreign chanting strikes my body with anxiety “Fuck this fucking Blair Witch bullshit” I cry out, as I attempt to stumble towards the car again. A strong blast of wind picks me up, throwing me high up into the air before suddenly dropping off. My heart stops as I begin to plummet towards the earth “FFFUUUUUCCKKK” I scream before hitting the ground with a crack, instantly losing consciousness.

The first thing I feel is the burning ache across my back shooting up into my skull. I groan, opening my eyes slowly to the sun beaming down on my face. “Oh my god” I whisper airily cradling my neck as I sit up. Looking around at my surroundings, wood and brick debris lay scattered across the clearing, the whole cabin, including the foundations, have been blown away. I sigh in exhaust, still clenching my backpack tightly. The feeling of frustration and exhaustion from the previous day's travels overwhelms me, I let out some shaky breaths. “Easy girl, you're alright” I breathe “Keep it together”. I begin to break out into a sweat as the midday sun beats down on my miserable sitting form, still clad in my thick flannel pajamas. Huffing in frustration I shrug my jacket off and stand shakily. Life just seems to be throwing everything it can at me lately. Trudging towards the forest line I notice something eerie, the trees are a different now, the fucking trees are a different species! ‘How far did that wind throw me?’ I think to myself. 

After changing into the previous days smelly damp clothes I begin to wander through the woods, hoping to find someone who can help. After what felt like hours of plodding through the creepy unfamiliar forest I finally stumbled across a dirt road. To turn left? Or to turn right? That is the question. I turn right “right is right” I mutter to no one. Fatigue rakes my body as I continue down my path, sookie that I had skipped dinner the night before. Eventually the sound of baaing animals breaks through the silence and relief washes over me. Shakily passing over the hill, I gaze out over a beautiful green valley. The houses are round and built into the hillside, adorned with lush gardens of flowers and fruit. As the sun begins to set, the sky is painted with vibrant pinks and purple, and glowing lights sprinkle the valley like stars across the night sky. “Oh my god” I almost cry in relief and happiness, completely delirious from hunger. 

Floppily jogging down the hill and along the dirt path, I pass many homely houses. ‘I don't think I've ever seen houses built like this before’ I let my thoughts drift ‘Maybe they're some sort of commune’ I gaze in passing at the arched windows, and colourful round wooden doors that are unusually short ‘Maybe they’re a commune of little people?’ It doesn’t make any sense but neither does an entire cabin and car, flying away and leaving little to no trace. My patience is waning as it becomes the second night without food. Throwing caution, and pride, to the wind, I open the closest little picket fence and tiredly stomp up the stone steps towards a large green circular door. Knocking three times, I hurriedly rake my fingers through my hair and straighten out my jacket and shirt, anxiously waiting. The door opens with a loud creak, and behind it stands a surprised little man with pointy ears and wavy brown hair. ‘Definitely not a little person’ I think to myself.

“Good evening?” he says warily, straightening out his patchwork dressing gown. 

“G’day, look this is super random but I think I’m lost” I swallow, the hard lump in my throat “And I haven't eaten since yesterday, and I don't know where I am, and I’m really fucking tired” I choke out, tears begin to well in my eyes as the stress from it all finally hits me. The mans eyes widen in shock, and my cheeks burn hot in embarrassment from unloading onto this rather awkward looking strange.  The man shifts his weight uncomfortably “Well there's no need to cry Miss..?" He trails off, "Y/N" I sniffle, " Well Y/N, I'm Bilbo Baggins, at your service,” he bows “I suppose you can come inside, just till we’ll get you sorted out” he wags his finger, clearly flustered by my emotional outburst. The man steps aside and opens the door wide, I duck under the door frame and enter. 

The entrance room glows from the candle lit chandelier, the air is warm and inviting. I hug my arms around myself tightly, shuffling out of his way as he shuts the door and potters past me “Come on Miss this way”.

I stammer uncertainly “Um should I take my shoes off?” I notice his comically large and oddly hairy feet are bare. He stops and spins around in surprise “Oh certainly, thank you” he smiles surprised. “You can store them behind the door”. Plopping myself on the floor I take my tan hiking boots off and stuff my socks inside, cringing at the smell and stiffness of my toes. “I’ve never seen such craftsmanship before, you must have a unique cobbler” Bilbo quips. I stuff them neatly behind the door “Ah yeah they’re alright” I stand brushing myself off, smiling at him awkwardly.  He pats his hands on his sides like an awkward penguin before spinning round. “This way” He guides me through curved corridors into the kitchen. “Sit please” He pulls out the smallish chair for me, the matching table size makes it difficult to sit politely. Judging by Bilbo's proper gentleman nature he probably values good manners. I ponder to myself, shuffling uncomfortably trying to straighten my posture. Bilbo treads back and forth across the kitchen, setting a pan on the hot plate over the fire, “I bought some fresh fish today, I hope that's alright?” He turns to look at me. My stomach growling loudly at the thought, I nod, cheeks heating  “That’d be great thank you”. He nods back, before turning round again. Bilbo places two whole fish, along with some vegetables into the hot pan before covering it with a heavy metal lid. The smell of cooking fish permeates through the room making my mouth water. I continue to watch the strange little man as he sorts out two tea cups and saucers “Chamomile or lavender?” he says over his shoulder “Chamomile please” He nods, continuing to make the pot. He rests the teapot on a hook over the fire before sitting down across from me.

“If it’s not too rude, may I ask where you’ve come from? You wear very peculiar clothes” My eyes widen, not knowing how to respond to that, I glance down at my dirty looking clothes. I was clad in a khaki green, slim fitting shirt, and a pair of long black leggings with my denim jacket tied around my waist. It didn't seem very ‘peculiar’ to me, but I suppose if I lived on a mediaeval commune filled with little gnome people, I’d find it strange too. 

“Well, I come from a small outback town, though I moved around a lot when I was younger” He nods in understanding, hand rubbing his chin in thought “And where is the outback?” I stop, realizing the stark differences between our cultures “It means like, rural, or country” Bilbo ahs in actual understanding this time “Still, quite strange clothes for country folk” He states “Though I don’t travel much myself, so I suppose the race of man may have changed beyond my knowledge” He nods to himself “Yes that must be it” he trails off before the loud whistle of the kettle interrupts our conversation. Bilbo hops up and busies himself in the kitchen again, before coming back with the hot food and drink, placing it down on the table along with some ornate silverware and napkins. “Well, dig in”. Bilbo and I chatted idly over the delicious hot meal, it was exactly what I needed to regain my strength. 

I sigh in relief, patting my now stuffed belly “That was amazing, thank you” I say gratefully. Bilbo nods, staking the dirty dishes in a pile “Well you came at the right time honestly, I’ve just restocked my pantry” He says placing the dirty dishes in the sink. I rise from my spot “Here I can help with that” I offer. “Oh no no no, you rest now Miss, I’ll handle it, you should bathe though” I frown, raising my eyebrow at him “I stink that bad huh?” He freezes, mouth agape and eyes wide, “Ah” he stutters. A smile stretches across my face “I’m just taking the piss, I know I stink” I laugh, as relief clearly washes over him, he lets out a gentle chuckle. “Ah yes well, the guest room is just through this hall, then left through to the very end, then left again, it should have everything you need” He says. I grab my bag from next to my foot, “Thank you again Bilbo, really, It’s very generous of you”. He smiles kindly “Yes well, what kind of hobbit would I be if I were to leave a lady in distress, Hmm?” I smile in confusion but nodded along ‘Hobbit, what the fuck does that mean?’. As he turns back to the dishes I walk down the hall following his directions “Taking the piss” I hear him mutter to himself, I chuckle quietly and continue on my way.

Opening the door to the guest room a gentle light emits from the dwindling fire on the left wall, across from it lays a medium sized bed, probably a queen or king size for him but it’ll do. A copper metal bath sits tucked into the far left corner. Dumping may bag on the bed I stride over and begin running the bath. ‘Hot water, thank fuck’ I think running my hand under the stream. Stripping down naked, I hop slowly into the tub, skin burning against the hot water. Despite enjoying the outdoors I can only tolerate so much of it for so long. I turn the faucet off and sink into the water until only my face peeks out. I hum in content before spying a supply of ornate bottles sitting on a shelf next to the tub. Picking one up I glanced at the label tied around it ‘Cleansing Ash’ it reads.

‘Pretty self explanatory’ I pour some of the contents out onto my palm. A floral smelling powder falls out, I hum curiously rubbing it into my scalp and across my body. The smell of roses and lavender permeates through the small room. Lines of dirty water run down my body as I scrub the filth away. I continue methodically scrubbing and rinsing until the water running off me is clear, and the water is cold.

Flopping out the tub, water splashing onto the floor, I wrap myself in one of the fluffy towels before heading over to my bag and pulling out the last of my clean clothes. A plain oversized shirt and hiking shorts. I throw them on before crawling into the warm bed. I snuggle tiredly under the covers ‘I’m sure Bilbo won't mind if I rest my eyes for a bit’ I think before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Master List

Pt.1 - Pt.2

[theslvttysimp]

MC Goes on a Rampage

This may be oddly specific, but this will soothe my soul. I hope this helps to whoever can relate.

Scenario : You are an MC who just got off the phone with your parent in the human world. You don't have the best relationship with them due to their poor choices and never really saw eye to eye with each other. You've had enough of it and you go on a rampage destroying stuff in your room. Your favorite demon comes in to see what's going on. You decide on what parent MC is talking about.

LuciferXmc, MammonXmc

TW: Violence, mental breakdown, throwing items, punching, parental troubles, blood, cursing, glass shattering.

You're sitting on the bed in your room, talking with your parent that's in the human world, trying to keep in somewhat contact with them. You thought moving out of their home when you were of age would fix the relationship with them, but of course it didn't. Your parent is on the phone talking their usual bullshit, lying, putting words in your mouth, guilt tripping, and talking shit about your loved ones.

" You know what?! FUCK YOU!" You shout in to your phone as you hang up. You scream on top of your lungs in anger and throw your phone across the room. As you're scream-crying, you stand up from your bed and go to your dresser. With one clean sweep of the arm you knock over everything that was on it's surface. In a fit of rage, you start punching your closet door, cursing at your parent about how tired you are of their behavior.

Lucifer

~ Lucifer hears screaming coming from your room and barges through your door. He sees you angrily punching your closet door with tears pouring down your face. "MC!! STOP!" Lucifer shouts as he walks to you.

~You ignore his demand and move on to your nightstand, throwing a cup of water that was resting on top, causing it to shatter against the wall. "Why can't they just be a fucking normal parent for once?! Why do they treat me this way?!" you cry as you throw more items. Lucifer eyes widen, finally realizing what your episode is about. He remembers reading in your report history that you had a rocky relationship with one of your parents. " MC! I need you to calm down! You're going to harm yourself, dammit!" He dodges another flying object, just barely missing his head. You didn't mean to almost hit him, of course. He understands you're blind with rage and you're hurting.

~ With you still ignoring his demands, you begin punching and kicking your wall, causing your knuckles to bruise a deep shade of purple. Lucifer decided to grab you buy your arms and make you face him. " MC! I SAID STOP!" he shouts in your face, having a scared yet stern look on his own. You try to loosen from his grip, ultimately failing due to Lucifer's demon strength. "Why can't they just be normal?!" you sob. You go limp in his grip and lean against his chest, gripping his shirt with both of your fists. You bury your face in his chest and being to wail. "I'm so tired of it! Why do they put me through so much!".

~ Lucifer lets out a sigh, thankful you stopped punching the wall and hurting yourself. He walks you over to your bed and you both sit together. He holds you in his arms, rubbing your back as you cry it out. " shhh...shhhhh... it's okay... You're okay." he shushes, trying to calm you down. He lets you cry on him, not caring about the tears and snot on his shirt. When you calm down, he pets your hair gently with his gloved hand. In a quiet, soothing voice Lucifer asks, " What happened, MC? Do you care to discuss it?". You explain to him the phone call you had and the troubles your parent has always put you through, and today it was just too much to handle. You apologize for the mess you made in your room, promising it won't ever happen again.

~ Lucifer has a soft smile on his face, he unwraps his arms that were around you and gently grabs your hands. He softly kisses the bruises on your knuckles. He places his hand on your cheek, wiping a tear away with his thumb. " Promise me you will come to me if you're ever upset. I don't want you hurting yourself. I don't care what time it is, please come to me next time." You nod your head in agreement and hug Lucifer.

~ He helps you clean up the mess in your room. He grabs some ice from the freezer to put on your knuckles to help with the pain and bruising. Though you're calm now, he doesn't want you by yourself for the rest of the day. He has you stay with him in his study, keeping a watchful eye on you. When he sees you become teary eye once more, he invites you to sit on his lap at his desk and has you talk out your feelings to him. No one can deny that this demon has a soft spot for you in his heart.

~ When you get a phone call from your parent, he will be there monitoring the conversation. He will be sitting in the room with you, making sure you don't get overly upset. If he notices you becoming agitated, he will swipe the phone from you and hang up. He doesn't care if your parent gets mad. I guess you can always blame it on poor connection if they ask.

Mammon

~ As soon as he heard you shout " fuck you", he came busting through your door. " Yo, you good?!" he asks. Once he sees you knock over all the stuff on your dresser, he closes the door behind him and runs to you " H-hey, what the hell ya doin?!". You ignore him and make your way to your nightstand, throwing the glass cup, shattering in to a million pieces on the floor. " Fuck them! I'm fucking tired of it! I'm tired of it!!!" you cry, ripping your posters off the wall.

~"MC!! Calm the hell down!! What's the matter with ya?!" he asks, getting insanely nervous at the rage fit you're in. You turn around and punch a hole in your wall, causing your knuckles to draw some blood.

~Once Mammon sees the hole in the wall and the blood on your knuckles, he runs up to you and pins you to the wall. He gets close to your face and shouts " MC! Snap out've it!". Your arms are to your side, pinning to the wall. You thrash around, trying to break from his grip. In desperation, he grabs your face with both of his hands and makes you look at him. " MC! Stop it, will ya?! Tell me what's wrong!"

~ You give up, becoming weak to your knees. Leaning against the wall, you slide down and sit on the floor, crying the whole way down. He follows you to the floor, on his knees in front of you. " I-I just want them to b-be normal! They talk to me like I'm fucking g-garbage!" you cry, becoming limp against the wall.

~ Mammon's heart sinks to his stomach, " Hey hey hey, it's okay." He says and he pulls you in to a hug, letting you cry in his neck. He keeps a comforting hand on the back of your head, holding it against his neck and starts to rock back and forth slowly in attempt to calm you down. "The great Mammon is here to take care of ya. It's okay, MC." He sits criss-cross on the floor, holding you in his arms. " I gotcha, MC." he says as you cry. Once you have calmed down, grabs your face and looks at you. " Ya feelin' better now? What happened?" he says gently. You explain to him that the phone call you had with your parent didn't end well like usual and today you just became tired.

~ Mammon as a gentle look on his face. " I'm sorry, MC. You don't deserve to be treated like that. Next time ya feel like that, come to The Great Mammon. I promise I'll be there for ya. I don't want my human getting hurt." He pulls you in to a tight hug, relieved that you have finally calmed down. He pulls your legs to his side, making you fully sit on his lap. He rests his head on your shoulder as you return your face to his neck for comfort. He doesn't care how long you both sit there; he feels you're safest in his arms.

~ When Lucifer asks about the hole in the wall, Mammon blames it on himself. He didn't want you getting punished for it. He cleans your whole room for you and wraps your knuckles up in a bandage.

~ He glued to your hip the rest of the day. Even if you have to use the restroom, he will gladly wait outside the door until you're finished. He will also be sleeping in your room tonight as well.

~ When you get a phone call from your parent, he will take the phone and hide it. He's great at hiding things! Why put yourself through the trouble of speaking to them, when you don't have to, and it'll just make you upset?

[digital-corruption]

You'll be happy to know that this chapter doesn't contain spoilers for episode 10! (Yay!)

It does contain some spice 🌶 and implied dubcon ⚠ however. 😅

Unrecognisable Part 9

A lot of the past 5 years of relationships flashed back to me. There had been so many disasters, which we all have in the dating game, but a couple stuck out at me. Namely the ones where I happened upon my ex’s computer with a damning email open, or the time my ex was in the shower and his wife messaged him to buy nappies on his way home. You know, just having the right evidence in front of me at just the right time. For years, I had put it down to shit luck. The thought that someone could possibly be going out of their way to leave these nuggets of wisdom for me to find was just inconceivable.

I stood there, staring at Jake, completely engulfed in his laptop, typing away frantically. He was oblivious to the fact I had returned. I wondered just how many times he had interfered in my life without me even knowing if he was alive. With the stolen phone still in my hand, I approached slowly, still trying to work out where to begin.

“Oh, you’re back. What’s wrong? Was the machine empty?” he asked innocently.

“You are actually quite sick, aren’t you?” I began.

Jake leant back in his chair, “Where is this coming from?”

“Jake, how many times have you sabotaged my relationships?” my voice shook with anger.

He sighed and took a moment before responding. “MC, I didn’t sabotage anything. All I did was bring to light the facts you refused to acknowledge,” he argued. “Also, some of those you ended yourself without my help.”

“Your help!? I never asked for your help!” I snapped. “Whatever made you think that you could interfere in my life like that!?”

“MC, those guys were scum! Worse than scum! They didn’t deserve you!” he continued. “I just made sure you were able to make the educated choice in ending it before you got hurt!”

“And these videos? Hmm? Surely you’re not having any trouble taking them down seeing how they are your videos,” I gestured to the laptop.

He stood up, “Is that a phone? Who did you call!? When did you call!?”

“No changing the subject!” I yelled. “Did you or did you not post those videos to PornHub!?”

“I did not,” he replied plainly.

“What are you not telling me?” I glared at him.

“They weren’t posted to PornHub,” he admitted. “I found the videos on his computer.”

“So you, what, faked the site to make me angry at him?” I tried to comprehend his reasoning.

“I couldn’t understand why he was recording them,” he shrugged. “Certainly nothing good was going to come from it.”

I shook my head in disgust, “You don’t get to choose who I date, Jake. You lost the right to have any say in that when you disappeared on me and didn’t even let me know you were ok.”

“MC, give me the phone,” Jake approached me

“Are you even listening!?” I exclaimed while stepping back.

“I am, but right now that phone is more important!” he insisted. “We can continue this after I deal with the phone!”

Jake snatched the phone from my hand and hurried out of the motel room. Fighting the urge to scream at the top of my lungs, I noticed he left his laptop wide open.  I walked around to see what he had been working on. Of course, I didn't understand half of the programs he had open, but he had a folder open with dozens of videos, more than he had shown me earlier. Their names contained date stamps, which seemed odd to me because I recognised some of the dates and some of them didn’t make sense. So I opened one that I didn’t recognise. In that moment, my heart froze and shattered into a million pieces. My boyfriend and my best friend were together in the same very room we slept in. It hurt to watch it and yet I couldn't take my eyes off it in the hope that they wouldn't, but they did go all the way. I closed it furiously and opened another. And another. And another. Time and time again they were having sex. It took all of my willpower not to throw Jake’s laptop across the room.

“MC, don't you know what happens to people when they get too curious,” Jake had leant over me to whisper in my ear. His hands slipped on top of mine and pinned them onto the table. “You weren't meant to find out like this.”

“How long have you had this!?” I gritted my teeth.

“I just found them. I apologise that I hadn’t dug deep enough the last time I broke into his computer. I have to admit, I was taken aback by your videos, I didn’t think to look for others,” he said sincerely. “I can make them suffer, if you want.”

My body shook, “I am so sick of being lied to and being misled. How do I know you’re not still trying to con me now?” I turned my head to look at him.

“You don’t,” he admitted before kissing my neck. “But ask yourself, what is more likely? Am I the sort of person who would fake these, or did those two people you care about betray you?”

I looked away again and shut my eyes. I just wanted to withdraw in myself, but he wouldn't let me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me tight against him. He left light kisses on my neck, occasionally tugging on my ear lobe with his teeth. I tried to ignore him, but he was persistent.

“Jake, please, not now,” I tried to push him away.

“Yes now,” he insisted.

I turned and shoved him away, but he grabbed my wrist with one hand and my jaw with the other so he could force his lips upon mine. His tongue invaded my mouth while I was caught off guard. It was felt as if he was swallowing my air. I tried to resist, but he shoved me against the wall. His knee pushed between my legs so his thigh grinded against my groin. Finally, he pulled away from my mouth, but while I was gasping for breath, he tilted my head up so he had full access to my neck to claim as his. He alternated between sucking and biting the sensitive spots on my neck, which he knew was keeping me from thinking straight.

My other hand tried to push him off, but he just grabbed it and pinned both hands to the wall above my head. He shifted to holding them with one hand so the other hand could slip under my shirt to grope my breast.

“Jake!” I exclaimed.

“Stop resisting and let me love you how you're meant to be loved,” he growled in my ear.

In that moment I lost the will to fight him.

[captainsimagines]

To Topple A Giant || Chapter Two

Summary: You had made it your mission to destroy even the smallest evils. When the opportunity arises to finally take down your own family after years of gaining their trust, you reach for it. And so does Steve, the man who represents a symbol of everything you hate.

Pairing(s): Steve Rogers x Reader || Avengers x Reader

Part 2 of 10 ~ Mini-Series

Warnings: This story contains mature themes and discussions such as extreme canon violence, strong language, emotional angst, mentions of Endgame deaths and recoveries, sexual situations, and emotional/physical abuse. All trigger warnings will be listed before the chapter. This is purely fanfiction. 

Warnings in this chapter: brief reference/hint to past sexual assault. 

Word Count: 7,500+

A/N: Thank you so much for your excitement about this series! I always smile when I read your comments. Sorry for such a long chapter, but it’s only ten parts and I gotta fit all somewhere lol

~

Unknown Location, 2015, 10:46pm

     The tightness of the rope wrapped around your wrists was excruciating, each movement causing it to rub against the already damaged skin, leaving more angry, red marks. You whipped your head back and forth, anger and fear coursing through your veins as you stared your father down. You watched as he carefully maneuvered his way around the room, every back straightening as he walked past them, every gun cocked and pointed right at you. Your nose twitched up as he walked closer, inspecting the ropes tying your feet to the chair and so on. You accumulated all the spit you could and aimed it for his face, pride washing over you as it hit him perfectly. But as quickly as that pride built, it shattered, a stinging sensation on your cheek now overpowering any other sense. 

“You cost me ten million.”

You bit back a laugh, careful not to let it slip as you did not want another beating. “I did what I had to do. You would have done the same!”

“Don’t tell me what I would have done!”

You flinched inwardly, your face still blushing with growing madness. If only you could loosen these bonds… 

“You will know to not mess up again.”

And as your father left the room, the men lined up against the wall finally let their shoulders fall forward, their once blank faces now donning sadistic smiles.

The Compound, 2018, 2:07am 

You sat up from your mound of pillows, kicking them to the side as well as the heavy blanket. Your ears rang impossibly loud, and it wasn’t until your feet touched your bedroom floor that you could hear yourself screaming. Your body was drenched in sweat, sliding easily on your wood floor as you kicked to escape the blanket. 

Sharp knocks against your door startled you, sudden ‘please, don’t!’’s escaping your mouth. Hyperventilating was always tiring, you thought, and the air was now super cold as you sucked it into your lungs.

“Doll, please? I’m coming in.”

The light from the hallway blinded you so you lifted your arm up as a temporary shield. 

“No, no! I’m good… I didn’t lose it. Please, trust me!”

“Y/N…”

You lowered your arm and stared at your nighttime intruder, instincts kicking in upon settling your teary eyes on him and causing you to groan in displeasure. 

“Don’t look at me.”

“Y/N.”

“I said don’t look at me.”

Steve sighed in defeat and walked back to your door. You thought he was going to simply leave you be, letting you ride out this panic attack alone like all the others. But he shut the door and made his way over to your couch on the other side of the room, plopping himself down and leaning his sleepy head in his right hand. It had been six months since the world literally fell apart, an unknown feeling of terror that simply sat at the pit of stomachs eating away at whatever sanity its host still had, plaguing the world. Tiredness was second nature, never actually reducing its power no matter how much sleep one got. But leaving you here to suffer each individual thread being pulled from your remaining sanity, alone, wasn’t an option. 

“Why are you staying?”

“I have nightmares, too. You aren’t that special.”

You rolled your eyes, hands now massaging your aching chest. “It wasn’t anything.”

“Y/N, you were screaming for help.”

“I scream for a lot of things.”

You figured Steve would succumb to his growing annoyance, but he stayed patient. 

“Was it about…?”

You sighed and pulled yourself up to your feet, knees wobbly and thighs alerting you of the droplets of sweat that beaded down your legs. “No. I don’t dream about the snap.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

You let out a rather angry sigh. You were now rubbing your eyes, cleaning them of the accumulation of hard mucus. “I seriously don’t want to talk about this particular incident.”

Steve huffed through his nose and you were ready to pounce on him to tear that beard from his face, but stopped when you saw his small smile and genuine empathy in his eyes. “Okay, I won’t push you.”

You just stared at him, eyes wide and confused. But you nodded slowly, eyes now diverting to the blanket below you. 

“I’m just so fucking happy the snap took my father.”

Steve’s lifted his head quickly by your abrupt confession, eyebrows furrowed and lips frozen, as if wrapped around a lost word he couldn’t verbally address. He understood, but it shocked him nonetheless.

He ignored it, or at least chose to avoid an immediate discussion about it, and stood from your couch. 

“Are you going to be okay?”

You wanted to throw him out. Him being across the room and near the wall was starting to trigger more flashbacks. 

It’s Steve. It’s just Steve.

“Can you stay?”

Steve stumbled slightly in his step, clearly uncomfortable with your request. But he was a good man and when one of his teammates needed help, he would do whatever he could. And you were one of the only teammates he had left. 

“Okay,” he said. But as he made his way back to the couch and away from you, sudden racks of itchiness stretched from your wrists to the middle of your chest. You stumbled from the bed, arms extended outward as if you were still shielding yourself from some incoming attack. 

“No, no! Just…”

Steve watched your movements carefully, trying to discern between fear or awkwardness. He sighed and let you see his hands, turning them over in the air.

“It’s me. Tell me where you want me.”

You were in control. Just tell him where you want him. 

“I’ll lay here,” you started, getting back into the right side of the bed and pulling the covers up to your hips. “You there, but upside down.”

Steve chuckled and followed your commands. You watched him walk, feeling the dip of your mattress as his heavy body lay down. You were grateful when his sock-covered feet touched your left side pillow, his chuckles gaining volume as he tried to get comfortable. 

“Do I at least get a blanket?”

“Oh!” you leapt from the bed and to the closet.  He listened to your soft pitter-patter as you shuffled across the cold floor, shutting his eyes to relish in the childish melody. You passed Steve two heavy blankets, mindful of the cold weather outside. Then you climbed back into bed, passing Steve a few pillows, and snuggling back into your own. 

A few shifts of the blankets made you open your eyes again. Steve was not as stiff as you expected him to be - almost like he wanted to help you - and you mentally slapped yourself remembering that he would do this for Bucky. 

“Steve?”

“Hmm?”

You took solace in the fact that he couldn’t see the tiny grin on your face. “Thank you.”

Steve smiled up at the ceiling, thankful that he could still help others even when he himself was falling apart. “You’re welcome.”

Present Day, 2025, 9:45am

     If anyone were to truly study Steve, they would see he was starting to act his age. He enjoyed fluffy socks, tea instead of coffee, sketching in the secluded garden of the new compound - anything a man pushing a hundred would truly enjoy. And he found himself shaving less, watching every new movie released regardless of genre, and eating much more oatmeal than usual. He remembers how whenever Bucky had saved up just enough for them to splurge on items they never usually indulged in, oatmeal would always be his go to. It was still a common ‘peasant’ meal for the two young bachelors, but Bucky would heat it up with fresh milk he had bought that morning, added the fresh strawberries and dates that were in season, and sprinkled brown sugar - damn, Steve loved brown sugar - on top. Bucky would place the bowl in front of Steve, ignoring Steve’s constant blabbering about ‘Buck, we can’t afford this’, or ‘you don’t need to spend your hard-earned money on me, you jerk’. But he would quickly shut up once Bucky’s perfected oatmeal recipe landed on his eager tongue and filled his happy stomach. Regardless of those past memories of young roommates searching for loose change in their couch and more recent ones of two reunited best friends sharing looks of awe whenever they saw how much milk and brown sugar now costs, Steve was certain the old man in him was just barely emerging. 

He definitely didn’t skip the irritated attitude phase every old man seemed to develop as the years passed, his resting facial expressions and movements starting to match those of his best friend. Grumpy, tired all the time regardless of the serum, and asking each other instead of the modern people around them how to work their phones. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed, or go on a jog, or watch a movie - anything - rather than having to give a briefing about something he hadn’t had to think about for seven years. And although he had the chance to use the stones before and didn’t, Steve couldn’t quite help wishing that he was transported back to his and Bucky’s old and crumbling apartment, fighting over that one knitted blanket Bucky had bought for the both of them with his last dime.

You seemed happier with your whole family situation after the snap, but he never wanted to ask. Whether you were putting on a brave face for him, he was rid of it momentarily only to be pushed into the chaos all over again. But this time was different because you were finally going to end it all. Finish what you had started all those years ago - then maybe Steve could take that afternoon nap he wanted.     

“Talk to me. How are we doing this?”

Fury pulled up a screen with all the photos and biographies, essentially a powerpoint prepared by both you and Steve. 

“I’ll do whatever you ask of me, sir. But I know my family and their schemes better than anyone,” you said. Fury knew this was true and the plan would ultimately be mapped out by you. His input was always welcome, but you knew the small details - their personalities, their weaknesses, their strengths, even the way they took their coffee. You even knew which of them sampled their product before sending it off on a cross-country road trip. 

Steve stood beside the monitor, using this finger to change the screen. “So, we’re looking for our physical proof. A paper trail detailing land and their product, contacts, storage units, aliases - the works.”

You nodded at Fury and your teammates. “Exactly. The hardest things to obtain will most definitely be evidence about my father’s involvement. Proof he gave the orders and profited from them.”

“Your word isn’t enough?” Sam asked.

“No, not unless I throw myself under the bus as well. It’s his word against mine unless I can prove these things were all his doing,” you responded, taking a sip from your water. 

The only other people in the briefing room besides Steve and Fury were Sam, Bucky and Scott. Everyone else would get a brief overview later on this week, but these three were specifically chosen by Fury to help aid you in the actual physical fight. 

“The wedding is the perfect distraction,” Scott spoke. “Almost like this was made for a heist.”

Steve released a heavy sigh, his patience already wearing thin. “Not a heist.”

“Close enough,” Scott shrugged, gaining a grin from you across the table. He smiled at your reaction and sent you a wink. 

“Agent, we have to go over the basics and any new information you can provide,” Fury encouraged.

You motioned toward Steve to bring up the photos on the monitor, “Let’s start with the basics.”

Steve took over for the first portion of your presentation. You didn’t mind - in fact, the more control he had in this would certainly help ease his mind and you definitely did not want a stressed out Steve Rogers accompanying you on a twelve hour road trip. 

“Ernesto Vega, father of Y/N Y/L/N, born 1950 in Guadalajara, Mexico, but because of the snap, the 80 year old is still only 75.”

“Damn, your father is old!”

You laughed at Sam’s outburst, “Yup, and I got like ten half-siblings.”

Sam sat up straighter, “No way?”

“Way.”

“Daniel Seda,” Steve continued, his voice louder. “Vega’s second in command, born 1970, currently 55 years old. Took over as top commander after the snap, and according to Y/N he didn’t take it well when everyone was brought back.”

“Hmm, threatened to put another bullet in me,” you teased, pointing at your stomach where the scar underneath your shirt had already long healed. You could have sworn you heard Steve’s breath hitch, but even if it did, he had quickly covered it by swiping the monitor. 

“But her father saw this as proof of loyalty. Because no matter how much he knows Y/N hates him, she still brought him back.”

You lifted your shoulders, arms in the air as if imitating the nonverbal form of ‘oh, well!’, and your thin smile caused your cheeks to pop out comically.

“So, Seda hates you?” Bucky asked, chuckles still vibrating in his chest from your previous childish movements.

You brushed your hand through the air, “Not the first man to hate me and not the last.”

Steve snickered. You could say that again.

“The wedding will be held at Vega’s personal and private ten-acre ranch in Northern California-”

“A lovely fall wedding!”

Steve bit his tongue, eyes never leaving the monitor. “Sure… and it’s perfect. He’s wanted and he’s going to be on U.S soil.”

You stood from your chair and grabbed the electronic marker from the desk. You circled the main points of entry plus the directions of secret exits hoping to emphasize the ‘private’ part of Steve’s statement. “And since it’s his most private getaway and no one would suspect he would hide important shit on said U.S soil, I���m about ninety-eight percent sure our proof is there.”

You pulled up the blueprints and marked a giant ‘X’ on the farthest corner room in the west end. It was your father’s office. 

“Ninety-eight?” Sam asked, reviewing the printed blueprints himself.

You twirled the marker between your fingers, “My dad is clever. My other two percent is telling me there’s no evidence at all.”

Scott clutched his chest in relief, “Okay, at least one outweighs the other.”

You shared another laugh with the ‘regular-sized man’.

Steve continued listing the basics, all while Fury sat toward the edge of the long table reviewing the screen. “The other two big names in the drug game are Omar Ramirez and Marcus White. Ramirez runs most things from Mexico City to San Antonio, Texas and he’s probably the least evil of them all. White runs Europe, specifically Germany and England.”

You interjected, “Ramirez focuses on the product. He orders his men to focus on the business instead of the outside world - meaning, no unnecessary kills, no violence toward women and children, no killing cops or citizens. Just producing and transporting.”

Almost forgetting he was there, Fury’s voice somewhat startled you. “Vega has lost men to Ramirez, men who wanted a change in scenery.”

You nodded in confirmation, “They aren’t necessarily enemies but they’re no besties either.”

Sam rolled the blueprints back up and handed them to Bucky. “So, we’re taking them all down?”

“The big three. Plus Seda,” Steve declared, finally taking his first sip of water in what felt like forever. If he didn’t want anyone to know he was nervous about this mission, he was for sure failing. 

You hummed, “Vega and Seda are also the only ones who know of Steve’s involvement.”

“How’d that happen?” Bucky asked.

“Because Steve only ‘transports’ my father’s product. Not the others. Steve’s role is essentially to green light the passages and is my main pull,” you clarified. 

It was true - Steve didn’t do or touch anything. And you thought this best considering he was America’s golden boy - you couldn’t possibly bear real involvement from him. This wasn’t his world and never should have been but it was yours. 

You dealt with people directly. You took out the snitches. You handled the product during inspections. You did it all - and not because you thought Steve was some fragile soul who couldn’t achieve the same results - but because you brought him into that mess during a time in his life when he definitely didn’t need it.

“But how did it happen?”

You shrugged, hoping your answer would suffice for the rest of the group as it never does for Steve. “When I first started out as a field agent, my father didn’t trust I was doing it for him. The more I promoted, the more suspicious he got. It wasn’t until we exposed SHIELD as half-HYDRA that he was done with me.”

Fury interjected once again, “So, Y/L/N here had to pull rank out of her ass.”

You snorted, “Thanks, Fury. That sounded nice.”

“I told them that I had the literal symbol of America by my side. That defeating HYDRA was only to get his friend back, not to save the world. Plus, I told them that HYDRA was targeting all of them. And once I could get proof - a forged recording made by Fury before he went into hiding - well, it was like the greatest example of submission.”

“Why didn’t you say Tony?” 

That certainly was a question Steve always had and wanted answered. God, he really hoped you had said Tony.

“Because I got the literal symbol of America as a partner-in-crime. My father almost told me he loved me... almost.”

You sat back down in your chair, a tiny puff of air escaping your lips. “And that made Seda furious. I may hate my father, but Seda is the main threat to blowing this whole operation.”

If anything, you wanted your father deader than dirt, silenced by the one child he always regretted bringing into the world. He had tortured you in more ways than you thought possible. 

      “Now, I thought my dad was bad.”

You fell back onto the couch before retrieving your cup of coffee you had placed on the table. Nebula gave you a tiny chuckle in return. 

 “Yes, mine has eradicated half the universe. I win ‘worst father’.”

You sipped your coffee, trying and failing to block out the banter between Rocket and Tony as they discussed the location of the space stone. “You know, I wouldn’t have put it past him.”

Nebula chewed her dinner slowly, listening to you ramble on about anything that popped into your mind. She knew this was your coping mechanism - to just keep talking until someone shut you up. But she enjoyed it, really, because you spoke of topics that she didn’t quite understand or know about. She learned something new everyday simply by listening to you. 

“I should have thanked Thanos for dusting his ass, though.”

Nebula stopped mid-chew, blank expression but the hint of a twitch in her lip visible.

“I’m joking.”

You had asked her once why Thanos had spared her and Tony when he snapped his fingers. But Nebula had no rational answer, only responding that he must have spared her out of last minute pity and Tony to live through the consequences. And the tiny voice inside your head knocked again, reminding you that ‘maybe this snap was overall a good thing - your father can’t hurt you anymore!’, but you shut it up as quickly as it came. 

“So, how many planets are there in the universe, really?”

     Fury began piling files in one folder, making sure to hand out the sheet with names and contact numbers of agents stationed close to the venue and your chosen hotel.  

“We’ll get into mission specifics at a later date once Rogers and Y/L/N are settled and scope out the place. For now, study up on your targets and perfect your acting skills.”

     You assumed you would only need one big suitcase for the trip, only packing essentials and extra shirts just in case. You rolled your clothes tightly, securing your signature perfume and some jewelry inside some sweaters. You hid identifiable items in the small compartments - your passport, journal, old SHIELD tag, driver’s license, etc. It was the paranoid side of you taking over, the possibility of having your cover blown likely and frightening. The amount of times you had ventured into the general vicinity of your father and his crew always proved safer than you expected. But there could always be that day he simply didn’t want you around anymore. 

So, you prepared in the smallest and even cringiest ways possible - resorting to drafting letters for those you wanted to remember you after you had been taken out. You paused your packing to grab your spare journal. You spent a good hour writing. A letter to Wanda, to Bucky, to Peter, to Rhodey, to Sam. Some were shorter than others - others extending to over two pages. But your mind was racing with things you hoped they would never have to read, scattered thoughts and only hints of identifiable wit penned on paper.

You tucked the letters behind the fabric you had recently ripped open. You planned on duct-taping the rip, your eyes drifting back over to your journal. You tapped your foot rapidly for a few seconds, fingers twisting in anticipation, mind still clear enough to draft one more. You quickly picked the pen right back up, sitting on the edge of your bed and starting the letter you might regret later. But at that moment, with the horrible prospect of dying on this mission, you wrote. 

     ‘Steve,

     Believe when I say that I was so sure I would put a bullet in my father before he could. Whoops…’

You wrote and wrote until your handwriting grew sloppy at the edge of the paper, and signed it. You tucked the final letter into the hole and taped it shut. You really hoped you would be able to survive and burn those written words later. 

A soft knock sounded from across the room and your bedroom door opened to reveal Steve, light blue dress shirt tucked into his jeans like the old man he truly was. You couldn’t help but grin at that, cursing your involuntary actions for this man. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You doing okay?” you asked, continuing to fold clothing into your suitcase. He leaned against your door, hesitant. Steve often wondered why and how he could go days, weeks - one time even a whole month - without speaking to or seeing you. He was an expert at one word answers by now, opting to always have someone else around whenever he seriously had to carry a conversation with you. But what struck him the most was that you didn’t seem to care anymore. He witnessed the change - hell, he was the one that caused it - but it was a change that he both wanted and didn’t. How was it so easy for you?

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” he responded and walked over to your couch to sit. 

You cleared your throat, hoping to make this conversation the least awkward you could. “Because this was literally sprung on both of us after almost ten years of waiting.”

“I’m okay.”

You accepted his answer. He looked comfortable enough, shoulders relaxed and genuinely interested. There was a part of you that wanted to rush over and shake him, yell at him for being so clueless and fake at the same time. There was no possible way he was fully okay with everything - he hadn’t been himself since the snap, and when Natasha and Tony died, he was someone else entirely. You had brought it up with Bucky several times, but he assured you that Steve was just dealing with things his own way. That he was still a man out of time, they both were, and battle after battle could take its toll. And Bucky would hype their therapist up, that they were the reason he and Steve are able to walk in public without that constant voice warning of danger in the back of their heads, and that you should schedule a visit sometime. You always declined, asking him to call you if he truly needed another person to talk to. He would smile, taking you up on your offer whenever a day was particularly triggering.

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was sixteen. Ten years really just flew by… considering.”

Steve nodded, “Is there anything I should know?”

You hummed, “If you mean things about my family, then I’ll just tell you on the way there or at the hotel.”

He chuckled and stood to lean against your bedpost. “No, I mean like, what should I pack just in case?”

You rolled your eyes and laughed at such an innocent question, “Um, comfy socks. It’s pretty cold in California in the winter. Gas money, it’s pretty fucking expensive, too.”

He smiled, “Good to know.”

The two of you packed in silence for several minutes. Steve helped you roll your clothes and gather your toiletries, even asking you if you wanted to bring your current toothbrush or the new one in your bottom drawer. 

You knew you shouldn’t have spoken about the topic burning in your throat, but you felt like you had to say something. If you mentioned it during the mission, you risked a larger argument than the one you would get now. So you formulated your next sentence carefully, already bracing for impact as it slipped.

“Look, the elephant in the room should be addressed. Once my father’s dealt with, I have no reason to stay here.”

Steve clipped the belt over the top of your clothes, securing the items tightly. He seemed disoriented, your sudden proclamation startling him. “What do you mean? You did the work, you trained, you helped us literally save the world.”

You shrugged and kept your voice light, “Yeah, but I started this gig when I was sixteen. I didn’t join the Avengers until I was freshly in my twenties. I’ve literally known nothing else but fighting.”

Steve sat at the edge of your bed, furrowed eyebrows and all as he chose his next words. He felt both angry and sad, a mixture of feelings that he never quite grew accustomed to whenever he was around you. They ate away at him slowly, creeping into his brain to wrap around his common sense, his sense of self, the man he was before the snap. 

“Are you saying you just need a break?”

“I think,” you shrugged, zipping the suitcase and tugging its weight off your bed and onto the floor. 

“What about Wanda and Bucky?”

You scrunched your face in amused confusion, a playful smile resting on your lips, “I’m not falling off the face of the Earth, Steve. I’ll visit or something.”

“Or something.”

He stood and walked back to your couch, restless and even more stressed than he was before he entered your room. 

“Steve, we lost so much. It’s been two years since we brought everyone back, but… it took its toll.”

He snapped his head up, “You don’t need to tell me about shit taking its toll.”

You felt like you stared at him for several minutes, anger bubbling in the pit of your stomach and traveling up your throat. That familiar lump constricting your airway as you forced yourself to swallow it and the forming tears. And once again, your mouth spoke before your mind could approve.      

“Why didn’t you use the stones for yourself?”

Steve sat, shocked into silence temporarily. “What?”

“When you and Carol put the stones back - why didn’t you stay somewhere you really wanted to be?”

You remember watching him step onto the platform holding the briefcase of infinity stones and holding Mjollnir, - because of fucking course he could wield Mjollnir, he was a good man even if you were on his bad side - simply minding his own business and waiting for Carol to join him. You remember thinking he would return with a different story, only after he got some of that life Tony had always encouraged him to find, that he would go back to Peggy and live the life he always wanted. But as quickly as they disappeared into thousands of timelines did they reappear, Carol joyful and content while Steve trailed behind her. Your heart had pounded erratically, Bucky looking at you with wide eyes because yes, I thought he would do exactly what you were thinking, too. 

“None of your business.”

“I’m not trying to pry-” you reasoned, but Steve stepped toward you with flushed cheeks and a cracked voice. 

“But all you do is pry, pry, pry. God, do you ever just shut up?”

All you could hear behind the ringing of your ears were Steve’s quick breaths, slowing as each second passed and he realized what he had said. A moment of weakness, in his opinion, but still uncalled for. 

“Pack some snacks for the road and get out of my room.”

Steve straightened his back, eyes practically yelling for you to look at him again, pleading for you to see the remorse swimming in them. But you just tugged your suitcase to the corner of your room, ignoring him completely. “Gladly.”

     You and Steve were mature enough to keep your arguments at least a hundred miles away from any mission you were conducting or when around your friends. A quick quarrel in the morning was basically nonexistent a few hours later when the whole group suggested a board game or movie night. Although this impromptu road trip would be the slightest bit awkward, you two were smart enough to not compromise the mission. 

And you had to drive as flying and airport security was too risky, especially with the amount of weapons attached to your body and in the trunk of that rented car. 

“Call us when you hit the first checkpoint. After that, we’ll be monitoring your hotel check-in and any new ones, police reports filed throughout that week, anything that directly involves your stay,” Bucky said, handing you a burner phone. 

You stepped forward to hug him. “Thank you, Bucky.”

He gave you a tight squeeze, releasing you slightly to whisper in your ear. “Try not to kill him for the next twelve hours, will ya?”

You pulled away and gave him your best grin, bumping your bracelet with his. “You know I can’t promise that, Bucky.”

He rolled his eyes, “You kill him, I kill you.”

“Ugh, don’t tease me.” Bucky almost burst out laughing from the fake, pornographic moan you let out because of his threat. 

“No, but seriously - just… lay low, trust each other, and we’ll be there in the next few days.”

You slid the burner into your sweater pocket and patted it, checking if it was secure. You waved goodbye to Bucky and pulled the passenger door open. You blew him a kiss, red lipstick now on your fingers. “Can’t wait to see you!”

Bucky stood with his hands shoved into his pockets, an embarrassed but happy smile on his face. He caught the floating kiss mid-air. “Already miss you!”

“Stop, I’m blushing!” you teased, your left hand resting palm up on your forehead in an exaggerated manner. 

“Go!”

You obliged, falling into the passenger seat and clicking your seatbelt. 

Twenty minutes into the drive and Steve finally decided to speak. 

“So, you and Bucky?”

You giggled, thumbs currently flying over your phone screen as you tried to beat your high score in some awful video game you discovered last week. “Yup, I got him wrapped around my finger.”

Steve’s hand fidgeted on the steering wheel, “Seriously?”

You closed out your video game, “No, Steve. It’s mindless flirting. He’s one of my best friends.”

“Ahh…” he nodded in understanding, a lazy smile resting on his face. He focused on both the road and you, your head leaning against the foggy window. “About earlier-”

“Don’t mention it,” you interrupted. The second you peaked through your heavy eyelids did you lock eyes with Steve, regret visible in them. 

He continued, “I blew up at you and you didn’t deserve it.”

“Cool, you’re forgiven.”

“Y/N-”

You groaned quietly, but you weren’t getting angry. You were just tired from the day already and having to sit for twelve hours straight wasn’t going to help. So, you took the high road. “Look, it’s a twelve hour drive until our first stop. Let’s forget about it or else I promise you, I will jump out of this car when you push eighty.”

Steve couldn’t help the laugh that rumbled in his chest due to your absurd promise, but he accepted your answer. 

“...Okay.” 

     By hour two, there was a restlessness between the both of you. No matter how much you extended your leg, the cramping wouldn’t go away. No matter how many times Steve would twist his neck to the side to get it to crack, it would just tighten again. So, against protocol but still on your best behavior, you and Steve made a couple stops along the way.      

The first was a burger joint in the middle of buttfuck Ohio, you had commented, earning a choking sound from Steve as he tried to contain his laughter. It was a hole in the wall type of place, perfect for lying low and out of sight, and you had enjoyed your meal in the car. You listened to Steve’s playlist on low volume, stealing each other’s fries to simply piss the other off, and hit the road after your meal.      

The second stop was around hour eight, and the sun was already starting to set. You desperately needed to use the bathroom and once you saw a tiny town that ‘looks so much like the town in Gilmore Girls!’, Steve pulled over and parked in a diner parking lot. Donning caps and ordering a coffee and a tea to go to seem less suspicious, you hurried from the diner and back to your car. You stopped dead in your tracks, eyeing a gazebo with a black miniature fence around it. You begged Steve to snap a photo, promising that this would be the only favor you ask of him for the next few hours, and went to hitch one leg over the metal fence. You settled yourself on top, hands gripping the railing and trying not to fall. You started to laugh uncontrollably as the fence started hurting your bottom, begging Steve to snap the photo quicker.      

‘Take the damn picture, you big oaf!’     

‘Well, then hold still!’     

‘It’s hurting my ass!’     

‘Smile!’    

The third stop was the final one, somewhere in Iowa and deep in the forest. You complained about how Fury warned you of motels, that you would have to seek shelter elsewhere to avoid being recognized. You could easily blend in, but the mountain of muscle beside you would blow your cover. And you wanted to arrive in California undetected by the media.       

Steve drove the car into a dark and secluded part of the forest, ground that seemed used by campers often and had an emergency phone and landline nearby. It was secret enough, so you parked the car and retrieved the blankets from the trunk.      

“You taking the back?” Steve asked, jumping back into the car and rubbing his hands together because of the chilly weather. His face was flushed from just a few seconds out in the cool breeze, nose frozen and the tip red. He looked younger, you thought, somewhat resembling those renditions of Greeks in renaissance art.      

“You’ve been driving all day. You should stretch your legs,” you answered, already wrapping the blanket up to your shoulders and securing it around your neck.      

“You sure? We can alternate.”     

You smiled, already feeling the effects of the warmth on your tired body, “I’m sure, Steve. Get some rest and I’ll drive in the morning.”     

Steve exited the car after turning it off - sucks that you had to save the gas - and hopped into the backseat. He kicked off his shoes and lay across the connected seat, facing you. He could see the outline of your nose as you tilted your head slightly to the side, the blanket wrapped around your neck and hiding the real length of your hair. It resembled a bob cut by how half of it was hidden, and Steve thought that hairstyle would suit you.      

Your personal phone rang, cutting through the comfortable silence and startling the both of you. You fumbled it in your hand and looked back at Steve, face falling as you showed him the name.      

Seda.      

“Answer it on the third ring.”     

You did as Steve told you, answering the phone on the third ring and preparing your voice. He scrambled for the tape recorder, pressing ‘play’ as soon as he could.      

“You rarely call me. To what do I owe the pleasure?” you answered.      

His voice sounded hoarse over the phone, almost like he had just finished smoking a pack of cigarettes. “Are you attending?”    

“My dear sister is getting married, Seda. Of course I’m going to embarrass her.”     

He paused for a few moments, sounding like he was directing the people around him to finish something. But he responded to your answer in a serious tone. “I hope you’re being your usual sarcastic self and aren’t serious.”     

You rolled your eyes and pointed at the phone, and Steve’s lips spread into a smile. “You’ve known me long enough to know, I hope.”     

“Sadly.”     

“I’m hurt,” you joked, voice still light and cheerful. Seda paused on the line again, the sound of papers rustling letting you know the line was still active.      

“I need to know if the Captain is attending too.”     

“He was invited,” you responded, laughing a little at the fact that Seda hadn’t known this information you were sure the rest of your family knew.      

He chuckled, a slight whistle sound letting you know he was smoking another cigarette. “Mm, guess your family is finally meeting your lover, huh?”     

The air in your mouth didn’t make it down to your lungs and you looked at Steve with equally wide eyes. But you didn’t stay fazed for long, responding to such an accusation with ease. “My lover, yes. I’m so damn giddy about that.”     

Seda hummed in satisfaction, “Your father always told you to not get involved with the product. Scrambles your brains from thinking straight. But he applauds you on this one.”     

You put a finger in your mouth and mimicked gagging, causing Steve to cover his mouth to muffle his laugh. “I’ve never mentioned the Captain as my lover before. Why is my father always right?”     

You knew exactly what to say. The more backhanded praise you gave your father only fed into the truth and lies everyone knew - truth being you hated your father because of his power and the lie being that you were just as power hungry as him. As long everyone assumed you wanted this power, the more you had to act like you hated your father’s.      

“He knows more than he lets on. You know that.”     

“I know a lot of things.”     

Seda continued, “No friends allowed, anyway. So, if the Captain isn’t your lover then… we may have problems. Is there a problem?”     

You kept your voice at a steady volume, “I said I was with him, didn’t I? Have you seen the man?”          

“Seen him, heard him speak. So righteous and dull. Not really your type.” Seda was growing impatient with the conversation, clearly angry that he hadn’t caught a slip or lie from you.      

You scrunched your face in disgust, “Ew, don’t think you know my type.”     

     “Buck, ‘my type’ is back home with a warm chicken noodle soup in my lap and a couple of loose papers at my disposal,” Steve whined, trying to keep the same pace as his overly enthusiastic friend as he hurried down the sidewalk.      

“She’s such a knockout, Steve! I’m sure she’ll love you.”     

Steve couldn’t help but blush at Bucky’s kind words, the hype always repairing some parts of Steve’s broken self-esteem and reminding him of his worth. But it was his third date this month and rejection was starting to seem like his favorite sport. No matter what he did - offering a girl some peanuts, accidentally stepping on her (once!) feet while dancing, or simply not living up to Bucky’s gracious advertising - women just weren’t interested.      

“You know that’s not true, Buck. Can’t we just have a quiet night in?”     

Bucky stopped and guided them into the nearby alley, both to knock some sense into his friend and to give Steve a break from the tiny jog.      

“Listen here, Steve. Any girl would be lucky to be with you-”     

“Buck, we’ve been through this-”     

“Let me finish,” Bucky shushed him, hands on Steve’s shoulders to steady both him and himself. “Any girl would be lucky to be with you. If this one doesn’t see you how I see you, then she’s just insane.”     

Steve smirked, “Don’t insult the girl before I’ve even met her, jerk.”     

Bucky smiled, his high cheeks pushing up to create crinkles by his eyes. “Trust me, pal. You just need to find a woman with as big of a mouth as you.”     

Steve swatted his friend across his chest, laughs rumbling in both their chests and down the once quiet alleyway.      

     “What hotel are you staying at?” Seda quickly asked, ignoring your quip. You were done with this conversation as it was leading nowhere.      

“Staying at one where no one can hear the Captain scramble my brains. Goodbye,” you replied, an annoyance in your tone that even Seda would believe as natural.      

“See you soon.”     

You let Seda end the call, a little power play you allowed him to have. God, it was gonna feel good to take him down.     

Steve shifted in his seat, stopping the recorder in time for his question. He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Why did your dad assume we were a couple?”     

You gave him a tiny chuckle, pulling the blanket back over your shoulders and settling back into your seat. “I don’t know why that man says anything anymore. I guess they just expected it.”     

“Why?”     

No matter how many years passed, both awake or frozen, Steve never did quite understand the sexual appeal that lingered around his name. No matter how many times Bucky joked about it, no matter the amount of social media posts, no matter anything - he just didn’t seem to understand why people thought he was a ladies man. 

You snuggled deeper into your blanket, scanning the outside woods one last time just in case. “You wouldn’t risk your reputation and status for me unless you were fucking me, I guess.”

“Crude.”

You turned your head to him and sighed, “They think I’m the whore of the family. It’s just too funny sometimes.”

Steve’s face fell, “I’m sorry about that.”

You shuffled in your blanket to pull your arm out and wave it in the air.  “Used to it.” 

Steve didn’t press further, deciding to lay back finally to find a cozier position. It was quiet for a few minutes, just breathing and slight motion disturbing the silence. You opened your eyes and stared at the moonlight hitting the steering wheel. By the sound of Steve’s breathing, you knew he wasn’t fully asleep yet. So you allowed yourself the smallest confession, a crack in the door Steve was figuratively standing outside of.

“My sister is his prized possession, though.”

Steve didn’t respond, but from the sound of the blanket moving you could tell he had turned to face you. 

“Never knew why.”

Steve pondered your words for a long time, long after your breathing became slower and tiny snores left your mouth. He didn’t exactly know what to say or what to do. It wasn’t like you dropped top secret information on him or anything, but it made him wonder just why in the world your father hated you so much. 

You had done everything asked of you. You were controlled, tortured mentally everyday, having to endure and make decisions that Steve knew you didn’t want any part of. Your father should be thanking you for keeping his business afloat, for expanding it, for roping Steve’s own name into that life. As he contemplated any rational reason for such hate, he heard your soft snore turn into an innocent purr, and he felt himself leaning more into a mutual understanding. It frightened him, gripping his reality by the throat, because Steve actually knew why. That innocence he saw with you, no doubt had presented itself to your father involuntarily and your father knew. 

He knew you were good at heart. 

~

Taglist: @dumb-ass-writer​ @justab-eautifulmess​ @supraveng​ @mycosmicparadise​

[daddynegandesires]

Secrets chapter 1

Summary: Daddy Negan and (y/n) had a falling off with eachother but what happens when a new man pops up in his life trying to be a better father than he was at taking care of his little girl and his use to be girlfriend.

Warning: jealousy, anger, fighting, some smut, violence, cheating

18+

(Updated)

*flashback*

Objects were flying all over the house (y/n) was screaming at the top of her lungs chucking any items she sees in her way at negan.

"Hey!...hey! Calm the fuck down!!" Negan yelled dogging the picture frame that came flying at his head shattering on the wall behind him.

"You fucking peice of shit! I knew you were screwing around behind my back!" Tears streaming down your face you marched to the kitchen grabbing a big knife out of the knife block streching your arm out towards negan with the sharp tip almost grazing against his throat.

Negan quickly grabbed your hand steady that was holding the knife trying to persuade you to put it down your whole body was on fire shaking with rage.

"Baby....put the knife down...you dont want to do this" negan slowly began pushing your hand away sliding the knife out of your grip placing it on the counter behind him.

"M....mommy..." A small frightened little voice called out from the hallway

You instantly collapsed on the floor with your back sliding down the kitchen counter in tears resting your head in your hands

*end of flashback*

"Ellie!...come get your breakfast baby!" You called out while spreading the last bit of peanut butter on her toast and placing it on the counter next to her OJ.

" goodmornin mommy!" Ellie sweetly called out before hopping up in her chair slopply chugging down her OJ spilling it down her face

" haha Slow down hunny i dont want you to choke" giving her a little kiss on her forehead sitting down next to her

"Can i see daddy today?" Ellie ask curiously while chomping down on her peanut butter toast giving me goofy faces after each bite.

The doorbell rings and ellie jumps straight out of her chair running up to the door flinging it out impatiently.

"Hey babygirl!" Negan bends down to her level swooping her up in his arms giving her small little kisses all over her cheeks closing the door behind him.

"I miss you daddy" ellie said giggling

You were still sitting at the table swirling the spoon in your bowl of cereal zoning out. Hearing his voice still hurts hell even just looking at him hurts you. You loved him you wanted to marry him a part of you still hasn't forgave him for what he did to you. He ruined this relationship...you were snapped out of your thoughts when negan and ellie came and sat down at the table with you.

"Hi..." He says sitting ellie down in her chair

"Hey...." You say quietly giving him a half smile

"How have you been?" He sits down next to you grabbing an apple from the fruit basket

You wanted to tell him the truth you wanted him to know how bad you actually hurt how you lay awake at night crying and blaming yourself for everything.

"Im okay....haha..." You nervously shift in your chair about to speak but the front door opens your heart begins to race at the fact that its a guy you have been seeing that negan doesnt know about.

"Hi jack!!" Ellie playfully yells out

"Hey kiddo!" Jack walks into the kitchen scruffing up the hair ontop of ellies head before turing to you and negan in a silence

"Hey baby..." Jack lands a kiss on your cheek while not breaking eye contact with negan.

There was a long awkward tension between the two of them untill negan gor up from his chair walking over to ellie.

"Jack??...hi, im negan ellies dad" he says with a god awful smirk on his face he extends out his arm for a handshake

"Hi negan nice to meet you...im (y/n) new boyfriend" he closes the hand shake with his hand before pulling away

" well would you look at that....boyfriend huh?" negan glares in your direction you dont dare stare up at him your face was getting flushed

"Well on that note me and ellie should be heading out, right KiDdO?" Negan said in a mocking voice before swooping ellie up

"Wait i have her bag packed its in her room" you quickly said hopping up from your seat running to the room to grab it. You handed the bag off to negan he slung it over his shoulder with ellie in his other arm standing on the porch.

"Have fun i love you baby"giving ellie a quick kiss on her cheek

"Ill have her back before 8....i promise" negan leaned in and gave you a small kiss on your cheek without breaking eye contact with jack standing behind her.

-------

"I dont think negan likes me ha..." Jack lets out a small laugh

"He does....he is just...protective" you begin cleaning up the kitchen and doing dishes when jack comes up behind you grinding his soon to be hard cock on your ass

"Jack....i have to go get ready for our date" your face beings to flush and you spin around landing a kiss on his lips

"Mmm...you always taste so good...." His hands now on your hips

You grinned at jack before slipping out of his grasp. You snuck off to the bathroom andclosed the door behind you running the water in the bathtub you slipped off your clothes slowly lowering yourself into your hot bathwater. Laying there with your eyes closed your phone buzzed and startled you. Your dripping wet hand reached over and picked it up seeing that it was a text from negan.

From negan:

So you got yourself a young new boy toy..

You opened the message and scoffed at what he had sent you, you tossed your phone back down on your towel before it buzzed again.

From negan:

Dont ignore me....

"Asshole...." You whispered to yourself before slipping out of the tub drying yourself off with your towel. You walk over to your closet pulling out a skin tight black dress with black high heels. Slipping on your black bra and black lacey thong you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror youve always struggled with your body image because your thighs were bigger than most girls and negan always made you feel better about yourself when it came to situations like that. Snapping yourself out of your thoughts you apply the rest of your makeup and head out witb jack to dinner.

"You look sexy..." Jack complimented you kissing on your neck

"Thank you..." Looking up at him through your dark mascara filled lashes and biting at your ruby red lipstick

--------

Jack had dropped you off back at home when you instantly heard negans car pull up in the drive way. 8 o'clock on the dot. This man never plays around. You opened the door to se negans face in awe.

"Je-sus!..hello hot mommy..where have you been" negan walked through the door biting at his lip with ellie asleep in his arms.

"I went on a date....its none of your concern" you said with your hands on your hips your dress hugged your curves in all the right places. Negan went to go lay ellie down when you stepped outside to light a cigarette.

"Smoking again huh..." Negan stepped outside beside you

" i never stopped..." You took a long drag on your cigarette your ruby red lips parting letting the smoke roll out of your mouth

"Why did you ignore me..."

"Im none of your concern anymore...so dont act so fucking generous" you said annoyingly throwing your cigarette on the ground stepping on it with your heel

"Fiesty.....i miss that" negans tongue slipped across his bottom lip

You were about to open the door to walk back inside when negan grabbed you by the waist tightly causing you to moan pushing your body up agaisnt the brick wall on the porch. His hand making his way up to your throat gently applying pressure his lips lightly grazed yours feeling his stubble from his beard on your cheeks. He moved in closing the gap between your bodies you could feel his rock hard cock bulding in his jeans only causing your pussy to be wet even more.

"Negan i cant do this...i have jack" innocently moaning

"what he doesnt know wont hurt him..." He whispered in your ear giving you goosebumps

You snapped out of it realizing what he just said is the same thing he said to the woman that he cheated on you with. You shoved him off of you.

"Negan go!...now!" You pointed at him to leave before slamming the door in his face crying storming off to your bedroom.

(Let me know if you guys want another chapter!❤❤)

[baeklination]

🎃 Being

Date: 211001

Warnings: it starts smutty (not explicit wording) so eyes closed if you're too young!, if you're a terrible scaredy-cat (particularly of the dark) you might want to skip this.

Characters: Baekhyun, Reader

WC: 1,2k

Masterlist

¤¤

The pillows your hands crush, your head buries in; the wrinkled sheets and plush covers; the bluish light covering everything, it's all yours. You're in your own bed - it's a lucid dream. Aware enough to enjoy, but away enough to just let it happen.

The pulsing against your ass, the image of his crisp shirt hanging open at your sides, his dewy, blonde hair dangling to-and-fro, the creaking of the bed posts and his wet breathing - it's all in a delicious delirium.

"I've … been waiting to have you…", he whispers, ripping his shirt off, laying down.

His weight feels good on your back, his hungry grinding and touching are sensual euphoria. Kissing you behind the ear, a scent travels to your nostrils. Difficult to put your finger on, but off, somehow. Seeming to be released by his continuous rubbing against you, a smell - stench - overcomes the room. It's putrid. Mushed oranges green with mildew, a soiled diaper, puss from an infected wound. The atmosphere grows dark and heavy; you squirm to get away, rocking back and forth but unable to speak. You have to wake up. Have to. Screaming internally you, thankfully, feel the electric buzzing over your skin - you're going up.

"No, wait for me", he begs, acidic saliva running down your neck.

Pong…

Your skin settling down, you look out over the bedroom - you're awake. With a crushing feeling around your heart you take a few breaths "you're okay, you're okay…".

"Ugh…"

You pinch your nose and snort, trying to get the remnants of the stench out, but failing, you start to get up. Pushing your foot over the edge of the bed something...

An uneasy feeling in your gut mixes with a reasonable one in your head "just look so you can feel ridiculous". Hanging your head down you peer into the darkness...nothing. You sigh, but look some more. Two feet in, like yellow beads, eyes appear, looking straight at you. Screaming at the top of your lungs you throw yourself into the headboard, seeing a dark, not entirely solid figure dash out of the bedroom. Jumping out of bed, leg getting tangled in your covers, you crash violently into the radiator, ribs first. Doubling over, cradling yourself from the jarring pain you find the chord to your lamp, but in your panic pull it down on the floor, the bulb shattering at your feet. Keeping your eyes fixed on the doorway you feel for your phone on the nightstand and, locating it, stand up to push the window open just as you hear your door get pummeled. Crying out from the pain, you squeeze your body through the gap and topple onto the fire escape, the harsh metal digging into your body, a chilling breeze blowing through the bars. Peering over the edge into your room, dialing emergency services, the hallway lights up and a figure rushes to the doorway calling your name; Kee, your neighbour, with panic in his face and a hammer at the ready in his hand.

•

"And you say the door was locked when you tried. You're sure?", the officer asks Kee.

"Yeah, I had to bust it open. No way it was unlocked."

After refusing to set foot in the apartment Kee had gone out to the fire escape, helping you down on your wobbly legs and taken you to his place. Not at ease with the proximity to which he lived to you - the paradox being that he managed to help because of it - he carefully looked in every nook and cranny, turning on the lights in every room before you moved away from the wall to sit down.

Relaying what had happened, not leaving any part out, but also not a hundred percent positive things had really been the way you had perceived them; were the eyes really yellow? They were, but...ye-llow..? Did the dream have anything to do with it? You'd been fully clothed when you woke up, so there was no doubt about it being a dream, but the stench…

Luckily he believed you and wondered about it the same as you. Making a huge cup of chamomile tea, looking over your ribs (his unused nurses degree coming to use) and deciding they probably weren't fractured, you waited for the police to arrive.

"M-hm… Miss, did you have anything to drink before going to bed?"

Flabbergasted, yet knowing this was coming - "hey mister policeman, a shadowy figure with yellow eyes was hiding under my bed" - you wouldn't believe it either, you stick to your guns.

"No, nothing. And no drugs, prescription or otherwise."

"Nothing over-the-counter..?"

"Are you kidding me..!", Kee bursts out. "Look at her! I found her on the goddamn fire escape in her pyjamas! Broke down the door 'cus of her screaming..!"

"Sir, you need to calm down…"

"Ca-! You're acting like she-"

"Kee!", you hiss, pulling at his t-shirt.

"- had a bad dream and called the cops!"

"If you don't calm down, sir...", the officer warns him again, casually putting his hand on his cuffs. "I'll have to remove you. Now, is that what you want?"

Incensed, Kee's eyes grow large and his jaw flies open, but realising you'll be left alone if he says another word he shuts his eyes, composing himself.

"Now… Have you been getting any strange phone calls, messages from anyone..?"

"No", you shake your head.

"Notice anything missing from your home? Things out of place..?"

"Ehm...no… I don't think so. I don't have a stalker, if that's what you mean."

"Just checking all the boxes, Miss. Sometimes we don't notice until we think about it closer."

•

"I don't think they'll find him…", you sigh, propping up your pillows, adrenaline giving way to drowsiness.

"Him..?"

"It. The thing, being. What ever it was."

"If it got scared off by you, then maybe he- it is gone for good..? I don't think you have to worry-"

"No, don't!", you protest, when he flicks the living room light off.

"Sorry, force of habit. But you can stay here as long as you want. I'll grab some stuff from your place tomorrow..?"

You nod, check under the bed for the gazillionth time, then get into it.

"Do you want me to stay up until you fall asleep?"

"Yes. But no. But face my way."

Searching the net for every and any story similar to yours might not be the best way to fall asleep, but you reckon you won't anyway so you stare at your phone for two hours. Eventually Kee's soft puffing works lullaby magic on you. Not enough to knock you out, but enough to make you put away your phone and pull the covers to your chin, looking at the little bits and bobs he's decorated his bedroom with. Looking at his poster you smile; it was given to him as a joke, minding his sometimes quick temper: a bright, computer animated sun with the words "remember, the sun is always shini-'' the flat goes pitch black.

"Kee!", you hiss, accidentally hitting him in the face going for his arm.

"Aoh, wha- shit", he whispers, sitting up.

Absolute darkness.

You grab onto his t-shirt, your chest a vacuum, tears burning behind your eyes...

[marshmallow-phd]

Scarlet Moon

Genre: Scarlet Heart Ryeo!AU, Time Travel!AU, Alternate History, Royalty!AU

Pairing: OC x EXO OT9

Summary:  This isn’t Gwen’s time. She was from the modern era, with technology and electricity. But during a solar eclipse, she’s transported back into a previous life in a time and place she does not know. Now, as the foreign daughter of a merchant living in a prince’s household, she must tread carefully, watch her back, and guard her heart. But with the princes locked in a battle over the throne, the chances of her making it out alive might disappear.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3

                                            ********

The paper sliced across the skin before any action could be taken to avoid it. A high pitched hiss followed by a short whine. The flap of skin that had been separated was being dyed red. 

Gwen stuck her index finger in her mouth to sooth the stinging. It helped a little bit. Still sucking on the appendage, Gwen stumbled over to the supply closet and opened the thin metal doors with the other hand. She kept this feat up as she opened the first aid kit and pushed around the different types of bandages, trying to decide which one to use. The cut was right on the tip, right where you never want it to be. It was hard to get a band aid on that kind of cut. Eventually, she found a smaller version of a standard design and ripped the paper covering opening. She wrapped the band aid around her index finger before heading for her desk. It was back to the files that had injured her in the first place. 

The pile was tall; by her standards, at least. Gwen had been dealing with it for the past hour. The dates on the files needed sorting, separating the ones could be sent to long-term storage. She almost gave out another whine, but she didn’t want the others to hear and start the relentless teasing. Her coworkers were quick and very witty. 

It was a friendly floor. Everyone joked and played around without the fear of feelings being hurt. If Gwen didn’t have to do the actual work that came with the office space, she wouldn’t mind staying here forever. But dealing with these files and demanding customers and meeting quotas was not what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Not that Gwen knew exactly what it was that she did want to do. She’d tried a lot of things over the last few years in her slow going college years. Marketing, history, education - hell, she even took several makeup courses and skincare lessons that focused on natural resources. None of it stuck, none of it held her interest, though the information could be recalled if needed. 

“You alright there, Gwen?”

Drudging up from the bowels of her thoughts, Gwen looked up at Kimberly, who had stopped at her desk on the way back from the printer. 

“Yeah,” Gwen nodded with a sigh. “Just… ready for the week to be over.”

“Ain’t that the consensus,” Kimberly laughed. 

“How are the dogs?” Gwen was seizing the opportunity to distract herself from work. Kimberly owned two dogs with opposite personalities. One was the well-mannered older brother, the other was the skittish, hyper younger brother. She loved to talk about them and there was never a shortage of entertaining stories. 

Kimberly rolled her eyes. “Kurt is back to back to demanding his breakfast at five a.m. Oh, but Kent now does this thing where he walks backwards. Whenever he starts doing that, we’ll beep at him. You know, like the garbage trucks? Then he gets all shy and hides his head.”

Gwen couldn’t stop giggling at the thought. “Oh, the poor thing!”

“You’ll have to see it next time you come over.”

“I can’t wait.”

As Kimberly walked away, Gwen sighed. She didn’t get out too much and the humor that most of her socializing outside of work was with one of her coworkers wasn’t lost on her. Just another dart to throw at the board that was Gwen Sinclair. 

It wasn’t like her life was a complete disaster. Really, it could have been worse. She could imagine a thousand different scenarios that she could be living right now that were worse off then her current situation. Truthfully, if glanced at from the outside, Gwen’s life was simply... mediocre. She was blessed with tolerable roommates, an okay job that provided a nice paycheck for a twenty-three-year-old who had yet to finish college. But… the loneliness was killing her and overall, she was craving for something more. 

She was exhausted from obligation and responsibility. She wished to go back to the days where she read about adventure and intrigue and imagined some day living that out herself. After having those words in her hands, she felt empty in her reality. Somehow, each day felt even more draining. 

With the end of another workday, Gwen packed up the files that still needed to be sorted, locked up her cabinets and tugged on her coat as she waved goodbye to Kimberly and the others. A few other coworkers were chatting excitedly about the solar eclipse happening in a few minutes. Gwen, however, was annoyed. Annoyed at the fact that all anyone - online or in person - could talk about was the solar eclipse, as if it was the only one that had ever been seen in this generation. When one person mentioned the eclipse, it was fine. When it was every post and every comment and every conversation, it felt a little ridiculous. Gwen couldn’t care less about the event. Getting home was her current priority. But escaping wasn’t that easy. 

For the millionth time, Gwen rolled her eyes as she scrolled through the newsfeed, waiting for her car to warm up in the parking garage. The weather was cold and dreary, slowing down her progress on getting home. Puffs of steam escaped her lips in the below freezing temperature. Other employees hurried past the back of her car to get to their own tiny sanctuaries. An alert for a new email popped up at the top of the phone screen. From the quick scan of the notification, she saw that it was from her eastern history professor. He wanted to go over the latest paper from class. Oh, no. That was never a good sign. 

Gwen huffed, threw her car into reverse, and pulled out of the parking space. First the papercut, now this. 

Since all her classes were online, Gwen had the minor luxury to not be forced to talk to her professor face to face, which surely would have been humiliating. But it couldn’t be avoided completely. She’d email him back once she arrived home. Or maybe she’d put it off until tomorrow. Dealing with this was the last thing she wanted to do. Stress was already causing her skin to revert back to puberty, she didn’t need this as well. 

Her phone rang and she struggled to answer it while carefully winding down the levels of the garage. It was Jaynie, the favorite of the roommates.

“Hey, Janie, what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if you were coming straight home today.”

Gwen smirked, knowing exactly where this was going. 

Over the past several months, a bit of an obsession had developed with Korean dramas. The shows the two of them consumed were different from the same old, boring American television and there were years worth of stories to choose from. Currently, they were in the middle of another romantic comedy. While Gwen loved the storyline and was in a constant state of swoon, as soon as the credits started rolling, she was reminded how pathetically uninteresting her life was. But those sixty plus minutes of pure escapism made it all worth the crash that came afterwards. 

Gwen tried to wait patiently in the line to leave the parking garage, but her frustration was getting the better of her. It was stop and go, stop and go, stop and go.

“I’m planning on it. That is, if people decide any day now to not drive idiotically.”

“Ugh, I had the same problem on my way home.” 

Curious. Both of them worked in the downtown area. “How did you get home so fast?” Gwen asked.

“I got off a little early today.”

“Lucky.” Her accounting job often led to flexible hours. Gwen was jealous of that level of freedom. 

The road was slick from the freezing rain. Weather like this brought out all the stupid drivers as if this wasn’t a yearly occurrence. She was careful to look both ways before exiting the garage and inching into the street. What she didn’t account for was the other emptying lot across the street. A large black SUV pulled out right at the same time, but went too fast, hitting the water that was slowly turning to ice on the asphalt. 

With no time to react, the SUV slammed into the side of Gwen’s compact car. Glass from the driver’s side window shattered and sprayed her face. Her phone flew out of her hand. The crunch of metal hit her ears before she could fully process what had happened. With the force of the collision, her forehead slammed against the steering wheel before the airbag deployed. The sound of screams echoed around her, but the words were unintelligible. Slumped over in her seat, a shadow creeped over the scene. Through the slits of her barely open eyes, Gwen watched as the sun disappeared behind the moon. Then all went black. 

                                           ********

The water was what brought her back. It filled her lungs and surrounded her on all sides. She flailed her limbs, desperate for traction that couldn’t be found. Her clothing weighed her down, the hems being pulled as if hands had gripped tight on them. She needed a miracle. And a miracle she got. Two hands held onto one of her wrists and pulled her to the surface. 

She gasped for air as her rescuer struggled to bring her to shore. The cloth that covered her felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds, making it nearly impossible to move. Water made its way up her throat, spilling over her lips. Her lungs were finally clear. They took in as much oxygen as they were allowed, burning with each brath. 

“Lady Gwen! Lady Gwen!”

A young girl blocked out the bright sun. She shook Gwen’s shoulders desperately. 

Gwen’s brain processed that the girl was not speaking English, but… she could understand her. The girl’s damp, dark hair was pulled into halves on either side of her face held in place by wide red straps. She looked at Gwen with deep concern, like a lifelong friend. But Gwen was sure she had never seen this girl before in her life. 

“My Lady, can you hear me?” she asked frantically.

“Who are you?” Gwen finally choked out. 

That made the girl pause in her panic. “What?”

Slowly regaining her strength, Gwen pushed herself up to her knees. As her eyesight cleared, she took in her surroundings. Gone were the tall metal and glass buildings, traffic lights, and speeding cars of her modern home. Now all that surrounded her were trees and a sandy beach of a large, calm lake. In the distance, wooden houses with curved rooftops, painted in bright reds and greens dotted the horizon. The heaviness that weighed her down was a dress made of too many layers and of no western fashion that she’d ever experienced before. 

Whispers bounced around the rocky shore. All the faces that were looking on with concern around were unfamiliar. Gwen grabbed the hair cascading down her back, but it was still the red she knew, darker from the dampness of being pulled out of the water but still her hair. 

“Where am I?” she asked in a quiet, gasping voice.

“My Lady, don’t you remember?” The girl panicked. “You’re in Songak. Goryeo.”

“Goryeo?” Gwen screeched. All the minor details she could summon up of the country came rushing to the forefront of her mind. It was information overload and her brain couldn’t handle it. Her lungs tried desperately to keep up, breathing in as much air as they could, but her throat was closing up from the panic. The landscape blurred and she fell to the ground.

                                          ********

She was in a bed this time when she regained consciousness. The room was cold and dimly lit with soft, orange candlelight. A man, Caucasian unlike the others, sat beside the bed on a stool, worry etched into every facet of his face.

“Gwen, sweet, are you all right?”

English. He was speaking English. But that was a footnote of comfort to the bigger problem. She still didn’t know what had happened to her or how she got here or who these people were that seemed to know her. The man, who was about in his mid-forties with salt and pepper hair, smiled down at her, though his eyes were confused. “Gwen, does it hurt anywhere? Can you tell me if you hit your head?”

Gwen took a moment, to calm down and to evaluate what she was feeling physically. Her head didn’t hurt, nor did any other part of her body. Wordlessly, she shook her head. The man seemed relieved. 

“Are you all right?” He asked again, a different meaning under the question this time. “Chae Ryung said you couldn’t remember her or that we were in Goryeo? Do you at least remember your papa?”

Gwen weighed the choices in her mind. There wasn’t a mirror around, but she started to wonder if she had taken the place of someone else. Someone who knew these strangers. She could say that she didn’t know any of them - the truth - but would they think her mad if she spilled too much? Perhaps she could say she remembered a few things. Like him, if he is this poor girl’s father. Why am I here? In this time? 

Choosing to comprise with herself, she gave the smallest of nods. “Papa.” Sitting up, she pulled him into a hug and there was something comforting about his embrace. This body remembered him, at least. 

“What happened?” she asked after she let go. 

“Chae Ryung said that you’d wandered off again and she found you, you’d been the water a long time.” The man, Papa, sucked in a breath, his eyes beginning to water. His genuine concern over her wellbeing made Gwen choke up as well. “The doctor said you stopped breathing. That could explain your lost memories.”

Good. The excuse was already in her hands. That should make it easy enough to play along while being forgiven for any missteps. But they shouldn’t be in Goryeo. That didn’t make any sense, historically. If anything, they might have been in Joseon – late Joseon. Was this some sort of alternate timeline? Or maybe she hit her head really hard in the car crash and this is really all a dream from the stress of her paper and too much K-drama. 

Yes. Too much K-drama.

That had to be the explanation. This was all a strange dream. Which meant, she could play along and not be afraid. She could ask questions and live out the day until she woke back up in her own time, most likely in a hospital with a bandage on her head and her mother fretting over her. 

She glanced around the room, taking in the architecture that she had only ever seen in pictures. In person, it was even more stunning and intricate. This wasn’t an ordinary citizen’s home. Interesting. What else could her brain come up with? “Why are we in Goryeo?”

“Your father’s a merchant, remember?” He spoke slowly. Each word was deliberate, giving Gwen time to process. Good filler for her mind. “I made a large fortune here and planned on taking you back home, but… your mother is buried here. We couldn’t leave her behind.”

A wave of emotion hit out of nowhere. Though her mother was alive and well, it didn’t stop a tear from escaping. “Mama.”

Papa wiped it away with a coarse finger. Gwen gasped back, surprised by the realness of the touch. Her dreams were never this intricate. The blanket strone across her lap scrunched in her fingers. It was cold and soft… and very real. 

She wasn't dreaming, was she?

Confused by her reaction, Papa paused for a moment before continuing his explanation. “The eighth prince is graciously letting us stay with him while we wait on the construction of our home to be complete.”

The eighth prince?

Panic grew tenfold. If this wasn’t a dream, then she was in very big trouble. If history told her one thing, it was that proximity to royalty was the most dangerous place to be. Gwen might possibly have been able to skate by if they were simply staying in some unknown village far from the capital, but they were in a prince’s home. Which meant they were in… Songak, the capital city, just like that girl – Chae Ryung – had said. Right under the King’s nose. Breathing became difficult again. Each one was shallow, barely letting in any oxygen. Gwen could feel her chest tighten and her vision blurred. 

“Gwen!” Papa jumped up and tried to keep her straight to give her lungs as much room as possible. He switched to Korean as he called out over his shoulder, “Someone, get the doctor! Now!” Shuffling sounds echoed off the floor on the other side of the sliding door and then faded away.

A minute later, breathing no better, two men and a woman rushed inside along with Chae Ryung. The older man stepped in front of Papa and took his place. He pushed Gwen’s shoulders gently until she was lying down. Two cold fingers against her wrist checked her pulse. The other, much younger man stepped up to Papa.

“What happened?”

Papa frowned. “It seems she’s lost some of her memories. I was explaining why we were here when suddenly she had trouble breathing.” He stopped, struggling with his own breath. “I’m sorry we’ve become a burden to you, Your Highness.” 

Gwen’s breathing was regaining strength and she was able to concentrate on the conversation. So that was the eighth prince. He was younger than she would have guessed, handsome even, if she had to focus on something other than her lack of breath. 

“Do not think such a thing,” the Eighth Prince replied. “Your presence has greatly improved the household. Lady Gwen will get better with time.”

Papa bowed, obviously grateful at the response. He turned to the woman. “Lady Hae, may I enquire after your own health?”

“Today is a better day,” she smiled, though her pale, drained complexion said otherwise. “Please, don’t worry about me. Keep your thoughts for your daughter.”

The doctor released Gwen’s wrist, satisfied with the improvement of her pulse and breathing. He stood up.

“It was a mild panic attack,” the doctor said calmly to Papa. “If it happens again, she should lie down and focus on her breathing. The incident at the lake seems to have taken a toll on her body. She simply needs rest. In time, her memories and her body will recover.”

Gwen didn’t agree with that statement fully. This body might get better in time, but there was no way memories that didn’t exist would ever return. One by one, the occupants left the room until it was only Gwen and Papa remaining behind. Silence hung in the air. After a moment, Papa sat down on the stool and took Gwen’s hand. 

“I was worried I had lost you,” he whispered. 

Gwen’s eyes fell down to the blanket covering her legs. Things were becoming clearer to her now. This was not a dream and she was no longer Gwen Sinclair from the twenty-first century. Something must have happened. She didn’t know what exactly had occurred or what would happen now, but she was here. And little did this man – known only to her as “Papa” – know that he had indeed lost his daughter. The face may be the same, but the Gwen inside was different. She would try her best to be good to him, at least until she found a way to get back to her own family. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

                                          ********

The next morning, the doctor, along with the Eighth Prince, came back to check on Gwen. The doctor commented that her pulse was stronger and that she seemed well on the road to full health. However, he still insisted on keeping her on bedrest.

Bored with these same walls and too curious about her temporary home, Gwen sat up. If she was going to be here for a while, she might as well get to know it. “I’m fine. Please, don’t make me stay in here all day. The sun and air is good for you, isn’t it?”

The sudden rebelliousness against the doctor’s suggestion did not seem to sit well with any of them. Gwen gave Papa a pleading look. A father couldn’t resist those eyes. He sighed, turning to the doctor. “Perhaps, a little exercise in walking around the grounds would be all right?”

The doctor looked reluctant, but he agreed. “But she shouldn’t overexert herself.”

“Chae Ryung will stay with her,” the Eighth prince ordered. “If you’ll please excuse me, I must meet with my brothers.” He bowed and left, followed by the doctor.

Having heard her name from the hallway, Chae Ryung shuffled quickly inside and over to Gwen, holding out her arms for the latter to balance on as she slid off of the bed. “Are you sure you want to go outside?”

Gwen nodded. “Yes. Perhaps seeing more of this place will help jog my memory.”

Chae Ryung tilted her head. “How can your memory jog?”

Gwen snorted, both at Chae Ryung’s confusion and at herself for the slip of the modern phrase. “Sorry, I just meant, maybe my memories will come back.”

“Oh.” The look on her face was enough to make Gwen laugh again. 

Gwen scolded herself internally. She had to be more careful with her words. Every step was one on thin ice. She couldn’t change who she was, not completely, but she would have to pull back. Chae Ryung, however, felt safe, like a shelter from the rain. With her, Gwen could find answers that might be dangerous to seek elsewhere. Straightening her shoulders, Gwen smiled broadly and took her newest friend’s hand. Chase Ryung grinned brightly at her and guided her out of the room.

[quickspinner]

Your Lips are Moving

I don’t have anything good WIP Wednesday for this week, so have a silly little ficlet that came to me while the radio was on.

Sitting on the Liberty’s couch, wedged between Alya and an extremely bouncy and overly-enthusiastic Rose, Marinette was trying desperately to keep a neutral expression on her face while her skin was trying to crawl off her body. If she’d known she was going to be here…

The latest round of ooh’s and ah’s died down and Marinette tried not to cringe at the sound of that voice.

“And then Jagged said I’d given him the idea that broke him out of his songwriting block!” Lila concluded triumphantly. She looked around at all of them with what Marinette clearly recognized as smug satisfaction, and sure enough several of the girls drew breath for another round of impressed exclamations and fawning. 

Marinette contemplated shattering the glass in her hand and using the shards to damage her own hearing. 

Before anybody could actually speak a powerful male voice rang out from the galley, singing, “I know you’re lyin’, cause your lips are moving, baby do you think I’m dumb? I might be young, but I ain’t stupid—”

Lila’s mouth dropped open in shock and outrage and for a moment her rage was plain. Marinette felt a thrill of absolute, unmitigated glee and had to bite down hard on her lip to contain her smile. 

“Luka,” Juleka yelled sharply, and the girls around her flinched at the unexpected volume.

Luka’s head popped over the counter and he closed the fridge absently behind him, popping his earbuds out to hang around his neck. “Oh, hey Jules. Sorry, I didn’t realize you had company.”

“I told you they were coming,” Juleka grumbled, and Luka shrugged. 

“I forgot.” He flashed a grin in their direction. “Hey Marinette.” 

All the girls’ eyes turned to her except Juleka, who was still glaring at her brother. Marinette blushed, ignoring the one pair of narrowed eyes on her amidst all the wide ones, her heart suddenly fluttering in her chest for reasons entirely unrelated to their scrutiny. She raised her hand in a feeble wave, ducking her head slightly. “Hi.”

His grin widened. “If you’ve got time before you leave you should come on up, I had some stuff I wanted to talk to you about,” he said, nodding towards the stairs as he pulled some snack bags down out of an upper cabinet. “Might mean a new commission for you with some friends of mine. Sorry for interrupting, ladies,” he added, trying to balance his pile of loot. He bopped on up the stairs, picking up his song again, at the top of his powerful lungs. “You only love me when you’re here, you’re so two-faced, two faced babe.”

Oh it was probably wrong how much Marinette was enjoying the color Lila was turning. Some part of her felt a little frisson of fear for Luka if he got on Lila’s bad side, but the rest of her was ready to put him up for sainthood.

“You’re so embarrassing,” Juleka mumbled, bringing her hands up to shield her face. 

“If your lips are moving, If your lips are moving, then you lyin’ lyin’ lyin, baby” Luka sang back down the hatch, tossing them a wave and a smirk from the top of the stairs.

“Jerk!” Juleka screamed, lobbing a throw pillow in his direction. “Ugh, why am I not an only child?” 

Marinette giggled, and slapped a hand over her mouth when all eyes turned to her. 

“Um,” she said, and got quickly to her feet. “Well, if it’s about a commission I should probably go see what it’s about seeyouguyslaterbye!” She ran out of the room after Luka. He didn’t look at all surprised when she appeared in the sunroom, just grinned and tossed her a bag of chips. Marinette caught them and tossed them aside, then threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked innocently, but the grin that split his face immediately afterwards wasn’t innocent at all.

Marinette almost kissed him for real in that moment. He looked away just in time, cheeks reddening, and coughed. “So, um, you want to talk about that commission?” 

“There’s really a commission?” Marinette said in surprise. “I...guess I thought that was just an excuse.”

Luka nudged her towards a deck chair. “It can be an excuse and still be the truth. It’s not like I don’t talk you up to everybody I know.”

“You do not,” Marinette gasped, sinking into the chair. 

“Marinette,” he said, putting on a wounded expression and pressing a hand to his chest. “Are you saying I’m a liar?” 

It was such a good imitation of Lila’s wounded playacting that Marinette burst out laughing, and Luka could only hold his straight face a moment more before joining her. 

When they finally sobered enough to talk business, Luka passed her some snacks and told her about his friend who had a big audition coming up and wanted a signature piece to really make a statement. Before long, though, they were just chatting, and teasing, and it was so much better than being down there with the girls and the liar, or up here by himself with his guitar. 

“Be honest,” Marinette said finally, leaning towards him slightly. “You weren’t actually listening to Meghan Trainor, were you?” 

Luka picked up his phone and looked her in the eye as he pulled out the plug of the earbuds he’d wrapped around his phone and started the music up again on speaker. It blared out, I know you’re lyin’, your lips are movin’, baby don’t you know I’m done.

Marinette giggled, and Luka shrugged. “I have a bunch of themed playlists, and I like all kinds of music, even if rock is my favorite.” 

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “You have a liar-themed playlist?” 

Luka chuckled. “Nah, just...lips and kissing. Somehow it turns out a lot of those have a good beat, so…” he shrugged.

Marinette shook her head. “Whatever makes you happy, I guess.”

Luka had several responses to that which were probably better left unsaid, so he just smiled. “With lips like yours,” he sang, “You could talk me into anything,” and laughed as Marinette threw a balled up napkin at him. “Careful,” he teased. “You might put my eye out.” 

“You’re terrible,” she laughed, getting to her feet and gathering her things. “I love it. Thanks for the laugh, Luka. I feel a lot better. I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

“Sure. Anytime, Marinette.” His gaze softened as he watched her stumble over the gangplank, still giggling to herself. He fell back into his chair, humming to himself. “You said hello, I said oh no, here we go again,” he sang softly to himself, letting his head fall back to look up into the sky. “With lips like yours, you could talk me into anything.” He turned his head and his eyes found her on the bank, a bounce in her step as she headed home, and he shook his head. “With arms like yours, you could hold me all night long…” Luka sighed, and reached for his phone. It was definitely time for a different playlist. 

At least until the other girls came back upstairs. After all, it wouldn’t be his fault what Juleka and her friends heard when they came walking up here into his space.

Fiction Master Post

[bangtan-madi]

Year of the Rabbit — Seven: Priori

Pairing — Jungkook x Reader, Hoseok x Yoongi, Taehyung x Jimin

Tags — best friend!Jungkook, non-idol au, flower shop au, gym au, florist!MC, gym owner!Jungkook, brother!Namjoon, friends to lovers, slow burn, mutual pining

Genre — fluff, angst

Word Count — 4.3k

Summary — Blame it on the storm or the secret feelings or the snow-in, but one thing is for sure: a lot can happen to two best friends when they're confined to their stores overnight. 

Warnings — language

Part — 7 / 7 (Outro still to come!)

Previous — Next

It takes the length of the call ringing for you to totally digest what just happened. Eventually, Jungkook's name fades from the black mirror, and the soft lullaby of "Yellow" fades away. You're left gripping the phone between pale fingers, desperately waiting for him to say something else.

When he speaks again, his tone is soft, barely audible, the most tender-sounding thing you've ever heard. "You're the one I love."

Lowering his phone, his hand reaches for yours. You allow him to use gentle pressure to pry your fingers away, and he tosses them both to the side. 

Despite the blood pulsing in your ears, your breath is steady. Disregarding the way your hands tremble when he links his pinky with yours — something you two often do to silently show the other you're there — your mind is blissfully peaceful. Every worry, all your anxieties, the pile of bittersweet emotions you'd kept inside all this time, it's faded like mist.

Jungkook loves you. 

You. 

Not some other girl, not the one he broke up with over Christmas, not one of the many that come into his gym just to flirt. Of all the lovely women in Seoul that he could've fallen for, he didn't mention their names. He didn't call their number. He didn't spend his New Year with any of them.

He said your name. He called your number. He spent the holiday with you, alone and snowed in, cold and dark at the supermarket.

And suddenly, your eyes are damp and ever-so-slightly burning. Not in any way that allows sadness, but in every way that brings you joy. Your pinky curls around his, but you can't bring yourself to speak or meet his gaze. The boy you adore, standing silently beside you, gives you the time you need. More than anything, you want to throw your arms around him and confess your concurrent feelings. You want to hold him closer than you ever have before. But if you move now, you feel the thin glass pane of the confession will shatter and reality will be the solid stone wall behind it.

Almost as if sensing your disbelief, Jungkook leans closer and tucks a stray strand of hair from your face and behind your ear. "You're my priori," he murmurs, a soft smile visible from your peripheral vision. "My one true thing."

Of all the things you thought having your unrequited love confirmed would feel like, you never thought it would be this. You thought it would feel like flying — or maybe falling — like stepping off the edge and having all the love around you carry you to a new world. You always dreamed it would be like riding a rollercoaster with hands held high, heart racing, screaming at the top of your lungs from euphoria. Surely love feels exciting and thrilling and new, like one adventure after another.

Never in any of your daydreams or sleepless nights did you think love would feel so much like a sentimental song playing in the room beside you. Not unfamiliar, something you know from the past — perhaps even a lifetime ago. But it feels right to your soul, and you can't help but walk towards it. And finding that one you love feels like finding your home, and finding out that they feel the same way is like being handed the keys with the words, "It's yours now."

Love feels settled and secure and safe. It's constant and sure and tender, and you're surprised to have already had those things in your friendship with Jungkook. Then there comes a sense of relief when you see that very little will change between you two — but now you don't have to live with secret feelings and unacted-upon adoration. He's your one constant thing, your one true thing; that much you already knew.

Yes, priori is the perfect word.

"Jungkook..."

"Yes?"

Blinking away the tears from your eyes, you thread your fingers with his and finally raise your head. As your eyes meet, you offer a smile. Instantly, Jungkook's worry fades. Your grasp tightens, and you lift your other hand to tug on the edge of his shirt, prompting him to come closer.

"I think...I love you, too."

Jungkook's dimples pop out as he grins, and something like a squeak slips out beyond his control. His giddiness is infatuating, causing you to giggle alongside him. Suddenly, he's the one pulling you into him. The hand-holding turns into warm-embracing. His arms find their way around your waist and back, his hands gripping you closer. You make a sound of surprise when his cold nose buries into the crook of your neck. 

You're just as quick to return the affection. Your arms wrap around his shoulders, and your face nuzzles into his wavy hair. As one fist grips the soft material of his top, the other weaves through the silky locks. Having him this close is nothing you haven't done before; somehow this time feels different.

Just as you start to settle into his embrace, Jungkook's shaking his head against your neck, laughing softly to himself. "What's so funny?" you ask.

"I was so fucking scared you were going to freak out and run away," he chuckles against your skin. "Horrified I was going to lose you."

"Is that why you didn't say anything?" He nods. "How long?"

"Um...years?"

"Jeon Jungkook—!"

"—But especially ever since you left to study in the U.S.," he interrupts, explaining further. "For the first time since I met you, I thought I was going to lose you. Then I realized my feelings were way more than friendly, and that I'd do just about anything to get you back."

You heave a sigh and run your fingers along the exposed skin at the top of his back. "Then why didn't you tell me when I came back? It's been six damn months..."

"Because the fear of losing you was still there," he admits. 

"And now?"

Jungkook shakes his head, then presses a kiss against your shoulder. "Not anymore."

"Well, if you're as brave now as you say you are, when are you going to kiss me?"

The brunet pulls away, swift and with wide eyes. He observes your expression for any sense of a trick or joke but finds nothing other than your teasing smile. Your eyes flicker down to his mouth, which only encourages him more. 

When you graze your fingers across his shoulders and pull your lower lip between your teeth, he snaps. Closing the distance in seconds, his eager mouth presses to yours. He's soft and gentle, but also excited and insistent. You move with him, your hands cradling his face. One hand remains at your waist as the other migrates to your hair. Neither of you can hide the smiles that slip in between kisses.

"You're actually a really good kisser," he giggles.

"Was there ever any doubt?"

Jungkook pecks your mouth again before responding, "Nope, but I had imagined it so many times I was starting to wonder if anything could live up to the moment in my head."

Your heart skips a beat at his confession, and it doesn't go unnoticed that the tips of his ears turn scarlet. "You imagined us together?"

He nods, brushing the tip of his nose against yours. "More than I should've."

Heart full enough to burst at his adorable nature, you tug him back to you, tugging softly on his lower lip as you kiss. Jungkook takes advantage of the chance to slip his hands under your shirt, earning a yelp from you. 

"Wai—Wait," you state, unable to hide the intrusive thought that occurs. "Is this why you broke things off with your ex?"

He groans and pulls away from you, putting mere millimeters between you. "Are you seriously bringing her up right now?"

"Maybe..."

Jungkook rolls his eyes, obviously annoyed with your timing but indulging your curiosity with a smirk just the same. "Yeah. I think she knew I loved you, and we broke it off because of it. But that was a mutual choice."

"And my partners?"

"Oh, they've known since high school."

"What the hell," you scoff with mock horror, bringing his face back towards yours. "You're unbelievable, Gym Bunny."

His grin is wide, showing the very reason for the nickname. "I would say I try, but I don't."

"Shut up and kiss me, idiot."

"You're the one asking ques—!"His complaint is stopped short by your mouth on his, and you press the boundary a little more as you nip at his bottom lip, requesting entrance. Jungkook's lips part, and he steps forward with hands on your hips. Following his lead, you shuffle half a step backward before feeling the sofa put an abrupt stop to your path. Careening off-balance, the pair of you topple over, you barely landing on the cushions before Jungkook awkwardly stumbles and follows suit.

The unexpected puff of air from your lungs has him pushing off of you as much as possible, as soon as possible. Eyes wide, his expression is one of pure shock. Going from an intimate moment to an awkward one is right on par with your relationship. Between that thought and the look on his face, you burst into laughter, throwing your head back as giggles wreck your body.

"Why are we like this?" Eventually, you're able to spout the words. 

By this time, Jungkook's concern has faded, and he's chuckling with you. "It's been this many years of a habit," he shrugs. The brunet pulls his upper body up as to perch on his elbows, which are on either side of your torso. As he gazes up at you, he rests his chin on your chest, looking more adorable by the second, though he's not even trying. "Why change anything now?"

As your laughter settles down, you move a hand playfully through his unruly hair, admiring the fact that it's longer than he usually lets it go. He leans into your touch, clearly enjoying the way your nails graze his scalp.

"Kiss me again?"

Jungkook doesn't wait for you to ask twice; in a heartbeat, he's propped himself up on his forearms, leaning over you, and pressing kisses all over your face. Your eyelids, your forehead, your nose—not one section is left untouched. Well, none except for the place you want to be kissed.

"Your aim is shitty."

He pulls back with raised eyebrows, voice sarcastic. "Oh, I'm sorry, are those not good enough for you?"

You shake your head with a smirk. "Nope."

"Mmm, fine. I'll relent." 

He closes the distance and molds his mouth to yours. Not even a second later, the whole world lights up. Not in the typically cheesy romantic way, but in the very literal way. The lights in the supermarket come to life, and the machinery keeping everything cold whirs softly as background noise. The streetlights outside shine through the frostbitten windows, and the heat begins to pump warmer air into the space. To your elation, the generator in the back room shuts off, having done its duty to keep everything running as much as possible during the blackout. Even the lights of the storefronts outside the supermarket light up once more.

"Power's back," you murmur, realizing that the night snowed in is coming to an end, and reality will slowly follow suit. Turning back to face Jungkook, you see his face equally as downcast as yours. "I guess that's a good thing, right? At least we can go home and get some actual sleep."

He chuckles, then rests his cheek against your chest. "I slept just fine, thanks."

You bury your nose into his hair and sigh, recalling what you were doing the night prior before the power shut off. "Or I can get to work. I still need to get everything done for that wedding. I just hope the order went through before the outage..." 

Jungkook sighs, lifts his head, and mutters, "Can you do me a favor?" At your nod, he continues. "Leave the shop for a few hours. Spend some time with me in a place that's actually warm. Let me get you that shitty takeout I promised you and just...be with me for a while. No work. No worries. Just us." He brushes his fingers against your ribcage, barely under your shirt. "Can you do that?"

Seeing the puppy-dog twinkle in his eyes, you roll your eyes with playful abandon. Your best friend grins, knowing he's won. "Fiiine. But Natsukashii is anything but shitty."

At your promise, Jungkook is eager to return to the flower shop for the bike he arrived on. Step by careful step, you make your way into the storage room, up the ladder, and across the attic overhead. Once down the hatch and into the shop, you're taken back by the shiver down your spine. You can only hope that the handful of hours without power didn't take too harsh a tole on the floral displays in the windows or horticulture pods in the back room.

Jungkook tosses you his sweatshirt, remaining only in a long-sleeved T-shirt. You open your mouth to protest, but he shoots you a glare that says, "Just put the damn shirt on already."

If you thought the interior was chilly, the walkway out front is bitter cold. Jungkook mounts the bike with ease, and he nods for you to hop on the back. After scooting onto a seat probably, no definitely, not made for two, he takes off in the direction opposite your apartment.

"Where are we going?"

"My place, it's a lot closer than yours," he says, glancing over his shoulder for a moment. "If that's all right. I already fed your cat, so she's fine."

You flash a small smile, nodding your approval. "That's perfect."

The ride is thankfully short, and less than five minutes later, Jungkook is pulling up to the front of his apartment. It's inconspicuous, near the edge of the neighborhood, and a perfect length away from his gym. As he parks it at the biking rack outside, locking it in place, you shove your hands into the pockets of the oversized sweatshirt, marveling at how it smells so much like him.

"Isn't Jimin home?" you inquire.

Jungkook scoffs and shakes the snow from his hair. "Not a chance. He spent the New Year with Taehyung. I'd bet money that they're nursing a hangover at the latter's place right now."

"True, and I'll double that bet and say they're not even up yet."

As he joins your side, Jungkook slips his hand around yours and tugs you towards the entrance. "C'mon. It's fucking cold outside and someone stole my sweatshirt."

"You're not playing fair, Gym Bunny."

"That so, Flower Child?"

Once you both push through his front door, gleefully sighing at the warmth the room provides, you're rubbing your numb fingers together. "Can we promise to never do that again?"

"Which? The freezing bike ride or the freezing sleepover?"

"Both!"

Jungkook pokes your cheek as he passes you, a loving smile on his face. "Go change. The snow is melting and you're just about soaked. I'll order the takeout."

Nodding your head, you turn for his bedroom, knowing the way by memory. This is far from the first time you've been over at Jungkook's place, but it's never been like this. It's always been under the guise of being best friends. You never thought you would be sifting through his clothing as someone who's kissed him, held him, or spoken the words "I love you" as a lover would. 

A small smile crosses your face when you think back to high school and college. Those times were especially close to your heart. Knowing what you know now — that Jungkook has been hiding these feelings for basically that entire time — it makes certain moments especially hilarious. All those awkward situations, those teasing comments by Hoseok and Yoongi, those embarrassed expressions from your best friend: suddenly it all makes sense.

You pull a different, but somehow still similar, black sweatshirt from Jungkook's closet, chuckling softly under your breath at his lack of variety in loungewear. To pair with it, you find a loose pair of sweatpants and fuzzy socks. Despite tying the drawstrings to a certain length, rolling up the sleeves and pant legs, you still feel drowned by the overly baggy clothing; even on him, this is a few sizes too large.

Just how he likes it.

When you make yourself as presentable as possible, you return to the living room on quiet feet. Jungkook's voice is soft, barely audible from the hallway, but you remain silent as you recognize the voice on the other line.

"You told her?" Yoongi says in shock. "Actually told her? For fucking real?"

"You're joking!" Hoseok exclaims, his voice a little farther from the phone.

Jungkook laughs. Seated on the sofa with his back turned to you, he nods his head once. "Yeah, actually did it, Hyung."

"About damn time! How long have you been friends? Ten years? More? I can't remember, to be honest— Point is, it's been a long time coming."

"How did it go?"

He pauses, running a hand through his hair, before responding, "She...She likes me, too. You were right."

"See—!"

"—and we might've kissed..."

It's nearly impossible to resist the urge to giggle as Yoongi and Hoseok lose their minds over the phone. Half cheering, half screaming, Jungkook's shoulders shake with laughter as he holds the device away from his ear. 

"We told you, you idiot!" Hoseok exclaims, his accent coming through. "She's liked you for a long-ass time, you both were just too dumb to see it."

"Yeah, yeah, aish. I get it, okay?" Jungkook's words are snide, but his tone is playful. "I owe you a case of soju."

"Oh, you owe us way more than that for leaving you two alone over New Year's." Yoongi scoffs. "I mean, not that we don't love vacationing in Hawaii, but I was starting to worry you would chicken out."

"I did," Jungkook laughs. "And then [Y/n] kept pressing and asking who I was interested in and eventually..."

"Yeah, she's good at being nosey."

"But honestly? I'm glad she did. I would've stayed quiet, just like all the other close calls before." Your best friend sighs, but the sound isn't sad like you'd imagine. It's more like a breath of relief, as if this is a weight he's been shouldering for a while. "And now I feel like things are changing."

Yoongi hums, instantly picking up on the younger's tone shift. "Does it scare you?"

"A bit?" he replies honestly. "I'm not sure..." After trailing off, he straightens up and rubs the back of his neck. "Hey, I gotta go, Hyungs. She's gonna be back any second. Thanks for everything, even if Hobi-hyung was threatening to spill to [Y/n] over the holidays."

"You had it coming, Jungkookie!" Hoseok snickers from somewhere in the background of the other side. "But I swear to god, if you break her heart—"

"—Bye!" Jungkook hangs up with a giggle, clearly amused by Hoseok's ever-present extra-nature. He tosses the phone onto the sofa beside him and leans back onto the cushions.

You slip into the room, clearing your throat to announce your entrance, before wrapping your arms around Jungkook's shoulders. Resting your chin on the crook between his shoulder and neck, you murmur, "You okay?"

Jungkook nods, leaning his head to the side so that it rests against yours. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Just the very end," you assure. After a beat of silence, you give his shoulders a squeeze. "Nothing's going to change. I promise."

"Yeah, maybe I was wrong about that." He pulls away from your grasp and turns around, arms braced against the back of the sofa so he can meet your gaze. "What if I want things to change? For the better."

You'd be lying if you said you weren't taken aback by his suggestion. All this time, the fears inside you both had been that a step forward in your relationship would mean leaving something behind. Or losing something you love. It's one of the hardest things in the world, to face the romantic feelings you have for someone you've called your best friend ever since you were in school. You know Jungkook feels this way, or at least you thought he did.

"There's no way we'll ever stop being best friends," he continues after you say nothing. He tugs on the edges of your, or rather his, sweatshirt, playing absent-mindedly with the loose string on the hem. "We both know that. But maybe now...maybe we owe it to ourselves and these things we feel for the other to see where this leads? Maybe we should give us a try."

Eventually, you find your voice again. "What are you saying?" 

Jungkook closes his eyes and runs his other hand through his wavy hair. The crease between his brows deepens as he struggles to find the correct words. "I was so worried about change because I never considered that it could be good. But maybe it can be. There's nothing that says we have to stop being each other's closest friends if we wanted to give us a try."

"Us...as in dating? Like fancy dinners, movie theaters, non-best friend sleepovers kinda dating."

Heat rises to his cheeks, and suddenly he's stumbling worse than he was before. "I mean—yeah, that's what I was... But only if you wanted to. I was going to ask but—"

The clear embarrassment on his face, paired with the disjointed sentences he never finishes, has you laughing and pulling him to you. Your arms circle around his neck, and you press your lips into his hair. It's been a long time since you've seen him this flustered, and to know it's because of you, how could you not be amused?

"I mean, neither of us are fancy dinner, movie theater kind of people, but I can guarantee I'll take you up if you ask me out to, say, beat your ass at an arcade or out-eat and out-drink you at an all you can eat barbeque and soju night, I would definitely take you up on that. No questions asked. You're my boyfriend now and I will annihilate you without mercy."

Jungkook bursts into laughter at your response, arms wrapping around your middle as his shoulders shake. "In that case, why not do both!"

Pulling back so you can grin down at him, you snicker, "Oh, you're on, Gym Bunny."

Jungkook grins, cups your face in his hands, and pulls you back to him. His lips mold to yours in a sweet and tender kiss. Both of you are smiling into it, and he's nearly about to lift you up and over the back of the sofa and onto the cushion with him before the door buzzer interrupts you both. He pulls away, groaning to himself.

"That's probably the takeout," he says. He presses a second, swifter peck to your mouth before letting you go in favor of the door. "Tonight, we eat takeout and play Call of Duty. Tomorrow, I help you with your order so you're not so stressed?" 

You hop onto the sofa, shaking your head as you retort, "Oh, no, you don't have to do that—!"

"—I want to, no buts," he interrupts with a grin, signature bunny teeth pulling at all your heartstrings. 

How can you say no to that face? 

He backs up towards the door, holding up a finger as if telling you to wait. "One second. I'll be right back with food."

You give two thumbs-ups, returning his cute enthusiasm. "I'll be here."

After he leaves, you shake your head to yourself, wondering how in the world things could shift so much in less than a day. Twenty-four hours ago, you were cooped up at the flower shop, trying to handle a plethora of last-minute tasks, knowing that you wouldn't be home for much of the New Year at all. Your partners on a well-deserved holiday, your parents back home in Ilsan, your brother god only knows where in some random city, you were alone. The flowers were your only companions, and somehow you had come to terms with being okay with it. 

You never could have dreamed up a snowstorm, a power outage, and a supermarket adventure with Jeon Jungkook. While it had started out as an inconvenience, now you look back on last night as a welcome turning point. The events that had transpired had been building up for almost a decade. Despite you making a mental reminder to harass Yoongi and Hoseok for keeping things from you when they returned, you find yourself satisfied with how things have unraveled. You hadn't been alone for the holiday after all — far from it.

As Jungkook returns with the door — spouting in an adorable Busan-accented lisp about the overcharge for the extra sauces he knows you love — you can't help the smile that spreads across your face or the love that blossoms in your heart.

Maybe the Year of the Rabbit wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Taglist — @kooala

[gazedstarfish]

Silence at the other side- CassiexSid

Before you get to the reading (if there’s even anyone who will read it), I’ve got a few disclaimers. My native language is not English, I’m a student of the English language and still have serious difficulties with creative writing. If the cringe scale of this fanfic hits the gates of heaven, or you find so many misspelt words, I sincerely apologize. It’s also been a long time since I’ve written fanfiction. My uni’s work is killing me and I need to practice writing.

I adore Cassie and imagined Sid and Cassie having a short, angsty phone conversation after the cancelled date. Once again, I love Cassie and wanted to delve into her insecurities a little further (I am an insecure person). I'll likely write a sequel, but for now, it's just a prompt. I took the prompt idea "I never stood a chance, did I?" from a list on Wattpad, but unfortunately, I can’t trace the photo back to its author.

I hope you’ll enjoy it even though it’s short and shitty and you won’t hate me.

Cassie's tired eyes were fixed on her bedroom door, on every tiny nick that highlighted the wooden grain. Her legs felt too numb to hold the already low weight of her body if she managed to stand up to leave her bedroom after hours of lying in bed, her body snuggled up in a fragile and secure position. She didn't want to go out anyway, so why bother? For Cassie, an outside world was created for girls like Michelle, the adorably faultless beauty queens who didn't have to beg for someone who can love them for who they are. She pictured herself in Michelle's world, where everybody has great friends and someone to love them. However, the beauty queen has proven to be everything that she presumed: a shattered, flawed mess. She clenched her eyes shut to keep the tears from streaming down her swollen cheeks. A tired and heavy feeling escaped her tired body, triggering a stream of pain-filled tears. Fighting was pointless since her room was empty and she could express her anguish without being judged.

 A small buzzing noise emerged from her nightstand. Cassie reached for her phone, caressing the small yellow stars she used to decorate it in her happier moment. The light-up screen illuminated her face and announced a new message. The name alone on the screen could brighten her existence, but at this moment it produced a stinging feeling alongside an ache in her throat.

 Sid: Cass, I want to talk to you

Delete. And just like that, the message was gone and out of her universe. The phone buzzed again.

Sid: Cassie, please!

She wanted to convince herself so desperately that she didn’t need his presence. Sid made it clear he didn’t want to spend a minute with her, but the worst of all was he gave her hope to carry on and wish for brighter days. Brighter days that included him and his clumsy conversations and shy sloppy kisses.

 Cassie: Leave me alone

A response came almost immediately and she wondered if he is the same position as her: sitting on his bed, sobbing and holding onto his phone for dear life.

 Sid: I’m sorry I hurt you just tell me what I did please

 All the things unsaid wanted to be heard so loudly with that message that she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Although her inner voice was loud, the desire to yell faded quickly. Cassie could shout at Sid, banish him to hell, or start crying all again, but then all the things she loved about him would hit her like a ton of bricks, throwing her back into the vortex of remorse.

 Cassie: I never stood a chance, did I?

 The sound of her phone ringing filled the room, Sid. Cassie waited till the ringing faded always, but the screen of the phone lit up almost immediately followed by her ringtone. She carefully pressed the green button, ready to end this charade once for all, but before she managed to utter a syllable, Sid already started ramble.

 „What do you mean you never stood a chance? I honestly don’t understand, what’s the ma—„

„You well damn know what's going on, Sid!" She couldn't keep her voice from rising; she needed to confront all she was feeling and just how much he has hurt her to heal her system. „I asked you to go out with me, and you accepted! You said yes even though you knew you didn't want to go and wouldn't show up. You were planning, right? I never stood a chance because you didn't give it to me in the first place. It felt so lovely when you agreed, why’d you even say yes?“

 Sid was deafeningly quiet on the other end of the line; all she could hear was his heavy breathing and perhaps the sound of him trying to come up with a response, but not a word made it through the phone.

 "I love you," she said so quickly that she didn't realize what she had spoken at first. Her fingers struggled to maintain the phone next to her ear as the sobs shuddered her entire body. „I love you and you don’t love me back because I don’t stand a chance against Michelle“.

 Cassie heard enough of Sid’s silence. With one click, she hung up the phone and tossed it at a pile of clothes in the corner of her bedroom. She couldn’t decide what hurt her more, Sid’s lack of words or that if she waited for the response, he would agree with her; she’s not Michelle and never stood a chance.

[xxisxxisxxis]

Deleted Scene: Gateway Drug | "Ode to Bullet Trains and Arrestation" -- 1987

Tag List: @unknownoblivion  @edwardtriggerhandzz  @haileynicoleseavey17  @cierrasixx19  @oskea93  @mgkobsessed  @sharon6713  @itsametaphorbriansblog  @miriampraez  @allie-mcginn @xpoisonousrosesx  @rebeccaphillips14  @nicholeh7 @lilmou5ie  @emariehorror  @divaanya  @6ixx6ixx  @ratedrkohardychick91  @floregrohlssard  @oldschoolimagineblog  @abaldboi  @liith-ium  @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels  @ytwahsog  @scarecrowmax  @random-internet-user-4471  @solohqrry  @sparxx27  @kaitieskidmore1  @cruecifymesixx    @meetthesixxter    @arianareirg  @gingerspicetalks

@fancywasmyname1  @teller258316  @ggorehorror  @blowinmeupwithherlove  @xrosegoldwolfx  @mylifeisjustafeverdream  @redlipscrystalskies14 @str4nge-haze @reigns420 @sixxseconds2love @leatherandheels @dogmom2014 @allyouneedislove-mp3 @n0-self-c0ntro1 @viinceneil

.

.

.

"What the hell happened?" I ask Fred as I walk through the lobby to the elevator of the hotel. 

"Just a dumb fight that got thrown out of proportion and Nikki snapped," He explains. "They spent, like, five hours tops in jail until they were let go." He adds. "And Nikki's still asleep so--"

"--Where's the copy of his key?" I ask him once the elevator doors open and he mashes the button of the floor they're on. 

"...Vivian, I don't know if--"

"Where is the key?" I ask him and he hesitates for a moment before digging in his pocket. 

"Don't go starting shit with him, Viv, I'm serious." He states and I roll my eyes as the doors open, and I look on the key chain to see what room he's in. "Sixx, I'm serious," he calls as I walk down the hall. 

"If he's man enough to be big and bad and scare the shit out of complete strangers and embarrass me some more then he's man enough to get his ass kicked for it!" I reply. 

I'm unlocking the door and immediately, I'm met with a God-awful smell which lets me know he hasn't showered in a long time. 

I'm too angry to go throw up in the bathroom, although I'm sure it's worse in there, and I step over empty bottles, dirty clothes, bloody towels, spoons, foil, and empty coke bindles before I'm crawling onto the bed and standing over him, track marks eating away at his pale white skin, dark circles hugging his eyes, an irritable, tense grit of his teeth, even while he sleep he's in a pissy mood…

That makes two of us. 

I pat at his face probably harder than I should, the first thing out of my mouth is, "get the fuck up, you bitch," I bark out. 

It takes him less than twenty seconds to get awake enough that he realizes he's not dreaming. 

"You fucking cunt!" He screams at me, fighting me off of him. 

"Oh, I could say the same about you Mr., 'I'm gonna throw a bottle of Jack at one of my friends and hit the bystander next to him instead'!" 

"You weren't even fucking there, you don't what the fuck happened!" He shoves me off of him. 

"Then what the fuck happened, Nikki?!" 

He just rolls his jaw and stares at me with a "go to hell" cut to his eyes. 

"What the fuck do you want, Vivian?" He finally gets out, sitting up. 

"Doc--"

"--Ohh, fuuuck me." He sneers out, irritated, pulling the covers back and standing up.

"Well, what do you expect him to do, Nikki?!" 

"Stay out of my goddamn business, Vivian, that's what I expect him to fucking do--just like I expect you to fucking do." He states, going to the bathroom, leather pants hanging too loosely on his hips. 

I glance around the room as I hear him flush the toilet and curse under his breath, hearing the sound of him splashing water on his face. 

"I'm well aware what you do isn't my business, Nikki. Trust me, I know it isn't. I know you'd rather die than tell me anything you do or who you do it with or--"

"--You flew all the way to Japan to fucking fight with me over something you weren't even here to be bothered by?" He rhetorically snaps.

"I was bothered by it, Nikki, because the shit you do here gets back to L.A., and people talk about it and it reflects badly on me." 

"So you're not here because you care about me or you're worried about me, you're here because you're being embarrassed by bad Nikki's actions. Oh, how terrible!"  

I head to the bathroom, my hand balled up in a fist and when he sees me about to hit him he grabs my hair, making me wince. 

"Hit me." He tells me, daring me to. 

I decide it's not a good idea. 

"That's what I thought." He lets go of my hair. 

I watch him for a second and wrinkle my nose. 

"You need a shower." I say to him. "And you need to brush your teeth." 

"You need to go back to L.A." he mumbles. 

"No." I say back as he picks up a razor to shave his stubble. "Don't shave yet, I like it." I reach for the razor and he glares at me. 

"Not like you're benefiting off of liking it anymore, Miss, 'I refuse to even let my own husband touch me'." He scoffs. 

"Because you don't want to touch me. You're always saying and doing mean shit to me." I argue. 

"Fuck you." 

"Get a shower." I roll my eyes and slam the bathroom door. 

I get all of his gross, slimy clothes in a corner and clean up all the towels before I get rid of the empty drug bindles and baggies, spoons, and needles. 

When he gets out, I'm glancing at him as he looks like a drown rat. 

"We're going to my room." I tell him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"No, I'm not." He argues. 

"Nikki, it smells like utter shit and ball sweat in this room and it's disgusting. I'm not letting you stay in here like this." 

***I didn't know how he was going to argue with me over that when he knew it was true. He just glared at me and probably thought about running me over, but I didn't care. I wasn't leaving him by himself and I wasn't staying in that room.***

I crawl into the bed in my room that Doc got for me and let out a soft sigh, turning over to face Nikki.

I can't help but stare at him, seeing the faintest outline of his fingers coming up to rub his eye for a moment before falling back above his head. 

I get a little closer to him, feeling him tense up slightly beside me. 

"Don't do it." He says abrasively, and I get even closer, my leg slithering across his front until I'm straddling him, his lungs pushing out a sharp sigh as I ask, "do what?" 

"You know what." He replies. 

"I do?" 

I run my thumb across his cracked lips, my own lips pressing to his stubbled cheek. 

"Vivian." 

"You love me." I tell him quietly, bringing up his drunk phone calls to me, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

"Yeah." He doesn't deny it, his tone as if he knows he's in deep, now. 

"Yeah." I repeat it. 

His hands run up my back, I can feel the scabs on his arms rub against my bare skin as he wraps his arms around me, and the feeling sends a clammy sickness to my stomach as his hand tangles in the hair at the nape of my neck. 

"Do you really?" I ask him softly, the tip of my nose brushing against his. 

"Yeah," he repeats, swallowing thickly his other hand coming up to brush hair from my face before guiding my lips down to his. 

It's chaste—possibly because he doesn't have the will or the energy to kiss in a way that's going to result in us fucking the life out of each other being that he's already over half-way there by the looks of it. 

"Can you call Bob for me?" I test it out, deciding I've gotten him where I want him the best to my ability to propose to go back to rehab. 

Our facade shatters. 

I see his face twist in the dark of the room that's only light by the city lights and the light from the smoke detector in the corner. 

Next thing I know, we're both on the floor, his hand around my throat, his thigh between my legs as he hovers over me. 

"You think you're gonna fuck me into handing my balls over and going to rehab?!" He snarls like a mad dog and I grab his wrist, breathing as best as I can. 

He's not choking me out, I can still get some air in, but not much. I know he's trying to prove a point, but after actually strangling me a few weeks ago, it's not bringing back good memories. 

"Nikki, just—"

"—You didn't come here to check on me. You came here to try to manipulate me into going to rehab after I called you fucked up on smack and told you some bullshit in hopes of having a chance at getting my dick wet with you before we split for good." He throws down at me. 

"Really sounded like it." I smart back, chuckling, feeling his hand shaking with anger, but his grip doesn't get harder. 

"Fuck you."

"You're too sick to, asshole." I argue. "Not that anyone could pay me enough to fuck you right now with how bad you look." 

"Oh, please, Vivian, your easy pussy's probably slicker than oil by now given our position." He bites back. 

"Wanna check?" I ask. 

He shoves off of me, going on about how "fucked up" and "sick" I am. 

Pot calling kettle black. 

[misskikuwrites]

A Helping Hand

Bederia Week 2021: Day 1 - First Impressions

Bede/Gloria (dressedinpinkshipping)

Tags: fluff, light angst, babysitting

Words: 7,612

@bede-x-gloria

-

Babysitting felt a world and a half away from training Pokemon. All her skills as the Champion were of no use here- there was no battle to be fought, nothing she could power through with brute force. She had to be delicate. Kind. 

 She had to figure out how to entertain a toddler when she'd never done anything like this by herself before. The living room was covered end-to-end in an array of miscellaneous toys, from plushies to colourful blocks and toy cars, none of which gave her any ideas for what to do. With Pokemon, they found ways to entertain themselves. She could explore with them. Battle with them. Train them. Even swishing a toy from side to side was a form of training with Pokemon, and the ball she’d lob across the campsite turned into a competition for her Pokemon to see who could retrieve it first. She couldn’t do any of that here- not with little Samuel. Not with his baby sister, Gracie, asleep in the nursery down the hall. Sitting on the carpet next to Samuel, Gloria tried to remember the times she'd accompanied her mother to watch over them. She’d tagged along for the fun of it, not expecting that one day she would find herself babysitting the two of them alone. 

 And, with Gloria's mother at work, she had no one else to turn too. 

 Samuel shuffled over to a crudely-made tower of blocks, immediately knocking them over. Gloria pursed her lips, stomach churning, and edged over to him. 

 "How about we build a tower?" she offered, and slowly began to reassemble the tower. 

 Samuel watched for a moment. He followed Gloria's movements as she stacked one block on top of another, balancing them precariously as the tower grew taller and taller. Without warning, he shoved the blocks again. 

 "Hey!" Gloria gasped in shock. "Don't do that, we're trying to build it, not-" 

 She paled as Samuel whimpered, his face scrunching up, cheeks beginning to flush… 

 "No, no, that's okay! You can knock it down!" Gloria hurriedly stacked another tower and deliberately toppled it. "See? That's loads of fun!" 

 Samuel squeaked a precious laugh. "Gen!" he said, staring at the blocks. "Gen!"

 "Gen? Oh, you mean 'again?'" 

 "Gen!" 

 She could do that. Wrecking the towers Gloria painstakingly constructed was a simple and easy way to keep Samuel entertained- at least, it was for the first dozen or so towers.

 "Gen!" Samuel said, his laughter trickling out. "Gen!" 

 "Again…?" Gloria sighed. 

 She'd lost count of how many she'd made - not that she'd been keeping track in the first place - and it had quickly become monotonous for her. How it still managed to amuse Samuel was beyond her. 

 "Why don't we do something else? Look, Mr Wooloo wants to play with us, too-" 

 She turned around to grab the Wooloo plush when Samuel let out a whine. 

 "Gen!" 

 "But I've already built a ton of towers-"

 "Gen!" His whine turned into a wail. "Gen! Gen! Gen!" 

 "Okay, okay, okay!" Wooloo plush thrown to the side, Gloria snatched the blocks off the carpet and stacked them for Samuel once more. "There, another tower!" 

 He knocked it over with glee, bubbling with laughter as the tower collapsed. His smile was so innocent and happy, Gloria couldn't help but stack tower after tower for him to knock down. As boring as it was, it kept Samuel occupied and - more importantly - content. She made another for him, and retrieved her drink bottle from her bag in the meantime. The tower collapsed, and Samuel burst into a fit of giggles as the blocks bounced left and right over the carpet. 

 His enjoyment was so simple, it made Gloria smile. She didn't understand what was so amusing about a tower of blocks falling over, but Samuel's laughter was sweet, his smile adorable, and she shucked off any grievances she had about repetitively making towers for him to knock over. It was worth it if it made him happy. 

 Soon enough, Gloria found ways to keep herself entertained as she made tower after tower for Samuel. She began adding different things to the tower- first, she placed the Wooloo plush on top out of sheer boredom. The blocks collapsed by themselves, and Samuel shrieked a laugh. When she went to build the next one, she stuck a toy car on top. Then the square-shaped toy ambulance in the middle of the next tower. Each odd addition made Samuel laugh, from the Rolycoly figure that wouldn't balance by itself, to the Wooloo plush Gloria placed on top of her head. He cackled when the Wooloo fell off Gloria's head, and she held back a snort of laughter. 

 Perhaps looking after Samuel wouldn't be so bad after all. 

 A slowly building cry reached Gloria's ears. She'd spoken - well, thought - too soon. Gracie had woken up. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told Gloria that it was well under the hour or two Mrs Jones had expected her daughter to sleep for. She got to her feet, swallowing her trepidation, and made for Gracie's room. 

 "I'll be back in a second," she told Samuel, "I'm just going to grab Gracie." 

 A whine followed her, silenced beneath the disgruntled cries coming from Gracie. Gloria braced herself before opening the door to the nursery, and was hit with a wall of noise. Gracie, still swaddled in her blanket and lying on her front, screamed for all her tiny lungs were worth. The tremendous volume that came from such a little girl was unbelievable, and Gloria had to stop herself from flinching as she swept the squirming baby out of her cot. 

 "Hey, hey, it's okay," Gloria cooed, holding Gracie close to her chest and patting her back. "I'm here, you're alright."

 She didn't know what else to say, what else to do, and dug through her memories to try and recall what her mother had done in situations like this. 

 The scream doubled in volume. No, that wasn't right- there was an echo now. A scream by her ear, another by her leg. Samuel had followed her, and was matching Gracie's efforts with his own wail. He planted his face against Gloria's leg, arms wrapped tightly around her, and howled. 

 Gloria's head spun. She tried to step towards the door, barely able to move and completely unbalanced by Samuel clinging to her. Both her hands were occupied by holding Gracie up. She had nothing to spare to calm Samuel, or even to try and pry him away from her leg so she could move more than an inch at a time. 

 "Samuel, what's wrong?" she asked, speaking over Gracie's cries in her ear with a grimace. "Hey?" 

 She couldn't kneel down with him stuck to her like a Komala on a log, and was paralyzed with one foot through the door. Despite everything in her body telling her not to, she forced the leg that Samuel was holding onto forward, tugging herself out of his grip. It made him scream louder, but Gloria had no choice. She hurried back to the lounge with Samuel howling at her heels. 

 "Look, look, we're back. I'll build you a tower again!" She knelt by the blocks, Gracie still crying against her front, and balanced the wailing baby on her lap so she had a free hand to stack blocks with. 

 Samuel stood, unbudging in the doorway, and cried. 

 "Sammy? Look, I've made a tower for you!" 

 He wasn't looking. 

 "Come on, I had to get Gracie up!" she pleaded with him, and resumed patting Gracie's back in a soothing rhythm when Samuel refused to look at her. "Shh, shh, it's okay," she said to Gracie. 

 Her head throbbed. Ears ringing. 

 Wait, no- that was her phone. 

 Now, of all times?! 

 In a split second of panic, she wondered if it was Mrs Jones calling to see how things were.

 Gloria wanted to scream. She overpowered the urge to throw her own tantrum and tugged her phone out of her pocket. On the screen, accompanied by a candid photo of him taken in the Wild Area, was Bede's name. 

 Bede?! 

 She almost didn't answer it, wincing beneath the onslaught of cries piercing her ears, and decided she needed to brush Bede off quickly so he wouldn't call again. Distractions were the last thing she needed right now. 

 Gloria hiked Gracie higher in her arms and answered the call, her Rotom phone hovering by her ear. 

 "Sorry, Bede! Now's not a good time," she said quickly, and shuffled on her knees over to Samuel. "I'm kind of... in the middle of something!" 

 She patted Gracie's back in a firm, steady rhythm, trying to sooth Samuel at the same time by wiggling the Wooloo plush with her other hand. 

 "I can certainly hear that," came Bede's voice in her ear, drowned out by the cries in the room. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?" 

 Gloria bit her bottom lip, the lump in her throat tightening in shame. Her inadequacy was crushing, dragging her heart into the pit of her stomach, and she didn't need, or want, Bede to find out. 

 She felt like a failure. 

 "Shh, shh, Gracie. Shh..." Gloria murmured, well aware that Bede could hear her, and kept trying to comfort the crying baby in her arms. Gracie hiccuped and whimpered, burying her face in Gloria's shirt. "There, there." 

 Samuel's wails got louder as Gracie's softened, and Gloria wished she had more arms to spare. She could only comfort one child at a time. 

 She could only talk to one person at a time. 

 "Look, Bede- I have to go," she said. Forced the words out. Pushed him away. "I've got my hands full right now." 

 Despite the throbbing of her heart, the need not to be alone. 

 "Sounds like you could do with some assistance." 

 Her brain short-circuited. "I- What?" 

 "I happen to have some spare time on my hands, so if you require some help-" 

 "Please!" Tears pricked her eyes. She held Gracie tighter, ready to crumble to the floor herself as her pride shattered, as her voice wobbled. "Please…" 

 A pause. 

 "Tell me where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can." 

 -

 Bede hung up, immediately calling a Sky Taxi for Wedgehurst. He exhaled a heavy sigh and dragged a hand through his hair as his racing heart began to settle. 

 That was not how he'd expected that call to go. The script he'd spent all morning preparing, the words he'd gone over again and again in his mind, had flown out the window the second Gloria had answered. Cries loud enough to make him flinch had wiped his brain clean. Desperation hidden in the Champion's voice had turned his attention away from the reason he'd called in the first place. 

 He couldn't very well ask her that when she was struggling enough for it to reveal itself in her voice. And, for a moment, it sounded as though she was on the verge of tears. 

 Bede climbed into the Sky Taxi as soon as it landed in Ballonlea, and repeated to the driver the address Gloria had given him for a house in Wedgehurst. His heart sank in trepidation as they took off. The question lingering on his tongue could wait- he would swallow it down for her until whatever was going on in that house was under control. 

 To reign in his desires was simple enough when it came to Gloria. For her, he would. 

 In the meantime, he had other things to worry about. Mainly, the screams of children he'd heard during his call with Gloria. He could only begin to imagine what was going on in that house, and hoped he'd arrive in time to prevent the chaos from getting any worse.

 -

 Gloria's heart lifted when she heard swift knocking on the front door. 

 "It's unlocked!" she called, hopefully loud enough to be heard over Samuel's tantrum. He refused to calm down, and Gracie was beginning to grizzle in her arms. She wouldn't stay put, squirming this way and that, and had taken to sucking on Gloria's shirt in her frustration. 

 The door swung open, and Bede strode into the lounge, his eyes widening at her. Gloria's breath caught. She stiffened beneath his gaze, waiting for his judgement in the form of a snarky comment, for him to scoff at her predicament. He said nothing, and walked over to her in silence. 

 "Here." He reached for Gracie and said, "give her to me." His eyes lingered on Gloria's for the moment it took for her to relinquish the baby to him. 

 He hefted Gracie into his arms and pulled her out of the blanket. He began to bounce her in a way Gloria had seen her own mother do in the past. 

 "Seems like she's hungry," Bede said, raising an eyebrow at the wet stain of slobber on Gloria's shirt. Gracie mouthed at Bede's Gym uniform shirt, as if to confirm his suspicions. 

 Gloria blinked, her brain taking a few seconds to catch up to reality, and she nodded. 

 "There's- uh, a note. In the kitchen." It was difficult to speak beneath her shock. "Her bottle's in the fridge." 

 "Alright. Leave that to me, then." He turned on his heels, Gracie having quietened completely in his arms, and made for the kitchen. "In the meantime, try making some faces and noises at him," Bede suggested, glancing over his shoulder at Samuel, who was now crying on the floor again. "The weirder, the better. I think you'd be good at that." 

 Gloria frowned at Bede, pursing her lips in confusion, before signing. He seemed to have a knack with Gracie, and she had little pride left to spare after failing spectacularly at babysitting, and so she wandered over to Samuel and sat beside him. 

 But… to make faces at him…? 

 Gloria quickly made sure she was out of Bede's line of sight, and took a deep breath. 

 Here goes nothing…

 "Hey, Samuel. Look at this!" 

 Samuel sniffled and peeked up at her. His eyes fixed on Gloria's face. He blinked. Sniffled again, and then laughed. He pulled himself off the floor as Gloria smooshed her cheeks, poking her tongue out at the same time, and made whatever weird noises she could. 

 And it worked. Samuel laughed.

 "What about this?" 

 Gloria dragged her palms down the sides of her face, pulling her cheeks and curling her lips into another strange expression. Again, he laughed. It wasn't long before Samuel had no tears left to shed. The room descended into amicable silence, into peace, and Gloria found that she could breathe again. She sighed, releasing the pent up tension in her chest all at once. 

 It was a miracle. No, more than that- Bede had worked some sort of magic. His mere presence had settled the torrent of nerves in her gut, and he'd known just what to do to calm Gracie down, picking up on the fact that she was hungry as well, and his suggestion for Gloria to pull faces at Samuel had worked like a charm. He'd gotten too much right for her to put it down to chance. This was more than luck. More than a good guess- Bede had experience with children. 

 He'd floored her completely. It was so unexpected, she didn't know where to start in order to comprehend what had happened. The chaos she'd been struggling under had lifted in an instant when Bede arrived. She sat on the carpet next to Samuel, pretending that the Wooloo plush was making weird noises and not her, with her gaze continuously drifting to the kitchen. Swift footsteps, the click of the fridge door, and the trickle of running water came from the room beyond what she could see. Her heart thumped warmly in her chest as her mind conjured images to fit the sounds that reached her. 

 She wanted to see, wanted to watch, Bede in action. This was a side to him she'd never seen before, and it set something fluttering away in her lungs. He never ceased to amaze her in ways she wouldn't have imagined when they first met. Who knew that the snobby, arrogant boy that had acted like everyone else was beneath him was hiding such skills? There were so many layers to Bede, so much she still didn't know. He continuously shattered the shallow first impression she'd had of him again and again, from their first battle, to meeting on the pitch in front of the world, to him leaving his past behind and taking up the role of the Fairy Gym Leader. 

 Bede had turned out to be so much more than she'd given him credit for. 

 Gloria was impressed, and grateful, but more than that- she was awestruck. Speechless in a way that left her breathless. Almost giddy. It made her smile like an idiot to herself. Her heart skipped when Bede returned to the lounge, with Gracie cradled in his arms and a bottle of warm milk in hand. 

 Arceus, it stole Gloria's breath away. She watched as he stepped over the discarded toys to the couch, and gracefully sank into it without jostling Gracie an inch. He lowered Gracie onto his lap so she rested against his arm, and brought the bottle to her mouth. She latched onto it and began to suckle away eagerly.

 "If you keep gawking at me like that, I'm going to take offence," Bede huffed. His eyes lifted to meet Gloria's. She sucked in a sharp breath and snapped her attention back to Samuel. 

 "Sorry!" she squeaked as her cheeks began to flush. 

 She'd been staring. Gawking, as Bede had pointed out. How could she help it when he was tending to Gracie so expertly? She was struck once again by how skilled he was with babies, both Pokemon and human. 

 "I was just surprised, that's all," Gloria said quickly. She nuzzled the Wooloo plush into Samuel's side, making him giggle. "It's like she's your own child or something, with how easily you calmed her down." 

 "Are you insinuating something?" He raised an eyebrow at her, unamused. 

 "No!" She flushed darker, darker than before as her heart leapt into her throat. "No, I just mean that you're such a natural with kids, it's- y'know, impressive!" 

 Gloria breathed a panicked laugh. Coils of embarrassed heat tightens on her cheeks, and she knew she was blushing hard. 

 "You're way too young to have your own children, for sure." She waved that suggestion off quickly. "Well, I know you're almost eighteen so it's not completely impossible- but that's not the point," Gloria said that last part in a rush, almost stumbling over her words as she realised where her mind was going. 

 "I just- what I mean is-" She couldn't think past the blood rushing to her head. 

 "Take a breath, Gloria," Bede said. He cleared his throat, focusing on bottle-feeding Gracie.

 Her heart pounded in her ears. Thoughts swirled into a mess in her mind, tangled on the idea of Bede having his own children and the insinuation behind that. She tried to follow his suggestion and catch her breath, to calm herself down in order to clear her muddied thoughts. 

 "How come you're so good with kids?" Gloria asked instead. 

 There was no point trying to figure out what she'd been trying to say in the first place, all she could think about was that in the future, perhaps Bede would be doing this with his own child. A baby with platinum blond hair like his, soft curls framing round, pink cheeks. It made her heart ache. 

 "Your wife will be super lucky…" she mumbled. 

 Bede coughed. "I don't have a wife." 

 "Y-You heard that?!" 

 "You're hardly quiet enough for me not to hear."

 "Sorry…!" She peeked over her shoulder at him to see his gaze skip away from her. Pink coloured his cheeks, the sight making Gloria's blood sing through her veins as her breath caught. 

 Arceus. When he blushed like that, her heart danced something wild in her chest, fluttering and dizzy, and she wanted to fix that image into her mind forever.  

It made her want to say something more. 

 "It's… it's true, isn't it?" Gloria continued, "since you're great at cooking and with kids, you'd make a great husband- unlike me! You've already seen my attempt at babysitting today, and I'm horrible in the kitchen." She laughed briefly at herself. "I'd need someone like you if I was ever going to get married, 'cause I'm hopeless otherwise!" 

 Bede's eyes shifted back to hers. He held her gaze for a moment of silence, and something unreadable in his expression made her pause. 

 "Woo woo," Samuel sounded, and Gloria turned to tickle him with the Wooloo plush. 

 "...Someone like me?" 

 It was the depth to his voice that stole Gloria's attention back. Bede's words were soft, his tone low and thick, and the intensity in his gaze made the Wooloo plush slip from her fingers when their eyes met. Heat swam behind those violets that pinned her to the spot. 

 What was he saying? 

 "Sorry?" Gloria blinked at him. Nerves flittered about in her stomach as though she was missing something. Something that she'd said, something that had happened, and it sent her heart racing. 

 "You said you'd need 'someone like me,' if you were to get married," Bede said slowly. 

Silence fell. Gloria couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. There was so much more to his gaze, to his expression, than she'd realised. 

 "I…" Had she said that? 

 "Someone like me?" 

 It was a question. A deeper meaning to those three words. A suggestion. 

 Was there more to it? 

 An offer? 

 "It doesn't matter since I'm never getting married anyway," Gloria said quickly. She tore her eyes away from Bede, swallowing the lump in her throat and the rising panic building in her chest. "I promised I wouldn't, and I'm not going to break that." 

 "You promised?" 

 Shit. 

 She'd said too much. 

 Her heart plummeted. It drained the blood from her face, froze the nerves in her stomach, and bled ice through her veins. Chilled her to her core, to the marrow of her bones. 

 Heavy. 

 She felt heavy. 

 "Gloria?"

 "Forget I said that." She stood. Turned her back to him. 

 "Why? Who did you promise that to?" 

 "I said- forget it!" 

 Too loud. Hands trembled into fists at her sides as Samuel whimpered. Pain prickled behind her eyes. Tears.

 An apology lodged in her throat but she had no voice to give it life. Her lips wobbled. She pressed them tightly together for a moment, forcing her breath down. Held it in her lungs until it burned. 

 She exhaled it all at once. 

 "I shouldn't have said anything."

 It hurt to speak, to step dangerously close to the precipice of what she'd buried for so long.

 Terrified to fall. 

 "I can't- I don't want to talk about it," she said. The tremor in her voice began to fade. She shook her head, pressed her hands against her face with a breath of shame. "I'm going to the loo." 

 Gloria hurried away before Bede could reply- if he was going to say anything at all. She shut herself in the bathroom and doused her face in cold water until she could think again, until the shadows receded from her heart. 

 The promise she'd made years ago had surfaced as it did sometimes, but never had it hurt like this. Like a void had encapsulated her heart. It ached. Something had shifted, and what had been a lifelong promise that she'd always been eager to uphold now felt like a looming wave towering above her, about to crash over her life at any second. To destroy everything. 

 Gloria swallowed, letting water drip from her face as she measured her breathing. In and out, in and out. 

 Everything was fine. She was fine. 

 She wasn't in love with Bede, so there was nothing to worry about. Her promise was still in place, still intact. She hadn't broken anything. 

 The memory of that night came back to her. Her mother's tears. Being held too tight in trembling arms. Hearing those words, unable to comprehend what it meant, unable to believe it. 

 "He's gone." 

 The echo of her mother's voice tightened the knot in Gloria's throat. Droplets of water, of tears, fell from her cheeks. 

 "He's gone… Papa's gone…" 

 Air hissed through her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut to force back the heat building behind her eyes. 

 "I'm here," her own voice replied. Ten years younger, it still sounded like her. "I won't go anywhere. I promise." 

 A simple promise made the trembling stop. 

 "I promise." Those words she would keep. "I'll stay with you forever… no matter what." 

 I won't leave you.

 Gloria wiped the water off her face, stealing those memories away. A lingering ache in the hollow of her chest remained, but its blade had dulled. She could endure it. 

 She had to. 

 Even if it meant closing off her heart so she would never experience the pain of that day again, she would do it. She saw what it did to her mother. The kind of pain that love brings. 

 And Gloria wanted none of it. 

 -

 The air was stiff and awkward in the lounge when Gloria returned. She sat beside Samuel as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't left at all. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that Gracie had finished her bottle and that Bede had propped her up on the couch using the cushions to steady her. She was currently sucking on a ring of brightly coloured plastic keys. 

 Gloria desperately wanted to break the silence, to say something, anything, but she didn't know where to begin. The weight of her memories remained over her shoulders. She'd snapped at Bede. Regret and shame swallowed her voice, guilt sitting in the back of her throat so she couldn't form any words. 

 He'd come to help her, gave up his free time out of his own volition, and she'd snapped at him. She couldn't get any more pathetic if she'd tried. 

 "What have you got there?" Gloria asked Samuel. He pushed a toy car back and forth over the carpet, trying to blow a raspberry between his lips to mimic the sound of the engine. 

 "Cah!" he said, before returning to his noise making. 

 Her heart throbbed. She picked up the angular ambulance and pushed it alongside Samuel's car, but her energy was spent. She couldn't fake enthusiasm when her chest felt so heavy. 

 "How did you end up with these two?" Bede asked. 

 Gloria looked at him out of reflex, out of surprise. He'd broken the silence so easily, and raised an eyebrow at her curiously. 

 "They obviously aren't your own children, and I assume you haven't acquired two new siblings in secret… which leads me to believe that you're babysitting for someone else." 

 She blinked at him, nodding slowly at how succinctly he'd come to the correct conclusion. 

 "Oh, right. I never explained, did I?" She pursed her lips sheepishly before gesturing to the two young kids. "This is Samuel and Gracie. They're the kids of my mum's friend, Mrs Jones. She needed someone to babysit on short notice since her sister went into labour a week early and there's no one else to take her into hospital. The rest of their family is in Kanto, and her sister's husband is away for work, so…" 

 Gloria shrugged. "I've helped my mum babysit them in the past, but she's at work, and Mrs Jones really needed someone… I've never looked after them on my own before." 

 "That much was fairly obvious. It was quite chaotic when I called you, from what I heard." 

 Gloria scoffed in indignation. "That's only because I had to get Gracie up! She was crying in her room and I had to leave Samuel to get her, and then he started crying too!" 

 She huffed at Bede, folding her arms in protest, when she spied the slight tilt to the corner of his mouth. It was the barest hint of a smirk. Soft amusement lit up his eyes, and it made Gloria realise what he was doing. Riling her up so she'd bark at him and fall into their natural rhythm. The air that had been suffocatingly thick had eased away, lifting the hold of silence over the atmosphere. Bede had coaxed her into speaking her mind to him again. Into returning to normal. 

 She sank in surprise, and the heat of her protest died. Finally, she could find the words that she wanted to say. 

 "Look, Bede, I'm… sorry about what happened before," Gloria said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It's just… it's a subject I'm not comfortable with. I hadn't meant to say anything about it in the first place, but then…" 

 She trailed off with a sigh.

 "That's alright. I see now that I shouldn't have pressed you about it," Bede said. "I'm sorry about that." 

 A sliver of pain dug into her heart at his words. 

 "The promise I made as a kid, it still means a lot to me, and…" She swallowed. Took a breath. "I know most people would probably think it's stupid and ridiculous, and it's hard for me to explain, I haven't told many people about it before-"

 Her voice stuck in her throat. 

 "You don't have to explain," Bede said softly. 

 "But…"  

"If it puts you on the verge of tears to even think about, you don't need to explain it to me." 

 He'd noticed the tears building in her eyes. 

 "I'm sorry…" It came out as a whisper, but in the quiet, she knew he'd hear it. 

 "For what? I can't see that you've done anything wrong here." 

 "You don't even know why I snapped at you and you're being so kind," Gloria sighed. "I feel like I owe you an explanation, at least." 

 "Only when you're ready for it." He shrugged and said, "everyone has something they're not comfortable talking about- I don't want you to have to force yourself to explain it to me because you feel like you should." 

 She nodded slowly. 

 "Besides, I may have an idea about what it is anyway, so I'm not completely in the dark as to why it upsets you so much." 

 Gloria blinked at him. He turned his gaze away from her to dangle the drool-coated keys in front of Gracie's grabbing hands. 

 "You do?" Somehow, the fact that he already knew something about it loosened the jumble of knots in her gut. 

 Gracie caught the fluorescent green key and tugged it towards her mouth as Bede nodded. 

 "You've mentioned a thing or two about it previously," he said, "if what I believe you're talking about is correct." 

 All the bits and pieces she'd let slip in the past. The words that had spilled out in vulnerable moments, hissed under her breath, fragments of pain that had broken through her walls. 

 He'd remembered them.

 "Probably," she said quietly. 

 How much he knew, how much he'd pieced together, she couldn't tell. Perhaps he'd gotten the wrong idea completely- but knowing Bede, that was more than unlikely.

 "Then I don't need to know any more," he said. "If it makes you uncomfortable to speak about, then don't force yourself on my account. I don't need to know every little thing about you in order to be your friend."

 His words softened her heart. She filled with warmth, with a sense of peace, and it made her smile. 

 "Thanks, Bede," she said, tilting her head as she smiled at him. "That's really sweet of you to say." 

 His expression froze for a split second, and Gloria wondered if she'd said something wrong when he cleared his throat and focused on playing with Gracie, jangling the keys in front of her when they fell from her mouth again. 

 "How come you're so good with kids?" Gloria asked, realising she'd never got an answer from him when she'd asked previously. 

 It was like he knew exactly what to do- when to give in and let Gracie grab the keys, when to tug them away from her and keep up the challenge. The self-satisfied look he gave Gloria, the pride glinting in his eyes, made her heart skip. He was so damn attractive even when gloating, and she folded her arms as if that would protect her heart from the influence of his smile. 

 "This is nothing special," he said, and shrugged. As if his smirk didn't clearly say otherwise. "Just the basics everyone knows, really." 

 Gloria scoffed, despite the way her chest fluttered from the mirth in his voice. His words dripped with amusement, teasing her and making her heart dance like a puppet on a string, and Arceus, it made her pout at him in return. Protesting how easily she reacted to him, although she found that she didn't dislike how it made her feel. It was a rush, a spark of emotions through her body. Strange and foreign as it was, it wasn't a bad feeling. Not one she hated at all. 

 If anything, it actually felt pleasant. 

 "What does that make me, then, if I don't even know the basics?" Gloria said, throwing those words back at him with a huff. "Since everyone knows it?" 

 She raised an eyebrow pointedly at him, not about to let him off that easily without an explanation. 

 "I may have picked up a thing or two somewhere," Bede said. 

 "Uh-huh." 

 She gave him a blank stare. Unimpressed, unbudging. She wanted to know. Her curiosity had built into a fervour, a blooming desire to figure out this secret of Bede's that he was taunting her with. She feigned hurt, and turned back to Samuel. He burst into giggles when she pushed the toy ambulance up his back and let it topple forward off his shoulder. He picked it up and tried to place it where she had to make it fall again. Movement in the corner of her eyes made Gloria turn. Bede sat beside her, laying Gracie down gently on her back on the carpet, and placed the Wooloo plush square on her stomach. He gave the stuffed Pokemon a wiggle, making the legs flop wildly, and Gracie broke into a smile. 

 It was so unadulteratedly cute to see Bede play with Gracie like that, and Gloria's heart squeezed firmly in her chest as she watched. He glanced at her for the briefest of moments before focusing his attention on the wriggling baby in front of him. Gracie gave a squeak of laughter when he booped her nose with the Wooloo. 

 Gloria felt giddy just watching him. 

 "The orphanage was short-staffed at times," Bede began. He spoke while playing with Gracie, not once pulling his attention away from her. She was completely enraptured by the Wooloo plush. "Those of us old enough to take care of ourselves were enlisted to help with the younger children. It was easier to learn how to amuse them than be surrounded by screaming babies all day." 

 "Oh." She didn't know what else to say. His explanation, his experience, was far from anything she'd imagined, and a wave of guilt crashed over her for trying to drag that out of him. 

 Especially when he'd been so understanding to her. 

 "Children are easy enough to amuse. What works for one usually works for another," he said with a shrug, "as long as you aren't too worried about your pride." 

 He leant over Gracie and blew a raspberry at her, and she laughed. A sweet, innocent laugh that made Gloria want to melt. Her insides were turning into goo. 

 "You'll pick it up over time, don't worry." Bede turned to Gloria and quickly booped her nose with the Wooloo plush. Samuel laughed, and he received a boop as well. 

 Gloria bit back her laugh, her lips trembling with mirth. Bede looked so free, so full of life, that she didn't dare laugh - even out of adoration - in case he thought she was laughing at him. She wouldn't risk spoiling the moment. 

 "You think so?" she asked. 

 He looked at her, his violet eyes softening with his smile, and said, "of course I do. Anyone can learn how to take care of children, or how to cook. It just takes time- and a bit of advice." 

 Her mouth twitched into a smile, and without thinking about it, she leant over Gracie as Bede had done, and blew a raspberry of her own. It brought a string of giggles out of Gracie, and Gloria's heart lifted. 

 "You're a quick study," Bede noted. 

 She beamed at him in return. "It helps that I've got an expert teacher." 

 -

 Time passed easier after that. There was no more crying, no more grizzling- Samuel and Gracie were content at last as Gloria fell into a natural pace with Bede. She followed his advice, taking note of the slight difference in the way he played with the two children. Often, they shared silent glances. A smile, a knowing look, as Gloria mimicked the little techniques that Bede used. After a while, he picked Gracie up when she'd had enough of lying on the carpet, and sat her in his lap. She jangled the plastic keys in her hands, happy once more. 

 Gloria's heart swooned in her chest. Bede was so utterly endearing with the kids, so sweet and kind and adoring that she could hardly take it any more. Her lungs were filled to the brim with delight, and Arceus, she was almost overcome with the desire to hug him. It was impossible to contain how she was feeling. Giddy and breathless and flustered all at once, she focused on making Gracie laugh by playing peekaboo behind the Wooloo plush instead. 

 Anything to keep her wandering gaze from returning to Bede. It was completely unfair how he made her feel- he was gorgeous and adorable at the same time, great with kids and skilled in the kitchen, seemingly perfect despite the flaws she knew he had. 

 He was so damn attractive in every way. 

 She huffed to herself and swallowed that thought. 

 This isn't a crush, she reminded herself. Stop thinking about how amazing he is and pay attention to the kids! 

 The fluttering in her chest refused to abate. It was a strange kind of nervousness, one that she hadn't felt before until recently, one that only occured around Bede. It made her lungs feel like they were too full of air, too light. She was weirdly self conscious. Overly aware of every movement, every gesture and noise Bede made, all her senses had honed in on him. 

 The space he occupied in her mind, in her heart, had grown immensely without her knowing. 

 Gloria couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not. 

 Footsteps clicked up the driveway, stealing her and Bede's attention towards the front door. It swung open, and Samuel shot to his feet. 

 "Ma ma!" 

 He tottered over to his mother as she took in the surprise visitor in her house. Her eyebrows lifted curiously. 

 "Mrs Jones, this- this is Bede," Gloria said quickly. 

 "Oh, yes. I thought I recognised you!" Mrs Jones clasped her hands together as she nodded at him. She swiftly picked Samuel up and sat him against her hip, planting a kiss to the top of his brow. "You're the Fairy Gym Leader, right?" 

 Bede stood, carrying Gracie, and stepped over to Mrs Jones. He extended a hand to her politely. 

 "That's correct," he said. "It's lovely to meet you. We had no trouble with Samuel and Gracie at all- I hope you don't mind that I assisted Gloria while you were away." 

 Gloria got up and dusted herself off while Bede greeted Mrs Jones, slightly flustered by his white lie. 

 'No trouble at all' was not how she would've described the way things went before Bede arrived. 

 "I don't mind at all," Mrs Jones said. She set Samuel down and took Gracie from Bede. She smiled pleasantly, and Gloria was once again amazed at how easily Bede slipped into his Gym Leader persona. Polite, graceful and charming, he made first impressions count. 

 "My sister's husband caught the next flight back, so I was able to come home early," Mrs Jones continued, "but it looks like I didn't need to worry about these two at all."

 Gloria beamed a smile, trying to make it as genuine as possible. Next to Bede's confidence, she felt too stiff and forced. 

 "Everything went well," Gloria said. "Gracie woke up a bit early, and had her bottle at… about eleven thirty, I think."

 Mrs Jones nodded. "I'll make sure she has her afternoon nap, then." 

 She gave her daughter a kiss on her round cheeks, making Gracie smile. Samuel pottered around after his mother as Gloria gathered her bag and swung it over her shoulder. As foreboding as babysitting had felt when she'd first begun, she no longer wished to flee the two adorable children at a moment's notice. It had been an experience she wasn't likely to forget for some time. With Bede by her side, she felt like she could conquer anything. 

 Well, almost anything. The emotions fluttering in her gut weren't something she wanted to tackle, or acknowledge, for now. 

 -

 After a quick goodbye to Mrs Jones and her two kids - Samuel whimpering when he realised they were leaving - Gloria and Bede exited the house and stepped into the streets of Wedgehurst. The lazy afternoon sun bathed them in warmth, and Gloria stretched her arms high above her head and breathed in the moment of peace. 

 "I'm glad that's over," she sighed. 

 They headed down the street, passing cozy houses adjourned with blooming gardens. In the distance, bleats from Wooloo and Dubwool filled the air. 

 "I don't know how I would've managed without you," Gloria said. She shot him a smile. "I thought you had terrible timing, calling me when you did, but it turned out to be perfect." 

 Bede stopped. "About that…" 

 Gloria turned to face him. A few feet behind her, he paused. "What is it?" 

 "The League Gala is happening the week after next." Bede held her gaze. His voice, softer than before, sent her heart racing. "Are you going with anyone?" 

 She froze, jaw hanging slightly open. Then swallowed, fumbling with her tongue to form an answer. 

 "Yes, I- I'm going with Hop," she said. 

 He looked away. "I see." 

 Gloria's heart plummeted into her churning stomach. "Why- Why do you ask?" 

 Did he not have anyone to go with? 

 Did he, perhaps, want to go with her…? 

 "I thought I'd ask in case you had forgotten about it," Bede said, shrugging. He continued walking, and passed her with quick strides. "You tend to get distracted quite easily, after all."  

She skipped to catch up with him, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes as they walked. 

 "I wouldn't have forgotten about that," she said. 

 Gloria let out a huff. It was foolish to think that he'd brought up the Gala for any other reason. Foolish to think he'd ask her to go with him, when he'd be attending with Ms Opal as he had last year. 

 Besides, Hop had already agreed to go with her. The strange weight in her gut persisted, despite reasoning with herself that she was being ridiculous for getting worked up over it. 

 She wondered how she would have answered if he had asked. If she hadn't been babysitting, if Samuel and Gracie hadn't been screaming their lungs out when Bede called, would he have asked her? 

 Would she have wanted him to ask? 

 She slowed, gaze following Bede as he continued on ahead for a few steps. He stopped, and turned not a moment later when he'd realised she wasn't beside him. The question in his eyes gave her no answer to the thoughts clouding her mind. She shook them off, stepped up to Bede as though she'd never left his side. 

 Some questions aren't meant to be asked, she decided. 

 It was better this way. She already had enough to deal with- the warmth in her chest, the fluttery feeling that spread through her veins, returned as she walked beside him. She felt comfortable at his side. It felt natural, normal, to walk in amicable silence towards the station where Bede would catch a Sky Taxi to Ballonlea. The time they’d spent babysitting together had turned what could have been a disastrous and exhausting few hours into a cherished memory for her. It felt like she’d discovered some hidden nugget, a buried treasure, behind the carefully crafted walls Bede always functioned behind. He probably didn’t realise how much that meant to her, that he’d let down his guard - whether deliberately or not - and revealed another side to himself that few had ever seen. 

 It made her feel… special. Trusted. Valued, even. It reaffirmed in her mind what Bede truly was to her- a friend. He was someone she could rely on in a pinch, someone who wouldn’t judge her for her failings, for her idiosyncrasies, for the secrets she couldn’t yet voice. He may not have asked her to the gala, but she knew he would be there, and that fact alone eased the trepidation she felt towards it. 

 Gloria smiled to herself as they walked, cementing that feeling in her heart.  

[theslvttysimp]

Hello,

I'm sorry if this is bothering you, but I've been having a rough time with my family recently; so if you have the time or motivation, could you possibly do another 'Mc goes on a rampage' maybe with Satan.

If not that's totally understandable,

Have a great rest of your day/night

Hello! Of course! 🥰 you're not bothering me at all! I'm so sorry it took me a while to answer! I'm always down to soothe a soul!

I'm not sure whether your family troubles stem from a parent or another relative, so I'm going to use " family member" instead of parent! I hope things turn up for you! I wish we could pick family or at least slap some fucking sense in to them. But fanfics will do for now 💕 I really hope this helps. If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here! 💕

MC Goes On a Rampage

Satan

Scenario : You are an MC who just got off the phone with a family member in the human world. You don't have the best relationship with them due to their poor choices and never really saw eye to eye with each other. You've had enough of it and you go on a rampage destroying stuff in your room. Satan catches you during your rampage. You decide on what family member MC is talking about.

SatanXmc

You're sitting on the bed in your room, talking with your family member that's in the human world, trying to keep in some contact with them. You thought moving away when you were of age would fix the relationship with them, but of course, it didn't. Your family member is on the phone talking their usual bullshit, lying, putting words in your mouth, guilt tripping, and talking shit about your loved ones.

" You know what?! FUCK YOU!" You shout in to your phone as you hang up. You scream on top of your lungs in anger and throw your phone across the room. As you're scream-crying, you stand up from your bed and go to your dresser. With one clean sweep of the arm you knock over everything that was on it's surface. In a fit of rage, you start punching your closet door, cursing at your family member about how tired you are of their behavior.

Satan just so happened to be walking to your door at the time you screamed and hung up the phone with your family member. He knew you had an exam coming up, so he picked out some books for you and went to bring them to your room. After hearing the commotion, he didn't bother knocking and took it upon himself to open the door.

As he steps in, you're in the middle of throwing your belongings across the room, crying as you scream in frustration. " I can't stand being related to you! Don't fucking bother with me anymore!" You shout, moving to the wall as you smash the picture frames over your knee.

Satan can recognize a fit of wrath when he sees one. He clicks the door behind him and places the book on the table in your room. " MC, darling, I need you to stop." He keeps a calm demeanor. He knows that when he has his episodes, he prefers the person nearby to stay calm.

" I just want a normal fucking family!" You cry, throwing one of your chairs across the room. " I cant fucking take it anymore!" you scream, heading over to your dresser as you throw the individual drawers on the floor, completely trashing your room. Your thoughts swirl frantically as your heart pounds through your chest. You feel pressure building in your fists as the pit of anger grows in your stomach.

Satan starts creeping towards you, one hand stretched in your direction. " Take my hand, darling. Let's talk this out." Satan tries his best to keep a calm voice, but his heart racing. The last thing he wants is for you to hurt yourself. His heart is shattering seeing you like this. He doesn't ever want you to feel the feelings he does. Looking at you currently is reminding him of the bitter reality of his sin, and he can't help but want to weep for you. With glassy eyes, he continues to tread lightly towards your direction.

Ignoring Satan's attempts, you move across the room to your mirror. Your reflection shows an emotionally tired human with tear stained cheeks. You cock your arm back and punch the mirror, causing glass to shatter in to a million pieces. Your knuckles begin to bleed as you continue hitting the mirror.

" MC!!" Satan shouts. In a blink of an eye, he sprints towards you causing the coat draped around his shoulder to fall on the floor. He wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, preventing you from further harming yourself. You thrash around in his arms, screeching blood curdling screams at the top of your lungs. " Let me go! Let me go!" You demand , blind with emotion.

Beel hears your screams from the kitchen and bursts through your door. While holding you, Satan shoots his glare to Beel. His eyes glow an angry green flame, not wanting anyone to see you in a distressed state. "Get out" Satan demands. With wide eyes, Beel shuts the door. Though nervous, Beel knows you have a close bond with Satan. He would never even dream of hurting you in a fit of rage. Satan brings his attention back to you, pressing your head to his chest. "shhhhhh...shhhhh..." he shushes in attempts to soothe you. He runs his slender fingers through your hair, making you relax with every stroke.

You cry in his chest " I cant stand them! They talk to me like absolute garbage!" you sob into his chest, gripping the shirt on his back. Satan has you sit on his lap on the floor, glass scattered around you two. Despite the trashed environment, you feel safe in his arms. You smoosh your face into his neck as you cry, placing your hand on his chest. You feel his heartbeat gently thump against your palm which soothes you. You whimper, " It's like they can never be w-wrong. They make me feel like a fucking idiot."

Satan takes his thumb and pointer finger and gently grabs your chin. He makes you face him and with his other hand, he brushes a stray piece of hair away from your face. " My darling, you are far from idiocracy." He presses a delicate kiss against your forehead and looks you in the eyes. His gaze is soft and understanding. He whispers, " I'm deeply sorry for the troubles your family bestows upon you. I am always here for you, my love. Dont believe a single word they tell you. You are smart, wanted, and the most breathtaking being I've ever laid eyes on." He pets your cheek with the back of his fingers. "If you ever feel you need comfort, a shoulder to cry on, or need an ear to listen, I am always here for you. I will forever be here for you, my darling." He gifts you a soft kiss on the lips and holds you in his arms until you're calm enough to stand.

Satan tends to your wounded hand in the bathroom, peppering soft kisses against your bandaged knuckles. He cleans up your destroyed room as he lets you rest on your bed. He spends the rest of the night glued to your side, keeping a watchful eye on you. He brings a few books to your room to read to you as you sleep, ending the night with you sleeping in his arms.

[punkrockmads]

Something Evil

Yara x Oc! Featuring TLOU2 Gang (Modern Au)

Brief Summary: Yara and her siblings just moved into a new house. It's beautiful, in a nice neighborhood, and is even a few blocks away from her girlfriend's house! But, there is a major downside...

Part 1

"There's something wrong with the house." Yara says over the phone. She sounds scared, making me worried for her.

"What do you mean?" I ask, leaning back against the pillows on my bed.

"I think there's something..." she pauses. "There's something evil here." I feel my heartbeat speed up. Is my girlfriend in danger? "I don't know exactly what, but it's freaking all three of us out. Even Abby."

"Evil?" I ask, wondering what could possibly be wrong with their new house. The three of them just moved into the house a week ago.

"I... I see things, Maddy." Yara whispers into the phone, as if she's afraid someone will hear her. "All of us have. It's watching us."

"Yara, baby." I try to stay calm for her, figuring out what I can do to help. "What's watching you?"

"This girl. I- I don't know who she is. But we've all seen her. She stands over our beds at night she- she watches us sleep. I've caught her twice now- I don't know what she wants. She throws things and runs through the house when Abby isn't home, but Abby's seen her in her room." I hear Yara sniffle. "I'm so scared, Maddy."

"Okay. I'm coming over. I'm gonna stay the night, okay?" I ask, getting up and beginning to pack a backpack.

"Please hurry." Yara begs. Suddenly, she goes quiet. "I hear glass breaking downstairs again. I'm gonna go check on Lev." I sling my bag over my shoulder, slipping my shoes on.

"I'm on my way now." I say. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too." Yara replies. "See you soon."

Yara, Lev, and I stay in her room playing music and talking about random shit to drown out the sound of breaking objects and pounding footsteps until Abby gets home. "Guys!" Abby calls from downstairs. The three of us head down. "Oh, hey Maddy!" Abby greets with a smile. "Manny know you're here?" I nod. I texted him on my way to the house. "Okay good. I brought Chinese food for dinner. Still haven't finished unpacking the kitchen stuff."

The four of us eat and stay downstairs for as long as possible until we decide it's time to get some sleep, hesitantly heading upstairs. Lev goes to Abby's room, scared to sleep on his own. All of us leave the doors wide open, scared to sleep with them shut. The hallway light illuminates Yara's room, shining over us softly as I hold her close, brushing hair out of her face. "It's gonna be okay." I whisper as she hides her face in my chest, trying to block her view of the bedroom door. "I'll protect you."

"I love you." Yara whispers, kissing me.

"I love you too." I reply once we pull away. I make sure she's sleeping peacefully before letting myself fall asleep. I wake up a few hours later to a scratching sound coming from downstairs. Without thinking, I get up, checking on Yara before going out into the hallway. I peek over the railing, seeing nothing downstairs. I still hear the scratching, so I walk down the first few steps carefully. The scratching stops. I don't see anything, so I simply brush it off, too tired to think clearly.

There's nobody down here. I turn, going back upstairs when I see the door to Yara's bedroom half open. That's odd. I left it all the way open when I went downstairs. That's when I see it... the sickly pale face of a woman peeking out from behind the door. Its eyes are bloodshot; pupils dilated. The smell of rot fills the hallway. Its long brown hair sticks in different directions as if it had been electrocuted. I run to the door but it slams shut in my face.

I reach for the handle, feeling immediate dread when I find it to be locked. That feeling of dread only increases when I hear Yara scream from inside. My heart drops into my stomach as I pound at the door. Yara's screams and pleads for help get louder, piercing through the once quiet atmosphere and making me feel nauseous.

"Yara!" I scream through the door. "Yara, hang on! Somebody fucking help me! Abby!" Yara's screams continue, tears falling down my face. Abby rushes out, hearing all the noise. Lev follows close behind. "It's in there with her!" I shout, using all my strength to pound at the door.

"Move!" Abby yells, shoving me out of the way. She kicks the door once. Nothing. Twice. Fucking nothing! My breathing becomes more panicked. She kicks it a third time and finally it swings open. I waste no time running past her and into the bedroom. Yara's sitting up in bed screaming, her face red and tears falling. I crawl up beside her and she immediately clings to me, sobbing loudly into my chest. I hold her close, terrified to let her go. I look in the corner as Abby turns the light on... it's standing there... watching us with angry eyes. It has a short, ugly green dress on. Its feet look cut up as if it was running barefoot through the woods. Fury washes over me and I take a breath, glaring at the evil figure of a woman.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!" I scream, all of the air leaving my body. The figure opens its mouth, letting out a long, high pitched scream as its jaw seems to unhinge completely. "GET!! OUT!!" Abby and Lev stand beside the bed, watching in horror. The figure stops screaming, turning and running out of the bedroom. Its footsteps pound down the stairs and we hear the basement door open and slam shut. I grab Yara's tear soaked face in my hands, pulling her up to look at me. All of my rage is replaced with fear again. "Yara. Yara, look at me." My voice is soft again as I search Yara for any injuries. "Are you okay, baby? Did it hurt you?" My hands search her body frantically, fearfully looking for wounds.

"No." Yara sobs, hands clinging to my forearms. "I'm okay." After she confirms she isn't hurt, I pull her close once more, resting my head on top of hers as I cry. Lev crawls in between us, hugging us both. He sniffles quietly. I wrap an arm around him, rubbing his back.

"We need to get the fuck out of here." Abby says. I look over at her to see her staring at the bedroom door. A tear falls down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away, turning to look at us.

"Maddy, is your brother home?" She asks, arms crossed. I can't respond. It feels like my voice has been stolen from me. I simply nod, feeling a tear drip from my face. "I'll call him from the car. Yara, Lev, both of you pack a bag. We're gonna stay at Manny's." None of us move, too scared to even think about it. "Hey, snap out of it. We gotta go. We'll stay together, okay?" Abby offers, walking toward us. I look to Yara, seeing her nod in agreement. I take her shaky hands in mine, pulling her to stand up. Lev holds onto the back of my shirt, scared to stand too far away. Abby grabs a backpack from Yara's closet, handing it to me.

"Yara, come on." I call her name, gently. "Let's get packed." Yara nods, carefully taking the backpack from my shaky hands. I help her stuff some clothes in it as well as her charger and cell phone. She won't need much else, I can share everything I have at my house with her. I grab her shoes from the closet, deciding to just stuff them in the backpack. I grab my own bag and shoes from the corner, throwing the shoes in the bag and putting it on. I wipe the tears from my face, biting my lip to keep myself from crying again. The four of us head into Lev's room, Abby watching over us.

"Okay. Lev, get packed. Quickly." Yara says, rushing to help him pack. I stand there, hands going numb. Everything that happened floods through my mind. Yara's screams... my heart pounding in my chest... that thing's ear piercing scream... It didn't leave the house. This isn't over. The sound of glass shattering downstairs makes us all jump, turning to stare at the doorway.

"Ignore it." Abby seethes, staring angrily at the staircase. "Let's just get packed and get the fuck out of here." We all get packed, rushing to the front door as soon as Abby has her keys in her hand. Another loud scream rings out from the basement. We run out the door, piling into Abby's truck. As soon as Lev is in the front seat, Abby throws the truck in reverse and drives off.

"Holy shit." I mumble, the numbness and adrenaline wearing off and being replaced with fear once more. I put my face in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut. I can't forget the sound of Yara's screams. I felt so weak. I couldn't get to her. Yara puts a hand on my shoulder. I look up at her, tears trickling down my face. She grabs me, pulling me into a tight hug. "I thought I was gonna lose you." I sob, my face buried in the crook of her neck. "Oh my God!" I feel my chest tighten, air escaping my lungs. It feels like I'm not getting any air. I gasp, trying to get air into my lungs.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay." Yara coos, rubbing my back. "Deep breaths, Maddy. It's okay."

"What's happening?" I hear Lev ask, worry in his voice. I want to tell him I'm fine but I can barely take a breath. Panic attack. I thought I lost Yara! I couldn't protect her!

"She's having a panic attack." Abby explains. "Yara?"

"It's okay. I've got it." Yara assures her, rocking us side to side slowly. My vision goes blurry and I squeeze my eyes shut, clinging to Yara's shirt. "Deep breath, Maddy." Yara says, her voice sounding distant. I feel her body move with every breath she takes, mimicking them as best as I can. "Good. You're okay."

"It was- I left for a second and it-" I gasp, sobbing into Yara's shoulder.

"It's okay, Maddy." Yara hushes, rubbing hard circles in between my shoulder blades. "Breathe with me, it's okay. You're doing so good, baby."

"Manny." I hear Abby say.

"Abby?" Manny's tired voice rings through the car's speakers. Abby must've called him. "What's going on?"

"Look, I'll explain everything later. Just go unlock your front door." Abby's voice is rushed as she drives. "All of us are coming over."

"What happened? Is Maddy okay?" Manny starts to worry.

"I'm okay." I sniff, trying to make my voice sound as calm as possible.

"Manny, please." Abby pleads. "Just unlock the door, we're two minutes away. I promise I'll explain everything."

"Okay." Manny says. We hear him getting out of bed, his footsteps sounding through the phone. "Okay I'll be here."

"Thanks." Abby says, hanging up. "Fuck... how are we gonna explain this shit?"