#im throwing my phone behind my desk now and not touching it until later

[lovethygoalie]

did you know ! absolutely no one is forcing you to say how much you hate the vgk when you are resharing a post about them raising money for victims of a mass shooting

(again. because the knights have been embedded in their community from the beginning and a massive part of that is honoring the victims of october 1st.)

you are not required to describe this as "an incredibly rare W" you absolute fucking ghouls !

[vquacki]

It's My Fatherly Duties!

It's My Fatherly Duties!

Short DAD Scenarios 

Characters: BONTEN - Rindou Haitani, Ran Haitani, Sanzu Haruchiyo

~ Inui Seishu, Kokonoi Hajime, Izana Kurokawa, 

~ Souya Kawata (Angry), Nahoya Kawata (Smiley)

Warning ⚠︎︎ : Mature content, cussing, MINORS DNI

Note : requested, I added some characters. Hope ya don’t mind! These are pretty short, just little things I put together. Word barf kinda..? Anyways- I hope you enjoy :))

R I N D O U 

His lashes fluttered open when he heard a loud crash coming from the hallway, along with a string of cuss words sounding like his daughter's voice. 

“What the hell was that?” You groaned, not a single word was uttered from your husband when he sprung out of bed, bolting to the bedroom down the corridor.

“Tohru?!” Rindou yelled, flinging open the door. Revealing your teenage daughter fully dressed, half way through her second story window. A facade of pillows under her blanket seeminging meant to be her ‘sleeping body’.

“Oh dad, I-”

“What the hell are you doing” The man was fuming by the ears, pajamas ruffled when he jolted out of his slumber. 

“Is Tohru okay?” You peeked from behind the broad shouldered man. 

“I was just going to get fresh air!” Your daughter lied, making up a somewhat excuse to appease her angered father. 

“Hey Tohru! Hurry up and get down here!” You heard a boy's voice call out, looking over at Rindou’s face to see the man's darkened expression.

“Who the fuck is down there? Is that a boy?!” He growled, stomping his feet over to the glass. Pushing past his daughter to take a look. 

“Oh shit- her dads here. Let’s book it!” The kids whispered, but loud enough for Rindou to make out, hastily running down the dark street. 

“You little shits! Don't you dare come back here!” Rindou growled, slamming the window shut in the process. 

“What! Dad!” Tohru whined, 

“You're so grounded young lady!” Rindou shouted, not caring for the sleeping neighbors beside his shared condo at three in the morning. 

“Rin, she was just having some fun!” You defended, you were also like her when you were her age, trouble makers run in your blood. Actually Rindou couldn't even talk- he was running roppongi at her age.  

“No! She's just too young to be hanging out with boys!” Rindou’s brows joined together as he withered in front of you. 

“But we dated when we were her age-” You deadpanned at him, 

“Grounded! My final answer!” 

R A N  

Ran was coming home from a late night bonten meeting, mouth agape when he saw his daughter’s feet dangling out from her window. 

Fearing the worst he sprinted to the ground below his child, hands outstretched to catch her if she were to misstep. 

“Mitsuri!” His voice boomed,

“Eh? Dad?!” His daughter stuttered, slowly slid out the window, climbing down like she had done this many times prior to this awkward occurrence. 

Toes easily touching the grass with ease, not a scratch upon the females porcelain skin. 

“Ran?” You yawned, cracking the door ajar. It was late, you waking up to your husband's screams outside your house. 

“Mitsuri, what are you doing climbing out your window like a maniac?!” Ran scowled, hands running through his messed up hair. Sweat dripping down his temple from the not so pleasant adrenaline rush. 

“I was just gonna hang out with some friends..” your daughter answered, fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, scarily waiting for her dad’s reaction. 

“At this time of night? .. out your window?”

“Ye-”

“Phone privileges. Give me it.” Ran demanded, palm stretched out. 

“But-” no question she was a tad bit spoiled by her father. You being the bad cop, while your husband played the good cop for his beloved daughter. 

“If you want to go anywhere all you got to do is ask!” Ran plucked the phone from his daughter's hand, a wave of relief washing over him. Secretly thanking whatever being watching over him that it wasn't some sort of gang related subject. 

“This is what you get for spoiling her!” You laughed from the sidelines, hand clutching your stomach.

“This is your fault too ya know!” Ran argued. 

“I’m the one who tries to discipline her! But someone always lets it go!” You emphasized the special somebody. 

“Whatever” Ran sighed, This was a lesson for the usual carefree man, a special lesson he wouldn't forget in the many years to come with his unborn future children. 

S A N Z U 

It was Sanzu’s best day of his life when his daughters were born, the two only being about one year apart. They were spoiled to the core, anything they wanted their money liberl father blessed them with. He thought they were the sweetest things ever, them both being a daddy's girl after all. 

He never would have expected to see both of his daughters outside his humble abode, standing beside two boys, most likely a double date. 

He stared in shock, hands pressed firmly against the glass, teeth gritting. 

“Huh? I tucked them into bed an hour ago” You rubbed your eyes, riding yourself of the sleepiness threatening to drown you. The pink haired only tutted his teeth, swifty twisting the door knob to confront the four children outside. 

“Oh you better run” your oldest daughter whispered, gesturing for the boys to make haste from her deadly father. 

“You better not come back here, unless you want trouble you fuckers!” Sanzu yelled, red in the eyes from anger. Not bothering to chase after the two scoundrels. 

“Dad, mom! What are you guys doing awake?” Your youngest asked, sheer panic in her eyes, watching her insane fathers unpleasant smile. 

“I swear you two will be the death of me” Sanzu uttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. A irked gleen in his orbs as he stared them down. 

“They were just friends dad, stop overreacting” the older daughter said, 

“I- You little shi-” He bit his lip to suppress his anger fueled words, knowing well it would definitely hurt his precious children's feelings. Having regretted it later if he were to say those sinful words. 

“Now now Sanzu, let's head to bed” You wrapped your arms around your lover, dragging him inside the house. 

“You can sort out their punishment tomorrow, after a good night's sleep” , coating him with reassuring words. That day he learned how misjudged he was of his children, even so he still loved them with all his heart.

I Z A N A 

Izana had his feet kicked up, relaxing in his office while he watched the moon. He had a clear view, the street lamps positioned next to the sidewalk, the side of his beautiful house facing his office window. He was enjoying his free time, mind taking over his body while he thought about his life choices. He was in ease until he saw his son's window light up, a long string of rope being tossed out the opening. 

Sitting up from his chair, he rushed over to his clear casement. Throwing his window open, a boy and girl standing beneath his son's window. The two holding the rope still as your child tried to slid down. 

“My my Yuki, where are you off to?” Izana laughed, nerves finally relaxing when he figured out what was going on. Calmly settling into the frame, head leaning on his chin. It wasn't like he had the right to be upset, he did much worse when he was his son's age. Robbing, fighting, killing. You name it, Izana’s done it. 

Sneaking out was nothing compared to what he did, but he wasn't gonna just let his son go. He was more wise now, he knew for a fact he didn't want his son to end up anything like him. Sure, he wanted the boy to have fun, but in a normal kid way. 

“Dad! Um- I”

“You better get your arse back up that window before I drag you around with that rope” Izana smiled, Totally different from the sentence he was portraying. Not forgetting his manners, giving a nonchalant wave to the other two kids. 

“Zana? Who are you talking to?” You asked, placing a cup of tea you had prepared for Izana on his desk. 

“Oh no one doll” Izana answered, closing the window before walking over to you. 

“Let's go to bed, yeah?” He proposed, trailing his hands around your shoulders, guiding you to the door.

“But the tea I made”

“Im tired~” 

Overall the male wouldn't want to talk further about the situation, nor would he discuss it with you. Trivial matters held no place between you both, as long as the child did not dare do it again. 

I N U I 

Inui wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, the AC wasnt working at the motor shop. Him, draken and yourself were sweating bullets, the hot material around you not helping. You had decided to help the pair around the shop, cleaning what you could. Or helping with cashing every customer out, it would've been an easy task if it wasn't blazing hot. 

Leaving your daughter home alone, obviously thinking she’d stay and do her teenage things. You couldn't be more mistaken, astounded as you watched her fiddle around with a boy across the street at the ice cream parlor. 

“Y/N please don't tell me that Kagura..” Inui’s jaw dropped, the wrench that was once in his clasp dropping to the ground. Startling the concentrating Draken that was crouched over a motorbike. 

“What's wrong Inui? Y/N” Draken twisted his body around, raising a brow when you two just started muttering to each other like two creeps. 

“Is that... a boy” Inui held his chin between his fingers, squinting to get a better view of his kid. 

“You trying to catch flies with your mouth Inui? Close your yap” You whispered, 

“Y/N! She's too young, I feel like I just held her in my arms not too long ago. She can't get married just yet!” Inui argued, he would've been on the verge of tears if he didn't have a reputation to uphold. 

“What? The fuck are you on Inui? She's probably just with a friend!” You patted his back, reassuring the man. 

“Boys and girls can be friends ya’know” you added.

Cueing the two children across the road from you, feeding scoops of ice cream to each other.

“I don't think friends do that..” Inui looked over at you, eyes widening when you swung the motor shop’s door open. Hands coming around your mouth to amplify your words,

“Kagura, is that your boyfriend?” 

“WHAT?” Inui almost fainted, the ledge behind him holding his wobbly frame up right. 

“I didn't know you guys would be here!” Your daughter jogged across the street, leaving the boy sitting by himself. 

“And no! Just a friend” She answered your embarrassing, blushing as she stared down at the ground.,

“I sense some lies” you wiggled playfully at the flustered girl. 

“What! Anyways, Sorry I left the house without telling you” Kagura apologized, 

“Just don't do it again, without my permission..” Inui stated, 

“Especially not with a boy.”

K O K O N O I

Bribing people is his forte, and if they did not obliged? Threatening always did the trick. 

And that's exactly what he did when he saw his descendant out with a male. All was dandy until the boy came running back, babbling about how his girl was the so called ‘love of his life’.

“Hey brat, you got a death wish?” Kokonoi asked, leaning against the door frame. 

“Koko go easy on him, he’s just a kid” You nudged the man, a mischievous grin plastered on the males face. 

“And I kinda think it's cute” You said, a small smile erupting from your daughter that was not so far behind her parents. 

“I approve, kid! I like your romantic drive!” You clapped, 

“Y/N!” Kokonoi pouted, 

“You better not try to bribe him with money again” You threatened, waving a finger at the whiny man. 

“Yeah! I like him too, dad!” Your daughter agreed. 

“You're like twelve, go play chess or something” Kokonoi barked, crossing his arms in disapproval. 

“Dad, I'm sixteen!” 

“That's what I said” 

S O U Y A 

He almost had a panic attack at the sight, having to shield the man from the scene playing out. Your twin daughter saying their goodbyes to their dates, followed by a kiss. You removed your hand when the boys were no longer in view, riding off in their motorcycles. 

“Shira, Nihra” You held Souya up by the shoulder, the light headed male limping towards the worried kids.

“What's wrong with dad?” Nihra questioned, eyeing her ghostly pale father. 

“He's out of it” You giggled, 

“I'm not crazy am i?” He stood tall, letting go of the arm you had draped around him. 

“There was boys-” His voice cracked. 

“You saw that dad?” Shira sweat dropped, watching as her fathers should leave his body. 

“Next time ask before you go out” You smiled, you weren't too strict on the two. They were Souya’s children, earning most of their adorable traits from him. Even his fighting skills. 

“This better not happen again, i'm trusting you” Souya grumbled.

“Sorry pops” The two girls remorsefully sollied the man, both hooking onto one of Souya’s arms as they helped his shell into the house. 

N A H O Y A 

Nahoya was beyond pissed, infamous smile widening. Taking fast steps towards your daughter and her significant other. 

“Look boy, I don't know who you are. But my daughters not up for grabs” Nahoya grinned, cracking his fingers. 

“O-okay sir” the boy was jittering, body trembling from the males intense arua. 

“If I catch ya here again” he used his finger to slash his neck, motioning to the death that would happily greet the boy if they were to ever meet again.

“Yer dead meat kiddo”  Nahoya laughed, watching as the boy ran for his life. 

“Dad, that was really extra!” Your daughter sneered, a pout on her lips. 

“Shut up!, you're grounded rat!” Nahoya shouted. 

“Yeah Nahoya, there was no need to threaten the poor kid. He looked like he was gonna piss himself.” 

“Exactly the effect i wanted”

End Note : as I said this was a word barf T-T, so it’s quite short.

Reblogs & Notes are always appreciated! Take care! ♡︎♡︎

[hansolmates]

remote learning (m)

summary; working remote sucks, and you would love a little relief. after buying a new toy to blow off some steam, you’re baffled when you can’t cum. however, jungkook thinks you’re doing it wrong, and shows you a thing or two. pairing; neighbor!jungkook x (f) reader genre/warnings; fluff, humor, slightly insecure mc, this is pure FILTH—use of a remote controlled vibrator, do not and i repeat DO NOT try foreplay during a zoom call in the event u get fired im not responsible, phone sex, jungkook’s a meanie in control, cum eating, doggy, and topping it off with some sweet missionary bc jk has purty eyes, unprotected (wrap the pickle before u tickle folks) excessive use of the petname [redacted] w/c; 5.7k a/n; this fic manifested bc of work. and i!! am!! frustrated!! i think we all need a lil jk relief so here it goes! as always ty to @chillingtae​ / @eerieedits​ for this FANTASTIC fic banner, please go check vivi out if u have taste okok part 2: distance learning drabbles; 01

if u like this fic pls consider giving it a like and a share💕💕💕💕

“Tomorrow morning, same time at 9AM. Remember to have your reports alphabetized and itemized,” your supervisor says, but the only thing you can focus on is the abnormal amount of bonsai plants in his living room. 

“Alright now it’s time for the union to talk COVID protocol,” you frown when Mr. Kim moves ownership of the Zoom call to your union rep, who pulls up a Powerpoint. You feel your eyes burn at the sight: an itinerary containing over thirty-eight slides. 

“For fuck’s sake—” 

You so desperately want to turn off the camera and flop in your bed. Since working remotely you haven’t been operating in the most ideal of workspaces. You live in a one-room apartment with a communal kitchen downstairs, so you really only have four square meters to stretch your limbs around between breaks. You’ve pushed your bed aside and shoved an office chair between the bed and the wall, leaving you to squirm between ten centimeters of space. You have no desk because well, the little rectangle space is prioritized for your portable stove and meals. 

The meeting drones on for another hour, until your brain melts to liquid and your limbs feel like Jell-O. Furthering your anxiety as they talk about protocol that never ends up happening, delays that continue to pile up, and the anger that’s been bubbling between the higher ups and little goldfish employees like you. 

When you finally shut off the camera and fling your laptop under the bed, you still feel unsettled. Probably because your work life and home life have merged together, and it’s hard for you to separate work and pleasure. 

Speaking of pleasure. 

Your hand blindly reaches under your bed, looking for the pretty pink oval you purchased last week. Cleaned and ready to use, the little remote-controlled vibrator sits plainly in your palm. 

Needless to stay you’ve been in a bit of a dry spot these past few months. With a fear to go out and meet someone new, you’ve been left with yourself and your fantasies. That’s fine, but lately your old vibrator isn’t cutting it. It’s unfortunate, you think you’re messing up your libido by buying toy after toy, but you’re horny and lonely. 

Linking your phone’s app to the remote, you ignore the messages that have been beeping your feed since early morning. 

[11:21] Jeon: let’s do lunch! 

[11:23] Jeon: hehe i feel like i belong in mean girls. Do lunch💁🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️

[2:20] Jeon: u loozer. Come eat dinner with us upstairs @6

[2:24] Jeon: dropping off a snack for u 

Another element of feeling horny and lonely? Jeon Jungkook. 

You two shouldn’t have even met each other. You live off crumbs on the first floor while he and his roommates are livin’ it up on top in the penthouse. One day a few months ago he crashed into you while working out, having run up and down the whole flight of stairs at least three times before deciding to collapse on you between the second and first floor. 

Despite the black mask that hugged his sharp jawline, you had felt nothing but attractiveness ooze off of him. Under his hoodie was nothing but curved muscle. He smelled so soft and sweet despite the fact that he was damp with sweat. 

The rest is history. After that day he seemed to show up everywhere, jogging more prominently on your floor and doing exercises at your level’s gym. He says he likes you, likes your company. He’s wormed his way intermittently, whether he’s seeing you struggle with an armful of groceries or when he hears you screaming over an Among Us match (according to Jungkook, the walls are thinner on the bottom floors.) 

The idea of Jungkook doting on you doubly frustrates you. He seemingly appears as the perfect man, unaffected by the stresses of the world. Jungkook’s job lets him work from home anyway, and he definitely had enough room in the penthouse for his own office. He works out, probably has a girlfriend and enough friends for you to gradually phase out of this weird neighbor interest. 

So you ignore his seemingly harmless messages, focusing on getting the settings right on the vibrator. You feel your pussy jolt a little in excitement, watching the silver and pearl pink oval shake in your grasp. You smile a bit to yourself, immediately finding your iPad for your favorite videos and some pillows to support your back. 

Half an hour later however, that excitement soon goes sour. 

“Fuck,” you bite your lip, frustrated tears streaming down your face, “fuck fuck fuck!” 

This isn’t a set of explicatives out of pleasure, unfortunately. 

No matter what you do, you won’t cum. You can’t cum. Barely wet, hardly a drop glossing your folds. You don’t even want to bother getting out the lube at this point because you are so disappointed. 

The vibrator is going at the highest setting, one that your neighbors can probably hear if they were home at this time of the day. You cease to care at this point, because the job is undone because you haven’t come undone. 

You don’t know why this is happening. Maybe it’s because you’ve had the liberty to touch yourself in complete silence, now that your neighbors have been confined to their homes indefinitely. Maybe it’s because it’s been so long since you’ve relied only on your touch, that your body is tired of the monotony and needs more.

You bang the heels of your feet against your flimsy mattress, feeling whiny and utterly dissatisfied. Pulling the vibrator from your clit, you glare at the infuriating toy.

“You’re supposed to be helping me out of my dry spell,” you chastise, throwing the toy across the bed, sliding onto the carpet, “I get you’re not Jeon’s dick, but you gotta help a sister out.” 

With a sigh, you fall into a bout of exhaustion. Not from a round of orgasms, but from the week’s stress and no way to let it out. 

You wake up bleary and disoriented, practically melding through the mattress. The sky is pink and blue, washed in a sea of corals and purples. It comes from the incessant banging. 

“Stop it,” you whine more to yourself than whoever dares to disturb your sleep, pulling up your panties and a pair of navy dolphin-trim shorts. “Whoever you are I’m comin’ so stop!” 

Swinging the door open in two strides you’re met with a chipper Jeon Jungkook; looking all cute and sweet in his big hoodie and smelling like a rosebud. 

“It’s 6:30,” he narrows his eyes playfully at you, “dinner’s in the oven.” 

“You left your oven on,” you deadpan, turning around to grimace at the mess that’s your one-room apartment. 

“Yes, so we have exactly ten minutes before my kitchen explodes in flames,” Jungkook chirps, closing the door behind you. 

You don’t even bother to tell him to excuse the mess, ignore the pile of bras hanging on your vanity and the unpacked groceries that sit at the edge of your mini-fridge. It’s far too late to salvage your dignity and Jungkook’s too damn polite to call you out on your state of slob. Although, as you pull out a bottle of wine tucked in the back of your fridge you blurt, “I can hear your fingers tingling to clean up my mess.” 

When you turn around Jungkook stuffs his hands in the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie, supposedly to stop himself from cleaning up. With a pout he says, “Can’t help it, Jimin says I’m currently manifesting a strong display of Virgo energy this month. Whatever that means.” 

Jabbing your feet in a pair of slides you follow Jungkook out the door. The hallways are quiet and barren, yet the silence isn’t suffocating as you two pile into the elevator. Jungkook opens the keypad underneath the regular boring buttons, revealing a sleek little set of light-up buttons that have the code to the penthouse. Faaaannnnccy. 

“Tryna look?” he jokes, cupping his hands to block your vision. 

You scoff, “I’m sure it’s something easy like 0000.” 

“You’re wrong. It’s 1234,” he replies cheekily. 

The door dings open and you’re met with yet another door. Jungkook presses his thumb to the biometric scanner, and a pleasant ringer tings in response. 

The penthouse smells like a mix of tonight’s dinner, savory, combined with a cinnamon apple candle. Jungkook is a fan of scented candles, ever since he got a whiff of your lavender vanilla burner. 

“Where’s Taehyung?” you ask, more out of your own anxiousness than anything. Taehyung’s  your buffer, the hyper roommate being someone to distract you from Jungkook’s incessant aura. 

“Dunno,” he shrugs, flicking on the oven light to peer inside. You see the telltale signs of a mean lasagna, the shredded cheese on top crisping to a delicious-looking golden brown, “anyway, you’re my friend first.” 

As grotesque as it sounds, Jungkook always finds his way to worm his way under your skin and find homage there. “Possessive much?” you quirk a brow, folding your arms over your chest even though there’s nothing to hide. 

“What can I say,” Jungkook’s legs stretch out as he squats down to your level, “I really fell for you.” 

“Gross,” you try to convince yourself, ignoring the thudding in your chest, “you technically fell on me, weirdo.” 

Dinner is a quick affair. He cuts slices of lasagna and brings it to the couch, where you’re pouring glasses of wine in crystal glasses. They’re so clean and shiny you can see your reflection in the gold liquid. You grimace at the bottle, normally this would be poured in a mug or your sippy cup, tonight your liquid’s getting a high-end pour. 

You two pull up an old anime to fill up the room, but most of it is spent in playful banter. Jungkook prattles on about his day, showing you all the cool updates he’s achieved during work. An app developer. A very on-brand, lucrative job for him. You love your job but it isn’t nearly as exciting as Jungkook’s, so you just let yourself be supportive and ask questions when needed. 

When the subject of you comes up, you shake your head and stuff your face with another cut of al dente pasta.

“Not interestin’ Jeon,” you mumble, groaning at how delicious his cooking is. What can’t he do? “Is this oregano? Is the secret ingredient toasted oregano—” 

“You’re deflecting.” 

Your shoulders slump, “I’m not very interesting, I tell you everything I do during the week and nothing has changed since March.” 

“Oh, not everything,” Jungkook mutters under his breath. You furrow your brows as his hands stuff themselves in his hoodie pocket. Is he upset you won’t tell him about your work stress? “And you’re very interesting, I’ll have you know.” 

“Yeah?” a small smile tugs on your lips. You sink further into his cottonball of a couch, feeling utterly soft and meldable at his words.

“Very,” Jungkook gets up from the couch, looking down at you, “want something sweet?” 

The prospect of dessert has you excited. Jungkook really is the perfect man, so kind and knows exactly when you’re craving something for your sweet tooth. You move to get up, only for you to sink further between the two large cushions of the loveseat. “Help me, ’m stuck,” you pout.

Jungkook giggles, and holds out his palm, “Hand,” he says simply.

You immediately reach for his larger palm, and you gasp when you feel something cold and soft touch your palm. As if you’ve been burned, you tug your hand back. But Jungkook’s hand is massive, the large ink-painted palm curling around your own, and it’s almost painful the way he clutches your hand so fiercely. 

When he’s sure you’re not going to drop it, he releases your hand. 

Nestled in your palm, is the new vibrator you left on the carpet this afternoon.

“Jeon,” you laugh tonelessly, hating the way Jungkook’s neutral expression mocks you, “you found my USB? Thanks, I know—” 

“Know that you’re having a hard time coming?” Carefully extracting your plate from your lap, he places it on the coffee table before Jungkook cages you between the couch. You shrink further into the plush seat, “I tried being a good neighbor, but you didn’t answer my texts. I heard you when I tried dropping off some snacks before dinner. Didn’t know you were into toys.” 

“Oh, c’mon Jeon. It’s 2020 and we’re confined,” well, in this scenario you’re confined, “everyone has a sex toy.” 

“Hm, I don’t have one,” Jungkook bites the inside of his cheek, pretending to be deep in thought, “so, can you be my toy?” 

Fuck. 

It’s then that you feel the tell-tale signs of arousal. Your eyes widen, innocently surprised at the fact that Jeon Jungkook contained so much power in so few words. You snap your legs shut immediately, sealing any possibility of you dripping down your panties. 

“I heard how disappointed you were, doll,” his arms have no problems as he bends down so he’s eye-level with your crotch, “it was pathetic, really. You couldn’t even cum on your own? You need someone to help you?” 

“N-no,” you cross your arms defensively, frowning, “you–you’re being mean, Jeon.”

“And what, you’re gonna cry about it?” Jungkook smirks, now sitting on his knees. His hands run over the velvety fabric of the couch, making a beeline for your thighs. Gooseflesh rises to the surface, and he immediately presses down to iron out the little bumps that travel across your skin, “I do wanna make you cry, but not because you can’t cum. You’ll cry because of how good I’m gonna make you feel.” 

You gape, clutching the vibrator in your hand. 

A little bit of your sweet, cute Jungkook resurfaces, softening when he notices your lack of response, “If you’ll let me, of course.” 

You finally drag the words from your throat, “I-it’s been a long time since I’ve… been with someone.” 

He tilts his head, “Same here. I just figured we could break that spell together.” 

What are you going to say? No? A dishonor to your sexuality, that would be. Jungkook’s offering himself up on a silver platter, and even though you do wish it was a little more you’ll take the sex. 

You nod, forgetting to speak again. Jungkook chuckles. 

“I want to hear you say it, doll.” 

Doll. Like you’re his little fucktoy, malleable and bendable to all his whims. Fuck, why is that so hot to you? “Yes, I want to have sex with you,” you declare, your voice sounding more breathy than confident, “a-and, you can be mean. If you want.” 

His thumbs press little light indents in your skin, over and over as if fascinated by the way your skin is so soft and gummy in his grip. “Okay,” Jungkook doesn’t hesitate to pull out his phone, jabbing a few things that you don’t see, “let’s do a little test drive, then.” 

In seconds, the little egg vibrates in your touch. He puts it on the lowest setting, a soft buzz echoing in the large living room, then at a bruising pace that forces you to curl your fingers around it otherwise it’d fall. Your eyes flicker over to Jungkook’s, who’s focusing entirely on the way the pink and silver egg moves, dilated in interest. 

“Fuck, and you thought this thing was broken?” he asks, taking it out of your palm and turning off the app. 

“Maybe I’m the broken one,” you admit softly, wringing your shirt. 

Silence seeps. Jungkook looks at you, brows furrowed as if he’s annoyed. “Don’t ever say that,” when you don’t respond, he grabs your chin, and you gasp when he forces you to look at him, “you’re not broken, doll. Everyone’s body is different, and we’re going to discover yours together. Got it?” 

“Y-yes,” you reply immediately, mesmerized by his seriousness. 

“Good,” he slaps the vibrator back in your palm, “and in case you’re wondering, this goes inside.” 

“I know how it works,” you scowl, “but won’t you show me, just in case?” 

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Jungkook gets up for good, piling the dishes in his arms and walking to the sink. You immediately miss his warmth, “but I think patience is a virtue. I have a developer meeting with some clients in America a little bit, actually. So just wait for my call, yeah?” 

You frown, looking down at the vibrator in your hands. How much longer would you have to wait? 

It happens at exactly three in the afternoon the next day, at the start of your staff meeting. You’re so tired of the same information being thrown back and forth, coupled with Brian and Jae having to fight over some mundane subject in the itinerary that no one cares about. For goodness sake, it’s Friday! What else would you possibly need to be meeting about? 

You’re wearing a button-down dress shirt on top, no pants on the bottom. Your bare feet slap against the hardwood floor, antsy. It’s been a long day at work and your back hurts, you’re half tempted to dip out of this meeting and hope no one notices. 

Your phone buzzes on your bed, and you blanch. 

[3:01] Jeon: thanks for waiting, doll. It’s time 

[3:01] Jeon: put it in

Shamelessly, your vibrator sits next to your phone, cleaned and ready to go. 

[3:02] Jeon: need help? Answer my call

Making sure that your Zoom call is muted, you quickly answer the incoming phone call. Jungkook and you say nothing at first, waiting. The phone just ticks with the amount of time passing, one minute, two minutes, and so on. 

Mr. Kim drones unknowingly, “So when we do return to live instruction, expect a strict process when returning. PPE must be enforced so our response team will—” 

“How wet were you last night when you went home?” Jungkook asks languidly, speaking over your boss’ voice. 

Your eyes widen, flickering back and forth between the phone and the camera displaying Mr. Kim’s boring speech. 

“Doll, are you hard of hearing?” 

“N-no,” your lips barely move, eyes glued to the camera and plastering an expressionless face, “I heard you.” 

“Then give me an answer,” he says patiently, “how wet were you?” 

“Very wet.”

“Little more detail.” 

“Soaking wet,” you flush, thankful that your work laptop can only stream in 360p. “I haven’t gotten that wet in such—such a long time. My pussy was practically clinging to my underwear when I washed up that night.” 

A heady, heavy groan resonates through your phone. You feel that voice straight into your panties, jolting the nerves awake. 

“Fuck, you have a way with words, don’t you?” Jungkook chuckles breathlessly, “c’mon, touch yourself for me. Swirl your fingers around your clit, slowly.” 

It takes a second for you to position yourself, spreading your legs in a way that your coworkers don’t question why you’re moving so much. A quick scan over all the tired faces says that you’re okay. Shyly, you press your fingers against your clit, doing as he says. 

“Oh,” you say more to yourself than him, feeling the wetness already coating your fingers. This is earlier than usual. 

“What?” 

“I’m already wet,” you say, amazed, “I haven’t gotten wet this quickly in a long time.” 

He scoffs, “If you’re so wet now, shove it in.” 

You frown. You did tell him to be mean. But the idea of him telling you what to do, giving you all the porn-worthy experiences to accomplish has you relenting. Discreetly grabbing the egg from the bed, you bring it down to your panties. Swirling the cold metal around your clit, you coat it in your juices. 

It’s still a little too early to be putting anything in, but you can take it. Slowly relaxing, you slip the little egg in your pussy, wiggling it a little to make sure it’s secure. It’s a strange sort of pressure, and it pokes against your clit from the inside, but you enjoy the stretch. 

“It’s in,” you reply softly. 

“Good.” 

You wait. You listen to Jae make yet another speech about the importance of masks and gloves, and then Brian has to interject and say that gloves are literally useless because they spread germs around no matter what. Even though everyone else is muted, you can practically feel the misery seeping through the screen. For a second you almost forget about Jungkook on the line. Why isn’t Mr. Kim stopping them? This is the thin line stopping you from the weekend, unbelievable! 

“Eep!” you jolt in your cheap seat, the egg buzzing in your pussy. Your hands fly out, gripping the edges of your computer. 

It hits different when Jungkook is in control. Knowing that with a flick of his thumb he can have you careening, whining for more or less depending on how hard he wants you go. Your folds hug the egg, nestling it a fleshy grip as it brushes against your clit the more you squirm. 

“You look so pretty, trying so hard to hold in your moans,” Jungkook says wondrously from the other line. 

“W-what?” you frown, “you can see me?” 

And immediately, you go to your trackpad to fish between the hundred-and-one employees also in this call. At the very end, you see a very simple name with no mic or camera: Jeon JK. He’s here. 

“Worked in IT, doll. Know a thing or two,” he says, “now, tell me. What are you thinking about right now?” 

“Y-you,” you mumble shyly. 

“So,” Mr. Kim finally ends that part of the meeting, thank goodness, “what’s everyone’s plans this weekend? I’m going apple picking with a couple of my friends from college. Hoseok is a bright bean who loves to take long walks—”

What the hell. You squirm uncomfortably in your seat, hyperaware that Jungkook’s watching your every move. You make glossy, stubborn eyes at the camera, trying not to move when he jacks up the vibrator to a higher setting. 

Jae’s of course the next employee to unmute his microphone, “Well, me and the bae are going house hunting…” 

“Fuck!” you cry, moving the computer to the left so you can pretend you’re picking up something. But in fact you're leaning your head against your mattress, frustrated. “I don’t fucking care about your weekend plans, Jae! Shut the fuck up! You wanna know my weekend plans?” Jungkook’s laughing at you from the other line, but it only spurs you on, “my plans are fucking my super hot neighbor! He’s a hundred times more interesting than you and he’s going to make me come a hundred times this weekend—oh fuck!” 

Your fingers latch onto your panties, drawing random squiggles and letters between the fabric. You’re damp, soaked to the core. You need some sort of friction, a reprieve from this hellish week.

“You flatter me, doll,” Jungkook is definitely grinning through the phone, you can practically hear his shit-eating grin, “I think you deserve a reward. As soon as you put the camera back on your pretty face.” 

Quickly, you sit up to put the camera on you again. Once again, the employees are in a daze, listening to whatever the next person gabs about their weekend. Even though you can’t really see it, you’re sure Jungkook has a 1080p camera upstairs that shows off your blotchy face. You moan a little bit, lips closed as the egg buzzes against your pussy lips. 

“You’re so cute, doll,” Jungkook praises, “you look so professional, holding it in. What could I do to make you unravel? Hm, what if you imagined the taste of my cock on your lips? Fuck, I’d love to slap your cute little face with my cock, baby doll–”

“y/n?” Mr. Kim calls your name, and you freeze, “what about you? Any plans this weekend?” 

Jungkook doesn’t sound angry that your boss has inadvertently cut him off. “Answer him, doll. Be a good little employee.” 

Like a zombie, you move towards the unmute button. “I–I uh,” you shake your head, trying to formulate a coherent response, “I’m going on a date this weekend.” 

Jungkook jacks up the vibrator to high, and your legs are shaking. 

“Awh, a date!” Mr. Park unmutes himself, practically shoving the camera in his face, “how much do you like the lucky lad or lady?” 

“I like him uh—ah—” you pretend to think, covering a hand over your mouth to hide the fact that you feel your orgasm fast approaching, “I like him a lot!” you finally blurt, “I’m, uh, really excited to see him.” 

“Best of luck to you,” Mr. Kim says brightly, “so Jimin, any news on those investors you had dinner with this weekend? I heard a lot of positive things…”

You immediately mute your mic, and pretend to lag as you fumble around with the camera. Shoving the laptop to the side once more you groan into your sheets, “Fuck—fuck yes—” you moan, shaking your head as you dip your fingers into your panties. The vibrator still continues at its bruising pace, spurring you to a high you haven’t peaked to in months.

“Good job,” Jungkook says simply, “could barely notice that you have a little helper fiddling around your dripping pussy.”

“J-Jeon,” you cry, “I’m, ’m gonna cum.” 

“Yeah?” Jungkook eggs you on, “you’re gonna cum around that cute little vibrator? Gonna soak it in your juices?” 

“W-wish it was your cock I was soaking,” you whisper truthfully, letting your orgasm take you at the thought. Your folds flutter around the vibrator, bringing you to a level of sensitivity you’ve only dreamt of, “Ah, yes, Jeon. It feels s-so good!” 

“Yes baby,” Jungkook groans through the line, “feels good, huh?” 

Mr. Kim interrupts for the last time, “And with that, I think our meeting is adjourned. Have a wonderful weekend! Stay safe and—” 

You slam the laptop shut, grabbing your phone and keys. “I’m going up,” you mutter impatiently, already jabbing your feet in a pair of slippers and locking the door to your apartment behind you. 

“I’m waiting,” he replies, eagerness trimming his voice. 

“Password?” you ask quickly, jabbing the elevator door shut once you step inside. Thank goodness you’re alone, you think as you pull your dress shirt further down your ass. 

“Did you forget already?” he teases, “I told you, it’s 1234.” 

Thankfully, the doors zip you up straight to the penthouse. The connection is always a little spotty in elevators, and you sigh longingly when you feel the buzz jolt and leave it’s momentum, quickly losing its rhythm between your dripping folds. Once you get to the top and the elevator doors open the second door immediately swings open, revealing a soft but aroused-looking Jungkook. He looks fresh from the shower, absolutely radiant and delicious looking. 

You don’t hesitate to run up to him, and Jungkook immediately cups his face in your hands, pressing his lips to yours. 

You’re practically on your tippy-toes, and you squeak against his lips when he hooks his arms around your shoulders, immediately lifting you up. You wrap your legs around his trim waist, not wanting to stop kissing him. He’s like the sweetest ambrosia, a taste you can’t get enough of. 

The connection to your vibrator has resumed, and you can’t help but grind helplessly under Jungkook’s clothed abs as he carries the both of you to his bedroom.

“N-need you to fuck me,” you bury your head in the crook of his neck, pressing quick kisses to his jawline, “I want you s-so badly.” 

“Hello to you too,” he husks, shutting the bedroom door with his foot. 

Jungkook drops you unceremoniously, and your limbs splay out on the fresh bedsheets of his feather-soft mattress.

“You look gorgeous like this, doll.” he sighs longingly, a hand going under your buttondown to press against your soaked panties. His hand lingers on the way your pussy moves in tandem with the vibrator. 

“J-Jeon please I can’t take it—” 

“Stop calling me that,” he snaps, hands leaving your skin.

You whine at the loss of contact, “Jeon, no. Jungkook. Kook, my Kook. Please, I need you.” 

That gets him going. His pretty chocolate brown eyes zero in on you, and he immediately shucks off his shirt and sweatpants, “How much do you need me?” he asks, pulling out his phone and pressing some buttons, “how much do you need your Kook?” 

The vibrator stops. You cry out in frustration, unsure if it’s because it’s off or because Jungkook’s taking too damn long. “I need you so much, Kook,” you warble with a pout, moving to undo the top buttons of your dress shirt to reveal your cleavage, “honey, you can have me all you want later today. I want you to slap my face with your dick, edge me until I cry, anything. I’m all yours, I’m your little doll. But please for now, I need to feel you inside me.” 

“Say no more,” his lips latch onto your neck, and you sigh at the skin-to-skin contact. His hand fiddles under your shirt, clutching a breast and slapping it so hard it bounces back and forth, “fuck, you’re so pretty.” 

His hand moves to your plain cotton panties, immediately shucking them off, “doll, you really are dripping,” he’s impressed, surprised when he has to untack the fabric from your glossy legs. He hangs the panties on his wooden headboard, a little ornament for him to jack off to later. 

His fingers brush over your folds, wasting no time to slip the vibrator out. He holds it between your faces, forcing you to stare at the pearly substance that coats the entirety of the egg. “Mm, tasty tasty,” he cooes, pink tongue darting out to lick a long strip across the oval. 

You tug him closer, pressing his lips to yours. He tastes a mixture of his own saliva and your arousal, and you grind helplessly against him. You feel how big his cock is, rock-hard and trying very diligently not to bust. He must have a crazy amount of control, and it drives you nuts. 

“Kook,” you frown, bumping your crotch with his.

“Impatient, good thing I am too,” he shucks off his boxers while you unbutton the rest of your shirt, “knees and hands, doll.” 

You don’t care how or what way he’ll take you. Fuck, he could bend you into an Auntie Anne’s pretzel and you’d comply. 

Arching your back so your ass is in the air, you wiggle around, hoping he’ll take the bait. That’s when you sigh, feeling the tip of his dick brush against your wetness.

“Soaking my cock already, baby,” he says, “you’re so good to me.” 

And finally, finally, he slips in. You don’t even care that it stretches you a little too far and too long, it’s been too damn long since you’ve had decent dick and Jungkooks far more than decent. 

He goes at a quick pace, finally showing how impatient he’s been all this time. Your moans and groans fill the room, a symphony of pleasure and pain as he stretches your walls to the brim. You hold a pillow to your chest, feeling woozy at the way his fat cock stretches you out. 

“F-fuck yeah,” the pace is hard, you practically feel it in your belly, and you love it. “You feel so fucking tight, baby,” he’s all up in your ear, kissing the lobe briefly, “I love the way you suck my cock back in.” 

“Kook,” you press your ass back, “harder, please. I’m your little doll, right? Y-you can fuck me however you want, as hard as you want! Please, ah—! Use me!” 

You cry out when he slips from your folds, immediately flipping you on your back. He wastes no time to wet his dick, lifting one leg over his shoulder to have you deeper. This position is far more intimate, and your noses are practically touching as he thrusts into you. 

You can’t believe you’re in bed with Jeon Jungkook. This must be a dream, a really great, really long wet dream. You crumble in his grip, and you lift a shaky hand to run through his thick black strands. 

“Why’d you make me wait so long?” you cry, staring right into his glittering eyes, “why couldn’t you come for me after your call last night?” 

“Why’d I make you wait?” he grits, crushing the flesh between your hip bones so he can have more leverage to pound into you, “why did you make me wait? Since March, I’ve wanted you. I told you I liked you, told you I fell for you.” 

“T-thought it was a joke,” you warble pathetically, breasts bouncing at his relentless rhythm.

“You think th-this is a joke?” for further emphasis, he glides slower, making you feel just how large and thick he is against your folds, “I want you, doll. Y-yeah, fu-fuck. Want to feed you every day, feed you lasagna, feed you with my cum, make you happy.” 

“I—I want that too, Kook,” you’re a pile of pink mush, and you feel your eyes prick from the overwhelming emotions that have washed over both of you. “Sh-shit, Kook. I think, I think I’m gon’ cum again.” 

“Good, you first,” his hand plays figure 8s with your precious pearl, seeping with arousal and coating his cock in delicious lubrication. 

It doesn’t take long for you to cum. You’re holding him as tight as you can, nails digging into his shoulders as you clench around his cock. Jungkook cums shortly after, and you keen at the sensitivity when his hot cum coats your walls. “Baby doll,” he exhales, thrusting lazily. The both of you feel your combined arousal drip between the two of you, onto your skin and onto his sheets, “y-you’re amazing.” 

His softened cock slips out of you, and his hands immediately reach over to swirl around the heady cream over your engorged pussy. You moan when he brings his fingers to your lips, “Open, doll.” 

It tastes salty yet sweet, and you suckle around his finger with a cute little pop. Jungkook grins brightly, feeling like he won the lottery. 

“Are my walls that thin?” you pout, pressing closer to him when he pulls the blankets to your chest. 

“Very,” Jungkook nods with a chuckle, tucking the two of you in, “now get some rest, doll. You presented a lot of offers to me earlier, and I intend to go through with them.” 

You smile into his chest, melty and feeling utterly sated. 

[x3kristax3]

Part 6

The sun wakes us up. 

"Good morning, ill meet you by your Jeep"

I say as I get up and head upstairs to shower real fast and get dressed. I throw on jean shorts and just a white button down shirt that i tuck into my shorts and my colorful Nike's. I head downstairs and Phil is in the kitchen

"Where are you going?" He asks

"Jake and I are going for a drive?"

"This early in the morning? Also whats going on with you two?"

"Yes this early in the morning. And we are seeing where things lead" and I notice that breaks his heart "just tell everyone we will be back" I say as I walk out the door to meet Jake.

"You ready?" He asks

"As ready as I'm gonna be for this"

He pulls into the station and i sit there for a moment 

"Hey its gonna be okay" he says

"You dont know my history….. honestly i'm surprised you didn't find it when you did a background check" 

He looks at me shocked.

"Depending on what happens in here we will talk about it okay?"

"Okay, I'll wait for you"

"Thanks jake" I say as I get out.

I walk up to the door and stop. For 3 years I stayed awake from police offices and stayed out of trouble so not to give them a reason to look into my past and here I am walking into one.

It feels like yesterday I was walking out with a box of my stuff. I was not only the youngest detective but also the best so I have a feeling  I know what Alan wants to talk about.

I open the door and walk in.

"Hi I'm Krista here for my meeting with Alan Bloomgate" I say to the girl working the desk.

"One moment" she says as she picked up the phone and calls him.

A few moments later he walks out.

"Nice to finally meet you come with me" he says as he leads me to his office

I sit across from him.

"Look there are things we need to discuss. Including how you found Hannah and Richy. Something didnt settle right with me and so I pulled up your name and it didn't pop up right away but after some digging I found it. Your not suppose to be working on any cases for 15 years and yet you were to find Hannah"

"That was me trying to find a friend" I say

"You didn't know any of them before Thomas texted you so I know that's not the case. I know you were working with the most wanted hacker and holding information from the police."

I just sit there getting ready for the handcuffs.

"Look we have 2 options since I haven't told anyone else about you finding Hannah. I know you were the best and youngest detective when you were there specially with cold cases"

"Yeah I was" I say unsure of where this is going.

"You can either put your hands behind your back and I can arrest you or you can help me with this cold case from 20 years ago"

"Whats the case?"

"You don't get that information until you agree"

"So I either help you and stay in duskwood while working on a case when you admit yourself Im not suppose to be or have you arrest me right now?"

"Yep those are your only two choices. So which is it going to be. Because the cold case is sealed but once we open it and start digging into it the FBI will be back here but I'm hoping with your help we can be ahead of them if not close it by then. Cause 2i saw your close rate and time it was impressive"

"I'll take the cold case but I only ask my name doesn't get mentioned at all with this case specially if the FBI catches its opened again"

"Okay deal" he says as he reaches across his desk to shake my hand. "I'll be in touch through text and calls with information" as he walks me to the front office.

I walk out the door and see Jake still there. "So we gonna talk about the past and what happened in there?"

I sign "yeah but I want to tell everyone if that is okay with you" 

"Yeah, but first coffee"

"I agree" i laugh as he drives to the cafe and grabs us both coffee.

*********

The drive back after coffee is quite minus my phone blowing up with Jessy calling.

We pull into the driveway and they are all piling into the cars to go find us.

"Guys!" I yell out the window shaking my head at Phil. "I told Phil we'd be back"

"Where were you?" Dan asks

I sigh "the police station and to get coffee"

"What?!" Says Hannah 

"Look lets go inside there is something I need to tell all of you" I say as my hand shakes and Jake takes my coffee so it doesn't spill. 

We all pile into the kitchen I stand leaning against the corner unsure where to start.

'What is it?" Says Richy

"Krista if your not ready you don't need to do this" says Jake

"No I need too" i sign again "honestly i'm surprised  Jake didn't find this out when looking into me but i use to be a detective…. 3 years ago"

Everyones mouth drop 

"Wait is that why you found hannah?" Says Thomas 

I sigh "yeah…. I was the youngest best cold case dective"

"What do you mean was?" Ask Jessy 

"My partner and I was on a cold case and gotten some leads. We weren't suppose to go in but I ignored my orders and we went in. He ended up getting shot because of it which caused me to not be allowed to work any cases for 15 years because it was my fault he got shot"

"Thats why you got quite when we were talking yesterday morning with Jake" says Jessy

"Yeah and it gets worse"

"How is that possible?" Says Cloe

"While working with all of you to find Hannah, Alan dug into my past and found it. This morning thats where I was."

"Thats where I took her not knowing this information" says Jake

"Well he found my cold case percentage and I had to make a choice.. help him with a 20 year old cold case that once it's opened the FBI will most likely know it is open or have him arrest me on the spot. Obviously I agreed to work with him"

"Are you crazy this could be worse?!" Dan yells "what is the FBI catches you on this case then what happens" 

"If they catch on before I close and Alan gives my name up…. Federal Prison for who knows how long. If I didn't agree…with all the charges Alan can put on me the sentence would be life." I look down at the floor.

Jake walks out of the kitchen and I want to follow him but everyone is still here

"So no matter how this plays you can end up in prison?" Say Dan

"Yeah unless I close the case before the FBI finds this out. Which honestly every cold case  I opened I closed within 2 weeks with that one expection… but guys can we come back to this later" I say as im looking out the backdoor to Jake and Jessy notices

"Yeah thats find" she says as everyone else moans.

I walk out to Jake. "I'm sorry I hid this from you"

"I'm more mad at myself that I didn't find this" he says

"Hey don't be. I asked it to be hidden so I could still get a job to live Jake. I had no idea that 3 years later that I was going to be a random number and the detective in me couldn't say no or give up" I sigh sitting down on the grass

"So you're only staying until you close this case?"

"No, I'm staying as long as I want and as long as I'm welcomed. These last 2 months I saved every penny cause I had no desire to do anything but work and I mean I can always find a job here in Duskwood" I say as I nudge his shoulder

"But when I told you my history, why didn't you tell me yours?"

"I was scared Jake…. Most people don't like being in the same room as someone who got someone killed yet alone a relationship. Everyone's faces in there when I said it I felt like i3 went from insider to outsider in seconds."

"Well can you blame us thats a huge drop of information"

"No I don't and i get if you all don't want me to stay. I'll go to the motel while doing this cold case and then leave."

"I don't know Krista but I need to go for a drive myself" he says as he gets up and walks away. I hear him pull out of the driveway and i walk inside to everyone still sitting there.

"If you guys don't want me to stay I get it all I ask is someone takes me to get a rental car and once I close the cases I'll leave Duskwood and never talk to you all again"

Jessy comes up and gives me a hug "I want you to stay. Who else is with me?"

Dan comes up and gives me a big hug and one by one they all follow even Richy.

"Thanks guys" I say as a tear falls down my cheek "but I need some time alone to process some things" as I walk up to my room.

#Duskwood #fanfiction #duskwoodfanfic #duskwoodlover

[5sosxqueen]

Luke Appendicitis

< Part 1 , ~Part 2~

I totally kept up with the updates last week... 😅 Welp, I'll be posting three today. (All Luke. Hope you guys like him!)

Warnings: surgery, hospitals, minor descriptions of the surgery

Written in 2018

Published (Wattpad) - Jan 28, 2018

Word Count: 1628

Updates are every Tuesday and Thursday

Also Available on Wattpad and AO3!!!

Part 2:

Michael's POV:

"SOMEBODY HELP US!" I was the worst kind of mess as I carried a, seemingly lifeless, Luke into the ER, Aston, Matt, and Calum not far behind me. "PLEASE, WE NEED MEDICAL ATTENION!" A couple nurses instantly ran over with a gurney and told me to lay him down.

"One of you needs to tell us what happened." One of the nurses told us while the other looked him over. Luke was beyond pale with a hint of green to his face, a sheer layer of sweat that glistened in the lighting, semi dried blood plastered onto his face and shirt, and his was hair disheveled.

"He's showing signs of appendicitis. I've had it... But I noticed he has redness and swelling on the left side of his abdomen, rather than the right. How is that possible? I thought the appendix is always on the right." Ashton informed them. The nurse checked Luke's stomach and sure enough, it was just as he had said.

"Ok we need to get him back right now! Page Dr. Moore." One of the nurses anounced to the other as rhey rushed him into the back. We were told to have a seat in a private waiting room and wait for his prognosis.

We had been really quiet for what seemed like forever. 10 minutes later I spoke up through silent tears. "Do you think he's going to be ok. I don't want anything to happen to him..."

"He will be fine Michael. Remember Ash has been through this as well and he's fine." Calum said wrapping me into a hug as I quietly sobbed into my hands.

"I'm so scared Calum... He looked so lifeless." I could no longer hold it in, I was bawling loudly by this point. He started rocking me back and forth slightly. I felt Ashton throw his arm around me and Matt's gental touch on my shoulder.

"It's ok to be scared Mikey, but he will be ok. Just breathe buddy." Matt cooed. We all stayed in that position until we heard a familiar name being called.

"Family for Hemmings. Are you guys here for Hemmings?" We all nodded. "Ok, are all of you his brothers?" Once again we all nodded. "Very well," he said with a smile. "Well we have confirmed your suspisions on it being appendicitis, but Luke also has something called Situs Inversus. Now, there are two subtypes of this disease. There is one called dextrocardia, which is where a persons organs are a complete mirror image of that of a you and I and there's another one called levocardia, which the heart is on the left, but the other organs are reversed, which is what Luke has. Depending on whether or not his appendix has burst, he could be in surgery for 30 minutes to a couple of hours. He will need to stay here for a few days to recover, however if it has ruptured he could be here anywhere from 1 week to a month, depending on whether his body develops an infection. We need one of you to sign these consent papers to perform the appendectomy." Matt reached for the papers and signed them before handing them back. The doctor nodded, rapidly retreating back into the double doors.

Another nurse came out and led us to another waiting room. We had been talking for a while and after 30 minutes had come and gone, we we're getting really worried. "It's been 45 minutes..." Calum stated looking at us with clear worry on his face. "You guys think it ruptured?"

"Unfortunately, I think it's highly likely, but it's also only been 15 minutes so we can't fully go based off of that speculation." Ashton reminded him. Another 15... "Shit." He said looking at his phone.

"So more than likely, his appendix did rupture." I added and everyone agreed. "I'm going to go see if there are any updates. I'll be back." I walked over to a reception desk nearby. "Excuse me, I'm not trying to be impatient, but it's been an hour since my friend has gone back for an appendectomy. Have you heard anything?"

"What is his name sir?" The attendant asked me.

"Oh sorry..." I smirked at my forgetfulness. "Luke Hemmings."

"Ohh... I thought I recognised you... I just didn't want to jump to conclusions." She said happily. "Oh, um, it says here that his appendix has ruptured. He's still in surgery Michael."

"Damnit... Ok thank you ma'am." I said with a sigh as I walked back to the eager boys.

"Any news?" Matt asked, beating the other two boys to the punch.

I sighed. "It's not good... His appendix did rupture. How long has it been now?"

"It's only been about 5 minutes... So an hour and 5 minutes since he's gone in." Calum explained. "Well would anyone like something to eat or drink? It's about to be 7:30am."

"Yes please, coffee and surprise me." I said. I don't normally drink coffee, but since I've been up since around 2am I need it desperately.

"You know what I like Calum, thanks." Ashton said, slowly falling asleep on Matt's shoulder.

"Just a coffee for me, thanks Calum. We will let you know if we bear anything." Matt responded.

Calum walked out of the waiting room and went down to the cafeteria while we sat in wait. Calum came back up after 20 minutes. "Matt, here is your coffee. Michael, I brought your coffee and a chicken salad for you."

"You trying to tell me something, huh, Cal-Pal?" I chuckled out giving him a huge grin.

"No, shut up Michael." He said playfully smaking my arm. "Ash, I brought you a parfait and a coffee. You look like you could use some as well." Ash nodded and we all thanked him once again. We ate our probable brunch within 10 minutes.

"It's almost been 2 hours guys. He should be out soon." No sooner than Ashton saying that, the man we assumed to be Dr. Moore reentered the room and appeared before us.

"Hello guys, I believe I hadn't properly introduced myself earlier. I'm Dr. Moore." He shook all of our hands. "So I'm not sure if you had heard, but Luke's appendix had ruptured. The laparoscopic appendectomy had taken much longer due to massive amounts of puss that we had to clean before we could suture the incision. He is in recovery now and you may see him, but you need to be wary of his stomach for a while. He is asleep for the moment and when he wakes up we will move him to a private room for observation. Now if you folks will follow me..." He turned around and started walking toward the double doors. He led us back to the post-surgery room and we all gathered around Luke cautiously and waited for him to open his eyes.

"Mmmmn..." Luke slowly opened his eyes and started looking around. "What- what happened?"

"Your appendix burst buddy." Ashton told him.

"So they cut me open..." He said making a disgusted face. "I feel so violated." Luke was still very loopy from the anesthesia. It made all of is chuckle.

"How do you feel though." Matt asked rubbing his hand through his hair.

"Very happy..." He said making the goofiest face. I covered my mouth turning around and busted up laughing, nearly falling to my knees from lack of oxygen. He turned to Calum. "What's funny Cally poo?" He was confused about my laughing, but his nickname for Calum only made me die. My damn sides hurt like hell.

"Boy, do I wish I had my camera..." Ashton said wiping a tear that was escaping his eye from cracking up. "This is gold... Oh my gosh... Huh. Glad to have you, somewhat, back Lukey."

"I think we should try asking him when he's a little more alert. What do you guys think?" Calum said through a teethy grin.

"Definitely." I said as I gained composure.

"I'm tired guys." Luke said as his eyelids started drooping.

"Go to sleep bud. We will be here when you wake up." He nodded and instantly fell asleep. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes again. I pressed my palms into them.

"Awe Mikey, what's wrong?" Calum walked over to me and threw an arm around me.

"He's going to be ok... I'm just so thankful he is alive. I was so worried." Everyone came over to me and enveloped me in a hug.

"We told you he'd be ok Michael." Ash said rubbing my hair.

Luke woke up an hour later and looked at all of us. "Hey bud, how are you feeling?" Matt asked again.

"I feel a bit sore, but my stomach no longer feels like it's being torn open... What happened?"

"Well that's ironic isn't it? You had your appendix taken out." Ashton said.

"Oh. So you were right then. Well I'm feeling a lot better now. How long do I have to be here?" Luke asked just as Dr. Moore walked in.

Luke ended up staying in the hospital for a week with no infection. He was almost back to his perfectly happy, healthy self, he was just a bit sore from the surgery. The stitches we're removed before leaving the hospital. He was really excited to get out and eat pizza and perform for his fans once again.

"Hello Luke, I'm Dr. Moore." He shook Luke's hand. "I can answer your question on how long you will be here. Since you had a rupture, you are going to be staying here for at least one week under observation. We will be checking your temperature periodically along with having you hooked up to telemetry. Hopefully you don't develop any infection." Luke nodded and soaked the information in. "Now that you are awake we can get you into your room so you can rest." We we're all able to walk with them as they transferred him to his room. Luke was already starting to fall asleep on the way there.

[santigarcia]

Watermelon 🍉

Human Touch Part Three

a nathan bateman x f!reader series

Part One | Part Two

word count: 1.7k

rating: M/E for sexual themes, smut (pls only read if youre 18+)

summary: Nathan offers to teach you to box, but he ends up showing you something else instead...

a/n: sorry im late getting this one out! make sure you read part one and part two!! thank you again to @punkpascal and @sergeantkane! let me know what yall think!

Nathan took you back to your cousin’s after a few more days spent tangled in the sheets. He fucked you a couple times at your cousin’s place just for good measure. It was a bittersweet goodbye, you had to go back home. But there was a promise you’d come back, stay longer with him.

You dated virtually for a few months. It worked out because he was up all hours working and could text you. He’s surprisingly good at multitasking. The sexting and the phone sex were nice, but you both missed each other’s touch. Something about him made you ache to be back in his arms.

He surprised you with plane tickets one day, and you flew out to him. You spent a week this time. But the goodbye was even harder.

An intimacy had grown. Your lives begin to merge.

But there was an air about him that was different. He was happier than he’d ever remember being, but also scared out of his mind. There were hours that would go by when you wouldn’t see him. He’d be working, but mostly he was trying to collect his thoughts. You were such a damn distraction. Every moment spent with you felt like the air in his lungs would leave him, he’d never be able to breathe again with you taking the air from him. His heart thuds in his chest and he swears he’s having a heart attack. But it’s just you, it’s you.

He still can’t believe you’re real.

One afternoon you walked in on him pleasuring himself. Fully naked, flat on his back on his bed. Big hand pumping his dick. Moans echoing in the room. He didn’t see you or notice you until his end. He came with a loud groan and he moaned your name.

When he sat up, he saw you, there was a moment of panic in his eyes, but then it turned to a smirk.

“Enjoy the show?”

“Why didn’t you….come get me?” you flush. He looked away from your gaze, a heat rises in his face and the tips of his ears turn pink.

“I still can’t believe you’re real.” He rubs the back of his neck.

“How long have you been so alone?” your heart hurts and you go over to him and kiss the top of his head.

These are the things that plague him. He’s been so alone for so long; he’s trying to adjust to life with you in his home. The heat in his bed. Someone else showering. Your clothes in the closet. Your shampoo in the shower. Little traces of you.

He’s also not used to having to talk to anyone. He’ll spend hours or days even deep in his work. Barely remembering to eat.

You ate alone one evening, so you wandered into his lab to check on him. When you asked him why he wasn’t with you he snapped at you like a scared wounded animal.

“We don’t have to spend every second together,” he’d said. But as soon as he said it, he was full of regret. He never wanted to see that upset look in your eyes again.

“Well, I only see you if we have sex!” Which wasn’t true, but it’s what it felt like. You’re only here for a week, you wanted to make the most of it.

You walked out of his lab leaving him alone. You saw the look on his face, and he looked defeated. Hurt. Angry. At himself, not at you.

Later you went back into apologize, only to find him asleep at his desk. His face smushed against the keyboard. Several lines of letters were being typed by his cheek on the screen.

“Nathan,” you whisper and gently touch his shoulder. He bolts upright and groans a silent “fuck” when he sees all the letters typed out.

“You need to rest, come with me right now,” you tell him. He doesn’t disagree and he follows you to his bed. You lay down first, on you back with pillows propped behind you. “Come here,” you beckon. And with a happy sigh he lays down, resting his head on your stomach just under your breasts. He breathes deeply as you scratch his back and softly rub his fuzzy head.

“I’m sorry,” you say first. “I’m a little nervous about this.”

“I’m sorry,” he replies. “I’m nervous as shit. I’m not used to having another person around. Especially not someone so-“ his throat tightens. How can he tell you that he loves you already? “What if I’m not good enough for you? I don’t want to hurt you. But- I’ve been trying to think of ways to ask you.”

“Ask me what?” you stroke his beard gently.

“Move out here with me,” he’d whispered into your skin.

“I’d love to,” you whispered back. “And we’ll figure this out. But you are good enough. My only,” you smile and kiss him softly.

He paid for everything. He hired movers to get your things. He paid for any expenses and every ticket. Your parents were a little surprised you were dropping everything to stay with someone they’d never even met, but they’d also never seen you happier in your life.

Nathan enjoyed helping you unpack. He analyzed everything you owned. And he liked making a space for all your things. He rifled through your record collection with keen interest, and all your underwear.

It felt so domestic being with him, and you knew it was the right decision. You’d been worried about being homesick, but that feeling never came. He was your home. You had everything you needed and could possibly want.

You kept in contact with all your friends, you’d video chat with them. There were things you missed, but you settled into life with Nathan with ease.

The newest part for you was sharing space with someone. He’d not done that in some time either. He’s not used to someone curling up against him in the middle of the night. He runs hot, but he can’t push you away. He’ll just turn down the AC.

This morning, the bed is empty. Which isn’t uncommon. He keeps weird hours. You pull on his Henley and some warm pajama pants and wander through the house looking for him.

You find him outside on the deck, he’s practicing his boxing this morning. His fists collide with the punching bag and you can hear him grunt with effort. Unashamedly you watch his tight ass bounce as he hops around on the balls of his feet.

You make your presence known by opening the sliding door to the deck. He sees you with a smile, but he keeps going. He might be showing off just a little for you, but you don’t mind. The newness of the relationship has him doing things of the sort.

“Are you going to teach me how to box?” you ask sitting on one of the deck chairs nearby.

“Well get over here and I’ll teach you,” he grins, his shoulders heave as he breathes deeply.

He holds your hands in his, showing you how to make a fist. His touch is warm, his eyes flicker with desire. He’s sweaty and his kisses are salty.

“Hold your hands like this-“ he tells you. He stands behind you and guides your arms on how to throw a proper punch without hurting yourself. He slots himself behind you, and you can feel him through his thin gym shorts.

“Nathan.”

“Hmm?” he hums in your ear and kisses your cheek.

“What are you doing?”

“I thought I was showing you how to box? What did you think I was doing?” He hums again and ruts his hips against your ass.

“It’s this shirt isn’t it?” you lean back against his chest and wrap your arms around his neck. He kisses your neck and his beard brushes along your skin.

“Yeah, you look so fuckin’ good in my shirt. Hold still,” he tells you and slips his hand down your pants. He wraps his other arm around you to keep you still while he rubs tight circles on your clit. “You know, kitten, I haven’t eaten you out yet. Would you let me?”

“Outside?” you moan while his fingers move. He chuckles in your ear.

“No one’s out here. Please baby, let me taste you.”

“You really want to?”

His fingers move faster, and you buck against his hand. You’re so close, chasing it when he pulls his hand away. He brings his fingers up to his lips and groans in your ear.

“You taste so good, I want more.”

“Please- let me finish. Use your mouth.”

“Attagirl,” he winks and squeezes your ass. “If you’re not ready though, say so. It’s not like I haven’t seen you.” He smirks.

“Where do you want me?”

He points to one of the tables. You sit down on it and lay back. He kneels in front of you and pulls your pants and panties down your legs. He spreads your thighs and puts them over his shoulders while he dives in.

His eyes close in pleasure while his tongue laps at your folds and sensitive bundle of nerves. He sucks and kisses and grazes his teeth. His beard scrapes your thighs, and you scream out in the open air.

“That’s it baby,” he moans against your heat. “Fuck, you have the best tasting pussy.”

“Nathan!” you whine his name, and he goes in harder. Sucking and eating you alive.

“You’re sweeter than the watermelon we had the other night,” he purrs into your heat. He doesn’t stop until you’re coming all over his tongue. Your sweet essence he could drown in. You’re real. Warm, wet, and real. He burns with need after tasting you. He’d keep going if he weren’t so hard in his shorts.

He pushes his shorts down and leans over you, kissing you deeply.

“Can I?” he asks, there’s a pleading tone in his voice. You practically beg him to push inside, you wrap your legs around him and pull him towards you. He sinks in with a sigh. The table scrapes on the deck as he thrusts into you.

“So much for teaching me boxing,” you gasp out a moan when he spills inside of you.

“Next time,” he chuckles, falling on top of you. “I’ve had my workout for the day.”

xx

tagging: @pascal-isaac, @wasicskosgirl, @velvetmel0n, @huliabitch, @shadow-assassin-blix, @writefightandflightclub, @aellynera, @softboywriting, @veuliee2, @spider-starry, @mylifeliterally, @millllenniawrites, @ntlmundy, @foxilayde, @writingletterstothefire, @mandoplease, @anetteaneta, @feelmyroarrrr, @artsymaddie, @shakespeareanwannabe, @poedameronsbeard, @deanfanatic, @magicsuperheroes, @phoenixhalliwell, @that-one-weird-one, @mariesackler​

[wingsofkpop]

Hiraeth - I.IX: Bloodborne

pairing(s): Hybrid!Im Jaebeom x Reader, Witch!Mark Tuan x Reader, Werewolf!Jackson Wang x Reader, Vampire!Park Jinyoung x Reader, Supernatural!Got7 x Reader

genre: Supernatural!AU, Dark Magic!AU, heavy Angst, eventual Smut

warnings: Mature language, mentions of death and murder, violence, explicit descriptions of fighting, blood and gore, some satanic themes, mentions of trauma, etc. 

word count: 6,5k

synopsis: How far are you willing to go to find out the truth about Moon Dye Bay?…

chapter directory

“—so once Youngjae channels enough power from the blood moon tonight, he’ll be able to lower the veil between the Other Side and the physical plane long enough to resurrect your spirit into a mortal body.” You explain, glancing over your notes at the unusually quiet figure sitting on your bed. Something about his expression seems distant—almost sorrowful. 

After your return from the hospital, and after the long chat with your roommate convincing her that your absence all night was due to a last minute work emergency, a certain ghost phased into your bedroom. You wouldn’t allow yourself to be this concerned, but during his visits, Jackson usually never shuts up. If you were all alone with no one to talk to, you probably wouldn’t either. 

You lower your notebook and shake your head, “You haven’t said one word since you showed up. What’s wrong?”

Jackson purses his lips, as if nervous to relay the thoughts swirling through his mind. Another brief moment of silence passes before he finally murmurs, “It’s the witches. They’re starting to get suspicious again… I don’t know how long I have before they figure out I’ve been crossing over to this plane.”  

“Then we’ll just have to bring you back before they find out.” You grab your phone from your desk, checking through your notifications to see if a certain siphoner has yet responded to your dozens of texts and calls. No dice. 

You haven’t been able to reach Youngjae since yesterday morning, which is odd considering the guy is the type to respond within three seconds of receiving a message. It would be one thing if he let you know that he’s busy, but it’s complete radio silence. It’s not like Youngjae at all. 

“You’re worried about something.” 

Your eyes dartup at Jackson’s observation, discovering his concerned gaze focused on you. 

“It’s Youngjae.” You sigh, “I haven’t heard from him, but I’m sure he’s just busy brewing potions or something.” You expect to earn at least a chuckle from the ghost, but his silence remains along with the blank expression along his face. His same distant demeanor also lingers, and this time, your concern grows to panic. “What is it, Jackson? What’s going on?” 

“I didn’t want to say anything cause I was sure it was all in my head, but I feel that something is… weird.” 

“Weird?” 

“It’s hard to explain.” He continues, “But as a ghost, I can feel things around me… like right now, the universe just seems off—” His voice cuts out as he frantically shakes his head, “Anyway, I just want you to be careful. Mark used to tell me that disrupting the balance of nature is like opening Pandora’s box.” 

“Yeah. We will be doing none of that.” You set your phone down before crossing the room to kneel in front of Jackson. A grin lifts to your lips as you hum to the ghost, “So what do you feel when you’re around me?...” 

Jackson raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” 

“You said you feel things around you… Do you feel anything special when you’re with me?” 

You’re surprised at the eagerness that swells in your chest as he takes his time to think over your question. The inquiry was supposed to be a joke to lighten the mood, but you’re actually curious about your companion’s ghastly perceptions. After maybe a minute or two, Jackson sends you a small smile: 

“I feel… light.” 

“Light? What is that supposed to mean?” 

“You have this aura around you.” Jackson affirms, mindlessly reaching forward thumb at your cheek. You obviously can’t feel his touch, but something in your gut tells you that if you could, you would feel nothing but warmth. “I feel powerful when I’m with you…” 

“Is that a good thing?”  

He grins, “I think so.” 

You continue to stare at one another for a moment, almost attempting to read the depths in each other’s eyes. It’s not until a harsh knock resonates from the front door do you finally break the gaze, offering Jackson a final hum, “I’ll bring you back as soon as I can. I promise.” 

Jackson nods, “I know you will. But like I said, please be careful.” 

“I will. See you soon.” You wait for Jackson to disappear completely before exiting your bedroom, cursing Sana for leaving you to deal with whoever is incessantly banging on your door. It’s probably the old lady from across the hall wanting to borrow another cup of sugar. You roll your eyes at the thought and open the door, ready to politely decline your neighbor’s request.

Your words die on your tongue—definitely not the old lady from across the hall.  

“Mark? What are you—?” 

“What? Not expecting to see me?” Mark’s hostile growl takes you by surprise, as does the furious expression etched along his features. “That’s not surprising since you’ve been ignoring me.” 

“I’ve been busy.” 

“Oh. I’m sure.” 

You cross your arms over your chest. “What the hell is your problem?” 

“You wanna know what my problem is?” Mark takes a step closer to you before pointing a finger in your direction, “The fact that you not only lie to me, but you go behind my back and then deliberately avoid me for days on end.” 

“What are you even talking about, Mark?” 

“I’m talking about you and Youngjae playing God and resurrecting Jackson.” 

Your muscles instantly freeze, as if Mark had taken a tub of ice water and thrown it over your head. The annoyance inside your chest shifts to guilt, and your once cold features cannot help but soften. 

You shake your head, “Mark, I—” 

“Do you know how dangerous it is to bring someone back from the dead, (Y/N)?” Mark lowers his voice, but his tone remains as frigid as his gaze. “Do you know the consequences that happen when you fuck with the balance of nature?” 

“I get that, but—it’s complicated, Mark… There’s things you don’t understand—” 

“I don’t understand!?” He scoffs, “Last I checked, I’m the goddamn witch here, (Y/N)! You know nothing about magic and its sacrifice!” 

“Maybe not, but I do know that there is a chance I could bring Jackson back!” You shake your head again, “Please, just give me a chance to explain—” 

“No. Because it’s not fucking happening.” Mark interrupts, furiously shaking his own head. “I forbid you to do this.” 

It’s like a switch goes off in your mind. Your guilt immediately transforms, but this time, it configures into rage: 

“You forbid me!? Who the flying fuck do you think you are!?”

“I won’t sit back and allow you to get yourself killed—!” 

“And last I checked, you don’t have the right to control what I do and the decisions I make!” You seethe, stepping further back into your apartment. “This is my choice. I’m resurrecting Jackson whether you like it or not.” 

“Fine! Get yourself fucking killed for all I care!” The witch raises his hands in mock surrender. “At least then I won’t have to deal with your reckless, moronic ass!”

“Fuck you, Mark.” You don’t allow the witch to say anything further and slam the door in his face. Your chest remains unbearably heavy, both physically and mentally, but you ignore the sweltering emotions and begin to traverse around the apartment, gathering your bag and other assorted belongings. 

A confused and rather concerned Sana emerges from her bedroom a few seconds later. “Are you okay? What was with all that yelling?” 

“Don’t worry about it,” You huff, shoving your arms through the sleeves of your jacket. “Just Mark being a douchebag, as per usual.” 

“Where are you going?” 

“To find Youngjae.”

“Isn’t it kind of late?” 

“I’m an adult, Sana.” You snap before throwing your bag over your shoulder. “Don’t wait up for me.” 

Similar to Mark, you don’t allow Sana the chance to question you further and sprint out the front door, praying that Youngjae will be up to bringing Jackson back in the next few hours. 

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

Mark has never exercised the greatest control over his emotions. It first began when he was twelve, after his dad walked out on his mom. He found himself sobbing his eyes out some days, and beating the shit out of other kids on others. His mood ranged from intense rage to extreme depression. There was no in between. 

In an effort to help, his mom enrolled him in a program designed to teach teens how to handle their emotions. But to no one’s surprise, the therapy didn’t do shit and Mark continued to initiate fights and cry himself to sleep most nights. He never understood why he felt this way—he still doesn’t, to be honest. His dad and him were never close, nor did he ever really care about his sudden departure. Maybe he was just an angry kid with depression. Maybe it was something else. 

It wasn’t until his mom was killed did Mark begin to pull his life together, which also happened to be around the same time he met the too-friendly, homeschooled kid with an ego the size of Jupiter, Jackson Wang. Sure, the two of them butted heads every so often, but with Jackson being a werewolf, Mark learned the importance of managing the chaos within. ‘Emotion is like a loaded gun,’ he remembers Jackson once said, ‘If you let yourself pull the trigger without first aiming down sights, then you risk sinking a bullet into someone you love.’ Those words remain with him—remind him what means to stay in control. 

But when it involves the people he loves, Mark can’t always regulate the ticking bomb counting down in his soul. 

An ache settles in his chest as he recalls the passionate fire in your gaze. There’s always been some parts of you that reminds Mark of his past friend, specifically your stubbornness and inability to think before you act. He’s never found himself hating those parts of you until now—and he shouldn’t, Mark knows that, but he’s so fucking angry and so fucking scared of losing yet another one of the most important people in his life.

He’s experienced his fair share of loss, but losing you… It would break him. Completely. 

Mark tries to push the intrusive thoughts from the forefront of his mind and focus on navigating his way through the dark maze of headstones and crumbling tombs. Right after you slammed your front door in his face, he received a text from Youngjae summoning him, Jisung and Lia to an emergency meeting at the edge of the cemetery. He’s still mad at the siphoner for assisting with your reckless scheme, but he won’t allow his pettiness to interfere with the safety of the coven. 

A sigh falls from his lips—he does regret ever saying those ending words to you though… because what if they’re the last ones you hear from him. 

‘I’m so sorry, Jackson…’ 

Mark’s misery is forgotten when he notices a group of people up ahead. He recognizes Lia, Jisung and Youngjae flocked together inside a chalk-white circle surrounded by lit torches. For a moment, Mark wonders if they’re in the middle of performing some type of seance, but his curiosity dwindles into confusion when he grows aware of the panic present in each set of their features. 

He breaks into a sprint to cover more distance, approaching the strangely placed trio in no time. At the sight of him, Lia immediately bursts into tears, furthering the anxiety bubbling at the back of his throat. 

“What the hell is going on!?” 

“Hyung! You have to get out of here right now!” Mark notices the swollen, angry flesh of Youngjae’s bottom lip as he speaks, along with the ugly bruise underneath his left eye. 

“What happened?” He ignores the siphoner’s warnings, attempting to reach inside the circle and grab Lia’s arm. However, his hand is met with resistance—a boundary spell. “Who did this to you?” 

Lia sobs, “Just go, Mark! Before he hurts you!” 

“Before who hurts me!? What are you—” His demands die in his throat as another figure appears from behind a large, marble gravestone. He immediately recognizes the newcomer, which sends even more confusion through his veins. “Seo Changbin? What the hell is this?” 

“It’s an emergency meeting, hyung.” Mark feels his entire body freeze when the familiar, conniving voice enters his ears. “You had me a little worried… I almost thought you wouldn’t show up.” 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Mark whirls around to face a smirking Minho cockily leaning against the wall of an empty tomb. “What kind of game do you think you’re playing, Minho?”

The younger witch shrugs before pushing off the wall to pace around the area. As he draws closer and closer, Mark can spy an ancient, navy blue ring sitting heavily on his forefinger. He’s never seen any piece of jewelry like it before, but something in his gut told him it wasn’t just a simple ring—and that he’s definitely in some kind of trouble. 

“Mind explaining to me what we’re doing here? Or are you just going to continue pacing around the place like a cocky bastard?” 

“Tonight is a special night, hyung… You wanna know why?” He watches Minho point to the night sky, “In just a few minutes, the moon will drift into the Earth’s shadow and the light of the sun will reflect across the moon’s surface, thus causing a blood moon… It��s actually pretty cool—” 

“For Christsake, Minho—get to the goddamn point.”

“You know, for years I had to deal with all your bullshit excuses and justifications of putting our coven in danger—it was only a matter of time until one of us ended up dead, don’t you think?” 

A bitter memory of Nayeon’s corpse resurfaces, but Mark remains silent. 

“Everyone was too fucking blind, but I saw right through you.” Mark doesn’t move a muscle when Minho suddenly approaches, crowding his space until his nose is mere inches from brushing his own. The younger witch’s harsh glare bleeds into his soul as he continues, “You’re a poor fucking excuse for a leader, hyung—a leader who can’t even protect his own people.” 

“And you think you can do better, huh?” Mark growls, glaring his own daggers into Minho’s gaze. “You have no fucking clue what it takes to run this coven… Admit it, you’re just pissed they chose me over you.” 

“And look where that got them.” 

“You need to cut out whatever petty bullshit this is and let Youngjae, Jisung and Lia go.” Mark murmurs, “Whatever problems you have are with me, so let’s just talk it out, okay?” 

“Oh, Mark-hyung…” Minho’s gaze is unwavering from his own as he lifts a hand to rest on Mark’s shoulder. It’s a second too late that Mark realizes it is the same hand in which holds the mysterious ring: 

“I’m over talking it out.” 

Youngjae’s screams and Lia’s sobs echo in his ears along with the words that spill from Minho’s lips—they’re foreign, but Mark recognizes the spell right away. He tries to squirm and fight against the perpetrator’s grip, but another pair of hands keep his body in place—Changbin. 

Bit by bit, Mark feels the buzz of his magic lift from his veins like a flock of doves. His limbs grow weak and his head fuzzy. Soon enough, his own knees no longer bear the strength to hold his weight. Once both Minho and Changbin release him, Mark collapses to the ground—empty and unable to rise. 

“What did you do to him!?” Mark hears Jisung’s voice for the first time, although his brain is not fully able to comprehend the inquiry. 

“I took his magic. He won’t be needing it anymore.” 

Mark manages to find enough strength to reposition his body in a way that allows him to watch both Minho and Changbin approach a makeshift altar composed of an old, concrete coffin. Through the blur of his vision, he catches the witch stirring some kind of crimson mixture—likely blood. Minho looks to the moon, which is slowly brightening to a shade of maroon, before resting his gaze on his companion: 

“It’s time.” He offers the mixture to Changbin, “Once you drink this, I can begin the transformation.” 

“And you’re sure this spell will give me everything I need to take down the Primes?” 

“One hundred percent.” 

Take down the Primes?… Fucking hell. 

“Minho! Don’t do this!” Mark can’t make out his own voice between the ringing of his ears and the beating of his heart, but he can only hope they’re audible enough for his audience. “The transformation—it won’t work!” 

Youngjae shakes his head. “I don’t understand… What are you talking about, hyung?” 

“He’s going to try to recreate the spell I used on Jackson on Changbin.” With a huff and a puff, Mark pushes himself to his hands and knees. He attempts to crawl forward, but the spinning of his head sends his body sprawling along the ground once again. He abandons any more thoughts of movement and speaks to Minho directly, “It will kill him—do you understand me!? You can’t—” 

“You failed because you couldn’t draw enough power to complete the transformation.” Minho doesn’t even bother to look in his direction, “It will work—I know it will.”

Understanding there’s no possible way to convince the witch, Mark looks to the werewolf instead, “I’m warning you, Changbin! If you go through with this, you will die!” 

“Don’t listen to him. Just drink the blood.” 

“No! For fucksake, this is suicide!” 

“Think of Jackson.” Minho murmurs to a torn Changbin, reaching across the altar to place a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Do it for him.” 

“Changbin, don’t—!” 

Mark watches in horror as Changbin throws back the mixture and downs its entirety in two gulps. His heart shatters like the glass vial the werewolf launches to the ground. He peers to his left, discovering the same shocked expressions across Youngjae, Jisung and Lia’s faces, and shakes his head in defeat as Lia begins to sob again. 

“Filia maximo… Filia maximo… Morsus, morsus—” The wind begins to screech as Minho chants, tearing at Mark’s hair and nudging at his clothes, as if pleading for him to stop the spell. But there’s nothing he can do. For once, Mark is powerless. “—morsus… Advenio donec duo est revertus mors…” With a loud scream, Changbin collapses to the earth. He squirms and writhes in pain underneath the flaming light of the moon—and Mark can’t help but attempt to block out the snaps of his cracking bones. 

The scene seems to last for hours until Changbin eventually grows silent. Mark takes the time to catch his breath, unable to control his lungs over the anxiety, fear and nausea lurking through his veins. He wants to look away from the still werewolf, but his gaze is as frozen as the rest of his body. 

His eyes burn with tears of rage—Changbin is dead. Another person died because of his own fucking stupidity. Mark should have known this would happen again. He should have stopped it. He should have—

His thoughts disappear as Changbin suddenly gasps for air. For a moment, he claws at the earth as if attempting to ground himself, before he finally, albeit shakily, climbs to his feet. Minho cautiously approaches the wolf, peering down at the shorter male with a gaze full of concern. 

“How do you feel?...” 

“I feel…” Changbin flexes his fingers again, before closing them into tight fists. The moonlight illuminates the crimson glow of his irises and the sharpness of his long, black fangs as he faces the witch—a malicious smirk spreading along his lips as he chuckles, “I feel like kicking some ancient Prime ass.” 

Mark can’t find the strength to watch anymore and allows his head to lower to the earth. Just before his eyes flutter shut, he swears he spots the movement of shadows from behind a nearby headstone. But before he can confirm his suspicions, his head takes one final spin and the world grows dark. 

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

June 13th, 1769 — As much as I enjoy the atmosphere of Paris, I believe it is time to progress onto another part of the world. Some of the townsfolk are beginning to grow suspicious, considering I appear twenty years younger than my supposed age. Nevertheless, I will not mind a new start elsewhere. Jaebeom, on the other hand, will be a terror to convince. As he claimed last time I brought the idea to light, ‘There will never be a place more beautiful than Paris.’

But I know he is not through playing with his newest toy—Tzuyu. 

I set sail for the newlands tomorrow at sunrise. Whether my brother decides to accompany me or not is solely his preference. It would be pleasant to spend some time apart—to spend some time in peace—but I know, with many complaints and reluctance, Jaebeom will board the ship tomorrow. Wherever I traverse, he follows, and vice versa. We are family, after all. 

I will miss Notre Dame the most. I have grown used to visiting the Cathedral and repenting my wrongdoings to the high priest. Of course, I am forced to erase his memory of our talks each time, but it is nice to confess. It lifts a weight off of the shoulders, takes away a small portion of the guilt. If there is a god, he would never allow a creature like me to walk amongst his heavens—but at least I can salvage the lingering hope left inside of my soul. Speaking of hope, I thought I saw a woman that resembled Irene during my daily visit to the church. I find it amusing that after all these years, my heart continues to yearn for her presence. She was truly special—I wonder if she ever thought the same of me. 

I’ve heard some of the sailors refer to a shore in the newland that has yet to be claimed. It may be the perfect location for Jaebeom and I to start anew.  I can only hope it is as beautiful as people say. Maybe I will construct a place of worship as stunning as the Cathedral. 

Isn’t that ironic?... A vampire who believes in faith. 

Jinyoung finishes the entry with a sigh, welcoming the nostalgia that spreads through his thoughts like an old friend. It seems just yesterday that he recorded his first thoughts about the land that would become Moon Dye Bay. He shakes his head, carefully setting the old journal back on the bookshelf. 

He never did build that church. 

“Reminiscing again, brother?” The moment is ruined when a certain hybrid’s snicker reaches his ears. Jinyoung rolls his eyes as Jaebeom takes residence beside him, dragging his fingers along the spines of Jinyoung’s other diaries. “We did have some great times back in the 18th century… Remember our battles during the French Revolution? I rather enjoyed King Louis and Marie Antoinette’s executions.” 

“You enjoy anything that involves bloodshed.” 

“Don’t be so resentful, Jinyoungie. It’s not my fault that the queen had you in her interests.” 

Jinyoung shakes his head before retreating to his desk to fix himself a drink. “The woman was as shallow as a poor soul’s ego. She was taken with any man who’d pay her the time of day. It was a miracle her death came as quickly as it did.” 

“Careful there. You sound like me.” 

Jinyoung deliberately chooses not to respond to Jaebeom’s comment and proceeds to pour two glasses of bourbon. He ignores his companion’s wide smirk as he hands him one of the drinks. Both the vampire and the hybrid simultaneously take a sip, peering at one another over the rims of their cups. Jaebeom is the first to break the silence with a pleased inhale and a hum: 

“You returned pretty late last night. I hope you used protection during your time with (Y/N).” 

“Mind your tongue, hyung.” Jinyoung warns, “I brought (Y/N) to the hospital after the attack—I trust you took care of Tzuyu?” 

Jaebeom smirks. “Of course. She won’t be alive long enough to target your newest Maria Antonia again.” 

About to inhale another sip of his bourbon, Jinyoung pauses to mull over the answer. He lowers his glass to his side before delivering Jaebeom a confused expression and a murmured inquiry, “What do you mean she won’t be alive?” 

“Tzuyu and I got into an argument and, well, she pissed me off.” Jinyoung watches Jaebeom down the rest of his drink. 

“Please tell me you didn’t bite her, Jaebeom-hyung.” He curses at the widening of Jaebeom’s smirk, slamming his glass back down on his desk with enough force to crack its exterior. “When I told you to deal with her, I didn’t mean condemn her to a fate of pain. If you wished to kill her, you could have at least been merciful and done it quick.” 

“Last I checked, you said it yourself not to be kind.” Jinyoung follows Jaebeom as he pours himself another drink and collapses onto a brown, leather sofa. He tips his glass toward him with a smile before continuing, “I thought the punishment fit the crime, and we wouldn’t want to put helpless, human (Y/N) in danger again, would we?” 

“You turned it off, didn’t you?” Jinyoung realizes, “Does holding onto your humanity wound you that badly, hyung? That you have no choice but to wish it away?” 

“If I remember correctly, I’m not the only one that can’t hold onto their humanity… How many people did you kill in the ‘20s alone? One thousand? Maybe two?” 

Jinyoung shakes his head, “I’m not that person anymore.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” In the blink of an eye, Jaebeom is in front of Jinyoung—his glass in pieces on the floor beside him. He leans in until Jinyoung can taste the alcohol of his breath on his tongue, then whispers darkly, “You can lie to yourself all you fucking want, Jinyoung. But deep down, you’ll always know what you are… let’s just hope (Y/N) never finds out, hm?” 

At the mention of your name, Jinyoung’s anger expands. He suppresses the urge to take the table beside him and smash it over the hybrid’s head, and instead inhales a deep breath. Jaebeom is only trying to provoke him—and he refuses to be a pawn in his foolish games. 

“You will remember what it was like to feel human again.” Jinyoung sighs, “For your sake, I hope your remembrance comes sooner rather than later.” 

Jaebeom tsks, “Being human is overrated.” 

“He said the same thing about fate.” Both Jinyoung and Jaebeom whirl around at the appearance of a third voice. Jinyoung feels his blood begin to boil at the sight of the familiar vampire in the doorway, once again, suppressing his desire to launch a piece of furniture in her direction. “Ironically, fate and humanity are a package deal.” 

Jaebeom growls, “What the fuck are you doing here, Tzuyu?” 

“I came to try and convince you to give me your blood.” Tzuyu coughs, and Jinyoung swears he can hear the rattle of her bones. “But judging by your attitude, that’s obviously going to be harder than I thought.” 

“You have courage for showing your face again.” Jinyoung crosses his arms with a dark hum, “Especially so soon after you nearly killed (Y/N).”

“It wasn’t my intention to kill her. I just wanted to send a message.” 

“Is that so?” With a malicious glare, Jinyoung steps forward and tilts his head toward the vampire, “And what kind of message was that?” 

“For (Y/N) to stay away from Jaebeom.” Another violent cough wracks through Tzuyu’s thin form, causing a light stream of blood to splatter from her lips. She wipes her mouth with a ragged breath before continuing, “Look, I did it for her own good. We all know his track record at keeping humans alive.” 

“You did it to protect her!?” Jaebeom cackles, “Wow! That’s fucking priceless!” 

“Say what you will, you both know I’m right.” Tzuyu says, propping herself up against a nearby bookshelf. “It’s either she ends up dead or is turned into a vampire—then again, there’s not much of a difference between the two, is there?” 

“I would die before I allow (Y/N) to come to any harm.” 

“The only issue with that is you can’t die, Jinyoung.” Jinyoung doesn’t take his eyes off Tzuyu as she grabs a bottle of brandy from the top shelf. It takes her literal seconds to unscrew the cap and down a good portion of the container. She licks her lips and says, “I’m sorry I attacked (Y/N), okay? I went too far. I won’t do it again.” 

“You think an apology is enough to save your life?” Jaebeom snickers before snatching the alcohol from the vampire, “Think again, sweetheart.” 

“What do you want from me, Jaebeom? Does seeing me die a slow, painful death bring you joy?” 

He shrugs, “No one mourns for the wicked.” 

“Is he always this much of an asshole?” 

Jinyoung chuckles, “Pretty much.” 

“Great.” The vampire breathes out a sigh and cards her fingers through her hair. After a brief moment of silence, she directs her attention back to Jaebeom and pleads—her voice packed with desperation and fear, “What can I do to convince you to let me live? Please, Jaebeom… I don’t want to die.” 

“You should have thought about that before you touched what I told you not to.” Jinyoung remains quiet as Jaebeom lifts a hand to grasp Tzuyu’s jaw. The dying visitor remains unphased, proceeding to glare at the hybrid with hateful, yet oddly sorrowful eyes. “I suggest you show yourself out before I end your life sooner.” 

“You’re going to lose everything one of these days, Jaebeom.” Tzuyu shakes her head sadly, wiping away a layer of cold sweat from her forehead. “You’re going to lose everyone, even your brother, and you’re going to be alone. For an eternity.” 

“Save the monologue.” Jaebeom waves dismissively, taking a sip of the brandy before returning it back to its shelf. “Petty isn’t a good look for you, baby.” 

“Fuck you, Jaebeom.” Tzuyu goes to stomp out the door, but something—someone blocks her path. The atmosphere changes when Jinyoung notices your panicked form, practically gasping for air and cross-eyed, standing in the doorway. He immediately speeds to your side without hesitation, grasping your hands in hopes to ground you. 

He stares into your eyes, “What is it, (Y/N)? What’s wrong?” 

“You and Jaebeom have to get the hell out of here! Right now!” 

Jaebeom shakes his head in confusion, “What the hell are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know what exactly happened but Minho turned Changbin into this dark werewolf creature or-or something… I do know, however, that Changbin is on his way right now to kill you both.” Jinyoung steps back at the intensity of your explanation, unable to think of a response over the roar of his thoughts. Through his peripheral vision, he can spot the same type of speechlessness across Jaebeom’s face. 

Not again… 

“That’s stupid… You realize nothing can kill them, right?” Tzuyu scoffs. 

“This is different.” You urge, “I saw Changbin—he wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before… The spell that Minho used, it was-was—” 

“Dark magic.” Jinyoung finishes blankly, “The spell was dark magic.” 

“Yes… which means you and Jaebeom need to leave town as fast as you possibly can before—” 

“I don’t think anyone is going anywhere, (Y/N).” Jinyoung’s entire body grows stiff as a new voice echoes throughout the study. He cautiously turns his head, discovering none other than the young werewolf in question resting among the shadows. His eye also catches the open window a few inches away, and he curses himself for ever wanting to feel the nightly draft. 

Changbin’s smirk is as dark as his eyes. 

“What?... Not going to offer me a drink?” 

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾

“(Y/N)! Get out of here! Now!” Jaebeom hears Jinyoung scream as the werewolf suddenly launches forward, knocking his brother into the bookshelf behind him. The wood completely splinters beneath the impact, raining down an array of books and planks on Jinyoung’s body. Changbin turns to Jaebeom next, but the hybrid is ready—and pissed off. 

Jaebeom speeds toward the intruder and delivers a swift kick to the gut. Changbin flies back at the force, crashing back through the window with a loud growl. Sensing the urgency in time, Jaebeom quickly throws Jinyoung’s immobile body over his shoulder and urges both you and Tzuyu out the study door. 

“Come on! We gotta go!” 

“Jaebeom! What the hell is happening!?” He ignores Tzuyu’s fearful ask and proceeds to lug Jinyoung through the maze of hallways and down the staircase, you and the female vampire hot on his heels. He doesn’t know exactly where he’s going, but he makes his way to the parlor where he props Jinyoung up against a nearby chair before turning to you: 

“You need to leave. I will deal with this.” 

“No way. I’m not going anywhere.” Jaebeom curses your stubbornness inside his head, sending a stern glare in your direction. Your expression remains fixated, and he can’t help but wish your presence in any other situation but now. 

“I can’t protect you right now—” 

“And I can’t sit back and watch you get yourselves killed!” You shake your head indignantly, “I’m staying!” 

“Fucking hell, (Y/N)! Get your ass out that door before I throw you out myself!” 

“Jaebeom, watch out!” At Tzuyu’s cue, a wooden branch comes soaring in through the window. Jaebeom immediately throws himself against you, effectively forcing your body to the ground to dodge the projectile. He can feel your fear through the trembling of your limbs and hurried breaths, but it only brings him more determination to tear apart his attacker. 

He shakes his head in surrender, “You stay on the fucking ground, understand? Don’t you fucking dare move a muscle.” He doesn’t bother to wait for a response and pushes himself back to his feet. 

Tzuyu is huddled in a corner, and Jinyoung has yet to awaken from his crash landing back in the study. Jaebeom tries to focus his senses on detecting the werewolf, but he can’t seem to hear anything past the beating of his own heart. He carefully makes his way over to the incapacitated vampire, attempting to force him back to consciousness. 

“Now is really not the time for a fucking nap, Jinyoung.” He hisses, “I swear to god, if I have to save your ass one more time—” Another wave of tree branches come crashing through the windows. Unfortunately, Jaebeom is not as quick and one catches his shoulder at just the right angle. He feels the wood sink into his flesh, painfully carving into his bones. With a low groan, Jaebeom manages to grab the makeshift stake and remove it in one hefty pull. 

He tosses it away with a yell, “You gonna hide like a little bitch!? Or are you gonna come out and fight like a man!?” 

“Be careful what you wish for, asshole!” Jaebeom turns just in time to discover the werewolf emerging from a shattered window. His blood boils when he notices the sadistic grin along the young kid’s face—he wonders how those teeth will look strewn across the parlor floor. 

Changbin comes at him fast, much faster than Jaebeom could have predicted. He manages to dodge a set of jabs, but he’s not so lucky when Changbin lands a heavy hit against the side of his face. Pain erupts through his jaw as he collapses to the floor, but Jaebeom doesn’t have the chance to dwell over it and rolls out of the way just as the werewolf attempts to stomp his nose. 

Jaebeom tries to speed away again, but like before, his counterpart is faster. Changbin manages to force him to the floor for a second time, pinning his body down with his own. Horrified, the hybrid watches as the werewolf’s eyes glow blood red and large, pitch black fangs emerge past his parted lips. Once again, he attempts to break free, but it’s no use—Changbin is too strong. 

Just when he believes the wolf’s fangs are going to sink into his neck, another form knocks Changbin away. Jaebeom hurriedly props himself on his arms in time to watch Tzuyu deliver a series of hits and kicks to the perpetrator, eventually slamming his head into a nearby armoire. Taking advantage of the moment, she turns from Changbin to Jaebeom instead: 

“Grab Jinyoung and (Y/N) and run!” She screams, “Get the hell of here!” 

Unable to move, Jaebeom remains as Tzuyu attempts to fight off the wolf. But with the combination of his ultimate strength and her weakness from Jaebeom’s venom, her defeat is inevitable. He watches in terror as Changbin sinks his teeth into the vampire’s arm before yanking her head forward and effectively snapping her neck. Jaebeom feels his insides practically soar with rage when the attacker tosses a comatose Tzuyu across the room like a useless toy. 

“I’ll kill you…” He sneers, allowing his own supernatural features to overtake his face. “I’ll fucking kill you…” 

Changbin shakes his head with a smirk, “I’d like to see you try.” 

Using the little agility he has left, Jaebeom grabs one of the branches and speeds toward the wolf. Due to Changbin’s movements, he misses his chest, but manages to stab the weapon in his stomach. Changbin releases a pained groan, allowing Jaebeom to take advantage of his surprise and land another array of uppercuts to his face. Just when he finally thinks he has the upper hand, his opponent blocks one of his hits and pins him against a wall with a hand around his throat. 

“Any last words, Prime?”

“You really think you can kill me?” Jaebeom growls, squirming against Changbin’s hold. 

“I know I can… Have fun rotting in Hell—fuck!” 

Shock spills through Jaebeom’s veins as the point of branch suddenly appears through the center of the wolf’s chest, splattering red across both of their bodies. Changbin’s grip releases, allowing the hybrid to quickly speed out of his reach. Once he’s a safe distances away, Jaebeom looks to his savior, discovering the one person he never expected to see—

You stand over Changbin’s body—chest heaving and bloodied hands trembling. Your eyes are glassy when Jaebeom meets your gaze, and for some reason, he feels the urge to go and pull your form into a tight embrace. Your voice, however, returns his mind to reality: 

“Did I… Did I kill him?” 

“I don’t think so.” Jaebeom answers, nursing his wound with his own shaky fingers. “We need to get out of here—get somewhere safe.” 

“Good idea.” You trudge over to where Jinyoung is still unconsciously laid across the chair. Jaebeom follows your lead and hurries over to a lifeless Tzuyu. “I know somewhere we can go… but I don’t think you’re going to like it.” 

“(Y/N)... There is an immortal, unkillable super wolf out to kill me and my brother currently in my living room…”  He snorts, maneuvering Tzuyu’s body into one arm and assisting you and Jinyoung with the other. 

“Trust me, anywhere is a hell of a lot better than here…”

[jiminiessipabo]

He’s A Bad Girl (M)

CHAPTER 1: INFILTRATION

To serve: A detective undercover discovers who the ‘Eternal Godfather’ is. He get’s down and dirty with the mafia of Seoul, South Korea. Stay tuned for a series of drama, angst, fluff and huge amounts of confusing sexual tension. 

Comes with: angst, eventual romance (+smut in later chapters), a hell of a lot swearing, violence (it is a mafia series after all), Jooheon is a dick but you'll love him i promise

1, 2, 3, 4

1 >

Panties were uncomfortable, and the feeling of being tucked was not too pleasant either. But to fool the enemy you have to look the part even if the skirt was too draughty, especially when there was no hair to cover the thighs and legs. The socks were way too high up the leg and never mind the shoes that were so tight that blisters were sure to form later on. Bras were claustrophobic and vests weren’t much better. The wig was the worst, the itchiness and the sweltering hot feeling was not a good mix, especially for someone with a short temper such as Im Changkyun.

He wasn’t in girl clothing for drag, but he sure did respect them for dressing in this getup. He was used to his work pants, his freeing boxers and his not too tight under shirt and work top. The most suffocating thing his uniform required was the bullet proof vest, or maybe the harness around his waist and chest with detachable holsters. You guessed it; Im Changkyun was a police officer. Or, most recently, a detective, newly appointed to a high rep case which was taking down a mafia group called Brotherhood of Seven.

He was working on the case with one other officer, Namjoon, who was his new partner. Namjoon has been a detective for a year already, so Changkyun was now learning under him until he was confident on his own. Brotherhood of Seven was his first big case and he was going above and beyond to close this case as quickly and smoothly as possible hence him wearing the panties.

“You’re going to blow it before you even arrive at the base if you don’t stop scratching at the wig, you’re making it move,” came a deep voice, humour evident in the tone.

Changkyun ignored the sniggering man and continued to itch at the wig hairline. He lifted up from the car seat and untucked his wedgie from the panties. “I can’t take it, I already regret this idea,” grunted Changkyun, sitting back on the car seat properly with a huff.

The man next to him, keeping his eyes on the road, leaned over and patted Changkyun on the thigh. “Oh, you even shaved your legs,” said Namjoon, turning to wink at the older man before looking back at the road.

“I hate you,” said Changkyun, rubbing his hand where Namjoon had touched him. “How long?” Changkyun groaned, scratching at the bra strap on his right shoulder.

Namjoon sighed, shaking his head. “You’re hopeless, but were pulling up now,” he said before coming to a complete stop on the curb. The two fell silent as they looked at the park way to one of the famous Brotherhood of Seven locations. “Remember, keep comms on at all times, if you’re exposed then leg it, I care more about you than this operation,” said Namjoon, handing Changkyun the wireless earpiece.

“Don’t worry, Namjoon. I’m confident that I have this,” said Changkyun, smiling at the detective. “Right, let’s go over the plan again. I walk up to the bodyguard and demand to see the Eternal Godfather. Of course, that won’t happen and instead they will put me-“

“They’ll probably take you into a private room and observe you, truthfully. This isn’t like a spy movie Kyungie, you won’t have a weapon on you, so please remember your hand to hand training,” said Namjoon, slapping Changkyun on the shoulder. “And remember, you’re a girl, flirt your way in if you have to,” he said with a cheeky wink.

Changkyun scoffed and unclicked his seatbelt. “Watch my back,” he said firmly before nodding goodbye and getting out of the car. It was a damn shame he had to put the wig on, he had just got a fresh new haircut.

Changkyun walked over the road, running his hands down the back of his skirt to stop it from lifting up with the wind. He schooled his expression and tugged on his bottom lip, trying to change his face into one of seduction he had seen a couple of girls do his way.

One of the bodyguards saw Changkyun approaching and held his hand up. “Hold, you’re on private property, miss,” he said to Changkyun, a smirk on his face. Changkyun felt disgusted at the way the man was eyeing him.

“I’m here to see the Eternal Godfather,” said Changkyun, his voice higher than his usual, luckily it wasn’t too deep to dissuade the man standing before him. He glanced over at the other bodyguard who was leaning against the wall, his attention on his phone. Obviously he had deemed Changkyun not threatening.

The guard in front of him scoffed. “Don’t know who you mean, move on,” he said, his tone considerably less nice as he crossed his arms. When Changkyun didn’t move the guard cocked his eyebrow. “Who are you?” He asked gruffly.

Changkyun ‘giggled’ and smacked the guy on his arm lightly. “You don’t need to know silly,” he said, his tone light and airy. He hated playing dumb, but if it got the job done.

“Name?” The man ordered.

Changkyun’s smile dropped and he cleared his throat. “My name is Minji, I’m the new assistant for the Eternal Godfather. I believe Yoo Kihyun is expecting me,” said Changkyun, clasping his hands behind his back, trying to stand tall and confident.  “He mentioned the books are open,” he said, trying to not let his nerves choke him.

The guard that was on the phone suddenly snapped to attention. “Can it, Lucas, boss is expecting her,” he said and the guard in front of Changkyun stepped back with a nod. The other guard took his place, looking him up and down. “Follow me,” he ordered gruffly and turned away. Changkyun followed, forcing himself not to look back at Namjoon. “We’re going to search you,” he said, coming up to one of the metal doors at the side of the building.

Changkyun’s eyes widened at the elaborate metal detector. It was similar to one like the airport ones. He took the earpiece from his ear and crushed it, throwing it to the side just before he stepped through it, he was going to hear so much shit from Namjoon about that, those things could deafen you when the frequency gets skewered. He closed his eyes as it scanned him, the bright light almost blinding.

“Clear,” came a female voice and Changkyun glanced to the right and saw her behind a desk. He looked around and noticed he was now in the building. He walked out of the detector and met the guard, nodding for him to continue.

The guard brought him up to a room with another large metal door. Changkyun glanced up and down the hall they were in and noticed this was the only door on the wall, other than the one they came through. The guard pushed the door open. “You will wait in this room until the boss comes to see you, we will be watching you,” he said, pointing to the camera in the top right corner of the room.

Changkyun stepped in, looking at the camera before scanning the room, ignoring the slam and lock of the door behind him. He walked around the square room, with only a table and two chairs, and once again scanned the room. He could tell the mirror was a two way window, the glazing was doubled. He stood in front of the mirror, fiddling with the ends of his wig. He pretended to fix his appearance, rubbing the bit of smudged lipstick from the corner of his mouth before smiling and blowing a kiss. He got that from a movie.

He huffed from boredom and chose to sit at the table on one of the extremely uncomfortable chairs, banging his manicure nails against the metal table top. He had to get his nails done to try and distract people from his manly hands, he actually didn’t mind his nails painted, considering he used to do it a lot when he was younger. He missed his precious rings, his lip piercing and his eyebrow piercing.

The door to his right opened suddenly and in walked three guards, none of them familiar. Then there was a young man behind him, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He was wearing a grey suit with his hair gelled down but his face was still boyish, laugh lines on the corner of his mouth. He was on his phone, a smirk on his lips. He raised a hand and the three guards dispersed from the room, the last one closing the door behind him.

Changkyun cocked an eyebrow as the young man tucked his phone into his suit pants. He pulled the chair out and sat on his with a heavy sigh. “Hi,” said the young man, his eyes scanning Changkyun’s face, his eyes narrowing. “So you are Lee Minji?” He checked, flicking a piece of stray hair from his eye.

Changkyun nodded mutely and the young man nodded back. “I’m Yoo Kihyun. I’ll be interviewing you and maybe recruiting you. You will be reporting back to me or my two colleagues,” he said, smiling when Changkyun nodded again. “Right, well, we’ve already done a background check on you, and we were quite impressed by your education. And petty theft, not bad,” he said with a relaxed smile.

“Listen, you applied to be a soldier but that probably won’t happen for a while, you’re a pretty girl-“ Changkyun held in his snort. “-and we can use pretty girls like you.” Kihyun flashed a bright, pearly white smile and leaned forwards. “How about we start you out with easy jobs and we can find out where you can fit in this family?” Kihyun suggested with a heavy wink.

Changkyun tittered, acting nervous in front of this supposed flirtatious boy and nodded his head shyly. “Of course,” he said. “Sir,” he added quickly at the cock of Kihyun’s eyebrow.

The young boss grinned and banged on the table happily before standing up, shaking his shoulders out as if relieving the last of any tension. Changkyun knew that was not the case, Kihyun must do this all the time.

“I’ll take you to Cheryl, she will explain everything to you and give you a burner phone to contact us through,” said Kihyun, opening the door. But he placed his arm in front of Changkyun. “We will be watching you,” he said, his tone turning darker before grinning again and walked down the hallway.

Changkyun cleared his throat, glancing at the two bodyguards standing behind him before following the slightly deranged boy to ‘Cheryl’. Changkyun watched as Kihyun talked to the woman, the same one who had shouted clear out him. He stood to attention when Kihyun turned back to him, plastering a fake smile on his face. “Here,” said Kihyun, pushing a phone into Changkyun’s hands. “Don’t lose it, and most importantly do not get caught, or we will break you,” he said, his tone turning menacing before the easy-going smile came back. “Don’t be afraid to call me,” said Kihyun, with a flirty wink before walking past him through another door.

“Come here, Sweetie,” said Cheryl, forcing Changkyun to look away from the door Kihyun had walked through. He walked over to Cheryl, actually feeling nervous for the first time since being here. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first girl to be starstruck by him,” she said with a wink, smacking her lips on some chewing gum.

Changkyun almost scoffed before realising he was now a girl and instead nervously giggled at the woman’s words.

“Ok, Sweetie, your burner phone will link here, it is bugged just warning ya’, your first job will be attaché casing,” said Cheryl, handing Changkyun a file. “You know what that is Sweetie?” Changkyun nodded, he had gone through mafia slang with Namjoon, the very same person who studied the Mafia. “’Kay, you have three days to complete job, you’ll be working with one of our soldiers and an associate, you’ll meet them at The Rep café down the road at 9am sharp, understood?”

Changkyun just nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. The woman just smiled at him. “You’ll fit right in if you keep quiet hun, asking the wrong questions or digging deeper will just get you killed or meet some of the worst people here,” said Cheryl, handing him the sticky note with the place and time for the meeting. “Just head on out Sweetie, I’ll let you out,” she said before her attention was back on the screen.

Changkyun felt like it was a role playing game. It all felt surreal. The metal door opened and Changkyun walked through it, feeling quite timid. His height didn’t help him against most of these guards. He nodded at the two guards he initially met, cringing when the one called Lucas winked at him. He turned his attention to the street and saw Namjoon’s car still parked there and quickly ran over, glad that it was just out of sight of the guards.

Namjoon was startled when Changkyun ripped the door open and climbed into the passenger seat. He ripped his wig off and raked his fingers through his black hair, rubbing the undercuts back down smoothly. “Any fit guys?” Namjoon smirked.

Changkyun bared his teeth. “Just drive, you fool,” he muttered, slumping in his seat.

Namjoon glanced down and noticed the burner phone and file in his hands. “What’s your assignment then?” Namjoon asked pulling away from the curb and starting their journey back to the precinct.

“I have to collect the bribes, I’m meeting up with the people that are going to be bribed I think, and I just basically hold the money,” said Changkyun, playing with the laddered part of his stockings.

Namjoon hummed. “Fairly easy job, do you know who the people are? The ones you’re meeting I mean.” He looked over just in time to see Changkyun shaking his head. “Shame, would be nice to have some info on them beforehand, speaking of, what the hell happened to your earpiece?” Namjoon asked, his tone switching from nice to an annoyed one.

Changkyun snorted. “They had this huge detector, I watched the first guy go through and it picked up on his earpiece. I had to scrap it, soz,” he said, having the decency to look sorry.

Namjoon tutted, “that’s coming out of your pay check, bro,” he joked. It became quiet in the car after that, with Changkyun reminiscing about Kihyun, and Namjoon focusing on driving.

“Yoo Kihyun, he was the one who interviewed me,” murmured Changkyun. Namjoon glanced over at him before nodding. “We knew it would be one of the three, Jooheon and Wonho are very different from Kihyun,” he said to Changkyun. “I only know Brotherhood of Seven to have three Caporegime, there are two advisors, Chae Hyungwon and Lee Minhyuk and then there’s the underboss who is Son Hyunwoo. Apparently he is the brains of the Mafia. The Eternal Godfather or whatever he is called is hardly called in because of how well Hyunwoo is doing. We reckon that Hyunwoo is about to become the next boss. He is basically groomed for it.”

Changkyun sighed. “How do we not know who the Godfather is? It must be obvious. Is he even old? Is he even a guy?” Changkyun stressed, running his hand down his face before grimacing, pulling his hand away to look at the foundation now on his hand.

Namjoon saw what he was looking at and snorted. “And this is where you come in. You need to climb up the hierarchy and found out the answer to your questions.”

Changkyun groaned at the thought and laid his head back against the head rest.

Changkyun’s boss was pleased with the progress he had already made and told him to keep up the good work. Even had the cheek to wolf whistle at him as he walked to his desk. He knew he shouldn’t have walked into the police station dressed as a girl but he only needed to nip in and brief the Chief before going home. He ignored the sniggers from his colleagues and grabbed his jacket before walking back out the station and to the staff parking area.

He was going to go home and enjoy a nice long bath - without feeling his dick up his arse.

08.55AM and Changkyun was nervously waiting in his car outside The Rep café, banging his fingers on the wheel. He checked his makeup once again, shifting his top to show more ‘cleavage’. “If in doubt, flirt,” muttered Changkyun to himself. He looked at his burner phone, paranoid. When he saw it was one minute to 9 o’clock he opened his car door, slowly getting out, just in case they were watching him.

He walked into the café and looked around. There were about three people in, all on different tables. He looked down at the post-it note and saw the table number to sit at. He thought it odd to sit at a table without ordering so he ordered a strong coffee and muffin before sitting at the table.

He flicked around with a Sweetener packet, resisting the urge to glance around once more. He saw the waitress head over to his table and he thanked her softly, taking the coffee and muffin from her tray. He was about to take a bite from his muffin when the seat opposite him dragged backwards, a man sitting on it.

Changkyun watched, with his muffin half raised to his mouth, as the man settled in his seat, placing the briefcase he had been carrying on the table, clicking it open.

“Yo,” said a man, not the one with the briefcase, but another man. This man yanked the last remaining seat back before falling into it, sniffing as he did.

Changkyun made eye contact with him and was surprised to see a boy, the same age as himself staring back. He was covered in leather, leather jacket, leather gloves, the wallet he pulled from his jacket was leather too. He had a black baseball cap on, his black bangs almost hiding his dark eyes. He was sucking on a red lollipop.

Changkyun looked at the other man. He was wearing a dark suit, his shirt buttoned all the way up; nothing looked out of place on him. He had glasses on that perched on the end of his nose, similar to how Yoo Kihyun had them. When the man looked up, Changkyun felt the need to glance back down at his muffin, which was now sat pathetically on the table.

“So, this chick is the new associate?” asked the leather-clad man, clearly speaking to the other man who only seemed to ignore him. He turned to Changkyun instead. “Same question,” he said.

Changkyun nodded, feeling the urge to punch this guy, but instead schooled his expression into one of meekness. “I-I guess,” he forcibly stuttered out. The man nodded his head slowly, biting down on the lollipop until it made a loud crack.

“You ever heard of a place called Enchantress?” He asked Changkyun, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Of course Changkyun had heard of the club, it was one of the most populated clubs in the city, the strippers there were apparently…enchanting. But to keep up appearances, Changkyun mutely shook his head.

“Well, you’re gonna love it. Let’s hope you’re good at dancing,” he said with a snicker.

Changkyun blanched, sitting up straight but before he could get a word in the other man cut him off. “Baekhyun, stop teasing the girl and sit quietly, you’re giving me a headache.” Changkyun looked at the man in the suit. “I’m Bong Joon-ho. You’ll be reporting to me for this assignment, along with Baekhyun, who is also an associate, like you.”

Sheesh, this guy was straight to the point, thought Changkyun.

Joon-ho pushed his glasses further up his nose before continuing. “You won’t be a stripper but you will be posing as a worker at the Enchantress. You’ll just be a waitress,” he began. “You need to hold onto the brief case, that’s your only job. Protect the briefcase, collect the bribes we get and then leave the club.”

Changkyun nodded along, noticing that the obnoxious Baekhyun was also hanging onto every word that was spilling from Joon-ho’s mouth.

“We will plan accordingly now, and then tomorrow we will be collecting the bribes from two known sponsors. They need something done, but were just the collectors, okay?” Joon-ho asked, looking between Changkyun and Baekhyun. He turned to Changkyun. “Baekhyun is the bag man, I’m the big earner. You’re protection, you’re basically expendable.”

Changkyun gulped, realising just how deep he was about to dive in, but nodded anyway.

Joon-ho nodded. “Here, you will meet with a woman who works at Enchantress. She is another known associate who works there. She will be able to get you in and dressed. Go there at that time and wait by the bar until we arrive. When I flag you down to take an order, I will order a Rum Punch. I will need you to bring the briefcase then and then take it away. I don’t want their hands on that briefcase, especially if things go south. Questions?” Joon- ho asked.

Changkyun nodded. “After this is finished, what do you want me to do with the briefcase?”

“Ring the number on the burner phone, they will tell you where to drop it off,” Joon-ho answered. He looked between the girl and boy before nodding. “I shall take my leave,” he said, his briefcase packed up already. “Baekhyun will give you the briefcase now,” he said over his shoulder before leaving without so much as a goodbye.

Changkyun blew out a long and loud sigh before turning to his muffin. He huffed when he felt eyes burning into the side of his head and looked up at the leather boy. “Can I help you?” He asked threw gritted teeth.

Baekhyun leaned forwards onto his elbows, chewing on the stick of the lollipop. “No, go ahead. Eat the muffin,” he said with a goading voice.

Changkyun knew a challenge when he heard one and snorted. “Thanks for the permission,” he muttered under his breath before picking up the sweet dessert. He took no care in how he looked when stuffing the muffin in his mouth. He even turned to Baekhyun who was now watching with disgust instead.

“Come with me, I’ll give you the damn briefcase,” he said, choosing to not look at Changkyun’s full mouth. From his eyes, the ‘girl’ looked revolting with brown chocolate hanging from her mouth. Changkyun simply smiled in response.

Later that night, Changkyun decided to visit the Enchantress as his self. He dressed up in smart trousers, white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the first few buttons undone. He had his hair pulled back slightly, showing enough forehead to be comfortable. He had managed to make Namjoon and another colleague, Johnny, tag along with him.

He was meeting them outside the strip club. “Sup, Kyun,” said Johnny upon approaching the shorter man.

Changkyun scowled at the nickname but nodded in reply. “You alright?” He said as greeting, just as Namjoon jogged over to them from the parking lot. “I’m here just for business okay? No funny business please,” Changkyun pleaded, looking between the two smirking men before rolling his eyes.

There wasn’t a queue for the club so they were able to walk straight in whilst flashing ID. Upon entering the club Changkyun got a massive whiff of cheap perfume and beer. He could hear the booming music threw the walls of the corridor they were walking down, drowning out the sound of any moaning he could faintly hear.

“This feels strange, were cops, it feels wrong to be here,” muttered Namjoon from behind Changkyun. He heard Johnny scoff at Namjoon’s words and say, “get over it, like Changkyun said were here for his assignment. It’s not right for him to walk in unprepared.”

Changkyun smiled at the bouncer who opened the door into the main part of the club and walked straight over to where he could see the bar. “I’m just getting a coke, what are you guys having?” He asked, glancing at the two over his shoulder but he saw their attention was on the main stage where there was a brunette grinding against the pole. Changkyun rolled his eyes and turned his attention back onto the bar. Screw them, he thought, at least he asked. He stepped forward when the girl behind the bar beckoned him. “Just a coke please,” he ordered, handing her a note. She took it and poured him his coke before moving on to the next customer.

He turned around and saw that both Namjoon and Johnny were nowhere to be seen and groaned internally. “They are like children,” he hissed to himself. He walked around the club before choosing to sit in one of the empty booths, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He saw a woman standing to the side of the stage near the back of it, trying to remain inconspicuous. He followed her line of sight and saw that she was watching the woman on the stage. He looked back at the other girl and saw there was a small yet fond smile on her face.

He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coke, glancing down at the table, he was swirling the coke around in his glass before looking back up after a few minutes. He jumped when he saw the very same woman now sat at his table, eyeing him up and down with a straight face. “Can I help you?” He asked, shifting in his seat. He looked around the club for any signs of his friends but could not see them.

The woman shrugged a shoulder. “Just saw you looking at me; you’re new here, right?” The woman asked. She had an odd accent. “I grew up in Britain,” she said, as if knowing his line of thought.

Changkyun nodded. “How could you tell I’m new?”

The girl laughed. “You’re acting sketchy. I bet you’re a cop too. I could see your badge in your back pocket. So, what’s a cop doing in Enchantress?” She asked.

Changkyun felt himself panic. “We’re off duty if you’re worried,” he said but she shook her head. “I’m not worried at all. There’s nothing illegal here, not that I know of. But continue,” she said with a wave of her hand.

“I just heard a lot about this place from some colleagues. Cops like watching girl’s dance I guess,” he shrugged. He wasn’t lying, he had heard some of the other lower officers talk about this place.

The girl laughed once again and pointed at him. “You’re funny. We get a lot of cops coming in here, you’re right. They do like to watch pretty girl’s dance, in fact, they like to pay pretty girls to dance on them too,” she joked with a suave wink.

Changkyun nodded slowly, not surprised to be hearing this. “Well, I’m just here to say I’ve been. Now my friends can stop forcing me to come,” he lied, smiling awkwardly at the girl.

She chuckled and nodded, leaning over to pat his arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, pal. You’re welcome here,” she said before standing up. “I’m Y/N, if you need help with anything then don’t hesitate to come to me,” she introduced before walking away, never once asking for his name.

Changkyun watched as she swayed back over to where she was stood before, just in time for the brunette on the stage to climb off it, running into Y/N’s waiting arms. Then someone stood in his way and Changkyun looked up to see Namjoon staring down at him, Johnny loitering behind him.

“Where the hell were you two?” Changkyun snapped, standing from the booth.

Namjoon held his hands up. “Sorry, we got distracted by the babe on stage but then this guy kept calling us police scum, Johnny is still kind of on duty and the guy pulled a knife out on me, so we had to make an arrest and call for a cruiser to come take him away,” he explained. “I think its best we leave,” Namjoon suggested.

Changkyun sighed but complied, downing the rest of the fizzy drink before motioning for them to walk out. He looked over his shoulder at where Y/N was still stood and smiled awkwardly when she waved goodbye at him.

“Who was that girl you were with?” Johnny asked when they got outside. He lit up a cigarette, blowing the smoke away from Changkyun’s direction and coincidentally into Namjoon’s face, who coughed. “Bitch,” he choked out, waving his hand through the smoke to disperse it.

Changkyun shrugged in answer to Johnny’s question. “Y/N, she noticed we were cops as soon as we came in. I think she works there, or owns it or something,” he explained.

Johnny shook his head. “Lee Seungmin owns Enchantress. She must just work there,” he said. “Right, I’m ditching. Namjoon, can I get a lift with you?” Johnny asked.

Namjoon scowled but nodded. “No smoking in the car,” he ordered. He turned to Changkyun who was watching in amusement. “Good look tomorrow night, Kyunnie,” he said, smacking him on his shoulder ‘lovingly’.

“You’ll do great, don’t forget to act girly,” said Johnny with a flirty wink. Changkyun chuckled and nodded. “Bye,” he said with a short wave before walking over the road to where his car was parked.

“You’ll be wearing this, don’t stash the tips, they’re to be shared with all of the girls. We don’t get much pay so this helps the rest of the girls too. And trust me, these guys tip big. Don’t make a mess, don’t cause a scene. You’re to blend in the background whilst the girl’s on stage do their magic, you hear me?”

Changkyun stared wide eyed at the woman in front of him, trying not to stare at the mole on her cheek. He wasn’t one to pick up on others imperfections, having had a few of his own, but it was just so close to him and he did not like the attitude of this woman. She had already spat on him once when talking and it took all of his willpower to not move when she was talking to him.

“Yes, ma’am,” Changkyun said, resisting the urge to salute. He was reminded of his years in the army, his captain was nicer than this woman and he had only known her for ten minutes whilst she showed him around.

“You’re a somewhat pretty girl, the corset will fit well on your small waist. Get dressed then get out there, you’ll be reporting to Jaebum, he is the man behind the bar,” the woman said before storming away. “Candy, you better pull those knee highs up or I’ll pin them up myself,” she screamed at one of the other girls.

Changkyun sighed in relief, glad that he had been left to his own devices. The only problem now was fitting into the corset and mini skirt without showing his true self. He was well in shape, as a guy of course; there wasn’t a feminine part of him at all. He even had fake boobs on.

He closed the cubicle curtains before undressing. He had watched how some of the girls had put his clothes on him so he could do this himself. So he took his skin tight jeans off and the form fitting tank top. He slipped out of the bra, his fake boobs falling onto the bench. “Shit,” he grunted. He slipped the corset on, tucking the breasts back into place before tying the corset up, but he couldn’t reach all the way. “I need help,” he muttered in realisation. “Okay, skirt and knee highs on, then they won’t see my dick and I can ask for help,” he said to himself before following through with his plan. .

When he thought himself to be situated, he stuck his head out of the curtains and saw a girl just outside, tightening her boots up. “Um, excuse me,” Changkyun said, his voice meeker. He was startled when the girl’s head shot up. “Can you help me tie up my corset?”

The girl smiled and nodded. “Sure, hun. What’s your name?” She asked, coming into the cubicle with him. The heels made her considerably taller than him.

Changkyun stuttered. “Oh- um- Sweetie,” he said, remembering Cheryl’s nickname for him.

“Ooh, nice stage name, mine is Candy,” she said, her cool fingers brushing against his back every time she tied a new part of the ribbon. “You have a very broad back, do you work out?” She asked with interest.

Changkyun breathed in when she got to the bottom, the corset getting tighter. “Um, yeah, I like to keep fit and healthy,” he said, his voice a bit breathless. How the hell was he meant to work in this?

Candy giggled. “You’re so cute, all done Sweetie,” she said, turning him around. She fluffed up his fringe and twirled her fingers at the bottom of the wig. “I bet’cha will make money tonight,” she said.

Changkyun laughed awkwardly and nodded. “Bye,” he said and Candy smiled, walking through the curtains. He turned back to the mirror and fixed his breasts, before looking at the shoes he was to wear. “Heels?” He blanched at the idea and looked over at his converse then back to the heels. “Play the part,” he whispered, grabbing the heels. He had only ever worn heels once, and that was his sisters when he was younger. He twisted his ankle.

When he strapped them on he stood up, feeling six inches taller. He wobbled slightly, grabbing onto the wall before leaning down to stuff his phones and wallet into his jeans pocket before hanging them in the corner.

When he walked out he didn’t expect to crash into the very same girl he had met the night before. “Woah, girl,” she said, catching him. She straightened him up and looked him in the eyes. He saw confusion and recognition in her eyes and quickly stepped back from her, forming a meek smile on his face. “I’m so sorry ma’am, I’m new,” he said.

Y/N laughed. “That explains the lack of balance on six inch heels then,” she said. She stepped back from him and looked him up and down. “You’re the new staff for the bar, right? Minji?” She guessed.

Changkyun nodded mutely.

“Your skirt needs to be a bit higher. Usually I wouldn’t ask this of girls, but yours is significantly low. You’re not hiding a gun are you?” She asked with a winking, indicating she was joking before she stepped in his personal space her hands out ready to help him.

Changkyun jumped out of her reach, pushing her hands away. “I’m not into girls,” he blurted out. He winced when she came to a stop, her face now void of any emotion. He felt himself become scared, for real.

Y/N cleared her throat, stepping back. “Fair enough,” she muttered before stalking past him, her shoulder banging into his. Unluckily for him, he lost his balance on his heels once more and fell to the floor. He winced, his bum now sore from the fall before two girls came running over and helping him up.

He huffed, angrily muttering about Y/N under his breath before walking out of the backroom and over to the bar. He waited where the woman told him to until a man behind the bar approached him. “Minji?” The man asked. He carefully lifted the briefcase that Changkyun had given to a woman before coming in. When Changkyun nodded he put it back down behind the bar and nudged a tray of drinks over to him. “Booth 3,” he said and pointed in the direction.

Changkyun carefully lifted the tray, balancing both the drinks and his self on heels. He finally delivered it to a group of girls that were clearly celebrating a birthday when he saw Joon-ho flag him down. He also saw Baekhyun sat next to him and sat opposite them were two men that Changkyun had come to study. These were the men Johnny and his partner were watching, waiting to catch in the move, clearly they hadn’t heard about tonight. These men were big on money laundering.

“What would you like to drink?” Changkyun asked, faking interest. He looked over at the two men, stopping himself from shivering in disgust at the pure hunger on their faces. He hissed when the closest one put his hand on his thigh.

“Rum Punch please,” Joon-Ho requested, and Changkyun eagerly went to retrieve the case and the drink that was already premade. He placed the drink on the tray and grabbed the briefcase from Jaebum and walked back over.

“One rum punch,” Changkyun said, his tone still polite whilst he placed the drink in front of Joon-Ho, sliding the case over to Baekhyun before Joon-Ho nodded for him to move.

For the next hour Changkyun posed as Minji, waiting on other booths as well as Joon-Ho’s, bringing the case back and forth. By the time Joon-Ho and Baekhyun were finished, Changkyun’s feet were killing and he was almost ready to call it quits. Just as he was about to collect the case, there was a loud shout from the man sat opposite Joon-Ho. Changkyun saw the man reach for his waist line and saw a gun in his hand.

Without thinking, Changkyun darted forwards, grabbing the gun that was now aimed at a terrified Joon-Ho and pointed it upwards just as a loud bang echoed throughout the room. The public screamed at the sound but Changkyun was focused on the fist that was flying at his face. He threw his head back, grabbing the wrist and yanking it forward, headbutting the guy that was attached to it. Another man came running at him, clearly a bodyguard, but Changkyun didn’t let him gain the upper hand and instead threw a roundhouse kick his way, the heel cutting across the man’s face.

“Contain your bitch,” spat one of the men who Joon-Ho had been dealing with, two other bodyguards grabbed him, yanking him from the building and away from danger.

Changkyun was breathing heavily, relaxing his fists.

“Wow, girl can throw a punch,” commented Baekhyun, pulling himself from under the table. He didn’t even have the nerve to look guilty. Joon-Ho was still breathing deeply, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Go home, we’ll take the case. You did well,” Joon-Ho finally said, sending a stiff smile his way.

Changkyun was laid in bed; it was 5 o’clock in the morning. He was trying to relax after having a shower. He had never had to put his training to use before; he didn’t know what would come of this evening’s events.  Joon-Ho and Baekhyun had been so amazed by his skills, not expecting a small girl in heels to perform such well-deserved hits.

Changkyun was just about to settle further into bed when his phone began to vibrate on the bedside table. He leaned over to pick his phone only to see it wasn’t that one, it was the one Kihyun had given him. The caller ID was unknown.  

He sat up in bed and flipped the burner phone open, pressing the answer button. “Hello,” he said, making sure his voice was higher.

“Well done at the club today Miss Lee,” Kihyun said. Changkyun scowled at his voice, hating how smug it sounded. “I would like you to come in tomorrow to discuss things. We have the security footage here and I have to say I am impressed with your skill set. You cheeky minx, you should have told me about your fighting,” he said, laughing almost too loudly.

“I apologise sir,” Changkyun said through his gritted teeth. He stared at his fist, wanting nothing more than to show Kihyun first-hand what he can do.

“Anyway,” Kihyun started. “My boss would like to meet you. They saw your footage and between you and me, there isn’t much talent regarding the soldier department of our area,” he said, sniggering to himself whilst Changkyun rolled his eyes. “So, come tomorrow and I’ll take you to boss man,” he ordered before abruptly hanging up.

Changkyun scoffed and flipped the phone closed putting it back on the side. He scooted back down in to bed and threw the cover over his head, willing himself to sleep. God forbid he would need it if he was to meet with Kihyun tomorrow.

[incorrect-the-foxhole-court]

Northern Road Trip

This is my piece for the AFTG Gift exchange! I went for Andriel coz im a complete Andriel junkie, but i couldnt resist a little Renison on the side XD

This is for @andthenthefirenationattacked​ - I hope you like it! I’m sorry it’s not very good but I tried! (And if you wanna talk or fangirl about aftg at any point, i’m definitely around for that!)

Neil couldn’t remember a time he had felt this safe. Which, he had to admit, made no sense considering his current situation. Despite having family in England, an uncle who had once saved his life, the UK had never been a place that had screamed safety. And yet, here he was, standing in the middle of an endless stretch of rolling green hills that looked like they had been taken from one of Matt’s fantasy novels, and he felt…safe. It was as much a disquieting feeling as hope had once been.

The sky was a bright, forget-me-not blue that, after only five days in the country, he already knew was a rare blessing. Fluffy white clouds scudded across the sky, and the relief that they weren’t even a little grey had been unexpectedly strong when they had woken up this morning. Two cars idled behind him, the engines rumbling softly, and those inside were already betting on the upcoming games outcome and snacking on junk food that Kevin had already tried to throw out four times over.

Neil sucked in a deep breath, feeling the cold air settle in his lungs like shards of ice. Beautiful, this country, but cold. And wet. This was the first day they had been there that it hadn’t rained.

He could hear his old team behind him, laughing and joking, teasing Andrew for their stopping. It hadn’t been Andrew that had wanted to stop, but the goalie knew Neil too well now – had feigned car sickness to cover Neil’s need to see something. To see something other than exy courts and press rooms from the place his mother had come from. The woman had been cold and cruel and protective and beautiful, and standing there now, in the place she had always talked about, in Rivington, he could understand. The people he had met from around here felt like they had been born from the place itself. He could almost feel his mother in the wind’s cold fingers as it raked through his hair and cut straight through his winter coat to chill the blood in his veins.

“Neil! Come on! Andrew says he’s okay to keep going now,” Matt shouted, a grin on his face that was far too smug and pleased to merely be teasing.

Dan smacked him in the ribs as she disappeared around the other side of their hire car and slid into the driver’s seat. And then smacked the wheel in frustration, got out and went round to the passenger side door, grumbling about stupid English cars. Neil tuned out Matt and Allison’s teasing, both of them needling Dan about still not being used to which side of the car to get in, and turned to the other car. Renee smiled at Andrew before going to join the others.

Neil slid into the backseat next to Andrew, Aaron on the goalie’s other side, Kevin up front and Nicky driving. Within thirty minutes of driving, Andrew was asleep, head tipped back against the back of the seat – Neil wasn’t surprised, Andrew had barely slept since the flight, as though he was more scared than Neil that some relative would show up at their hotel. It wasn’t a secret they were in the UK; the whole world had known this is where they would be. The press had been covering the US exy team’s trip to the UK in excruciating detail for weeks. They had already had their games in Glasgow and London, and tomorrow, the last game of Us vs. UK, would take place in Manchester. London had been an easy win for the US Court, Andrew had barely bothered to try. Glasgow had been significantly more difficult. It had taken bribing Andrew to lock down the goal for them to come close to winning – even then it hadn’t been enough; they’d lost by two points.

Tomorrow’s game would decide who would face the Chinese team. And the old team from Palmetto State had come out to show their support as Kevin, Andrew and Neil, played their last UK game of the season, fighting to advance closer to the title of ‘Exy International Champions’. Kevin had been training and planning nonstop. It had taken Andrew’s knives to convince him to have this day off.

“Erm…Neil…?” Nicky asked, voice tight. Neil dragged his eyes away from staring out the window as the North sped by, and met Nicky’s worried eyes in the rear-view mirror. “Satnav is freaking out.”

“Get Andrew to fix it,” Aaron grunted, “he’s the tech wonder boy.”

“Waking Andrew up in a car has never been a good idea,” Nicky warned, no doubt thinking of that time all those years ago.

Neil could feel Aaron’s smirk as the man reached over and tapped his twin on the shoulder closest to Neil. From habit, Neil’s hand was out waiting as Andrew jolted from sleep, one hand instinctively reaching out. Their fingers twined together and held on tight. No elbow in the stomach, no fists flying, not anymore – they had been sleeping in the same bed now for nearly two years; Andrew was too used to being woken by Neil’s nightmares to react violently. Now it was a grasping hand and white knuckled grip, each proving to the other that they are here – that they are safe. On Andrew’s other side, Aaron huffed in frustration and turned his attention back to the steady stream of messages between him and Katelyn.  

“Satnav isn’t working properly,” Neil explained quietly, and Andrew shook off his grip, leaning forward to take it from Kevin.

“Going old school,” Nicky muttered to himself. “Gonna have to use these damn stupid road signs.”

Neil didn’t bother to watch what Andrew was doing to fix the machine – he had learnt a long time ago that when Andrew couldn’t sleep, he and one of the cats curled up on the sofa with an instruction manual of some sort. Andrew couldn’t sleep most nights. By this point, Andrew’s eidetic memory had given him the ability to fix almost anything technological.

It took them another hour and a half to reach the Lake District. They were aiming for a shop that the Northern players on the UK team hadn’t stopped raving about since the team meets had started. By the time they finally arrived, it was raining again.

They parked in a garden centre opposite a tiny little place called ‘The Grasmere Gingerbread Shop’ and stared out through rain-streaked windows. Nicky’s phone started ringing. He took the sat nav out of its holder, tossed it onto Kevin’s lap before balancing his phone in the slot instead. Allison’s face appeared on the screen, and then the rest of the others.

“So, how do we decide who goes out into the rain to get the damn gingerbread we drove for two hours to come and try?” Allison asked and Renee, in the driver’s seat beside her, tucked a few stray blonde curls behind her ear, dragging a smile from the otherwise annoyed face.

“Flip for it?” Nicky suggested.

Matt lost to Renee. Dan lost to Matt. Allison rolled her eyes and picked at a perfectly manicured nail, but called heads when she went up against Dan, only to lose. Storm clouds gathered on her face as she waited for the other car to decide who would flip against her.

Aaron called heads, Allison, tails. Aaron won.

Neil hadn’t heard swearing like that for a long time. He couldn’t help but smile. He had missed them all. He loved being on Court and he loved his team and exy, and playing with Andrew and Kevin, but he had missed being a fox.

Renee went with Allison, smiling as the blonde tried and failed to hide under the trees from the rain. Neil could hear through the cracked window Andrew was smoking through as Allison cursed everyone and everything for her having forgotten an umbrella. Renee just laughed and tugged her in for a kiss. Neil smiled again; it had taken them a long time to realise just how meant for each other they were – but now? Together? They were a sight for sore eyes.

Andrew blew another cloud of smoke past Neil’s face. He couldn’t help the deep inhale as the smoke curled past his nose. Andrew watched, utterly unimpressed – but Neil could read the affection in the stare. Smoke was no longer the reminder of his mother, of the fire, of how it had smelled when her body had burned. Now it was Andrew, it was nights on the roof, the bite of his key in his palm, the feel of a thundering heartbeat beneath his fingertips. Andrew’s knee nudged his, and Neil smiled again.

Allison and Renee got back in the car behind and they drove to Windemere, where they had booked out all the rooms in a little bed and breakfast. The man at the desk was the most English person Neil had ever met. He was the embodiment of every single English stereotype, and Neil couldn’t get away fast enough.

Their rooms were all on the second floor, Dan and Matt disappeared into one room, Allison and Renee into another, Aaron claimed his own room, as did Kevin and Nicky. Nicky was already face timing with Eric before his bedroom door closed. And despite Allison’s usual warning of ‘keep it down’, there were delighted giggles and moans coming from her and Renee’s room.

Neil shook his head, smiling, and followed after Andrew into their room. Andrew was already lighting up next to the window, so Neil dropped the bag by the bottom of the bed and slumped onto the mattress, stripping off his black armbands and dumping them over the edge. He heard Andrew shut the window and the bed dip as he settled nearby. Neil reached a hand up, and Andrew’s fingertips trailed over his bare arms, dipping over every scar and mark.

Neil closed his eyes, even now, years later, most touches on those scars brought back the car lighter, the knife, his father’s axe…

But then Andrew’s lips began tracing every raised bump, slowly washing away the memories one by one, until there was nothing left but the two of them, Andrew’s hands under Neil’s shirt, Andrew’s lips pressed hard to Neil’s, and Neil’s fingers tight in Andrew’s hair.

He didn’t realise how much he needed it until Andrew tugged his t-shirt over his head and slowly but steadily began taking him apart. Neil couldn’t stop the moan that Andrew dragged from deep in his throat as Andrew pushed him harder and faster until Neil’s breathing became ragged and Andrew leaned up to press their lips together as though he could swallow Neil’s hard groans when he fell over the edge. He lay limp and sweating, breathing hard, with Andrew beside him, the man’s expression open and soft in a way he had only seen four times so far.

Neil reached out, “Yes or no?”

Andrew didn’t reply, just pressed his cheek into Neil’s palm and closed his eyes as Neil’s fingers played with the tiny hairs at the nape of Andrew’s neck. He wanted to say something, anything to remind Andrew just how amazing he was – how he always knew what Neil needed, usually before Neil knew himself, how even though Neil had long since learned to stand alone, it felt safe knowing that Andrew was there for him if he needed to lean on someone. But he didn’t have the words.

And he didn’t find them fast enough before Nicky pounded on the bedroom door.

“Come on, lovebirds, Allison ruined her hair to get this gingerbread, and Aaron and I went out for alcohol, come and have a drink and a snack like the old days. But put clothes on first!”

Andrew growled under his breath, but Neil smiled.

“When will he leave me alone?” Andrew said, shaking out his hand and pushing up to sit on the edge of the bed.

“He’s been in Germany with Eric for ten months. He can’t leave you any more alone.”

Andrew just stood and stared down at him a moment. “Come on junkie. Let’s go.”

Neil stood and went to the bathroom, cleaning himself up, before he joined Andrew at the now open door to the bedroom, stood in front of a very irate Kevin.

“We have a game tomorrow. Tomorrow. And they want us to drink and eat and party. Why did they come at all, they’re not playing,” Kevin said, face set; cold and hard.

“Tomorrow will be fine. We’ll win or we’ll lose, but it’ll be fine. Let’s go, it could be fun,” Neil said, shrugging. He’d never felt as safe as he was in that moment and he’d never seen Andrew as relaxed – that was all he needed. All he wanted.

They should take road trips more often.

“Three hundred and seventy-four percent,” Andrew murmured.

Neil didn’t bother to stop the smirk on his face.

----

That’s it! Again, I hope you liked it and I hope it was a good enough gift for you in the exchange! Have a wonderful day!

[babybottlepop96]

Home Again Chapter 1

Jean x Marco

Summary: Jeana and Marco have been friends since the tender ages of 5 and 7. They grow together and fall in love.... then Jean disappears.

Warnings: This story will contains mentions of past rape and abuse. The violence parts will probably be descriptive, but the rape will not be. There will be eventual smut further along into the story. 

~20 Years Ago~

"Jean, honey, this is mommy's new boss, Mr. Bott. He is the man who is going to help us, so I need you to be on your best behavior, okay?" The small five year old with ash blonde hair, dark brown undercut and honey golden eyes nodded his head as he stared at the tall dark haired man with dark chocolate eyes.

"Nice to meet you Master Jean." The man smiled down at the boy with a warm smile. "This is my son, Marco, he just turned seven a few months ago. Heard you enjoy dinosaurs and superheroes?" Jean nodded as he stared at the boy just two years older than himself with wide eyes, mapping out all the freckles along his tanned skin, milk chocolate eyes staring back into his own with a smile that could make the grumpiest of men relax. "Marco has a boatload of dinosaur and superhero toys, Marco, why don't you show Jean your room?" Marco smiled, grabbing Jean's hand and dragging him up the giant spiral staircase to the second floor.

Once inside the room, Jean's jaw dropped, the size of Marco's bedroom was bigger than his whole house combined. The ceiling was high with detailed trim along the edges, painted in a dark brown and a pale maroon shade of red. The bed was bigger than what any seven year old should have, a giant flat screen tv was mounted onto the wall across from the bed and games, movies and toys filled the rest of the room. "Do you want to play a video game? I have Spyro the dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Mario Kart?" The freckles kid asked, naming off games while setting up one of the many gaming consoles he owned.

"I… ummm.." Jean stood there nervously, rocking on his feet while twiddling his tiny thumbs. "I've never played a video game before." He looked up to see Marco smiling at him.

"That's okay! I'll teach you! We can start with Mario Kart, it's a multiplayer game, so I'll be able to teach you!" He smiled proudly as if he just won first place at the spelling bee.

"Oh, okay! Thank you!" Jean grabbed the controller Marco handed out to him with shaky hands. The two sat down on the squishy blue and purple bean bag chairs and started a game, Marco showing him how to pick his character, how to move and control the kart and how to throw the special abilities gained when hitting the boxes with the question marks.

"So, Jean, what's your favorite color?"

"Purple." Jean spoke as he tried to concentrate on what he was doing on the screen, still having a bit of trouble with the turns.

"Cool! Mines red!" Marco spoke as he gestures to the room around them. 

"Favorite food?" Jean asked, stealing a glance at the older kid next to him, he couldn't help but smile, Marco's smile was infectious.

"Spaghetti! Well, all kinds of pasta! Penne, ravioli, ricotta-"

"I thought ricotta was a cheese?" Jean questioned, he wasn't actually sure himself, he just knew that cheese was a luxury in his home, never having enough money most of the time for really fancy things like cheeses.

"Oh, yeah! It is!" Marco giggled, "I just really like ricotta cheese." Jean giggled too, this kid was alright. "You're my new best friend, Jean."

~8 Years Later~

"Will you just shut up, Yeager?" A thirteen year old Jean Kirstein, as calmly as he could, spoke with his fist balled up at his sides as he walked out of the middle school building.

"Come on, Kirstein, didn't your poor piss excuse for a mother teach you it isn't nice to tell people to shut up?" Eren, the school bully, asshole and dick, in Jean's opinion, insulted. That's when Jean's resolve faded into nothing and landed a swift punch to the tanned, unblemished skin, a crunch was heard throughout the whole parking lot. Eren fell to the ground but quickly regained his strength and landed a kick to Jean's guy. The wind was knocked from Jean's lungs, but his anger was dominant. He lunged for the bastard who insulted his mother, the only parent he ever knew who worked her ass off to make sure he survived, to give the douche-nozzle a good pounding, but warm, strong arms held him back before hos fist could collide with it's intended target.

"Jean." A warm voice whispered in his ear, Marco. He relaxed in the freckles arms but he was still livid. "Let's go." Then, he was dragged off to the black Chevy Impala.

"Is that your boyfriend Horse Face? Man, I knew you were fruity but seriously? You could do better!" Jean almost got out Marco's grip, but the taller, older teen had his grip firm and all but threw the teen into the back seat.

"Jean-" 

"No, don't start Marco! He taunted me about how I have to live my life, insulted my mother, then insulted you! He deserved to get his lights punched out!" Jean yelled, unshed tears forming in the corners of his Carmel eyes, threatening to spill any second. Marco just simply drew the younger into his arms and the driver drove towards Bott Manor. "He… he doesn't have to be so mean! I never did anything to him!" 

When they finally pulled into the Manor, Marco led Jean to his room, the same room they first became friends in eight years ago. The stuffed animals and small toys are now replaced with books, CDs and even more games and movies. Marco sat them down on the bed and neither spoke for a few minutes. "He was right, ya know." Marco finally spoke and Jean looked at him like he had four heads. "You could do better than me, if we were together."

"Marco Bott, you stop right there! No one could ever replace you! You are literally the best person alive! If I had the balls to kiss you I would!" Jean and Marco's eyes widened and Jean turned into a blushing, flustered mess. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I.. I don't know why I said tha-", but Jean couldn't finish, Marco's lips pressed firmly against his in a gentle yet passionate kiss that spoke thousands of words and so many feelings. 

"I love you Jean." Marco whispered as they pulled apart, foreheads still touching as both tried to regain their breath and slow their hearts. Jean cupped Marco's face in his hands and kissed him again.

"I love you too, Marco."

~2 Years Later~

Jean Kirstein, fifteen year old freshman at Trost High, walked through the park on his way home after work. He hates his job, hates working behind the counter at the local Taco Bell, hates that Eren works there too in the kitchen as a prep cook, hates dealing with annoying ass customers with snarky attitudes complaining that their crunch wrap supreme doesn't have enough sour cream. Well sorry, Karen, I don't make the fucking food nor do I determine how much sour cream goes on it. Today was a particularly bad day, Eren called off claiming he was sick when Jean really knew he was out with his "boyfriend" leaving him to prepare food and take orders. Then someone took a dump on the men's bathroom floor, didn't even try to aim for the fucking toilet! Just took a shot right there in the middle of the goddamn floor which he had to clean up himself while his manager bitched about him not doing his job at the counter. All Jean wanted to do was go home, talk to his boyfriend for a little before he eventually went to bed and got up early the next day for school.

It was a simple request that he wished for while the clock ticked by slowly. Jean was so into his own head, he never heard the footsteps coming up behind him until it was too late. A wet cloth covered his nose and mouth, his eyes widened for a second before the world faded to black.

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

"We have to find him!" Marco shouted at his father who was looking at him with a solemn expression. Marco paced back and forth in front of his father's desk, hands taking through his u kept hair. He has barely slept a wink since Jean vanished three days ago, his mind wondering about all the worst scenarios it could think of.

"We are trying, son, but we have no evidence of anything taking place. No struggle, no personal belongings, nothing to suggest anything has even happened."

"But Jean couldn't have just vanished into thin air! He wouldn't run away either! He loved his mom too much to just up and leave her and me…" Marco trailed off, thinking about his and Jean's time together over the last two years. Picnic and arcade dates, eating pizza and hot wings while they binge watched their favorite tv series at that moment, the soft and gentle kisses they shared between one another before they parted ways, always promising to text each other once they got home, letting the other one know they got there safe. That's the single most reason why Marco knew something was wrong. Neither of them forgot to send the 'im home safe and sound' text. Not once, in the ten years that they've known each other, did they miss sending that text. Even as children and Marco's father gave Mrs. Kirstein a cell phone as a gift to keep in contact, did they miss THAT text.

"Son, we are doing everything we can to find Jean. But we also need to think rationally, Jean might not ever be found." Marco froze at those words, Jean may be lost forever? He may never see those honey eyes, beautiful smile, perfect sketches and vibrant paintings painted by those slender pale hands and fingers? May never run his hands through those soft locks of ash and brown ever again? That's when Marco broke, he screamed and fell to the floor in a fetal position on the floor. His father looked at him with hurt in his own dark chocolate eyes, for him, his son and Jean's mother who was currently out looking for her only child as they speak. Don Bott rose from his leather chair and walked around the desk, kneeling in front of his son. He put his hand on his back and whispered a pained, "I'm sorry, Marco."

~10 Years Later (Present Day)~

Here he was, once again, at an underground auction. Mr. Bott hated these things, but he had no other choice, ever since Mrs. Kirstein passed away three years ago from a drunk driving accident, he hasn't been able to find someone who cleaned as well as she had. Every person he hired had an attitude or just didn't speak at all, always forgetting to dust the book shelves or take out the trash. So he relented and took up on Mr. Ackerman's suggestion to go to an auction. Getting there early to get a good seat, Mr. Bott, along with Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Braun and Mr. Hoover, the Dons of their respected parts of New York City, all sat down to converse while the auction for the…. Pleasure portion of the auction slowly came to a close. Mr. Bott cringed as the scum of New York bid money on these poor people just for the gratification of getting their dick in a hole.

"And now for our last and best prize of the night!" The auctioneer spoke as the Dons sighed in relief, none of them liked the idea of people being sold for pleasure as they themselves, tried for years to get it under control but never succeeding. "This one has been in the business for ten years, used and a bit rough looking, but this little beauty will be the best fuck you ever had. Clean and pliant, not a bad body either if I do say so myself. Number 54!" The announcer spoke as someone roughly shoved a young man out into the center of the room. The numbers flying from the crowd started pouring in left and right and it got the Dons wondering whom this "prize" was. "Three-thousand!" "Ten-thousand!" "Twenty Five-thousand!"

"Two hundred-thousand!" The crowd went quiet after hearing the deep booming voice coming from the front row.

"Two hundred-thousand! Going once! Going twice! Sold! To Do Bott!" The young man was then hauled out of the room to be prepped for leaving the facility.

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

"Dad! I'm home! Reiner, Bert, Mikasa, Eren and Armin are here too!" Marco called from the doorway as he and the others walked into the Manor. "Dad?!"

"In the living room son!" He heard his father call and the group walked towards the sound.

"What's up? We heard your voicemail and hauled ass here. What happened?" Marco asked as soon as he saw his father, eyes brimmed with tears and a small smile. The others in the room, specifically Dr. Yeager, looked at them, small sad but slightly happy smiles on their faces. "What's going on here?" The group looked at each other, confused and concern plastered on their faces. Once Mr. Bott moved to the side and gestured to the couch, it was then that the group realized what was happening. On the couch asleep, lay a thin pale man, dark circles under his eyes, bruises and scars and even some fresh wounds, now neatly stitched up thanks to Dr. Yeager, littering his almost naked form. Marco stared at the man laying on the pale green couch and tears flooded down his cheeks. "Jean?"

[antpelts]

POV for the writing asks? Your choice what for

no excuses writing meme

POV — something that’s already happened, retold from another character’s perspective

this is delightful yet horrible how could i ever choose! for the sake of relevancy ill go with something from im the rocks. shameless plug. shower scene from chapter 18 - from jareds pov. actually its just.. i basically just rewrote most of ch 18 from jareds pov maybe ill edit this for ao3 later 

“Rich gone?” 

Jared lifted his head, tearing his eyes off his phone to see Evan in his doorway. He was always so careful about taking his shoes off, about not making a mess. It was equal parts annoying and endearing. He practically lived in Jared and Rich’s room at this point and he was still treating it like a fancy hotel.

“Yup.” He locked his phone, watching as Evan shut the door behind him and paused in the middle of the room, looking like he didn’t know where to go. “Probably making out with his boyfriend.”

“Isn’t Jer with them?” Evan’s voice was still soft and he was still just standing there like a lost puppy. So he had to do everything himself. With a slight roll of his eyes he set his phone down among the blankets while shifting over to offer up some room to Evan. That was all it seemed to take because now he was crossing the room and gently hopping up onto the bed, slotting his body perfectly next to Jared’s own.

“Dude, I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on with that,” Jared couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter - Rich had been prattling on about that situation for weeks and as of late he had no clue who was actually dating who in that mess. With a sigh he just turned his head to bury his face in Evan’s shoulder, he really didn’t care to think about it for the time being.

“Your hair’s greasy.” Jared scoffed a little at that, taking note of how Evan tipped his head back instead of burying his face in his hair like normal. Normal. Well, this whole thing wasn’t very normal of them. Whatever it was.

“You can only be rude if it’s not to me, asshole,” he tried to keep his tone gruff but a breathy laugh slipped out at the end. He knew full well he was the only person who Evan felt comfortable being anything but painfully polite to. “Showering is hard. I didn’t wanna deal with it.”

“Have you.. not showered since you got the cast? That’s like..” Jared could practically hear the gears turning in Evan’s head until he opened his mouth to complete the thought, “two weeks.”

“Fuck dude, I’m not an animal!” Shifting a bit Jared weakly hit Evan’s chest, rolling his eyes to himself. “I kinda just.. wash my hair in the sink. And then like.. half shower. With, like, a wash cloth.”

“You know you can.. wrap your cast right?” 

Jared tried not to laugh in his face at that one.

“I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid.” When Evan finally laughed and let his shoulders relax he couldn’t help a triumphant grin. After a second he felt a nose against his hair and it was his turn to practically melt, sinking back against Evan. “Yeah. But then I’d have to like.. balance on my leg and carry all my shit.”

“I can help you.”

Jared couldn’t help but short circuit at that. It was disgustingly intimate and Jared wanted to fucking choke because now his face was red from the thought of Evan gently touching his hair. Years of fleeting dreams about making out with Evan (and maybe a little more) did nothing to prepare him for soft intimacy. But he also felt Evan tensing up under him and they didn’t need to be both thrown into a state of utter uselessness. It came out as nearly a whisper, “alright.”

But Evan didn’t seem to hear, breathing uneven as he stuttered out messy apologies.

“Evan. Fucking hell, earth to Ev.” With a quiet grunt Jared pushed himself up, bracing a hand on Evan’s chest. Sitting up he was able to look down at Evan, drawing his brows together as he looked over his face. He seemed sincere about the offer, if his panicked expression and continued whirlwind of mumbled apologies was anything to go off of.

“I’m so sorry that.. Sorry. Sorry. That was weird and gross I don’t-”

“Dude. I said alright. I mean, like,” Jared directed his gaze anywhere but Evan, feeling his own cheeks warm up a little as he tried to play it off, “like you can carry my shit. And like stand by the shower in case I need you to hand me something.”

“Oh.”

The bathrooms were big enough that he felt like he could play it off and Evan could hide in the corner while offering minimal assistance. Sure, maybe he’d prefer to have Evan with him, to lean back into him. Or.. to kiss his face while they washed each other’s hair. Fuck. Since when had he gotten so fucking soft? This was the shit he roasted Rich for.

“Wanna help me wrap my cast?”

There was no time like the present. Besides, if Evan was going to complain about how greasy his hair was then he’d make him eat those words. Or whatever.

Not to mention he was also a little worried that he wouldn’t be able to work up the nerve later, this conversation already had momentum he didn’t want to stop.

“N..Now?”

Jared just huffed out a sigh as he awkwardly clambered over Evan to slide off the bed, straining to grab his crutches once he made it to the floor.

“You don’t have to do this.” Jared looked up at him, raising an eyebrow as he looked over him. His face was still flushed and he was fidgeting with his hands. Heaving a sigh Jared just leaned to grab his phone and tuck it into his pocket before hobbling away from the bed. “I’ve managed so far.”

“But.. you want to uh..” Jared heard some rustling as Evan practically fell off the bed, stumbling to catch himself. He bit back a fond smile at the absurdity of it all and just dropped down onto the futon as gracefully as he could manage. “I wanna help.”

When Jared looked up Evan was already collecting the few plastic bags they had off the ground and that time he couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“Alright,” he said it like a leading question, waiting expectantly as Evan shifted his weight between his feet. He shifted so he could stretch his leg out for easier access and when he saw Evan practically waiting for a command he sighed, “tape is in the top desk drawer.”

Evan grabbed the duct tape and sat on the floor in front of Jared, wrapping up the cast with a sort of practiced ease. Jared’s cast was bigger than what he’d been used to before and he watched Evan scramble, digging around Rich’s side of the room for two extra bags to fully cover it. Once he was done he sat back on his heels, Jared could practically feel the nervousness radiating off of him. “But.. if someone sees us both go into a bathroom they’re gonna think..”

Right. The redness on Evan’s face was almost contagious. Just almost. Because now he was thinking about it too, well sort of, he didn’t care if anyone saw them, he barely knew anyone on the floor but.. The thought of sneaking away to the bathrooms with Evan for something else - that was enough to make him feel a little warm.

“Just wait like.. a minute and then follow me. Dude. No one cares, people do worse shit in those bathrooms. You’ll live.” His words seemed to be convincing enough and Evan was nodding now.

“Okay.. yeah. Alright.” Evan smoothed his palms over his pants before getting to his feet. Jared couldn’t help but feel a little amused by the shakiness in his knees - he’d caused that. Well, maybe. Maybe it was anxiety, knowing Evan. “I’ll just.. I can bring your clothes and shower stuff.. and everything. Yeah. You.. you can go now and I’ll.. I’ll be there in a second.”

“Text me if you change your mind.” Jared was pulling himself back up to his feet, wobbling on his crutches a bit before heading towards the door. Of course he’d give him an out, Evan looked on the verge of passing out and Jared really didn’t want to push whatever it was that they had. He liked kissing Evan. He liked laying with him. He.. liked him. When he managed to get the door open he gave a mock salute before heading into the hall, letting his shoulders slump as soon as he was out of sight.

The whole thing was a spur of the moment mess and in the moment the yearning for that tenderness had fogged everything. Now that he was alone and hobbling into the bathrooms he looked back on it, as he often did. There were so many times over their lives where Jared had jut pushed too far and now he was worried this was another. Huffing out a sigh he ducked into one of the open bathrooms, leaving the door unlocked behind him as he leaned on the wall to send a text.

Jared (6:22 pm): last one on the left  Duck (Ev) (6:23 pm): ok coming

That was promising at least. So maybe he wouldn’t get his tender fantasy of washing each other’s hair and feeling soft skin to skin contact - but at least he was getting a proper shower. And Evan wasn’t disgusted with him. Or something like that. Wow, he really was starting to sound like him. They were spending a lot of time together. He shook his head and moved to carefully balance his phone on the sink.

With nothing better to do he ran the water. Hot but not too hot. Evan would probably fret over him cooking himself if he showered with his normal water temperature. His heart stuttered at the thought of Evan fussing over him - he used to find it annoying, he used to call him overbearing, comparing him to his mother. It felt different this time.

Only a few minutes has passed before Evan was practically throwing himself into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. Outrageous. It brought a wide grin to Jared’s face as he shook his head fondly. 

“W..What?” Evan seemed to shrink in on himself a bit as he hung up the towel, using the second towel hook to hang Jared’s towel bag. His hands were practically shaking. 

“Shh,” Jared barely stifled a laugh as he whispered, “don’t want someone to hear.”

Evan was nodding frantically enough that just watching him could give Jared a headache. Instead he just stifled a laugh, shoulders shaking as he kept his cackling at bay, face scrunching up with pure amusement. Deciding not to waste any more time he just turned around, hiding his expression as it softened into something more fond. There was something oddly cathartic about being able to let some of that softness seep through instead of forcing it under lock and key. Well it wasn’t oddly cathartic. Probably just normal cathartic. The point was that he was just happy he didn’t have to hide.

Tucking his glasses into his shower bag he just leaned his crutches on the wall, awkwardly balancing as he tugged his clothes off. He’d gotten better at the whole process over the last two weeks. Especially considering he’d been alone for Thanksgiving break. He had a slight handle on it all. Enough, at least, to haul himself into the shower and finally get under the spray, blindly reaching for a bottle on shampoo while he let his hair get wet. 

Yeah. He needed this.

It only took a minute for Jared to encounter a problem. He didn’t have particularly good balance and with one hand propped up against the wall and one clutching onto his shampoo bottle.. he didn’t really have a way of going about this process. Which left one option. They’d made it this far, he might as well drive it home. Clearing his throat quietly he gave as loud of a whisper as he could manage, “hey.. Ev?”

“Uh.. yeah?” He’d heard Evan’s shoes on the tiles and based on his (blurry) shadow he was on the other side of the curtain.

“Okay, you’ve got me. I’ll admit defeat just this once.” Jared didn’t often make a habit of asking for help, but Evan was the single exception if there ever was one, “could you help me wash my hair? Balancing and opening bottles and blurry vision aren’t my favorite combination.”

“Oh but I..” The words set off some primal fear reaction in Jared, he sort of froze up. The silence was only broken by the sound of water. It was almost deafening. “I don’t.. wanna get my clothes wet.”

Jared swore he could fucking strangle him. 

“Well, the great thing about that is that you can take your clothes off to shower.” He managed a quiet laugh because if he didn’t laugh he was probably going to lose it in one way or another. Besides, if that was Evan’s mental block he could try and put that at ease because, “I’ve seen you without clothes before.”

“That.. that was..” Jared squinted a bit, watching as Evan’s shadow fidgeted on the other side of the shower curtain. He held back another laugh, it was probably cruel enough to bring that back up. Losing your swim trunks at the pool definitely wasn’t a pleasant experience.

“I’m already in here and I can’t really do this,” he went with a softer tone this time. The silence stretched on long enough to make Jared second guess everything. Maybe it was an utterly horrible idea. “Ev, it’s fine. I.. you don’t gotta, it’s cool.”

“I.. okay, hold on. Gimme.. a s..sec. I’m fine.”

For once Evan wasn’t pausing, he sounded.. well, as sure of himself as he possibly could. Considering his general aura it was pretty impressive. He heard clothes hitting the ground in a pile and it was suddenly very real and very intimate. 

“I.. okay. I’m coming in.”

When the curtain was pulled open Jared was met with the sight of Evan, eyes squeezed shut tightly. He had to laugh. And.. he was wearing boxers? So what, maybe he couldn’t help but spare a glance! It was sort of endearing actually.

“Jesus, are you serious?” Jared moved the smallest bit to the side so Evan could join him. The red in his face was from more than the warm water. Jared breathed out another laugh. “If you slip and die I’ll kill you.”

“That.. that doesn’t,” he was whispering harshly and no one would never know what he was going to say exactly because his voice faltered when Jared settled a hand on his shoulder.

“Oh my god. If you’re not going to open your eyes at least let me help,” his tone was light and airy - stupidly, he kind of felt like he was floating. Slowly, he helped direct Evan to move until he was standing behind him. “Here.”

After some fumbling he was pressing the bottle of shampoo into Evan’s hand, face scrunching up in amusement as he heard Evan struggle to get it open. Once he got the hang of it he was passing the bottle back and Jared gladly took it, head tipping back a bit instinctually. 

Nothing could have prepared him for the feeling of Evan washing his hair. It was different than when he jut played with it while they laid it bed - it made him feel something that was just intense and he couldn’t quite place it or put it into words. It was painfully tender and it made his knees weak. His eyes burned with the threat of tears.. or maybe there was shampoo in his eyes. That was probably it.

Being taken care of was.. nice. Maybe he’d let it happen a little more often.

[woossexyponytail]

Breaking Instinct.

Seonghwa x reader

Warning | character death.

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My eyes opened as I layed in bed waking up from my hazy dream, I stretched my arms out feeling the pop of my bones. Turning slightly to my left I saw my husband Seonghwa sleeping peacefully next to me.

His arms wrapped around my waist the exact place it was before we fell asleep last night. I grinned at him peeking his head as I slowly got up out of bed.

Wrapped my dressing gown around me and putting on my slippers I made my way down to the kitchen. The glittering sunrays spread various hues of shiny silver and gold through the kitchen.

Moving over to the windows that looked out onto our beautiful small garden, I opened it as a gentle cool breeze blew in causingme to smile, the faint chirping of birds was the first thing I heard watching them fly around.

I walked over to the fridge opening it up grabbing some eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms, closing it back up with my leg I place the food down on the counter as I picked up two pieces of bread and started to work on Seonghwa's breakfast.

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Humming to myself as I cooked the egg I hadn't realised that Seonghwa woke up already, feeling him place his arms around my waist his chin on my shoulder watching me cook.

"Your up already? You don't need to be at work for another two hours yet?" I asked truning to look at him quickly then going back to the frying pan in my hand.

"How can I sleep when my beautiful wife who looks more beautiful everyday, is up already cooking a wonderful breakfast?" He asked, I giggled as he placed his lips against my cheek, walking over to make himself some coffee.

"I wanted it to be done already, so I could surprise you" I said as I pouted not being able to surprise him this morning. Seonghwa chuckled as he walked passed me to sit at the dining table.

"You don't need to surprise me with breakfast you know" he said as he grabbed the tv control turing on the news.

"Breaking news, Jung Sangwook CEO of the global corporation SunBeam was found dead this morning, in his penthouse in Gangnam-gu, police say that I looks like a professional hit. We will keep you updated-" the tv was turned off as I felt my stomach twist.

"I'm sorry, I forgot San had a job last night" Seonghwa sighed as he walked up to me rubbing my shoulders, I breathed in shaking my head as I smiled up at Seonghwa.

"It's fine, that's your job" I said shrugged as I went back to the food. He sighed hugging me as he swayed us back and forth.

"That's their job, I just make sure the don't die, that's what Doctors do" he said, I turned around looking up at him.

"Seonghwa you still work for a gang a violent one for that matter, you told me after we got married that you would quit so we can be safe to start a family. Don't you want that with me anymore?" I asked getting a bit upset about the situation.

"Of course it is and you know what your right, I'll tell Hongjoong later that I want to leave so we can focus on our family" he said, my eyes widened as I listened I smiled hugging him tightly.

A shrilling noise broke the silence looking over to Seonghwa's phone he left on the table, he walked over answering the call.

"Hello?, yes. Okay I understand, I'll be there soon." He said hanging up Seonghwa turned around smiling guilty at me, I knew by that look that he needed to go to work.

"Go it's fine I'll just-" I said Seonghwa ran over kissing me as he legged it out the door bringing his coat with him. I sighed watching the doot close behind him.

"Eat all the breakfast myself, like normal" I finished as I turned back grabbing the toast and taking an angry bite of it, throwing it down on the plate.

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I was sitting at my desk at work editing through the new magazine for next month, the office was quite for today which was surprising since it was always a bit of a mess, but I wasn't complaining.

"Yn! How's the front cover coming along?" My boss asked as she came walking up to my desk, taking a look at the screen nodding her head.

"Good keep it up" she said walking off, I carried on working, but after a few minutes I started to feel a bit sick, picking up my water bottle taking a sip.

I breathed in slowly and going back to the computer, but the feeling didn't vanish, I stood up rushing to the bathroom. I stood over the toilet chucking up my breakfast.

I wiped my mouth and splashed water over my face, placing my hands on the sink I leaned down with my eyes closed.

"You alright?" I looked up seeing Im Yoona one of the manager asked as she walked in to the bathroom, I smiled weakly at her nodding.

"Are you ill? You really should go home if so" she said as she rubbed my back, I shook my head as I stepped away from the sink.

"I'm fine, I just keep getting a bit sick every now and then" I told her reassuring her, Yoona broke out in to a smile after I said that.

"I suggest you visit the pharmacy on your break, and pick up a pregnancy test while your there" she said as she left, I stood shocked at what she said, 'Me pregnant? It can't be can it?' I thought as I placed my hands on to my stomach.

A buzz from my pocket took my out of my thoughts, taking out my phone Seonghwa had text asking if I want to go to lunch with him on my break. I quickly text yes as I made it back to my desk looking at the time seeing that I had an hour left until my break. This was going to be a long day.

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I left a bit early for lunch to go to the pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test, though the woman behind the counter told me it would be better getting a couple.

So here I was walking to the restaurant that Seonghwa picked out with a couple of pregnancy tests in my bag. I felt my stomach turn thinking about it, should I tell him that I might be pregnant or should I wait and find out if I actually am.

I walked in to the restaurant seeing Seonghwa right away, he looked up smiling pulling out the chair as I sat down.

"You're more beautiful every time I see you. How has your day been love?" He asked as I picked up the menu and had a look through, Seonghwa doing the same as I saw him peeking over the menu to look at me.

"Fine the magazine for next mouth is on track" I said giggling at him messing around, Seonghwa put the menu down so he could grab my hand a place a kiss on it.

After getting our order we spoke about bits until Seonghwa smile widened, knowing he had something exciting to tell me.

"What do you want to tell me?" I asked giggling at him, Seonghwa took a drink and placed it back down on to the table.

"I've spoken to Hongjoong, and I have one more job to do then I'm done for good with them" he told me, I couldn't contain my happiness as I placed my hands over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.

"You mean it? Really? Hongjoong doesn't mind losing the best Dr ever?" I asked, Seonghwa nodded leaning over the table as we kissed, sitting back down I couldn't stop smiling.

"He said he understands, He wouldn't want to bring a child up in that world either" he explained, this really is amazing and I might already be pregnant this could be good.

"We need to celebrate! How about tonight we get dressed up all fancy and have a romantic evening?" Seonghwa asked as I just nodded to excited to speak. We picked up our cups clinking them together as we enjoyed the meal.

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After work I got back home, opening the door I called out only to be left with silence, I placed my bag down taking off my coat and shoes as I made my way to the bedroom and get ready for the evening.

I was standing looking at the dress I picked for tonight, it was laying on the bed, I ended up remembering at that moment that I had the pregnancy tests in my bag.

Quickly grabbing them I made my way to the bathroom to take the tests. After a few minutes I waited for all three tests to be revealed, I stood staring at myself in the mirror, thoughts of being pregnant, I couldn't help but smile.

My phone went off signalling that the time was up, I turned the alarm off as I took a breath slowly picking up the first test.

"Positive?, Positive? And Positive! I'm pregnant!" I said looking at all three tests that confirmed that I was indeed pregnant, I screamed as I jumped up and down in my spot.

I ended up dressed as I waited on the sofa for Seonghwa, thinking of different ways to tell him, should I tell him when he walks in? Thorugh dinner? After dinner? I didn't really know.

I jumped hearing the door open, I stood up to great Seonghwa in my dress, he rusted in and stopped staring at me as you saw my dress.

"Your more beautiful ever time I see you" he said as he walked over to me passionately kissing me as I melted in to his touch, he pulled away just as fast.

"We still have three more hours until the reservation I booked, I need to go to work quickly. Hongjoong called from the car saying something about Mingi getting hit, I'll be back fast ok?" He explained, I sighed but nodded my head knowing the group needs their Doctor.

"I love you, be back soon. Okay" he said kissing my head as he ran back out the door, I sighed biting my lip getting anxious and hoping he will be back soon.

Sitting down on the sofa I once again waited, gabbed the control flicking on the tv, the channel was still on the news I went to turn it off not wanting to see, but something caught my eye.

"Breaking news the office building of the company makers as you can see are up in flames, no one knows why or how this happened, but we will keep you updated." The news reporter said, I quickly turned it over watching something to get my mind off of any danger.

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I looked over at the clock it had already passed two hours, one hour to go and if Seonghwa wasn't back yet not only is that not a good sign but the reservation will be cancelled.

I sighed for the umpteenth time as I stayed sitting in silence the tv long forgotten, my anxiety rising every minute that ticked by.

My eyes have been glued to the clock on the wall, I'm not sure when I first started watching it but all I know is that it's been a while.

Hearing the ring of my phone I jumped at the sound not expecting it to ring, I grabbed my bag that was on the table infront of my taking my phone and answering it.

"Yn! Thank god you need to get to Seonghwa's office immediately!" I heard Yeosang's voice he sounded panicked, after he said that he hung up, I quickly made my way to my car to drive off.

I ran through the door of the groups building, it was large but thankfully I knew my way around. Running up the stairs since the lift would take to long I made it up the four flits of stairs.

"No!" I sceamed running to see Seonghwa laying in the floor, blood over his chest as the group stoodbaround him, I knelt down to Seonghwa already crying seeing him like that.

"Seonghwa! Seonghwa, it's Hongjoong. Try to open your eyes if you can. I'm here with Yn." Hongjoong said as he started at his face, he looked in pain himself but my main focus was Seonghwa.

"Can you hear me? Seonghwa, wake up. Seonghwa, please wake up." I begged as I stroked my now shaking hand over his face, my other hand going to his to hold.

"Yn." Seonghwa said his eyes finally opening, I smiled at him as he squeezed my hand a light smile on his face as he looked up at me.

"I'm right here. Oh, my god, I'm so sorry. I tried to get here as fast as I could." I said the panic clear in my voice and making me talk faster then normal.

"Don't be sorry. There's no pain." He said as he brushed some hair out of my face still smiling even though his chest is bleeding out. The door opened showing some paramedics as they ran in to help Seonghwa.

"You don't have to be brave." I told him still crying, thankfully the paramedics didn't move me away letting me stay by his side which I was thankful for.

"I'm not, honey, I'm in shock. I don't feel any pain." He said, they moved him on to a stretcher as I stood up ready to follow them to the hospital.

"Oh, god! Guys, it doesn't mean I didn't feel that." Seonghwa said as they lifted the stretcher up to wheel him out. He held up his hand forbthem to stop.

"Dude, wait. Sorry about our date." Seonghwa said as he held out his hand for me to take, I smiled at him shaking my head at him.

"Shh, it's ok." I told him hopefully reassuring him as I placed my hand down to my stomach in a protective manner.

"Rain check-- " he asked then looked down at my hand, his eyes widening as realisation hit him, a bright joyful smile grow on his face.

"Yes, yes. I'll hold you to that" I said nodding to both the date and confirming that I was indeed pregnant, I could see the start of tears running down his face, as he set me off again.

"We gotta go." one of the paramedics said to me I nodded at them as they rushed off me following quickly behind as we reached outside, they got in to the ambulance while I got in my car to drive off to the hospital.

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I had been sitting in the waiting room for god knows how long, the others sat with me, Wooyoung on my left holding my hand and Yunho on my right rubbing my back, San, Mingi and Yeosang stood leaning against the wall.

Hongjoong paced back and forth I lost count after one hundred, Jongho then came around the corner holding cup holders with three drinks in them.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I got you hot chocolate, tea and coffee. " Jongho said passing them to me, I smiled sweetly at him.

"You're sweet." I said, by the sound of my voice I sounded tired and I really was I grabbed the tea one and took a sip hopefully waking me up a little.

"Hey, I'll put it down here. " Yunho said grabbing the other two and placing them down on the floor, Wooyoung and Mingi both whinging about Jongho not getting anyone else anything, and how disrespectful that was.

"So any news?" Jongho asked ignoring the two supposedly older guys as he looked between Hongjoong and myself.

"He was supposed to be out of surgery 40 minutes agos." Hongjoong said as he stopped pacing for once in the hour maybe two that we had been here.

"Park?" A nurse asked as she walked over to us, the others stopped looking over at her, I stood up walking over to her. "Yes?" I asked hoping and praying that Seonghwa was alright.

'Seonghwa's surgery was successful, and he's in stable condition." She said, relief washed over my body as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Oh, thank god." I said as I placed my hand to my heart leaning down as I started to cry again, Yunho being the first to come up and hug me.

"If you like, I can walk you down to the recovery area." She said, I nodded my head as I turned around to the others, they all smiled.

"We'll wait here." Hongjoong said as he but his hand on top of Jongho's shoulder and smiled at me that others all nodded as I walked off with the nurse.

"The damage was much less than we first thought. The bullet went straight through his armand just barely grazed his ribs." She explained as we walked to Seonghwa room.

"So he's going to be ok?" I asked as we got to the room, looking through the window seeing him asleep on the bed connected to a heart monitor.

"We'll be keeping an eye on him tonight. There's always the risk of infection, and especially with gunshot wounds we need to keep an eye out for embolisms. We'll have our best cardiologist watching him through the night." She said as she smiled at me then walked away from me off to finish her job.

"Has he woken up yet?" I asked the cardiologist who was standing next to the machine, he looked up a sad smile on his face.

"Just the once, after anesthesia." He told me, I nodded my eyes going back to Seonghwa, I started getting choked up seeing him laying there.

"Do you mind if I stay till he wakes again?" I asked looking over to him, he nodded saying it was alright. "Thank you." I said as I sat down in the chair by Seonghwa's bed.

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I felt something next to me as I opened my eyes, releasing that I must of falling asleep. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes as I slowly turned around and to my surprise Seonghwa was staring at me.

"You're more beautiful every time I see you." He said, Seonghwa face was all I saw as I slowly smiled at him.

"You're awake. I love you." I told him as I leaned forward but he leaned back, he looked upset, I frowned at him not knowing what was happening.

"Yn, there's a thing that happened, um... Uh, that's called an embolism. It's a technical term, and you don't need to know about it." He said, I quickly stopped him, "Let me go get you a doctor." I said about to get up but he stops me.

"No, please, just look at me, right here. Please, look at me right now. Look, look at me right here. I want you to remember me this way, please." He said I got so confused at what he was saying as I sat there staring at him.

"Code blue. Code blue, room 238. Code blue." The alarm went off I stood up seeing that Seonghwa was still in the bed, his heart stopped.

"I will always love you, Yn." Seonghwa voice said I turned around as my eyes started tearing up, I couldn't see him was that his spirit?

"No!" I Yelled as some nurses and Doctors came running in to the room, I was pulled back by San as the others stood around me holding me.

"Always." Was all I heard as the Doctors and nurses tried to resuscitate him, I started sobbing not believe he was gone.

"Not you! Please, not you! Please, not you! Please, not you!" I sceamed as I fell to the floor, some of the guys knelt down along with me as I cried harder after hearing the final words, "He's gone. Time of death? 05:44am".

And they were right, Seonghwa heart stopped as I felt my body go numb from the loss, I'll never see him again, I'll never hug him again or kiss him. And he will never see our child, The guys help puck me up off the floor walking me out of Seonghwa's room.

[romanosgirl1978]

Title TBD

I really need to figure out a title for this but I’m so bad at them...anyways this is still introductory ( i promise its relevant and everything will be coming soon). Im not gonna lie yall, this already has 40 parts and I’m at 60K words. The chapters with the whole crew have so far pretty much followed the 2 movies to the letter, a few minor changes to include reader but its still a good read. Any who, enough with my ramblings. Enjoy it!!

Word Count-2619

Warnings-Insults, Cursing, Verbal Abuse, Jim’s in a holding cell

Summary- You get accepted to Starfleet, but some circumstances aren’t making it easy.

You wake up to the sound of your stepfather screaming and groan, pulling the pillow over your head and pressing it against your ears futilely, before getting out of bed.

Heading down the stairs only heightens the shouting and your growing irritation.

“-not leaving! I am not going to pay for that useless, no good daughter of yours to waste four years at a college when she's just going to end up partying and getting kicked out. She's just going to end up in a bunch of dead end jobs and trying to move back in with us,” you hear him say to your mother over the phone.

You watch as he throws a torn envelope into the trash and storm outside, letting the door slam behind him, to scream some more.

Peeking your head into the bag, the first thing you see is the Starfleet insignia.

You snatch it out quickly and rush back up to your room to read it.

As you unfold the letter and put the two halves side by side on your desk you hear Jim slip into your room.

“What was he screaming at this time?” He asks groggily.

“I got a reply from Starfleet,” you whisper disbelievingly.

His eyes widen and he walks up behind you, hands on your shoulders.

“Blah, blah, blah. Accepted,” you mutter happily.

“That’s amazing! What program?”

You run your fingers down the page until you hit the last paragraph.

On behalf of the Academy we are proud to have someone with your aptitude attend whichever program you decide will be the best fit for you.

You take a deep breath and smile back at your brother. “I did it. I’m going to the Academy.”

He kisses the top of your head. “I’m proud of you sis…” he says, trailing off.

“But?” You sigh, knowing that was where he was going with that sentence.

“But, from how it sounds Jack’s not gonna let you leave.”

“Ah ha. That is where you are wrong sir,” you tell him, smirking. “You see, I-”

“Have a plan,” he cuts off. “So what is it?”

“I’m so glad you asked.”

“Yeah, I bet you are,” he grumbles. “And now I have to be a part of it.”

“Don't worry about that brother mine. You always were. So, he said that he’s not paying for me to move all the way there, which I’m not worried about because I have enough set aside and I’ll be getting a job when I get there, but he never said anything about me moving out somewhere else.”

“So your whole plan hinges on him not finding out you're leaving for the Academy?” He questions.

“Exactly,” you tell him smiling.

“Uh huh. And what about when he finds out that the letter is missing?” He challenges, pointing to said letter.

“Easy,” you grab the padd from your drawer and take a picture of the letter. “I put it back and go to town to print out this,” you shake the padd at him, “from the library and use it.”

Jim shakes his head. “Do you have a plan for everything?”

You deliberate for a moment before shrugging, nodding your head. “Pretty much, yeah.”

He pulls you into a hug. “I’m really gonna miss you, (Y/N).”

You bury your head in his chest and squeeze him tightly. “I’m gonna miss you too. That's why you should apply.”

He gives you one last kiss and pulls away from you. “I can't. I’m not like you. I wouldn't like it.”

Sighing you shake your head. “I think you're wrong Jim,” you mutter.

“Let's get you packed. When do you leave?”

You look back and find your departure date. “Friday, tomorrow. They're having a meet and greet on Saturday and giving us the weekend to settle in. How nice of them,” you half joke.

“So you've got a day and a half.”

“Yup. Enough time to enact phase one of my plan.”

“And that is…”

“You're not gonna like it,” you tell him with a strained smile.

He just motions for you to continue.

“I've got to get into an argument with Jack.”

He takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. “Great. About what?”

“Anything but the Academy. He can't even begin to think that’s an option.”

Jim nods. “Fine. But if he even tries to touch you I’m gonna knock his ass out.”

You smile at him and nod. “I think I could live with that.”

“You ready to go pick a fight then?” He asks you, reaching for your door.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You take a deep breath and walk out of your room, letter in your hand. “I guess I’ll start it tonight. Make sure everything is already set up and ready to go. I’ll probably be gone in the morning,” you tell him as you both sneak down the stairs.

“I’ll take you there. There’s no way I’m letting you leave without a real goodbye.”

“I knew you wouldn't,” you tease, smiling at him.

You put the acceptance letter back into the trash where you find it before moving further into the kitchen, making breakfast for you and Jim.

“Oh look who’s finally up,” Jack sneers as he walks back in. “Think you two lazy freeloaders could have slept any later?”

“Probably could have, but we decided we’d get up and grace you with our presence,” you snap back, giving him the most sarcastic smile you can manage. “Feel free to thank us at any time.”

“Why you ungrateful-” he mutters, glaring at you.

“What was that?” You ask, turning to face him fully with a knife in your hand.

He eyes you then the knife before huffing. “Like you actually know how to use that. All you can do with it is what you were made to do. Cook. And you can barely do that.”

Jim bolts up out of his seat and glares at Jack before turning and fuming out of the room, fists clenched at his sides.

You spin the knife in your hand and stab it into the island. “Make your own damn breakfast, asshole,” you say before following Jim out to the backyard.

“Well it sure was easier to pick a fight than I was expecting,” you try to joke.

Jim’s jaw clenches and his breathing is ragged.

You sigh and hand him the keys to your bike that you had snagged off of the table beside the door.

“Go. Take a drive. Calm down for a bit then come back. I promise I’ll keep away from him until then.”

He levels you with an unconvinced look, before you push him towards the garage.

“Go. I need to pack anyways.”

“Fine,” he grits out. “I’ll be back soon.”

You pat his shoulder and wait until he hauls ass down the driveway to make your way back inside.

“Where's he going?” Jack demands as soon as you walk inside.

“Far far away,” you mutter before heading up the stairs, packing everything you need in two duffle bags before shoving them under your bed until you have to go.

After the sun had set you started to worry. Normally Jim would have been back by now, or he would have called you.

You pull on a sweatshirt and climb out of your window. Crouching low, you carefully make your way to the edge of the slight overhang and sit down, letting your legs dangle over as you turn, hands gripping onto the gutter, to lower yourself down.

As you drop you let your knees bend and hold your arms out so you won't fall over.

You head towards the garage quickly and pull out your phone, dialing Jim.

“Dammit Jim. Answer the phone,” you mutter as it rings.

He doesn't. It goes to voicemail.

Sighing you scroll through your contacts to find someone who might know where he was.

“Let’s try Julia,” you mutter and hit call.

It rings a few times but she finally picks up.

“Hello?”

“Hey Julia, it’s (Y/N).”

“Oh. Hi.”

You roll your eyes. “Look I was just calling to see if you knew where Jim was.”

“Why would I know? I don't talk to him anymore. Not after graduation anyways.”

“Alright,” you massage your forehead. “Do you have any of his friends numbers?”

“Nope,” she says and hangs up.

You pull the phone away from your ear and watch as the screen goes back to your contacts. “Bitch,” you mutter as you scroll back through the names.

Groaning you decide to call Matt.

“Hey there, sweetheart,” he says, picking up after the first two rings.

“Hey Matty. I need your help.”

“Yeah sure, what's up?”

“Could you call around and try to see if anyone’s seen or heard from Jim? He left this morning and I’m starting to worry about him.”

“Course. I’ll call you when I’ve got something,” he promises before hanging up.

You turn the ringer on your phone up all the way before climbing into the vintage Chevelle that you had been fixing up.

There was still plastic where the back windows were supposed to be and the dashboard cover was missing but the engine was set and in place and it was the only other car you had the keys to, so she would have to work.

You took off down the driveway and headed into town, keeping an eye out for anywhere your bike could have been parked.

After passing by Jim’s third possible hangout Matty called you back.

You pull over and answer the phone.

“Please tell me you found him? Cause I’m coming up empty out here,” you practically beg.

“Yeah, (Y/N). I found him. And you're not gonna like it.”

You groan before taking a deep breath. “Where?”

“The station. Apparently he got into a fight at one of the bars. My guy said they called your stepdad and he told them that he could stay there and rot for all he cared.”

“Thanks Matt. I owe ya one.”

He laughs. “This one's on the house. Go get your brother. They're waiting for you to get there.”

“Thanks again,” you sigh.

The line goes dead and you hit the steering wheel, screaming profanities at your stepdad.

After calming down a bit you make your way to the police station and walk in. Asking for them to release Jim.

A few officers bring him out to you and make you promise that you'll keep him out of trouble.

You tell them you'll do your best and practically drag your brother down the stairs and to the car.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Jim mutters as you pull him, hand on his shoulder. “Dammit (Y/N) that hurts.”

You let him go. “Where’s my bike?” You seethe.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks for asking,” he says, rolling his eyes.

You throw his wallet at him. “Did they take my bike to the impound lot?!”

“No! I was in the bar when I got into the fight. Your bike’s outside of Poll’s Pool.”

“Get in the car,” you bark as you slide into the driver's seat.

“I don't like riding with you when your angry,” he pouts, stooping down to look at you through the window.

You send him a sideways glare. “Get in the car or you can walk your ass all the way back home.”

“Or I could walk back to the bar and take your bike back home,” he challenges.

“With what keys?” You question, holding up the set that you had given him earlier today.

“Maybe I’ll just hotwire it.”

“Good luck getting through the solid engine cover I welded on there.”

He groans and pulls the door open, sliding in and closing it before crossing his arms over his chest.

You start the car and head back to the bar where he was arrested.

“Do you really have a solid cover over the engine?” He asks on the way there.

You can't help but laugh a little. “No I didn't. But I changed the colors of the wire covers so that no one but me knows what colors are what wires. Best way to keep someone from taking it is to confuse them before they even start.”

He can't help but grin. “My genius sister.”

“And my idiot brother,” he rolls his eyes at this. “No seriously, Jim. What am I going to do with you? After tomorrow there's gonna be no one to bail you out of fights. No one to pick you up from a holding cell. You really need to be more careful,” you tell him in all seriousness.

He shrugs and leans over, ruffling your hair. “Don't worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“Fine my ass. You're gonna get your sorry ass locked up if you keep doing stupid shit like this.”

“Like you don't do stupid shit all the time. Like disabling the principles car? Or setting the scoreboard at the football field to scream insults at the players instead of announcing the score? Oh, or how about when you cut the fuel line to Jack’s truck and left him stranded 30 miles outside of town?”

“The difference is that I didn't get caught James! You go around and get into fights. You draw a crowd and get yourself in trouble! I don't!”

You pull into the parking lot and cut the car off.

“I know that you don't always get into fights for the hell of it,” you say softly. “I just want you to try and be more careful when it comes to getting into them. And try not getting yourself hurt as often,” you point to the cut above his eye. “I won't be able to patch you up from the academy,” you try to joke.

He nods. “I’ll try not to. But I make zero promises,” he says, smiling at you.

“I’ll honestly take what I can get from you at this point,” you laugh.

You step out of the car. “I’ll let you drive her. Try not to break her. I’ve got enough left to do as it is.”

“I’ll take it real slow with her,” he teases, sliding over into the driver's seat and patting the top of the steering wheel.

“Yeah I bet you will,” you mutter as you walk over to your bike, pulling it alongside Jim. “I’ll follow you out. Make sure you don't try to drive off somewhere.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” he winks before backing out of the parking lot.

The ride home is fairly quiet until you get into the garage.

Jack comes storming out of the house as you walk towards the back door.

“Where the hell have you two been? Who gave you permission to leave? Cause I sure as hell didn’t and your mother’s not here.”

You roll your eyes and push past him. “Well from what I heard you told the cops to keep Jim. But I’m eighteen. I can do whatever I want.”

He grabs your arm and pulls you back to him.

“The hell you can. You still live in my house, which means you follow my rules,” he sneers, squaring up to you.

You hold your hand out to stop Jim from doing anything.

“Yeah? Well maybe I’ll leave. What then asshole? Then you can’t control me.”

He laughs in your face. “You wouldn’t be able to make it. You’ve got no money and no place to go. You’d be back here begging on your knees to come back and live here in two weeks, maybe less.”

“Wanna bet?” You say, glaring at him.

He glares back and you pull away from him.

“I’ll be gone in the morning.”

He smirks at you. “We’ll see.”

[bleepblopbloop56]

The Murder in the Dressing Room

Chapter 7: liar liar

Warnings: blood, death, emotional and physical abuse, implied past domestic abuse

Also on ao3

Special thanks to @pathos-logical who still, despite everything shes done, wont be listed as a co-writer 🦀 (the writing was done months ago, and shes been doing EVERYTHING since)

The sound of Logan's phone ringing shook him out of the daze he'd been in for hours, sitting on Remy's couch, staring at the yellow walls, and trying to think about anything that wasn't Virgil. He considered ignoring it, letting it ring until the caller gave up and left him to sulk alone, but he decided to at least look at the contact. Maybe if they were important enough he'd think about calling them back later.

But when he saw Roman's contact, his earlier numbness was replaced with urgency like a lightning strike. He picked up before he could think twice. 

"Hello?" he rushed out, but even that was immediately cut off. At first all Logan could make out was near-hysterical rambling- but then the words sank in, and so did the horror.

"He did it- Logan, Dee killed them, it was him!" Roman was shaking so badly it was a challenge to keep the phone in his hands. "Dee, he- he sent me a picture of- of the two of us together, he didn't want me to leave him- Logan… I don't know what to do," he hiccupped, voice cracking on Logan's name. Logan's previous grief-induced apathy had fled as soon as he had heard the call, but now heart was pounding, a lump caught in his chest like he was going to either puke or scream. 

"Roman, where. Are. You." Logan had always been a serious type, but never like this. Despite how often his line of work put him in danger, the life-or-death part of it had never hit quite this close to home. If his entire world was flooding, Roman was the only one with a lifeboat. 

"God, I don't even know…" Roman muttered to himself, pausing to glance around him and even his breathing. "Some shitty Holiday Inn? I'm not too far from the police station."

Logan had jumped into action the second he heard Roman’s voice, frantically pulling on his shoes and throwing on one of Remy's jackets that was hanging by the door as he stormed out of the house. "Roman, I need you to meet me at the station." He heard Roman sniffle and whisper a soft agreement, followed by the sound of movement. "And Ro?" The shuffling stopped.

"I love you… and we're going to get through this, okay?" It was easier to lie to Roman than it was to lie to himself. And it was easier to tell Roman the truth about loving him than it was to pretend that he was over him. Things were just easier with Roman… Everything was easier with Roman. 

"I love you too," Roman whispered, but it came out choked and broken, like it was all he could do not to cry. "I never stopped loving you, I'm sorry I ever left, if I just stayed with you then none of this would've happened- god, this is all my fault- "

Logan hushed him, starting his car and pulling out of the driveway without looking. "Everything's going to be alright, okay?” Keeping his voice steady was a challenge, but he needed to be strong, if only for Roman.  “I'll see you soon." 

--------

Roman wouldn't make it to the station. Hell, he barely made it out of his hotel room before a hand pushed him in again. 

And even if he did, he wouldn't have wanted to. 

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

Logan went straight to his office when he reached the station, not bothering to greet the few people mulling around. Remy had been promoted to head detective on the case after Logan had dropped out, and Logan knew he’d been working late nights since. He must’ve been in Logan's office for hours now.

"Remy, I have the answer!" Logan began, swinging open the door with the kind of energy more typically associated with his partner than him. Remy didn't react, facing the board Logan had set up for the case. In the back of Logan's mind, it registered as odd that his head was lolling forward instead of leaned back to look up at it.

But that wasn't what made Logan stop dead in his tracks. No, that would be the blood that was absolutely everywhere- splattered across the walls, pooling at Remy’s feet-

Remy. 

Logan rushed over to look at him, only sparing the briefest glance at the sunglasses on the floor. But suddenly he'd never missed their absence more keenly on Remy's face than the moment when he saw Remy slumped in Logan's chair, quintessential glasses replaced by an all-too familiar mask frowning up at him. 

Through blurring vision and rising nausea, Logan took in the rest of the scene. The board, now covered in red from more than just yarn. The cold air coming in through the open window. Remy's torn baseball tee, so drenched in dark blood that not a speck of the original white and black fabric remained visible. The coffee cup, contents long gone cold, that somehow lay untouched on his desk. The missing picture of him and Patton on the desk, creased down the middle and scribbled on. 

In red marker were two crudely drawn masks covering Logan's and Patton's faces.

Logan felt his whole world come crashing down. He had been holding on to Remy's stability through all of this, and now that was gone. Remy was gone…

Remy Murphy was dead. 

Remy Murphy was dead

Remy Murphy was dead. 

And Logan screamed.

------

"Hello, Roman~" Ethan sing-songed. "Where do you think you're going?" He smiled, sweet as poisoned honey, walking forward and forcing Roman to back up until his legs hit the bed. Roman scrambled away from his touch until he was against the headrest, but Dee simply leaned over him. "How are you, baby? It's been far too long since we've chatted." 

"Dee," Roman choked out. "Please don't do this." He let out a violent sob when Dee grabbed his chin and pulled it forward, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Someone's been a little tattletale huh?" Dee smiled. It wasn't anything like his old smile. He'd used to smile like he owned the world. This smile said he was about to destroy it. 

"Gone off telling your little boyfriend about me, huh?" Roman shook his head, gasping and swallowing his sobs in an attempt to keep quiet. 

"LIAR!" Dee shouted, shoving Roman's head into the wall. Ignoring Roman's cry of pain, he continued, "Why is everyone such a dirty fucking liar?! Do you think I'm an idiot?" Roman was openly sobbing now. Dee's face softened, and he pulled Roman into a hug he was too afraid to pull away from.

"I'm sorry, baby, you know I didn't mean it" he cooed, petting Roman's hair right where his head had hit the wall. "Do you forgive me?" On instinct Roman nodded, hands balled into fists in the sheets.

Dee pulled back and kissed Roman's forehead, putting on a fake pout when Roman flinched away. "We're gonna go home now, alright? And we're not gonna run, or yell, or get upset, okay baby?" 

"Or what?" Roman dared to ask, but the question came out too breathless to have any real bite to it. "Or you'll kill me? Do it. End all of this, Dee. I give up. Kill me if you want, just stop this," he begged. "Kill me. And let them find me with that fucking mask on just like everyone else, but never fucking touch another one of my friends or family again." 

Dee stared at him for a moment, and Roman couldn't tell if he was confused or if he was contemplating if it would be worth it.

"Oh no no no, baby." Ethan ran his hands over Roman’s cheeks, gently wiping away his tears. "I love you, that's why I'm doing all this! I just want you to be with me." 

"Then what'll you do?" He clenched his fists tighter. He wanted to pretend it was to put on a show of bravery, but in reality he was trying to keep from shaking too hard, afraid Dee might notice and get angry. 

"Then I'll kill your little love bird! You're such a cheating whore sometimes, baby," Dee crooned, cradling Roman's tear-streaked face, "but you've had your fun now! And now we're going home!"

Roman tried to think back to the first time he met Dee, to remember if there were any signs to any of this when he had let himself get swept away by those initial promises and gifts. Nothing in his memory held any clues to how he would end up here, with three people dead and his soulmate's life on the cutting board. 

"Did you bring anything with you, sweetheart?" Dee’s soft hands petting over Roman’s face contradicted his eyes, alight with something more than poison behind them. Roman shook his head no- all he had on him was his wallet and phone. "Good boy. Now let's go. One hand on me at all times, alright baby?" 

Roman nodded, and held out his hand, trying to ignore the way Dee gripped down too hard, the opposite of Logan's gentle hands leading him to the car after the restaurant only a few days ago.

"One more thing." Dee stopped him as he was getting in the car. "Give me your phone. You don't deserve it anymore."

Roman’s breath seized. Dee had always let him have his phone. No matter the scolding and yelling about who he was talking to, the constant searches through Roman’s steadily dwindling messages, the deletion of social media and surrender of passwords, he was still allowed to have it. Part of him wanted to protest, to cling to his one link to the outside world- to Logan- but he was in no place to make demands.

With shaking fingers reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, a cheap sparkling case barely protecting the shattered screen, the result of being chucked against the wall one too many times in one of Dee's fits of rage. Dee snatched it out of his hands and stuffed it in his pocket before starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.

There were a million thoughts whirling through Roman's head as Dee drove them to wherever he had been hiding, but for some reason his mind kept circling back to his phone. So small, in the grand scheme of things, but he couldn't help but feel he'd given up more than just that when he'd handed it over.

The murder in the dressing room taglist:

@cataclysm-al @theteenagetrickster @intrurality-fusion @katie-the-noble-fangirl @whizzie72 @grayson-22 @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing @winterwonderland7669 @missieluvsmurder @sign-from-god-complex @dragonindigo245 @angryfanboyscreaming @ninja-wizard101 @sombraookami @crystalistrappedintheinternet @imtooaromanticforthis @why-should-i-tell-youu2 @dragon-hair @satanblessi @spookilyfingergunsoutofexistence @skruffy901 @selectivereality @nonbeenary-enbee @imbasicallyshakespear @cats-vetal-miking-vomit @incoherentfangirl @oofmood @nonbianary-pineapple @royalnerd829 @unicornlogansanders @magma-llama

[frustratedpotatowriter]

Romance 101 (part one)

Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Genre: Aged up Au. Fluff. Slight Angst.

Hey guys! This is my first time posting a fanfic about prince shouto. Katsuki has been pulling me like craaaazy. 😅

Part two will be posted immediately after this. 😄

I apologize for the wrong grammar/pronouns/misspellings.

Please do not copy/plagiarize. ♥️

Lovelots! ENJOY!!!!

You slumped on your desk, not knowing what to write next.

Your editor has been sending you back your drafts because "they lack real feelings" or "it doesn't appeal as a romantic novel at all"

What can you do? You have never been on a date before. You never had a boyfriend.

Sure, you admired guys but since you want to make a name for yourself in the literature industry as soon as you can, you really did not pay attention to stuff like that.

You have been writing mysteries and horror, but your editor says he has to push you out of your comfort zone and also novels about love get authors recognized.

You scratched your head. Damn it.

How can a 21 year old girl like you not know about stuff like this.

"This is impossible."you whispered to yourself.

You took your phone and called your pro-hero best friend, Shouto Todoroki.

It rang three times before he picked up.

(Hello, Y/N?)

"Shoutooooo~ what should I do?"

(You have to be more specific than that, Y/N) You rolled your eyes at his response.

"Are you busy? Let's meet?"

(I still have some work to do right now, but we can meet later.)

"Okay!"

You both agreed for the time and place which will be your place at around 8pm.

You cleaned up a bit, to not be scolded by shouto for not tidying up your place again.

You have known each other since middle school and a lot of girls are always trying to make their way to him.

You're sure he has fallen in love before. You plan to interview him about it and maybe spark some ideas.

He did arrive at 8pm. You chuckled at the thought. He's still as punctual as ever.

"Why are you laughing?" You shook your head, and said it was nothing.

You served him tea and you drank coffee.

"Shouto. I have a question for you." You started out.

"What is is?" He asked, before sipping some tea.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" You asked not staring at the ceiling of your apartment.

A few seconds passed by but he did but answer so your eyes went down to him and he's just staring at you.

"What?" You asked. He placed down his mug of tea.

"Have you?" He returned the question back to you and you just grunted irritated.

"No!"You bluntly answered.

"It's becoming a problem now. My editor wants me to write a romantic novel and I don't know any of that stuff. What am I supposed to do now." You continued to rant.

"Shall I help you then?" Your head turned to face him.

You held his hand excitedly.

"Will you? Really? You will, right?! Yes!!" You jumped excitedly. Your face lighting up.

You were shocked when he pulled you close to him.

"I will make you fall in love then." He smiled at you. You nodded in excitement.

"Okay. Okay! Im excited!" You started imagining the reaction of your editor for writing good stuff and the fans that will ask for your signature.

What a dream.

"You are so dense, Y/N."

"Huh? What? You said something?"

"Nothing. I'm off tomorrow. Would you like to go on a date?" Date? Your editor also mentioned that the things you wrote for a date is more like for buddies rather than being romantic.

"Yes! Will you go on a date with me?" You held his hand once more, blinking.

He slid his hand off your grasp and patted your head.

"That's what I just said." He gave you a smile again. A smile that could warm you up anytime

"Well, I have to get going now. See you tomorrow at the train station. 10am. Okay?"

"Okay. I won't be late!" You raised your right hand. He left for the door. You waved goodbye and closed it behind him.

You placed your hand to your chest. Well, all of that excitement about writing sure did make your heart beat faster, you thought to yourself.

You ended up looking for what clothes to wear on your date so you stayed up really late.

Needless to say, you are late for your first date. You arrived at the station 30 minutes late.

You immediately spotted shouto, you can always spot him immediately.

You held onto his shoulders for support, heavily breathing.

The moment he saw you, he held your arms asking what happened.

"I ran. Sorry. I'm late." You apologized after catching your breath, finally.

He gave you a slight pat on the head.

"I know you'd be late." He smiled again, why does his smile feels so warm.

"Yeah. I stayed up picking an outfit for today. I even wore this dress!" You twirled around to show him.

"It's what you gave me!" You excitedly remarked.

"I knew you'd look beautiful in it." He stared right through your eyes while saying that.

You immediately turned away from his gaze, looking anywhere but his two-colored eyes.

Why do you even feel awkward? This is just Shouto.

He reached out his hand, towards you and in return you gave him confused look.

"Give me your hand, Y/N" Without hesitation you gave him your hand which he held before pulling you beside him.

He gave you another smile. You smiled back at him.

"You really look beautiful today." You avoided his gaze and tried to laugh.

"You already said that."

"Well, I just can't say it enough." His last statement left you speechless, you can't think of anything to say.

You silently walked beside him until you realized you don't know where you're heading.

"B-by the way, where are we going today? Is it the amusement park? My editor said the amusement park is a place where couples go to!" He chuckled.

"What's funny?" He shook his head.

"I think you just called us a couple, Y/N."

You felt your face burn hot and so you turned away.

"You're being an idiot, Shouto. Stop teasing me." He patted your head and apologized.

"You're too cute when you're all flustered for me." You never knew that Shouto has this naughty side of him.

Somehow you want to know more.

So you can write more, right?

"Aish. Can you just tell me where are we going?" trying to sound composed.

"How about we go to the shopping district?" You nodded, you thought its best not to argue. He's helping you after all.

You arrived at the shopping district, it's always a delight for you to come by here.

Since you started writing for that romance novel, you weren't able to even stop by here anymore.

"okay. I'm gonna learn all about romance and stuff today!" You psyched yourself up, feeling determined to know more about everything with shouto.

"There's a newly open Ice cream shop here, would you like to try it?" You nodded and he lead the way, only did you notice again that he was not letting your hand go.

Shouto asked you to sit and wait for him and he returne with one chocolate ice cream, which he handed to you.

"You don't want one?" You asked before taking the first lick.

"Its reeeally good!" You delightfully exclaimed.

You were taken aback when shouto, took a bit from the ice cream. You started blinking in confusion.

"W-why'd you-?"

"Couples share." He explained.

"R-really? What if it wasn't enough?" You asked, tryinh to brush off the thought of shouto's lips brushing on the same ice cream you just ate.

"Do you want more?" he asked, standing up from his seat. You tugged his sleeve stopping him.

"No. Just stay here." He smiled and sat beside you again.

You shared the ice cream with Shouto, taking a mental note of what he said.

After finishing the ice cream, your next stop was a cute souvenir stand.

You were talking casually with Shouto as he explains some stuff about how guys would like to buy cute stuff for their girlfriends.

You nodded, finally taking out the tiny notebook and pen you bought.

"Really. Thank you, shouto, for helping me." You said, while taking notes.

"Let's go?" You looked up at him and smiled. He held out his hand once more to hold yours.

You are really enjoying this day more than you have imagined, you also learned a lot of stuff about what couples do.

Shouto told you that couples usually walk hand by hand, and guys usually place their hand over their partner's shoulder.

You asked why and he just said that it's a way of the couples showing they are indeed a couple.

Couples also share their food to one another sometimes and even feed each other, which you are particularly reluctant when Shouto asked if you wanna try it.

Somehow, thinking about how the food will touch both your lips make your heart all weird and fuzzy.

"Hey." He called you out, immediately taking your attention.

"How about we get a souvenir for this day? This is our first date, after all." You blinked your eyes a few times. That's right. It's a date.

"Y-yeah. Sure! What kind? How about that videogame we always wanted to try?" He chuckled, earning him a frown from you.

"What? It's gonna be fun. We can play it at my place?" He shook his head.

"How about matching items?" He retorted

"Matching items? Do couples do that too?"

"Yes. They do. They even wear matching shirts." You gave him an ohhh and nodded.

And so, your new mission to find a souvenir for today has started.

You were looking around when you saw a cute keychain that looks like Shouto. You let go of his hand and ran to check it out.

"Hey! Shouto!" You turned your head, and saw Shouto surrounded by girls, all gawking at him, touching him.

You felt irritated. What's with all these girls throwing themselves at him.

You're used to seeing Shouto being approached by girls all the time, andnit annoyed you always. You just rolled your eyes.

You stared at the keychain that looked like Shouto and bought it.

"tch. Shouto probably likes all the attention he gets from these girls." You just tried to ignore them and looked at other keychains.

"Is he your boyfriend?" You looked at where the voice came from and there stood a guy smiling at you, your brow raised.

"Sorry. You just sound jealous." You took a step back, blushing.

"J-jealous? Me? You've gotta be kidding. It's just weird that they are basically throwing themselves at him and he's just-"

"Y/N." You looked behind and there is Shouto, with an unusually annoyed expression. You looked at his clothes, its all wrinkled.

"You done with servicing all the girls around you earlier?" Your eyes widened when you realize what you just said. You looked at Shouto who is now staring at you, in shock.

The guy behind laughed again and held your tapped your shoulder.

You're surprised when you felt a force pulling you.

"Don't touch her so casually." Shouto now, has his arm around your waist.

The guy raised both of his hands and apologized. You just gave him a nod and he left.

You looked up at Shouto, which is now frowning directly to where the guy disappeared.

"Hey?" He looked at you, the slight annoyance in his face still evident.

"What are you talking about with that guy?" He asked. You remembered your conversation with the guy, and it made you blush.

You pushed him away slightly and turned away, telling him that its nothing.

Shouto is eyeing you suspiciously, you tried to ignore it, he placed his arm around your waist again.

"Don't leave my side,ever again."

You continued your date with Shouto, as you browsed the other keychains.

Shouto decided to buy matching mobile keychains. He asked for your phone and personally placed it there.

You smiled and thanked him. He smiled back at you. The both of you decided to go home since its almost night already.

He walked you until your door.

"Shouto. I've been wanting to ask. Why do you know so much about couples? You ever had a girlfriend?" You finally asked the question that lingered through your mind since last night

"No. I don't. I just thought of the things I see couples do that I want to do with the person I'm in love with." He gave you a sweet smile.

So, Shouto is in love.

"Oh. Okay then. I'll be going inside. Thank you so much for the help today." You turned around to get inside.

"Hey. Where's my kiss?" You blinked at him.

"Couples end the date with a kiss." He said facing to the side, pointing at his cheek.

You tiptoed and gave him a quick peck before running back to your apartment and closing the door behind you.

Why does it feel like you ran a marathon, your heart is beating too fast.

You shuffled through your bag to find your phone and called Uraraka.

(Hey. Y/N. What's up?)

"I'-im being weird. I think I'm sick."

(Huh? Why? What happened?)

You went on to rant about how you feel today, you are so worried that you might actually be sick.

After your rant you heard a chuckle from the other line.

(Y/N. You're not sick. You're inlove.)

"In love?? In love?! Me? With shouto?"

(Sounds like it. How do you feel when you're with him?When did you start to feel that way?)

"All I know is I just- I'm just really happy when we're together. No matter what it is that we do, I just enjoy being with him."

(You are in love with him!)

"I am? Since when? What? With Shouto?"

(Its okay, You know what. I think Shouto is in love with you too.)

"Y-you really think so?"

(Yeah. I don't think he would've helped you out to that extent if he doesn't, and I really think that he is the type of guy that will not do what he like.)

"W-well? What should I do?"

(Confess!!)

"C-confess? Well...I don't know. What if he doesn't like me? We'll just lose what we have right now."

(That is a risk you have to take. Well- oh! Yes. 'I'll head over there now. Hello? I'm sorry. I've got to go.)

"Oh..its okay. Take care Uraraka. Thanks!" You hang up and laid down the bed

"I'm in love with Shouto." You said loudly.

Hearing it made you blush. You went to your bag and took the mini Shouto keychain you bought.

"When did I start to fall for you?"

Your phone suddenly rang, you checked who called and the name displayed was Shouto's.

You answered,

"H-hello?" You tried not to sound nervous.

(Hey..I just got home.) You smiled.

"That's good to hear."

(You should sleep now. Its late.)

"How about you?"

(I just have some few documents to check)

"You have work? I'm sorry."

(You don't have to say sorry. I really enjoyed today.)

"Me too."

(I'm happy to hear that, y/n. Sleep now. Goodnight.)

"Okay. Goodnight."

You closed your eyes and tried to contain the happiness you feel.

You bit your lips and started to think.

You took out your laptop and started to write.

Since you aren't able to really sleep, you pulled and all-nighter to submit another draft to your editor.

After you finished you laid down the bed and checked your phone.

"Now..I just have to wait for his response."

You decided to try and sleep, successfully you did and woke up a few hours later.

You checked your phone and a few messages and missed calls from your editor. There are also messages from Shouto.

Your editor FINALLY liked your draft.

You're gonna be busy now. You sent a message to Shouto.

"Hey. My editor finally approved my draft and its all thanks to you. I'd like to treat you for it!"

Your hand shook to send the message. It feels like you're asking him on another date.

"I'd love that " was the reply.

You can't help but smile widely. You looked at yourself in the mirror.

"You should confess to him." You told your reflection. You slumped on the bed.

As if it's that easy. You turned and looked up at the ceiling.

"I will confess."

You texted Shouto about the details of your dinner.

He happily obliged for a dinner tomorrow night.

Almost the whole day, all you did was think about him, and the dinner.

Thankfully you are able to distract yourself as well as convey your feelings with writing.

The next night came and you went to the cafe, at exactly 8pm, but Shouto is not there yet and so you waited..

And waited.

"Miss. I'm sorry, but it's already 12 midnight and we have to close up now." You looked up at the nice waitress.

"Oh right. I-I'm sorry." You stood up and bowed. You took your bag and left tears rolling down your eyes uncontrollably.

You checked your phone almost every minute but nothing came from Shouto.

You arrived home, crying.

You talked to yourself, saying that maybe he got stuck for hero work or maybe someone needed some saving or emergency hero work.

In a couple of hours you fell asleep, waking up the next morning already.

You checked your phone and still nothing from Shouto.

You went online to check if there are any news about him and there is..

Written as the headline of a popular news site.

"PRO HERO SHOUTO SEEN ENTERING A HOTEL WITH ANOTHER PRO HERO CREATI"

[victorianoir]

The Detective and the ManFatale, Part 4

Onward!!!! Part 4!!! The end of the ManFatale arc!!!! If you’re like “WTF is this?” you can read all of it by going to my MASTERPOST for The Detective and the Tech Guy. If you want to read this chapter on fanfiction.net, you can do that by clicking >THIS<.

Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He'd just had to steal a parking spot from a little old lady who was just barely able to see over her steering wheel, and he felt bad about that, he really did. But it meant he was able to catch up to Sarah fast enough to be able to see her enter the office building she'd told him about earlier.

Just like she'd said, the building was off of Melrose, in SoHo. But he didn't follow her inside. Instead, he moved behind a short palm that was planted in a courtyard off to the side, complete with benches and planters. He leaned against the trunk of it and stared at the entrance.

He was old hat at this now, after a few days of tailing that asshole Fake Cartwright. Robbie. Pfft.

Maybe tailing his girlfriend while she was working wasn't the greatest thing he'd ever done in their relationship, granted. And she would probably be so mad at him if she knew he'd gotten in his car and followed her as best he could without getting too close, knowing she was way too smart to let herself be followed as closely as he wanted to. He'd nearly lost her a few times even, but he'd gotten back on track eventually, not wanting to be directly in her line of sight because she was a damn detective and she knew what his damn car looked like.

But it scared him to death hearing her yell, the dial tone…Seeing those papers scattered over the floor as though she'd had the file in her hand when Not-Cartwright had broken in, grabbed her, and yanked her out. God, the things he'd been unable to keep himself from imagining on the way there.

And then when he saw she was safe, when he held her in his arms, having to watch her leave again to go someplace potentially dangerous, and with no cell phone, no way to contact him, or more importantly, the police. That mean Detective Casey guy. God, that guy was a jerk. But at least he'd be able to back Sarah up if she called him, if she was in danger.

So Chuck had done the only thing he could think of to make sure she was okay. He'd followed her. He did have a cellphone. And a vested interest in her safety, damn it.

And he was going to watch those doors like a hawk. If this Jerald Brown fellow wasn't the upstanding tech guru Chuck had always figured he was in spite of never meeting him face to face, Chuck would take him down himself. He'd played flag football in junior high P.E. He knew what he was about.

He waited, waited…waited some more…

Until he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He ducked back behind the palm tree as best he could and watched as the man he now knew wasn't Robert Cartwright strolled up the sidewalk towards the building, in his off-white suit, pale pink tie, suede shoes. A chill went through Chuck as the man stopped and took his sunglasses off, peering up at the very same building Sarah had just gone into to meet the man this imposter hired her to investigate.

His phone was in his hand immediately. He didn't have a direct line to Detective John Casey, but all he had to do was press three numbers.

There was no reason why this man should know what was happening in there. There was no reason why this man should know about this building in the first place, unless…well, unless he knew. Had he followed Sarah, too? Or had he followed Brown?

How did he know?

Oh God. God, Sarah didn't have her cellphone. And now he was going up the steps. If Chuck followed him, he wouldn't be able to stop him. This man was a seasoned criminal and possibly a killer. He definitely had a weapon.

God, he was opening the door.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"There's a woman being attacked inside of an office. A man went in there and he's attacking her. He has a weapon." He gave the address, told the operator she needed to hurry, and he hung up again.

It killed him, absolutely destroyed him, to move away from the building. He felt like he was dying as he spun on his heel and sprinted back to his car. He was leaving her in there, alone, and he was so terrified he was on the verge of a breakdown. He was angry with himself, sick with himself, and still he got into his car, turned it on, and with only a half glance back at the building his girlfriend was currently inside of with an angry, potentially murderous conman, he sped away from her.

God, he hoped he was doing the right thing. He hoped to any deity that was listening that he was doing the right thing.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Sarah's hand twitched automatically, ready to draw and put this imposter on the ground with a hole in his chest, but before she could do anything else, there was a loud bang and the arm of her chair exploded in splinters.

She yelped and fell out of the chair onto the floor, holding her hands up, her life having just flashed before her eyes.

That had been an extremely precise shot, not meant to hurt her…a warning that he would hurt her if she gave him any sort of reason to. He'd just missed her but she had scratches on her wrist and the back of her hand from the splintered wood exploding next to her.

"Stand up, kick your gun over here, Miss Walker," he demanded coolly, the South African accent gone. His American accent sounded practiced, too, however. "And then keep your hands in the air. You move wrong and I'll shoot you between the eyes. I've got nothing to lose now. Don't think I won't shoot a pretty girl…"

Sarah stood up and carefully went into her holster, pulling her gun out, setting it on the ground and sliding it across the tile floor to the conman.

"You stand up, too, ya fat fuck," the imposter said to Brown, reaching behind him to shut the door as much as he could with how he'd broken the handle getting in.

The private investigator and ex-Pinkerton detective felt anger start to rise inside of her. Not only did this fucker take a shot at her, he was going around calling good men 'fat fucks' too? She clenched her jaw, unable to help herself.

"You think you're a big boy now that you have that gun pointed at us," she said, keeping her hands up. But God she could feel that knife at her hip, and the ones strapped to her thigh and her fingers itched for them. But the only safe thing to do was to throw verbal barbs at him, so she kept going. "You can insult Mr. Brown when you've got a gun trained on 'im, but I bet just a few days ago, you were kissing his ass, weren't you?"

"Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?" She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Sarah Walker, private investigator. Without those legs, you'd be working at an Abercrombie & Fitch spraying perfume at teenagers."

She inwardly smirked. He might be a dangerous conman, and a smart enough criminal to have gotten away with his ruse for this long, but he hadn't done his homework apparently. He had no idea she'd been a Pinkerton detective. He had no idea whom he was dealing with.

"You picked the wrong P.I. to hire, Cartwright," Brown said, his voice a little shaky as he stood behind her, still at his wife's desk. "She's not just good at her job, she has a moral compass, and a nose for sniffing out criminal lowlifes."

"I did all right, didn't I? Who's standing here with the gun?"

"What are you gonna do?" Brown asked, seeming to gain a bit more confidence now. "Kill us?"

"Yes, actually. I am. Nobody knows we're here." That was true, Sarah thought miserably. Chuck only knew that she'd gone to an office building in SoHo off of Melrose. There were a handful of them. And he'd have no way of knowing if something bad was happening to her. God, she wished so hard for his paranoia, his idiotic jealous paranoia, that worried crease he'd had between his eyebrows…Please, Chuck… Maybe she could telepathically project terror at him and he'd feel something. They were close enough, emotionally bonded, weren't they? She'd never been so connected to anyone else in her entire life. Wasn't that how that weird crap worked?

Please, please, please, Chuck…

"What did you do with Cartwright?" she asked. If she could just get him talking, she could stall whatever it was he meant to do with them.

"I didn't touch the rat bastard. It wasn't me," he groused. "Wish it had been. He was a lousy piece of shit by all accounts, swimming in his money, an asshole to everyone, greedy."

"So he is dead, then. Who did it if it wasn't you?"

"He's dead. There was a storm, destroyed his boat probably. Found some wreckage where I was in Point d'Esny. Also found his body. Nobody else was on the beach so I took everything I could carry, took his body out onto the water, and dropped it with a bag of sand. Got rid of his boat altogether. Wasn't until a few days later I found out he was a Cape Town big shot. But he was a recluse, too. Nobody ever really saw him much at all. Perfect opportunity for me." He shrugged, and Sarah watched for any opportunity she might have to catch him off guard, but this obviously wasn't the first time he'd held a gun on someone. And she was sure this wouldn't be the first time he'd killed either…if it turned out he got that far.

And oh God, what would she do if he started shooting to kill?

"How did you even pull this off?" Brown asked.

"Easy. When the guy was alive and had less dead-bloat than he had when I found 'im, we looked pretty similar I guess. His IDs all worked long enough for me to forge new ones. Nobody asked any questions when Robert Cartwright showed up in Los Angeles for business. The checks all worked, the bank tellers all let me walk right in, the credit cards worked. I've made a fortune off of this guy, all because he was a shitty sailor."

He kissed the tips of his fingers.

"You're deplorable," Sarah said.

"Mmhmm. Deplorable enough to kill you two so I can get away with it all."

Brown cursed. "You aren't getting away with a damn thing!"

"I am. I've already destroyed any records that I was ever here. I've sold most of his African possessions, withdrawn every last cent I could from the banks. After I'm gone, they'll probably file a missing persons report." He chuckled and grinned a now twisted version of Alain Delon's smile. She wished she could apologize to the French actor for ever thinking he was similar.

This asshole wished…

ManFatale, Chuck had called him near the beginning of this damn job. She'd made fun of him then, but now she saw just how right he was. There was a good chance she was dying here today, in this office with the knitted pillows. Underestimating this bastard was her downfall.

"You don't think they'll dog your steps no matter where you go?" she asked then, starting to let anger overtake her fear. She liked anger better. It was better than giving in to despair, despair that she'd seen Chuck for the last time not an hour ago, climbing into his fuel-efficient car, after trying to make her take his phone. Maybe if she'd taken it, she could've secretly hit the emergency button on it.

What was he going to do?

What would he do if she died here today?

Oh, God…

No. Anger. Anger was better.

"I've covered my tracks."

"You haven't covered shit. The FBI, the CIA, the NSA, they've all got guys who find pieces of shit like you every single day. You aren't getting away it with no matter what you do to us," she hissed through her teeth.

The imposter angled his gun down suddenly and shot, sending a bullet clattering into the ground at her feet. She screamed and clasped her hands to her mouth, jumping away. He raised the gun and shot again, hitting the desk right next to her hip and she fell to the side, onto the floor. Brown knelt down behind her, a protective move, but this time the bullet that came from the imposter's gun was true.

Brown hit the tile hard, a hole in his shoulder as he cried out in pain.

Holy shit!

Now there was fear inside of her. Abject fear as she acted fast, grabbing Brown's hand and making him press it against his wound. "Just hold it…press down, you'll be okay…"

"Get up," the imposter growled at her, stepping closer. She ignored him as she tried to help the injured man. "I said get up!" he yelled this time, grabbing her by her hair and yanking her to her feet.

She heard sirens in the distance and she knew as his eyes darted to the side in momentary worry that this was her one and only chance to get herself and Jerald Brown out of here alive.

Sarah Walker, P.I. struck fast. She swung her left arm around, clamped her fingers around his wrist and pushed the gun away from her temple where he'd been holding it. He pulled the trigger, breaking the window behind her, and the sound of it startled him enough that she was able to bring her knee up and back and slam her heel right between his legs.

He yelled in pain as she snapped the arm that had the gun down across her knee, hearing the crack of his bone breaking and the clatter of the gun hitting the floor. She kicked it away as he fell hard onto his back and she crawled onto him, slamming her fist down into his face, over and over and over and over again until he put his non-injured arm up and begged her to stop.

Just then the door burst right off of its hinges, police officers racing inside.

"GET ON THE GROUND!" an LAPD officer barked, and in spite of the fact that he might not be talking to her, she crawled down onto her knees and put her hands behind her head. She didn't know who or what had brought the police here but she wasn't about to be shot for trying to explain right away when they were attempting to take control of the situation.

Once the yelling stopped and the police had clambered over to Brown who was still conscious but whimpering, an officer grabbed her by her arm and hoisted her up. "My name is Sarah Walker, private investigator. That man broke in while I was in a meeting with Mr. Brown and held a gun on us. He shot him. Tried to…tried to shoot me, too." She was breathless, and she realized that in spite of being in scenarios with guns, bombs, and other terrifying situations, this had been one of the closest shaves she'd had.

And she had a lot more to lose this time.

She had to press her lips together and blink a few times to keep the rush of terrified tears at bay.

"All right, miss. Just come over here and sit in this chair. Your name again…?"

"Sarah Walker," she murmured, trying to take deep breaths. "I own Walker Investigative Enterprises. I've-I've got a P.I. license."

The two officers exchanged flat looks. "A P.I., huh?"

This had been too traumatic for her to find the willpower to give them dirty looks for that.

"Get an ambulance here, we've got two men in need of medical attention," one of the cops said into their walky-talky. "One gunshot wound. Another with abrasions to the face, broken arm."

Sarah thought about how badly she wished she could've given him more abrasions to the face, and she thought maybe she was starting to feel more like herself now that the danger had abated. Though her ear was ringing bad from that gun going off so close to it.

"You're Sarah Walker, that's Jerald Brown…and who is this guy?" The cop gestured to Fake Cartwright.

Paramedics rushed in then, tending to Brown first and getting him lifted onto a gurney.

"A criminal," Sarah said. "If you look up Robert Cartwright, you'd find this man's picture. But he-he isn't Robert Cartwright."

"Huh?"

She explained the situation to them for the next three minutes, accepting the strong coffee one of them gave her, and the blanket the other one wrapped around her shoulders. She didn't know when she'd begun to shiver. And it wasn't from the cold.

As she realized she was just barely keeping from slipping into shock, suddenly there was a shuffling of people at the door and Detective John Casey was there, his hulking figure taking up the entire doorway practically. "Whatever she said about him, it's true," he said, pointing over her shoulder. "Cartwright's an imposter." He pulled his badge out as he walked into the room and flashed it at the officers. "I'll handle the questioning from here, officers."

They both nodded and moved away.

And that was when she looked up to see Chuck step out from behind the detective, his eyes finding her immediately.

"Sarah…"

"Chuck!"

She left the coffee and the blanket behind, surging to her feet just in time for his body to crash into hers, his arms so strong as they folded her up against him, so warm and safe and everything she'd needed the moment this had all ended.

Sarah felt her boyfriend's lips against her hair, and then her temple, and her cheek, and he just held her so tight. She didn't ever want to let go. Ever.

And she heard him curse, his hand coming up to brush over her hair. "Are you okay?" he asked finally. "Did he hurt you? I'll kill him."

"Maybe not the smartest thing to say in front of the LAPD, idiot," Casey grumbled from where he was standing over Chuck's shoulder.

She ignored him, though, burying her face in Chuck's neck and letting herself cry just a little. She'd been so scared she'd never see him again. So scared she'd never feel this. Or eat one of his waffles he made that were never thick enough or cooked as much as she wanted them to be because he didn't put enough batter in, and didn't leave it in the iron long enough. Because he was too impatient, like a little boy.

"I'm okay," she gasped out, trying to hold back still and not doing a great job of it. "I'm okay. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said immediately, holding her even tighter, pressing his lips against her temple and keeping them there.

She finally pulled back, letting him cup her face and kiss her properly, and then he kissed the remnants of the few tears she'd shed away. "What—How?" she asked.

"I…" He winced. "I was worried. Super, super worried. I had this weird feeling in my gut letting you drive off to this meeting with no cell phone or anything. So I…gah, I followed you. I know you—you probably…" He huffed at her impatient look. "You're right. Let's table that. I was waiting outside, 'cause I'm your man and I wanted to have your back in case things got cray. But then while I was waiting, I saw that fake-ass mother fucker walk up with his cheesy as hell B-List sunglasses and that shit-eating smirk, and I knew right away that you were in trouble." A smile began to grow on her face as she watched him start to get riled up now as he told his story. "I was going to run after him and strangle him or roundhouse kick him in the jaw or somethin' but then I figured I'd most likely get shot and you'd never forgive me if that happened. So I called 9-1-1 instead and got in my car to come find Cas—Casey—Detective Casey." He cleared his throat at the glare the older man sent him.

"You're insane," she breathed, swallowing another sob and throwing her arms around his neck, letting him lift her enough that her feet were dangling a few inches off the floor, and they stayed like that for long enough that Casey finally cleared his throat.

Chuck set her down and she resisted the urge to kiss him again, longing in her gaze as she peered up at him for a moment…And then she turned to John Casey and nodded.

"Yeah, well…S'a miracle we even got here when we did what with this moron driving like a fuckin' grandma."

"What?!" Chuck spun on his heels to face the LAPD detective. "That's not even true! I was going fast! Things were whizzing past my window!" He let go of her arm with one hand and mimicked swishing his hand back and forth past his head manically.

"Right. Sure. Walker, I'm gonna need you at the station. Your secretary here only gave me the highlights. He can't talk and drive at the same time." Casey turned and headed for the door.

"Are you serious right now?" Chuck asked, his pitch getting a bit higher. "Secretary? How many times do I—?" They both began to follow after him then, Sarah's fist twisted in Chuck's sleeve, pulling him along. "Oh. He's messing with me, isn't he?"

She heard the amused grunt from the cop as he pressed the button to call the elevator, and she saw the small smirk on his face. It made her feel so glad to be alive.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It had only taken twenty minutes for Detective Casey to eject Chuck from the room where he'd taken them for questioning. She'd had to watch as he interrupted one final time—"Sarah, tell him about…"—then Casey's patience, which had been wearing thin already no doubt, snapped. He stood up, grabbed Chuck by his arm, and escorted him out of the room, shutting the door in his face.

She'd had to smirk inwardly at the cute, offended sounds of confusion that her boyfriend made until he was locked out on the other side of the door where he could no longer interrupt.

Casey'd finally sat down across from her again, and she'd told him every last detail she could, even letting him have the files she'd kept in her briefcase that she'd had during the meeting with Brown, in case he'd needed convincing.

"So what made you so sure of Jerald Brown that you ended up focusing most of your efforts on investigating your client, rather than investigating the guy he was paying you to investigate?" Casey asked, forty-five minutes into their meeting.

"Part of it was the fact that I spent three days tailing him, going through his background, his financial records, combing through his personal life, and I'd found absolutely nothing to make me think he was anything other than a good businessman, and a good man in general. Not that he was without faults, but none of it was illegal or reprehensible. No illicit affairs, no fraud, nothing untoward." She shrugged.

"And the other part?"

"Chuck insisted he was a commendable man."

Casey scoffed. "You took him at his word?"

"I always do," she said, holding her chin high. "He knows who is who in his own industry, and he's a commendable man himself."

"Don't get defensive, Walker."

"I did my homework. And on the other side, I had this guy who, for all intents and purposes, was very smooth, seemed to know just what to say to every question or comment I had during our meetings, and…this was the key…the more time I spent in these meetings with who I thought was Robert Cartwright, the more I got the feeling he wanted me to find something wrong."

Casey grunted, thunking a pen against his chin a few times, thoughtfully. Then he narrowed his eyes. "I get where you're going. Instead of wanting you to just check and make sure this potential future business associate was on the level, and being relieved when you kept coming back with confirmation that he was, Cartwright seemed like he was digging for some dirt on him instead."

"Exactly. It was sneaky. And it made me super suspicious."

"Hmng," Casey tossed the pen on the table and pushed his chair back. "Don't blame ya. That was pretty good work, Detective. Don't take this the wrong way," he started, which was always a stellar way for another person to start a statement, she thought wryly, "but I'm curious as to why ya didn't just take the money and let this lie."

Sarah crossed her arms and stood up from her chair, nibbling on her bottom lip. "I'm not that kind of P.I., Detective Casey. I want to make a living off of this P.I. business I'm building, but not at the expense of innocent people, and not to aid and abet criminals. I'm operating on the right side of the law."

"So no adultery cases, huh?" He grinned a bit lecherously and she glared at him.

"If someone comes in offering me the right amount of money to try to catch their partner with someone else, depending on the person and the case, I might accept. But what business is that of yours?"

"It ain't. Lighten up. Yeesh." He held his hands up defensively, one of the gestures that infuriated her the most when men did it at her.

"Is that all you need from me?"

"Yeah. But make sure to stick around for a week or so while we work on this case. We may need the FBI in on this if he's committed crimes like this before, and they'll be bringing the South African and Cape Town authorities in, I'm sure."

"I will," she said, getting up and walking towards the door. "Oh. Here." She came back and set all of the work she'd done down on his desk. "I'm sure you folks'll need this." He deserved the snarky smirk she sent him, and the look on his face told him he probably knew he deserved it, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud ever in a million years.

"Thanks. And uh…make sure you take care of that hand. Don't think I didn't see you trying to hide the scratches. Was that his face that gave you those?"

She looked down at the scratches on the back of her hand, and now on her knuckles from his face, just as Casey surmised. "Yes and no. His face, but also, he shot at the arm of the chair where I'd just been and the wood sort of exploded and caught me."

Casey winced. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Just a little home first aid is required. Nothing deep."

"Good." There was silence between them then as she nodded and went for the door. "Walker."

She stopped and looked at him over her shoulder, her hand on the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"We've got officers watchin' him now where he was admitted to the hospital, and when they've set that arm and gotten his face fixed up," she noticed a particular thread of pleasure in his smirk at that, "they're takin' him to his own cell here where I'll question him personally while we wait for FBI to send someone. That is to say…you did some damn fine work."

She smiled. "Thanks. Oh. Did Jerald Brown…?"

"He's gonna be fine. I'll email you where they took 'im if you want to visit tomorrow. He'll be kept at the hospital for a few days."

"Good. And yes. Please do. Thanks."

He nodded and she stepped out of the room, finding Chuck sitting a bit dejectedly in what she thought might be a perp chair at the end of someone's desk. Thankfully, whoever's desk it was seemed to be gone for the day.

She gestured for him to followed her with a flick of her head and a smile when he lifted his chin from his chest and met her eyes.

And she clung to him as best she could while still being able to walk to the elevator.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

She was quiet the whole ride back to her apartment, curled up in his passenger seat, having kicked her heels off and pulled her legs against her chest, her forehead leaning against the window as she gazed out on the late afternoon street.

And the sun had finally set, the sky still light out but darkening by the time he pulled into a parking spot in her apartment complex. They'd left her car in free street parking where she'd left it before her meeting with Brown a few hours earlier and they'd get it later, tomorrow most likely. She hadn't seemed as worried about it as she was about finally going home, so he'd promptly driven her from the police station to her place with no stops in between.

Now they sat in the comfortable warmth of his car, the engine off, silence permeating…

Until Sarah turned to look at him, smiling softly, and then she reached out and took his hand, not looking away for even a moment as she breathed a quiet, "Will you stay with me?"

He felt everything inside of him crumbling and never in his entire life had he ever wanted to protect anything or anyone as much as he wanted to protect Sarah Walker. Not trusting his voice, still shaken up from what had nearly happened, he nodded vigorously instead, and she smiled a bit harder.

They got out and headed up to her apartment, his arm around her shoulders the whole way, and he used his key to let them in, turning on the lights for her as she tossed her purse onto the entryway table and kicked off her heels again, shrugging her jacket off.

It was then that he saw her hand. There were bloody marks on the back of it, cuts on her wrist, and red welts with dried blood and most likely bruising underneath on her knuckles.

Nothing else mattered as he made a beeline for her and gently picked up her arm, cradling her hand and wrist in his comforting grip. "Sarah…"

"I know, I know…but it's fine. I've had worse."

"You've let this go for hours."

"I've had worse, Chuck. It's okay. I'll just ice it—"

He shook his head vehemently and pulled her through her apartment to the bathroom. "You have first aid?"

"You know where it is from where you burned yourself on the coffee pot."

"Oh…oh yeah. Um…remind me, though."

Seeing blood on her hand, her own blood, knowing she'd been hurt, knowing she could have been worse than hurt, was starting to catch up to him suddenly. And he was trying so hard not to let her see. He didn't want her thinking he was going to be a basket case about her chosen profession. That every little cut she got made him crazy and sick with worry. But this had felt like a big deal. A really big deal. And he had no idea what would've happened if the police hadn't shown up, if he hadn't called them.

"Hey," she breathed suddenly, and he cursed himself a little, knowing he'd let it all show on his face anyway. "Hey, look at me." She cupped his face and forced his gaze to hers. Her blue eyes reassured him immediately and he had to resist the urge to melt into her, hold onto her for dear life. "Chuck, are you spiraling because of this?" she asked, presenting her injured hand to him.

He nodded, putting his hands on her hips to keep himself steady.

Her good hand stroked his jaw and his eyelids fluttered. "Please don't. I'm okay."

"Help me maybe not spiral by telling me where that first aid kit is and I can clean you up a bit."

"It's right here, in the cupboard under this drawer." She shifted to bump her hip against the drawer she was talking about. "But…before you do that, would you mind if I took a shower?"

He shook his head and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead, a slow, long kiss. He understood the request at a deeper level, but he wouldn't say it out loud. She needed some time alone after everything. She'd almost been killed, watched Brown get shot right in front of her, and had cops swarming her, and finally the questioning at the station and being trapped in the car with him as he drove her home.

"Thank you. It-It'll be a quick one." She slid past him, dragging her fingertips over his abdomen as she went to the shower and turned on the water.

"Take your time, baby. I'll have a martini ready for you when you're done." On second thought, as she gingerly started to unbutton her blouse, he waited for her to realize he was still there and turn to meet his gaze before he said it again. "Take your time."

Understanding dawned on her features and her shoulders drooped a bit. He thought her chin might have quivered and he just turned on his heel and left before he was tempted to gather her up in his arms and hold her some more. She needed to be alone for a bit, though, so he went into her kitchen and started preparing a few martinis, two to start with, one for each of them. He didn't know how many of these she was going to need, but he'd make her as many as she asked for.

And he waited, enjoying the texts Ellie had sent him throughout all of this, the one about Clara pushing herself up to sit for a few seconds before falling again. The look she gave her mom like she didn't know if she should cry or not. It warmed him from the inside out. And he'd been so cold before. Unable to get rid of that terrifying sensation he'd had when he'd screeched to a halt next to the office building, seeing the police cars haphazardly parked, lights still blinking, the ambulance there, someone being wheeled into it…

He'd seen it was Brown, that he'd been shot, and he tried to tear into the building, only to have Casey and two other officers have to grab onto him and nearly take him down to the ground. When they got him to stop, Casey barked, "He's with me", and he yanked on Chuck's tie, pointing in his face with a "Slow down, kid".

That was all it took for him to gain control, afraid this detective might knock him out altogether if he didn't take a breath. And he let Casey take point, shaken to his core until the moment he stepped into the room and saw his very own detective sitting there, alive, no bullet holes in her like the man downstairs'd had.

He felt a chill go through him as he stood there peering out into the courtyard of Sarah's building, watching an older woman take down a few shirts she'd hung on a clothesline and toss them into a basket. Her tabby cat made a figure-8 around her legs in the meantime, finally following her inside as she hobbled up the steps and into the building.

Chuck let himself get lost in everything for a few minutes, going through all of the worst scenarios that thankfully hadn't happened. Sarah was alive and well, currently in the shower, washing off the remnants of her harrowing ordeal.

He'd heard everything that had happened to her in Mrs. Brown's office while she told the grumpy detective—before said grump kicked him out. He supposed he couldn't blame the guy for it, though, because he'd caught himself interrupting too often. No matter how many times he apologized, he never learned, and his punishment was sitting out by himself for the remainder of the conversation.

But Sarah had been shot at multiple times, and every time Not-Cartwright had purposely missed her, his intent being to scare her. That made Chuck Bartowski angry. There was an extra level of pathology to lord your power over someone in that way, terrifying them before you kill them, making them suffer… It made him feel so disgusted, and then he thought Sarah must have come into contact with psychopaths like this guy before in her line of work.

She was an incredible bad ass, the coolest, strongest person he'd ever met. And he was sure no matter how often she'd come face to face with these crazy assholes, it didn't make being shot at any easier to handle, especially when it was so cruelly done to terrorize her. By the shakiness in her voice when she'd told them about him shooting her chair and then at her feet, and finally at the desk next to her hip, before sinking a bullet into Mr. Brown, the man she'd been attempting to protect, Chuck could tell it had gotten to her. Genuinely.

Maybe he shouldn't announce it in front of the LAPD, but deep inside, Chuck wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself back from murdering that guy if he'd had a crack at him when he first got into that room and saw Sarah there, her face so pale, the blanket around her shoulders, the bun she'd had in her hair when he'd seen her last half pulled out… He'd discovered later that the man had grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up to her feet by it.

Chuck thought he'd like to do the same to him, but instead he'd pull his spine right out with one hard yank. Mortal Kombat style.

"Thought I'd bring the first aid kit with me because I already know you'll refuse to take no for an answer."

He spun on his heel, letting the curtain fall back into place and cover the window to see Sarah had wandered in, her step light like a cat's so that he hadn't heard her come in. Granted he might've also been a bit distracted.

But then she set the first aid kit on the table and frowned deeply. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Wrong?"

"You turned around and looked like a rabidly angry gorilla or something for a second."

He just shook his head and sniffed in amusement. "It's nothing."

"Chuck…"

"I was thinking about what he did to you, and maybe imagining myself doing one of the Mortal Kombat fatality moves on him. That's all." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged, slowly wandering over.

She widened her eyes. "I don't know what those moves entail but you said the word fatality, so that sounds a little serious, buddy."

At least that shower had made it so she seemed a little more like herself. Less shaken, more settled. The almost-unnoticeable shiver she'd had before was gone.

"It is. I have to be honest with you, Sarah. Part of me is angry with myself that I didn't just follow him and body tackle him into the ground then and there."

Her eyes flashed, concern and even a bit of frustration in her face. And then she put her hand on his chest, her fingers curling against his shirt as she shook her head. "Chuck, don't say that. Please never do something like that. He had a gun. He would've killed you."

He clenched his jaw and looked away.

"I-I'm not trying to make it seem like you're weak or incapable, baby. I'm really not. Just—Listen to me. I'm trained in combat, I have extensive training and years of experience using guns. I had a gun with me, as well as the knives I always have strapped to me. Hey, look at me. Please." She put her good hand on the side of his face and pulled his eyes back to hers. "I was nearly powerless in there. He had me, Chuck. If he hadn't slipped, let his guard down for that one second…" Her voice drifted off. "My point is that someone trained, like me, could have easily died doing whatever it is you might've done in that moment instead of what you ended up doing." She stroked her hand through his curls. "Which was the right thing."

"I know." He gently slid his hand around her waist and pulled her a little closer. "It just felt…terrible. Watching him go in there, knowing you were about to have him burst in on you. And knowing now what he ended up doing, that you were hurt and Brown was shot. What if I could've stopped all of it?"

"What if you couldn't have but you tried anyway and ended up being shot yourself?" Her eyes searched his. He couldn't come up with an answer to that. "What would I do, then? What would I even do if you were shot, Chuck? I can't even begin to think…" She let out a harsh breath, shaking her head. And he held her tighter.

"I ran away from you. I left you behind."

"You saved my life," she said in a much steadier voice, her features hard, willing him to understand. "What you ended up doing wasn't just the right thing, Chuck, it was incredibly brave."

He winced a little. "It didn't feel very brave."

"You could've let your worry for me, your fear, overtake you and you could've run after him, tried to stop him, and ended up getting all of us killed…but instead you called the police, knowing that they'd have more of a chance of stopping him than you ever would. And you went to get Casey involved, which…" She paused. "Why did you get Casey?" She blinked, her brow furrowed as though the question had just struck her at that moment.

Chuck swallowed thickly. "I was afraid they'd believe the wrong person unless you had someone they trusted vouching for you. And I knew Casey would be the perfect person to be there for that."

She beamed at him so suddenly that his heart felt like an insane amount of weight had been taken off of it. And then she hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back similarly. "You're brave and brilliant, Chuck Bartowski."

He felt so much pride in that moment, hearing how proud she was of him, how grateful she was, how impressed she was, in her voice, feeling it in the way she squeezed him, kissed his cheek.

"And you're a bad ass and the best, Sarah Walker. So I guess we make a good pair. Maybe I can be your assistant."

"No," she giggled, kissing his cheek again and then pulling back. "I will let you take care of me, though."

"Oh, gladly," he said with as much warmth as he was capable of, and then he gently pushed her to sit in the chair at the table and went to grab a bowl, putting some warm water and soap in it, then wandering back with that and a cloth in hand.

He scooted close to her and let her drape her hand over the bowl as he silently cleaned the cuts that didn't look so bad now that she'd showered. She only winced a little at the cuts on her wrist when he was gently rubbing ointment over them, and then he wrapped a light bandage around all of it.

"I look like the bride of Frankenstein's monster," she said with a giggle once he finished.

"She wishes," Chuck answered, watching as Sarah turned her arm a bit to look at his work. "What?" he asked when she gave him a quiet, searching look.

"You did a pretty good job here, actually."

That made him smile. "Listen, I grew up with a big sister who's wanted to be a doctor ever since she found out what a doctor was. Do you know how often I got wrapped up in bandages through all the years I spent under the same roof as her?"

She laughed. "Was it often?"

"Often enough." He chuckled. "She got better at it when she was actually in med school and I guess I picked up some things, little tricks of the trade. Don't ask me to stitch a wound shut, though, because I will faint."

Sarah snorted. "That's cute."

"Is it?" he drawled dubiously. He got up then and straightened his back, feeling a few pops, then put the bowl away, the bandages and the first aid kit, and when he came back out, Sarah had finished her martini.

She held the glass up towards him and pouted a little.

"Another?" he asked, receiving a smile in return. He chuckled and took her glass, leaning down to kiss her forehead, then went back to the kitchen to make her another. "Hey, you want a flavor in it this time? Maybe some lime? I saw a lime in your fridge."

Sarah was standing next to him suddenly—those cat-like silent feet of hers—and he nearly jumped. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sneak." He shrugged at her wince. "You just…You've never put flavors in a martini for me before. It's always just been a traditional, perfectly dry martini. What's gotten into my Chuck?"

"If you want me to make it like I always do, I can." He shrugged again. She was looking at him steadily, that look of hers that saw right through him. And he sighed. "It has nothing to do with the martini, but-but I guess today sort of put into perspective for me that you're not…"

"What?"

"Immortal. Indestructible." His throat was dry then and he looked away, swallowing.

"Did you…think I was? Like some kind of comic book character?"

"No. Of course not." He sniffed in amusement. "But what you do is dangerous and it's something I'm going to have to come to terms with. I hadn't before this because I guess I…haven't had to yet. But I have to now."

"Chuck, I'm okay."

"I know you are. So am I. We're okay. And that's not something that's gonna change, no matter how many ManFatales try to take you away from me."

Sarah smirked at that and gave him a side-eye. "No fucking way anybody is taking me away from you. And vice versa," she added, pointing at him a bit threateningly.

"I didn't just mean romantically." He chuckled. "I meant…uh…you know."

"Oh." She sobered significantly. "That, too. And yeah…maybe this time we can try some lime in the martini. I have some pineapple slices, too. Maybe some of the juice…?"

"Splendid idea," he said, giving her a warm smile. And they stood side by side as he prepared more martinis for them to enjoy.

They eventually found their way to Sarah's bed, stretching themselves out over it and leaning back against her headboard. She'd since fallen asleep, her harrowing ordeal earlier on in the day knocking her out soon after she curled herself up on his chest.

He just held onto her, looking down into her face. She looked younger when she was asleep, so at peace, without any worries to speak of. But then his eyes latched onto her wrapped hand and wrist that was slung over his chest and he frowned.

She was a private investigator. And as awesome as it was, as hot as it was that he was dating someone so damn cool, he couldn't let himself forget how serious it was, too. How serious it could be. He'd never want her to give up what she wanted to do, who she wanted to be, so that he had better peace of mind when she went to work, the way the boyfriend of an accountant might. His girlfriend wasn't going to stop being a private investigator, whether he was awful enough to want her to or not.

And so…Chuck Bartowski was determined instead to support her. To be here on the hard days like today. To protect her when she needed him to. To bandage her cuts, hold her, make her martinis, and let her fall asleep in his arms.

Because being with Sarah Walker, P.I. was so much better than being with some accountant who sat in an office all day. The worry, the nerves, the adrenaline, and even the fear, were all worth it because she was worth anything and everything.

This was her, he realized, looking down into her face.

These cases with genuinely bad dudes wanting to do her harm because she was good at her job, because she was working to take them down, were all part of what made her…her. The danger, the chase, the high stakes…that was all part of her.

He loved her.

That included everything that made her who she was. That included this. And those moments of fear, the danger…

No matter what this career of hers brought them, this wouldn't ever change. He was ready for the bumps and bruises he'd get in the meantime himself. He was ready for the hurdles and hardships ahead. He thought he was ready for just about anything.

Because this was their life now.

And he wouldn't trade it for the whole universe.