#it wasn't even freezing temperatures where they went

[forestshadow-wolf]

Tactical cuddling

---

Soap: i was cold

Ghost: he was cold

Soap: *nodding*

Ghost: he was shivering

Soap: practically hypothermic

Ghost:

Soap:

Price:

Price: 😐😑😐

[the-modern-typewriter]

Fantasy Arranged Marriage with a Enemy King

"We're not supposed to see each other before the wedding."

Cade didn't have to turn to know King Lucan had entered the room - he would have recognised the feel of his power anywhere. His breath fogged the window as the air edged immediately icy, blocking his view of the city gates.

"Prince Cadewynn," Lucan merely greeted. His voice was warm, honeyed velvet against the temperature drop. "You clean up well."

Cade's jaw clenched. "I'm sure that shocks you."

"Not at all," Lucan said.

Cade felt the king move closer and then he had to turn, because it wasn't in him to keep his back to the enemy. Even if that enemy was soon, disgustingly enough, to be his husband. The smallest hint of a smirk curled the corners of Lucan's cruel and handsome mouth. It made Cade want to bite him.

"This is bad luck," he said instead. "I think we have enough bad luck already being stuck with each other, without you adding to it, don't you?"

Lucan laughed softly. He stopped in front of Cade, looking up at him. He reached out and Cade recoiled back, before he could touch, hitting the cool stone behind him. Lucan raised an eyebrow.

"We're not married yet," Cade said, "so keep your cursed hands to yourself."

"Your tie is crooked. I can help."

"I thought I cleaned up well."

"It doesn't take much work to polish a gem, admittedly. You are inclined to shine."

"It also takes surprisingly little to rip a man's tongue and fingers off."

The words simply made Lucan laugh again; but then, Cade supposed, Lucan found most people laughable. The cold could kill a man so easily. His head tilted, his expression oh so indulgent as he considered the long line of tension Cade's body had suddenly become.

"So when we are married, I can touch you?" Lucan's voice was teasing. "Good to know."

Cade bristled.

"I suppose if you're feeling brave, I can't stop you."

"No," Lucan said. "You can't. Glad we agree."

Cade's eyes flashed, a snarl catching in his throat. His hands curled into fists. "You are not supposed to be here."

"My palace. I can be where I like."

"Tradition-"

"-Your tradition," Lucan said. "Are we calling it a tradition? I would consider it more of an adorable little backwater superstition, really. The idea that us seeing each other is enough to dictate our marriage is savage. Honestly."

Cade didn't think he'd ever wanted to hit anyone quite so badly in his life, and he'd decked his fair share of people. He placed his hands on the window sill behind him to ward off the temptation, nails digging in, drawing in a few steadying breaths.

He half expected Lucan to labour the point by reaching out again to fix his stupid, impractical tie, but the ice king merely softened his smirk to a sunny smile. Cade preferred the smirk, horrible and triumphant as it was. At least it was honest.

He said nothing. Maybe if he said nothing, King Lucan would simply get bored and leave. That could be a tolerable marriage; one spent in separate rooms, entirely bored with each other.

Lucan did not look bored. His gaze was far too appreciative, too propriety, as it assessed Cade's body like a battlefield map.

Despite the thick furs Cade had been given since arriving to Lucan's kingdom, he felt abruptly naked. He straightened his spine, glad for his solid foot of height advantage. Lucan didn't so much as blink at his looming. Bastard.

"No," Lucan mused, idle. "It doesn't shock me that my colours suit you. You are mine, after all. Or you will be soon enough. And I've got a proven track record of taking savage things and perfecting them, haven't I? You-"

Cade hit him.

Or, well, Cade went to hit him.

In an instant, Lucan's eyes turned an eerie blue, and ice ripped all of the way up from Cade's fingers to his shoulders, freezing him in place an inch from Lucan's nose. It was bitterly, painfully, cold. He could have launched another attack but common sense caught up with him a moment later - fear to douse the heat of his fury.

Lucan sighed. "Such a solider boy, aren't you? You just can't help it. It's weirdly hot." Lucan's gaze roamed over him again, as if those words in his mouth weren't just weird. "Maybe save the passion for the bedroom though."

"Go screw yourself on an icepick, you supercilious-"

"-I suppose I should tell your parents and your kingdom that the deal is off and the fight is on."

Cade stopped talking. He squeezed his eyes shut. Bile burned up his throat.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have tried to hit you."

That time, he felt Lucan's fingers - cold, so cold - brush his throat. Cade's eyes snapped open, heart hammering like a war drum as Lucan fixed his tie with a few neat gestures.

His arm was starting to go numb. He could imagine his fingers turning black, like he'd seen on some of the men, doomed to never ever be able to pick up a sword again. Maybe to not have a hand at all if the frostbite got bad enough.

"Lucan," he hissed. His stomach twisted.

Lucan chucked him amicably beneath the chin.

"Tell me to screw myself on you later," he said. "Tell me that's everything you want."

Cade's face burned, despite the fact that he could feel his teeth beginning to chatter.

"You don't want this fight either," he said. "If you did, you would never have agreed-"

"Cadewynn."

The honey was gone from Lucan's voice in an instant. All that was left was the cold; the monster that Cade had faced across countless fields already, as if it mattered how brilliant a warrior he was against something like him.

Cade dropped his glare.

"No," Lucan said.

Cade looked up, drawing in a shuddering breath. His free hand flexed. He felt the ice creep a little further over his skin, like a palm down his back. The parody of a lover's caress.

"You can go screw yourself on me later," Cade said, voice hoarse. "Wedding night and all."

He thought, for a moment, that Lucan would push more. He could, after all. Maybe he'd tell them that the marriage would stay, but actually he wanted the heir, not the spare. Cade couldn't allow that. How could he have been so stupid? He'd been trying to work on his temper, but Lucan was just so-

Lucan smiled again. The ice melted like spring. Cade yanked his hand back to his chest with a gasp, cradling it to the scant remainder of his body heat. He was distantly aware that he was shaking. Pathetic. Warriors didn't shake, not even in the face of monsters.

"You've gone and got the arm of your attire all wet," Lucan said. "I'll have someone come by and fix that so you don't embarrass yourself. More, I mean."

Despite himself, despite everything, Cade glared again. Unfortunately it only seemed to please the king.

Lucan dipped his head, oh so polite and oh so proper, and took Cade's hand in his to press a kiss to his knuckles.

Cade didn't flinch. He forced himself not to flinch.

"See you down there," Lucan said. "Don't be late."

[spencahreadreid]

and though the town was cold and wet.. S.R X R

-----------------------------

cute little snow fic with spencer!! fluff, gn reader, no y/n, no gender specifics. any issues, please comment or let me know, I'm open to requests and asks!

Maybe it was the excitement, you and your heart of gold, easily entertained by everything. It could've been the fact that you wanted to continue shaping the ice into 'people', either way, you failed to notice the way your hands were beginning to change colour in the low temperature. Not to mention, your cheeks, nose, ears, knuckles, practically your whole body. Under your large coat and Spencer's scarf, you felt mostly warm between multiple layers he'd begged you to put on, which led you to think it was okay to stay out longer.

So when Spencer came back outside to see you'd rejected the gloves to make more 'intricate' details into your current art, he wasn't happy. To him it looked like an oval with holes in the same formation as a bowling ball, but you claimed it was his face. He noticed the rosewood pink shade your fingertips were turning and crossed his arms over his chest. Standing in the doorway with that gentle and loving but also very concerned expression on his face.

"You know, hypothermia can develop in little as five minutes. If you're not dressed properly, your scalp, hands, fingers and your face are usually the first parts of your body affected-" You stood there almost dumbfounded, the same chunk of round ice slowly melting in your palm, watching him talk with the backdoor half open.

"Oh.. cool?" You could honestly care less about hypothermia, it was almost like a big myth a parent would tell you about so you would come inside. Your eyes never left him, and vice versa, except he was taking in your small figure halfway up the garden. You were trembling a little due to the lack of layers on your lower half.

"The elderly and infants are especially vulnerable, but it can take under an hour for a person to actually freeze to death if the conditio-" you had cut him off by dropping your sculpture and letting it fall, breaking into pieces under you. A new horrified expression came over you, brows furrowing and eyes widening with pure terror.

"What?! You didn't think to tell me that before I came out here with no hat on?" You walked closer to the door, to where he was standing and placed a hand onto his arm, where his wooly jumper was rolled up. He immediately flinched and shivered, pulling his arm away which made your lips curl into a pout.

"You're freezing, honey.. I think we should get you warmed up, hm?" His voice was as tender and gentle as usual, but he felt that if you refused he'd definitely have to be more stern next time. Without even thinking, you nodded, he opened the door fully and let you in before making his way through to the living room to start a fire. He'd been out there with you before leaving to go inside for 'paperwork' (he honestly just got too cold but you let him lie). After stripping off your coat and his scarf, hooking them both up you went to go meet him, rubbing your palms together as you walked through and sat on the carpet by his side.

Wrapping his arm around your shoulder, he decided to ignore the fact your hair was slightly damp from your earlier activity of throwing snow around. Letting you rest close for a while with the excuse of 'sharing body heat'. Soon he decided that hot cocoa would be a good idea.

"Keep your fingers close together, don't get too close to the fire because your hands are in a state where you won't realise it if they get too hot.." he stood up mid sentence and then continued, getting louder as he travelled further and then made it to the kitchen. "You can borrow a pair of my socks I left on the washed pile, they'll help you get warmer faster!"

You shouted back a thanks in response, slipping on the wool socks he'd conveniently left out. You knew deep down he'd left them there for you on purpose, but sometimes you got fussy when he cared too much. Almost like a child being told they need to eat all their veggies to be healthy, if anything like that came out of Spencer's mouth your face would scrunch into a playful scowl. You secretly loved it though, which is what made things better when your loving boyfriend returned with two cups of hot chocolate, both of them extra sweet.

"Warm fluid can help your body warm up, but only for a short amount of time. The temperature change would only be around 2.5 degrees and will only last for around twenty minutes, after that your body will return to the same temperature as before the drink."

The way he wouldn't stop just continuously info-dumping made you smile, he had a fact for everything, but by now it was more endearing than anything. You thanked him for the knowledge and gave him a kiss on the cheek, sending him into a blush, the same kind of pink yours had earlier.

"Are you feeling cold?" Drawing out the word 'cold' you smiled teasingly at him. He shook his head and paid you back with a simple kiss on the cheek.

"Humans blush because of adrenaline release, when you're embarrassed feeling a strong emotion, the blood vessels in your face dilate. It's controlled by the autonomic nervous system and it's an involuntary response."

Another snicker left you and the face he gave you almost read 'whats so funny?' it made you laugh a little more until he finally caught a case of the giggles alongside your own.

"So you blushed because the strong emotion was.. love?" You questioned while brushing up close to his side, voice teasing and almost sing-song.

"You could say that, yeah.."

[throneofsapphics]

midnight panic

Rowaelin x f!Reader

Request: dark!Rowaelin x reader angst to fluff, she wanders around the castle and they can’t find her and think she ran or something. 

Summary: Rowan and Aelin find you missing in the middle of the night 

Warnings: darkish rowan/aelin, sleepwalking, hypothermia, fighting, toxic relationships

Word Count: ~3.2k 

A/N: this is a standalone, but also fits between parts 4 & 5 of my dark poly!rowaelin series (have your little girlfriend), but you don’t need to read the actual series to understand this one!

Aelin squinted, the light from the full moon hitting at the perfect angle to shine directly on her face. Keeping her eyes shut, not wanting the sleepiness to disappear, she turned back towards her, reaching her arm over to pull her back into her side, to cuddle into her warmth again. 

Aelin’s hand hit the bed, the space beside her warm - but empty, her eyes shot open. Majority of the time, she slept between her and Rowan. Lifting her head, she wasn't on his other side. Things had been … testy, lately. She couldn’t shake the feeling that y/n wanted out, wanted to leave the two of them, to escape to gods-know-where. She listened carefully for sounds in the bathroom - or even the sitting room, but nothing. How had she left without them noticing? 

“Rowan,” she said, trying to keep her voice low enough she wouldn’t startle him. Wouldn’t trigger the battle-honed instincts. A grunt, and he rolled towards her, reaching his own hand out and - his eyes shot open as well. Rowan checked the bathroom, and she peeked out onto the balcony - empty. Nothing was out of place, no missing items, if anything she’d left with only the clothes on her back.

“What the hell,” she muttered under her breath. 

“She was here an hour ago,” Rowan said, all traces of sleep gone. A good bit of distance could be covered in an hour, especially if she’d shifted into her animal form. 

I’ll check inside the castle, she said silently

I have the city, he assured her. In bird form, he’d be able to cover more ground. Signal if you find her. If we don’t in two hours, meet back here. 

One they’d used throughout the years - a pulse of magic, strong enough the other could recognize, but subtle enough to not cause alarm to the general public. 

It was midnight, and absolutely freezing. There was snow on the ground, ice covering the windows, the temperatures well below freezing. Even inside the castle, a bitter chill set in. Within minutes, they were dressed warmly and armed with their usual assortment of weapons. Rowan propped the window open, and with a flash of light a white-tailed hawk soared into the night. 

Aelin knew all of the routes to take to avoid any guards or sentries. It went without saying that they’d keep this under wraps. When they found her, there’d be hell to pay. She raced through the halls, checking her workshop, the private library, every place she usually liked to spend time. Every scent was faint, she hadn’t been there in the last few hours. Each minute she grew angrier and more worried. 

Tracing back, on impulse she checked on of the older passages out of the castle - and caught her scent. Running, she’d tried to run. Breathing deeply to tamp down her anger, threatening to flow over into her magic, she focused her senses. There’s no way she’d let her get away. A mating bond was for life. There’s nowhere she could run that her mates wouldn’t find her, even if it took years. 

-

Rowan flew over the city, backtracking through every route she could take out, searching for any trail of her scent. He spotted Aelin, following a path out of the castle, and shot down, shifting to fall in step with her. 

“She went this way,” Aelin said quietly, and he picked up on the same trail. Fae, at least she hadn’t shifted, that would make this much easier. 

This was familiar, something they’d done in their time before her. They were going on a hunt. 

Did she really think they wouldn’t notice? He needed to figure out how he’d given her the impression he was that stupid, and fix it. 

They trailed her out of the castle grounds, past the gates - a guard currently sleeping on duty. He’d quickly find himself out of a job in the morning, but he didn’t have the time to address that now, instead sending a sharp wind towards him when they were out of sight. A shield wrapped around them, hiding their scents as they stuck to the shadows, tracing her steps. 

She led them out of the city, just past the gates, right to the edge of the forest. His anger was rising to dangerous levels, and he knew that. Rowan prayed she wouldn’t fight them. 

Aelin held a hand out, as they paused just before a clearing. 

They’d found her, and it wasn’t what he expected. 

Barefoot, in only  her nightgown, not a weapon or any kind of provisions on her, she walked back and forth along the edge of the clearing. She crouched every few steps to pick up something, but her hands came back empty. Something was wrong - there was a daze in her eyes, murmuring random phrases under her breath, low enough he couldn’t hear. She didn’t drink any alcohol that night… Could someone have slipped her a drug? No, they ate all of the same food in their rooms, and he always made a point to check for any kind of poison. 

Following Aelin’s lead, they slowly approached her. 

“Y/n,” Aelin called. She didn’t react, didn’t even turn around. Aelin repeated her name - louder. Still nothing. 

A warm flame caressed her skin, starting to warm her back up. Gods, she’d be hypothermic by now. He’s surprised she hasn’t passed out on the ground.

All Rowan wanted was to sprint towards her, to grab and shake her, to find out what the fuck she was thinking, but instinct had him moving carefully and slowly, keeping his footsteps purposefully loud.

Aelin met his eyes; what do we do?

His breath caught as she turned, but no recognition flashed through her eyes. Actually, it was like they weren’t there at all. 

Aelin tried calling her name, again and again and didn’t get a single reaction. Nothing to register she was aware they existed. 

An exasperated sigh, and she closed the distance, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Y/n screamed, stumbling backwards, her ass hitting the ground, hands scrambling on the rocks to try and get away. A wall of flame, but not one that would burn her, blocked the path. As she reached the warmth, something in her calmed. Almost like she’d recognized Aelin’s magic, even wherever she was right now. 

Did she ever mention sleepwalking? Rowan asked her. 

Not that I know of. 

That doesn’t mean it’s not possible. There’s a chance she would hide something like this from them, probably not thinking it was important. He’d bet a decent bit of gold that’s exactly what’s happening right now. Gods, they’d be putting locks on everything now. 

After five minutes of trying to reach her, five minutes of her increasing distress, five minutes of fear starting to fill the air, he gave up. Palms already bloodied, wiping them off on her nightgown, he crouched as close to her as he could get. 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, and pulled the air from her lungs, catching her before her head could hit the ground. 

-

Mercifully, she stayed asleep as they ran back to the castle, moving as quickly as possible while staying hidden. Aelin kept the flames going, kept slowly warming her temperature back to healthy levels. Rowan had thrown her over his shoulder, one arm securing her legs in place. It didn’t look comfortable, but it was the quickest way to get back. Comfort could come later, after she was home, warm, and safe. Her mind whirled with the things she needed to do; find a way to secure the room, run a warm bath, hope she’d wake easily, and figure out if she was hiding this from them. 

They made it back without incident, taking all of the hidden passageways through the castle. Nearing one in the morning. She’d been outside for two hours. Anything could’ve happened to her. Especially considering how gods-damned vulnerable she was. It wasn’t her fault, not really, but Aelin was still pissed off. 

Not how they’d thought, but they came so close to losing her without even knowing. 

-

She felt warm water around her, her muscles tense and aching. Wasn’t she asleep? How the hell did she get into a bath? It took more effort than it should’ve to open her eyes, but she saw Aelin, right there, watching her every movement. Relief flashed through turquoise eyes, followed by … anger or resentment. 

“Do you know what happened?” Aelin asked, voice rough. 

“What do you mean?” She moved her foot up and down, her leg feeling weaker than normal. The water was warm, she knew that, but a shiver still ran through her and she wrapped her arms back around herself. The bath heated a few degrees, and she felt Aelin’s magic running through the water. Soothing and comforting. 

“We found you in the gods-damned forest,” Aelin hissed, struggling to keep her voice low. 

The door swung open, revealing Rowan. She noticed they were both fully dressed, weapons still sheathed. He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Have you ever sleepwalked?” He asked mildly. A dangerous kind of mild, especially considering the rest of his body language, and the anger she could feel radiating down the bond. 

“Not since I was a child,” she admitted. Green eyes darkened, fixed on her, like he’d located his newest target. Her throat bobbed, chest tightening. It was never good to be on the receiving end of that look. 

“And you didn’t think to share that?” 

“It’s been years,” she focused on keeping her tone quiet and calm, on staying steady, even as her hands threatened to shake. She didn’t like this side of them. Darting her eyes to Aelin, she found herself on the receiving end of that same look. 

Liar, her eyes seemed to say. 

“I never lied,” she knew what their reply would be. 

“Lying by omission is still lying.” 

She was tired, aching, and still dazed. Her mind could barely focus enough to actually get a grip on the situation. The forest. Sleepwalking. Lying. It was too much effort to speak, to keep her eyes open, darkness swirled in her vision. 

“Stay awake,” fingers pinched her cheek, and she startled, water splashing over the sides of the tub. Fire evaporated it before it could reach the ground. 

“I’m trying,” y/n mumbled, running a wet hand over her face. The water heated again. How long had Aelin been doing this with her? “I don’t understand,” she gripped her hair with both hands, yanking at it. Frustrated. None of this made sense. 

Hands gripped her own, tugging them away from her hair. She was lifted out of the bath, towels drying her, leaning against someone as they slipped a nightgown over her - too weak to stand on her own. The next thing she knew, she hit soft and warm sheets, cradled between two warm bodies, and let sleep take her under. 

Every so often, her name would be called, eyes blinking open, gazing up at either Rowan or Aelin, they’d give her a small nod and she understood that - she could go back to sleep. There wasn’t enough space in her mind to question what was going on, it was easy to listen to what her mates said, to sense and follow their intentions. 

-

Aelin met Rowan’s eyes in the bathroom; she’s too confused. 

We won’t get anything out of her tonight, he finished her thoughts. 

Seeing the state of confusion, the distress, the vulnerability, all made it easy to just take care of her, to shove away the other emotions for now, to focus on making sure she’s safe. Free from anything that could harm her, including the sleepwalking. But, the major concern now was making sure her body recovered from her little adventure. Neither of them slept that night, Aelin didn’t try - she only grabbed a book and tried to focus on it. Inevitably, her eyes would switch to the clock, waiting for the next half-hour to wake her. It probably wasn’t necessary, or recommended, but she had to know y/n would wake. 

When dawn broke, she finally felt like she could leave the room, Rowan still keeping a careful eye on her. Just a week away from Samhuinn, the days rapidly got shorter and shorter as they approached the coldest months. They’d get maybe ten and half or eleven hours of daylight today. The sun always disappeared too quickly for her liking. 

A fire roared in the sitting room behind her, and she busied herself making tea, adding extra honey to y/n’s. She was out in the cold for a few hours, and her voice did sound hoarse earlier, Aelin figured she might have a sore throat. If not, she had a sweet tooth anyway.  

“I’m perfectly capable,” Aelin heard y/n’s voice rising, “I can get out of this damned bed on my own.” 

“Don’t fucking move,” Rowan snapped at her. She agreed with him, and carefully balanced the three cups. 

Pushing the door open with her foot, she found Rowan standing over the side of the bed, ready to pin y/n to the bed if she tried to move again. She was propped up against the headboard, fists clenching the comforter. Aelin could tell y/n woke up ready for a fight. Good, she wasn’t feeling particularly calm either. But first, tea. 

-

Aelin came back in, but y/n knew she wouldn’t be on her side. It was two-against-one now. Even as Aelin shoved the cup of tea into her hands, taking up the space next to her on the bed, legs crossed, and hands cradling her own cup. Silently, Rowan took the other from her, and dragged his chair closer to the bed. 

Y/n knew exactly what the cups would have. A good amount of sugar for Aelin, plain and boring for Rowan, and based on the scent - honey for her. She’s not sure how, but Aelin picked up that her throat was sore. It was enough to soothe some of the sting from the impending argument. 

Sure enough, honey exploded on her tongue - more than usual, but it was soothing her throat, and she wouldn’t complain. Complaining would only make her situation worse. She debated just accepting blame, letting them win this one, but truly - she hadn’t done anything wrong. There was no indication to think she’d end up sleepwalking again. Gods, she’d forgotten about it. 

“I haven’t sleepwalked since I was seven years old,” she kept her eyes on her cup, swirling the liquid to give her something to focus on. 

“If we’re going to talk about this, you need to look at us,” Rowan said too calmly. Fuck. 

Throat bobbing, she looked up at them. Seeing the gleam in their eyes, she went right on the defensive. “I was asleep, how the hell is this my fault?” Rowan stiffened, and she looked to Aelin.

“The problem is, you didn’t think to tell us,” Aelin’s voice was neutral, but she knew that was the sign of her growing anger. 

“You never asked,” she hissed back at her. 

“Watch your fucking attitude,” Rowan snarled. 

Closing her eyes, a few deep breaths later, she tried something different, “my parents always told me it only happened when I felt safe, when my mind - even asleep, thought I couldn’t come to any harm.” 

Emphasizing that she feels safe with them, that even though it was dangerous - the deepest parts of her mind believed she couldn’t come to any harm around them. At least she’s hoping that’s what they’d read out of the situation. 

“We thought you ran,” Aelin said quietly, her hand reaching out, and y/n slipped her palm into hers, giving her a light squeeze. She could tell Aelin had already softened, that her anger was slowly ebbing out. Rowan, however, would take a bit more time, and maybe some more soothing. 

“I’m not running,” she murmured. It’s the truth, she doesn’t want to leave, even if she craved some space away - something she could never tell them. Truly leaving them, she doesn’t think she could ever do that. Her heart and soul might not survive it, even if her mind says it could be better. 

Rowan was still assessing her, and she forced herself to meet his gaze, and she read the words in his eyes instead, the silent communication; you didn’t think. 

I’m sorry, she answered. 

Are you really?

That I put both of you through that. Rowan seemed to be waiting, waiting for her to add something. And myself, she tried. He gave her a short nod, and she understood; conversation over. 

She’d expected a much larger fight, but gods she’s glad it didn’t come to that. Y/n stretched, trying to place her mug on the table, but Rowan was there before she could get halfway, snatching it from her hands to place it there himself. 

Another realization struck her. Rowan told her briefly that she nearly froze to death. Now they’d be absolutely insufferable until they were satisfied she was healthy again. Knowing them, it could take much longer than necessary. Maybe this was her punishment, she met Rowan’s gaze again, reading the gleam in his eyes. Yes, it’s definitely her punishment. 

She debated reaching back into that part of her, trying to shift into her fox form - where everything would be easier. 

Rowan - the bastard, sensed that. “Try to shift and I’ll rip the air out of your lungs.” 

“A bit dramatic,” she huffed, but it put an end to that idea, and her attention switched to Aelin, who looked tired. A bit of guilt crept in, she’d been up all night for her. “Will you take a nap with me?” 

She is tired. Sleep sounded very, very nice. Aelin latched on to the idea, almost chucking her mug at Rowan before sliding in next to her. 

Aelin tugged her into her chest, their bodies molding together, legs tangling. Aelin ran her fingers through her hair, humming a tune she didn’t recognize. It was sweet, seeing Aelin in her fussy mode. At least this part of it. “Sleep, my love,” she murmured, placing a kiss to the top of her head. She heard Rowan rustling around the room, but every time she tried to look, Aelin tucked her head back in. Based on the movements, she figured it out pretty quickly. He was setting up something on the various doors in the room, some kind of noise or object would fall to alert them if she made it out over there. On the off chance both of them were asleep and didn’t notice. 

Without having to ask, she knew there would be locks on the doors by the end of the day. Locks she wouldn’t be able to access the key to, at least during the night. It felt vaguely like a cage, but the bed dipped again, a strong arm wrapping around her waist, Rowan’s strong chest pressing against her back.   

“Rowan,” she murmured, struggling to stay awake, “how the hell did I get past you?” 

A low growl from behind her, and she hid her laughter, tucking her face into Aelin. 

“I’m the one that found you,” she chuckled, hand resting on the back of her head, like she might protect her from the glare she could feel coming from Rowan. 

Y/n jumped as he pinched her arm, letting out a slightly-embarrassing squeak, but heard Aelin slapping Rowan’s hand away, chiding him.

[starwrighter]

I am not a baby!! (Yes you are)

(Ao3) (Masterpost) (Previous) (Next)

(The eleventh chapter,)

The hatchling lay still, motionless inside his little building. His tiny body pressed against the see-through barrier wrapped in one of the creations he built. Did he strangle himself? Had Damian scared the hatchling into killing itself?  The Hatchling didn't seem scared when he'd attacked him earlier, but fear could show itself in various ways. Some tended to freeze up, some fled like cowards, and others fought for their lives with every fiber of their being..

Damian was gigantic compared to the hatchling.. The hatchling's entire body could fit in Damians palms. Something, admittedly, he'd foolishly thought wouldn't be distressing for the hatchling. 

Pressing his face against the transparent barrier, Damian listened to the chaos engulfing the bond. Not the usual idiotic rambling and tease that often clogged up the bond: grief, mourning, an overwhelming sadness from his entire family.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," That's all Damian could really say. If he'd stayed away, avoiding contact like father instructed, would the hatchling still be alive?

"Are you sure he's dead?" Dick questioned.

The hatchling skin was pale, lips tinged blue. Unmoving, chest stilled, no sign of the rise and fall of breathing .

"What else could he be, Grayson?!" He snapped, Dick went silent.

"Sleeping...?"

His gills flared, tail snapping, seething through clenched teeth.

"Do you think I'm an idio-" He started, rage cut out by a sudden movement.

The hatchling had rolled over, throwing his chubby arm over his face. A content yawn as he took a slow breath, color returning to the hatchling's lips.

"..."

"He's sleeping, isn't he?" His face grew hot,

"Shut up! His lips were blue, and he wasn't breathing! You would have freaked out too!" He snapped, watching intently at the slow rise and fall of the baby's chest.

"Absolutely, without a doubt, instant heart attack," Dick replied quickly, a tsunami of relief and concern clogging up the bond.

"Why did he stop breathing?"

"Babies do that sometimes Damian, It happened a lot with you whenever you slept," Father soothed. "Sent everyone into a panic no matter how many times it happened,"

"Karma," A barrage of his siblings coughed out.

"Are his lips still blue?"

"No," The hatchling's skin was still pale, but his lips were a light pink. Tiny hands clenched into fists, contrasting the peaceful expression settled on the child's face. A cold radiated through where the hatchling’s hand touched the barrier. Not corpse cold, more like poking your head above water during a raging storm. A closer comparison would be the barren wastelands of the void or the eerie depths of the lost river where he spent his early childhood.

The child seemed to be thriving just fine despite being out of his designated environment. From watching, they could tell the babies liked to spend their early days in shallow water, sometimes above water, before they migrated deeper and deeper. It was quite possible he’d move down to the lost river or the deeper side of the grand reef when he got too big for the shallows.

Father would be elated to have a baby swimming around in the reef. However, they’d have to guard the lost river entrances to prevent him from wandering. Although it was one of the coldest places in the crater, it was way too close to the lava zones, and even closer to the precursor settlements. 

“I think he might be a cold-dwelling species,” His family would find out regardless if he told them, and it was better for them to be aware of possible dangers before it was too late.

“Oh, do you think he’ll-“ 

“Not that cold,” The child was nowhere near the temperature of the Arctic. Temperatures far below zero and constant snow and hail storms would be too much for him, let alone traveling through the void to get there. Sure, the predators were smaller over there, but they were much more aggressive, and precursor artifacts and buildings were littered around the tundra no matter where you went.

The child slept for hours. Concern nagging at him the longer he remained unconscious. Father reassured him that he’d slept a lot as a baby too, but he’s doubtful any of them had ever been asleep this long. The sun had begun to rise again, shallows warming from the sun. It was under his impression that babies needed to eat every few hours or so. It had been much longer than that, and Damian feared he would begin to starve in his sleep if he remained unconscious much longer. 

Tap…Tap…Tap

Pitch-black claws scratched the barrier, the hatchling rolling away from the noise, arms guarding his little ears.

Tap…Tap…Tap

Blue eyes flew open, head whipping to face him.“AngeR,”

@ashoutinthedarkness @avelnfear @meira-3919 @thought-u-said-dragon-queen @hugsandchaos @blep-23 @zeldomnyo @bytheoldwillowtree @justwannabecat @shepherdsheart @starlightcat04 @stargazing-bookwyrm @pupstim @dragongoblet @noxcheshire

[yearningaces]

I bet you thought this blog was gonna be about asexuality only... Heh

But the only barriers are the ones I've placed for myself and thematic gore falls into the category of 'allowed' and I've been thinking about Eldritch monsters falling in love with a fragile little human and expressing it in a very different way also this is unedited and I haven't read through it so have fun

Do you know how twisted the concept of love is per species? For humans it can be soft and warm and comforting, like a hearth in the home, warming your bones.

For a creature like Acherus, it's different.

Because Acherus doesn't even have a name produced by the human tongue. The creature simply heard themselves referred to as such one day and decided it was good enough.

But when they saw you creeping through their domain? They watched you from every shadow of every tree. Every animals eyes followed you with a glossy haze in their eye as if something was wrong. And it was one of the first signs of many that went unnoticed.

You fascinated the creature, now you must deal with the consequences.

For starters you were allowed to traverse their domain safely. Predators would either never reach you or drop dead the moment you were at risk. Trees and bushes would move out of your way as you went deeper into the heart of this domain. But they would try to block your way on the way out, as if not wanting you to leave.

When you would leave and return home, you brought with you famine. Wherever you went the entire area would die but only what was around you would prosper. The life draining from the land only to regrow wherever you were and only there as if to ensure only you had a steady supply of food.

The food from these events tasted like nothing. You'd take a bite and there wasn't even a texture, it would simply dissolve away in moments and leave you feeling full.

Animals began to avoid you. As if sensing something just a breath behind you at all times, they'd run. Even the trickiest fox and the smartest raven knew it was safer this way.

Except...

Deer.

Deer adored you, they would flock to you as if called for. When they followed you, they could be killed for a meal but the others would continue to stand there, walk past their deceased herd member, and follow you like happy children. Whitetail, fallow, originally just deer. But then you noticed a pattern. If you traveled to where the deer cannot go, or if they perished on the way, a group of elk would arrive when the weather was frozen. Otherwise moose, otherwise caribou. Then deer once more. They followed you without care of what would happen to them as if drawn in by some power and lure.

It only progressed. You could be in the middle of a harsh storm that should sweep you and your endless herd away. But the rain and the wind always avoided you, as if there was a shield that couldn't be seen or felt always right there around you. Not even a stray drop landed on your skin.

You could go to the water, dive into it and you could feel your very body morphing to accommodate. The feeling of your neck being split open multiple times and connecting those slots to your lungs where salt water could pour in was horrific. But you could breathe underwater with a new pair of gills.

The moment you were dry they were gone.

You could go to the coldest mountaintop, watch your fingers and toes rot off one by one in the freezing temperatures, feel the flesh decay and fall off of your bones, and it would simply regrow.

You could throw yourself into fire and feel the flames eating you alive but as quickly as you burned away your parts grew back as if replaced and the continuous cycle of flesh and viscera turning to ash and new growth taking its place endlessly would continue.

By this point the worst began to occur. The fact that sealed the fates of all. Your own kind began to reject you. After seeing these horrifying feats one village after another would cast you out, some trying to kill you in the process but every time their own weapons would horrifically turn against them. The hunter who's arrow was hit by a burst of wind and was turned around to land through his soft eye and into his brain. The group of soldiers moments away from striking you dead who went mad, screaming in fear and tearing each other apart. It never ended well.

And one day, you sat down in an empty field. Sitting with your herd of listless deer and one elk from the last group, and you cried.

It was a justifiable response, of course. You had been through so much unexplained heartache that even if it aided you, horrified your fellow man and led to you being shunned.

But you should have paid attention to what happened as you cried. The deer grew anxious. Pacing back and fourth in a way they've never reacted before.

There is a low hum in the air and mother nature holds her breath as you cry softly and quietly. Quiet enough you can hear a voice call out and look up.

One of the Deer is staring at you. It steps closer. It's mouth moving in an unnatural way, leaving the creatures jaw trembling. "Why do you cry?" It ask in a voice that sounds like what falling mountains sounds like. The deers eyes are milky white.

You stare at the deer for a good time before realizing it's unblinking stare remains and you have to respond. "I feel alone and abandoned by my own kind. I am afraid of these things that have been happening around me, I don't know what to do."

The deer stagnates. Its heart races faster and faster as if taking a great strain and effort while the voice returns from the deers trembling mouth. "You are unhappy with your gifts? You are alone?" The deer stops talking, its head dropping lower as if exhausted but it's eyes remain lifeless and you wonder if it was ever alive at all. It speaks again. "Your kind slander you. They hurt you. I will ensure they never do so again." *With that final word the deer drops to the ground, cold and stiff. You look to the rest of the listless herd wondering if they're the same way. Moments from death if not living corpses at this point.

You try to ignore the horrific sight and find camp for the night. Sleep is fitful and difficult but it does find you eventually.

And your dreams are the dreams of a madman. Trees of pulsating flesh surround you in a forest as the ground beneath you beats like a heart, featherless birds fly with listless and lifeless eyes, humans that pass by pass by on all fours and just look... Exaggerated in limbs. Then the scene speeds up. The creatures around you run away quicker and quicker darkness has arrived it fills your vision as a wall of shadow taller than mountains approaches you should run you should run before it's too late-

But it's been too late for a long time now.

The darkness consumes you and it is silent.

And you wake.

And the sky is red. You look to where the sun is to see it flickering like a candle flame about to be blown out.

You see something next to it in the sky, reveal itself. It looks like the moon. Then it moves. It looks down at you. And blinks.

And the sun goes out.

Darkness consumes everything instantly. Your world is doomed but you can see distant lights of villages making fires to panic and try to do something.

You approach wondering why they're so scared of the dark when we must all grow accustomed to it now. But then you see it.

One person's torch extinguished and they didn't have time to let out a cry for help before the darkness enveloped them, consuming them and leaving nothing but a burnt torch behind.

But then why could you traverse the dark?

You didn't think it safe to try again and you remained with the light of the villages.

This only made things escalate. For your sake, it was every other village first, consumed by madness and darkness until it was your small group left. And someone slipped up. They dropped their lantern onto a dried pile of hay, the fire caught quickly and spread, forcing everyone from the barn into the dark of the outside again. Your deer nowhere to be found but you still felt watched the moment you were outside.

And a bright red like appeared in the sky.

And an impossible amount of hands reached through it to force it open. What came out would be remembered as the devourer of worlds. It's eye the size of the moon, it's taloned hands the size of countries. But it still saw you.

It moved closer, the fang filled muzzle lowering through the clouds of the dark endless night sky and directly over you. It's maw was large enough to bite your entire village as if it were a crumb. But it found you still.

One by one those around you began screaming, foaming at the mouth, running in circles until their hearts gave out, bashing their heads against the ground until their brains splattered against the dirt.

But you were safe?

The bodies absorbed into the ground as if water. And a massive paw reached out, grasping the earth you were standing on. Lifting the entire forest in it's hand with you in the center of a ruined village but it had you now.

You couldn't take in this beings appearance entirely but the antlers were definitive. Everything else seemed to morph endlessly. The being lifted you up through your planets atmosphere and you felt like your lungs were shriveling. The being let out a low sound that made your head hurt but it seemed saddened. You gripped your throat, watching it raise it's other hand and dig it's claws into its form without blinking. You watched the blood of this creature spill as it tore open it's chest, flinging viscera out of the way before gingerly lifting you from its palm and placing you inside. As soon as you were in the creatures form you didn't need to breathe and as such relief was palpable. You could only watch as the creatures body sewed itself back together... Much like how your body did recently.

For now exaustion gripped you and dragged you to lay in the soft sinewy flesh of the creature and to rest. It was warm, it was as safe as you could be as your planet was now dead and you had no where to go.

One of these days you'd find your words and scold this being for all it's worth. But until then you listen to a strange thumping rhythm deciding it must be the beings heart and unwillingly you fall asleep.

For who knows how long.

[grucylover]

.………………………………………

So I wrote a fanfic (my first ever one). I’m writing others a lot longer with chapters but yeah. I was inspired by Margo covered in glitter and Gru in a pink shirt from the DM4 trailor. It nice to see them spending time together as father and daughter. I don’t think this would obviously ever happen but I just wrote it, never really wrote a fanfic before so I would appreciate if you could comment and let me know what you think. Thanks. ☺️

Like Father, Like Daughter.

On the way back from a grocery run to the safe house, which the family were staying in for their own protection, Gru went to pick up Margo from her 'temporary' high school.

When she got into the car, Gru noticed something was very different about his daughter and it was pretty obvious. 'Wtf happened'. He was a little horrified to be honest.

'Margo was covered from head to toe in...glitter?'.

"Hey hunny...how was your day at sch-...woah...um, Margo?, Why 're yu covered in de glitter?. Who did dis?, Do I need to freeze ray anybody?..", Gru said slightly in near panic and was just being the overprotective father we all know and love.

"Uh no Gru it's fine, just...a school project that went wrong...it was so embarrassing though..". Margo said now pouting and crossing her arms after doing her seat belt up so they could be on their way.

Grus moment of agitation softened. Atleast he didn't need to sort anyone out, for now atleast.

Gru and Margo shared a rare car ride alone together as father and daughter. It was quite unknown for them to spend any one and one time together anymore, as the 'normal family house hold' was always busy with the younger sisters and now Gru Jr, but when they could, it really meant a lot to Margo, and to Gru in fact. Margo was after all Grus eldest child and he almost felt like she was his first born, regardless of whether he had adopted her.

With the trees rolling by a bit gloomily outside of Margo's window, she had a burning question to ask her adoptive father that had been sitting in her mind for quite a while. It had been troubling her for a long time and she knew right now would be the only chance she'd ever get to ask him, so she took up the inhibition.

"Um Gru, can I..ask you something.."?".

'Uh oh! ..'.

"Erm yeah sure sweetie, anythink..".

"Do you ever think about sending me, Edith and Agnes back to Miss Hattie...?".

Gru frowned in confusion. Where on earth had this come from?. This was very unexpected or maybe Gru should have prepared himself for these types of questions to be asked one day.

"What?! No, no, no way! What makes yu think dat? I mean... even if I wanted tu, which I don't!, EVER! Do yu honestly think I would send yu gorls back to that crazed nut job? No, not over my dead body, no, NO WAY, case closed..", Gru said firmly gripping the steering wheel whilst still concentrating on the road ahead.

Oh wow!

"Well... it's just, I was thinking aswell, you have Gru Jr now and who wants three orphan girls after you get your own kid, ya know?...".

Grus eyes widened as he shook his head in disapproval. He also found himself gripping the wheel even tighter now that he almost felt like he could rip it off in an instant. Gru then, all of a sudden, slammed the breaks to a holt on the car whilst he parked up on a side walk. It caused the vehicle to jolt a bit and for them to both jump a little in their seats.

"GRU!..". Margo shouted.

Uh oh, had she pissed Gru off? Was this the straw that finally broke the camels back and he was going to send the trio back to that evil, dreadful place? I mean, did it even still exist? It shouldn't do under child protection anyway.

Gru could feel the temperature rising within him like a pressure cooker, though the anger wasn't directed at Margo, it was more of a 'protective dad thing'. He just never wanted his daughter to ever feel that way, EVER!.

Gru switched off the engine of the car and bit his lip so he could repress the emotions he was feeling in front of his her though he hadn't done that very well.

In his mind, he went back to when he felt he became the girls actual adoptive father at 'Super Silly Fun Land'. These three orphan girls had rearranged his home and everything suddenly lost its worth to him, he loved them more than anything he owned. Even proceeding to steal the moon at the time wasn't really appealing to him anymore like he was planning to do. These girls gave Gru the redemption he desperately needed and he couldn't be more thankful for it to this day.

Gru suddenly came out of his flashback and turned to Margo. She was looking at him a bit startled from his sudden stop of the car. He took a deep sigh of breath.

'Sometimes parenting really had its surprises and this was one of them'.

"Listen Margo, when yu become a parent hunny, yu will understand...though I don't want tu think of yu ever doing dat...EVER!...Anyway, it's not how it works ok. I love yu, Edith, Agnes and Jr all da same. Whatever dhe storm, whatever dhe cost, yu are my gorls and Jr is my son and like I promised, it was the worst mistake I ever made and I will never let yu go again...now... does that answer yor question sweetie?". Gru said softly. He hoped that had somehow reassured her.

'Wow!'.

"Yeah, I mean wow... I guess so". Margo said now bewildered by his answer, but another question was still consuming her.

"But...how can you love us when we're not even like...yours?".

Gru frowned in confusion though he knew what she meant. She wasn't his biologically and Margo knew biology now?, Well, one day she would have to, but she will always be twelve years old forever in Grus mind.

At the end of the day, the bond these girls had with Gru was unbreakable and mirrored any biological parents love, even more so in fact. Margo was his and Lucy's and would always be his and Lucy's child.

"Margo, yu are mine and Lucy's daughter and anyway...it's not 'bout dat, I just love yu three gorls, that's it, it's just love. Me and Lucy and even Jr couldn't imagine dhe house without yu three and.. Jr needs his big sistas. Now, do I have to be anymore cheesy, bleh". Gru said rolling his eyes now and nearly chuckling at the fact that he had to share he's, 'feelings'.

"Ok, ok Gru, chill. That was a little cheesy... even by your standards" Margo replied smirking.

It was so nice hearing her father say all these tender things. They didn't usually share these 'deep down feelings' with one another and maybe they needed to do it more often. 'Loves yous' were always expressed and actions that contained a lot of 'family fun days' together were shared as acts of affection, but not 'deep meaningful conversations' as this.

"V'ell I'm geettin' kinda worried myself now with all dhis lovey-dovey stuff... blegh, hehe...Seriously sweetheart, I couldn't imagine life without yu gorls and oh hey...Who else is gonna draw on my walls and stick girly stickers on the kitchen cupboards now, eh?!"..

"Well, that was Edith and Anges, not me by the way". Margo said pouting and rolling her eyes once again.

'Ugh teenagers'.

"Ehehe, blaming your sisters now...I taught yu v'ell. Hehehe...I wouldn't change you three for anything. Now, let's geet back to de safe house so we can try and clean this glitter garbage off yu...ugh!..". Gru said now starting the car engine back up again.

……………………………………………….

BACK ON THE ROAD

Now back on the road, a comfortable silence filled the air between them both for a few moments.

"You know...you are pretty embarrassing though Gru, when you were playing tennis with Lucy and when you waved at the neighbours in your pink shirt...". Margo said squinting her face at the very thought of it. They were embarrassing but adorable, loving parents and she couldn't ask for anything more.

A smirk painted Grus face and a relaxed sigh left his lips.

"V'ell...I'm ur Dad hunny, it's my job to be embarrassing... ehehe".

"...Gru, can you do me one favour?..Can you not wear that pink shirt anymore?, please?..."

"Are you kidding hunny?, I was thinkin' pink is more of my color, Edith's happy about it, heheh..but ok, just for you, I will stop wearing de pink shirt..".

Luckily, Margo and Gru had a mutual understanding of their witty sense of humours and where each other was coming from. Nothing could affend Gru in the slightest from whatever one of his daughters or even Jr ever said as after all, that was the job description that came with being a parent. Most of the time, you just had to deal with whatever your child asked or said with a pinch of salt, even if they spoke the most hurtful things.

"You know, I never told you Gru but...thank you for giving me, Edith and Agnes a home". Margo said now smiling gracefully at her adoptive Dad. She really was thankful to this middle aged man that wasnt even her 'blood' Father for taking the trio in and providing her and her sisters with everything they needed. Gru and Lucy were the parents the girls always longed for.

From the corner of Grus eye, he could see Margo almost beaming at him. It made him feel a sense of pride and he almost felt like he was doing a good job when it came to parenting, almost, no parent was perfection after all.

"It will always be yor home for yu and yor sistas..always".

"I do love you though...Dad". Margo said, over pronouncing the last word. She never really called Gru, 'Dad'. The girls never really did as they just always knew him as, 'Gru' since day one and Gru would never force them to call him the tittle, it was up to them at the end of the day but secretly, when they did, it always made his heart melt like butter.

"And I love yu tu hunny, to de moon and back...".

THE END

[cheerycherrycandy-resurrected]

HEY CHERRY WHAT HEADCANONS, SHIPS, OR WHATEVER HAVE BEEN ON YOUR MIND RECENTLY? 🩷🎤

*taps mic*

HI P1NK!! 🩷

Unsurprisingly, Raindrop. My favourite communication-allergic idiots are always on my mind! Specifically, hcs about how they’re coping with winter (it just snowed here).

I don’t think Rain is coping well - bbg had cold feet in the summer. I think he’s just given up trying to be brave and be considerate to the others by sharing their pet furnace, and Possessive Rain has just kidnapped Dew to be his personal heated body pillow.

Have some Words that ended up being about Phantom instead lol, work is boring today:

Phantom went to see if he could borrow Dew, just for a few minutes, on the third night of sub-zero temperatures. The windows in the Abbey leaked, and the icy draft rattling the panes blew through every room chilling them all to the bone.

Aether's nest had been invaded by four chilly ghoulettes; Sunshine doing her best to keep them all warm but eventually deciding that Aether's room above the warm kitchens was preferable to Cirrus', located at the end of the ghoul wing where the wind whipped around the edge of the building.

Phantom had been stuck to Swiss' side all day like a second shadow, and as they retired to Swiss' room that night Mountain had silently followed. He'd gathered Swiss in his long arms with a shiver, trapping Phantom between them, before promptly passing out. Phantom wriggled against Swiss' warm chest, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. They pressed their frozen toes to Swiss's calves, giggling when the multi ghoul flinched and hissed in discomfort.

"C'mon Bug, I can't turn up the heat enough for that, I'm not Dew."

Phantom huffed, but moved their feet. "I bet Rain's got warm feet, he's had Dew to himself all week!"

Swiss hummed in agreement, pulling Phantom in tightly and blowing warm breath onto the back of their neck making them squirm, wild hair tickling Mountain's nose. The large ghoul let out a distinctly horse-like snort of displeasure.

Phantom lay there, listening as Swiss' breathing slowed but still wide awake themselves. Even with Swiss plastered along their back, they was so cold. Swiss' internal heat just wasn't enough to keep two other ghouls warm as well. Just as they was considering what quintessence tricks they could employ to make the cold feeling go away, another gust of wind blew howled around the Abbey, racing down the chimney and extinguishing the last of the fire. The room was plunged into freezing darkness.

Oh screw this. Phantom thought to themself, scrambling out of the embrace of their larger packmates who immediately shuffled to fill the space they'd just vacated like a pair of magnets snapping together. They stuffed freezing feet into fluffy slippers, and beelined for the door.

"Dew?" they hissed, knocking on the fire ghoul's door. "Can I come in?"

A noncommittal groan from the other side of the door didn't sound like an outright refusal, so Phantom gingerly pushed the door open. They were greeted with the sight of Rain completely curled around Dewdrop, only a small tuft of his blond hair visible behind Rain's arms. Rain raised sleepy eyes to glare at Phantom without moving his head, and watched suspiciously as they slowly entered the room.

"Err, hi Rain, Dew? You awake in there?" Rain growled lowly as Phantom approached, blue eyes flashing in warning and his arms tightening further around Dew. Phantom raised their hands in mock surrender and kept their distance. A muffled noise from within the nest confirmed that Dew was awake.

"Our fire's gone out, and it's so cold, could you relight it? Please?" Phantom didn't like to disturb him, but knew that they'd never get to sleep in Swiss' freezing room without the fire.

Rain growled again, and snapped his teeth at Phantom at the prospect of relinquishing Dew even for a few minutes. A bony arm freed itself from Rain and floundered comically for a few seconds as Dew tried to make his escape.

"Rain!" he huffed, batting at him where he could reach. "Let me out!"

Another rumble from Rain, his arms tightening like a boa constrictor.

"Sorry kid, doesn't look like I'm going anywhere tonight." Dew said sheepishly. "Get in, your lips are going blue and I can hear your teeth chattering from here!"

Phantom looked warily at the pair of ghouls on the bed, Rain still eyeing them like a snake watching its prey.

"Behave!" Dew admonished, pinching Rain on the fins. The ghoul let out an undignified squeak, before slowly maneuvering to allow Phantom space to join them in the nest. Rain hissed briefly as Phantom's cold body clambered onto the bed, but extended an arm to pull them in against Dew.

As Phantom started to settle and defrost, absorbing Dew's warmth like a parched traveler drinks water, the low growls morphed into rumbling purrs from both ghouls and Phantom finally found themself being pulled towards the sleep that had eluded them all night.

[happyk44]

The air was quiet for once. No monsters, no boulders hurtling their way. No vicious winds. Nothing. Smooth sailing.

Frank knew it wouldn't last but he drank it in as much as he could. The temperature this high was was low, not yet freezing, but like the fresh burst of cold signalling the end of fall and the onslaught of winter. Everyone had taken to wearing jackets when they were on deck, especially at night, when the sun wasn't there to give them some faint reprieve of warmth.

Well, everyone except Frank. And Jason.

Nobody bothered them about it. But sometimes, when they moved higher up, where the air waa too thin and freezing, they would side-eye him. Hazel's look was always curious behind her scarf. The others though... they looked confused, concerned. Staring like something was wrong with him.

He tried to shrug it off the way Jason did. But Jason didn't get that look as much as Frank did. Jason was a child for the sky. Of course, thin breathless air wouldn't bother him as much. Of course, freezing winds did nothing to him. He could probably survive at the edge of the atmosphere, where sky and space meet. Floating there like an untethered astronaut, yet happy nonetheless. Perfectly fine.

It didn't work on Frank the same way. Mars was orderly bloodlust and head-on battles. Sturdy feet pounding sturdier ground.

What wars were fought in the air back in the ancient days? Even now, fighter pilots wore oxygen masks to beat the thinness, had shielding to keep them safe from the enemy and the cold. Nico even wore an old leather jacket - the same one they wore in their jets back in the day. Because who wanted to emergency eject into the frozen clouds without one?

Frank was still made of war. But he also had the lungs of a bird, and the heated blood of grizzly. He didn't freeze. And he breathed easy.

It was a bittersweet thing. He hadn't even considered it until Hazel came out on deck one night with a jacket for him to wear and he had realized he wasn't cold. When her voice had gone heavy with the effort to speak and he realized he wasn't struggling with the altitude the way he was supposed to.

His abilities just kicked in naturally. The same way they did when he went to sleep and woke up curled into a wolfish ball.

Some days he dreamed about walking with Hazel in a meadow of flowers and horses and he'd look up at her, paws muddy, drool escaping down his teeth and she'd teasingly chastise him for wanting to chase the horses around. Some days he dreamed about blood dripping from his maw and down his claws. And he'd wake up, animal in form, and worry about why he was losing his humanity in his dreams.

Because you're losing it in reality, he thought.

He tightens his fists and hopes for a fight to come soon. He couldn't be here alone in silence with his thoughts, with the knowledge that he was becoming something other. He wasn't unfamiliar with being othered by the world - Chinese to the white kids in school, Canadian to the Americans at Camp Jupiter. Fatherless. Raised by his grandmother. Fat, awkward, shy. He didn't have ADHD or dyslexia - not like every other demigod. He was othered a lot through pure existence.

That didn't mean he wanted to add inhuman to the list.

"Don't let it get to you."

Frank startled.

Jason sat on the railing, staring up at the stars. His legs swung off into the dark. He was wearing a black tank top, and cargo shorts, without socks or shoes. He relaxed, soaking in the frozen air. It puffed white with every exhale.

"What are you talking about?" Frank asked with an instinctual cock of his head. Like a dog. He righted his head up and straight, gritting his teeth. His nails cut into his palm.

Jason snorted and swung around. There was a strange delicacy in Jason when he was in the air. Leo called him Superman, but that wasn't it. Yeah, he was bulky like the hero, and flew like the hero. But any delicacy in Superman came from Clark Kent. Not from his powers.

Jason was like a dancer. Weightless, and gentle. Even harsh and forceful movements looked graceful on him. It was when he was on the ground he became a pounding unnatural force. Like a tank.

In the air, he was a ballerina, swift and full of motion, captivating. On the ground, he was a war machine, destructive and explosive.

It made sense in a way. Lightning cut the air with nothing more than a burning sizzle. But it exploded the earth when it hits. Shattered trees and destroyed houses. A storm was nothing when it bustled around in the empty air. Speeding wind and flooding rains. They meant nothing to the sky. But when it hit the ocean, hit the earth - everything broke.

Jason hopped off the railing. He landed without sound. "I see you, Frank. Sometimes you look at yourself in the mirror or the glass of a window, and you look confused. Like you don't know what you're looking at."

He approached, slow. Like a human nearing a stray cat. Frank felt almost feral. It was under his skin, prickling. Raw. He didn't like that Jason could see him.

But he didn't like that he thought human and not person. That he was comparing himself to the feral cats he used to help capture with the SPCA for the volunteer hours.

That Jason was right.

It scared him. He couldn't see his face. He knew it was his. Nothing had changed. But when he looked in the mirror, he felt like he was looking at a stranger.

He knew what it is. Once, when his mother came home from deployment, he caught her staring empty at her reflection. When she spotted him, she'd asked him, offhand but knowing, what he saw when he looked at her.

My mom, he said.

She'd grinned, just a bit too small. So I still look like myself then?

Of course, he'd said with a frown. Why wouldn't you?

She explained it to him later, gently, over cookies and tea. Depersonalization. A subsect of dissociation. She had explained it away, like it was just the result of seeing herself covered in mud so much she couldn't remember what she looked like clean. Acting like it wasn't the result of trauma, depression, PTSD.

It doesn't hurt, she'd assured him. And I know it's still me. I just can't tell.

You should go to a doctor, Frank has said, tucked under her arm even though he was too big for that anymore.

She had laughed and kissed the top of his head. I will, she promised. When I'm finished with this one.

And then she left, again, and then she died.

It wasn't until now that he wondered if it was really the trauma of war that made her unable to see herself in the mirror. Or if it was a combination of that and her own shapeshifting ability. Did she turn a lot? To save her fellow soldiers? To protect herself?

He knew she did it in her final moments. That she was brave. But did she do it a lot before then? Did she lose herself the way he was?

He didn't look in the mirror and wonder why his eyes were brown or his teeth were flat. Didn't look at his hands and wonder why his nails weren't claws or why his skin was so hairless. Didn't think he needed to be on all fours, or find speech difficult. But he did feel that otherness in his reflection. A sense of that isn't me when he stared back at himself.

He knew it was. That his brain was lying to him.

But he still couldn't see himself.

Sometimes his skin felt wrong. The world seemed a little warped. Like he was looking at it from the wrong angle. But no matter how much he moved around, it wouldn't go back to normal.

He felt satiated by Hazel's presence. The sensation of "everything is wrong" fell mostly to the background with her.

But he couldn't cling to her like a koala with separation anxiety. That wasn't fair to her. She wasn't required to fix his problems. And she was already holding onto his lifeline, keeping it safe, just for him.

He couldn't ask more of her. To help him reangle a world that had never changed.

Jason crossed his arms. His smile looked like Frank's mom's that night - just a bit too small. Then he glanced away. "I can't see myself either."

Breath caught in Frank's throat.

"I don't think it's a fixable thing for me," Jason went on. "And it might not be for you either. I was raised by wolves. I don't..." He laughed quietly and ducked his head. "I don't think of myself as human. Not consciously anyway. My mother was a wolf, my siblings were wolves. I feel more like a puppy plucked out of the bin and handed off than a human person."

Frank exhaled shakily. "So what do you do about it?"

Jason was quiet. His eyes were focused on the ground, brows furrowed. Then, "Nothing." He looked up to Frank. Blue eyes bore back at him. "There's nothing I can do. I am a wild child." He shrugged. "You can't scrub it out of me."

"So... I'm just gonna be stuck like this?" His nails bore deeper into his skin. Conscious effort rang out to keep them from becoming claws. "Feeling like the world is wrong because my brain can't decide if I'm a human or an animal?"

"I don't know what I am either," Jason said. "Even with the wolves, I knew I wasn't one of them. Not really. I didn't have fur. I didn't have claws or full rows of fangs. I knew how to be a wolf, but no one is ever going to look and think I'm one." His arms dropped to sides. He drew in closer. "But I just don't let it get to me."

He leaned against one of the mast poles and tilted his head up to the stars.

"That's kind of the nice thing about being part-animal." He grinned ruefully. "Well, animal animal, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Jason looked back at Frank, for just a second before his eyes scanted away. He'd never noticed it before. He didn't get to Camp Jupiter until after Jason disappeared and they hadn't hung out enough once he camp back until just now. But Jason never really met someone's eyes. Only in battle, when the goal was dominance.

He looked all over, but eyes were a fraction of a second. Never landing purposely.

"Animals don't really care what you are. Wolves will adopt a human child and raise him. Ducks adopt chicks. Cats will take in kittens from another litter." He closed his eyes. "Because it doesn't matter in the end. We live, we hunt, we eat, we die. Who cares if your child is hairless and stands on two legs? Do they follow you? Do they represent what it means to be a wolf? To be a duck, or a cat, or a monkey? Do they accept your nature as much as their own?" He gestured upwards to the sky. "Do they understand nature as it is?"

Frank tilted his head back to stare up at the stars. They glistened and glittered in the black. It was a cloudless night. Everything was so clear. He felt almost as though he could reach out and touch one.

"People say there's no evolutionary benefit to animal adoption. Adopting a newborn, especially when you haven't lost any of your own, expends more energy." Jason sank down to a sit. His eyes were still closed. "Adopting a newborn outside your species doesn't carry on your genes. Doesn't keep your species running."

Frank thought of his bird lungs and grizzly blood. Sitting down next to Jason, he said, "It's symbiotic."

"Sometimes," Jason agreed. "Sometimes it's beneficial on both ends. Sometimes mothers are just nurturing. And sometimes it's just help." He spread his legs. "I brought the elder wolves their food when they could no longer hunt. My sister nursed our nieces because her mother died. Lupa brought me and they cared because I needed it. Can you help? Would it hurt you or the pack to help? Sometimes those are the only questions that matter."

He gestured loosely. "Animals aren't perfect. Brood parasitism for one thing. Fish and insects and rabbits eat their young. Some animals attack others for fun. But humans aren't perfect either, so what does it matter why animals adopt?"

A gentle breeze slid through their hair. Jason looked utterly at ease. Frank felt... Not serene. No. But. Calmer, almost. It sank inside him like a heavy fog. Foreign and strange, but ultimately fine. The fog wasn't too dense. Visibility was decent. Right now, it was okay.

He looked down to his hairless clawless hands. "No one ever asks why humans adopt."

Jason grinned, flashed all his teeth. "No. They don't." He looked away. "No one ever says so, but when I came to camp..." He shook his head. "People think the wolves took care of me because of Juno and my father. But they took care of me because I was their pup. If I wasn't, I would've been trained like everyone else. Not immersed in what it means to be a wolf." He gave a soft smile. "I used to call Lupa 'Mom'. She made me stop a couple months before I had to leave, but.."

His smile dipped and he looked up to the stars. His bright blue eyes seemed to glow.

"The wolves were my family. I didn't know anything else."

Frank pressed a hand to his chest. "I'm not like you. You're... mixed." He snorted. "Human-passing, but raised in an all wolf household. That's your... culture. Your world. Even if people don't believe it when you say so. But I'm..."

"The opposite." He nodded. Jason nudged him with his shoulder. "That doesn't mean you can't learn. Wolf. Bird. Bear. You can find what it means to be them."

The wind whistled. Far below the deck, he could hear the faint sounds of snoring. He rubbed at his ear, wishing away whatever animal hearing chose to ignite itself. "What if I forget how to be human?"

Jason sighed. "Frank. The only way you could stay fully human is to give up being an animal. You'd have to stop shapeshifting."

Stop being himself.

Frank never considered himself a mixed child. He didn't even know what his father looked like until recently. And that was ambiguous at best. Gods could look however they chose. Who was to say he didn't look Chinese when he met his mom?

But the parallels remained. He knew other kids who were mixed. Kids who were out of touch with their Chinese side. Kids who were jealous he could speak Cantonese, even if limited, because their family wouldn't teach them. Or their Chinese parent didn't know it at all.

His grandmother was strict about maintaining their culture even so far away from where they came from. But he knew other immigrants weren't the same way. That they did away with it all to assimilate. Not just Chinese families, but all kinds of ethnicities and cultures. Even some white families. Dropping away their heritage so they could mask in with the Canadians. So they could pick up the new customs and social order faster. So their kids wouldn't get bullied. So life could be easier.

And now, in the modern hustle and bustle of cultural appreciation, there were people who knew nothing about the place their families came from. They could walk into those countries and blend in physically, but never verbally, never emotionally, never culturally.

Did Frank want that for himself? To match with the other birds on the branch but never have a clue about how to act other than to fly and tweet? To blend in with the wolves, but know that Jason, with his furless skin and flat teeth, was more wolf than him?

Did it matter? He wasn't really part-animal. Not like Jason. Shapeshifting was a power. But it wasn't separate from him. When he held too long in a form, he could feel himself start to sink in. He was still Frank, but more Frank the bear, angered that someone threatened his cub, than Frank the human, angered that someone threatened Hazel.

And shapeshifting...

It was culture, wasn't it? His mom used it. His grandmother used it. All the great, great, greats used it if they had it. It was part of his family. Like a tradition passed down.

So if he stopped, wouldn't he be abandoning part of his culture?

Animals believed in survival - for their species or one they plucked from the whorls of loneliness. They nurtured the young, cared for the old, visited graves. Died and let their descendants consume the grass they grew. They fought to protect, to live.

His grizzly blood quickened in veins. Hotter. Warmer, against the cold. Shapeshifting was Frank's survival, as bitter lightning was Jason's, as deadly gold was Hazel's, and a sudden hurricane was Percy's.

He couldn't throw it away.

"I'm never going to recognize myself in the mirror, am I?"

Jason sighed. It was a quiet sad thing and it made Frank's bird lungs stutter.

"No," Jason said. "You won't. You won't feel wholly human either. Or wholly like an animal. Whichever one you choose. Bear, bird, wolf. Or everything, all of them." He turned and caught Frank's eyes. "But you'll know who you are." He looked away. "I've found that's the thing that really matters."

They weren't mixed kids. Finding solace in both worlds - human and animal - was never going to put the world right again. And Frank doubted that every child of an immigrant and every mixed kid who discovered and immersed themselves in forgotten traditions and customs would suddenly feel 100% in place either.

But they would know who they were. Who all the people who came before them were. How life was lived before migration.

Maybe he wasn't part animal, the way Jason was, or the way other feral children were, raised by wolves and monkeys and bears. Any animal that came across a miserable child and decided to help.

But grizzly bear warmth coursed through his skin and kept him hot despite the cold. Bird lungs kept him breathing easy in the thin air. Wolf teeth protected his friends. Ram horns shoved back monsters. Goldfish gills and scales kept him alive in the water. Dragonfly wings let him buzz quickly through the air.

His mother fed stray cats and dogs. She encouraged Frank to be kind to animals that passed by. His grandmother put out bird feed and spoke loudly to them when they came to eat. Cats brought birds to their owners. Crows came back with shiny things for people who helped them.

No, he wasn't part-animal. But animals kept him alive. Who was he to not show respect to the ones that helped him? Even if it made him unrecognizable to himself.

Was that why his grandmother was so strict about their culture? Did she lose her humanity too? Unable to see herself in the mirror and deciding she wasn't going to lose her ancestry along with it?

"Nice teeth," Jason murmured.

Frank ran his tongue along sharp fangs. Even his tongue felt different - wider, longer. His mouth hadn't changed, not externally anyway. But he could feel his tongue start farther in his throat to accommodate the new length. His uvula wasn't where it should've been. Of course it wasn't. It was probably further down, somewhere in throat. Or just gone. If it stayed where it was in a normal human, the thickness of his tongue and its new starting place would've immediately gagged him.

"It just happens sometimes," Frank said, focusing mentally on flat teeth, a human tongue, his uvula at the top of his mouth. "I don't know why."

"Let it." Jason stretched his arms up over his head. "Animals don't deny their instincts, why should you? We have them for a reason."

Frank considered that. Thought of his grandmother, sick, frail, and a bird flying out of the house before it came crumbling down. Thought of her speaking loudly to the birds that came to eat. How similar the two looked.

He let his wolven fangs rest where they formed, but kept his human tongue. The other felt too strange to have in a human head.

Jason reached out and traced his nail over one. Then pulled back and turned back to the stars. "I can teach you what it means to be a wolf, if you want," he said.

Frank traced his fangs once more. Then smiled. "I'd like that."

[lixiehugs]

fanmade video : moments when nct were caring and protective of mila!!

warnings : mentions of eating disorders.

a/n : hello!! welcome to my once-a-year upload piece /hj!! i say this every time i come back, but this time i feel like i might actually start writing more. i have so many writings i have been sitting on for my girlies (esp mila), and i am dying to share them!! please wait for me!!

a/n : im not even gonna lie i kinda ate with this photo like💅🏻 (JUST IGNORE HER HAIR PLEASE😭)

"hello, everyone, and welcome back to another video on my channel! this episode will be none other than the boys of nct taking care of our producer, mila!! not to be confused with mila taking care of the boys, however (which will be a future video). these are some of the sweetest moments where mila didn't have her angry protection face on<3 enjoy the video!!"

when the boys give mila their jackets🥹

so, we all know how much mila hates puffer jackets.

like, she will do ANYTHING to get out of wearing a puffer jacket.

except when it is for a photo shoot, then she remains our professional queen🥰

but mila would rather wear like 7 layers instead of a puffer jacket bc she is so stubborn😭

like same but is it really worth it girl???

and my gal is out here in like 4°c in her leather jacket and a hoodie trying to convince the guys that she isn't cold like

MISS MA'AM WE CAN SEE YOUR BREATH?? YOUR TEETH ARE CHATTERING???

i just know that taeyong begs her to put on a heavier jacket every day, but she never does

but on this day, mila said that she thought it wasn't that cold so she thought that her leather jacket would be okay.

turns out it was not!! she was freezing because it got breezy.

most of the other boys were fine with the temperature, even having their jackets unzipped

but when they saw mila getting out of the van clutching her already zipped jacket around herself, practically trying to hide in her coat, they all went 😦😦

jeno, renjun, mark, haechan, and jaemin all came running to her with their coats😭 (jisung and chenle were cold)

she laughed and tried to play it off like she wasn't that cold, even going as far to let her hands poke out of her sleeves and let go of her tight grip on her jacket, but as soon as she did, she was wincing at the cold and looking at her members for help

without hesitation, jeno shrugged his jacket over her shoulders and zipped it up.

jaemin then tried to zip it up fully and have her put her hood up, but mila stopped him because she knew she could not take pictures like that.

basically, mila is never going to be that cold again!! not on the dreamies' watch😡

making sure mila has something to eat🥹

mila has said this herself, i'm not hating!! but she is a PICKY EATER.

like PICKY PICKY

mila said that when she first moved to korea, she would only eat "white people food" because it's all she was used to.

"i only started using the flavorings of the ramen packs after living here for like 6 months"💀

she said that she didn't even feel asian because she hated all the food and didn't know how to use chopsticks🤧

but!! that was a while ago, and mila has gotten so much better!!

as a picky eater myself, i know how hard it is to go out of your comfort zone with food.

just the fact that when she was a trainee, she would have to make her own food and take that with her whenever the boys wanted to go out makes me want to cryyyyy

but now she likes enough foods to go out with them🥹

anyways, back to the situation at hand;

in episode 2 of chillin' in the dream 8lace, when mark and jeno get the punishment of having to cook for the rest of the members, they wanted to make bibimmyeon. when jaemin came into the kitchen to help them (and also to make sure they didn't burn the kitchen down), mark asked if mila would eat bibimmyeon, to which jaemin says "yes, she will"

this is because mila used to hate bibimmyeon!! fun fact~

this situation also happened in the beginning of the 6th episode.

the boys who were awake wanted tuna and mayo fried rice (which needs fried eggs) for breakfast, and jaemin, being the angel he is, remembered that mila didn't like tuna and mayo fried rice. so, when mark asked for jaemin to scramble some eggs for him, he easily decided to make some for mila<3

when jeno stopped her from tripping

this was kind of a shock for everyone imo??

like, it's not CRAZY or anything, i just have never seen mila have any other problems walking in heels before.

but whatever, she still slayed💅🏻

anyways, at the 2020 asia artist awards, nct dream won the award for best emotive award - music.

all 8 of them stood up and walked up the stairs to the stage. though the order left mila and jeno at the back of the line.

they were all wearing matching black suits, except that mila was wearing 6 INCH HEELS instead of normal dress shoes like the guys were.

and these were like STILETTOS!! super hard to walk in for no reason

now we all know that mila can walk in heels. we've seen her slay in some stilettos in the past.

but, that does not take away from the fact that mila has said on many different occasions that she does not like wearing heels.

now, since she already doesn't like them, why on earth would the staff put her in 6 INCH STILETTOS?????? makes no sense

anyway, as she was stepping up onto the stairs, she stumbled and almost fell backwards into jeno.

jeno, of course, being the gentleman he is, caught her gently by her waist and quickly got her back onto her feet. he then made sure she was steady up the stairs by holding his hand.

once they were at the top of the 5 or so steps, he linked their arms together and walked with the rest of the group to the award presenter.

once they finished that and went back to their seats, mila and jeno were also at the end of the line because they knew mila would need a bit longer to go down the steps.

jeno went in front of her and held her hand down the stairs so she wouldn't fall 🫶🏻

haechan getting mad about mila's sasaeng

woo, this one is already making me mad, and i haven't even written anything yet😡

so, mila's infamous evil sasaeng. the one that broke into the dream dorm and attacked mila while the members were sleeping. (a/n : there will be a fic in detail on this soon!!)

not much is known in detail about this incident. all we have is the account of the sasaeng herself and the statements that have been made by SM and the members.

but what we do know is that there was a big change in how the members treated her after this happened.

there was also a big change in mila.

mila went from being happy and giddy to being quiet and reserved for the first time in a while. this was not too long after her nct2018 hardships as well, so that made everyone even more angry as it seemed like she could never catch a break.

the members, most noticeably the dreamies, all became more cold for lack of a better word.

they would go outside and have this slight look of betrayal on their faces. they would not be as happy or smiley, they would tell less jokes.

everyone was just upset.

however, haechan was arguably one of the most upset ones.

as we know, haechan is mila's roommate in the 127 dorm. but, mila also has her own room in the dream dorm, which is why she constantly moves around and splits her time between the 2 dorms. mila has said that she stays at the dream dorm more often when she does not have promotions because she likes it better over there and she likes having her own room.

so having her personal space and safety violated like this in the place that she calls "home" is just disgusting to me.

haechan went on vlive a few days after the statements were released to talk about the situation.

"how is mila doing?" he reads before placing his phone down and covering his mouth with his hands while thinking about what to say. "she's okay. she's not great, but she's doing her best. she's been staying in the 127 dorm with us. she hasn't even gone over to the dream dorm since what happened." he pauses, looking down before taking a breath in. he looks back up at the camera with a low glare, not doing a good job at trying to hide it. "mila is afraid to sleep, hell, even be in her own dorm now because of you... i hope you are ashamed of the damage you have caused." he speaks bitterly, his words obviously directed at the sasaeng.

he ended the live not long after, giving a short message to please not wait outside their dorms anymore.

mila not having money on a show to buy ice cream, so doyoung and yuta buy it for her

just mila being the cutest once again, what do ya know.

everyone was buying treats and snacks on this nct life show but mila didn't have any money :((((

she was so excited to go into the store and get snacks, but then she just went 😯😕

she quickly tried to wipe off her frown and look around the store anyway, not wanting her members to think she was upset.

when everyone had finished picking out their snacks and were in line to purchase them, taeyong noticed that mila didn't have anything.

"mila, why aren't you getting anything?" he asks, a gentle smile on his face. johnny also listens for her response. "i don't have any money." she replies, shrugging. "aigoo, i'm sure we can get you something." he pats her shoulder before going up to yuta and doyoung at the front of the line, just behind taeil who was buying his items. "doyoungie, yuta~," he calls. "yes?" they answer. "do you mind buying some snacks for our miely? she doesn't have any money." the leader asks. their eyes widen. "of course!! you can get anything you want, mila!! just be quick!" yuta says, and they grin at her. she smiles and perks up. "okay!! thank you!" she says before quickly jogging back into the ice cream aisle and picking up an oreo cone, then she goes and gets some chocolate. she brings them up to the counter with yuta and doyoung's things. "you sure you don't want anything else?" doyoung asks. "no, this is okay." she smiles. they pay for it, and she is beaming on the way out.

they would do anything for her🥹❤️‍🩹

jaemin, jeno, and mark all being attentive when mila stands up because she gets dizzy

a/n : you're just going to have to imagine that it is mila sitting in the first photo with a member in front of her and that there is no skateboard in the second photo

nctzens have thought for a long time that mila is anemic.

this is due to mila's repeated mentionings that whenever she stands up or even sits up in some cases, she feels dizzy, gets tunnel vision, and gets black spots in her vision as well. she said that these are her most frequent symptoms, but they can get worse, including fainting and having her ears ring.

mila has never confirmed her having anemia. the last time she spoke of the rumors was back in 2021 where she said, "I'm not sure if i have anemia... my older sister has the same symptoms as me, but when she went to the doctor, she was told she didn't have anemia. what i can confirm is that i have low blood pressure. i'm not sure why, as high blood pressure actually runs in my family, but that has been present since i was a child. and i have talked to a doctor about this in the past, uh... orthostatic hypotension? that's what she said my symptoms sounded like. czennies, I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with me but thank you for the concern!"

despite no definitive diagnosis for what happens to her, it doesn't stop the other members from caring for her well.

one key example of this happened in episode 6 of chillin' in the dream 8lace. mila was refusing to get up out of bed so jaemin went in to get her. he pulled her to stand up from where she was laying quite quickly, causing her to say, "ah, jaemin, jaem, jaem, slowly, slowly, slowly! i'm dizzy." quickly remembering her condition, jaemin stopped and helped her stand up slowly, allowing her to adjust, all while holding her hands in case she were to fall over.

though this was one instance that jaemin forgot about her condition, there have been many other clips of the boys watching her get up carefully.

most of the time it is subtle actions, such as the members simply keeping an eye on her or lending a hand out to keep her steady. they often let mila walk in front of them just to prevent the possibility of her falling with no one to catch her as she often tries to power through her dizziness, thus making her more dizzy.

renjun and chenle always being sweet and helpful when she tries to speak chinese

mila tries so hard to work on her chinese these days :(( i cry

like my gal speaks 2 languages like a NATIVE and then has borderline fluency in 2 MORE, and is still trying to learn 2 MORE

like gal 😭 i can barely speak my native language (i only speak one language)

she is such an overachiever and FOR WHYYYY

but i love her 🫶🏻

though she often ends up thanking the fans in english (when mark isn't there) and in japanese, once mila tried to thank them briefly in chinese!!

mila has said before that she used to study chinese quite a bit back in 2016 when she was really close with winwin and chenle, but since then, she became more focused on japanese and lost time to study it.

she has always said that chinese was really hard for her just because of dealing with the characters. this is why she is quite good at speaking chinese but not good at reading it!

however, we all know mila is quite emotive when presenting and giving speeches, so her tones often fluctuate with her words. this was another issue for mila as she struggled to remember the tones of the words and tried to keep her voice at a neutral level.

yet despite all of these struggles, mila had been giving a short thank you to their chinese fans at an award show when she stammered and forgot what she was saying.

though this is totally normal for a foreigner trying to speak another language, mila is always super prepared for foreign language speeches, so she was caught a little off-guard.

her face went a little red, and she apologized before turning around to chenle and renjun on her left.

they were both looking at her with the cutest and most loving smiles🥹

the crowd gave some encouraging cheers as mila spoke to them for only a few seconds before turning back to the microphone and finishing her speech like a champ🫶🏻

it's just so cute to me that renle + wayV taught mila all the chinese she knows and how she's still so good at it

and how proud of her they are🥹

we choose to forget when mila was first learning chinese and renjun told her he was teaching her how to introduce herself but she was really insulting herself😭

jeno allowing her to sleep on his shoulder comfortably

mila is such a HARDWORKER!!!!!

if you disagree, you're literally wrong.

she does not have credits on almost every SM release after 2017 fOR NOTHING

so, because of her tendency to overwork herself and prioritise work over sleep and her well-being, the boys are always the first people to let her sleep instead of waking her up if they need something.

it always pains them a little bit to wake her up, even if they are about to be late because they tried to let her sleep in.

basically, if mila is showing ANY signs of being tired (it could literally be rubbing her eyes), they boys are instantly: "PLEASE SLEEP"

so, when the dreamies were in a van going to a mystery location for a fun video, mila unsurprisingly, grew drowsy.

mila was sitting next to jeno in the backseat of this van, steadily growing more and more tired.

but knowing mila, she tried to keep herself awake, not letting herself lean on the window or on her hand. this lead to her dozing off while sitting straight up, her head bobbing down lightly.

jeno was looking at his phone, not paying attention to her.

until he saw her drooping head and was like 😶

he froze for a second before slowly and gently pressing mila's head down to his shoulder, sitting up a little bit so it would be more comfortable for her.

mila did not object. she was so fucking tired.

jeno was so proud of himself as he felt mila kinda relax into him and let more of her weight rest on his shoulder.

he looked up a little with a 😌 look on his face to see jaemin filming him with a grin.

no words are exchanged as jeno's smile grows, and jaemin chuckles quietly before showing a thumbs up to the camera.

jisung and renjun sharing their umbrellas with her

now, while i'm sure all of the members would share their umbrellas with mila under the circumstance that she did not have one, we only have video evidence and jisung and renjun doing so <3

so, on this day where it was raining as nct dream were going to a schedule, mila did not have an umbrella

sooo many fans tried to spin this as mila being mistreated by the staff since all of the boys had umbrellas until another clip was released of mila giving her umbrella to a staff member

the staff repeatedly shook her head and refused, wanting mila to keep it, but she did not accept no for an answer and smiled big when the staff finally accepted.

some bodyguards around quickly tried to cover mila's head with their hands to protect her from the rain, thus catching the attention of jisung and renjun.

they both quickly came over, pushing their umbrellas toward her and not on themselves

mila immediately pushed their umbrellas back over their own heads and shooed them away.

they didn't let up and kept trying to talk to her for a few seconds.

mila laughs lightly and goes next to renjun under his umbrella, leaving jisung with a slight pout on his face.

"you're too big to share an umbrella!" mila exclaims, causing them all to laugh. the rest of their dialogue could not be heard in the video, this was the only thing intelligible.

with content expressions, mila goes under renjun's umbrella and they both put arms around each other; mila's arm going around his waist and renjun's arm going over her shoulders as they walk the short distance to the building.

nct 127 following the sidewalk rule

since the newly publicised "sidewalk rule" on social media, nctzens have brought up all the times that they have preached this before its popularity.

it's not seen as often with nct dream as every time they try (usually renjun, jeno, & jisung), mila just pushes them off and doesn't move.

this leads the boy to be very 🤨😖 because this is what their hyungs taught them to do???? why is she not accepting this gesture that the hyungs do all the time????

so, the dreamies don't really do it anymore, they just keep a watchful eye when she likes to balance on the curb of a busy road.

127 and even wayV however, are a different story.

maybe it's because they're older, but mila always listens when they guide her over to the non-road side of a sidewalk.

sometimes she looks a little 🤨 when her arm gets tugged away, but then she realises where she's standing.

most commonly, the members dragging her away from the cars are taeyong, johnny, kun, xiaojun, and doyoung. but there have been times where ten, jaehyun, and jungwoo have done it.

in the back of many nct 127 videos, most notably the ones where they are exploring the usa, mila can be seen being ushered away from the road by one or two of the members above.

it's just super cute and makes all czennies swoon over the neos' politeness 😵‍💫

the dreamies comforting her when she tries to be strong🥹

this day is not to be confused with the 191117 dream show ending meant!!!

a/n : lmk if i should make something that says in detail what mila said in her ending ment on the 191117 show!!

this was the first of the three dream shows back to back (191115).

mila said her ment not long after jisung did, so she was already emotional when it got to her turn.

jisung was crying as he tried to say his ment, so mila was already sad because she went to comfort him.

now mila HATES seeing jisung cry because it almost always makes her cry with him, so she was hugging jisung (not photo) before her turn.

she had intended for her ment to go a different route, but when it was her turn to talk, she just kinda let her words take her, not following her originally planned direction.

"aw... it's only the first day of the dream show, and i'm already crying ㅠㅠ i thought i would at least be able to be calm on the first day. but because of jisung~~ he made me sad ☹️." there is a brief pause where mila just looks around at the crowd with stars in her eyes. "but really, i can't blame him..." she looks down and swallows thickly before looking back up and blinking back her tears. the other members make various noises of teasing and telling her not to cry, some even coming closer, but mila takes a step back and laughs, telling them to go away. "no, no, i'm okay. i just need a second..." she flaps her hands as a way of shooing them, obviously growing more uneasy, stressed, and upset. with a deep breath, she starts again. "the members don't know this but," she starts, gaining the attention of all the boys. "before the show started today, i was crying in the bathroom because i was worried that this would be the start of our last shows and they wouldn't be strong enough... and i can't help but feel like it's my fault because..." she looks down again, this time for longer as she tries to hold back her tears. she doesn't succeed. tears fall, and her breathing starts to turn into small gasps and hiccups. chenle and haechan both come closer to her, haechan saying "aigoo, mila-yah..." and chenle saying something like "no, that's not..." and mila just taking a step back and flapping her hands to get them not to touch her. she knows that if she lets them comfort her, she will start crying. she wants to finish her ment first. "because i have had big inputs on nct dream's music, and if it's coming to an end..." a particular gasp leaves her lips with a small cry that reaches the microphone, making the crowd whine. the boys come up to her again. she tries to push them away again, but not as much as before. "...then i must have done something wrong." she cries, a deep wail leaving her chest as her hands come to cover her face, muffling her gasps but still allowing them to be picked up by the microphone. the crowd goes quiet, save for the growing volume of whines and telling her that's not true. jaemin pulls her into him, and she wraps her arms around him tightly, her cries into him now being picked up by his mic. chenle, haechan, and jeno are all around them rubbing mila's back as renjun tries to talk while comforting jisung at the same time, who had grown emotional all over again by mila's words.

in less than 2 minutes, mila had pulled away, immediately being met by the faces of her members, presumably asking if she was okay, to which she nods. a tissue is given to her by haechan and she dabs her face clean of tears while fanning her face. chenle helps fan her face, as well.

she keeps the tissue in her hand to repeatedly wipe her running nose as the others continue talking. chenle stays next to her this whole time with his arm around her and his head on her shoulder.

when mila twitched in her sleep and yuta helped 🥹

a/n : you're just going to have to imagine that mila is sleeping in the second one and not on her phone :)

it is a somewhat well-known fact that during stressful times, mila twitches in her sleep.

this info is not from sasaengs btw!!! mila has said this herself along with the members🥰

mila has said that she has done this since she was a kid and it usually means that she is juuust on the edge of falling asleep but not actually asleep.

this is why she hates it.

her stress prevents her from falling asleep when she so desperately needs it.

she will be drifting until she twitches and then she's awake again ☹️

so, when nct 127 were getting ready for a favorite (vampire) stage, mila fell asleep on one of the dressing room sofas while waiting for her turn for her makeup and hair.

in the background of an nct 127 fun video (like in the dressing room) she was waiting on the couch patiently when yuta sat down after finishing his look. she casually laid her head in his lap, which was nothing unusual (as we all know how much she loves yuta🤭)

she scrolled on her phone for a bit, not paying attention to anything and not being bothered by the conversations of her members and the staff.

eventually, she plopped her phone next to her face on the couch and closed her eyes, not moving at all from her original position.

due to her lack of movement, yuta thought that she was still awake. this was until the twitching started. yuta knew what it meant when mila started twitching like this, so he took a quick look at her, saw she was sleeping and leaning back in his spot before bringing his free hand to her hair.

he knew how much mila LOVES having her hair played with and how much it calms her down.

he softly twirled the strands and gave her head a light massage, instantly stopping her twitching and allowing her to sleep calmly before getting ready.

when mila had to be woken up for her turn in the hair and makeup chair, yuta pleaded for her to go last so she could get some extra rest in 🥹

when it was really time, and she had to go, yuta woke her up gently with a pout, cooing at her tired face

mila collapsing on stage

as stated previously, we all know about mila's low blood pressure. this causes her to become dizzy, faint, etc.

but there is one more thing i have neglected to talk about as i do not want to interpret it incorrectly.

and that is mila's history with eating disorders.

everything i will say has already been said by mila herself, her members, or SM.

mila has always had problems not eating enough throughout her entire childhood due to her dedication to her craft(s).

when she was really young and did gymnastics and dance, she would often forget to eat and just do acrobatics the whole day.

this is extremely unhealthy and dangerous as both gymnastics and dance are very demanding sports and require lots of sustenance.

regardless, mila has managed to take care of herself up until around late 2017-early 2018.

mila said that due to a multitude of things that i will not be getting into right now, she spent all of her time working in the studio producing/writing music or perfecting routines, and working on singing/raps. at this time she also focused her remaining time on her studies for her end-of-high school exams.

mila said that during this point in her life, she felt "guilty" taking time out just for herself. she felt like she always needed to be doing something productive.

food did not fall into this category.

mila would sacrifice eating over completing her schoolwork and idol/producer duties.

this caused her to experience a lot of burnout and to faint often because of stress and malnutrition.

though since then, mila has recovered, and takes care of herself (according to her and the members), she still has times where she can revert slightly.

like i said, she has been somewhat this way since she was a child, so it is easy to forget.

one big example of this was in early 2020 after a kick it stage.

this was one of those prerecorded stages due to covid starting to affect the industry.

mila slayed the stage, giving her all and doing her absolute best. you could not notice anything wrong when she was performing.

but after the cameras cut, and all that was left was stuff that would not go on tv, mila collapsed.

she was stood in her ending position, waiting for all the cameras to cut. she wasn't really paying attention, but in the video, you could see just how fast she was breathing and that she was swaying slightly in her stance.

once the other members moved and began to bow to the staff, mila's knees just crumbled, and she fell.

she landed on her knees and hands, her hair covering her face as she heaved in air. then she slumped over kinda on her stomach but still on her knees and elbows.

the other members didn't do anything for a moment. it's unclear whether they didn't notice or if they thought she was just tired from the demanding routine.

the first member to go over to her was taeyong. he looked a little nervous and kinda speed-walked over to her.

he crouched down next to her and moved to look at her face, moving some of her hair out of the way.

none of what they are saying can be heard, so all that we can assume is that he was asking her if she was okay.

he gets her to sit up and holds both of her hands in his. her eyes are closed, and she's still breathing heavily, obviously still really tired.

he asks her something else, and she shakes her head weakly before starting to slump over again. taeyong looks around for a moment before standing halfway up and pulling mila up with him.

she picks her up bridal style with mila barely clinging onto him as he carries her offstage. her eyes are closed as he does this.

there was a lot of fan uproar at this. fans were attacking SM for making her work so hard and demanding to give her more rest.

there was no response or acknowledgement from SM, the nct members, or mila herself.

when mila fell asleep on vlive

this vlive is actually one of my favorites just because of this interaction!!

it's just so sweet!!!

so basically, mila was on vlive in her shared room with haechan at the 127 dorm.

this had been after a day of schedules (we don't know exactly what) and she was just chitchatting about what happened that day and some things she saw on social media.

this wasn't unusual as mila had been going live more recently when this happened.

mila did say that the schedule ran a little later that day and that she was tired but that she also wanted to stay up and talk with czennies <333.

however, about 25 mins into the live, mila had been laying on her bed with the phone leaning against her open laptop screen. her head was resting on her folded elbows as she read the comments and talked contently.

due to this position and her growing tiredness, it was not difficult for mila to fall asleep.

fans thought that she was just resting her eyes for a moment and that she was still awake until it had been like 2 minutes of pure silence.

then all the comments were mixtures of "omg is mila asleep???" and "she's so cute aaaaa" and "sm really needs to let her rest smh"

she had only been out for around 10 minutes when haechan came in.

they share this room, so it is not a surprise that he came in unannounced.

the door cannot be seen from the vlive, but it can be heard closing and footsteps getting closer.

haechan appears behind mila to the side and quietly says "aigoo, mila fell asleep with her laptop on, let's fix this for my twin, eh?" he then reaches for her hands to move them off the keyboard to close the laptop when he notices that her phone is actually on vlive😭. "oh! hello~~" he greets cutely, giving a wave as he picks up the phone. "thank you for watching over mila, czennies. i will take over and make sure that she sleeps well! goodnight!"

he then ends the live, and we can assume that he finished getting all her stuff away so she could sleep<3

afterwards, on twitter, haechan was trending for being a lovely caring member as he acted so sweet without even knowing that he was being recorded

johnny stopping mila from falling off stage

okayyyy, so we all know that mila isn't clumsy, as she loves to remind us, but she lowkey is (don't tell her i said that).

so what transpired, was during the singapore show on the neo city - the origin tour in 2019. the stage was kinda an upside-down T shape with a little B-stage at the end.

mila was not paying attention to anything other than nctzens <3.

during replay (am 1:27), mila was looking into the crowd, as she does, with that big smile on her face.

she was squinting a bit, trying to read some of the signs that fans had up while also trying to dance around at the same time.

she was at the part in the stage where the B-stage starts. at the corner, she was leaning over to look at something. she was standing on that lower platform next to the stage that looks like she's on stage, but she's not really on it, you know???

anyway, once she finished reading, she turned towards the catwalk again and quite literally STEPPED OFF THE FUCKING STAGE

and she says she's not clumsy😑

but THANK GOD johnny was coming to the B-stage and was at the end of the catwalk. he SNATCHED her up and carried her for a few seconds before putting her down in the middle of the B-stage, where he was sure she couldn't fall off.

he looked at her for a minute, hands on her shoulders as they talked. none of what they were saying was picked up by their microphones, so we don't know what they said🤷‍♀️

mila nodded at him, and they both walked back down the catwalk to the main stage with hands around each other. probably just johnny being extra cautious now😖

none of the other members seemed to notice (probably a good thing because you KNOW taeyong would have scolded her).

after the show, mila went on her bubble to respond to czennies.

"i fell off the stage? no i didn't!!!! you're lying!!!" she joked with lots of emojis. she thanked them for their concern and promised it wouldn't happen again <3.

renjun yelling at the sasaengs calling her😳

i do not want to be on renjun's bad side 😳😳😳😳

so this happened in late 2019 when mila, renjun, jeno, and jaemin were all doing a vlive together.

it's very similar to what happened to jeno on the 200114 vlive with renjun, chenle and jeno.

mila was trying to read the comments on their vlive on her phone but she couldn't because sasaengs kept calling her.

she didn't even bat an eye as she repeatedly swiped the calls away, declining them and going back to what she was trying to do.

but IT WAS CONSTANT!!!

this was like 30 calls in 2 minutes like GALLLLLL

with each call, you could see mila growing more and more irritated with her side eyes to the camera :(

it got really bad when she tried to show something to the camera, and she got a call, so she swiped it away and showed the camera again. then she got another call, swiped it away and tried to show her screen again. when she got a third call, renjun stood up and took her phone from her hand, saying "give it to me"

he walked out of frame and began yelling at the sasaeng (as he should 💅🏻)

mila looked at him like 😳😏😊 and then started talking really loudly to cover up what renjun was saying.

it's hard to make out, but renjun can be heard yelling at the sasaengs saying things like "stop calling mila or else i will report your number and press charges"

basically scary renjun

he came and sat back down like 😒 and mila smiled at him and gave him a side hug to express her gratefulness <3333

"i hope you all enjoyed this video!! please keep supporting nct and their activities! stay tuned for my next video! bye!!!"

[mysterious-gizem]

𝑺𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅

Warning/s: (???)

Taglist: @da3dm, @gt-mcyt, @coolest-moon.

Chapters: Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

Breathe in...

Breathe out...

His body twitched as he laid there, emotionless on the ground, his eyes cloudy; mouth dry. Each and only thoughts on his mind was to remind himself to breathe, at the moment no other soul was around, only the bloody carcasses of animals; a gruesome sight, where he would once emit care, laid a shell of a man; no ounce of the person he once was.

Time was irrelevant to him, no longer could he tell when a day has gone by, everything blurring together, he swears he feels dead, the way his body is cold and his breaths could be barely felt by he himself.

His eye's drooped closed, what little energy he had grasped on was whisked away, each shallow and sharp breath he took; pained his chest, he took one last weak glance at the trees he caught sight of, and drifted off.

<><>○<><>

A man—giant— walked across the lands, not a single thought in mind, he was just a wandering traveler after all, heading into the unexpected. No end in mind, a weird sense of dread, crawled up his skin; the cold air nipping at his skin as it neared the winter season, flocks of birds migrating infront of him, as they ran from the freezing temperatures.

He sighs, and closes his eyes, his strides continuing, this time his other senses took over as he guided his body through the trees. The ground dipped and his eye's zapped opened and stared at the ground.

A clear line was drawn on the ground; clearly made by a giant, it was the line they created just to say, "there's still humans here, be careful when crossed, blah blah." The giant sighed, it seems there is an end to his journey(for this direction atleast)

He coughed and let out a sigh, he turned around and started heading back, the man was only a few minutes into his journey back until he heard a deep groan of pain; he blinked for a few moments, strands of brown hair falling on his face as he made sure he wasn't hearing things. A few moments pass and he heard another groan, he turned around to look for the source and peeking behind the trees he could see a weird lump; moving? Breathing.

The man gasped and quickly went over and the sight made his stomach drop, he was a bit of a softie, okay! The bloody carcasses of animals accompanied with the stench of rot and death was sickening and the man laying in the midst of it all did not help ease him, he would've thought the man was dead if it was not for his chest that weakly rose and fell.

He took a step forward, holding in his breath, the man infront of him looked disheveled and sickening, his stomach dropped as he saw the man twitch; he was considering on turning around, forgetting this entire ordeal, but the man in front of him made him think. His cheeks were faintly sunken in, the dark bags under his eyes were a pain to see, the matted and bloodied hair making him feel a weird disgusted feeling. He felt- sympathy and remorse, for the man infront of him.

He grimaced as he pushed away the rotting animal corpses, giving him enough space to kneel; his cottage wasn't to far anyways—he had on a satchel that touched the ground as he kneeled. His hand twitched as he slowly inched to touch the man, unruly rough skin met soft delicate ones. The off-putting feeling made him wince, and the contact of the two made Dream flinch.

Yet the man smiled, a soft, caring look on his face, even with the blond man's clearly starved state, he was a struggle to move. He hoisted him up his shoulder, the passed out giant clearly taller than him.

<><>○<><>

Heat...Warmth...Crackling-

Fire?

Dreams eyes blinked open, the first thing that filled his vision was the color orange, he instantly sat up, confused with his surroundings, he could tell he was on some sort of makeshift couch, his eyes darted left and right, the unfamiliar surrounding; slowly unblurring.

"Oh! You're awake!"

A voice, chipper and bubbly, came up from behind him, as his eyes zapped to look at the giant behind him, the mans brown locks falling infront of his face, the blond was confused and slowly adjusted his body to turn to him; sure, maybe he should have tried running away after waking up in a strange place, and being greeted by a fellow giant who he had no recall of knowing, however, his body ached and the somewhat plush couch he was on helped eased the tension in his body.

"How're you feeling?" The brunette said, slowly inching closer placing a bowl filled with something he couldn't comprehend at the moment on the table infront of him. The other giant sat beside him on the couch, slowly as to not startle the blond, "How're you feeling?" He smiled, repeating his question after a few minutes of deafening silence.

"Can—Can I feel your head?" The brunette asked with softness in his tone, Dream blinked, unsure with what to do, he craned his neck and nodded, Bad was pleased with the answer and reached out one hand to feel his temperature, surprisingly the man seemed to be okay, besides the obvious scars on his body.

"I made pottage stew- here you can have it." He says, picking up the bowl and handing it over to him, it took Dream a few moments to register what he was doing and brought his shaky hands to clutch the bowl. "I'm Bad." The brunette said, his lips parting and shaping into a very toothy smile.

The blond felt ashamed and confused, this random stranger was here- helping him? "Bad?" He breathed out, the brunette giggled, "Yeah- it's an unusual name, what's yours?" He looked down, muttering, "...Dream." Bad hummed in reply, and gestured to the soup. "I'll leave you to eat, we took a two day travel here and you were passed out the whole way..." After a giggle in which Dream responded with an awkward chuckle, the brunette turned the corner; leaving Dream, befuddled, and utterly alone with his thoughts.

He stared at the bowl in his hands; in which they shook lightly, almost threatening to drop it. He sighed, his shoulders slumping and his fingers found a way to the spoon, he scooped up some soup and gently brought it up to his chapped lips. As the soup landed on his tongue, he raised his eyebrows, it was...okay?

Don't get him wrong, he's extremely thankful, he's actually been given somewhat of a meal after months of bearing with whatever he could scrounge up. But- the soup tasted bland, or maybe it just wasn't his taste. Yeah, that was probably it.

He still of course gulped it all down, it was still quite filling and it satisfied him just enough. The blond placed the empty bowl down and took another look in the room he was in; the cottage was quaint, it didn't have much; which was expected, not many giants had the resources to make a somewhat lavish home.

He let out a deep sigh, he shifted in his seat; both his body and the chair, groaning, he spotted a clump of thin fabric, assumed to be a blanket. He lifted up the item, draping it around his body. Then he thought.

Bad seemed nice enough.

He helped him after all.

Speaking of, the man entered back into the room, a gentle smile on his face. In his hands, held a fresh pair of clothes, neatly folded in his arms, "I got you a decent set of clothes." He beamed, seeming just a tad bit cheerier than before, he heard a soft thud and he realized that Bad was holding a cup of water, and had just placed it down, how did he not see that?

He rasped out a thank you, hoarse and rough words leaving his lips, Bad giggled and gestured to the water; "Yeah, you definitely need a drink, your throat is bone dry." Dream lifted the cup to his opened mouth, chugging it down; he realized how thirsty he was, the cup was placed down on the table and Bad finally handed him the clothes.

"You can change right here, if you need anything I'll be in the other room!" He waves a hand and quickly disappeared behind the walls again.

Okay, he could deal with this, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

He swears, he's dying.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating, just a teensy-tiny bit; here's the thing, even with Bad helping him out, and him doing his best to help in any way he can; and Bad was a delight, his health wasn't doing well, his immune system had apparently weakened after he lived in unhealthy conditions, he would constantly get fevers; yet, Bad was there and took the time to care for him.

Even after everything that Bad was doing for him, he was constantly unsatisfied and uncomfortable. Not because of the other of course- well, maybe? Dream was not one to judge, but, the food Bad had been serving him has been rather...bland. It was hard to describe, Dream knew it was good, since another traveler came by and asked if they could get a meal and they raved about the simple dish that the other had made until they left to continue their travel.

So Dream thought maybe the dishes just weren't to his taste, until, Bad handed him a simple loaf of bread; it couldn't be anymore simpler(well sorta). In short: he knew that Bad's cooking wasn't the problem.

So what was it?

He never really felt hungry, per se, he just felt unsatisfied, sometimes he'd turn a bit agitated, he wasn't proud of it; but he couldn't just tell that to Bad! He had already done so much for him, yet, he couldn't take it, he was weak ever since he was ever captured.

That night he tossed and turned on the couch, which was still generously provided by the brunette as a place to rest on. The fire place wasn't lit with a warm blaze, the only source of light being the rays of moonlight gleaming through the windows. The couch creaked as his weight left and he stood by the window staring above. The full moon an ethereal mirror reflecting the whispers of the cosmos, capturing the secrets of the universe in its luminous embrace. Dancing across his features, illuminating his beauty too anyone that may have seen him.

His stomach grumbled and flashes of memories resurfaced to the front of his mind, he felt a familiar taste lingering on his tongue, the taste of raw alive meat heavy on his tastebuds, animal or human? He couldn't tell. His stomach continued to groan, clearly the meal from earlier didn't satiate his hunger. He turned around, his feet carrying him towards the hallway.

The cottage was quiet, eerily so, he crept through the short hall, he spotted Bad's room, his door was completely shut which eased him ever so slightly. Bad was a heavy sleeper, that he learned. His feet led him towards the kitchen, his hands reaching on the counter top where a bowl of walnuts sat. The blonds fingertips were about to grab them, yet, he sagged and dropped his arms. His body was practically begging for food, yet the kitchen had nothing to offer him that appealed to him.

His eyes landed on the door.

He could go hunt.

Bad wouldn't mind.

His tastebuds moaned as the first taste of meat fell on his tongue, he had wandered off into the night searching for a midnight snack; which led to the poor demise of a sleeping deer. Of course, that would only be the first, but the buck itself filled him with a sense of calm, flooding his tastebuds with a flavor that felt...right.

Throughout the night he could only find small critters, which were quite hard to grab; they all scurried off in a frenzy the second they sensed him, he sighed deeply, he wasn't even frustrated. The serenity of the moonlit night was different, this was the first time he actually gotten to rest and appreciate the night in a long, long while. Not even the crickets chirped, only the softest, of the gentle breezes accompanied him and his thoughts.

He was still hungry, that was obvious but, for now, he could wait..

He didn't know how long he stayed there, leaning against a huge tree; eyes shut, and breaths steady. He just knew, when he heard a faint, yet, deep rumble. His eyes blinked opened and he turned his head to look behind the trees, he spotted a cave, like an empty black void, he couldn't see what was making that sound; he could only hear.

Dream sat patiently, as he awaited for whatever thing or creature emerged from the depths of darkness, his entire body perked uo as he watched a huge brown paw peek out and he had to physically seize his body to stop him from immediately pouncing. He sat still in his place, his hands wrapping around and clenching the grass below him.

A mad grin found it's way to his face as the bear fully emerged out of it's cave, the bear was clearly groggy, stumbling over its own footing; whom clearly had just woken up from its slumber, the bear sniffed the air; still unaware of his presence. The creature had it's back face to him and in queue his attention went to his growling stomach and growing hunger.

As the bear was distracted he let go and immediately lunged at the bear, with limited reaction time in a few desperate moments of struggle, Dream prevailed and the bear would soon end up in his stomach. It was a gnarly sight to see, it wasn't exactly messy, just- disturbing. If a giant passed by then they'd shrug, likely not even looking his way. But if a human saw him, then that's different.

Seeing a giant bulky bear being chewed to the bone by a giant wouldn't be something a sane human would want to see, and on top of that, Dream was there, sitting in an awkward position; savoring the creature, with small bites. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten like this, with such wild and unrestrained abandon.. it was like he had transformed into a wild animal, a creature driven by instinct and desire...and it felt so damn good...he knew that he must have looked ridiculous and uncouth, but he didn't care...all that mattered was the taste and texture of the meat, the feeling of it sliding down his throat and filling his belly...he was in heaven, pure and absolute heaven...

His world stopped as he heard a voice.

"...Dream?"

With a gulp, he slowly turned his head to the side, seeing two dark figures; ever so slowly inching closer to him. His heart raced as the moonlight shone upon the figures faces. Their small human bodies tense, and so was he. The blonds eyes widened as he took a good long look at them, and they all sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"Y-You guys...Sap...nap? And Gogy?"

"Hey- wait! It's George!"

Holy shit.

[corvuserpens]

The Oath - A "Black Sails" oneshot fic

Here it is, the angst fest of Billy reacting to Gates' death! I've had the full thing sitting in my drafts for days, itching to edit it and post it, but life kept getting in the way. Well, yesterday I overworked on my Master's dissertation, so today I made time. This is set on the day Billy returns to Nassau, after talking to Silver and recounting what happened to him to the rest of the Walrus crew. I hope you enjoy the read and weep as much as I did lmao 🥂 Obviously, trigger warning for death mentions and dealing with grief.

Billy bones entered the wash tent alone. There was a porcelain basin with clean water there, and some soap for anyone to use. The towels were desperately needing a wash, however. No matter. He could sit it out and air dry enough before putting his rags back on and go find new clothes. There was also a cracked mirror on the corner that he paid no attention to. Slowly, biting back the complaints each movement gave him after weeks locked in that leather vest, he removed his shirt and trousers and tossed them onto the sand. He picked up the jar by the basin, plunged it into a bucket bucket full of water and turned it over his head, hissing as it offered some respite to his burned skin. It didn't last very long; the Bahamas heat soon warmed the liquid to match his own body temperature, but fuck if it didn't feel good. Next, he picked up the bar of soap, also dipped it into the bucket and started washing the sand, sweat salt and dirt from his skin--

His eyes caught sight of his reflection, freezing him. With hesitant steps, he came closer and tilted it downwards to really take himself in. His face was an angry red color, with bits of skin peeling off, and his lips cracked and scabbed over. His ankles and feet were also burned, and every inch of him was covered in bruises of varying shades, especially around the ribs. There were dark purple rings beneath his eyes, which still had the same color and shape, but his days in captivity had put something there that hadn't been present before. A little glint of something feral. Something scared. Something... broken.

He could barely recognize his own image.

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Billy forced himself to look away and take a seat on the wooden bench in front of the basin. As he rubbed off every bit of dirt until he could see the color of his own skin again, his mind began to wonder.

Inevitably, it turned to Gates.

Who was dead.

God, he still couldn't believe it. How could he be dead? What could possibly have happened that could lead to such an outcome? It was too hard to accept he could have been randomly killed in battle. Or had an accident. Or something as ridiculous as suffering a heart attack. Gates wasn't invincible, no one was, but Billy had always thought the man was too lucky or too experienced to die. He had never been sick a day in his life, not in all the years since Billy had joined.

But of course, he could have died from any one of those things. Hell, he could have died from a number of any other things, and all of them would have been better than the truth... which was that no one knew exactly how he had died.

Even Silver wasn't sure of what had happen. All anyone on the crew was certain of was that Mr. Gates followed captain Flint into the great cabin, and that was the last time they saw him alive. Flint's account was that Gates' heart had given out and that was it. Dufresne and some of the others were sure Flint had murdered him when he threatened mutiny after arriving to where the Urca de Lima was supposed to be and finding nothing. Regardless, no one was in that cabin to say what went down, except the two of them. Only Flint could tell, but Billy didn't trust a single word that came out of his mouth. And even where Billy himself was concerned, no matter what he had told the others, he also wasn't sure if Flint had lost his grip on his hand during the storm or simply let him go when he perceive him as a threat, as well. What was true and what wasn't, he didn't know.

And perhaps... it didn't really matter. It didn't matter how Gates had died. It mattered that he was dead.

Billy's hand stopped on his shoulder, only now noticing the suffocating tightness in his lungs. It had been there since he was told, slowly, steadily building up. While he had been talking to Silver, chained like an animal to a post, and then telling his brothers what he had gone through with the British navy, he had managed to bury it in his chest and ignore it, surprisingly easy. Now that he was alone with his thoughts, each passing minute it got harder and harder to do so. He scrubbed away at one arm, then the other, then a leg, a foot, all the while trying desperately to swallow the raw emotion growing inside him. It squeezed his throat, like it was trying to claw its way out. His stomach began to hurt something awful as he poured water down his head once more, washing away the soap and the filth off of himself.

The worst part though, was how heavy his eyes felt. The second he was aware of it, his chest constricted until he could barely breathe. He tried to forcefully suck in some air through his nose, only to find it stuffed. His head was swimming, from the building pressure around his eyes and from the memory of when he was finally freed from the navy's impressment.

Billy had been a small, weak thing then, but when Gates had found him, he had personally fed him, given him clothes to put on his back, taught him how to shoot and to use the cutlass. He had taken that fragile boy under his wing and taught him to be strong, to stand up for himself, to kill. And then, little Billy grew up into a man beloved by his friends, his brothers, this odd family that had found him on the brink of death and thought him worthy enough to recruit.

Gates had seen something in him, and to this day, he still didn't know what it was, but everything he had become, everything he had accomplished, he owed it to that man. Billy had respected him, looked up to him... yes, even loved him. He thought about how often Gates would call him "son" in recent years, and he couldn't fight back anymore.

The soap bar slipped from his trembling grasp. His hands went around his shoulders and buried the broken nails into his mistreated flesh, and he let himself curl up into a ball as his eyes shut tight and his features twisted painfully. Hot tears flowed freely down his burnt cheeks and dripped from his chin, as he took one shaky breath after the other.

Gates was dead. Gates was dead, and he died thinking Billy had preceded him. He never would know that this boy he had raised into a respected and revered pirate in his own right was still alive. Billy would never get to have the reunion he had prayed for, the one thing that had kept him sane all throughout the torture. It had been the lifeline he had grasped onto while violence was inflicted upon him. He never would get to thank Gates for everything he had done for him. Never would get to rise to be quartermaster in full, instead of serving as a replacement, then turn around and see the proud smile on his face. All those hopes, those dreams, had died with him.

For the first time since he had been pressed into the navy, Billy Bones sobbed. He rocked himself back and forth, his soul shattering into a thousand pieces. Someway somehow, he was expected to get up, put his clothes back on, and march out there like nothing had happened, but in that moment, he didn't have it in him. The sorrow that gripped him couldn't be forced to back down, and honestly? He didn't want to. So he wept, and wept, and wept, for what seemed like hours. Every time he tried to wipe away the tears and finally breathe, another wave would come and force him under. He held his pounding head in a hand and coughed, choked and moaned, but the tide of grief would not subside.

What was he to do, now...? Without Gates to hold everything together and make Flint listen to reason, what hope was there for him and the others? They would look up to him as Gates' chosen successor to look out for their well-being and their interests, but he didn't have any sway with Flint. Gates was the only one he listened to, and he was gone. What was he supposed to do, now...?

At last, his body stopped shivering and calmed. His breathing evened, allowing him enough respite to at least straighten up and let his hands fall on his lap. A couple of weaker sobs still managed to come out, but they too faded away after he cleared his throat and spat out the sticky saliva mixed with snot.

The crew would look to him to guide them, now. He had to get up and fight because whatever Flint was - liar, murderer, tyrant - on one very critical point he was right: civilization was coming to exterminate them. It would come and take every single person he knew and loved, and swallow them whole. Gates had only been the first casualty in the war that was now inevitable. Billy still didn't know how he would get Flint to listen to him, but that was a matter for another day. Despite how resentful he felt toward him, Flint was the only man in this island full of maniacs who was aware of the real threat looming on the horizon, which meant he was the only man with a way to ensure their survival through what was coming.

And yet, his post was at risk. With dissent and distrust rampant in the crew, it was only a matter of time before another attempt at mutiny was made. That is, if he wasn't voted out, first. That was something Billy could fix. He had learned from the best. Gates was not around to protect them anymore, but he had taught his protegée well. He owed it to Gates' memory to continue his work and make sure he saved as many as he could from the empire and from Flint. That was how he would honor him and the bond they had shared. That was the pillar he would lean on as he mourned his loss.

Billy Bones washed the tears from his eyes with a handful of water, stoop up to his feet and put his rags back on, effectively pulling himself together. Hal Gates was dead, but his legacy would live on through the boy he had seen some sort of potential in, even if he himself could not quite discern it yet. For as long as he drew breath, he would honor and continue that legacy.

That was his solemn oath, which he trusted to guide his steps, now and for the rest of his life. He only prayed it would lead them all to some place better, where their skies were always clear and they were all alive and free; then Billy could lay down on the beach one last time and be at peace, knowing he had kept his word, and that wherever Gates was, he could look down on him and smile with pride.

[justcallmecj]

Sorting Ceremony And My Dorm

   Alright. So this chapter really was just me trying to figure out the writing style for this when I first made it. Doesn't mean much to the future prompts tbh, except for maybe one chapter that plays as a sort of "continuation" of this. For any future prompt submissions, this dorm sorting means nothing and requesting reader to be from another dorm is totally okay! Have fun!

"Next!" rang the Headmaster's voice. One of the few things he's said this whole time, and he just keeps repeating.

        The boy before me went up to the Dark Mirror. The Dark Mirror repeated the same 'state thy name' line. The student said his name and the mirror chose his dorm. Scarabia. He kinda looked like a Scarabia kid too if you ask me. He came back to his spot next to me and Crowley called the next person again. Me.

        Crap. Now I have to walk alone to the Dark Mirror. With all those eyes on me. It's fine, we can do this Y/N. Just go to the Dark Mirror and get your dorm.

        I made my way past students and into the clearing for walking. I made sure to keep my wings folded close to my body and tail wrapped around my leg as to make sure I didn't hit anyone.

        I calmed down a tad as I walked because I realized the other boys really couldn't care less about what I was doing. The only eyes truly on me were those of the Headmaster and the dormheads. No biggy so far.

        "State thy name" the Dark Mirror asked me. Does it ever get bored of saying only that? I definitely would. 

        "Y/N L/N" I told it. The face in the mirror thought for a bit.  The longer the wait, the more anxious I felt. The face finally looked up at me again.

        "Your soul was harder than most to read, but I do believe that I found the right one. I place you in..." he took a dramatic pause. Really not needed body-less face. Please just hurry up!

        "...Pomefiore." The dorm founded from the Beautiful Queen? I mean, alright. Definitely not where I originally thought the Dark Mirror would put me but I can roll with it.

        From behind me I heard the  smallest hum of contentment from someone. I turned around to head back to my spot. I traced the hum to a person. Vil Schoenheit, the dormhead of Pomefiore. I only managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes when I walked by. He's been watching the ones sorted to his dorm all day. I'm no different I guess.

        I eventually made it back to my spot and waited for the last couple students to get sorted. I ended up blocking out the rest of the ceremony. It wasn't until I heard the loud voice of someone giving orders that I came back to reality.

        The other dormheads gave little speeches about welcoming their new members and how they operate in the dorm. We were all told to follow our dormhead to the dorm and get cozy in our new rooms.

        I followed close to my soon to be dormmates. I somehow got pushed to the front and now found myself behind Vil. Talk about nerve wracking. Without realizing, my tail uncoiled itself from around my leg and started swishing gently behind me. Quite a few of the boys behind me backed up as to not get hit. Nice, personal space!

        After we had all headed through the mirror to Pomefiore and into the actual dorm, I found myself frozen in awe. Ironic considering I don't freeze. Even the coldest of temperatures can't do that to me.

        The whole place looked like a castle. The roofs were high, the walls made of bricks outside beautifully painted a white color. There was all sorts of decorations strung throughout the room, lights everywhere. If I wasn't used to bright lights they would have been blinding. The room was filled to the brim with lavish looking furniture, all the signature royal purple of Pomefiore, even the walls had the beautiful color on them. There was a ridiculous amount of mirrors covering the walls. Really, are you trying to make me get sick of my own reflection?

        While everyone was admiring the beauty of the common room, Vil turned to face us and called out.

        "Now listen up!" he ordered. We all gave him our attention. "You are all now members of Pomefiore, the dorm founded by the Beautiful Queen. Because of that, we take our looks and status very seriously around here. I expect you all to do the same." Behind Vil, a man wearing a hat with a feather on top came to stand next to him. He gave everyone an unnerving closed-eyed smile. Both Vil and this dude are so freaking intimidating! Why though!?

        "For those of you who don't know, I'm Vil Schoenheit, your dormleader. This next to me is Rook Hunt, your vice dormleader." So that's the hat dude's name. "We are the ones in command in this dorm. We want to make sure you all can live up to the name and reputation Pomefiore has, meaning that you all are going to have to work hard. Beauty doesn't come without work, or with zero effort." he stopped giving his speech when Rook leaned over his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He then brought his attention back to us. Rook somehow spoke quietly enough that even my dragon-like hearing couldn't pick it up.

        "There's something that needs my attention. I dismiss you all to go find your rooms. There are plaques by the door of each room with your full names on them. Spend some time to find it and adjust to how you'll be living from now on. Your stuff has already been brought to your rooms. Also, feel free to explore Pomefiore a bit." He moved the hair out of his face. My man got some pretty long hair to be honest.

        Rook and Vil left the common room in a hurry, but the moment they did, the room burst with voices. We had all been so silent, I got so used to the quiet with only Vil's voice being heard, that when people started talking, it was an eruption in my ears. Some left to find their room, others found people to strike up a conversation with. Only a few, including me, stayed put, not knowing what exactly to do next.

        I stopped to take the time and rid myself of my ceremonial robes. It's was getting too hot for my in them anyway. I took it off, allowing my tail to take up a bit of space for it's own. My horns were a bit of a struggle with the hood but it came off with a little work. I made sure to keep my wings furled though, with their wingspan, those suckers would hit someone with no doubt.

        With my release though, came whispers. People around me talked in hushed tones, I heard it all though. Something I don't necessarily like about my enhanced hearing. 'Look at their tail, it's thrashing around like crazy'. No it isn't! Just a nervous swing! 'Those horns look like ice spikes, could probably spear someone with them!' I mean, true, I can, but why would I!? 'Are those wings?! What are they?!' A dragon you dick, that's what. I guess people around these parts aren't used to seeing fae, let alone dragon types.

        I wanted to stop and take a moment to take in all the people, but I prefer not to go through the mental torture that is talking to new people. In the end, I settled for finding my room. I found a sign next to a door leading out of the common room that was labeled 'Student Rooms'. Guess that's where I'm going then.

         With a lot, a lot, a lot and a lot of searching I finally found my room. End of the hallway in the east wing of the building. No other room to my left, one to my right, and another across the hall. I guess I don't have to worry about noise to much. Wow, the door is so freaking tall! Holy shit dude.

        I opened the large purple door with the golden accents. On the other side was a bedroom just as lavish and grand as the common room and the hallway was. They did tone down on the royal purple but the gold accents didn't stop in the hallway. A lot of space in here, not used to that while living with two little siblings. There was a full length stained glass window, a wardrobe, bookshelf, a desk to work at, and a bare bed. Everything I need!

        Just as the dear dormleader had said, my luggage was sitting in the middle of the room. Three suitcases, one for clothes, one for personal items, and one for room decorations. If I'm gonna be here for the next three years of my life, I'm gonna make sure I'll enjoy the hell out of my room. There was plenty of space to let my wings spread too! I slowly unfurled my wings and carefully stretched them to their full length, careful not to strain them after being tucked in for so long. They were definitely gonna be a little sore tomorrow. Regardless, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!

        I then spent the next 2 hours of my life unpacking. I put my clothes away and found my school uniform in the wardrobe along with what I assume is the Pomefiore uniform. I unpacked all the books I brought with me and sorted them on the book shelf, school supplies in and on the desk, and put pictures in the little nooks and crannies of it all and on the wall. Pictures of my family, friends, and places I loved. Pictures of my sister and brother when they were little, even some of me when I was little as well. I made sure to leave plenty of empty space though. Wanna make sure I have space for future pictures to hang and sit.

        Once I was all done, I decided I should probably check the time. Nightfall had hit and the sun was starting to go down. As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. I need food. Now. Gotta find the kitchen or dining room first though. I left my room and started making my way where ever I could. I think I may have caught a glimpse of a sign saying Dining Room earlier. Now, I just gotta find it again.

        I searched for a while absentmindedly. With no success of finding my destination, I resorted to my ears. I closed my eyes and listened close. I caught wind of multiple conversations but none of them said anything that would help me. That was, until I heard a voice I actually recognized, two actually but I only knew one. Vil's voice, the other was new to me.

        With nothing to loose, I followed the sound of their conversation, careful not to pay any attention to what they were saying and instead on where they were coming from. Don't think I wanna start eavesdropping on people already.

        Luck seemed to be on my side today. While following Vil and the unknown voice, I found the sign I've been searching for. Dining Room. Finally found it. I entered the room and found it filled with students. How did I not hear all of them? Anyway, I slowly made my way to an empty seat, one at the end of the table with no one to my right. There was a seat at the head of the table next to me that was empty and one empty seat across the table. They seemed to be the only ones without and occupant. For Vil and whoever he's talking with I assume.

        After some waiting Vil and Rook came in and sat with all of us. Dinner was served and by 9:00 PM Vil sent everyone to bed for the night. I found my room again and flopped down on my bed that was now a nest I made out of pillows and blankets. I got up again only to get dressed and quickly curled myself up in a ball in my nest. My wings softly covering me and my thin tail wrapped in front of me. My own natural cold that my body produces whisked me off to sleep. First day of school tomorrow.

[itsawhumpsideblog]

BBU Community Days 2024, Day 8

April 21 / Writing Prompt: "OUTSIDE" / Write a BBU story based on the one-word-prompt and share it!

CW: for institutionalized slavery, burns, neglect, abuse, guns mentioned but not used, more swearing than usual, murder (takes place offscreen)

On Monday, the week the Outside Pet arrived, Nathan burnt the chicken cacciatore he was making and Master pressed his arm to the stove as punishment.

There was a very long instant in which Nathan felt a heat so high that it registered as freezing cold and his knees turned to jelly. His mouth dropped open, but he was too stunned to scream. The world stood frozen in that moment and it was filled with pain and a fear of what would happen next- but even beneath all that, the part of Nathan that still wanted to live was pulling his reactions under careful control.

If he screamed, he had to be careful not to swear. If the screams came out in words, they had to be ones that wouldn't have been erased. He couldn't beg for relief, because he wasn't supposed to know it might be available. He had to be a good Pet, even now, or it was all over and who knew what would happen to him?

Knowing this Master, he would wind up fertilizing the wildflowers that grew in the woods behind the house. He wouldn't be the first.

All of these thoughts came and went almost instantly. His arm wasn't touching the stovetop for more than a second or two, which was plenty long enough to leave a burn, and then Master pulled it up and let him go.

"I'll order a pizza," he said, sounding more disgusted than was reasonable when discussing a ruined dinner that he could easily afford to replace. "Don't let me see you before breakfast." Then he left in a huff, already picking up his phone.

Nathan managed to keep his mouth clamped shut until Master was gone. It was easier not to betray himself if he didn't say anything at all. Then he walked slowly to the pantry where his bed was, on the floor below the spice racks. He was holding his arm out in front of himself, grasping his elbow, and he couldn't stop staring at the blister that had already formed.

Nathan entered the pantry and very carefully pulled the door shut. He knelt on the human-sized dog bed with the scruffy blue blanket and only then did he begin to wail.

The next morning, Nathan was careful to be up on time, although it wasn't as though he had slept much to begin with. His arm hurt, of course, and when he had been able to stop screaming, he had gone out to spend most of the night hovering over the sink, running room-temperature water over the burn to keep the pain at bay just far enough. When the time came that he had to either sit down or fall down, he had wrapped the arm in a wet towel and gone back to lay on his bed and blow softly across the burn to keep it cool.

The day passed badly. Master was gone for most of it and Nathan completed his chores though a haze of pain. It was hard to stand and hard to move and the one thing he wanted to do- lie down and sleep until he felt better- was out of the question.

Wednesday was worse and Nathan woke to a fever that made him feel achy and wrung-out. He had a cautious look at his arm when he emerged from the pantry and found that he didn't care to look more closely. It was enough to know that it was blistered and painful and obviously infected.

Master seemed to be busy with something and kept checking his phone all through breakfast, instead of watching his morning soap opera, as he usually did.

"Stay in the kitchen today," he said when Nathan cleared away the plates. Nathan nodded, and for just a moment he realized that Master was looking closely at him. That was unusual and Nathan dropped his gaze to the carpet. He hoped he hadn't aroused any suspicion, but Master looked back down at his phone and began tapping on the screen and it was impossible to say what he had been thinking.

Nathan gripped the plate firmly as he made his way back into the kitchen, stumbling just a little. He washed the dishes and cleaned the countertop and then realized with pathetic gratitude that he had nothing else to do until lunch.

Over the next couple of hours, Nathan's fever raged and when the man in the WRU uniform brought the box around the house to the back garden, Nathan was curled up in the kitchen window with tears in his eyes, feeling very sorry for himself. He was so unwell that it took him several seconds to realize what the box on the large handcart was and even then, he couldn't find the energy to be interested.

Master came around the corner of the house a moment later and he helped the WRU employee lay the box down so that they could unlatch the lid. Nathan laid his woozy head against the cool of the glass and watched as they opened the box and stood back. There was a long moment in which nothing happened and then a young man emerged from the box.

He was tall and looked very strong- and very afraid. His sandy hair was tousled and his t-shirt and soft pants didn't look like they were keeping him warm enough. Nathan thought feverishly that perhaps the new pet would swap with him and then they would both feel better.

Master tipped the WRU employee, who put the box back on the handcart and left. Then he turned on his new Pet and seemed to be issuing some kind of orders. The new Pet nodded eagerly, looking desperate to please. Master reached up and cuffed him and the Pet cringed, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head, but he was nodding. Finally Master nodded as well and left his new Pet in the garden.

That night, after dinner, Master strode into the kitchen and set a small orange bottle down on the counter, not very gently. The sound startled Nathan, who was mechanically washing dishes while stars spun across his field of vision.

"You know what that is?" he asked Nathan, and for once Nathan didn't have to pretend to be ignorant of the sorts of things any human would know. He could barely see the counter at all, and certainly not clearly. Nathan shook his head.

"Pills," Master explained. "Take one every night until they're gone. Don't miss a day and don't leave any left over. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Nathan managed to say.

"Good. I'm not losing money on you." Master left the kitchen and as soon as the dishes were done, Nathan took the bottle in shaking hands and fumbled it open. He took one of the rather large pills and washed it down with a swig of water, wincing as it caught in his throat. Then he looked over his shoulder to make sure Master wasn't watching and read the label, very slowly and methodically.

"Pen-i-cill-in," he sounded out. He wasn't a very good reader at the best of times and the fever made his eyes feel hot and dry. When he could finally comprehend the word, though, he sighed in relief. Master wasn't going to let the infection kill him, after all. Nathan was deeply grateful and then annoyed at himself for feeling gratitude towards a man who had intentionally burned him.

As the penicillin worked its magic and the burn on his arm healed into a rough scar, Nathan's mind cleared and he had more energy to think of the Pet who lived outside. He was evidently not allowed indoors at all and Nathan certainly wasn't allowed into the garden, but he watched the other Pet from time to time.

Mostly, during the day, the other Pet slept, curled up in the softest grass or under a bush. But at night, before he went to bed, Nathan saw the Pet marching around the house in one circle after another, patrolling, keeping watch over the place.

This worried Nathan immensely. He had come to learn, during his- god, had it been a year already?- in his Master's home that Master knew some really unsavory people. Even worse, he had made other unsavory people very angry and possibly owed them money.

Call it what it was- Nathan still knew the words. Master was some kind of big shot in the world of organized crime. Nathan had seen all three parts of The Godfather, plus Goodfellas and at least half of The Sopranos. He knew the kinds of things his Master did and he knew who the men were who came to the house wearing guns on their hips and conferred with Master in the study until late in the night. He felt like Spider every time he brought them dinner.

And outside, the other Pet was all that stood between men like that and Master. He was a big Pet and he looked strong, sure, but Nathan didn't have much faith that he would last long against a determined enemy. Every morning, Nathan woke with a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach and it stayed there until he was able to get to the window and see that the outside Pet was still alive.

Nathan had never seen the outside Pet fight, but there were signs that it happened frequently. The Pet would be there in the morning, under the bush, with a black eye or rubbing at his knee with his eyebrows knit and Nathan would wonder what had gone on and how much longer the other Pet could stand it.

The worry got the better of Nathan one day when he took his morning look through the window to find that the outside Pet had blood all over his chin and shirt. Nathan served Master breakfast and began the cleaning, but froze and stopped to listen when he heard the front door open and shut and then the sound of Master's truck starting.

Sure enough, the truck's noise continued for a moment and then receded gradually, meaning that Master had left the house. All of a sudden, Nathan knew what he was going to do. He quickly ran a washcloth under the sink and, on an impulse that would later cause him great anxiety, grabbed a banana out of the bowl on the counter.

At the back door, he stopped to make sure that the alarm wasn't set. It often wasn't, during the day, and this was no exception. He darted to the front windows and peered at the driveway and then down the street to make sure the truck really was gone. It was nowhere in sight.

Heart beating quickly, Nathan took the washcloth and the fruit and slipped as quietly as he could out the back door. He was still looking over his shoulder as he hurried to the garden.

The other Pet was sitting there with his legs outstretched and one hand holding his swollen jaw. His brow was knitted with worry and pain and blood dripped from his nose over his open lips to drench his shirt.

"Hey, buddy," Nathan said as he approached, speaking very carefully, almost as if he was talking to a strange dog. The other Pet's head shot up and he winced and made a pained face.

"Sorry," Nathan went on. "I didn't mean to scare you." He crossed the garden and knelt by the other Pet. "I was- well, I was kinda worried about you. You look pretty beat up."

The other Pet nodded, very carefully. His eyes were bleary and he put his other hand to his head, holding himself gingerly.

"Does it hurt? Looks like your nose might be broken."

The other Pet nodded, looking exhausted and then gestured with both hands straight along either side of his nose. Then he pointed to himself and made the gesture again.

"Sorry- what do you-" Nathan started and then put the pieces together. "Whoa, did you set your own nose?" The other Pet nodded and looked suddenly deeply weary.

"Wow, man, okay. You must be tough!" The other Pet shrugged. "Listen, I can't stay out here long, but I brought you some food and I thought you might want to clean up. Yeah?"

Tears rose in the other Pet's eyes and he nodded. "Okay," Nathan said. "You sit tight. I got you, and then I gotta get back in the house before Master comes home. Okay?"

The outside Pet looked very frightened at the mention of their Master, but he sat still and obedient while Nathan carefully wiped the blood from his face. His nose wasn't bleeding as ferociously as it must have done at first and he seemed to be able to breathe through it, which was something.

"Okay, I'll wash this up," Nathan said when he had finished. It should be easy enough to sneak one more thing into the laundry, since he was the only one who ever did it. "And here- eat this." He peeled the banana and gave the fruit to the other Pet, who took it in one bloody hand and stared at it like he was going to burst into tears. "I know," Nathan added, "Master probably gives you shitty dog food or something. But this is yours. Enjoy!" And he hurried to the back door, suddenly desperate to be inside and out of trouble.

Once he had gone out to the garden once, Nathan found himself both anxious to go back and terrified of being outdoors again. He saw the outside Pet watching the kitchen window sometimes and Nathan waved at him when he could, but it was hard to find a time that they were both awake and Master left the house. He tended to be gone in the evenings, when the outside Pet had work to do.

But it did happen from time to time. One day, Nathan was just pulling a tray of muffins out of the oven when he heard the signal of the closing door and the truck's noise. The outside Pet was curled up under a bush and Nathan was seized by a sudden boldness. He wrapped a muffin in a kitchen towel and ran.

Without meaning to, he surprised the outside Pet again. The young man was half dozing under a bush and jumped a little, but relaxed again when he realized it was only Nathan.

"Hey, buddy, I brought you something." Nathan knelt by him and pulled the towel open to reveal the muffin, full of chocolate chips and steaming slightly in the cool air. The outside Pet looked at it in amazement and then pointed at himself with a questioning look.

"That's what I said, right? For you." Nathan handed it to him and the other Pet held the muffin for a moment, wondering at it. "Fresh out of the oven."

The muffin was gone in seconds, despite the heat. The outside Pet opened his mouth to breath out steam and looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Was it good?" The outside Pet nodded. "Great, that's great. Hey- you don't talk, do you?" Nathan asked. It had only just occurred to him.

The outside Pet looked a little embarrassed and shook his head.

"How come?" The response was a gesture and facial expression that told Nathan it was a long story and impossible to relate without words. "Eh, don't worry about it. We're all fucked up."

The outside Pet looked shocked at the language, but also like he wanted to laugh. Then he peered more closely at Nathan. He reached over and ran his rough fingers along Nathan's burned arm with infinite gentleness. He looked up at Nathan with a question on his face and concern in his eyes.

"Master did that," Nathan confirmed. The other Pet scowled. Then he raised an eyebrow in another question. Somehow Nathan found that he was having no trouble understanding. "Yeah, it hurt! I got really sick, too. Teach me to burn chicken, I guess." The outside Pet shook his head and patted Nathan's scar tenderly, as if comforting him.

"Thanks, buddy." Nathan smiled at him but realized that he was reaching the limit of how long he could stand being outside before the fear of getting caught overwhelmed him. "Look, I gotta go but I'll try to come back soon. Sleep well!" The outside Pet smiled and curled back up under the bush.

Every night since the attack, when the strangers had killed his Master and the outside Pet, Nathan had woken from the same nightmare. In it, as in real life, he had heard sounds outside and rushed to the window in time to see them murder the poor outside Pet. Then they had seen him and in the dream, he was stuck to the floor but trying to run as they broke down the door...

Nathan was not running now. He had been inside a box for a couple of hours, stowed for transport, and now he was being spilled onto the floor of some building. The pain in his leg was overwhelming and he could barely think straight, but he knew he had to keep quiet. He had to keep his mouth shut and keep his secret. If he wasn't being used for parts, only his silence now would ensure his continued survival.

Nathan lay on his back, doing his best not to move. It wasn't too difficult at the moment. There were voices, but his head swam so fiercely that he couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like they were coming from a long way away. But at least the voice droning on above him was mild and didn't sound angry and the hands that were touching his bruises were gentle and hadn't pressed down too hard.

Until they got to his leg.

That was when Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs, swearing, because he couldn't help it. The hands moved to the other break, above his ankle and he screamed again, sobbing as he cried out.

What seemed to be the examination finished and there were gentle hands on his face, smoothing his hair back. Through the weight of his pain, Nathan found himself answering questions, pouring out information about himself as if that was a safe thing to do. Part of him was talking, giving up his name as if there would be no repercussions. Then his brain caught up with his mouth and he felt sick with pain and fear.

"I'm so sorry. I mean, this Pet is so sorry, Master, Mistress," he mumbled.

There was a silence, and then Mistress's voice saying, hesitantly, "Are you... no offense...But are you actually a Pet?"

"Yes, Mistress." If it had been safe, he would have begged her to believe him.

"Only, I've never heard a Box Boy swear before. We have two other... um... former Pets staying with us now and neither of them ever does."

Something about that sentence broke through Nathan's pain-fogged mind. "Did you say former?"

The next few minutes flew by as Nathan struggled to comprehend everything they were saying and what it all meant for him. He was still trying to wrap his mind around it as they hauled him into the next room and made him as comfortable as they could on the sofa.

It was there, sitting in that strange room and trying desperately to maintain some kind of composure while they arranged his leg and talked at him and made introductions, that Nathan finally saw the Pet.

It was like watching the sun rise, Nathan thought later. When everything is so dark that you feel all alone in the world and then that first ray of light appears over the horizon, shining hopeful and bright across the world, straight to you.

"Buddy?" he asked. "It's- is it really you? You survived?"

And the outside Pet lifted a battered and swollen face to meet his eyes, and nodded, and smiled.

Master List

Notes: I went through a phase where I watched a lot of movies about the Mafia. The reference to "Spider" is from Goodfellas.

I also meant to have this done earlier, but life was what it was, so here we are! Better late than never, and this will be part 2 of a trilogy of prequel stories I did according to the BBU Community Days 2024 prompts.

Tag list: @pigeonwhumps, @cepheusgalaxy, @i-eat-worlds, @honeycollectswhump @taterswhump, @starfields08000 @whumpsday, @fruitypinapple00, @currentlyinthesprial

[darling1001]

WHEN IT CRUMBLES

Miguel O'Hara & OFC

Part 1

Summary: Miguel rescues someone who shares his pain.

cw: Angst, blood mention.

Something wasn't right. The control room signals detected an anomaly but then vanished and shut down. They were sporadic, like if they were traveling from one dimension to another and back again. Because of these contradictions, Miguel had just one option: go investigate. The dimension in question was a cold area where it always snowed and there seemed to be no variation in temperatures, giving it a sorrowful atmosphere. Miguel conducted research before setting out on the hunt for an answer. He had logged numerous violent murders throughout the city, and he was fully aware that it was an anomaly. There was no Spiderman or Spiderwoman at the time. As a result, the dimension became more vulnerable and less secure.

The chilly air is burning Miguel's face. He pulls his scarf up to his nose, unused to these temperatures. Finding a running anomaly is challenging, and it becomes even more difficult when it can easily transcend dimensions. There were few people on the streets of this freezing New York. He could see people hurrying to shield themselves from the freezing wind, which seemed to have intensified. He went faster, to where Lyla showed, trying to complete his job as soon as possible, irritated by the constant cold that ran through his body. The location directed him to a long and gloomy lane. Miguel frowned as he approached the alley from the street. But something drew his attention; suddenly, lights and sounds familiar to him appeared at the end, illuminating the alley. Miguel smirked and dashed towards the streetlights. "I got you"

When he arrived at the location of the lights, the spontaneous portal had vanished, and the creature appeared to have fled the scene. Miguel grumbled angrily and summoned Lyla to ask for more coordinates; she materialized glitcin in front of him. But a noise from behind him woke him up. Someone could simply go hide in the alley because it was cluttered with rubbish and dumpsters, and Miguel wouldn't know because of his lack of spider senses.

Alma had no idea what had occurred. After being bitten by a spider in her hand, everything seemed to come alive, with noises and feelings flowing from everywhere, her head ached, and her hands itched. Second, a large red monster appeared out of nowhere and began running towards the street, and a weird tall man appeared before her and spoke to a yellow hologram girl with amazing heart shaped glasses, which Alma now wanted too. And all the while she rummaged among the trash for something of interest to bring home. The girl crouched behind a garbage container, pulling up the hood of her hoodie and taking a long breath as she considered her next move. But she felt something, something that made her move; a need to escape ran through her entire body, and she did so, unwittingly escaping the man who was approaching her with inhuman speed.

Miguel came to a halt when he noticed the person who was hiding from him. She was a girl, perhaps around 13 years old. The girl ran afraid, but she did something unusual: she ran unusually fast for a regular girl.

The girl must have seen something.

Miguel went after her in the most harmless manner possible, but let's face it, Miguel doesn't look friendly at all. Despite the fact that the girl was quick, Miguel was more experienced and caught up with her. He gently yanked on her hood, turning her around to get a better look at her. The girl appeared grimy, as if she had gone through the trash. Her hair was white and shoulder length, and her eyes were dark as coal. The girl kicked and fought her way out.

"Hey, quit that!" Miguel scowled. In anxiety, the girl pursed her lips. She also attempted to bite his arm.

"What exactly do you want me to do, man?!? You're terrifying, and you look to be chewing on a fucking lemon the whole time!!" After attempting to bite him, she yelled at him.

"Did you really just try to bite my arm?" He said, perplexed, as he wiped the saliva from his arm. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to know what you saw back there"

"I can tell you everything I know with a little encouragement." She gave him a cheeky look and extended her hand, revealing her palm. When she observed her outraged expression, she finished, "Nothing is free in this world."

"I thought you were afraid of me 2 minutes ago," Miguel remarked.

"You can never pass up an opportunity, sir," the girl said dismissively.

"Pinche niña," Miguel whispered as he examined the pockets of his slacks (he had dressed casually to fit in) and found 40 bucks, a mint candy, and a kitten keychain.

Alma smiled warmly and took all of Miguel's items from his grasp. “this seems enough!” she exclaimed, her eyes twinkling at the kitty keychain.

"Are you always like this?" Please, no. "No courtesy?" She inquired, a small smile on her face.

In annoyance, Miguel rolled his eyes and touched the bridge of his nose. "Can you please tell me what you saw?" He questioned vehemently. "I really like her!" Layla spoke via his earpiece.

"Of course!" exclaimed Alma. "First, that thing appeared out of nowhere; it was so big, tall, and red, as if it had like sticky blood flowing from its body. And it was extremely, very ugly, with nothing pretty, not a single pretty thing," Alma said, running her hands up and down to explain. "And it went that way," she said, pointing, "and if you don’t mind me, I have to go."

When Miguel moved his sight to where the girl was, she had already vanished around the corner. "Who is she, Lyla?" Miguel inquired, both curiously and attentively. "nothing more and nothing less, that was the spider girl from this universe. Her name is Alma López, and she was only bitten a few minutes before you found her."

———————————————————————————

Alma ran into the brisk wind, the cold scorching her cheeks like it had so many times before. She grinned as she felt the 40 dollars in her pocket, despite being used to the cold. She dashed to the supermarket to get food, warm and tasty. Her smile did not waver as she considered returning home to show her parents and brother what she had got.

The closer she went to home, the more excited she became. Her family's home was not fancy or large; it was a tiny one-story dwelling with one room. Alma promised her parents that when she finished school and sought for an appropriate job, she would find a nicer place for them. She'd find them somewhere better, somewhere they wouldn't be cold, somewhere they'd eat enough to stop the pain of emptiness in their belly, somewhere they'd eat three times a day. A place where her mother could relax and recover from her illness, and where her father could help her worn old back. she could help her brother.

But she had no idea that her dreams would be dashed by the impending reality.

The atmosphere in New York was different, more anxious. She could sense that something horrible was going on. Her heart racing and her senses tingling, she increased her steps. She came to a halt when she saw her neighbors' houses collapse and smash into each other, collapsing to nothing and disappearing all at once. "What the fuck...?" Alma was worried and murmured. She rushed home like she'd never run before. She had to find them.

The pristine white scenery was shattered. Red droplets and stains coated the ground and created a path to her house's doors. The door opened as if it were inviting anybody in, and the rusty stench reached her nose. The bags fell to the floor and the biting stopped as soon as she entered. It was like a painting and the walls were the canvas.

“Mom? Dad?”

“It smells like spider in here” a deep and eerie voice came from the house.

bite, bites, bites.

Chewing, chewing

swallowing…

What kind of nightmare is this?

Alma took a step forward and stepped on something; when she looked down, she saw that the floors were covered with red paint. But... was that truly red paint? She hoped it was red paint.

Everything happened so quickly that there was no time to think about it. Alma noticed the sound when she first saw the red beast. Then she heard heavy and powerful footsteps, like if an animal was racing. When the ferocious animal shoved her out of the path, she fell to the ground and noticed them. It was there when she witnessed everything. Her parents unrecognizable on the floor, smeared in red paint.

Now everything unfolded gradually, as if in slow motion, her chest and breathing rose, and her heart ran miles, she could feel it racing inside her body. She felt herself breaking apart, like if she were being pulled open. Her world was crumbling. literally. But something jolted her out of her stupor. Someone was tugging at her sleeve with great desperation.

“Alma, please talk to me” Her young brother, Luka, pulled her sleeves up in anguish as he noticed what her sister witnessed.

Her eyes move fast. Her pupils dilated as her eyes enlarged. Her face was pale, and she was sweating despite the cold. She jerked awake and hastily snatched her brother into her arms, covering his eyes as she moved to get out of there.

"Don't look, don’t look. We'll be fine, we'll be fine," she repeated weakly, like a mantra.

Alma, who was on the floo-" her little brother asked, clinging to her sister in horror.

“No, they’re okay. They’re just sleeping! Yes, sleeping. Just… sleeping” She whispered shakily as she walked through the snow looking for whatever she was looking for. Something safe.

But everything appeared to be wrong, and everything was wrong. Everything appeared to vanish in cracks.

Where have all the people gone? Where has everyone gone?

"Alma" his brother groaned, "I don't feel well," his breath frozen and frigid air escaping from his lip, his words sounded bad like everything else around it, sliced up like a computer glitch. “It hurts”

She came to a halt and knelt on the ground, holding her brother in her arms. Her breath became stuck in her throat, and her desperation took control of her body. "What is going on?" What are you feeling? I promise I'll take care of you. I’m sorry, Please do not leave. "Please, Luka," she pleads as she watches her brother go away, as if he never been, her voice muffled by tears and her aching throat heard everywhere, her hands clinging to the snow underneath her. "Luka, please come back; don't leave me alone." she fell to the ground even lower, hugging her body as she cried harder and trembled.

So cold, it’s really cold

I don’t like this cold anymore

She didn't know when the cold ceased, but she felt him holding her tightly and the irregular movements of her body abruptly stopped, leaving her floating. But she was no longer cold and that was much better.

"I've got you. I've got you. You're fine and safe. I swear." He muttered gently and calmly, his words carefully rocking her.



[barbi2709]

Are you taking requests, if so, can you do a fluffy fic, where college au, soft soobin has a cold, icy gf who comes to his event, because I loved your soobin concert oneshot

22:10 || Thanks for coming

Disclaimer: This and each of my stories are only fiction and are not intended to offend or make anyone uncomfortable, if this type of content makes you uncomfortable, feel free to leave without resentment :]

Paring: Soft!Soobin x fem!cold!reader

Genre: fluff, college au, cold x soft trope, angst (?) if you squint

Summary: One movie night on campus, your boyfriend kindly invited you to go, even though he knew you weren't the biggest fan of going out, so he was surprised you accepted without second thougths.

WC: 550

a/n: HIIII, TYSM FOR REQUESTING, and also thank you so much for your sweet words, I'm glad you liked it 😭😭😭. My request are always open if you want to request again ;) I have a list for the Idols I currently write for.

I don't know if this is what you ment when you said "event" because I'm not in college yet (If you want me to change it tell me without any shame), but I really had fun writting this since is out of my comfort writing space, so hope you like it ♥.

(Remember that English isn't my first language so if there's any mistakes let me know)

Your boyfriend had invited you to a movie night on his college campus, the event was going to be outdoors, and the movie was going to be shown on the school's field, so he wasn't so sure if you would accept.

His surprise was notorious when you accepted almost immediately, he expected your monotonous tone to tell him that you weren't in the mood, but instead, you accepted with a small "sure".

So there you were, looking for a spot to take sit at the campus court, Soobin was carrying a backpack and carrying a sheet in his arms, while you walked along with him with serenity on your face.

After a couple of minutes, you finally found a spot, positioned right in the center of the court, no doubt the view of the movie would be perfect from there. Soobin sighed in relief after spreading the sheet on the floor, a soft smile planted on his lips as he took a seat right after you.

After a few minutes, the movie started and the place went almost dead silent, he thought of wrapping an arm around you but he was kinda worried about making you awkward, so he settled for having you around, right next to him.

After some time had passed since the beginning of the movie, Soobin took the initiative and subtly took your hand, he knew it was an action that didn't bother you at all. The moment would have been tender If it weren't for your low body temperature.

—God, you're freezing! —he said with concern in his voice after taking your hand, and in a matter, he took off his jacket—. Here. —he said as he placed it on you.

—Thank you. —you thanked him as he put the jacket on you properly, feeling the warmth invade your body immediately.

—It's nothing love —he said as he took advantage of the situation to hug you by the shoulders and make you lean your head on his shoulder—. You can tell me anything you need, ok?. —he reassured you with a soft smile and a kiss on your forehead, you blushed a little while nodding your head.

—Sorry. —you apologized in a whisper, not with the idea of him hearing you, but he did, making him turn to look at you with a soft gaze.

—You don't have to apologize. —he said while rubbing your arm gently, leaving another kiss at the top of your head.

After your small talk, you returned to that comfortable silence characteristic of your relationship, moments where neither of you needed to say anything, just the comfort of each other and your company.

In spite of that, you couldn't help thinking about his words, "You can tell me anything you need" it was something difficult for you, unfortunately you weren't born with the gift of expressing your emotions so easily, and you felt that it was a barrier for your relationship with Soobin.

He and you started dating some time ago, and despite your cold personality, he was always very understanding and kind to you, he was a gentleman in his pure form, and you couldn't help but feel indebted to him.

You couldn't help but look at the other couples and see how they were so openly affectionate, and you couldn't help but wish you could be that way too.

—Is something wrong babe? —your boyfriend asked softly after watching you for a while and catching you looking at everything but the movie—. Do you want to go back home?

You shook your head while turning your attention back to the big screen, but you could feel your boyfriend's intense, worried gaze, making you sigh.

—It's just… —you started to say without taking your eyes off the screen, while Soobin had his full attention on you—. I see the other couples showing affection so easily… It makes me wish I wasn't the way I am. —you said without further ado, releasing another sigh at the end.

-What?

—I don't know —you mumbled—, I wish I could express myself more easily, show you affect like others. —you said while hugging your knees, but your calm expression didn't change a bit despite your words.

Soobin couldn't believe what he was hearing, he thought that you weren't bordered by that kind of thoughts, he loved your cold personality and thought it was hella attractive, in his eyes you were the coolest person alive, and the fact that you had such a soft spot for him to let him give you affection made him fall harder for you every single day.

—Hey, look at me. —he said while grabbing your chin gently and making you look him in the eye.

—I want you to know that you're the coolest person I've ever met, I love every single detail about you, I don't think you need to change anything about yourself because I was able to love you by who you were and I still love you for who you are now.

His words made you look at him surprised, sure, he was such a soft boyfriend who always showed you how much he loved you, but he didn't say things like that so often, your eyes sparkled at his words and at his lovingly gazed.

Soobin looked at you with loving eyes before kissing your forehead softly, then your nose, your cheeks, and finally your lips, his soft and plump lips moving in a delicate but addictive way, making you melt into the kiss and forgetting about the awkwardness you would have felt because of all the people who could watch you.

But it didn't matter, you were in your own world with him, his hands gently cupped your checks while his lips explored yours, you could feel your boyfriend's heart beating fast like he had run a marathon, but you didn't say anything because you knew you were the same.

You both separate to catch your breath, his hand never leaving your face while he looked at you with the most heart-melting smile, making you smile a little before he spoke again.

—Oh, and I wanted to say… Thanks for coming.