#it’s really hard to find time to actually pray to her properly especially since my altar is still partially disassembled

[seastarselene]

i think Selene likes it when i share my food with her and we eat together. i lit her candle and gave her a piece of my muffin + some water, and just stood there next to my altar eating a muffin and talking to her.

when i mentioned that this was the best i could do offer-wise right now (i have no money, time, or energy #gradschoolthings) the candle flickered and then when i asked if she was okay with it the flame got reeeaally tall.

i was worried that maybe i wasn’t supposed to eat in the middle of what was technically a prayer but she seems to like eating together so i think i’ll keep doing it.

[writer-akihiko]

Hi! Could I get the dorm leaders with a fem!S/O who gets a lot of attention, chocolates and gifts on valentine’s (being the only girl at NRC)? have a good day!

Dorm Leaders + Valentine Jealousy

Just funny, cute scenarios that was really enjoyable to write even though I'm like... 2 months late?? Yeah, forgive me for that.

Cut for length, and some light cussing in the later scenarios.

Malleus Draconia

He put so much effort into preparing a special Valentine's picnic for his beloved. He wanted to surprise you, and by the time he ordered Sebek and Silver to call you to him, they brought him displeasing news.

"Um... Senior YN is caught up!" Sebek reported. Usually, he'd be enthusiastic to share news to his precious Master, but the way those two held back was suspicious.

"Pray tell what those cretins are doing to my YN?" He inquired, his magic seeping from his fingertips.

"Well… giving her Valentine's gifts…" Sebek admitted. "We found her in the courtyard but there were quite a few students from different dorms."

"Sebek, we reported to Malleus because those said students wouldn't move when you yelled 'Move away from Malleus-sama's spouse'," Silver chided. "Despite Senior YN looking like she wanted to escape."

"Move, both of you."

Malleus' rage was more than they anticipated. Lilia, as observant as he usually is, brought the two boys behind his back and let Malleus shift into his dragon form. Lilia simply waved at Malleus, encouraging her more. "Remember Malleus! You're not allowed to burn people! And don't worry about your picnic; we'll bring all the food and preparations!"

Times like this, he was eternally grateful to someone like Lilia. He shifted to his much smaller form, about a fifth of the size of his actual dragon size and took flight. He knew other students would run away, but most importantly of all if it were reported you could easily say that the dragon was your bonded creature. Which, when you think about it, is a decent white lie.

Needless to say, the appearance of the dragon scared away the boys who tried to present their gifts to you, dropping them in fear. Those who ran too late witnessed the dragon's claws snatch up the angelic Senior YN LN away, however they could not see where the dragon took her for the dragon's wings caused the wind to sweep the remaining students off their feet.

He felt a little guilty that you yelped when you saw him, but as he flew, he settled you into his claws much more comfortably.

The moment he landed, his beloved stared directly in wonder into his eyes. He cooed at how small you were next to him and how curious you were of him. It didn't take long before you reached out to his head, asking him, "Tsunotarou? Are you my Tsunotarou?"

His heart melted at his nickname, further nuzzling his nose to your palm. His purring was quite loud, and he plopped his head onto your lap. He was careful not to shift his weight as to not crush you.

"Malleus...why did you do that?" You patted his head, still wondering why you were whisked away. "Were you a little jealous?"

The dragon form of his nudged his nose to you again in agreement. He had never felt jealousy in this way before.

"Malleus… You're the only one who's my Valentine." You spoke. "And I won't spend the day with anyone else besides you."

He shifted out of his dragon form to his much acceptable humanoid form. Malleus, out of his love for you, couldn't help but hug you. He admitted his Valentine's plan for you, especially since he knew how much you anticipated the celebration.

Things were made clear, and you accepted Malleus' apology. He dolled you up a little, calling the flowers to decorate themselves delicately in your hair.

He kissed the soft flesh of your cheek, sitting you on his lap. "Happy Valentine's Day, my precious YN."

Riddle Rosehearts

If the Heartsyabul dorm thought they fully witnessed Riddle's rage, they were sorely mistaken. It was made crystal clear to the students of the Heartsyabul dorm to follow the rule of not harrassing the dorm leader's partner.

It was clear that the point was not received to other ignorant students.

"And what do you think you’re doing?"

The students were immediately caught off guard by the ice chilling voice of the notorious Heartsyabul dorm leader. The boys surrounding you immediately scattered, leaving you with multitudes of presents and chocolates at your feet.

Riddle didn't want to admit it, but the boxes of presents surrounding your being made look as spoilt as you can be.

No, this won't do he thought. He could spoil you better than those group of boys.

"Ace, Deuce, take away the presents," He commanded. The two had no choice but to obey, although Trey did have a look at the chocolates gifted, possibly thinking about using some of them for Riddle's desserts.

He sauntered over to his beloved, taking her hand in his and kissing the top of it. "Not to fear, YN. I hope not a single one of them touched you," He murmured. Before continuing his jealous thoughts, he properly spoke to you, "YN, I asked Cater to deliver a dress to your dorm. I hope you find it pleasing to wear, as later tonight we have a date for ourselves!"

You did find the dress pleasing enough that you would wear it to your date. You knew Riddle was someone who would go all out for Valentine's, especially seeing how he made his affections known. The dress reminded you a little of his red formal wear, and you found the card play motifs on the sash of the dress adorable. Although... You had to admit that you were a little scared if Riddle used his magic unnecessarily for your sake.

Riddle didn't anticipate how much of a worrywart he actually was. He dressed to the best of his abilities, making sure to adjust his tie every so once in a while.

Whatever preparations he calculated and adjusted for flew straight out of the window once he saw you.

He allowed you to walk to him, and once you two met eyes, he got on one knee, kissing your palm.

"My precious Queen… Happy Valentine's Day…"

Kalim Al-Asim

Kalim himself didn't realise you were in peril, but he did feel an inkling of jealousy seeing some boys get close to you. Despite all that, he didn't worry a single bit.

For Kalim was going to outdo every. Single. One of them.

"YN-senpai! Please accept this!" A freshman bowed deeply, handing a plain looking love letter. You graciously accepted it, however, all you could do was sit it on top of your precarious pile of presents the past day. All you wanted to do was visit Kalim…

"Eh? I'm sure my gift is the best!"

Sounds of trumpets were heard, and then and there the crowd made way for the dorm leader of Scarabia. The remaining students were shooed away, much to their annoyance. Kalim however only wore a grin as he presented you with a bouquet and a box of chocolates.

A servant nearby bowed to him, and Kalim quickly uttered his order, "Take the flowers and donate them to the Gardening club. As for the chocolates, distribute them to the servants!" He cheerfully ordered, as if the students surrounding the two didn't exist. Gasps of shock and horror were sounded, but Kalim didn't care anyway.

Over Kalim's shoulder, you could see Jamil staring down any potential students possibly trying to pick a fight with Kalim. Although, knowing Jamil, he was doing this for the sake of Kalim being occupied for the rest of the week.

You were delighted to see your boyfriend coming to rescue and you didn't mind his extravagance so much. The only part of the whole scenario you'd be embarrassed about is that some students witnessed Kalim's romantic affections, which… you'd prefer to have your romantic endeavours in a private setting.

The way Kalim tugged your hand along… He was upset and you knew it.

"Kalim… I'm sorry I didn't expect-"

He stopped tugging you along to the Scarabia dorm. You were surprised the moment Kalim hugged you.

"YN… it's not your fault…" He said, patting your head. "Sorry for acting so jealous. I just… really wanted to impress you."

You hugged him back. "Thank you Kalim."

Azul Ashengrotto

Azul felt his heart wrench at the scene of you being confronted by a group of boys adorning you in presents and flowers. He wasn't so sure about giving you his Valentine's letter and present, feeling as if the other students outdid him. Usually, he wouldn't let this kind of thing slide, but... he felt as if it were his fault.

Usually, the other students won't spare a glance towards you, but he had guessed a lot of boys crushed hard that night you sang in the Lounge. Jade and Floyd thought it would be a good way to cheer him up, and Azul himself couldn't deny... He loves your singing so much.

This, however, didn't discern Octavinelle dorm leader Azul Ashengrotto from telling off said students.

"Take your tomfoolery somewhere else."

Murmurs of "Oh shit, it's the dorm leader." and groans came from the other students surrounding you. Azul saw you breathe out a sigh of relief that some of the students left you alone.

He could still see some lingering around. Well, they should surely know better than to disobey his orders on his turf...

"Jade, Floyd, escort them out please."

Azul brought you closer to him. "I'm sorry for not approaching soon, Angelfish."

You shook your head, telling Azul how much you appreciated his help.

"Actually... I never intended to accept their gifts. The presents simply piled up," You said. "If anything, I'd only accept your present!"

Azul stammered, his cheeks flushing to a deep pink. "H-How... How are you so adorable...”?

He regained his composure, hurrying you to sit on the couch. Then and there, he presented you his Valentine's letter. Your heart warmed at how he decorated it so delicately, and his signature never fails to enchant you.

The other half of his gift was an intricately designed parfait presented in a glass. He did the honours of feeding you a spoonful. The moment you finished that spoonful, you heard out the secret.

"It's a new dessert for the Lounge. And I'd like to name it Angelfish Parfait."

Idia Shroud

Idia Shroud was a man who swore to never venture out but mind you he has ears and eyes everywhere. Despite all the commotion around you, especially with the line of students ready to approach you with gifts, you somehow kept a cool head about it.

You didn't spare a glance to the other students, ignoring any other student that try to block your way. You simply walked past them, disregarding their mere existence.

In your perspective, you weren't being rude at all. In fact, you thought whoever stood in your way was rude because of your agenda… and the main event of the day was not exactly Valentine's Day, but your precious date with your precious boyfriend.

Idia wasn't irked by the extravagance of some of the students' presents to you.

After all, he could just buy you the best version of the same thing.

Not to say you were completely materialistic, he just wanted to prove a point to those other guys. He trusted that you were capable… But he couldn't let you handle all of it by yourself. He had to help out too.

He, out of all the dorm leaders, is the one who gets annoyed around Valentine's Day due to the constant attention you get. Sure, he'll proudly admit how pretty you are, but anyone else better keep their hands away.

A group still followed to the entrance of the Ignihyde dorm, and for once in his life, he willingly stepped.

It was one foot out of the dorm doors, but hey, it's a lot for him.

"You're not invited. Leave."

As if his chilly dead voice didn't warn them enough, the traps around the entrance targeted themselves to anyone who wasn't you. The students quickly left, scurrying away. The laser-looking machinery was enough for some of the students to piss their pants.

Your cheeks felt warm. "Idia… You were so cool there."

Once he shut the door, it was his turn for his face to redden. "W..What? You were the cool one shrugging all of those… bugs off of you." He admitted. "Besides, those normies ruined our video game date."

"It's not ruined yet," You said, tugging Idia's hoodie on his head, pecking him on the cheek. "Thank you Idia. Now let's continue that RPG you were telling me about yesterday."

"Mmh! …Love you, YN."

Leona Kingscholar

What was this? Some worthless students want to pick a fight with the top predator? Sure, why not. Leona wouldn't mind beating them to a pulp.

There wouldn't be a crowd surrounding you on Valentine's. Those brave enough would slip gifts at the Ramshackle Dorm or on your desk, but they would never dare give it in person unless they wish to not exist.

Leona was walking you back from class, which is generally a big achievement since he's awake.

"Did any punks approach you today?"

You were typically blunt with him. "No, but I got some presents on my desk. Grim took care of them."

You could hear your boyfriend huff in annoyance. "Some idiots don't realise we're in a relationship…"

You decided to poke fun at him a little. After all, he was only reminded this morning that today was Valentine's Day.

"Well, if only you'd be more open about your wooing, if you call it that," You teased.

Before you two could return back to the Savanaclaw dorm, a group of students blocked off your path.

"Enough is enough Kingscholar!"

"Yeah! You shouldn't monopolise YN-senpai's time like that!"

"Give us a fair shot!"

Leona had to hunch himself over from laughing at how stupid these students were. You kept silent, but you did pinch Leona's elbow to warn him about beating them up in a public place.

"You seriously want those to be your dying words?"

You could only facepalm the moment you heard Leona threaten them. Why did Valentine's always have to end this way? Well… the least that could happen is that you get to cuddle with Leona for the night.

Vil Schoenheit

As you, YN were a part of the Photography Club, you surely got a whole lot of attention as you had to travel here and there for the school's news report. You garnered a lot of positive attention from a great deal of the students, but you'd never approach them with intentions of forming a relationship.

After all, you were dating Vil Schoenheit of all people.

You did try to be courteous as possible, thanking some students who gave you gifts and cards during class. You weren't about to cause any ill-will against anybody, and you were sure that you could get rid of them later…

"Ara? What are these worthless beasts doing around my precious YN?"

Vil's presence was one thing, but his threatening voice was another. Vil stood tall, looming over you, and taking your hand in his, shielding you behind him. Through Vil's gaze, the students who were bold enough to present their gifts quickly shuffled to your desk, retrieving back whatever they planned to give.

You were taken aback by Vil's attitude if anything. He'd never act like this, despite what some might believe. That was when you knew he was genuinely angry.

You couldn't blame him much, since the students caused you to be late for your meeting with Vil. You two had planned to dress up and go out to a town district for the weekend of Valentine's. You had guessed that Vil was also a little pissy since he hadn't seen you in a long time.

After arriving at Vil's room, you tried your best to reach your boyfriend's cheek, transferring a kiss from your palm to his cheek. "I know you're a little angry, but our plans aren't completely ruined."

Vil shrugged off his uniform coat, venting out his frustrations. "I know, but it's supposed to be a special day for you," He said. He muttered under his breath as he had you sit still for him to style your hair. "If anything, they're the ones stealing your time from me…"

You turned to look at him despite his instructions. "I've never seen you so adorably jealous."

The colour of his cheeks bloomed a pink hue. "W-Well, of course my sweet potato," He said. "They need to be taught a lesson and you, my sweet potato, should sit still otherwise I'll never be done with your hair."

You let Vil do his magic, literally and figuratively, on your hair. Once he was done, you hugged him tight, "Thank you Vil, for what's about to come and for before too."

He patted your head. "Anything for you, YN."

[sleepysnk]

Team Player: Chapter Ten

Pairings: Eren Jaeger x Fem!Reader

Warnings: suggestive content

Word Count: 3.1k

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"Let's go Kirstein!"

Coach Smith's words echoed throughout the field, it was the day before the championship game against Marley University. The team that Trost had lost to a few weeks prior. Everyone was beyond excited but nervous for this matchup, it decided if Trost would be good enough.

The only difference at today's practice was that a familiar face would be returning, that person was Eren. 

He had worked all day with (Y/N) to get used to his new techniques, he had only one more day to try and it was finally time for him to prove to Coach Smith that he was a reliable and worthy player for the team. Eren silently prayed that all this hard work would pay off.

The air was chilly that day, it was a usual cool morning and, for some reason, Eren felt like he had a stroke of luck. That today would be the day he'd get back to the sport he loved, and maybe, just maybe, he'd get a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Eren watched his teammates jogging on the track, some panted, while others continued pushing through the pain of running for so long in the cooler weather. 

"Coach."

Coach Smith's attention averted towards someone he didn't expect seeing, he didn't think Eren would show up.

"Eren? Did you work out your issues?" he asked, looking back at the players who were still running. 

Eren tossed his bag to the floor. "Yeah, I'd love to show you my improvement," he replied, his voice confident. 

Coach Smith blew his whistle. "Everyone! Gather 'round! I'm gonna explain today's plan," he called, waving everyone over. 

Eren watched his teammates approach his coach, he hadn't seen some of them in two weeks; a few of them stared at Eren, or exchanged looks with one another. 

"Today we'll be running plays, you all need to be at the absolute best. Eren here is going to be joining us today, let's see if he's ready," he explained, looking around at the boys. "Are we ready?"

"Ready!" they yelled all together. 

"Good.. now go get some balls and get started," he said. "Not you Eren.. I gotta see what you can do.."

Eren stopped in his tracks and turned towards Coach Smith. "Okay, what do you want me to do?" he asked, nodding.

"How is your ankle? It's been awhile since I've heard anything about your injury. I need to make sure you're 100%," he asked, looking down at his ankle. 

Eren stepped a few times, rolling the muscle around to show there was no sign of pain. "It's been good.. I got better meds and I stayed off of my feet," he replied, looking up.

His coach only nodded, "I see.. well, let's see how being off your feet has paid off. Reiner! Come throw some balls for Eren," he yelled at the blonde. 

Reiner jogged over with a football in his hand. "Sounds good coach, Eren, it's good to see you again," he said with a smile. 

Eren smirked, "It's good to see you too Reiner," he replied. 

"Enough talkin', get on the field and catch some balls," Coach Smith ordered. 

Eren put his helmet on, he hadn't worn his helmet in so long; he missed the feeling of it on his head. 

Reiner stood at the end of the field, he tossed the ball up into the air. "You ready!?" he called.

Eren nodded, "We're good!" he yelled back. 

The center got into position to pass the ball to Reiner, his eyes scanned the players around him before he spoke. "Hut!"

Eren ran down the field, his head turning to see where Reiner was going to throw; he could see the ball falling towards him. He looked around to see if anyone was nearby, it was his ball at that point. 

The ball landed into Eren's arms, he slowed down a bit and looked back at his other teammates; along with his coach. 

"Nice catch.. you seem to have a better ankle," Jean said, patting his shoulder. 

Eren tossed the ball back to Reiner. "Yeah, I do. I'm ready to get back out there," he replied, flashing a smirk his way. 

"Let's run that again! Reiner! Do a random play of your choice!" Coach Smith yelled, crossing his arms. 

Eren jogged back to the line, he could feel the sweat already forming on his brow. He had to do his best, it was for the sake of his career and his team. Eren wasn't even thinking about the offer anymore, he just wanted to help his team; it was different, but he knew it was from all the work he had put in with (Y/N).

(Y/N).

Eren smiled to himself as the image of her flashed into his head, he wanted to show her how much he's worked. 

"Hut!" 

Eren ran down the field, he turned his head to see what was going on. He wasn't sure where Reiner was going to throw; Eren wasn't even sure what play he was running, but one thing was for sure, the ball wasn't for Eren. 

He watched it fall into Jean's arms, his body making contact onto the floor. "Got it!" Jean yelled, sitting up a bit. 

Eren jogged over, reaching his hand out to help Jean up. "Here.." he said, looking down at him. 

Jean took his hand, "Damn.. you usually never help me up when I catch a ball. Did that girl do something to your head?"

Eren looked away for a moment. "Nah.. but she did help, I'm thankful for her," he replied, smiling a bit.

"You're a simp"

Eren looked at him, "What..?"

"I said it.. you're such a simp for (Y/N), it's obvious, especially when I was flirting with her in the library." Jean replied, a smirk forming onto his features.

Eren rolled his eyes, "Whatever.. she's pretty great though," he said. 

"Eren!"

He turned his head to see his coach over. 

"I'll be right back," Eren said, patting Jean's shoulder.

He jogged to the sidelines where his coach was standing, he could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage. He hoped that his coach would tell him some good news, if not that'd seriously crush him; his dreams would be over as well. 

"What's up coach?" he asked, nodding his head. 

Coach Smith looked at him. "You seem to be doing well.. that last play was meant to throw you off," he said. "Before you used to go for the ball without a car in the world.. but now, I've seen a change in you," 

Eren looked at him, confusion written on his face. "So.. what does that mean?" he asked. 

"I'm going to let you play tomorrow.." Coach Smith replied. 

His eyes grew wide, excitement rushing through his veins. He did it. He actually fucking did it. Eren could now show all of his hard work, it paid off. 

"You're for real?" he asked, smiling.

"Yes I'm for real, Eren. I like what I see, keep this same vibe on the field tomorrow and we'll win this game," Coach Smith said, nodding his head. 

Eren stuck out his hand. "Thank you coach," he said, a serious expression written on his face. 

He shook his hand, "You're welcome Eren.. don't make me regret this," he replied.

"You won't, I can count on that."

The rest of practice went very well for Eren, he actually gave his own ideas on some new plays they should try out. He also talked about some ways they could improve the team, all of it impressed Coach Smith; he never knew Eren had this side to him. He was most impressed by the way Eren let the ball go, he didn't hog it anymore; he gave it up. It shocked some of his own teammates as well.

"Say Eren, who made you get your head out of your ass?" Reiner asked, leaning against the locker. 

Eren looked down and back up at him. "Let's just say, it was someone special," he replied. "They uh.. really made me see what I was doing wrong."

Reiner nodded, "Well whoever they are, they did a great job," he said. 

Eren chuckled, "Yeah.. she did.." he smiled thinking of (Y/N).

"Alright! See you all tomorrow! Remember, be here tomorrow at noon! The bus is leaving at 12:45!" Coach Smith yelled, his voice echoing in the room. 

Eren grabbed his backpack, pulling the straps over his shoulders. He wanted to go and find (Y/N) to tell her the good news. 

"Eren."

He turned to see Coach Smith standing there. "What's up?" he asked, blinking a bit.

"It's good to have you back," he replied, smiling. 

Eren looked down, "It feels good to be back."

He made his way out of the locker room with a huge grin on his face. He couldn't wait to tell (Y/N) the news.

-

The hallways were filled with different students who were either heading to class, just leaving class, or going off to their dorms to relax for the rest of the day. (Y/N) being one of them. She was exhausted and she just wanted to head back to her dorm and take a nap. 

She was walking with Sasha, her roommate, of course the girl was rambling about something her boyfriend Connie did. It didn't necessarily interest (Y/N), the only thing her mind was worried about was the brunette boy she kissed the previous night. 

She wasn't exactly sure what their status was, was Eren just playing some kind of prank? What if he was just using her? She liked Eren a lot, she couldn't necessarily deny it anymore; it was obvious. She made it her goal to figure out what was happening with what they had, she silently prayed it wasn't him just messing with her. If that was the case her whole confession would be an embarrassment and she knew the kind of person he was. 

"(Y/N)! Hello?" 

She looked over at Sasha who was waving her hand. "You're spacing out again.. what are you thinking about?" she inquired, nodding her head. 

(Y/N) blinked for a moment before speaking. "Oh! Nothing Sasha, I'm just really tired and today was a long day,"

The brunette didn't seem exactly thrilled with her statement, she didn't believe a word that came from her mouth. 

"What even happened between you and Eren? You guys were gone for awhile, not to mention it was storming," she asked, raising a brow. 

A rush of heat formed onto (Y/N)'s face, her mind going back to the kiss they shared in the rain. The kiss made her knees weak and she couldn't even speak properly, Eren was just a charmer. He had the most amazing hair, his scent intoxicated her, and don't even start about his body. 

"We just got lost in the rain, that's about it," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. 

Sasha leaned against the wall. "Uh huh.. well whatever you say (Y/N), I gotta go find Connie, can you wait here for a second?" she asked. 

She nodded, "Yeah go ahead! I'll wait.." 

Sasha ran down the hall to find her boyfriend, (Y/N) giggled at the sight of her friend. She was happy Sasha found someone, not to mention how cute her and Connie were. 

She started scrolling through her phone, a sigh came from her mouth noticing that she didn't have a notification from the person she wanted to hear from most. Eren. She hadn't heard from him since that night and the feeling was bothersome, it lingered with her all day and she wasn't sure what to do. 

"(Y/N)!" 

Her attention averted towards the brunette running towards her, it was Eren. He seemed excited too, he had that same smile and his face was bright. 

"Hey? You seem to be in a better mood," she said, a smile forming onto her features. 

Eren panted a bit, "Yeah.. I had to – man fuck I ran a ton – I wanted to tell you the news," he replied. 

She furrowed her brows, "What news? What happened?" 

That same grin appeared onto his face again. "I'm back on the team!" he said, his tone excited and happy. 

Her jaw dropped, a smile appearing as she heard the news. "Oh my God! Congrats! I'm so proud of you!" she said, hugging him. 

Eren lifted her up and held her tightly against him. "Thank you but.. I gotta give you all the credit. You truly were the one who got me through this," he replied, slowly placing her onto the ground. 

Her cheeks grew hot from the contact. "It was no problem! I'm happy for you," she smiled. 

Eren rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you have class after this? I have an off period and I was wondering if you want to.. hangout?" he asked, nodding his head. 

She looked at her phone, she actually didn't have any afternoon classes that day. It worked out perfectly for them. 

"I actually don't.. do you wanna go back to mine?" she asked.

He chuckled, "Yeah, can we? My roommate doesn't really let me have girls over."

"It sounds good, mine is with her boyfriend right now. I have a free dorm," she said, looking down the hall for Sasha. 

Eren took her hand into his. "Let's go then," he said, smirking. 

The two both made their way to (Y/N)'s dorm, Sasha noticed the pair making their way out of the main campus building and she sent her a text telling her 'good luck ;)'. It made the two of them giggle. 

(Y/N) stood in front of her dorm door, she fished around her pocket for the key and unlocked it. Eren's chest was against her back and it made her stomach bubble with anticipation.

"Do you have practice later?" she asked, removing her shoes and tossing her bag onto the floor. 

Eren shut the door to her dorm. "Not until like.. six or seven, so we have time," he smirked, leaning down closer to her. 

Their noses brushed against each other before their lips connected into a kiss, God, did she miss his lips. They were soft and she could taste the faint hint of his mint chapstick, it suited him well. 

Eren's hands moved to her hips, bringing them closer to his own. He was starting to get excited, the blood began to all rush down to his dick and he was becoming needy. 

"Fuck, I missed your lips," he said in between kisses. "Sit on my lap"

Eren scooched back until his ankles hit the side of her bed, he plopped down and brought her onto him. Her thighs on either side of his legs, she looked so pretty like this to him.

"Shit.. Eren, touch me, please." she pleaded, her voice coming out almost like a whimper. 

Eren's hands explored her sides, his hands squeezed at the plush of her ass making her gasp. A chuckle rumbled from his throat seeing her reaction. 

"Who knew you were such a bad girl behind the scenes?" he said, kissing at her neck. 

She let out a breathy moan. "I'm only bad for you.." she replied, grinding her hips against his aching cock. 

Heat was pooling in between her legs from his kisses, Eren was so intoxicating and addicting. It took her breath away. 

"You're so hot, you have no clue what you do to me." 

She swallowed thickly, her pulse was beating against her neck and the room was growing hot. She needed Eren, she didn't care what way, she just wanted him. 

"W-Wait.. Eren," she said, pressing her fingers into his chest. 

He leaned away from her neck, a look of concern written on his features. "Shit.. did I make you uncomfortable? I'm sorry, I just got lost in the moment." 

She smiled, "No, you didn't, I just needed to ask you about something.." she replied. 

Eren placed his hands onto her thighs. "And that is?" 

Her hands went around his neck, twirling one of his strands of hair. "Do you actually like me? Or did you just say that because I helped you?" 

Eren furrowed his brows, "What? (Y/N), I do like you. I didn't say it because you helped me," he said.

She chewed her bottom lip. "I just don't know if you're being for real, I like you a lot Eren, I just don't want to look like a fool." she replied, looking down. 

Eren tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. "First off, I am being real with you. One thing I never do is lie to a girl, my mom raised me better and I could never hurt someone like you. You're sweet, funny, kind, drop-dead gorgeous, and you bring out a better side of me that I never knew I had. I like you a lot and I want you to be my girlfriend," he said, cupping her cheek. 

A smile crept onto her face. "You mean it?" she asked, nodding. 

"Hell yeah! I would never lie to you," he replied. 

She giggled a bit, "Well.. I'd love to be yours Eren. I like you a lot and I don't want the opportunity to slip by."

He put his arms around her waist. "I like you a lot too, I won't let you get away," he said, kissing her cheek. 

She leaned into his touch, a smile plastered onto her face. "Now.. where were we?" she asked with a smirk. 

Eren laughed a bit, "Oh? You like that huh? I never took you as the freaky type," he teased. 

She rolled her eyes, "You'd be surprised what I can do.. now, you deserve a little present for getting back on the team today." 

Eren raised his brows in surprise. "Oh? I like the sound of that, I'm interested," he smirked, bringing her closer to his face. 

She giggled, kissing him again. "You should be interested, now lay down so we can get this started," she replied, putting her hands onto his shoulders. 

"We're going to have a lot of fun, so get ready," Eren said, leaning towards her ear. 

A chill went down her spine before she smirked. "Oh? Is that right? Bring it on Jaeger," she teased. 

"Go put the scrunchy on the door." 

She grabbed the scrunchy off of her table, making her way towards the door. She placed it on the knob on the outside and closed it before rushing back to where Eren was sitting. 

"Done."

He smirked, she could see his eyes that were blown with lust. "Good, the only words I wanna hear from your mouth from now on are your pretty little moans when you're wrapped around my dick," he whispered. 

"Show me you can be a team player, Eren," she replied, looking into his eyes. 

He chuckled, looking at her with a grin. 

"I'll show you a team player alright."

tagging: @ererokii @eremiie @callmepromise @thicmitten @moomii-hime @luvrboykento @katsuhera @flam3bird @bell0214 @daughter-of-the-stars11 @chayauwu @lunamoonawatcher @ryan249057 @sofi-yeager @hugemommymilkers

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain:  Chapter 1001:  "Blood, Flesh, and Steel":  Part II / III

"We've gathered you all here!" Jaune said to the collected in the ground floor's lounge.

"I want to say it!" Ruby exclaimed from beside him.

"Oh, yeah, sure, go for it Ruby." he deferred.

"We're here for presents!" Ruby exclaimed.

"For everyone?" Yang asked.

"Well, Ilia and T-Rex." Ruby stated, and then gestured to Aurora.

"Sweet." Taj stated as he stepped forward, Ilia teppidly a moment later.

Aurora handed Jaune the heavily customized revolver, which he turned around and handed it handle-first to Taj. He grabbed it and carefully turned it around. "We didn't actually make any ammunition for it." Jaune said.

"You will have to do so with the tools in the armoury." Weiss added.

"I'm sure Ruby would love to help you." Jaune stated, and then turned towards Aurora. She passed him what looked like an arm brace, or something else akin, which he then handed to Ilia. She grasped it and looked at it with a lost look before turning that look to Jaune.

"Perhaps you should help her, Jaune-dear?" Weiss asked.

Jaune stepped towards Ilia, and she turned her head to look up at him in awe.

"Still think we should have gotten something for Aurora." Yang stated.

"I will remind you of how inappropriate it would be to get her such attire." Weiss countered.

"But?.." Jaune asked.

"Pray tell?" Weiss asked, trying her best to hide her nervousness.

"We finally have a steady... ish... income, so it is time to make some purchases we've been putting off."

"The sheep?!" Nora eagerly asked, and Yang eagerly sat forward.

"And the llama?" she asked.

"Yes." Jaune stated, "Along with whatever else we would need to raise sheep." Jaune then looked to Aurora who stepped to the forefront.

"It really depends how you want to operate. If you want the highest level operations, investment is significant. If you want to go with a shepherd, then the pay will be significant."

"They'll what?" Yang asked.

"This have changed quite a good deal since the Great War. With urbanization and the improvement of living standards, if you want people to sacrifice that to live out in the wilderness, you will typically have to pay. There is also the issue that we are far too remote to properly sell our stock, especially since the centralization of abatoirs, though, there are a couple of towns we could sell them in."

"Like a cattle drive?" Blake asked with a smile.

"It would give me a chance to use my bike!" Yang shouted.

"Sadly," Aurora said to her, "Your bike travels far faster than sheep would." Yang then sat back, disappointed. "We could also just buy sheep for our own usage."

"That does sound really cool." Yang stated.

"That sounds like a lot of work..." Jaune voiced, "But that's not the problem."

"And that is?" Ruby asked.

"We were going to make money on it." Jaune stated.

"Oh, right." Ruby replied.

"We need to ask how big of a flock we desire." Weiss stated.

"Why don't we ask ourselves how many sheep we CAN raise here, before we get too far ahead of ourselves." Blake asked.

"That does make a lot of sense." Yang asked.

"We're still getting at least SOME sheep, right?" Nora asked, "And a llama?"

"At least some." Jaune stated.

"A dozen." Ren voiced.

"A dozen?" Jaune asked.

"If we use it all," Ren added, "we use it all, if we do not, we have some to sell."

"You know what?" Jaune asked, "Yeah, let's do it. Though, we'll need to setup up some sort of chore rotation."

Sarah Arns stepped forward and eagerly raised her hand.

"Yes?" Jaune asked.

"I believe she wishes to be involved." Weiss stated.

"Yes!" Sarah replied.

"It is hard, dirty work?" Jaune asked.

"I can do it!" Sarah replied.

"I do believe she wishes to find some other way to be of assistance." Ren stated.

"Oh, yes." Sarah stated, "I also really love sheep."

"We'll see if you say that when you find out how much work is involved." Blake stated, "Oh, by the way, I'm in."

"I'll feel bad if I don't help out." Yang stated.

"Oh, me too!" Ruby exclaimed.

Weiss pressed her hands together, "Would anyone feel lesser of me for wanting to defer responsibilies for this?"

"You do more than enough." Yang said, "Actually you know what, you don't get to help. You're already doing enough. You need to let the rest of us catch up a bit."

Weiss flushed light blue and curtsied, "Thank you."

"I wish to join as well." Ren said.

"Well, duh." Nora said as she wrapped her arm around him.

Neo eagerly and proudly stood up.

"You want to help?" Jaune asked, and she eagerly nodded.

"Let's go through the rest, Taj?"

"Hm?" Taj asked, "Sheep are cute, but I don't want to shovel their shit."

"Ciel?" Jaune asked.

Ciel stood up, "I will help if you wish to make it my responsibility. I could also help manage the House's finances."

"That does sound like a better use of the little accountant." Yang said. She looked at Ciel expecting a complaint, but Ciel didn't even seem to notice.

Jaune turned to Penthesilea, and instead of speaking, he just stared.

"She is too pretty to be shoveling shit." Yang stated, "Wait, what does that say about me. Shit, I mean..." She looked at Weiss whom breathed in and out heavily while looking at Penthesilea. "I should just shut my yap." Yang stated. She then looked at Penthesilea. "I doubt anyone would argue with this, but Pyrrha was the best of us."

"I'm sure she didn't think of you that way." Penthesilea cheerfully said.

"She knew how bad I was." Jaune replied, "She's the only reason I didn't die, a few times."

"That's not what I mean." Penthesilea stated, "I love you, unconditionally. She didn't think she was better than you, though maybe in a few ways. I can't really explain what happened, but, after what happened, it's as if I could see myself in a way I had not thought of before. Jaune is the leader who gives us centre. Nora is energetic. Ren is wise. Ruby is?.."

"Hope." Blake stated.

"Weiss is perspecastity." Penthesilea added.

Weiss' eyes flittered about for a few moments, "Yes?" she asked.

"Blake is endearment." Penthesilea continued, "And Yang is..." Yang eagerly, nervously sat forward. "A warming hearth."

Yang clutched her heart.

"She said hearth not heart." Weiss stated.

"The pun was intentional." Penthesilea eagerly said.

"What about Ciel?" Nora asked.

"Ciel is Ciel, eternal, unyielding." Penthesilea voiced.

"Indeed." Ciel replied.

Penthesilea looked between those gathered, "We have two choices. We could either let this revelation change everything, or change nothing. I love you all, so much. Now I know why it is, but it doesn't change the love."

"Understanding love doesn't change it." Blake voiced, "Which is one of the reasons I haven't tried to understand our family. It works. I don't want it to change, so I simply need to accept it."

"Precisely." Pyrrha stated.

"I do have a bit of a question?" Yang asked, "Like, we were friends and all, but love us?" she asked

Penthesilea blushed, unsure of how to answer.

"If I can speak?" Ren asked. "Our leader's affection was directed at your team, entire, and he gives us direction."

"You what?" Yang asked.

"She loves us because Jaune did." Blake added.

"Or." Ruby interjected, "He loved us so much he kind of brainwashed them into liking us."

"Jaune's white hot love washed over us." Nora stated. This caused Ruby and Yang to snicker and Weiss to huff.

"And now we're a family." Blake stated. "So, I'm going to say something that's going to sound kind of weird, but I swear it's all your fault."

"Yes?" Jaune asked, and Blake looked at Penthesilea.

"Now that we know Penthesilea is Pyrrha, she looks really warm. It makes me want to cuddle up to her."

RWBY and Penthesilea looked at Jaune. "Okay?" Jaune asked, "Any answer I give to this is going to be the wrong one."

"While I might love Jaune," Penthesilea stated, and momentarily paused as everyone looked at her, "I want him to be happy. You girls have made him happy. I am quite content."

There was a moment of silence before Blake spoke, "uh-huh, but can I cuddle you?"

"That kind of..." Yang voiced.

"I have told you how I feel about this." Blake replied.

"How did you... did you know this was going to?.."

"With Penthesilea?" Blake asked, "No. With us?, yes."

"What did she know?" Ruby asked, and Weiss glared at her.

"This cannot be?.." Weiss voiced.

"Alright," Jaune said, "meeting dismissed. The family, Aurora, Ilia, and Penthesilea, we're going to have a new meeting in the suite."

"What's going to happen?" Sarah asked.

"You don't want to know." Taj stated, "Or you do, hard to say. I personally don't want to get involved at all. I wish you all happy sheep."

"And you too!" Nora exclaimed.

[ransomedrogue]

Tales of Woe - Scenes from S1

...there are no words to properly describe the awesomeness of this episode! so good every time. in honour of her first appearance, special Allie POV! Basically it’s just three conversations this week (to make them talk and think about what happened :D ) 

PS you have to squint a little to fit these scenes all into the timeline of the ep but that’s the joy of fic.

1.9

There was really no reason for her to be in the locker room, other than extreme curiosity. But Allie figured the gorgeous new FBI consultant wouldn't pick up on that. And even if this 'Jane Doe' did, it wouldn't matter much anyways - Allie wasn't exactly shy. She'd probably end up just telling the truth, which would only make the situation more disconcerting for the other woman.

She wasn't exactly sure what she even wanted from an encounter with the tattooed woman; just a chance to check her out really. The stunned look on Kurt's face when Jane had appeared in that dress had made her both slightly jealous and highly curious. In her entire relationship with Kurt Weller he'd never looked at her, or anyone else, like that. So when she'd seen the object of Weller's attention enter the locker room immediately after they returned from their mission, Allie had slipped in too.

It turned out to be a solid tactic when she heard Jane struggling in the stall, obviously somehow stuck in her dress. Considering the stories she'd heard that day from the rest of Kurt's team about the woman’s exploits thus far, it seemed completely implausible that she'd been foiled by her outfit. But Allie definitely heard muffled cursing coming from the stall, along with a grunt of irritation.

"You need some help in there?" she called out.

There was a fairly long pause before Jane sighed.

"Um, yeah," she replied sheepishly, opening the door.

Allie stepped up to take a look at the situation, which ended up being a classic case of a jammed zipper. With a little wiggling, she freed the zipper pull from the fabric it was stuck on and then unzipped the dress the rest of the way, revealing all the tattoos that weren't covered up.

Unsurprisingly, Jane was wearing the most basic of underwear, despite the dress she'd been wearing. Allie eyed her inked skin and her fit body with interest, her mind wandering in a few different directions as Jane shyly got dressed in her regular clothes. She wondered how many of the tattoos Kurt had seen. Somehow she was sure he would eventually see them all, up close and personal. A small part of her wanted to see the rest of them too.

"So what happened out there?" Allie asked, interrupting her own thoughts and breaking the silence.

"Uh. All things considered, it turned out pretty well," Jane replied. "We were lucky Reade and Zapata showed up when they did though. I was out of ammo and there were a lot of guys."

It was an incredibly bland answer, one that didn't mention Weller directly at all. But also a perfectly normal and acceptable response to what had been asked. Clearly she needed to dig a lot deeper to find out what she wanted to know.

"And how did it go with Kurt? Being married and all that?"

Allie didn't fully know why she was putting Jane on the spot like that, except that there was a need on her part to take back some of the power she'd obviously lost. She'd liked a lot of things about Kurt Weller and he'd once liked a lot of things about her too. It was only natural she'd wondered that day if she still held any sway over him.

And that question had been answered as soon as Jane showed up in the dress that was lying in heap in front of them now. Which had immediately been intriguing, even though Allie didn't particularly like losing at anything. Especially when she'd been pitching real hard for Kurt's attention.

Who was this woman that could make him stare like that?

That's what Allie was going find out.

Jane was still standing there in front of her, cornered in the stall and looking uncomfortable with the shift in conversation. But being a US Marshal made Allie used to long silences in interrogations and so she left the question just hanging between them, waiting for a response.

Finally, Jane looked at her and offered an awkward shrug.

"Um. He was very… attentive."

Allie smirked, knowing how Weller could be. He was old school, very 'protect my woman' even though he tended to choose deadly women.

Good answer, she thought. Point for Jane.

"I'm sure he was. Kurt can be pretty possessive."

"Was he?" Jane asked, timidly. "When you… uh…"

"When we dated?" Allie replied. "Actually, not usually. Just after a few drinks and some guy gets handsy at the bar, you know."

Jane made a face like maybe she didn't know at all and was trying to wrap her head around the comment. Allie was thinking she kind of liked the deadly yet innocent consultant, a lot more than she thought she would.

"But I bet he was with you. Especially out there, all alone, without any backup," Allie said.

"I bet he was all over you."

Jane made a face that confirmed exactly what had just been said and Allie grinned, feeling like she'd accomplished her mission. She'd gotten a sense of the situation between her ex and his new interest, which pretty much told her what she'd originally thought.

"Anyways, I'll let you get dressed," Allie said, finally turning to leave the stall.

Jane stammered some sort of thanks for freeing her from her dress but Allie was already on her way out of the locker room, with a new mission in mind.

It was time to find Kurt and put him to a little test; one she already knew he was going to fail.

###

"But aside from that you won't find a better man."

The US Marshal's words were still repeating in her ears even after Jane had returned the ring and Weller had gone off to put the props away. She had walked away from the one-sided conversation with Kurt's ex with her brow furrowed; puzzled about Allie's behaviour and a little startled at the implication of her words. Weller wasn't actually hers at all, despite how natural it had felt being ‘married’ to him for the day. Though she did feel his walls breaking down a little - he was talking to her more since she'd asked if they were friends.

Her relationship with him had already been a whirlwind and nothing had really even happened yet. She liked to think they'd settled into a good place after their stint of boundary setting; somewhere with a safe amount of distance for both of them. But of course she still thought about it, what it would be like to be with Weller. To be able to touch him the way they'd slid in and out of each other's hands that day.

They had fit so well together, both professionally and... physically. And then there'd been the way he behaved – so angry and jealous, with a heat that made it seem like more than an act. Which had startled her at first; but when he'd called her his wife in that fierce tone, a warm ripple had passed through her body.

That was all over now though. She'd returned the ring and dress, and was back in her regular clothes, feeling so much more comfortable with herself. Though she hadn't exactly minded the way Weller had looked at her; especially since it had all happened in front of his ex.

Which brought her back to her confusion about Allie. When the Marshal had hugged Weller so familiarly that day it had elicited feelings from Jane that she'd never experienced before. The idea of Weller having a girlfriend had previously just been a vague concept, not something she'd ever paused on for long. But now she had all sorts of thoughts and questions and feelings about Kurt and his past and future romantic relationships.

Especially now that Allie had just implied that Weller was somehow Jane's, even though nothing had actually changed in their relationship. No matter how he had acted while they were 'married', it was all part of his job. He was the lead agent on her case, as well as her boss. Sure, she had a lot of complicated feelings about him but all that was really between them was an ancient connection, a lot of unresolved guilt and a neediness on her part. She knew he cared about her. But that was due to his past, and because it was his job. In their current existence, they were just settling into being friends. He was actually coming over for the housewarming party that night, which was nice, especially after the day that they'd had together.

That was just an act, Jane reminded herself sternly as she approached the elevator.

Jane stirred herself out of her thoughts as she pressed the down button and waited. She wanted to get back to the safe house before everyone came over, though she wasn't exactly versed on what she was meant to do as the host of a housewarming party. Especially since the idea had been foisted on her by drunk Zapata and Patterson, who wanted to both see the place she escaped from and make Weller come out with the team. Jane had still been a bit surprised that Kurt had enthusiastically approved of the plan, despite how sure both the other agents had been about it. Which had resulted in a lot of smirking and pointed eyes looks in her direction when he immediately took the idea and ran with it.

So maybe it hadn't all been an act.

Jane was blushing a bit just thinking about it when Kurt approached again and let his gaze fall over her. He was standing awfully close too; so close she could feel the heat coming off his body. She was trying to not think about dancing with him earlier, but it was nearly impossible to keep the memory out of her mind. It didn't matter that he wasn't in the tux anymore, just the scent of him was enough to evoke the feeling of his hands on her body.

"Do you want a ride home?" Weller asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Jane prayed her cheeks weren't as red as they felt, and she tried her hardest to put those thoughts away. Any other day she could tell Weller that her detail would drive her but he was coming over for the housewarming so there wasn't any good reason not to ride with him. Especially because he was cutting out before the rest of the team was done for the day; an extreme rarity. And her body kept inching towards his, as if pulled by a gravitational force.

"Uh, sure," she stammered, without any of the confidence she'd felt while playing his wife.

Weller grinned at her response and ushered her into the just-arrived elevator car, then pressed the door close button as soon as they got in. Jane tried her best not to stand too near but now it was Kurt who kept closing the space between them, until her shoulder was touching his.

It was strange, but as soon as his body made contact with hers, Jane felt calmer. Especially when he gave her a little nudge, as if to say 'relax.'

They didn't talk on the way down to the vehicle, but the silence was anything but awkward. There were a lot of furtive glances and semi-smiles, some conversing with their eyes. Jane could tell that Weller was also thinking about the day they'd had and she liked the expression it brought to his usually serious face.

She thought back to earlier again. How possessive he'd been. He'd implied it was part of the act. But it hadn't felt that way. Maybe because, even now, he hadn't quite stopped behaving that way.

Once they were driving, Jane wondered if they were going to talk about the day, or pretend it had all never happened. Fairly quickly she got her answer, as Weller turned to her with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable out there today," he said. "Things got pretty… close there for a moment."

Jane frowned, biting down hard on her lip, wondering if he meant the shootout they'd been about to lose or how physically entangled their bodies had been. Because that part had certainly not been the problem. Being so close, having his hands all over her; it had felt more than a little comfortable.

"I think I might have come off like a possessive asshole."

Jane snapped her head up to look at him in surprise. He sounded a little anxious, like he wasn't sure how to navigate the situation. Which was rather adorable considering how forceful he'd been in the moment.

"You were acting pretty jealous," Jane commented, matter-of-factly.

"Well, he shouldn't have been touching you like that!" Weller retorted.

Jane grinned, and flashed him a wink. He still sounded pissed off just thinking about it. Which, she had to admit, was kind of cute.

Weller caught on that she was just playing with him and most of his anger dissipated; though his next words were still a bit huffy.

"Even if you're not my wife, I'm not going to let some creep do that to you."

The way he looked at her as he said it made Jane feel warm on the inside, but a little confused as well. She could obviously take care of herself. It certainly wasn't on Kurt to defend her honour. And yet, she liked that he wanted to.

"Weller. Calm down," Jane sighed. "It's over."

Kurt exhaled and looked back at the road for a bit as he took her advice and refocused his energy. She wondered at his anger, so long after the fact. Sure, the guard had taken full advantage of the situation in an unseemly manner, but Weller's emotions about it hadn't died off, even now.

Finally, as they were nearing the safe house, Kurt turned to her with a bit of a sheepish look.

"I'm really glad we still get to do this. For a minute there I was worried about what I'd gotten you into."

Jane wondered about his admitting that. He'd seemed confident the entire time. Though she'd started to be fairly concerned when she ran out of ammo and more attackers kept appearing.

"We would have figured something out," she said, brushing the near-miss out of her mind.

That won her a full grin from Kurt.

"Yeah," he said. "We made a good team didn't we."

There was another heady pause between them as Weller pulled the SUV up in front of the safe house and parked. But then, before they had a chance to get out, he turned to her and blurted out a question.

"What did Allie say to you?"

Jane felt a flutter in her stomach and panic in her chest. She didn't want to actually tell Kurt what the Marshal had said. So there had to be some way around it, without using exact words.

"Um. I think she thinks there's uh… something going on between us? Or that there should be."

It was the best she could do to sum up her strange contact with Weller's ex. But when Kurt didn't reply for a long time and just sat there with a pensive look on his face, Jane figured she must have said something wrong. Looking at him nervously, she waited to hear that him proclaim that she was making things up or massively misreading the situation.

But when Weller finally replied, he also sounded a bit confused.

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's the vibe I got too."

"Sorry about that, I don't know what's up with her. It's been awhile."

Jane felt all her anxiety wash away immediately and she bit back a smile. She'd rather liked the Marshal, despite her initial reaction at discovering the pretty agent was Kurt's ex. And she definitely liked that Allie thought Weller was over their relationship and had moved on to a new interest.

Shrugging, Jane flashed Kurt a sly grin.

"I guess we were too good at the act," she commented.

They were, and she knew it.

"That Rich Dotcom guy sure bought it."

Weller groaned and rolled his eyes at the mention of the ridiculous dark web kingpin they'd just apprehended.

"Hopefully we never have to see that guy again," he muttered.

"I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from shooting him."

###

Weller walked Jane into the safe house with a nerves tingling up and down his spine. The last time he'd been in there with her he'd ended up running off before he did something inappropriate. And now he knew what it felt like to hold her close and run his hands along her curves.

At the moment he had his arm lightly draped behind her back, hovering as if waiting to catch her from some unseen danger. Then, when he opened the door and she stepped in, his hand glanced against her hip for a brief second and it took everything in him to pull it away before his palm slid up to her waist the way it had earlier that day.

Quickly Kurt flushed the memory from his mind and reminded himself that he had to stay professional. Despite what Allie had implied, there wasn't anything going on between him and Jane and he meant to keep it that way. If he acted on his feelings towards her any more than he already had, he would probably be forced to withdraw from her case. Which was a consequence he wasn't willing to risk, no matter how attracted he was to her.

Shaking himself back into the present, Weller put the beers he'd brought into the suspiciously empty fridge and the snacks on the counter. When he was done putting things away, he noticed that Jane was standing in the kitchen looking a little lost so he opened two beers and handed her one.

"Cheers," he said, with a grin.

"To another successful mission."

They clinked bottles and Jane took a few sips before she offered him the same helpless look she'd been wearing since they came in.

"I'm sorry. I don't really know what I'm supposed to do," she stammered.

Weller's grin grew as he took in her nervousness. She hadn't been nearly this anxious when stranded with him alone in the field, pretending to be married and facing a small army on their own. Or when he'd made her dance with him at the party, knowing that he might never get another golden opportunity like that.

"Relax," he replied. "How about you show me around?"

It was a bit pointless since it was just another standard FBI safe house and Weller had certainly seen enough of those in his career. But Jane gave him a thankful smile at his suggestion and toured him through the place, all of it as non-descript as he imagined until they returned to the living room and he noticed the sketches on the wall.

"Did you do these?" he asked, staring at the incredible detail in the art.

Jane nodded as she stepped up next to him, suddenly looking shy again.

"They're amazing," he added.

"Is there anything you can't do?"

Jane blushed.

"Uh. I don't know how to host a housewarming party?"

Weller laughed.

"Jane, stop worrying. The rest of the team will be here soon and then we'll order pizza. All you have to do is relax and have a good time."

She sighed and gave him a sheepish look.

"Sorry. Sometimes I still feel like I have no idea what I'm doing."

Kurt laughed again.

Could she be any more adorable? Deadly and capable as hell but still lacking confidence in many ways.

"You did fine at the party today," he said.

"Why don't we just sit down and wait for everyone else?"

Jane still looked unsure so Weller took the lead and sat down on the couch, then gave her an expectant look. Which finally drew a grin from her as she rolled her eyes and joined him on the sofa.

It was a little weird sitting there with her, but not really. He could still feel it, that rightness between them. It had been like that all day, the way his arm fit perfectly around her.

Weller's mind drifted right back to dancing with her, rueing the fact that there wasn't likely to be another mission that involved that sort of interaction. Then his brain flashed to Jane asking if he'd ever been married and her confession about having been engaged at some point.

It made him irrationally upset thinking that she possibly had a fiancé, and not for the poor fiancé who'd lost his gorgeous future wife. Obviously Kurt knew what it meant, that he wanted her to be his. But she wasn't and she couldn't be - it would only make him more goddamned not 'objective' like everyone already said.

Weller growled at himself, trying to put all of it out of mind. They were friends, and it had to stay like that for the sake of the investigation.

"Can I ask you something?"

Kurt was knocked out of his internal battle by Jane's timid question, and he immediately focused in on her again.

"Of course," he replied.

It took her a moment to continue and he loved watching the emotions dance across her features as she thought about her next words.

"What happened between you and Allie?" Jane finally asked.

"She seemed pretty happy to see you again."

That was twice she'd asked about his relationship with Allie, which definitely gave his ego a little boost. He liked that Jane cared enough to question him about it, even if he didn't really want to discuss his failed love life with her.

"Uh, yeah," he mumbled, trying his best to play things cool.

"I guess she forgot we weren't a very good fit."

That much was true. He'd been surprised that Allie had propositioned him again, despite all their issues the first time around. She'd been pretty clear that he hadn't been able to meet her needs, and he didn't think her memory was that short.

Jane gave him a look that implied she didn't believe him and Weller sighed. How was he supposed to characterize a relationship that ended because he was emotionally unavailable?

"There was a lot of drinking and not a lot of talking," he explained.

"We had a lot of fun but she wanted more from me."

"What did you want?" Jane asked.

She sounded so innocent and earnest, yet he couldn't help but feel awkward talking to Jane about Allie. It was making him overthink things to the extreme, go down a mental path he was trying to avoid.

"To be honest, I didn't know what I wanted," he finally replied. "And I was never good at opening up."

"Yeah," Jane said. "I can tell."

Weller frowned with amusement at her tone, and gave her a little nudge on the shoulder.

"You keep your cards pretty close to your chest too," he grumbled.

"You remembered being engaged? When did that happen?"

"Not until you put the ring on my hand," she said, seeming to blush a bit, though he couldn't quite tell in the dim light.

"Were there any clues about who he might be?" Weller asked, recognizing that he was prying and unable to stop himself from doing so. At least he could pretend it was due to the case.

"No, but I did remember later that I gave the ring back," Jane said, a little sadly. "And I think I've dreamt about him before."

The fact that she'd given the ring back shouldn't have made him so pleased but it still did. The thought of a fiancé out there swooping in to claim Jane as his own turned his stomach, and the chances of that happening were a lot slimmer if they were no longer engaged.

Weller's internal voice tried to warn him that his emotions about her were too present after the day they'd had, and that talking about relationships with Jane, especially right then, was risky business. Yet, the next words came out anyway, before his rational mind could shut his mouth.

"Have you thought about it?" he asked. "Dating?"

Maybe he just felt the need to prepare himself for the eventuality. She deserved a life outside of the case and was certain to attract interest if she started going out more often. Or maybe he was trying to trap her into some reassurance that she also understood they were meant to be together. The thing was, even Kurt wasn't exactly sure why he was pushing the conversation in that direction.

Jane looked anxious as hell about his question, which had not been his intent at all. Yet obviously he'd put her on the spot, in an extremely awkward way.

Nice one, Weller, he groaned to himself, wondering if he could retract his words somehow. But before he could backtrack, Jane actually answered.

"Um a little bit? It would all be pretty hard to explain though."

That much was obvious, though he imagined that Jane's mysterious past would just make her more intriguing to most men. It was cute to see her so shy though; so unsure when she was generally so self-confident.

"Even just the tattoos," she continued. "Not to mention the memory thing."

The tattoos were such an integral part of her that he no longer registered them as out of the ordinary. In fact, it was strange to see her without the bird on her neck at the moment, because she hadn't yet wiped off the makeup they'd used to cover it for the mission. So it was hard to remember that the tattoos weren't ordinary at all and would prompt a lot of judgment, especially since she couldn't explain any of it, due to everything being classified.

"Your tattoos are gorgeous," he stated firmly. "They're a part of you. You shouldn't have to explain them to anyone."

"It was the only thing missing from that outfit today."

He hadn't exactly meant to let that last bit slip; would have blamed it on the beer except he'd only had half a bottle. But it didn't make the statement any less true. The thought of Jane wearing that dress while in her regular inked skin was almost too much to bear.

"Kurt, that was so not me," Jane groaned, shaking her head at him.

"Yeah well, a tux isn't me either," he replied. "But it's still nice to look good in one."

It was true after all. It had felt nice, getting the appreciative comments from Allie. Though Weller was glad he'd stopped himself from blurting out his thoughts when Jane had first appeared in that dress. Now though, he couldn't seem to help elaborating on his more muted comment at the time.

Jane blushed, which only stirred his out-of-whack emotions even further.

"Sorry," he apologized, realizing he'd crossed a line again.

"I shouldn't go there."

"No, you're right," Jane replied with a shy smile.

"It is nice to hear. I don't usually feel very pretty."

Of all the words she could have spoken, those ones completely knocked his socks off. Her lack of self-recognition was bewildering- it seemed impossible that Jane didn't know how beautiful she was. Either dressed up for a gala or just in a tank top and jeans.

His hands wanted to reach for her and confess all of his thoughts. Weller even felt his arm moving towards her, as if by its own accord. He could feel the crumbling of his internal walls and was seriously about to give himself away when there was a knock at the door and they could hear Patterson's voice through it.

Weller was thrown out of his reverie by the noise and breathed a sigh of relief. He'd nearly acted on feelings he was trying his best to repress, and that would have likely led to all sorts of complications. Yet he couldn't just let the conversation end where it was; so before they stood up, he managed to sneak in one more comment.

Looking at Jane seriously, he held her to the couch with his eyes for just a moment longer.

"Well. You should," he declared, in a tone that brooked no arguing.

His declaration brought a shy, sassy smile to her lips before Jane suddenly fled, muttering something about washing off the makeup before everything got started. Weller wistfully watched her run off before going to open the door; once again both cursing and blessing the others for showing up at that moment. Because he'd been about to reach out and kiss her. And he would have never been able to let go.

[ak8shi]

Kuroo + Iwaizumi: HQ boys as workout instructors series

Suga + Bokuto ver.

warnings: light swearing!!

Kuroo Tetsurou

Your friend somehow convinces you to go to a kickboxing class, bribing you with ice cream afterwards

You: …what do you mean I have to leave my bed

Honestly you’re scared because you’re out of shape and definitely nothing close to a regular at the gym

You arrive at the gym with your friend, and you enter the kickboxing room

There’s around 15 people in the class, but the instructor hasn’t arrive yet

You stretch with your friend, mentally preparing yourself to absolutely die LMAO

Around five minutes before the class begins, this tall guy walks in with a duffel bag

To put it simply, HE WAS BEAUTIFUL,, and you definitely weren’t the only one looking

As he puts his things down in the corner, you can see his back muscles flexing under his tight black shirt he just hits so different in all black I’m about to bark

He takes out his boxing tape, wrapping his hands in it, and then he introduces himself,,,

“Hi everyone, welcome to beginning kickboxing! My name is Kuroo, and I’m going to be helping everyone with drills throughout the class. Let me know if you need anything before we begin.”

Let’s be honest, Kuroo’s workout playlist BANGS,, he’s a big fan of Roddy Ricch, J.Cole, Nicki, Kendrick, Meg, and Travis

You, praying: can I not embarrass myself in front of this man thanks !

He puts the music on, instructing everyone through a warm-up from the front of the studio

Kuroo is such a great teacher, and he somehow makes it so fun and engaging, king shit!!

Ugh he has such great energy and gets everyone encouraged and pumped up, he’s also SO smiley and approachable

After the warm up, everyone slips on their gloves with ease, ofc,,, except for you

Dear god he’s about to start and you’re not ready

Your friend isn’t helping you, she wants you to ask for help LMAOOO

You finally suck it up and raise your hand, and he walks over to you

Kuroo: hey can I help you out with that?

You: WHY IS HE SO HOT?? AND RESPECTFUL????

He carefully helps you get the gloves onto your hands, making sure you’re comfy before jogging back up to the front of the classroom you blacked out for a few minutes

He takes everyone through the movements, starting basic with how to hit the bag, posture, and form

Kuroo eventually gives everyone drills to do, and he walks around the room to see if anyone needs assistance

You’re trying your best and really getting into it, until he walks around and gives you a cute smile and a thumbs up please how am I supposed to focus on not dying when you’re like this sir

Your friend is nudging you,,,

“dude he’s totally into you, I’ve taken classes with him before and he doesn’t do that to just anyone”

Your stomach is erupting in butterflies at her words or maybe you’re trying not to yak, but you’re trying not to get your hopes up

The class is coming to an end, and it somehow went by so fast?? Maybe because you spent half of it staring at Kuroo’s arms as he hits the punching bag

You are super sweaty but the workout was refreshing and you definitely want to try kickboxing again ,,, especially if Kuroo is the instructor

He gets the attention of the class after going through a cool-down routine

“Thank you so much for being amazing everyone! I hope to see some of you in my intermediate level classes, or just around the gym in general, don’t be a stranger!”

You start to pack up your things, everyone else besides your friend and Kuroo having left the room

Your friend suddenly: bye! It was so nice meeting you today sis! Text me when you get home!

SHE LEFT YOU I-

You’re confused for a second since she literally drove you to the gym, but before you can say anything someone is tapping your shoulder

You turn around,,,shaking in your boots,,,, Kuroo is standing there with his bag slung around his shoulder, wiping his face with a towel

He looks so good sweaty please

Him: hey, was this your first session? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in any of my classes… I definitely would’ve remembered you ;) we all know he practiced this in his head for the entirety of the class because he’s a DORK in actuality

Bro all you can do is squeak out a “yes”

He asks for your number, and offers to train you personally at the gym,, HOT

You walk out of the building a blushing mess, and then you see your friend sitting outside in her car LMAO

Her, as you get in the passenger seat: so,, did you secure the bag

You: WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME

Her: I did what I had to do get you a friend

Iwaizumi Hajime

So you’re a regular at the gym, but you haven’t really tried any of the classes offered through your membership

You sign up for a spin class that takes place every Wednesday morning, thinking it would be nice to get a workout in before work

It was not

You had to wake up at 5 am to eat something and get dressed for the class, and you find yourself dragging yourself into the locker rooms to put your things away

With sleep still evident in your features, you go to sit at one of the spin machines, resting your head on the handle waiting for impending doom

A guy walks in rocking an all-white and grey fit and puts his things down next to you, but you don’t really pay attention to him or make an effort to look at him properly

Everyone slowly trickles into the spin room, chatting amongst themselves and you’re not really sure how anyone is functioning this early

Then,, the dude next to you stands up and turns around, speaking into his head set

“Good morning everyone, welcome to intermediate spin, my name is Iwaizumi and I will be your instructor! Please be ready to go in five minutes,”

You didn’t even realize you sat next to the instructor seat lmao, and you’re stunned by how nice the man’s voice is!!! Not only did he have a nice voice, but you also overlooked him as an instructor because he was so young looking

So once everyone is ready to go, he hops onto the bike next to you

His playlist consists of Bad Bunny, electronic, and a lot of RnB the taste jumped out

As you start the machine and it shows the route that the bike is supposed to take, Iwa starts talking about the goal of the workout and the motivation its going to take to finish

We love a professional !!!

The class is hard; mostly because it’s your first time but you make it through thanks to Iwaizumi’s skilled teaching style, and the way he doesn’t leave anyone behind even if they are struggling

It also helped that he was next to you most of the session you could see every droplet of sweat on his beautiful face and tanned arms

You feel great after every session, feeling like you’re accomplishing something, and you get to see your little crush every Wednesday

It definitely makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning

You make small talk with Iwa since he’s right next to you, and slowly it progresses into a really nice friendship

You help him set-up and clean-up the room before and after class, and he brings you coffee in return (he knows your order by heart🥰)

Him: good morning

You: fuck off loser👹

Him: I brought you coffee

You: ☺️hey Iwa

He’s honestly so great at his job, and he tells you that he got into cycling because of the side-training he did for volleyball

One session near the end of the cycling classes, you were having a rough time and in a bad mood because of work, and Iwa lowkey helped you work through it within that one workout session and you felt so much better by the end of it how does he do it

You, dying: Iwa I can’t go on

Him: You fucking panini head who said you were allowed to stop

The forty year old soccer mom on the other side of him: Iwa I can’t go on

Him: You’re doing amazing sweetie! Don’t hurt yourself, you got this!😘

…t-that’s when you realize you have feelings for him, but you’re not really sure how to go about telling him

You stress over it for the next week, and in no time you find yourself walking into your last class with Iwa as your instructor sad girl hours

You had bought him a sweatband as a joke and embroidered his initials on it, and you were planning on giving it to him at the end of class

He greets you the same as usual, and then turns and thanks everyone for sticking with the class

The session is amazing of course, but you’re feeling such a mix of emotions as the seconds on your machine dwindle down to 0:00

A few people come up to Iwa to thank him, and you purposely pack up your things and stretch super slowly

Finally, you are the only two people left in the room

He finishes cleaning off the seats, and then he turns to you as you’re turning the machines off,

His steel eyes are boring into you, and he’s cracking his knuckles nervously

“h-hey, would you maybe want to go out with me sometime?”

NOT WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING-

You blush,, but in the best way possible;

You reach over to pinch his rosy cheek, obviously saying yes

You reach into your bag and throw the sweatband at him

He catches it, laughing as he admires the stitchwork on it

Him, knowing you embroidered it yourself: omg aw did Helen Keller stitch this?😍

You: for personal reasons I will be revoking my agreement to go on any kind of date with you

Before you leave the gym with your fresh coffee, you give him a kiss on the cheek and he literally can not stop thinking about how crazy he is about you !!

[dany-is-my-queen]

Born To Be Yours | Part II

Sansa Stark x Fem! Baratheon! Reader (Daenerys Targaryen x Fem! Baratheon! Reader eventually)

Season 1-8

Word Count: 1,795

Note: I’m back!!!

Part 1 here Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8 Pt.9

“You shouldn’t interfere when it’s none of your business.” Joffrey was still angry with you.

“Don’t mess with the ladies and we’ll be in peace.” You calmly said.

“Always so honorable... the hero saving the day.” Your mother mocked.

“Why you say it like that, mother? I would do it over again, you are so heartless and extreme about little matters.” You rolled your eyes.

“You don’t care about your brother's honor. That’s the real reason you defended those pathetic girls.” She spat.

“I do care about him. It’s the other way around. You are a pampered kid. You should start acting more like a man, Joffrey.” And with that you left his room.

“May I come in, princess?” The sweet voice of the oldest Stark daughter rang. You were on just a pair of trousers, definitely not wearing proper clothes to be talking to her.

“Of course, my lady. Just give me a second, please.” You put on a dress. “Let her in.”

“I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. You saved my wolf’s life, I’ll be forever thankful, my princess.”

“It was the right thing to do. I would have preferred her to stay by your side, though.”

“She’ll find a new home. I hope she returns to the north, where she belongs.” You gave her a soothing smile. “Does prince Joffrey hates me?” She asked sadly.

“No no, he is just a bit... irritating and gets easily offended. But it’s not personal, my lady. You are promised to him so with time your relationship will evolve.”

“I hope so. I’ll leave you to enjoy your evening, my princess.”

“Lady Sansa, if you need someone to talk to you can always come to me. You and your sister. I pray for your little brother to wake up. She nodded.

“You are very kind.”

~~~~~~

“Did you found a suitable candidate up in the North, niece?” Uncle Renly asked with a droll voice.

“I met a boy... very good looking and a gentleman but he wasn’t my type. He’s the eldest son of Lord Eddard.”

“Sounds quite the man.”

“We didn’t have the chance to get closer so I’ll forget about him.” You might never see him again after all.

“Princess Y/N, what can I do for you?” The tall man greeted.

“I haven’t had the chance to thank you, my lord, for accepting to be the new hand. I know it was a difficult choice to make, leaving your home. My father really needs you. He lacks of loyal friends and I believe you’ll be very helpful around here.”

“Oh, I will do my best not to let Robert down.” He smiled.

“A raven came this morning. I- I forgot to deliver it earlier, my lord hand.” Maester Pycelle said with his usual stutter and left.

“Good news?”

“My Princess! I didn’t expect to see you.” A voice that didn’t please you stated.

“Lord Baelish.” You faked a perfect smile.

“Lord Stark, perhaps you’ll like to share the news with your wife.”

“She’s on Winterfell.”

“Is she?”

“I won’t tell my mother. Lord Baelish knows I can keep a secret. Can I join you?” The relation you had with Petyr was not the best. He informed you of things your parents won’t share with you. Despite that you never liked him nor his personality.

“Better not keep her waiting.” You reached his brothel unnoticed.

“I’ll talk to her when you’re done. I’m not a spy. I can be trusted but I prefer to stay out of your business, Lord Eddard.” And it was true. You had no interest in gossiping.

“Thank you.” They entered. Not before he took Baelish and throttle him suspecting this was a trick.

“Lady Catelyn.” You bowed your head.

“Princess Y/N, what a surprise...” She looked at you with dismay.

“It’s fine. I won’t tell a soul. I am glad to hear that little Bran is finally awake. And also, I wanted to let you know that I’ll keep your daughters safe. Now that you both are here I give you my word. My family is complicated and tends to have a reputation. I will look after Lady Sansa and Lady Arya, as long as I can, I promise.” Since the incident with the direwolves you had this enormous feeling of responsibility, deep down you knew their stay in King’s Landing won’t be as enjoyable as they thought. You hoped you were wrong. Prevention was a good idea.

“I will be in your debt, my princess. Knowing this gives me relief. It’s hard to find good people here in the capital.”

“It certainly is. Say hello to Lord Robb from me.” You wished her good travel home but sensed trouble in her.

~~~~~~

“Y/N! Want to spar? I’m so bored and Myrcella is doing lady stuff.” Tommen asked you, holding his little sword.

“That’s not proper for a princess to do and mother doesn’t approve.” Joffrey hissed.

“But father does. We are not useless like yourself, big brother.” You rumpled your brother’s hair. “Let’s go Tommen.” You found Arya in the courtyard with his dancing teacher. “Mind if we join the class?”

“This is Syrio Forel, he is from Braavos.”

“My Princess, my Prince.” He did a small reverence.

“I want to learn how to be a knight!” Tommen said excitedly. After a long time practicing you got tired. Syrio was surprised when he saw the way you wield the wooden blade.

“Natural talent, Princess Y/N.”

“Thank you. My father was the first person that taught me how to properly do it so I can defend myself when there are no guards around. Ser Jaime also instructed me of some techniques.”

“That’s my intent too. Not wearing dresses and attending to councils. I was born for this.” Arya said sure.

“No one will be able to stop you when you are old enough, perhaps not even now.” She grinned.

You could see yourself in this girl, you have a lot in common. She was fearless and didn’t seem to want to marry a lord and live in a castle. You could also see the similarities between Lady Sansa and you. You love to fight and go hunting, use a bow, but you knew how to weave as well, how to properly greet the lords and ladies, and you wished to get married someday. You were a proper daughter, with dignity and manners, your father was always more fond of you, your mother on the other hand... she loved you in her own way, you were the perfect child in everyone’s eyes.

“Lady Sansa, I am happy to know your brother is fine.” You put a hand on her shoulder.

“He won’t be able to walk ever again. But it was a miracle. Thanks for your prayers.” She answered.

“Would you like to visit the Throne Room? Your septa can join us.” She nodded.

“Someday your husband will sit there and you by his side, then you’re going to present your son to the court. All the important people of the Seven Kingdoms will gather here to see the prince.” Septa Mordane stated.

“What if I have a girl?” The Stark inquired.

“If the gods are good you’ll have girls and boys, plenty of them.”

“They all going to be beautiful children. Just like her mother.” You complemented.

“But if I only had girls...”

“The throne will pass to Tommen, my little brother.”

“And everyone will hate me.” She harried said.

“No one could ever hate you, Sansa.” Her septa affirmed.

“Your Septa is right, my lady. I already told you. As your friend, I won’t let anybody speak ill of you. Besides, you are lovely.” You squeezed her hand.

“Thank you, my princess.”

“Sansa, do you remember your lessons? Who built the Iron Throne?”

“Aegon the conqueror.”

“And who built the Red Keep?”

“Maegor the cruel. My grandfather and uncle were murdered here, by orders of the Mad King. Why?”

“You should speak to your father about these matters.”

“You are dismissed.” The old woman left. You walked towards the throne indicating her to follow you.

“Would you like to seat on the throne, my lady? It’s not a comfortable chair but it was forged from the one thousand swords that had been surrendered to Aegon in the War of Conquest by the lords who had offered their fealty, though the actual number of the swords is less than two hundred. These were melted down by the fiery breath of Balerion the Black Dread.” You conclude telling her.

“You seem to like these type of stories, Princess. Your knowledge for the topic is quite vast.” She was surprised yet amused.

“Yes, I enjoy to read and uncle Tyrion told me a lot about this when I was just a little girl. What kind of stories enthralled you, sweet lady?”

“The ones with honorable knights, chivalry and love.” A dreamt sigh left her mouth.

“I like those too. Especially this tale about Ser Florian called Florian the Fool, he was a legendary hero of the Riverlands from the Age of Heroes. He felt in love with a maiden named Jonquil. Singers compared the sudden marriage of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Queen Alysanne Targaryen to their great romance.

“I know that one! Is my favorite tale of all time. But I didn’t know they compared them with the Targaryens of that period. It’s very romantic.” She blushed a little.

“And one of the songs... I think this is how it goes, Six maids there were in a spring-fed pool... oh my gods! I sound terrible.”

“No! You have an adorable voice, princess Y/N.” You grinned.

“You are lying! I found that song a bit creepy. He was watching Jonquil and her sisters bathed. The face of the girl turned just like her hair. I didn’t mean to ruin it.” Both of you laughed.

“It’s alright. I still love it.” The throne room was never your favorite place to be, it was hollow and boring. You imagine all the horrible things that happened here. But now with the presence of such a pretty lass it felt different, not gloomy at all.

The next day it was the tournament in the name of Eddard Stark. Though the man didn’t attend. You sat next to the oldest Baratheon boy. Tommen was inpatient so as your father. Lady Sansa smiled at your brother but he looked away, avoiding her completely.

“Is it so hard to be nice at your lady?”

“Shut up.” You return the smile to her. She was half disappointed it wasn’t Joffrey and half happy you did notice her.

“Start the damn joust before I pissed myself!” And the opponents made their appearance. Ready to begin.

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Breathe ~ Doctor (part 4)

A/n: I will get to requests soon, I promise. I just want to get to Donna in this series, because I have PLANS it’s going to be great.

Word Count: 11,000+

MASTERLIST

"Shit!"

"Language please, we are still in a school." Y/n turned around to see the principle that still made him feel so incredibly uncomfortable to be around, and tried once again not to look as terrified of the man as he felt.

"Right sir, sorry." Y/n offered a small smile and the other man continued on his way. What a relief.

He was still wrapping his finger as he walked into the cafeteria. He had cut it on accident, and though it was small it was in such a place that it had bled quite a lot before finally calming down enough so he could plaster it. He got his food, passing Rose who was working as a lunch lady, and the two shared a look. Rose's was irritated, and Y/n's was amused. Next Y/n looked around the room to find the Doctor, making his way over to sit across. "How was Physics?" Y/n asked.

The Doctor's eyes fell to Y/n's finger. "How was mechanics?"

Y/n had applied for the mechanic job, same as Rose had gone for lunch lady and the Doctor had aimed for teacher. They'd all gotten it. Mickey and the Doctor had taught Y/n enough about how to fix things that mixed with that and his impressive ability to pick up on simple things pretty easily, he was actually quite good. Only two days in, even the weird staff members that gave Y/n the same vibe as the principal did called Y/n when they needed help with something, instead of the janitor like they had for years.

"You know there's more this gig than just tightening screws and helping the English teacher figure out how computers work. Mr. Bele, the janitor, has actually been teaching me some plumbing stuff. I think I'm properly working." He was rather proud, and it made the Doctor smile. Y/n caught movement in the corner of his eye and looked over to see Rose approaching. "Unlike some people."

She was at the table in a few seconds, pretending to wipe off the surface when she'd just passed four empty tables who needed it far more than this one did. Y/n held in a laugh for her sake - she seemed irritated. "Two day," she reminded. "We've been here for two days.

"Not everything is running from death and facing down mythical beasts," Y/n said casually. "Sometimes it's just scooping lunch and waiting for the right time."

Rose rolled her eyes. Unlike Y/n, the Doctor didn't seem hesitant to irritate her further as he motioned to a spot on the table with his plastic fork. "Sorry, could you just... there's a bit of gravy." She wiped at the wrong thing, and the Doctor pushed it even further. "No, no, just there." She glared a him and he grinned.

"Doctor." Despite her obvious irritation, she did find the right spot and wiped it up.

"Blame your boyfriend, he's the one who put us up to this," the Doctor reminded.

Y/n tried to hide his smile. The three of them were involved, that was obvious, but they hadn't ever made anything official or used labels. Since Rose was technically dating Mickey and hadn't officially broken up with him as well, the Doctor and Y/n had been teasing her about it occasionally. All in good fun, of course, but it still made her scoff every time.

"Have you seen anything to prove him right then?" Y/n asked, resting his chin in his palm as he popped a fry in his mouth.

"Yes actually. One of the kids in my class this morning, got know;edge way beyond planet Earth," the Doctor began.

"You eating those chips?" Rose asked.

Y/n rolled his eyes. "How can you think of food right now? There's a child with extraterrestrial knowledge, Rose."

The Doctor smiled at that, but allowed Rose to grab a few off of his plate anyway. Y/n smiled to himself at the way they so easily invaded each others' space. It wasn't a problem at all for them. "No worries," he dismissed. "I didn't want them anyway they're a bit... different."

"Oh but they're gorgeous." Her mouth was full but also curved in a smile and Y/n chuckled under his breath, shaking his head at her. God she was adorable. "I wish I'd had something like this in school."

A hum came from the Doctor. The kind that told them he wasn't fully paying attention. His mind was somewhere else. "It's quite well behaved, this place."

Y/n had noticed it too. "Yeah, every time I go into classes to fix something they all just sit there and... stare at me. It's not like they're threatening, just a bit unnerving. Just sitting there, patiently waiting for me to finish. I've heard stories about how kids use their phones and talk during lectures, let alone when there's nothing going on. I don't know Rose, is that the norm?"

She nodded, far used to Y/n asking questions about things that he should have experienced but never did. "Yeah one time the teacher needed help with something and two kids snogged in the back of the classroom the whole time. One kid used to throw pencils at the back of my head during class, until I moved seats."

"Yeah I thought they'd all be happy-slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBO's," the Doctor input. "Happy slapping hoodies with ASBO's and ringtones, yeah?" He seemed quite proud of himself. "Don't tell me I don't fit in."

Before Rose could tease him, the head lunchlady approached, her eyes on the blonde at the table. "You are not to leave your station during a sit in."

Rose stood. "I was just talking to this teacher, and his mechanic friend."

"Hello," the Doctor greeted as Y/n smiled, nodding politely rather than voicing something. It was pretty reflective of how they usually worked, with Y/n tending to sit back and blend in and the Doctor sticking out like a sore thumb and grabbing all the attention. It wasn't a bad thing, just what was normal. The whole thing with the wold had been rare. A nice rarity though.

"This professor here says he doesn't like the chips," Rose added, shaking her head. It seemed to be some attempt at a joke to break the tension. Something the other woman could relate to maybe.

It fell short. If anything, she seemed offended. "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now get back to work." And with that, she turned around and left.

Y/n blew air out of his mouth, eyes wide as he looked back to Rose. "See?" She said to him, shaking her head. "This is me." She began to leave, walking backward so she could motion to her apron and uniform. "Dinner lady," she added with a grumble as she turned her back to the two men, heading back to the kitchen.

"I'll have the crumble," the Doctor shot back.

The last thing they heard from her was, "I'm so gonna kill you." Y/n covered his laugh, trying to stay third party to their banter as usual. Sometimes he had his fun as well, but he tended to be laid back enough to play peacekeeper more than anything.

The Doctor leaned into him, snagging his attention. "What?" Y/n asked upon seeing an odd look in the Doctor's eyes.

The Timelord just smiled. "What do you think it would have been like, this? School and such?"

Y/n scoffed. "Terrible, from what I hear. Especially for me." He messed with his food, distracting himself as he always did when he had to be vulnerable. He only ever did it for Rose and the Doctor, but it was still hard - even for them. "I think I have anxiety." A short, bitter laugh. "I've never really had to face it of course, with being as apart from society as a human who lives on Earth can be. It kept me alive and made me really functional, living on the streets as a child. I learned to steal pretty quickly, motivated by my hunger and constant paranoia that I'd get caught. I didn't trust anyone, not even those I probably should have. Kept me alive though, I bet. Something like that, in a place like this? No. I would have crumbled for sure. Wouldn't have been able to read aloud or say the answer when I was called on or been able to make any friends. I probably would have sat in the corner every day, in every class, and prayed I wouldn't get noticed." His smile dropped. "Kids like that... they struggle in school. People are mean."

The Doctor reached over and took Y/n's hand. "Well, I'm lucky. You've got some very good survival skills. That instinct of yours has saved my life more times than I can count, I'm sure."

"Nah." Y/n chuckled to himself. "You'd have been fine without me. Figured something out, I'm sure."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed. "Thanks to you I didn't have to, though." He smiled. "Lots of people have you to thank for saving their lives as well, Y/n. If nothing else, you do well in this life."

That did cheer Y/n up actually. "I hope it'll always be that way. I'd hate to slow you down."

At that, the Doctor actually laughed. It was low and quiet, unlike his usual laugh, but far more domestic. Calm. It was a laugh that didn't need to be showy - it was good enough to be familiar. "If ever comes the day I'm not trying to keep up with you, then I'll start to worry."

Out of the corner of Y/n's eye, there was movement. He looked over to see some of the kids looking between the two men and their hands. Y/n suddenly got rather bashful, attempting to pull his hand away. The Doctor only held on tighter. "You know, we're in public," Y/n noted.

"Yep," the Doctor agreed.

"Showing affection," Y/n added, nodding to their hands.

"Indeed." The Doctor smiled and Y/n thought the man odd, in a pleasant way. The way he wasn't afraid to be himself was rather refreshing - especially when the plan had been to be polite and pleasant, but otherwise act as strangers.

Y/n spent the rest of lunch enjoying the moment. Word would spread, but these kids didn't seem the type to prod, even though children of this age should be at peak curiosity, yet to develop a social censor. The perfect disaster for pushy, nosey kids asking questions they probably shouldn't be. Not at this school though. For now, they could enjoy the exchange and that was enough.

Then lunch was over and it was back to business.

A little bit later, Y/n was pushing his cart down the hallway to go around his usual round to check if anything was out of place that hadn't been noticed - this was used most for normal schools where kids pulled pranks, but at this school he could use the guise to get information wherever he could - when he was stopped by the Principal, who had a woman at his side. "Ah yes, Mr. Doe," the older man greeted. "Miss Smith, this is our handyman. He help the janitor quite a bit - had some training in more things than cleaning and basic plumbing. Helps with the cooling and heating, and when machines break down or are hard to understand. Since when did things get so advanced, am I right?" He chuckled softly, but didn't get a response.

The other two were too busy staring at each other. "Sarah Jane," Y/n whispered, eyes wide.

Sara, though she knew for a fact that she couldn't know this man in front of her, felt that... maybe she did, actually. There was something familiar in his eyes, aside from the raw and obvious recognition that he looked at her with.

The principal seemed surprised. "You two know each other?"

"I-" Y/n panicked. If he said yes, Sara would surely be confused. But if he said no... well obviously that was a lie. How could he explain that he knew her, but she didn't know him? "We met briefly. I have a fantastic memory, when it comes to faces. Like a steal trap. I'm sure you don't remember me, but I dare say I could never forget a face as pretty as yours." It was probably odd to flirt with her as she was quite a bit older than he was, but he couldn't help it. He had someone else's memories, and the feelings that came with them.

"That makes sense," Sara voiced. Her words seemed a little distant though, her eyes boring into Y/n's, as if searching.

A little panicked, Y/n looked away. "Nice to see you again, Miss Smith. I hope you won't think me rude, but I must be off. Got work to do." He nodded to the principal. "Good day." Then he left, feeling Sara Jane Smith's eyes on his back the whole way.

Things were about to get very interesting.

-

"Kenny?" Y/n was surprised to see the spikey haired boy looking so shaken. Y/n had a habit of making friends with people as he went, in a way that Rose and the Doctor didn't. They were friendly and formed attachments, of course, but Y/n had an aura about him that made those who were lost or scared or confused flock to him for protection and understanding. It just so happened that those who were in such states in the line of things the Doctor and his two companions did, often had the most information. Y/n's friends were often full of just the information he needed, and they trusted him so much that it wasn't very hard to get it out of them.

Like now.

"I think I'm going mad," the young boy squeaked.

Ah yes, the staple sentence that meant someone had seen something important. "Now why's that?"

Kenny seemed to debate for quite a while, until Y/n rested his hand on the young boy's shoulders, encouraging him to talk. "I heard something weird in one of the classes, so I went to investigate. And... well I looked under one of the desks and there was some sort of... gargoyle, or bat or-" He shook his head. "I spooked it I think. It stood up and it was one of the staff." Y/n's eyes went wide. "He told me to go. Am I losing it?"

Kneeling down, Y/n got very serious. "You've not lost anything, Kenny, do you hear me?" The boy hesitated, then nodded. "I believe you. I do." That seemed to make Kenny quite relieved. "Now go to class and leave it up to me. I'll figure this out, promise." He hesitated before adding, "And Kenny? Don't tell anyone else what you saw, or that you told anyone. Do you understand me?"

The boy seemed unsure, but nodded again. "Okay."

"Good boy." Y/n let out a breath of relief. "Run along now and get to class. I don't want you being late." Kenny did go off, and Y/n turned back to his cart, looking at it a second before continuing on.

Did this mean he had to admit Mickey was right? God he hoped not.

-

"He said... a bat?"

"Or a gargoyle," Y/n confirmed to the Doctor's question. "Anything come to mind?"

"No." He frowned at the door they were about to go into as Y/n took the lead, using his keys to unlock it so they could all get in. He seemed worried by his lack of knowledge. If they were all being honest, it made Rose and Y/n just as nervous to see it. The Doctor was rarely caught off unawares and when he was... Well it wasn't good.

Once inside, Rose found a good joke as always to lighten the mood. "Oh," she whispered, her words mixed with laughter. "It's so weird to be in a school at night. Kinda spooky." She giggled, nudging Y/n who smiled. "When I was a kid I used to think all the teachers slept in school."

"Alright team," The Doctor began, shifting focus back to what was important. "Oh-" he cut off, making an odd face. "I hate people who say 'team'. Uh- gang? Uh... comrades."

"Squad?" Y/n offered.

"No," the Doctor shot down. "Anyway,  Rose, go to the kitchen and get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all maths teachers, check on the maths department. Y/n, look around to see if you can find any traces that could give us more clues on these bat or gargoyle creatures. Anything at all. I'm going to check out Finch's office. Meet back here in ten minutes." He took off, leaving the other three alone.

Rose hesitated around Mickey. Y/n didn't know where the two were at anymore, since Rose, Y/n and the Doctor had become... official? Weren't they? I guess they'd never said. It was quite confusing now that he was thinking about it. Rose still seemed to care about Mickey, so there was that. Even now, she checked in one him. "You going to be alright?"

"Me?" He brushed off far too eagerly, as if he'd been waiting to show that he was cool and capable. Something gave Y/n the idea that Mickey was doing so specifically to seem more cool and collected than the Doctor. Jokes on him, the Doctor was neither of those things and tended to actually be rather unhinged and chaotic. Y/n wasn't going to correct Mickey though - it was funny to see the man scramble and make a fool of himself. "Infiltration and investigation? I'm an expert at this." He began to walk off and Y/n was a bit impressed at how calm and confident he was being... until Mickey came back to ask, "Where's the maths department?" Rose pointed him in the direction as Y/n did a bad job at hiding his mocking chuckles.

When Mickey was gone, Rose rounded on Y/n. "What is your deal?"

"What do you mean, I've always been at odds with Mickey," Y/n pointed out.

"Not like that," Rose argued. "You're usually at least polite if nothing else. And you can't blame this on the Doctor, because you were the one who backed me up when Mickey called and the Doctor tried to dismiss it. You respect Mickey, deep down. And you care about him. The only time I've seen you act like this, lashing out by being petty, was when we were younger and you were upset but wouldn't tell me. So, Y/n, what's your deal?"

Y/n wasn't sure when she had gotten so perceptive of him. Perhaps she'd always been this way. He knew how they always worked though. She wouldn't press if he asked her not to, and he couldn't risk this coming out. He didn't even know it was bothering him as much as it apparently was, but it didn't matter. His current... condition had to stay a secret. "Nothing, really. We have to-"

But Rose had changed too, just as Y/n had, and the usual way she let things slide didn't seem to be what she was okay with anymore. "We haven't kept secrets in ages now. You can trust me Y/n. That's what partners do, right? They talk to each other? Communication and all."

Partners. Wait, what? "I thought... you and Mickey-"

Rose offered a shrug ad a sheepish smile. "We've loved each other for years, you and me, and now we also love the Doctor. That's... a bit chaotic, I'm not going to lie. It's going to be hard enough loving two men who are equally reckless, I can't deal with the drama of someone else too. I... adore Mickey, I really do. He was good to me for a long time. But I've seen what wasting time and waiting too long can do, and if you two are eventually going to have to say goodbye to me then I am going to soak up ever damn second I have until then. I'm tired of wasting time, Y/n. It only hurts more in the end."

"Oh." Y/n rubbed the back of his neck, smiling to himself. "Okay."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're adorable, truly, but you're not going to distract me. I want answers."

A panic flashed through the man and he did the first thing he could think of. He grabbed Rose and kissed the living hell out of her. When he leaned away, she looked a little dazed which is what he was going for. "I'll tell you. I really will. Just... not right now, okay? I can't do this right now, especially because there's too much else going on. I'm sorry." Then he took off toward the halls, ready to look around to find something that would help them all out.

He did find something. He opened the door, revealing a sight that made his blood run cold. Then he heard a scream, and he booked it over, running in to see Mickey. Before the boy could explain his exclamation, the Doctor joined the scene a second later, Rose and Sara Jane on his heels.

Y/n froze. "Sara Jane." He cleared his throat, able to handle it much better the second time around - especially with eyes on him. It sounded less like someone greeting an old friend, and more someone just saying hello in general.

"James," she greeted back. "Mr. Doe, I mean. Sorry, I got your first name from the principal quite by accident. Since you used mine I figured-"

"No worries," Y/n rushed. "It's - uh - not James though. It's actually Y/n. I went by a fake name myself. The Doctor stole John though, so I went with James instead. Different enough that no one would call me out for the obviously fake name."

"Oh," Sara Jane realized. "John Doe." They both chuckled, but the sound was cut off by an irritated Rose, who seemed to be very much not enjoying the exchange between the two.

"Why did you scream, Mickey?" She demanded, turning attention back to the reason they were all there. Unfortunately, Y/n did not miss the odd way the Doctor looked at him, confused by the interaction between the two.

Mickey seemed suddenly wanting to disappear. "Sorry, I uh..." He moved aside to let everyone see in. "You told me to investigate, so I started looking through these cupboards and all these fell out on me."

"Oh my god they're rats," Rose realized. "Dozens of rats. Vacuum-packed rats." Y/n had to agree with her wonder at it all.

"And you decided to scream?" The Doctor stood, looking at Mickey with a raised eyebrow.

"It took me by surprise," Mickey defended.

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark! I was covered in rats!"

"Nine, maybe ten years old. I'm seeing pigtails, frilly skirt."

"To be fair," Y/n piped in, feeling this wasn't fair on Mickey. "There's a lot of tension and people tend to die on these adventures of ours. I don't blame Mickey for being tense." Seeing Sara Jane had put him in a rather good mood if he did say so himself, even if he refused to admit it. It countered his anxieties about having the Doctor's memories and brought him back to normal.

"Can we focus?" Was the nest thing said, and that came from Rose. "Has anyone noticed anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well obviously they used them in biology lessons. They dissect them," Sarah Jane pointed out. "Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?"

That took Y/n off guard, but before he could play peacemaker Rose shot back with, "Excuse me no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for years. Where are from, the Dark Ages?"

"Anyway!" The Doctor butt in, looking between the two women with confusion. Y/n seemed to be the only one who got it, what was happening. "Moving on. Everything started when Mr. Finch arrived. We should go check his office."

"Actually." This time it was Y/n. "I found something, before we all got here. Rather convenient if you ask me, I won't lie. Now we can all go back together."

"And you're only saying this now?" The Doctor demanded.

Y/n rolled his eyes. "You shut your mouth. Between the jealousy wafting off of all four of you at all times and trying to keep the peace between all of it, I think I deserved a moment of silence for myself." Then he turned away, storming off toward the teacher's lounge where he'd seen the thing before.

"Jealousy?" the Doctor scoffed, offended. "I'm not- Y/n wait up!"

Y/n lead the way, the other four following. The Doctor was right behind Y/n, Sara Jane and Rose on either side of him and then Mickey behind them. As they walked, he heard, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who exactly are you?"

"Sara Jane Smith," she replied. "I used to travel with the Doctor."

"Oh!" Rose spoke with the voice that told Y/n she was getting pissed. The two women pushed ahead to be on either side of Y/n and even began to walk a little faster. Y/n didn't mind it, getting his kicks when they turned the wrong way at first and then had to catch up again. "Well, he's never mentioned you."

"That's it." Y/n stopped cold, the Doctor ramming into him. He ignored the man, facing the two women in the hallway. "You both listen to me. I'm not going to have you taking stabs at each other all night. Sara Jane, the Doctor didn't talk about you, but not because he doesn't care. He cares a lot, actually. Maybe two much. He's just got a lot on his plate at literally all times, and talking about his past hurts so he rarely does it - if ever. I already have to deal with the Doctor and Mickey, I won't tolerate this too. Sara Jane, you started this, and I want you to end it right now. Rose is just responding - neither which I condone by the way. Get your things in place." Then he turned back around and began walking again, leaving the other four to walk silently behind him for quite a stretch of time.

No one spoke again until they got to the teacher's lounge. "Maybe those rats were food," the Doctor thought aloud, actively trying to ignore the other two women and focus on Y/n, who seemed to be the only one with a level head tonight.

"Food for the gargoyle bats?" Y/n asked.

"Maybe, or-" but then the door opened and he looked around inside, and his voice died. "Rose, remember how you used to think all the teachers slept in school?" He began walking in, everyone filtering in after him. "Well, they do." Y/n was the only one who stayed out, already knowing what was inside.

Of those who went in, Mickey was the one who left first. He booked it out, causing everyone else to follow. He went right out the front doors, turning away from the school and catching his breath, hands on knees and eyes slammed close as he tried to shake the image of those things out of his head. "I am not going back in there," he stated firmly. "No way."

"Were those the teachers?" They were all out of breath, but Rose managed to look at the Doctor for more answers. He, however, was thinking it through, still trying to figure it out himself.

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies, and a nurse - thirteen. Thirteen big bat people." He looked back at the school. "Come on."

"You've got to be kidding me," Mickey complained.

"I need the TARDIS," the Doctor explained. "I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen.

"I might be able to help you there," Sara Jane piped up. Rose rolled her eyes. "I've got something you should see." They all followed to her to her car, where she opened the trunk to reveal something covered in a blanket. The Doctor pulled it aside.

Two voices rang out at the same time. The first was the Doctor, which made sense. The second, unfortunately, was Y/n, who was yet again too caught off guard by surprise and too small a window of time to think clearly and stop himself. "K-9!"

Sarah Jane and the Doctor looked at Y/n, who was immediately struck with fear. God why did he have to have such a big mouth? By some mercy, Rose piped up before either of the two people now staring at Y/n with far too many question - none of which he was willing to answer - could begin asking. "Why does he look so... disco?"

That caught the Doctor's attention. "Oi!" He complained. "Listen, in the year 5000 this was cutting edge. What happened to him?"

Finally Sarah Jane looked away as well. "One day just... nothing," she answered.

"Didn't you try to get him repaired?" The Doctor sounded a little offended. It made Y/n smile to hear him whine like that.

"It's not like getting parts from a Mini Metro," Sara Jones pointed out, defending herself. "Besides, technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone!"

"Ooh." The Doctor's voice dropped, speaking to K-9 as if the dog was alive and could hear him. Like one would speak to a real dog. "What has the nasty lady done to you?" It made Y/n smile even wider. God, he was rather adorable too, wasn't he? The Doctor reached up and scratched the metal behind where K-9's ears were. It was only then Y/n realized Rose and Mickey were confused by the whole show, rather than endeared. Y/n also noticed Sarah Jane, who stood up from where she'd been bent over before, giving Rose a look like she'd won something.

Y/n was about ready to lose it on the woman. Why couldn't these two just stop for one second and let the Doctor enjoy something? He didn't get to far too often. Before he could say something, Rose did. "Okay, could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog, we're busy." With that, they all got into Sarah Jane's car and  headed to a nearby diner that was still open to fix K-9 so he could analyze the oil. There, the Doctor and Sarah Jane got acquainted once again. Y/n was too scared to reminisce with them, so he stayed by Rose and Mickey. Turns out, that was an even bigger mistake.

"You know what's really impressive is that she's been here an hour and I still haven't said I told you so," Mickey mouthed off.

Y/n felt his anger boil. "Probably because you didn't tell anyone anything, and you're just being a dick."

Mickey glared. The pair had only gotten hostile a few times, but had always been calmed by Rose. Rose, it seemed, was not in the mood to play peacemaker. It had been Y/n's role for too long now. "I'm sorry, YOU look at them then. Tell me that they weren't just like Rose and the Doctor."

Y/n absolutely noticed how Mickey cut Y/n out of that equation. Had she not told him the specifics, or was he just being extra petty? "Okay yes, Sara Jane traveled with the Doctor just like me and Rose do now, and things... were between them. Sort of." He scoffed. "But that was ages ago. Neither of them feel that way anymore, they're just nostalgic. The Doctor disappeared on Sarah Jane one day and just never returned. She thought he was dead, and he's been carrying that unfinished business with him ever since. There's been no closure." He sighed. "Can you imagine, Rose? Nine hundred years he's been alive, and you want him to have spent the majority of that all by himself, after watching his entire planet be destroyed? Think about how he was before we came in his life. How lonely it had to be. When the Doctor gets left alone like that... he gets too much in his head. He gets too fixated on his power and potential and how in control he is. His species is like a god to most others, and he's the last. If he'd been alone all this time, it would have gone to hid head long ago and he wouldn't be the man we know and love. Not even a shadow of him."

Rose didn't seemed cheered by that like Y/n thought, though her body did relax and her expression changed. She was still rather grim, but rather than with jealousy toward Sarah Jane, it was... worry. Confusion. All toward Y/n. "Why do you say that like you know? Like... you were there?"

Y/n didn't have an answer for that. Not one he wanted to share. "I..." He looked away. His mind was blank and he didn't know what to say. In that moment, he began speaking. "Can you imagine what its like to watch your family die right in front of you?" The room was suddenly quite silent, other than the Doctor and Sarah Jane still chatting in the background. "He has the weight of universes on his shoulders. The weight of time and space as a whole. All that ever was and will be. What is, and what can never be. He has it all in his head, swirling around in there waiting to swallow him whole. Think about how incredibly smart he is. No one is that smart anymore. Everyone we've met whose that smart was... lost, in a way. Knowledge is power, but power unused is a waste. Remember the Daleks? Just as clever as him, unable to handle the weight of emotions that comes with it, so they stripped it all away to just survive. They got so arrogant and so obsessed with the power of their minds they stopped really living, labeled themselves as the superior species, and going around destroying worlds with billions of people on it as a past time, for fun, because they legitimately believe that anything other than them is inferior and therefore needs to be destroyed. Can you imagine if it was just one of them? Alone, for hundreds of years. No one can match his intelligence or capability. When he fails, everyone else panics because he's the one we depend on to always have the answers and get it all done. he leads and everyone follows. If they know his real power, they usually do so without question and they'd be right to. The Doctor's wrath is unmatched, and his power is limitless, and without someone there to check him he'd have been lost long ago. It's just fact, Rose, and not hard to piece together. Pain changes people, and no one has been through more than the Doctor. If he wanted to, he could destroy everyone. Everything. But he doesn't, because he has people around him to remind him what is important past just facts and figures. Past logic and fixed points in time. I think that's why he likes humans so much. We remind each other."

"Two quid, love." Three pairs of eyes snapped to the side as Rose remembered why she was at this counter. She took her food with one hand, paying with the other. The trio all gathered their thoughts before heading over to a table for three, sitting down so Rose could eat her chips.

"Do you think he's only into us because of that?" Rose asked softly. "Because we ground him?"

Y/n smiled to himself. "No, not at all. I understand him. He hasn't been understood by someone stable and sane for a long time. It's usually the worst people who know what he's been through, or the people who had so much potential but have tragic endings. It's... disheartening, to say the least." He looked at Rose. "He likes you because you're all the best humanity has to offer. You care, loudly, and you do everything with your heart and never your head. You... you're the opposite of him, I guess. You're so much good. All of the good, even. A little reckless and loud, with a bleeding heart and a determination that can never be put out even in the bleakest of scenarios." Rose blushed and Y/n cleared his throat, looking away. "You know, he probably misses how big his family used to be. So many people fit in the TARDIS. I think... even if she does stay longer-"

"You think he'll invite her to come along with us?" Rose asked.

A shrug was all she got for a few seconds. "She knows things already. They had good times, the two of them. You can tell from the way she smiles at her. He gives himself to everyone he travels with, even if its just a little because they're not around long. It's like coming home to an old friend from your childhood. One who was a beacon of light in a world of darkness. Like if you and I lost touch and didn't talk for years. When you saw me again, still on good terms and missing how things used to be between us. Wouldn't you want that to not end?"

Rose didn't like that answer. Y/n thought he'd probably spoken enough at this point and the trio sat in quiet as the Doctor fixed K-9 and Rose ate her chips.

The next thing they knew, the Doctor was jumping up from his table as the robotic dog whirred to life. "All right!" he exclaimed. "Now we're in business."

"Master," K-9 said, in an electronic voice that brought memories back to Y/n he shouldn't have.

"He recognizes me!" the Doctor crooned, grinning at Sarah Jane.

"Affirmative," K-9 spoke again.

"Rose." The Doctor turned around to face the three humans sat away from him and Sarah Jane. "Give us the oil." AT his call, the three rose and joined him so Rose could hand over the little jar she'd collected earlier from the school. He took it, opened it, and went to dip a finger in to scoop it out.

Rose stopped him. "I wouldn't touch it though, that dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady," the Doctor declared in such a serious voice that Y/n almost laughed. "And I don't often say that," the man added, eyes taking in Y/n's amusement. He then dipped a finger in with no harm at all, smearing the oil onto K-9's censor. "Here we go," the Doctor encouraged as K-9 began to beep. "Come on boy here we go."

K-9 spoke again, his words stuttered. "Oil extract..." he began. He seemed to be struggling. "Analyzing."

"Listen to him man," Mickey chuckled. "That's a voice!"

"Careful," the Doctor warned. "That's my dog."

Y/n smiled to himself. For a second he imagined the Doctor in a life different than this. A life the Doctor wanted but would never be allowed to live. One he never let himself think about. A life in a house, a ring on his finger and a dog barking in the front lawn. Children... It would be a nice life. Y/n could see the man playing with that dog as he did K-9, but more. Just fun, rather than gaining knowledge and analyzing data and running into danger head first. He'd have so much fun with a real dog... That life though. Y/n tried to imagine the Doctor really in it. Settling down in a house of his own. Getting a job. It would be a happy life. A stable and safe life. It would not be a life that really fit him though. The Doctor is and always would be a traveler. It was a life he'd chosen for himself, on purpose. One that fit him.

He felt eyes on him and looked over, locking eyes with Sarah Jane. Her gaze widened as she saw that familiar thing in Y/n again. The thing, she now realized, she always saw when she looked at the Doctor. She recalled her surprise when the Doctor had revealed himself to not be Y/n, realizing that the first time they'd talked, she'd subconsciously thought Y/n and the Doctor the same man. She searched Y/n's should, trying to understand. Y/n saw a question that startled him.

Are you a Timelord?

She seemed to ask it silently, scanning Y/n's face for signs. But there wouldn't be, even if Y/n was. Of course he wasn't... and yet. The question was warranted. What made a man who changed faces and personalities and age and ethnicity every time he died? Who became a new man over and over again, over hundreds of years? Other than the obvious biology that kept him consistently a Timelord no matter what face he took, the thing that made the Doctor was his memories. His mind. The way he saw life and knew things that should be impossible. If that was what made Timelords special - what made the Doctor special - did Y/n having that knowledge somehow make him special too? No, he wasn't a Timelord, but he did have a very significant piece of one locked inside of him. He had a whole other person in his mind, with a life he never lived and people he never met.

So no, technically, Y/n was not a Timelord. Not biologically. But perhaps... perhaps just a little, in away, he was. What an interesting thought.

"Are you two coming?"

The pair looked over to see Mickey, and an even more surprising sight. The Doctor, looking between Y/n and Sarah Jane with the same look that Rose wore for Sarah Jane and the Doctor. With... jealousy? Well that made absolutely no sense.

"Yeah," Y/n responded, realizing everyone else was headed back out again. "Sorry, I missed that last bit. What's happening now?"

"We'll update you on the way," the Doctor dismissed, seeming suddenly rather far away. They all left the diner and piled in the car again. During the drive, the empty spaces in the missed conversation were filled in and everyone was caught up. First to be dropped off was Mickey, then the Rose, the Doctor, and Y/n, who always stayed at Rose's when they needed to. Jackie never minded.

The night was stretching on and Y/n couldn't sleep. There was a spare room that Mickey sometimes slept in, which the Doctor took now on Y/n's insistence. They'd agreed on switching off nights, and tonight was Y/n's turn on the couch. Perhaps that was what gave Rose the courage to come into the room and face Y/n. "I can't sleep."

Y/n sat up. "Neither can I. Want to watch a movie and drink something warm?"

The blond shook her head. "Can I just... lay with you? We don't have to sleep or stay awake. I just don't want to be alone." Y/n scooted, making room for her. He patted the spot next to him, where she settled. After a second she leaned into Y/n, and he let his arm wrap around her, pulling her into his side. "You know, I've been playing it off but... there really will be a time after me, for you two. You don't die, and he... he's lives hundreds of years, I'm sure he'll be here after I die. Do you think - I mean, he and her were close once too. Do you think he'll forget me like he did her? He doesn't even talk about her anymore. I just-"

Y/n held her tighter. "He doesn't forget anyone, Rose. Really he doesn't. It's just like I said before - it hurts him to talk about his past. If he lingers in what he misses, he drowns in the sadness of all he's lost. I- you're different, I think. If not for him definitely for me. Maybe I do have forever ahead of me, but there's nothing like your first love. You'll always be with me, Rose, I promise you." Y/n sighed. "I can't speak for him though. You should talk to him yourself, after all this is done."

Rose didn't respond. Wrapped in each other's arms and held together by a promise that Y/n meant with all of his being, they finally relaxed and fell asleep.

The next morning, they all had to go back to school. They weren't wasting time pretending to do their jobs this time though. They didn't know what was happening, or when it would get worse, and no cover was worth the life of another student if they took too long.

"Rose, Sarah, you two go to the maths room and crack open those computers. I need to see the hardware inside." He took out his sonic screwdriver, handing it to Rose. "Here, you might need this. Y/n, you keep an eye on the kids. I don't want anymore to go missing. Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside."

"Just stand outside?" Mickey asked, confused.

"Here, take these." Sarah tossed Mickey her keys. "You can keep K-9 company."

"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack," the Doctor called back as Mickey walked back to the car.

"What? He's metal!" Mickey threw back.

"I didn't mean for him!" the Doctor replied. He shot a smile at Y/n, but this time Y/n did not give one back. Making fun of Mickey was losing his touch. This whole thing was getting to Y/n and he couldn't find much amusing at the moment. He'd been thinking nonstop about what he would do if Rose- I guess, WHEN Rose left them. It was a terrible thought and he very much hated it, but he couldn't shake it either.

Rose cut in on his thoughts by asking the Doctor, "What are you going to do?"

The Doctor's smile dropped as he got serious. "It's time I had a word with Mr. Finch."

That was where they parted ways. Y/n drifted through the halls, hovering around the principal's office when the man wasn't around, and then heading outside when it was break time. The alarm went off for everyone to go inside far too early and Y/n hesitated, staying back, as the kids rushed back into the building again. He had a horrible feeling in his gut. What was about to happen?

A hand rested on Y/n's arm. He looked over to see Kenny, to his relief. "Sir..." the boy hesitated. "Have you gotten any closer to stopping the bat people?"

Y/n smiled, nodding in reassurance. "Much. I promise, we're just about to figure it out. Go to class Kenny, I swear we've got this handled."

"We?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, me and some friends. Uh, you know the blonde lunch lady with lots of attitude, and the physics teacher?"

Kenny stepped back. "You're one of them."

"What?" Y/n stepped toward him, but the boy stumbled away even further. "No, Kenny, I'm-" but Kenny didn't wait for an explanation. He just turned and ran. Y/n wanted to go after him, but couldn't. It wouldn't help much, and he had to keep an eye on the children - especially now that things seemed about ready to hit the fan. So, instead, he counted his losses and jogged into the building to see all the kids filtering into classrooms with computers that light up with green screens. He couldn't go into any of them without crossing a teacher he knew was one of the bad guys though, so he headed on and on until he found the room with the others in it.

Rose was there to greet him. "You were right." He paused, unsure how to proceed after that. She did it for him. "Sarah and I talked. She's pretty cool actually. We decided to stop fighting."

Y/n did smile at that. "I'm glad to hear it." Rose took his hand, turning and walking toward the Doctor, pulling Y/n after her. She seemed to be hovering between helping him - which she really couldn't do - and watching the doorway to make sure no children came in, which is probably what she was told to do. None of them seemed to be making much headway in any direction.

Suddenly the screens light up with green light and words that none of them could understand. Well, none of them bu the Doctor surely, whose eyes seemed to scan the screen, taking up as much as he could as it all raced across the screen almost too quick to read.

"Well, you wanted the program," Sarah sighed. "There it is."

"Some sort of code," the Doctor whispered. After a second, he stepped forward. "No... No, they can't be."

"What is it?" Y/n asked gently.

"The Skasas Paradigm," the Doctor finally said aloud. "They're trying to crack the Skasas Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?" Sarah rightfully asked.

The Doctor struggled to explain. "The god-maker. The universal theory. Crack that equation and you've got control over the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."

"What, and the kids are like a giant computer?" Rose asked, horrified.

"Yes." The Doctor seemed to not like the answer, but not just in a general way. None of them liked this, but the Doctor seemed to hate this. On a personal level. He suddenly turned away from it, not wanting to see it anymore. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil! That oil from the kitchens, it works as a conducting agent, it makes the kids cleverer."

The other women turned to watch the Doctor pace, but Y/n watched the screen, as if transfixed. His mind felt a little far away. He felt that same thing he'd sensed in the Doctor. He didn't just not like this. He hated it. He loathed this entire thing. "But why?" It came out soft and quiet. Maybe even a little broken. He finally looked at the Doctor, finding confusion among all the anger surging through him. "That's not living, controlling everything. It's not experiencing or learning or anything. It's... creating a world for others to live in. What's the fun in knowing what's going to happen next and controlling everything to go your way? Makes it so much more fun to improvise. Makes it... better. Life is meant to be experienced, not... I mean, authors don't experience their stories, readers do. Characters. Why would anyone choose to be the author?"

The Doctor almost smiled. "Because life is hard and scary. Some people don't want to live through that fear and struggle. They forget the fun and the thrill and the adventure, and they destroy it in favor of getting rid of those hardships. That's what so many living beings forget. You can't have happiness without sadness. They create each other. It's no fun to be the smartest in the room. To know everything and having been everywhere. The fun is in the confusion. In the chaos. In the complete lack of control."

"Okay nice psychology and all," Rose interrupted, breaking the two men away from their locked eyes and racing minds as they connected yet again in a way she missed. "But that oil, I mean, that's been on the chips. Y/n and I have been eating them."

Immediately the Doctor faced her, shooting, "What's 59 times 35?"

Without hesitation, Rose replied with the exact sane tone, "2065." He tilted his head and she added, "Oh my god." Y/n found himself enjoying this. There was still that anger, but it wasn't affecting him negatively. It cleared his mind and got his heart racing. He felt his body speeding up, and his mind running faster than it ever had before.

Y/n's anger was only fueling him, and now he was smarter than ever. Nothing could stop him.

"But why use children?" Sarah asked. "Can't they use adults?"

"The god-maker needs imagination to crack it," Y/n answered without thinking. He had tapped into the Doctor's knowledge long ago, soaking in every detail running through the Doctor's head up until the day Rose Tyler and Bad Wolf and the Doctor's new regeneration. He'd been holding back so much, afraid of exposing himself, but now he was rushing on adrenaline and smarter than ever. Not only did he have the information, but he could understand it, and there was none of his usual and there was none of his usual anxieties stopping him. "Name one adult with imagination. Real imagination. Enough to create lives and worlds and universes - stories, or games. Enough to look at one thing and see something magical. Nearly impossible in adults. Much easier to get from children."

Y/n's energy made the Doctor pause. "Precisely," he affirmed softly. Sarah and Rose both seemed surprised as well. "They're not just using the childrens' brains to break the code..." He calmed significantly, turning to the other three with a grim expression. "They're using their souls."

That. That was what Y/n had been so angry about. It clicked as the Doctor said it.

Just in time, they had a visitor. "Let the lesson begin." Y/n swung around, coming face to face with the one person Y/n wanted to see the most. "Think of it, Doctor. With the paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."

"What a rubbish idea," Y/n sassed, rolling his eyes. "The universe isn't meant to be controlled."

"The whole of creation with the face of Mr. Finch," the Doctor agreed, scoffing. "Call me old fashioned, I like things the way they are."

Mr. Finch seemed annoyed by that. "You act like such a radical and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order."

"What's wrong with the old order?" Y/n demanded hotly.

Finally Mr. Finch looked at Y/n. He paused, his eyes roaming to the Doctor again and then back to Y/n. He seemed stunned a second. Only Y/n knew why. Just as Sarah had before, Mr. Finch saw the same look in Y/n's eyes as he saw in the Doctor's. The aged look of one who had been through too much for too long and was still trying to keep going. Keep going despite a small voice at the back of the mind that begged for peace and quiet. One that would never be listened to, because peace and quiet was too terrifying and too many people needed help.

When Mr. Finch spoke next, he spoke to Y/n and the Doctor both. "Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

Immediately the Doctor was ready with a snappy response. "What, by someone like you?" Y/n let out a sound that was halfway between a scoff and a laugh in agreement.

"No," was Mr. Finch's answer though, taking both of the other men slightly by surprise. "Someone like you." There was a split second of quiet so thick it was nearly suffocating. Mr. Finch cut it off rather quickly. "The paradigm gives us power but you could give us wisdom. Become a god, at my side." He took a step closer to the Doctor. Y/n did the same, but his movements were protective, rather than an attempt to convince. To break. "Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilizations you could save. Perganon, Ascinta - your own people, Doctor. Standing tall." The Timelords, reborn."

"That's not right." Y/n stood straight, that anger in him again even stronger, but this time because he knew how much this hurt the Doctor and he couldn't bear it. This wasn't fair, and Y/n was tired of the Doctor dealing with things that weren't fair. "Everything has its time. Everything ends eventually. The Timelords earned their ending the same as everyone does. How could you ask that of him? It would be chaos. There would be no balance. True chaos. Living forever is painful, and defying death is unnatural."

"Nature, reality, chaos, balance - this could all be ours to change. The rules can be different," Mr. Finch pointed out in response. "You could be anything you wanted to be. You could get those memories out of your head."

Y/n felt all his energy drain. He kept his eyes away from the Doctor, staring purposefully at Mr. Finch while the Doctor shot lasers at the side of Y/n's head. "There's so much you don't understand. You asked for wisdom, and you're ignoring it as its given to you. This isn't some kind of play pretend. This isn't a fantasy that you get to make into a paradise where you always win. You have to lose sometimes, because other people get to win sometimes too. Life's hard and complicated and long and it sucks, but only because we have to hurt in order to know the bliss of not hurting. There's balance. There's fairness. Not always, because sometimes even fairness has to be overruled by unfairness. But that's how it goes. Everyone gets their time, and its short because there's only so much time to give. If one person's time doesn't end, there will be no more time to give to anyone else - don't you understand?"

"I do understand," Mr. Finch sighed. His eyes moved to Sarah and Rose. "You four... clinging to each other, knowing you will eventually have to part ways. This way, it'll never have to happen. No aging or death or going away. No more goodbyes." He looked at the Doctor. "How lonely you must be, Doctor, after a lifetime of one goodbye after another. You can finally make it stop." He looked at Y/n. "You can stop the hurt, for all of them. You who speaks with wisdom you shouldn't have. Who relives over and over again pain and misery that isn't yours. You can make it go away. You can forget all of it. Erase it. Undo it. Make it never happen. Happy, forever. Join us."

"I could save everyone." Y/n looked away, closing his eyes as the Doctor spoke.

"Yes," Mr. Finch encouraged.

"I could stop the war." He grew quiet, thinking about that. Imagining Gallifrey. Seeing it in his memories, but... better. As he is now, Rose and Y/n by his side. His family and friends, returned. His home gloriously breathtaking once more. Y/n could see it too, and... he couldn't speak for the Doctor this time. He knew what he would do if the situations were reserved, and he'd already said his piece. This wasn't his to have an opinion on.

Sarah Jane disagreed. "No," she argued. "The universe has to keep moving forward. "Pain and loss, it defines us. Y/n was right - we need it. Just as much as happiness and love. Whether it's a world or a relationship. Everything will have an end when the time comes. Y/n... knows." She looked at Y/n then, and he turned away from her too. In those last two words was more than what seemed to be there at first. She was not speaking about him knowing loss as she did. She was saying that he knew loss as the Doctor did. Y/n was right, she seemed to beg them all to understand. He knew better than all of them.

Suddenly the Doctor picked up a chair, rushing forward and chucking it at the screen on the wall and shattering it. They all took off running, trying to get as far away from Finch as they could. They ran and ran until they met Mickey, who asked questions there was no time to answer as the others like Finch crawled the halls, screeching and taking off after the Doctor and his companions. So they turned and ran a new direction that took them to the lunchroom. The doors were locked, and right behind them were Finch and the others. This wasn't seeming to be going their way.

"Are those the teachers?" The question came from Kenny, who Y/n had missed joining the group with Mickey when they'd all been running.

"Yeah, sorry." That came from the Doctor. Kenny and Y/n locked eyes and smiled at another. Whatever had been complicated before had been cleared up now - it was obvious whose side Y/n was on.

"We need either the Doctor or the other man alive. Y/n. Just one." Finch looked right at both men as he said their names, and got back a glare in response from both. "As for the others... you can feast."

And so began the fight for their lives. Creature came swooping down from the sky as they all scattered, trying to avoid getting caught in the way of claws or teeth. The Doctor grabbed a chair. Y/n stole his sonic screwdriver and slid toward the door, trying to get it unlocked. It was a hard time as Y/n kept getting almost attacked. At one point, he wasn't fast enough. He turned his back and pressed the sonic screwdriver to the door, trying to work on it. He was too distracted to see the claws aimed for his back. Rose only had time to scream Y/n's name before there was a loud. high pitched sound and a shot of red from the corner of Y/n's eye. He spun around to see K-9. The dog had shot the thing from the sky, killing it, and saving Y/n's life.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to anger Finch more.

Abandoning the door, they took off in a different direction that was open now that K-9 had taken one of them out. They shot off and hesitated only a moment to collect their thoughts. They couldn't run forever - they needed a plan.

As always, it was the Doctor who thought of something. "It's the oil!" He realized. "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil! That's it! They've changed their physiology so much that even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchen?" He asked Rose in a rush.

"Barrels of it," she responded.

Just then, the Krillitanes made their presence known as they began to scratch and rip at the door separating Krillitane from human... and Doctor.

"We have to get into the kitchen," the Doctor began. "Mickey-"

Mickey had some sass of his own bottled up though. "What now?" he demanded. "Hold the coats?"

Y/n shot him a glare, and Mickey stuck his tongue out in response. The Doctor didn't waste time, instead ordering, "Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats. Bats, bats. How do we fight bats?" To that question, Kenny had an answer. Without saying anything, he hit the fire alarm. The Doctor looked around and then grinned, a laugh of victory coming from him. The rest of the group smiled as well.

With the enemy distracted, they all took off running past the door that had kept them from escaping, right past the Krillitane who were now all on the ground in pain. They ran and ran toward the kitchens. Along the way, K-9 joined them as well. The whole group was back together, and Y/n found his heart swelling as he took in the crowd. This was how it was supposed to be. A group, friends and partners, all there and caring for the Doctor and helping him save the world however many times it needed saving.

In the kitchens, they ran into a problem that quickly wiped away Y/n's good feelings. "They're all deadlock sealed, I can't open them," the Doctor told the others as he tried to use his screwdriver to open up the oil cans. "Finch must have done it."

K-9 had the answer this time. "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing."

"Right," the Doctor picked up again. "Everyone out the back door. K-9, stay with me." Y/n hesitated, but Rose caught his arm and the Doctor shot him a direct look, as if knowing he would try and stay. So he turned and he ran and he hated every second of it.

They were outside now... which meant they were safe, but also that if the Doctor needed help they had no way of getting to him.

When the Doctor came outside, there was a wave of relief inside Y/n... until Sarah Jane asked a question that made his heart plummet. "Where's K-9?"

"We need to run," was the Doctor's response as he deadlocked the door behind them so none could go back.

"Where is he?" Sarah asked again. This time Y/n was needed to grab her hand and pull her away, knowing she didn't want to move and probably wouldn't without help. "What have you done?" she demanded as Y/n dragged her along on their dash for safety. Behind them, there was an explosion.

Y/n and Sarah both stopped short, eyes on the building and pain in their eyes. The Doctor turned to Sarah to comfort her. Y/n tried to get used to this feeling. Having feelings that should not belong to him. Experiencing loss for people he didn't know. No one turning to him to comfort him, because he shouldn't need comfort to begin with.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor apologized to Sarah Jane.

"It's alright," she responded, standing tall. "He was just a daft metal dog - it's fine, really." Her voice broke with emotion and Y/n felt his heart fall. He turned away from the others to hide it. No matter what adrenaline he was on and how much he hated hiding things from the Doctor and Rose, hiding pain from others was still one of his core responses.

With the whole thing over, it was time to go. Y/n hated goodbyes. After today - after thinking about a world without them - Y/n had enough of them for now. He went further into the TARDIS into the room he'd claimed for when they eventually had to sleep. Where he kept his stuff and such. He stayed there until the sounds of the TARDIS started up and he knew they were taking off and headed for the next adventure.

Only one thing bothered him now: how long could he keep knowing the Doctor's past quiet now? After everything that had happened was beginning to add up... how long would it be before the Doctor put it together? Or someone else?

Y/n was running out of time.

-

Story Taglist:  @shoochi @e-reads-fics

Male readers taglist: @sheepfather​

[baalzebufo]

🔫😃 give us them monster au Majima deets I dare you /hj

I'm invested, I wanna know stuff, like; What was the interaction between Kiryu and Majima like after the reveal? How did Haruka find out? Was it because she lives with Kiryu or did Majima tey to keep her oblivious to it as long as he can because no.?

I WANT THE DEETS AND I WANT EM NOW

(ya don't need ta do nothin if ya don't wanna, take yer time, I just wanna show excitement with this :>)

THANK YOU for the interest I am constantly excited to talk about things and will 100% share what deets I have

(Update: this got... WAY longer than I anticipated. So im putting it behind a readmore. sorry for the wall of text I got very passionate suddenly!!)

disclaimer: I have very little solid 'canon' established and 99% of this will be stuff I make up on the spot cause thats just how I do these things

So, in my head this all takes place after the events of the first game- Kiryu's been to jail, gets out, 10 billion yen drama ect. I think it would be peak drama if Majima accidentally let slip during the fight at Shangri-la that he isn't human, he got so hyped up on the idea of a 'fight to the death' with Kiryu (which, lets be honest, was probably a bit of suicidal ideation on his part because he wanted Kiryu to utterly destroy him) that he couldn't control himself and Kiryu gets an eyeful of claws and teeth and horns. But because things are so fucking manic during that point in the game, Kiryu deadass writes it off as a weird hallucination/'this might as well be happening' because he has WAY too much going on.

it's only after the games finished and Kiryu settles down, decides hes going to adopt Haruka and is trying to get his affairs in order when he's like. Holy Shit What Was Up With That.

Majima hasn't shown his face around him since because he becomes convinced Kiryu seeing that means hes going to despise him and/or try to kill him so he crawls into his hole to mope about it and Kiryu has to genuinely jump through hoops trying to find where he is. He was concerned! Eventually he gets in touch with Nishida who is equally worried about his boss (he knows Majima's secret but is sworn not to tell anyone) so he just. quietly tells Kiryu where Majima is living right now and prays it wont come back to bite him in the ass

He goes, Majima initially attempts to be like 'haha you hit your head pretty hard down there-' and write it off like that but Kiryu is nothing if not persistent and eventually he has a little meltdown about it and finally just shows him. Majimas been in a super weird mental state since Shimano died and hes just like, at his breaking point, so he figures 'fuck it, if Kiryu hates me, whatever' at that point

OBVIOUSLY Kiryu doesnt, hes just like. dude are you okay

they have a long ass talk about it and what happened and it all sort of culminates in an awkward love confession because turns out wow you two REALLY care about each other, huh!

Majima also shares that hes only really still in the yakuza because he feels like its the only place he belongs, that a monster like him doesn't deserve anything resembling a normal life. its that conversation that starts him on the path to realizing he's not happy there tbh

Im SEVERELY rambling at this point but. after a lot of emotional catharsis between these two they promise to try to make something work. majima considers leaving the yakuza, and kiryus going to make a home with haruka. and while hes not ready to join them properly, just yet, he's... thinking about it. in the meantime, he's heard some cool stuff about construction as a business, and he's lookin' into it.

they kept it from Haruka for a while, mostly because Majima is super not comfortable showing people. He didnt spend a lot of time around her because he still felt guilty about the kidnapping thing, but eventually Kiryu pushes him to try to apologize properly and make amends. Haruka is obviously suspicious of him but, I think shes got a good judge of character when it comes to if someones being earnest, and its clear Majima wasn't acting of his own volition. (She blackmails him for lots of ice cream as an apology.)

Eventually she picks up on the fact they're hiding *something* because of how like, furtive Majima becomes when he stays with Kiryu and how he's almost never actually around, especially since he loves being the center of attention otherwise. So they brace themselves for it all to come crashing down when they tell her.

It honestly... goes fine. Maybe its just cause she's a kid and was way more willing to believe monsters exist, but it's not quite the 100% world-shaking revelation. It does set them back a bit and there's a lot of convincing that 'not all monsters are evil', but eventually she settles on. 'he's not scary. he's just kind of weird.' and you know what? majima will 100% take that.

(also she thinks its funny how he purrs when you touch his ears a certain way. he's like a big weird puppy.)

okay goddamn this post got long enough as is but. thank you again for the interest I have... so many words in my brain about this. Ideally id love to write a proper fic but im really not great at structured writing like that- it takes a helluva lot of a work compared to just infodumping into a big nightmare post like this. One Day.

I mad appreciate any and all interest though! Like, at its heart this is a hurt/comfort kinda au, and my end-goal is for Majima to realize being a monster doesn't mean he doesn't get to be happy or that he doesn't deserve to be treated like a human. it is vitally important to me that these two old sad men be happy together and build a better life lmao

[invisibleinorange]

Bridgerton’s Adrift 16/?

Chapters: 16/? Fandom: Bridgerton Rating: T Warnings: Presumed Character Death Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington,  Eloise Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington(besties),  Bridgerton Family Dynamics, Simon Hastings/Daphne Bridgerton Characters: Colin Bridgerton,  Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Anthony Featherington,  Benedict Bridgerton,  Portia Featherington, Violet Bridgerton, Genevieve Delacroix Additional Tags:  Bridgerton, Polin Summary:  Unexpected bad news arrives for the Bridgerton Family (and friends) regarding Colin's travels. This will be a series that is set after "The Duke and I" or season one of the show. It is a companion piece to "Goodbyes".

Violet Bridgerton wasn’t thrilled.  She’d spent half the evening awake doting on Daphne but still took the time to ensure she was home and up in time for breakfast.  She’d made sure that the staff knew to cook extra.  Celebrating her third son’s return home was of the utmost importance to her.  She thought there was no better way than ensuring they made up for lost time by having his favorite things to eat.  He was noticeably absent from the table though, long after his other siblings started to fill in their seats.

He wasn’t the only one absent though.

Benedict had at least had the decency to catch her in passing, making up some story about business at Aubrey Hall that he needed to attend to on behalf of Anthony.  

Then there was the noticeable absence of Penelope.  She could only assume that the previous day’s events had been a bit much for the poor girl. She wouldn’t begrudge her needing a little privacy to digest it all.

Anthony, Eloise and Francesca were making idle conversation. Hyacinth and Gregory were arguing who was going to get to eat Colin’s food if he didn’t come down.

It was so unlike Colin to be late for a meal though.

“Perhaps, you should go look for him,” she started to suggest to her eldest. “I sent a maid earlier and they said he hadn’t slept in his bed.”

Anthony tried desperately to not smirk at that information.  He clearly wasn’t concerned.

“I’m sure that he’s –“

He wanted to say fine.  He easily could have made some excuse up for him about probably just falling asleep elsewhere.  There was no point in lying though, especially as the guilty party started approaching the table.

Colin’s hair was in disarray and while he was dressed, he was a bit messy.  Anthony knew that look well because he’d somehow gotten away with it many a time in his earlier rake days. Colin was certainly going to have to work on his subtly lest their mother see past it.

“So nice of you to join us,” Anthony teased. “You look like you tossed and turned all night.”

Colin might have had a smile on his face that not even sibling mockery could kill but that didn’t mean he didn’t kick Anthony hard as he took his seat.

“Why yes, it was quite a hard night.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow at that.

Violet looked at her boys skeptically but was prepared to let it slide.   Perhaps it had been because she’s thought she’d lost Colin or perhaps it was because she was getting soft with age but she didn’t really care to try to get overly involved when it came to some things.

Ignorance really was bliss at times.

“You really should eat up,” she told him. “After a hardy meal, maybe you’ll be able to properly catch up on your rest.”

Of course,  whatever ignorance she wanted to have about what was happening in her own household was a bit harder when almost on cue just a few moments after her son, Penelope entered the room.

She was certainly dressed but there was no amount of fabric or cosmetics that were going to hide the purple-pink marks across the expanse of her throat.   It was such a ghastly display that even Violet had to gasp.

Eloise’s eyes widened as Penelope took the empty seat next to her. She gave her an extended look before giving Colin an accusatory look across the table.

“What happened to your neck?”  Hyacinth asked with zero filter and all the purity that made it clear that she absolutely didn’t grasp why no one else was asking about it.

“Hyacinth,” Violet said trying to get her child to have some manners.

Even as Colin looked guilty and Penelope reddened, Anthony couldn’t help but let out a boisterous laugh at the whole thing. Sure, he probably should have been making a fuss about honor but watching Colin squirm was his idea of fun.

“Colin, do you know anything about what happened to Penelope?” he tried to keep a straight face as he asked.  “Her neck was just fine yesterday and now it looks like she’s been attacked.”

“Enough!”  Violet said.  “I’ve raised you all better than this. Your father would be appalled at all of you.”

If Penelope could have melted away into the wood of the table and disappeared she certainly would have.

Especially when Violet dismissed the younger Bridgertons from the table, ordering them to finish their meal elsewhere, as well as,  Eloise and Francesca who were far too delicate to hear.

“Would you like to explain what you were thinking?”  Violet said, the meal completely forgotten now that she was complete and utter mother mode.

“Yeah, Colin, what were you thinking?” Anthony mirrored, putting a hand on his hips, feigning discipline when the look on his face made him look more like a mischievous scamp.

“You be quiet, this is your fault.  Maybe if you actually focused more on finding a match and less on your own desires, your brother wouldn’t think this is acceptable behavior. No wonder Benedict was in such a hurry to leave this morning.

“I have Benedict’s permission,” Colin said after a long moment. “And it’s not like I … took all the liberties, even if I wanted to.”

Anthony shook his head.  Nope. That wasn’t the right answer if he wasn’t trying to get castrated by their mother.

“Colin!”  Violet’s face couldn’t have been more shocked and appalled.  “You get none of the liberties. Not until you’ve married her and she was just engaged to your brother yesterday and I know that it’s – complicated but there is no excuse for this behavior. You can’t just come back and do whatever you want.”

“Have you looked at Penelope lately?”

“Yes but –“

“Well… sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.”

“You need to get a grip on your impulses or you’ll wish you’d have drowned,” Violet told him sternly.  “Just because the Ton doesn’t see what happens in here the servants talk and all it takes it one person saying something and it gets to Lady Whistledown. You’ll ruin the poor girl. You can’t just do whatever you want.”

“I wanted it too,” Penelope said tentatively.

Violet’s head spun from where she’d been going in on Colin and looked at the other girl appraisingly.

“I love you like a daughter and I pray that one day you’ll give me grandchildren but I swear to God if my son doesn’t keep his hands and mouth to himself until the day Bridgerton replaces Featherington,  he won’t be able to use the thing he was clearly thinking with,”  Violet said, trying to keep her voice level.

She had no doubt that her other children were trying desperately to listen to the conversation through the door.

“You’re the one who bought her that –“ Colin tried to argue though he knew that his mother certainly wasn’t going to just accept them doing whatever they wanted under her roof.

She clearly wasn’t hearing it.

“Anthony, you created this problem. You fix it,”  Violet said throwing up her hands,  completely abandoning her the half-eaten breakfast. She’d lost her appetite for what was left.

As she stormed out the door, Colin couldn’t resist grabbing a sausage and stuffing it into his mouth.

--

“So let me get this straight, you didn’t defile her?”  Anthony asked with amusement over his glass of whisky. It was still far too early for this but there were certain occasions when it was appropriate to start drinking after breakfast. Your little brother getting absolutely reamed by your mother for corrupting the houseguest was one of those special occasions.

“There was some stuff but no, she wouldn’t let me,” Colin said choosing to be decisively discreet and selective about what information he shared.   There had certainly been some kissing, some touching but Penelope had kept him in check. After a while, he’d just taken to laying there with her and telling her every little detail since he’d left and then she’d done the same.  They’d stayed up talking until the sun began to rise and only a few hours of sleep.

“If mother asks I told you to start behaving yourself,” Anthony said after a long moment. “But in reality, I’m going to tell you to at least have the decency to do it outside of this house.  It’s much harder to hide it when you’re doing it here. You also have to work on your technique.  She can leave marks on you but you can’t leave marks on her, it’ll give you away every time.  If you’re not able to get them to cave, you’re not doing something right.”

“Rookie mistake. I’m not quite on your level of rake,” Colin said with a shrug. “Plus, I do want to make things right with her. I promised Benedict that I would. I’d ask for your advice but … I didn’t hear any complaints.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” Anthony said with a laugh. “You’re a Bridgerton.  You won’t have epic returns from the dead as a card to play though.  If you hadn’t, you’d have gotten it a million times worse from mother. Speaking of which, next time can you write so that we don’t end up in this situation.  Benedict doesn’t usually ask for me to lie for him when he needs to escape.”

“He just needs time,” Colin said with a shrug.  “I won’t pretend to understand how he’s feeling but I did give him the opportunity to stop me. I don’t know if he’d told me that he still wanted to marry her, I wouldn’t have still tried to stop it though.”

“Well don’t mess it up,” Anthony said after a minute.  “We happen to all actually like her. The next time I put money into a wedding, it better happen.”

“It will.”

[hoshiangel]

unexpected

bad boy!jeonghan x y/n

theme: enemies to soulmates

word count: 1324

warnings: mentions of food, swearing

prompt: once you begin your senior year of high school, the year you will meet your soulmate is revealed to you. within that year, you are guaranteed to meet the person you’re destined to be with forever, but it’s up to you to identify who it actually is. your year is 2020, which is this current year. you begin your search to find your soulmate, but a bad boy named jeonghan messes the whole thing up.

a/n: hey guys! i got the soulmate idea when watching a tik tok, so i decided to spice it up a little bit. maybe i can turn this into a series if you want? let me know what you think, feedback is appreciated! enjoy <3 (also, pretend corona isn’t a thing in this fic hahaha)

-

september 8th, 2020, 3:10pm

“y/n, ellie-- you’re ten minutes late! this is the second time this week, next time you’re getting a warning!” your boss barked at you, while you and your best friend ellie strolled into your workplace carrying coffees and baked goods.

“sorry mr. yoon, it won’t happen again,” you replied while clocking into your shift. once your boss walked away, you and ellie couldn’t help but to laugh. every week he said the same thing to you both, and every week you were both late. 

you put your belongings in the back room and got to work quickly, so your boss wouldn’t get mad again. you and ellie worked at a local smoothie shop, simply because you got free drinks and got paid for it. plus, it was often slow so you got to talk and hang out the entire shift. although it was a job, it didn’t feel like it-- you and ellie made it fun. 

“so, should we talk about your big news?” ellie said in a teasing tone, while chopping up fresh fruit for the drinks. 

“ugh, don’t remind me. i can’t believe this is happening to me. 2020, what am i supposed to do?” you replied, pretending to wipe down the counters to look busy. 

“mr. right is coming y/n, i can feel it,” ellie said, throwing a wink at you. you rolled your eyes and just sighed. your started your senior year last week, and you were assigned the year you would meet your soulmate: 2020. this seemed nearly impossible, since you lived in a small town and everybody knew each other. all your friends had gotten years that they would have grown and moved out of this small town, but you got stuck with the worst year possible. how would you meet someone new?

you and ellie continued to work, only having a total of ten customers within the next two hours. it was halfway through your shift, and you couldn’t wait to be done. going to school during the day and working into the night wasn’t easy, but you had to do what you had to do. 

while the two of you were cleaning the floors, your boss walked into the front accompanied by a good looking guy about your age. he had shaggy brown hair, and he wore black skinny jeans paired with a baggy black shirt and vans. you could tell he really liked the color black, but it worked for him. you also noticed he had piercings all throughout his ear, and wore rings on his fingers. you weren’t going to lie, he was attractive.

“y/n and ellie, this is my nephew, jeonghan. he’s just moved in with me and will be working here to help out. please train him properly, i’ll add some extra money into your paychecks,” mr. yoon said, while giving jeonghan one of the spare aprons. you both nodded, and you introduced yourself first.

“hey, i’m y/n, nice to meet you!” you said, extending your hand out in order to be polite. jeonghan just laughed mockingly and pushed your hand to the side, which took you by surprise. what was his problem?

“look, i don’t want to be here just as much as you guys. don’t bother training me, i’ll just clean up around the store,” he said shortly, walking to get the mop to finish cleaning the floors. you stood almost frozen, confused as to what had just happened. you wanted to snap back and tell him off, but you stopped yourself because he was family of your boss. if you got on his bad side, you could lose your job. plus, it was helpful if he cleaned, you didn’t like doing it anyway. 

for the next hour, you and ellie prepared the smoothies and fruit while jeonghan did close to nothing. he cleaned the floors, but after that leaned against the counter and sat on his phone. at this point, you were absolutely fuming. it wasn’t fair he got to do nothing, especially when he promised to clean. you had to speak up.

“do you think you could do something? me and ellie are doing all the work here,” you said as calmly as possible. there was a pause, until jeonghan finally looked up from his phone.

“oh, are you talking to me? i’m the boss’ nephew, i don’t have to work,” he said with a scoff. you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. 

“if i heard correctly, your uncle wants us to train you. this implies you work,” you responded. he walked over to you, and got a little too close for comfort. his face was only inches from yours, and your breath hitched in your throat. his cologne was a citrus scent, and you couldn’t ignore how good he smelt.

“you must’ve misheard. i do what i want, baby. don’t try me,” he said, looking down at you. you didn’t reply, you didn’t even know what to say. you simply turned around and got back to work. you finished the rest of your work silently, even ellie didn’t have anything to say. 

at the end of your shift, you exchanged goodbyes with your boss, but jeonghan said nothing. he just sat on his phone, not a care in the world. you and ellie walked home together, since you were neighbors-- you did this after every shift.

“well, that was interesting,” ellie finally said, sipping her smoothie that she took from work.

“i can’t believe he said that to me! who does he think he is? god, i wanted to scream in his face so bad,” you yelled, letting your frustration out.

“i know, what an asshole. but hey, at least we only have to see him at work. thank god he isn’t a classmate,” ellie said. “and look on the bright side. tomorrow, we can focus more on finding your soulmate! maybe there is someone you haven’t met yet at school!” she added.

“yeah right! we know everyone, since grade school. but we’ll have to try i guess,” you said with a shrug.

“ah, that’s the spirit,” ellie said, linking arms with yours. the two of you laughed and made jokes for the rest of your walk home, which was refreshing. your shift with jeonghan was a nightmare to say the least.

“goodnight ellie, see you tomorrow!” you said as you walked to your front door.

“7 am sharp, don’t be late y/n,” 

-

september 9th, 2020, 7:07am

“shit, i’m sorry i’m late!” you yelled to ellie as you ran out your front door, your backpack slung over your shoulder and a half eaten granola bar in your hand.

“let’s goooo! i’ve got chem first period!” ellie said. you two walked to school at a quick pace, basically running, since you were already seven minutes behind. 

not to anyone’s surprise, you and ellie were late again. you had english first period, and the teacher was strict on attendance. you ran through the halls, trying to get to class as soon as possible. the hallways were mostly empty, since all the students were in class already, so you had a clear shot to run. 

as you passed the principals office, a guy came out of the door at the exact same time you were in front of it. you two collided, hard-- of course, just your luck. you ran into his shoulder and fell backwards a little bit, but luckily you didn’t fall. he didn’t fall either, but he was rubbing his shoulder in pain. 

“god, seriously? watch where you’re going,” he groaned, and you realized you had recognized that voice. you prayed that it wasn’t him-- you couldn’t deal with him at school and at work. as you slowly looked up, your worst nightmare came true.

jeonghan, standing in front of you-- ripped black jeans, baggy black t shirt, rings, piercings, and his stupid citrus cologne. 

✎ admin j

[thecandywrites]

Blood For Gold Part 12

Wow, my personal life has taken some hits lately, things are going sideways and I've gone through some loss and am about to experience a lot more. And this has been one of my few saving graces in dealing with all of it.

So. Let's go from bad to worse and from big to overwhelming shall we? introducing some new characters. to the right of Ramsey, Audra's mother's mother- Loreiris aka The Saharan Viper. Her parents, Jodhaa and Akbar (I know, super original right? I love that movie) then Akbar's mother, Rahelle. To the right of her, The Jade Empress/Sultana- aka Grandma Anavia, then Audra's heir father- Leucordorize, aka Cory, and his wife, below him, Maradiem.

As always, thanks to @kriskukko for sharing that regency orc art with me. And to @punkhorse96 for all of your wonderful feedback.

Blood For Gold

Part 12

You barely had your “gifts” moved to Amara’s room and had your “Will” in her possession by the time Axal came back and crashed into your bed.

“And?” You asked as you sat in your room and took off your jewelry and makeup at the vanity.

“And the reason Audrey Rogers is his favorite is because she has a double headed, polished red jade dildo that she wears in a harness and rams him with it, just, balls to the wall, rails him with it, railed me with it too, it was glorious.” Axal proclaimed proudly as you dropped your earrings onto the surface of the vanity.

“What?” You blanched, completely taken off guard by that revelation.

“Ramsey loves both men and women, but he is much more preferential to men and if I may be so bold, is very preferential to me. Lucky me, lucky, lucky me.” Axal cooed as he rolled over to look at you through the mirror and even from here you could see the beginnings of hickeys on his skin, despite his high collar on his borrowed English clothes.

“He...he likes to be railed?” You asked, flabbergasted.

“Yes, and it’s because he loves men more than women and has been...I believe the English term is a rake?” He asked.

“Yes, a boyish playboy, that’s what that means.” You confirmed.

“Well his parents are done with it and beyond fed up with it. And in an effort to shake him of his rakish ways, he claimed that you were the only one worthy of him, conveniently at your wedding to Edward, so that you were thankfully no longer on the marriage market and thus no longer available, like a pregnant woman only wanting preserved meat in a fresh produce market and even when he went to the stables, supposedly “comparing” all of them to you, and since there is only one you- Audra, he and his parents were at an impasse until you became a widow, only a year later, which Ramsey confided in me that he was not expecting at all and honestly terrified him because he thought he would have more time, on the range of three to five years, even a decade at least, but his father is pushing him, practically has a cannon to his head by the way Ramsey went on about it. Apparently when it was found out that you would be available, the calendars were marked as to when you would be available again and the ball at Havenfield was planned thusly, to encourage him and you to get together and Ramsey has been recieving coaching for a year by his father about how to properly court a moura bride based on your master. Ramsey is only pursuing you because you are, in his mind, his last and only saving grace from ruination at the hands of his parents.” Axal informed you.

“Oh...oh my gods, he has the homosexual panic in a heterosexual society then?” You asked.

“Very much so.” Axal confirmed as he winked and clicked his teeth.

“But if he likes to be railed and wants to be railed by you- then that means that he and I are at an impasse, I will never share a lover, let alone a husband with you or anyone else for that matter, it’s practically incest, even by our lax Dorierran standards, let alone the English ones. I would never stand for it and I would never be allowed to have a lover of my own here, I like to be railed, not to be the one railing necessarily and I’m turned off to the idea and by the idea.” You argued, finding aversion to the idea of railing Ramsey. Demsey Draft, if he asked nicely, perhaps, but not Ramsey.

“I know, that’s why I have a solution for all of us. So at 3C’s, there is a lady I have in mind, Buchon Octavia Lafronze.” Axal grinned.

“Octavia? Really?” You asked, intrigued at his choice.

“You see, all Ramsey needs is a public wife, a highborn lady who is preferably beautiful, to give him an heir and a spare right? And one that would play to the public right? You have no desire for that. I have always known this about you. She’s closer in age to him and she would have the right temperament and would be a better fit and her mate, Drina, could always pose as my wife if I need to do so here, I will send for them tomorrow morning. She can be here by the end of the week. You just have to play along for about a week and a half. Surely you can do that can’t you?” Axal petitioned as you realized that your circumstances weren’t nearly as dire as you thought they were as you were relieved that Ramsey was not another version of Richard, but rather...in a bind himself, and while he was desperate, he was not as malevolent as you thought he was only a few moments prior. This suddenly made more sense. It wasn’t necessarily Ramsey that perhaps sent for Calla and Bennie, it was probably and most likely his father, wanting to clear out obstacles for his son. That made the most sense.

“I can.” You decided.

“Excellent, however in the second order of business. There is no Demsey Draft at The Red Velvet Rope.” Axal declared before you turned to face him with a frown.

“What?” You asked.

“There is a guy who is called “Draft”, his real name is Kondus Rogers, he’s actually Audrey’s Rogers’ husband and he’s the one who fashioned his wife’s dildo after his own cock which is just as equally impressive, but he is a minotaur, a brahma bull minotaur at that, he’s huge, giant cloven hooves, wide impressive horns, he has to come into rooms ducked and sideways, beautiful, glorious man. But there are no other “Drafts” and certainly no Demsey’s that work there. There is only one moura orc who works there but he’s a midnight orc, like, dark, dark midnight blue orc. But his name is Louko, aka Louis Charter and his moura mark is barely a speck of gold on the back of his neck. That’s it. I went through the whole “catalog” too and looked all of them over, some more thoroughly than others.” Axal informed you as you recalled seeing a minotaur serve you that Sultan’s feast there.

“That...that’s impossible.” You shook your head no, not wanting to believe him.

“I can only tell you the truth of what I found. That is the truth and the whole truth. I would not hold anything back, especially from you. Unless The Red Velvet Rope is keeping him locked up in a high tower or locked in a dungeon or he works at two whorehouses and is really a whore for another place and he was on loan, I don’t know what else to tell you.” Axal shrugged before he got up, stretched and kissed you on the cheek.

“Goodnight Audra, I love you. Don’t do anything I would do and probably will be doing.” Axal wished you before he left your room through the secret door and made his way to Ramsey’s rooms for the night, sauntering all the way.

“He...he can’t be right.” You said to yourself in the mirror before the thought occurred to you.

Convenience and coincidence rarely went hand in hand by happenstance, unless… what if it was connected? Your gut told you that it could be. But your rationality had a hard time figuring out a way for the two to be connected, much less how.

The next day you were surprised to learn that the rest of your family had moved with haste and had somehow, by nothing short of a miracle, had gotten ahold of The Blue Blaze, a speed train meant to expedite moura bride’s travel on the continent that traveled twice as fast as the normal steam trains and had somehow bypassed every other train, even the Orient Express trains, which were delayed by half a day so that The Blue Blaze could pass and supersede them and you felt like you were being led to the gallows the way you had been immediately prepared for your family’s arrival and your nerves were beyond frayed and you were consumed with anxiety because your gut was screaming at you that you needed to flee now before you could face your mother’s shame that you had been defeated in only a year and a half. Moura’s were bred and prepared to live in circumstances much graver than yours had been and come out rather unscathed after decades of “mistreatment”. You felt your mother especially would be extra harsh on you and you had only been able to speak barely a word about it to Amara who seemed immediately aware of your unease and had asked you about it back at the palace as you were waiting for the carriages to come around and take you to the station.

“Why are you so anxious?” Axal asked as he noticed you were pacing the platform, wringing your hands and double checking your jewelry to make sure it laid right as you silently prayed to all the gods who would listen as the Raymonds and all their guests were waiting for the train to come at the station. You were actively ignoring the stares from others on the platform because you were dressed in your traditional clothes as a proper sultana from perhaps Constantinople or the Middle East or even India instead of an English lady and you looked and felt even more foreign here now than you did when you first came two years ago. You felt lost and like you didn’t really belong anywhere. You felt you didn’t belong here in England and you didn’t belong in Dorierra either. You felt like you were homeless and homesick for a place that was neither Dorierra or England. You were excited to see who else might have been coming but you were agonizing over the unknown of how they would react on seeing you again and anxious to know how they would react once they learned the truth of what had happened and to know that you lost to one of the moura's oldest foes.

“I’m not the same woman I was when I left, I’ve been...I’ve been wounded and I’ve been trying to heal but...the wounds that are the hardest to heal from are the ones that no one can see.” You tried to tell him as even Demsey was watching you, wishing he could offer you some kind of aid or comfort as you were clearly distressed. Even Ramsey seemed anxious but he was practically ignoring you and almost glued to his mother while Charlotte was completely oblivious to the plight as she and Zax continued to talk as even Jane felt sympathy for you as Rian kept her company nearby, since Charlotte and Jane kept each other company while Axal kept you company, even choosing to pace with you a little bit, so that you weren’t the only one doing so.

“Do you know why Audra seems as tight as a bow string?” Demsey murmured to his sister Amara who was standing closest to him.

“Apparently, when Audra left, she was similar in many ways to Bennie, Audra is self conscious that her mother will be displeased to see how much she’s changed and think that the changes were not for the better.” Amara murmured to her brother.

“Surely once her mother learns of what she’s gone through, she will have some understanding, and if her mother thinks she’s changed for the worst, she will need to have her head examined. Because Bennie plays to Sierge the way an actress plays to the adoring masses. Audravienne is actually genuine and authentic.” Demsey tried to reason as Amara smiled at her brother’s discernment.

“When I came to check in on her, she was having an attack of anxiety and panic about it. According to Calla, Audra’s mother is...demanding and exacting. Not necessarily soft or all that motherly. And what’s more is Audra’s father isn’t even her father.” Amara murmured, having wanted to tell her brother about this but not getting an opportunity beforehand.

“What do you mean?” Demsey asked.

“Apparently the stables are as their name implies, moura women are dames, moura men are studs, and the stable masters decide who breeds who, on any given day in order to improve genetics. Audra told me that she has two fathers, a house father, or the father who presided over her home and is for all intensive purposes married to her mother and raised her and her siblings as his own. But her heir father or the father who sired her, is someone else, someone who is popular among the stables because he throws the ideal that Audra seems to embody. The way a white mare will throw color onto a foal. Audra told me that her heir father has fathered thousands of children and he never once even learned Audra’s name. I got the impression that they were very estranged. That’s why Axal and Audra look like the twins they are but Rian and Zax look nothing like them, they all have different hier fathers but the same mother.” Amara revealed to her siblings who seemed to gravitate around them.

“Is that true?” Kiera asked Leumeni before Calla approached since she had overheard her name.

“Yeah. Audra’s father is known as the Buttercup Stud. Every kid he has the closest to “the breed standard”, sadly, just like horses or dogs are bred to conform to a standard, the stables are overrun with him and his offspring.” Leumeni reluctantly confirmed.

“Would I ever have to... ?” Kiera asked.

“No, never, over my dead body, any bride who is not moura who comes into Dorierra is automatically disqualified from ever having to be involved in the stables part of Dorierra.” Leumeni finished for her as Amara realized the two had grown that close already but either Leumeni wasn’t being completely honest or you had been over exaggerating, which didn’t seem likely as Demsey seemed to catch onto Amara’s alarm as even he was surprised by Kiera’s interaction with Leumeni as he blinked in surprise at her and gave her meaningful look which she quickly and almost guiltily avoided.

“What’s going on?” Calla asked as she came over with Tzane.

“We’re trying to figure out why Audra’s anxious.” Amara informed her.

“Oh, it’s because of Audra’s mother, her mother, Sultana Jodhaa Lilita, is one of the most beautiful women in the world, but in marinai there’s a term, it means “tiger mother” in the most direct translation. But it means that the mother is demanding and pushes her children for very high levels of achievement and always towards perfection, to the point anything less than perfection is not allowed, much less accepted and severely punished. She makes my mother look like a kind, soft, warm hug with a blanket compared to her. Hell, I’m anxious. Lilita can cut you down to your kidneys with just a look. Much less a word. She can weigh and measure kings and they would be found wanting in her eyes. The only kind, soft mother figure in Audra’s life is actually her heir father’s wife, Maradiem, something of a step mom I guess? In English? But I sincerely doubt she will be coming, or her heir father for that matter, I doubt he could be bothered. Now Audra’s father Sullimon Akbar, he’s wonderful. Firm but gentle and kind and honestly the ideal father.” Calla breathed but the sound of the train coming into the station pulled their attention back as Demsey watched as you seemed to stand extra rigidly as you seemed almost frozen in fear as he was ready to march back to Windsor and go ahead and get Heavencrest geared up for you. You had clearly been through hell and if your family thought they could come here and judge you harshly for it, they were going to be in for a rude awakening, he wouldn’t stand for this and neither should you. He needed to shield you from this. He didn’t know how but he was determined.

Meanwhile Ramsey was in a similar state of panic, he could see your own anxiety as his own whirled within him. He had heard from his mother that your own was a “typical” moura mother, meaning, harsh, demanding perfection, and not exactly soft, kind, understanding or sympathetic like his own, but rather, like his father, and he worried what kind of scrutiny he would undergo himself.

The moment came and your tears flooded your vision at seeing your mother and your house father again as you did your best to bow and greet them respectfully, but you had barely lowered yourself an inch before your mother, uncharacteristically, practically ran to you, grabbed you up and held you fast, hugging you so hard your back popped, which you weren’t expecting. Nor were you expecting her to be crying too. Along with your Papa who also hugged you from the back so that you were effectively sandwiched between them before you just broke down crying, relinquishing yourself to their arms as you noticed that even your grandmothers, Loreiris, who was your mother’s mother and your house father’s mother, Rahelle were here too as they tried to squeeze in and hug you too, which you happily did.

“You are just as beautiful as the last time we saw you.” Your mother cried into your shoulder, before you noticed your hier father- Cory, and his wife- Maradiem and their other children, your half siblings and Cory's own mother, the Jade Sultana- Anavia, standing next to them, wearing their more traditional elven clothes.

“Father,” you greeted formally after wiping your eyes and greeting him respectfully and traditionally, as you were taught.

“No formalities here Audravienne.” He gently cooed to you as he hugged you too. For one of the few times in your life and for the first time, using your name to do so as all of you were once again, brought to tears at being reunited as Maradiem huged you just as tightly as your own mother had as even your heir grandmother hugged you tight as did your “hier siblings”, never in your life did you expect to see everyone in your family, nor their warm greeting, but you would be lying if you tried to deny that you didn't want or need it.

“I thought…” Demsey began before Calla cut him off.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure that’s the first time he’s ever called her by her name, even when she was leaving to wed Edward, he didn’t use her name.” Calla murmured to them as she and was effectively shocked before you introduced their hosts as they greeted Yalin and Gregori, giving them many gifts, in thanks for inviting them and hosting them as Gregori happily took the swords with pleasure while Yalin happily accepted all the jewelry, feeling like she was suddenly carrying fifty pounds of gold and jewels before Yalin and Gregori had to hire all the available carriages at the station to bring everyone back as you were squished between your mother and your housefather as your mother held you the way you had always needed her to and once back at the palace, your family insisted on talking with you privately which Yalin and Gregori opened up one of the audience rooms for your family as all of you filed in and the doors were shut, leaving Bennie and Calla and their siblings and the Voyambi’s on the other side as Calla and Bennie pressed their ears to the door while Yalin and Gregori, Ramsey, Charlotte pressed their ears to the other doors on the other side of the room while Jane sat anxiously by, worrying about what was going to happen next.

“What happened? Why are you a shakan?” Your mother implored in marinai as she held your hands in yours.

“Because of the abuse Mama.” You answered honestly.

“What abuse? The contract should have shielded you from any and all abuse, tell me.” Your mother warmly invited.

“I was alienated, persecuted, beaten, raped, poisoned, forced to drink mourkatili by the gallon.” You began before everyone gasped in outrage.

“And did you kill them for trying to kill you?!” Your mother demanded.

“No, I could not repay any of it. All I could do is gather all the evidence I could that it was happening in the first place. They poisoned their own father with Jade’s Crown, it made him go crazy! He would be himself during the day and a violent madman at night and I was locked away with him like a prisoner, three months after I married him, he could not hide it from me anymore and once he showed it, it just got worse and worse. Then when it became apparent that he would die soon, they poisoned me with cyanide and mourkatili, it was in everything, even the water I bathed in so that they could bury me with him. In only a month I was addicted to it, I was constantly drunk and my kidneys bled into my urine, my colon bled into my stool. By gums bled into my mouth. It took me five months to wean off of it without going crazy myself.” You explained as Bennie and Calla shrunk down on the other side of the door, both of them holding their hands over their mouths to keep them from throwing up as tears streaked down their faces.

“What are they saying?” Amara pressed.

“The Morrigans made her drink mourkatilli.” Bennie answered as she wiped at her eyes, her tears streaking her eye makeup and staining her handkerchief as she and Calla both shuddered at the very thought.

“Mouras, more or less, are immune to every kind of poison. To give moura a shot of cyanide, it’s like giving yourself a shot of whiskey. It can get you drunk, and make you sick if you drink too much, but not unless you drink amounts that would kill a village, you’ll recover, you’ll have a hangover, but you’ll be ok eventually right? However a millenia ago, there was the poison of poisons that was made, a poison that would kill anything and everything, including and especially a moura. Mourkatili means “moura killer”. Before the gold plague the only thing that could kill a moura was battle, very old age or a broken heart. We were immune to everything else, until mourkatili was invented. Only it behaves like whiskey laced with morphine or laudinoum or opium or any other very addictive drug, for a moura- it’s better than morphine, better than laudinum, better than opium, better than sex, better than anything and everything. It’s both sweet like candy, yet zesty like orange juice and numbing like morphine, but it makes a moura body bleed, it’s killed countless moura babes still in the womb, when their mother’s bodies choose between saving the baby or saving itself, the body will always choose the latter. It’ll make a moura mother instantly abort a baby, no matter the stage of pregnancy, but that baby will be dead before it’s birthed. It makes your gums bleed around your teeth, it makes your throat bleed, it makes your stomach bleed, it just makes everything bleed but it also makes the blood in your own mouth taste like chocolate. It’s the very first poison mouras are trained at the stables to detect because one sip could either kill you, or turn you into an addict and you kill yourself trying to chase the high it gives you. It’s the single biggest danger to a moura’s life and health and with such a dose, Audra’s internal organs probably look like they’ve been shot with a bird shot and the chances of her mothering a child after this will be especially hard, if not impossible for her. No wonder the stable masters didn’t let her come back and gave her the shakan status, because the shame of having an addict in the family is worth killing her for- to preserve the family honor. The Morrigans destroyed her and poisoned her and tried to kill her and it’s a wonder she’s alive. A single drop of it in a well can kill all the inhabitants of a city ten times the size of London. And she...she just told them that they made her drink a gallon of it. That much should have killed her, made her an addict at the very least. Fuck, how is she alive? How is she…?” Calla wept as Bennie and Calla hugged each other as the Voyambi’s stared in horror at each other as Demsey was seeing red, he wanted to run Richard Morrigan through with a thousand swords and make pay with everything he had, including his life for what he did as one look around, Calla and Bennie's brothers were of the same mind as all of them curled their lips in anger and disgust as all of them were heaving mighty breaths as Duke and Duchess Voyambis were even appalled by such knowledge, to know a countryman would behave so.

Meanwhile back inside the audience room-

“It is because I have that proof that they are paying double to me what Edward claimed he could. But the stable masters knew that the chances of my recovery were slim. And I was more trouble than I was worth. So they branded me a shakan and I’ve been alone and by myself ever since. The Morrigans even blocked all messengeraris, all my letters, everything, even after I left them. There was no way for me to tell anyone and they isolated me from every other moura, it wasn’t until only a few weeks ago that Calla left a note inside a book that found its way to me that I was able to find Yalin, and she introduced me to others.” You explained to your family.

“Where are the Morrigan’s now?” Loreiris demanded, drawing her sword as everyone else did the same before Gregori and Yalin hurriedly opened the door as Bennie and Calla did the same, falling over each other to try to get through the door first as all Demsey saw was your whole family have a weapon drawn as they all stared angrily towards you, as you stood there with your hands up, using the universal signal for stop and they didn’t need to think twice, he bolted for you, leaping between Calla and Bennie, thinking they were going to attack but Ramsey managed to get to you first since the door he was overhearing from was closer to you before he pulled you behind him, rather hoping to be run through, so that he wouldn’t have to live without Axal as Demsey was there with him only a couple of seconds later.

“Oh my gods, they’re not after me, they’re wanting revenge on the Morrigans, I told my family what they did to me.” You confessed as you ducked and evaded both of them before Jane burst into tears and sunk down to the floor and you and Rian were the first to her.

“My parents are done for aren’t they?” Jane sobbed.

“Who is this girl?” Your mother demanded.

“This is the Morrigan’s only daughter, who is innocent in all of this. But her parents, as awful and abusive as they are, are the only things between her and living in the street. She was my only friend through all of it and she helped me gather evidence.” You answered as you helped pull her back up to her feet as you consoled her.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, if I can have a moment of your time and attention. While it is true that the Morrigans have wronged Sultana Audravienne, they have been under intense investigation for the last few days. A year ago, when the stable masters initially investigated this matter, they found solid evidence of wrongdoing and have kept that evidence, and they attempted to resolve this matter, thus the current contract that she has with them and the Morrigans. If you wish to legally press charges and wish to sue for damages and accuse them of whatever they might be guilty of, that can be arranged. But if you attempt to kill them in revenge, you will be wanted for murder which will spark a war. Right now, we must do things the proper way here in England. But this will take time. Up to a few weeks at least, maybe even a month. For now, settle in, come together, enjoy being reunited with Audravienne. There is a masquerade ball in only two days, and it will take us about a week but there has been a request for a proper Kamoba battle, which we will gladly host here. Let the tempers flare in the Komoba battle so that in court, we can all keep our composure and our heads and our wits. I will have the best lawyers involved and this matter will be resolved before you depart.” Gregori offered your family which seemed to be the magic words in appeasing them.

“Fine.” Loreiris huffed as she resheathed her sword as did everyone else in your family resheathe their weapons before Axal managed to pull you away from Jane and brought you back over to your family where you received even more hugs and words of encouragement and praise and understanding.

“Are you disappointed?” You asked your mother.

“No, I’m shocked, and I’m angry and very disappointed with the Morrigans. But not with you. You are blameless in this. You survived. You are here and you have persevered against mourkatilli which is a battle far too many lose to. No. I am proud of you. So proud of you. Since you are free of mourkatili now, we will have those masters reevaluate you. You will be coming home. Never again will an Englishman be in any position of authority over you and never again will you suffer at the hands of anyone, lest of all an Englishman. No, no child of mine will ever marry an Englishman after this” Your mother insisted as she said the word “Englishman” with particular hate and disdain and disgust As Yalin, Calla and Bennie all winced and grimaced as they gave each other meaningful looks.

“We’re screwed.” Yalin murmured worriedly to her husband before she translated your mother’s words to him.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about it. Richard Morrigan has practically dug his own grave, all we need to do is prove he is the only Englishman who is like himself before we let himself bury himself in it before Audravienne is awarded everything he has and thus we will come to have everything he has. We can prove that we are different and that Audravienne would be treated very well here. Ramsey is up to the task to prove he is different.” Gregori returned confidently as Yalin looked from Gregori to Ramsey who looked particularly terrified of the idea as Ramsey looked to Axal who looked particularly anxious with his mother’s words as well.

“Mama, not all Englishmen are like the Morrigans.” You gently countered, thinking of Demsey Voyambi more than anyone.

“I mean the Raymonds, your hosts, act the opposite to the Morrigans, they have been very kind, welcoming and hospitable, they invited you here haven’t they? They are hosting us aren’t they? And they offered to help us. They are good people.” You tried to intercede for Axal’s sake as Axal blew out a breath of relief and gave you a look of gratitude and appreciation as Yalin too was giving you a grateful look.

“It is the Dauphin that has made us coming together possible and you just heard with your own ears what they are about to do for us. We can not snub them or begrudge them. They are innocent in all of this. Let us see how it plays out.” You desperately pleaded.

“What is Audra saying?” Gregori whispered.

“Audra is interceding for us.” Yalin proudly revealed.

“Excellent. Knew she would.” Gregori insisted.

“And you must make sure that her confidence is well founded and must be richly rewarded.” Gregori insisted to Ramsey.

“Yes, of course.” Ramsey forced a smile and a nod.

"Who are you?" Loreiris demanded as she stood before Demsey and appraised him.

"I'm Duke Demsey Voyambi." He cordially answered.

"Who are you to Audra?" She asked as she searched his eyes.

"A freind." He allowed.

"A friend?" She repeated with a raised brow.

"Yes." He nodded.

"A friend who put himself between her and her family? With a look in your eyes that said that you were about to fight all of us off if we posed a danger to her?" She posed.

"Absolutely. She has suffered more than enough and she should suffer no more, not by anyone's hands, not even those who may or may not share her blood." Demsey insisted as Loreiris mouth quirked a lopsided grin at him.

"A good friend then." She surmised.

"I hope so." Demsey found himself nodding.

"Good. But you should know, that the next time you try that, you will be run through and I have a feeling Audra would prefer you alive, rather than dead. Do not face a blade without the proper protection, or a blade of your own." Loreiris advised cooly before she turned and returned to the others.

[styw]

Love, PCY

Park Chanyeol who? I only know Bang Chanyeol.

Bep. Bep. Bep. 

Hearing the doorbell ringing three times was enough for Jisoo to rise up from her slumber and wonder while she wears the nearest hoodie she could grasp. As far as she recalls, Jennie called her yesterday to tell her that she would be arriving today at eight in the morning, but right now, when Jisoo checks her phone as she walks closer to the door, it is, in fact, six in the morning, so who could it be?

Jisoo sighs from the thought, growing confused and confused as she opens the door only to find a colored white envelope with a flower, more specifically, a rose attached to it. 

The raven-haired woman blinked.Not again. She thought as she bent down to pick it with her hand. She has been getting love letters these past months, but with a flower attached to it? That's a first. 

No one has ever given her flowers, more specifically a rose, which is her favorite flower. Not even Jinyoung from Class C, who asked her to be his prom date last year, nor from anyone during Valentine's day. And even if someone dares to give her a flower, they would always avoid the rose as their reason would always be; a rose is an overrated flower.

And receiving a rose, especially from a secret admirer, intrigues Jisoo, but at the same time, it makes her wonder in circles.

How did they know she adores roses? 

The brunette shakes her thoughts away. It could be a coincidence, that maybe this secret admirer of hers also admires roses just like her and just sent her one for fun. 

Jisoo sighs at the thought before she detaches the envelope.

Hi Soo :>

I've been noticing lately that you seem troubled and down. I know it's going to be stupid of me to ask, but are you okay? I know it must be tough, but I believe that you can surpass that. 

Anyways! I heard you got a quiz today, I'm sure you're going to be fine. You've worked hard on it, and hard work never betrays.

Bye! :>

Ps. I've heard you adore roses, so I hope this rose will give you happy luck :P

Love, PCY

Jisoo blinks and if someone ever saw her at this moment, she would look like an idiotic gaping fish. The raven quickly stuffed the letter into her hoodie pocket, peeking her head around the doorframe to check for any crumb traces of her secret admirer from left to right. Unfortunately, the raven doesn't find any, and so she sends a quick text to none other than her roommate slash best friend, Jennie.

Code: You better hide your girlfriend and yourself or else I'll have to whop both of your asses back to New Zealand for selling me out!

///

"Look, for the last time. I told you, It's not me. " Jennie says, rolling her eyes at her best friend's sudden accusation.

Jisoo huffs, throws her back at her seat, and crosses her arms, "Then who?"

"I don't know, okay? But one thing for sure is I didn't sell you out. And also, why would I even do that? It's not like the fact that you liked Roses would create a sudden miracle like it'll fix the Global Warming problems or something. " The brunette murmurs, taking a bite on her chicken salad.

"Good point." Jisoo says, before she turns her head at the other figure, who is surprisingly eating her food quietly.

Lisa, who noticed the raven-haired girl's sudden look. She scrunched her nose in confusion before she locked her eyes at the raven, "What?"

"How about you Lis? Would you sell me out for free cat food?"

"...Is that a trick question?"

"No,"

"...If it means raising my babies, then I would not hesitate."

"So it was you!" Jisoo whispered loudly enough for the three to hear, squinting her eyes in suspicion at Lisa.

"What!" Lisa widens her eyes before she furrows both of her eyebrows as she turns her head at her girlfriend for help, but her girlfriend, Jennie, shrugs it off as she continues to eat her chicken salad like there is no scene in front of her.

Lisa could only blink helplessly at her girlfriend before she glanced back at the accuser, "Look, It's not me. No one has made an offer to me like that."

"But you would sell me out if someone offered you that offer."

"I would... but! The most important thing is I didn't sell you out, so..." Lisa shifts her eyes, praying the accuser's eyes would leave her alone.

Seeing the uneasiness of her friend, Jisoo sighs guilty as she throws her back on her seat in defeat before muttering a sincere apology to her friends.

Just how the hell did her secret admirer know about her admiration for the roses?

"Anyway, if they knew about your favorite, that would probably mean they are stalking you or perhaps, it's just someone who happens to know about it." Jennie says, bringing back Jisoo to reality.

"Probably." Lisa agrees, cutting her lasagna in half and placing the other half on Jisoo's plate.

It's true that her secret admirer could be a stalker because she hasn't mentioned to anyone that she adores roses except her best friends, but if her secret admirer is a stalker, how did they know she adores roses when she hasn't given any hints or been subtle about it? Are they watching her? That's kind of creepy...

Before Jisoo knew, she was already sighing and rubbing her forehead in confusion unconsciously and that didn't go unnoticed by her two friends who glanced at each other helplessly.

"Didn't you say about their initials? Maybe we can help you by starting to find out with someone with the same initials as them." Jennie offers, tapping her friend's arm.

"Yeah, maybe we can." Lisa joins.

Jisoo purses her lips, looking at her two friends' eyes before she thinks about the letter.

"I think it was PCY or something-"

Before Jisoo could speak anything further, she was cut off by a continuous choking sound from the opposite seat. Jennie, who was beside Lisa, looked alarmed, and tried to pat the Thai's back, hardly enough for Lisa to come back from her normal state.

"Eat slowly, you idiot!" Jisoo hisses, offering Lisa a water, who immediately takes it without hesitation.

"...Thank you for pulling my leg from Heaven," Lisa says, panting as she offers a peace sign at the two before faking a cough, "Anyway, continue."

"Eat slowly next time, you idiot."

"Yes ma'am!"

Jennie sighs at the silliness of her girlfriend before turning her head at Jisoo, who's eyes lingered on Lisa and fakes a cough to earn the attention of her friend.

"Anyway, as far as I can remember, there is only one person who owns that initial."

Surprised by the new found information, Jisoo widens her eyes as her eyes start to twinkle in hope like the stars that can be seen in the night.

"Really?"

"Man, you really need to step out from your cave." Lisa comments, reaching out her fork to the raven's plate for the chicken nuggets.

Jisoo rolls her eyes at the Thai before she focuses her eyes at the owner of the feline eyes whose lips are sealed.

"Who?"

"Before I answer, I have a question. What are you going to do after you find out who's behind the letter?"

Jisoo gives a narrow look at the brunette before it turns to try to identify what is behind those feline eyes. That was probably the stupidest question she had ever gotten from Jennie, because it was really obvious what she was about to do, but she was going to stop herself from actually voicing it out. It looked like Jennie was serious enough about the question, so Jisoo is going to give a serious answer to her best friend.

"You both knew that I fancied Roseanne from the beginning and also, it wouldn't be fair for them to lead them to an idea that I have reciprocated their feelings, so I want to reject them properly before it gets out of hand." 

If there is one thing anyone should know about Jisoo, it would be that Jisoo's mouth forms words faster than her brain. It was true though. What she said to Jennie was completely pure honesty.

Jisoo was in love with Roseanne and has been pursuing the strawberry blonde since they were in kindergarten. Despite the fact that Roseanne had shown no signs of reciprocating Jisoo's feelings over the years, the raven haired was hurt, but she wasn't giving up on Roseanne. And it is one of Jisoo's principles to never entertain anyone, even if it's a chicken in the form of a human when she's pursuing the woman she loves. 

"Don't worry, Chu. You and my step-sister already got my blessings." Lisa teased, enjoying the flustered side of Jisoo.

"Shut up." Jisoo hisses, trying to look away to prevent her friends from seeing her pink tainted cheeks.

Jennie knew it was a stupid question to ask, but she only smiled because she was pleased with the raven-haired's perseverance in pursuing her Aussie friend slash co-captain.

"Anyway, Park Chanyeol is the captain of the soccer team. If you want, I can ask him to meet you after practice." Jisoo gave a puzzled look at Jennie.

"Chanyeol? I thought that guy was a Bang." Lisa laughs.

"Bang Chan and Park Chanyeol are two different people, Chu."

"Oh,"

. . .

"Oh!"

And that's how Jisoo ended up standing alone beside the bench. She was uneasy about the stares she was getting from everyone, but she held her ground tightly and hoped that Chanyeol would just show up now.

Today was the day. The day Jisoo is going to end it all.

If Jisoo was any other girl, Chanyeol would definitely be the man of her dreams. Chanyeol was a nice guy, despite the stereotypes of the jocks Jisoo sees in the books, he was not like that. He was, in fact, the opposite. He was nice, rich, and handsome. In short, he was every woman's standard, but Jisoo wasn't any other girl. It may be an advance thinking, but Jisoo couldn't just imagine herself to be in that man's arms. 

She couldn't see a future where Chanyeol was her spouse.

"Jisoo?" Hearing a familiar feminine voice was enough for Jisoo to bring herself to reality. Turning her heels, Jisoo's eyes immediately locked with the owner of the voice, the head cheerleader, Park Roseanne.

"Rosie." Jisoo says, shrinking from her position and flashing a smile that she hopes isn't idiotic or awkward, but that was probably the most awkward and idiotic smile she's ever plastered, given that her facial expression will always betray her brain.

Great. Another embarrassing moment to recall before falling asleep. Just great. 

Her cheeks burning more in embarrassment, Jisoo bit down her lower lip to suppress her embarrassment and looked up when she heard a cute giggle coming from Rosé.

Did Rosé just laugh? Her ears must be playing with her imagination, but Jisoo has come to the conclusion that it wasn't an imagination when she sees Roseanne trying to hide her smile with the back of her hand. Just how could anyone be this gorgeous?

"Sorry, it's just you're adorable," Roseanne says, biting her lower lip to keep her smile from turning into laughter.

Not having a comeback to that, Jisoo didn't speak any further, and just sealed her lips as she had no trust in her lips. If God isn't going to save her from embarrassment and looking like an idiotic woman to her future wife, then she must step up and do the deed.

Roseanne fakes a cough to ease the tension between them after receiving no response from the raven-haired.

"So what made you come here? If you're looking for Jennie, I think she left with my sister a while ago."

"Oh, I'm not actually here for Jen... I'm here for someone." Roseanne's gaze narrowed at the raven-haired.

"Who?"

The raven-haired woman opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a baritone voice behind their back.

"Hey Kim, you were looking for me?"

Immediately turning both of their heels, Jisoo’s eyes were still lingering on Roseanne even though her body was facing Chanyeol. She couldn't help, but catch a glimpse of disappointment in Roseanne's facial features. Although she is perplexed as to why, the raven haired girl did not dare to ask any questions as she locked her gaze on Chanyeol.

"Well, looks like that's my cue to leave now. Bye Park. Bye Soo." And with that, before Jisoo could bid her goodbyes to the cheerleader, the cheerleader was swift enough to disappear like dust blown by the wind.

Chanyeol furrows both of his eyebrows from that, confused by the slight change of tone of the cheerleader, and glances up at Jisoo, who had a longing look at where the cheerleader disappeared to.

Clearly, there is something weird going on, but Chanyeol decides to shrug it off. Thinking it was none of his business. He snaps a finger in front of Jisoo and from that, Jisoo is immediately brought back to reality. She muttered a small apology at the soccer captain right away.

"It's alright, Kim. Anyway, Jennie told me you were asking for me. What's up?" He asks, innocently smiling.

Chanyeol could tell the raven-haired woman in front of him was hesitant and uneasy where she was standing just by looking at her, but Chanyeol didn't say anything as he patiently waited. It must be that kind of serious for Kim to be this way.

The raven took something from her pocket and once she grasped it, she hesitantly stuck it out for Chanyeol to look at and accept. 

The soccer captain took it, though he was perplexed by what the raven-haired woman gave to him. His gaze lingered on the letter, still perplexed, and in the hope of finding answers, he returned his gaze to the raven haired, only to find Jisoo looking at him apologetically. No one dared to speak between them and just when Chanyeol was about to speak, Jisoo beat him to it.

"Look, Chanyeol... If I was any other girl or any person, I would really accept your confession. You're great and all, but I-"

Jisoo was still speaking, but the soccer captain didn't hear any words escaping from her lips as he focused on himself, trying to process everything that the raven haired had spoken to him. 

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Chanyeol chants, cutting Jisoo off, "You think this is me?" He says, pointing at himself, then at the letter back and forth. He looked at Jisoo in bewilderment.

"Who else?" Chanyeol laughs awkwardly, blinking rapidly; a habit he does when he doesn't know what to do or respond.

"Look... dude, I like you, but as friends. And this? I didn't write this. Though, I really think you got the wrong person." He says, explaining from one to ten to the raven haired.

As Chanyeol ran his mouth to speak, the raven haired was the opposite. She was quiet as she processed everything the soccer captain had said to her.

"So you're saying that you're not the person behind the letter?"

"Yes!" Chanyeol yells, his eyes bright, but falters when he leans forward to whisper. Jisoo didn't move as she freely let Chanyeol do his thing.

"I mean, I thought the word had spread that I'm dating Baekhyun?" He whispered.

Surprised, Jisoo blinks at the newfound formation from the soccer captain, but at the same time, embarrassment starts to crawl up from her toes up to her spine when realization hit her like a bus.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I thought you were them!" Jisoo says, wishing the ground would just eat her alive in an instant. 

"It's okay, man. I mean, if I were in your shoes, I'd suspect myself because a secret admirer of yours has the same initials as mine." Chanyeol chuckles, trying to ease the embarrassment, but it looked like the embarrassment was too big for Chanyeol to ease.

The raven haired was still muttering endless apologies and it looked like she didn't have any plans to stop. Thankfully, Chanyeol actually stopped her on her ninth apology with a reassuring smile.

"Really, it's okay Kim. Let's just pretend we didn't meet today, alright?"

Jisoo nodded, still wishing the ground would eat her alive. Although she appreciated the soccer captain's efforts to alleviate her embarrassment, it wasn't enough; after all, who wouldn't be dying of embarrassment if they were mistaken for their secret admirer? If asked, Jisoo would fight anyone to say it isn't that embarrassing.

Before Jisoo could actually drown herself with thoughts, a soft anime song echoed between them and, from the looks of it, it came from Chanyeol's pocket.

"Crap! I forgot I was gonna have a study session in the library with Hyun! I should go now Kim. See you around!" Patting Jisoo's shoulder, the soccer captain didn't waste a second as he sprinted off to meet his boyfriend, leaving Jisoo alone standing to rethink her choices in life.

This secret admirer of her has been driving her nuts, making her walk circles, and Jisoo could only sigh in frustration before she rubbed her forehead. 

If it's not Chanyeol, then who?

///

Jisoo woke up frowning when she felt like a nail drilling slowly into her head, slowly torturing her brain. Where was she again? Oh right, she was at Lisa’s house along with Jennie. Just what came into her mind to come along with Jennie into Lisa's house with a bottle of wine? As she sat up with a groan, the raven-haired woman is slowly regretting her decision.

Hearing a soft groan at her side, Jisoo turned her head only to find out Jennie was still in her slumber. Like a burrito, the feline eye tightly held the pillow as she snuggled closer to it. Jisoo could only chuckle at the sight before she felt the nail drilling continuously on her head again.

She needs a hangover soup and medicine to ease her throbbing head. Call her overreacting, but Jisoo might actually die from the throbbing pain she feels in her head. Curse you Dionysus!

As a result, the raven-haired woman moved, sauntering her way downstairs. The scent of something good was the first thing she smelt, so she walked faster, hoping Lisa would immediately feed her with soup, and peek her head right through the door frame.

When she did, Jisoo could only purse her lips and blink at the two figures standing in the kitchen.

It was Lisa and Roseanne together in the kitchen.

It looked like the two of them were talking about something serious and Jisoo, who respected privacy, attempted to walk away, but before she could fully walk away. She freezes in her position, widening her eyes when she spots Hank, Roseanne's dog not so far away from them.

Based on the interactions she had with Hank every time she visited Lisa along with Jennie. Hank was a very energetic dog, but only to people he found comfortable with. And it looked like Jisoo's luck ran out in time when she noticed Hank's ears starting to perk up, his eyes starting to light up like fire when he spotted one of the humans he finds comfortable with. 

To Jisoo's horror, Hank immediately ran up to her arms, and just when Hank was about to bark and lick Jisoo's cheeks. The raven swiftly reaches out her hand up to his mouth to shut him off. Just when will the Gods bless Jisoo with good luck?

"So where were you? I didn't know you're into getting up early in the morning now," Lisa asks, the sizzling noise still present, but Jisoo could just hear them fine.

"I... Uhm, I had an errand to do before class, so yeah,"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

There was a brief silence for a while and even though Jisoo didn't actually witness them physically talking, she could already tell Roseanne was kind of anxious, uneasy, but Lisa, on the other hand, was calm as she spoke. Different from Roseanne's odd behaviour.

And just when Jisoo was about to step up and interrupt the conversation to save the love of her life from spilling where she came from, Lisa blurted out her question that made Jisoo and Roseanne caught off guard at the same time.

"Do you have a crush on her?" 

It was just a sentence, but that sentence was enough for Jisoo's heart to pound like a speaker at full volume, blasting like there is no tomorrow around the neighbourhood. Although the raven haired was anticipating the strawberry blonde's response, she felt as if her heart was being pinched with pliers while she waited. It's not going to be her, isn't it?

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lis."

"Oh, come on! I know you're behind those letters, Chaeyoung." Jisoo could only furrow her eyebrows in puzzlement at the name Lisa called her step-sister.

"I... I don't know what letters you are talking about." 

"Right. I totally didn't see your ears go red just now. Seriously, just admit that you have a big fat crush on her, you dummy."

Roseanne responds with a nervous laugh, opening her mouth to speak another lie, but stopped mid-way when Lisa locked her eyes with her. The Thai's eyes practically scream that if she's going to throw a half-baked lie at Lisa, she's throwing the strawberry blonde's ass back to Melbourne, Australia.

"Alright, fine! I have a crush on Jisoo!" Roseanne hisses, sounding a little bit annoyed at what she has admitted, but her expression totally betrayed her as she felt her blood crawling up to her cheeks, making her look like a tomato ready for ripping.

"See? It's not that bad to admit that you like Jisoo." Jisoo could practically hear Lisa smirking.

"You better not tell her or else,." Lisa laughs at the threat.

"Alright, okay."

"And also, how did you even find out?"

"That is a very dumb question coming from a genius like you, Park Chaeyoung."

"Nevermind."

Jisoo could hear Lisa laugh once again, "Wake up Jennie for me, okay? Don't forget your girlfriend as well."

"Ugh, shut up." Roseanne hisses softly, blushing at the Thai's teasing.

As the footsteps start to fade from the background. Jisoo doesn't hear anything further aside from the sizzling sound that was made. And before the raven-haired could realize it, Hank took advantage of the opportunity to summon all of his strength and break free from her embrace.

Jisoo cursed under her breath as she tries to get Hank back into her arms, but unfortunately fails as Hank makes his way to the stairs as he wags his tail, and Jisoo guesses he’s probably going to crawl back into Roseanne’s arms upstairs.

"My, I didn't know you were the type to eavesdrop, Chu."

Jisoo yelped, like a kid caught red-handed, Jisoo widens her eyes caught in action as she helplessly looks up from the floor only to meet Lisa's teasing eyes.

No words escaped the raven's mouth, so she remained silent, and Lisa took advantage of the opportunity to continue with her teasing smile growing with each passing second.

"So, is it safe for me to assume that you have found out who's behind the letter?"

///

Jisoo woke up staring at her ceiling. There was nothing interesting happening in the ceiling, but somehow Jisoo finds the entertainment of staring at the ceiling as thoughts run through her mind.

It's not an everyday scene to find out your secret admirer is actually the person you have been crushing on since kindergarten, so Jisoo took her time to stare at the ceiling. Processing every detail that happened yesterday.

How the hell did she not notice it before? More importantly, just how the heck did she forget that the strawberry blonde has a Korean name? Sure, she had heard Lisa mentioning that name before, although the raven haired didn't know where and when, but Jisoo was really clueless and thought Roseanne and Chaeyoung were two different people. Oh god, she was so stupid that she didn’t realize Roseanne and Chaeyoung were one person.

Jisoo sighed before she hid her face under the pillow, screaming in embarrassment before it turned into giggles and squeals.

Roseanne likes her.

Chaeyoung likes her.

Now she has found out that her crush also felt the same. Just how the heck is she going to normally face Chaeyoung now? More importantly, how is she going to catch Chaeyoung red-handed?

/// 

The next morning, Jisoo simply woke up to another letter in her locker. This time, there were no flowers, but the letter was enough for Jisoo to brighten up her day, brighter than the sun. 

The letter was nothing special, but the words that Chaeyoung sincerely wrote for Jisoo were enough to make the raven haired girl's heart race erratically at the thought of the blonde.

"Man, my sister's effect must be that bad to immediately put a smile on your face after Dalgom ate your chicken like a while ago." Jisoo laughs, rolling her eyes as she does.

"Oh shut up, Lis." Lisa snickered before widening her eyes for a split second and pulling out her phone.

"Oh right, can we switch places tonight? I have a surprise for Jennie, and I kind of need you to get out of the dorm." 

"Please don't do it in my bedroom." Feeling a fresh sharp pain in her shoulder, Jisoo whines as she glares at Lisa, who only blushed.

"I’m telling Rosie that you’re hurting me physically." Jisoo threatens, pouting as she rubs at where Lisa struck her.

"W-We're not doing that you idiot! I just want to spend some alone time with my girlfriend." Jisoo snorts at that before she recalls the memory of one time she walked in to them having an intimate moment on the couch.

Although she feels bad for teasing, Jisoo just couldn't let the teasing chance pass through. She scarcely had any comeback to throw at them during the teasing war, so now she's had it. She's not going to hold it back.

"Okay, fine, but just make sure you guys feed Dalgom there, alright." 

"Great! You can stay with my sister tonight."

Jisoo widens her eyes at that, "What? No!"

"Oh come on, Chu. You're not going to avoid my sister forever. And also, don't act like I didn't catch you smiling at the letters. You guys totally need to talk." Lisa says with a smirk on her lips.

"And also, don't worry about food. Chaeyoung is a great cook, I'm sure she's going to fill your stomach." And before Jisoo could utter a word, Lisa winked at her before sprinting away.

Did Lisa just set her up on a date with her sister at their own house?

///

"Here you go, Princess." Jisoo beamed, pride evident in her voice as Chaeyoung softly laughed at the content that Jisoo had presented to her.

"I made you the finest bowl of Fruit Loops that I could find in your cupboard." She said, which made Chaeyoung snicker, hiding the laugh beneath her lips.

"How did you even find this? I didn't even know we had one of these." She says, glancing at the Fruit Loops, then turns her gaze at the proud eyes owned by the raven.

"Well, I have my ways." Jisoo says, confidently, and flips her hair as she does. Chaeyoung scoffed at that, her lips curling into a smile afterwards.

"Idiot." She whispered under her breath.

Jisoo only flashed a lopsided grin before she sat opposite where Chaeyoung sat. The raven didn't really remember how both of them ended up having Fruit Loops as their dinner for the evening, but from the looks of it. It looked like Chaeyoung seemed to like it. She even offered a bite to Jisoo, which doesn’t make sense, because they’re both eating fruit loops, but Jisoo accepted heartedly, and blushed when realization hit her afterwards.

That was an indirect kiss, wasn't it...

Jisoo knew she wasn't supposed to make a big deal out of this, but she couldn't help it. It seemed like the blonde didn't notice and was even confused when her eyes landed on the blushing raven.

"What's wrong?" She asks, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"N-nothing..." Jisoo replies, looking away to prevent being seen with blushing cheeks.

Chaeyoung knew it wasn't just something, but when she glanced down at her spoon then at Jisoo back and forth. She widened her eyes for a split second before she turned to look at the raven who had been blushing.

"Oh..." The blonde muttered, smiling as she looked away.

There was a brief silence between them until Jisoo decided to break the cold ice with a fake cough. Being silent won’t get them anywhere, so she starts.

"I don't think Lisa is coming home this evening." She says, trying to lock her eyes with the blonde to ease the tension between them.

"Yeah."

"When will Mrs. Manoban and Mr. Manoban come home? It's been a long time since I last saw them." It was out of the blue, but that was the only thing Jisoo had in her mind to blurt out.

"I think Mom and Dad will be back around July? I don't actually know. They often change it. They miss you, ya know." Jisoo blushes at that, fluttering.

"Well, tell them next time that I miss them too." Jisoo beams, giggling as she does. Chaeyoung does the same, taking a bite of her Fruit Loops.

"How was your day, Soo?" She asks and, without hesitation, Jisoo immediately tells her what had happened during the history class, making Chaeyoung burst into soft laughter after learning Lisa fell down all of a sudden on her seat.

"So that's why she was whining about it and asking me to massage her back." Jisoo hummed at that, her smile still present.

"Your sister is kind of clumsy. She takes after you."

"Hey! I'm not clumsy," Jisoo laughs at that.

"Yeah sure, Princess."

"I'm really not!" Chaeyoung narrowed her eyes at the raven.

For a split second, if Jisoo didn't know Chaeyoung better, she would have thought Chaeyoung was annoyed by her, but when she saw the smile crawling into the blonde's plump lips, Jisoo knew it was nothing serious.

"How was your day?" Jisoo inquires, her gaze still locked on the blonde's.

"Nothing is interesting in my day, Soo."

"Well, I am, so come on. Tell me your day, clumsy dude." Chaeyoung burst out laughing as she heard this.

"Did you just call me a clumsy dude?"

"I did. Do you have a problem with that, clumsy dude?" Chaeyoung chuckles, rolling her eyes at the raven.

"Okay, chicken dude." She murmured, making Jisoo chuckle as she narrowed her eyes teasingly at Chaeyoung.

Cheayoung then starts to speak about her day, starting from the cheerleading practice to the end of the day. Of course, Jisoo was listening very well, laughing at the things Chaeyoung explained about what happened in the class that made Ms. Lee mad. 

Jisoo knew she had to seize this opportunity. And Jisoo knew better that it was better to not underestimate Lisa, so she mustered up the courage. If no one is going to speak, then she'll take the lead.

"See? It's interesting to hear about your day. And by the way, thanks for the flowers and letters, Chaeyoung."

"You're welcome, Soo."

Jisoo smiled. Chaeyoung freezes after picking it up.

"I... uhm... I-" Chaeyoung looked down, trying to find an explanation as anxiety and fear started to crawl up into her spine.

"It's okay, Chae. I know." Jisoo murmurs, smiling as her eyes never leave Chaeyoung.

"...What?"

Jisoo blushes again, this time a little brighter, but she's not going to back down from her confession or keep quiet about it. Not when she literally just started, and she has no plans to end it until she says it.

"I am in love with you too, silly."

And that sentence was enough for Chaeyoung to blink as she processed everything. All this time, she thought it was platonic, but it was not? Oh my god. Oh my god.

"You still remember it, right? I mean, it would be so awkward if you didn't, but if you want me to remind you of the first letter you told me, in which you told me you love me and-"

"You're in love with me?" 

Jisoo smiled a little although she was in a blushing mess, but she didn't care. She reached out to take Chaeyoung's hand on hers as she looked at her in the eyes full of sincerity.

"I am. I am in love with you, Chaeyoung."

Chaeyoung flashes a quivering smile when she hears that. And Jisoo couldn't help, but to panic when she saw tears starting to form in the blonde's eyes. She instinctively stood up from her seat and sat down beside the girl to comfort her.

"Oh shit. I mean, I totally said I'm in love with you instead of I'm not, but oh my god, don't cry please. I'm sorry. Please don't cry." Jisoo says, cupping Chaeyoung's cheeks into her palms and starts to wipe the tears. 

"I thought I was gonna lose you." Chaeyoung whispered, also trying to wipe her tears.

"Well, for a second thought. I also thought I was gonna lose you. You scared me silly!" 

Chaeyoung laughs at that, tears still present in her cheeks before she reaches out to cup the brunette's cheeks and does the impossible.

Jisoo widens her eyes in shock, feeling the plump lips pressed against her. Chaeyoung's lips were sweet, although a little bit salty, because of the tears, but nonetheless. It was the sweetest thing Jisoo had ever tasted. Regaining and finally absorbing what was happening, Jisoo instinctively circled her arms around the blonde, and kissed her back as she poured out all of her feelings with closed eyes. 

She could feel the blonde smiling between their kiss and when the oxygen became an issue. They broke it off before they shared a loud laugh with happiness. They must have been that dumb and dense for not realizing they have been in love with each other for years.

"So does that mean we're girlfriends now?" Chaeyoung asked, now leaning into Jisoo's shoulders as she played with the raven's hand.

"Well, you still haven't asked me, so I guess not?" Jisoo replies, leaning as well on Chaeyoung.

"Then ask me, silly."

"Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"Ask me out."

"No, you ask me out."

"Is this going to be our first love quarrel?"

"It’s not if you’re not going to ask me out."

"Touché."

Chaeyoung laughed and Jisoo smiled before she faked a cough and properly positioned herself, turning her head at Chaeyoung as she held her hand closer.

"Okay, since we're both very stubborn and you're being cute, which is very lucky of you. I'll do the asking then," Jisoo says, earning a slap on her shoulder as Chaeyoung laughs at her. She pouts, before she continues with a smile, "Will you be my-"

"Yes." Jisoo laughs at that.

"Do you even know what I was going to ask?" She teased.

"Oh I know you're going to ask me to be your girlfriend, Soo." 

"What if I ask you to be my mega bestfriend instead of being my girlfriend?"

"Oh shut up, simp. You love me." Jisoo laughs at the name.

"Okay, mega best friend who has a huge crush on me."

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Hoping to Help

An AU story about who I thought might have been Swallow for a while. Neo spoilers (moreso in the AN than anything, I think, but still maybe stay away if you haven't finished the game, to be safe).

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33528064

Author’s Note:  Just imagine that in this AU, Rindo and Shoka just fall for each other because of the Game and the Game alone:)

‘Don’t worry, Rindragon. I’m coming to get you,’ Eri thought, as she typed a message to her most recent friend and prayed beyond measure that Neku and Shiki might be able to get him out of the Game.

For you see, Eri was none other than Swallow: Rindo’s online friend he’d been worrying about so much during his Reapers’ Game.

And Eri, honestly, was only ever in the UG a few times (the instances that Joshua would let her in to help Neku and Shiki with whatever mission they were on about something called an “Inversion”. And the Composer was far more lenient with Shiki coming and going from the UG than her… probably because if Josh had his way, Eri never would have been told about the Reapers’ Game at all). So Eri sometimes being in the UG (the times Josh would let her) explained some of the reason that she and Rindragon were still able to text.

But the other, Eri imagined, was that maybe in being around so many Ex-Players… they had somehow touched her, so that fate itself thought she was one of them and always in the UG, too.

And Eri would of course happily take being able to still talk with Rindragon this way, over Neku’s situation… where he wasn’t a Reaper yet, but every day Joshua was getting closer and closer to breaking his defenses down so he would choose that, Eri thought. Though part of her did wish that she was in the UG constantly, so she might be able to do anything for Rindragon.

And, yeah… Eri had technically lied to Rindragon, something she never wanted to do, about her being in the UG (all the time)—but it had been simpler than explaining her actual situation. And she really wasn’t even supposed to do that, according to Joshua, since he warned her that the Higher Plane would probably strike her down for knowing so much without being a former Player, if she wasn’t careful.

So, most of the time, Eri was mum’s the word about it at all, over anything that could be traced, and wouldn’t talk to Shiki, Neku, Beat, or Rhyme about other Plane stuff over the phone and might even go so far as to only whisper to them about it in their houses… but now Eri was almost willing to the risk of being murdered by the Higher Plane, just if it gave her one shot at saving Rindragon!

He was younger than her—Eri had been able to tell that right away—but she didn’t mind it. She’d always been popular with most ages, honestly, and he had been there for her when she’d been somewhat left out of Reapers’ Game talks with her friends (they tried with her. They really did. And Eri appreciated them for it, but it was clear that there were some things about it that they could really only share with each other) and wanted to start a game of her own with a new friend, like Shiki had new friends… it was why Eri had started playing FanGo to begin with.

But now, it almost seemed like her dream of playing FanGo with Rindragon was going to fade, too. And Eri was a go-getter, who worked so very hard and usually achieved her dreams that way… so lately, the fact that she’d been losing so much (like with Neku’s death, that had mortified her until she got to see him again) didn’t sit right with her at all, and she wanted to fix some of it… somehow and someway. And so, she’d try.

“Neku… I feel like you’re the key to going in and saving him, oh, Legendary Player. Any chance you can do that for a friend here?”

And if Eri wouldn’t have known better, she would have thought it was just a normal night with the three of them, sitting around her apartment, casually eating pizza… but of course with her luck lately, it was anything but.

“I’ll try, Eri,” Neku promised her, sending a small smile Eri’s way (he saved his big one’s for Shiki), while he pulled the cheese off his pizza (he was thinking about going vegan lately, Eri knew). “Even though the Reapers are trying hard to create walls I can’t pass—and will be on my ass the moment I try it--…but you do know there’s a chance we’ll have to fight him, right? If he remains Kubo’s lapdog? I’d say it would just be me doing that… but the way Josh is, the asshole may try to recruit you guys into the UG, too.”

And as Neku was clearly starting to get worked up here (at the idea of having to fight an innocent, or the two of them entering the UG again like him), Shiki reached over on the couch they were on together and ran soothing circles all over Neku’s back. And Eri found that she couldn’t blame Neku for being stressed… especially since he was pretty much a murdered specimen right now. Eri was stressed, mostly for Rindragon, but she didn’t even have the half of Neku’s issues going on for her. “Hopefully it won’t come to that!” Shiki encouraged Eri too, sending the large smile her way that Neku had been incapable of—but Eri thought it was kind of nice, in that regard. This couple clearly completed each other… even if it made her feel a bit lonely to see sometimes. “I’m sure Neku—and us, if it comes down to it—will find a way. Like when Neku got the Red Skull Pin off of my person, so he wouldn’t have to defeat me… We’ll think of something, Eri, I know it. And Rindragon seems strong,” Shiki continued on, proving that she was still very much was the new Shiki who believed in things, and not the old one who so easily got tripped up.

But Rindragon most certainly was that, Eri knew. You didn’t become one of the top FanGo players for nothing; you had to walk all over and work hard for it, to be strong enough and savvy enough catch the best creatures. So Eri knew that Rindragon was clearly fit—and had gamer’s hands, and therefore fast reflexes—but she was still so paranoid about him here.

“Shiki’s right, Eri,” Neku promised, squeezing her hand—that had still been on her keyboard—in an aim to comfort her even more now. Was she really that shaken up? “I’ve been in so many Games now, that I’m not going to make them say that I can’t have my way without a fight. And even though I don’t think I’m as reassuring as Beat would be here… If I need to carry all of us in the Game, I’ll do so.” And Neku did end up attempting to do that for them—which Eri knew she would always appreciate him for—but she ended up helping Rindragon (Rindo, who she properly knew the name of by then) against the Plague Noise, too (and Shiki aided in it as well, whose Imagination had gotten so powerful, that she didn’t even have to be a Player or Reaper to use some of her powers now. Eri got desperate and did kill herself for Rindo’s sake—and entered the Game that way—and that was something that Rindo gave her a mouthful for: and Eri had smiled amusedly at that, because in some ways… it felt weird to be chewed out by a kid. But it was a kid she adored, so she would take it… especially since she knew that if she survived, Josh had promised he would bring her back, so Rindo would no longer be able to be mad at her for throwing her life away for him then).

But it was no easy thing. Eri imagined she had as much trouble finding a psych she could use, as Shiki once had. But eventually, Eri had learned that if she carried pieces of fabric around, and something to draw on them with, the clothes would transform into what she’d drawn on them and she could then use them for a bomb… that took a while to set up this way, but did massive damage when it was done, so she could try and really best the bird that giant phoenix.

Then, everything was finally over. Peace rained in her friends’ lives again, and Eri couldn’t have been happier for it… and that Joshua kept his promises.

And now, Rindo was meeting up with Eri after he had aided his girlfriend, Shoka, find a better apartment to stay in, than the one Joshua had rented for her.

“It’s still so weird to think that you’re Swallow…” Rindo remarked, as the two of them played FanGo on their phones and headed towards 104 to shop some. “One of the lead designers of Gatto Nero. Damn, what are you doing hanging out with a loser like me?”

And at that, Eri had to laugh and give Rindo a quick hug around his waist, because he didn’t even know! “…Actually, I was starting to feel like the loser in not having played the Game… it was why I got into FanGo and met you. And I’m so glad that I did! But then when I found out you were in the Reapers’ Game… well, it was ironic, for sho, but I was afraid I would send Shiki and Neku to save you, and I would do nothing… and so you’d have no good opinion about little old me, when you finally met me at all! So, it meant a lot when you actually chewed me out for joining you in it, and throwing my safety away!

“You’re a good kid, Rindo. A good kid, I’m happy to be friends with,” Eri said, as the two of them dug out the lollipops they’d bought and sucked on them now… She hoped she wasn’t sounding too much like a mom here now, and scaring Rindo off, but when she looked over at him, she could tell that he still looked happy and deep in thought about this all. Good. “And you should totes intern with me for Gatto Nero, if you want. Your friends can too, really!!”

Rindo was guffawing now, as the two of them decided not to go into her and Shiki’s store, but rather up the stairs of the 104 building just to get a nice view.

Eri had no doubt that the girl who had given Rindo lots of advice in the past had finally reared her head, unlike the scared version of her, who had only been able to send him a few scared words in texts lately. And Rindo must have realized that, and been moved by it, because Rindo suddenly took Eri’s hand to shake it, and he smiled. “Sounds like a good deal, Swallow. Count me in!”

Author’s Note: Man, I had so many theories about Swallow while I played the Game… that all turned out to be wrong. Hahaha.

At first, I REALLY thought it was Rhyme, because Swallow sent Rindo a squirrel picture (essentially) and her name is “Swallow.” And I was like, “Squirrel Noise? And Rhyme got SWALLOWed by a Shark Noise?” Also, she’s around Rindo’s age. Ehh?!), but it quickly became clear that that wasn’t the case.

Then my next best guess was Eri for the longest time (which I wrote here), mainly because for a second, I was thinking the person at the computer (Rhyme) and Swallow were the same person, so all of this jumped into my head as to how it COULD have been Eri, even though I really didn’t think they would go this way (because I kind of figured they wouldn’t include Eri, sadly). Though it would have been cool.

Then I thought it was Shiki, for the same reasons I thought it was Eri (and I know that when I was thinking girl at their computer—Rhyme—was Swallow, the color palette should have been a dead giveaway that it was Rhyme. And really, it was. But I thought they MIGHT try and pull a fast one on us, sort of like they did with the Neku and Beat twist, and change the character’s color palettes or something), though clearly they didn’t. But then I didn’t think they would do that, because it might seem like Shiki was in love with Rindo over Neku or something… even though that would be kind of silly, because girls CAN have guy friends that are JUST their guy friends. So, I was really thinking Eri the most, out of the two of them.

I also thought it could be Joshua, for obvious reasons, but mostly I knew Swallow was a girl from the way they talked… typed.

And I think I thought it could have been Neku for five seconds, because when I thought the person at the computer desk and Swallow were the same person, and we then saw “Neku” come and save the Wicked Twisters (like computer-desk-person, Rhyme, had said about coming to save him [Beat], but at the time I thought she meant Rindo), I thought it was Neku because of that, fulfilling the promise, maybe. But I don’t really think I ever truly thought it could have been Neku. I think he was the one I imagined the least, because it would be too obvious.

Somehow, I missed the Shoka thing entirely… even though it seems so obvious now. But I’m kind of glad that I did, because it was a cool twist for me that way.

But here’s the Eri idea. I might the rest of them for fun, too (I already wrote the Shiki one… before this actually, so I hope in doing that, I didn’t steal some of this one’s thunder). Who knows?:)

Hope you all enjoyed!

[kimjongdaely]

The Art of Sin [Chapter 7]

Gang!AU, Racer!AU, Tattoo Artist!AU

Pairing: Chen x Reader

Warnings: Language, violence, sexual situations, vandalism

Summary: He’s an artist. He does it all for the ‘art.’ Tattooing. Racing. Sex. All because he thinks they’re beautiful. There’s no one here that doesn’t know his name, because it’s everywhere. On every graffiti-filled wall, every tattooed skin, every cheer of the crowd. His name is there somewhere, because it’s all his—this world. And when he lays his eyes on you—well, he’s never seen anything more beautiful. And he’s going to make you his masterpiece.

Chapter 1│Chapter 2│Chapter 3 [M]│Chapter 4 [M]│Chapter 5 [M]│ Chapter 6│Chapter 7│Chapter 8 [M]

The engine roars to life and you’re pushed back against the seat by the speed.

Your heart pounds painfully against your ribs, the world outside becoming a blur. You dig your nails into the black cloth of the seats, never having been in a car this fast before.

Never in your life did you ever even think about racing.

And yet here you are, in a deathly fast car just because. Right about now you’re in the middle of regretting your decision of getting on too; aren’t you just slowing him down? It was a stupid choice, but you couldn’t let him go just like that, not with how he was acting before.

You see the opponent’s car right next to you, always trying to zoom past but never quite being able to. Chen has incredible skill and control, the car feeling like an extension of him. You’re sure if he still had his old car, he could drive even better.

The cars drive down the dirt road, towards a cliffside. The road is barely wide enough for two cars, and it would be difficult to race past.

You feel the car tremble terribly as the opponent’s car gets too close, metal scraping against metal and making an ugly, screeching sound that pains your ears.

You hear Chen curse, his hand tightening on the wheel, veins bulging in his arms. There’s a serious, deadly glint in his eyes as he tries to maneuver the vehicle with the little space he has to force more space between the cars. He has to pull ahead now, or he’ll lose the chance.

The opponent doesn’t seem to be caring much about getting ahead though, as they crash onto the car again, stronger. The whole car tips sideways, and you grab onto the seats as hard as you can, feeling something drop heavily in your stomach.

Oh no.

Chen curses again, loudly, doing everything he can to get back on track but it’s too late.

You’re falling.

You hear laughter ring in your ears, see the other car continue down the path, kicking up dirt behind it.

You feel the weightlessness, the fear. Time seems to slow. You open your mouth, but what is it that you were going to say? Were you going to scream? To call for Chen? To yell for help?

There’s nothing either of you can do. 

You hold out your hand, wanting to grab onto something, something that can break your fall even though you know it’s useless.

It’s Chen that takes your hand.

You take one glance at his face, a look of terror that matches how you feel. He squeezes.

And...

and then...

Nothing.

Chen coughs, the dust irritating his throat. When he tries to move, pain shoots up his right leg. His arms are bleeding, glass covering the floor. He takes a better look at his surroundings, piecing things together to figure out what happened.

They crashed at the bottom of the cliff. Thank goodness they weren’t too high up.

The car is damaged pretty badly, the top crinkled and half-collapsed. He would have been crushed if it actually fell in. His leg seems to be trapped under the debris, the windows and windshield shattered and—

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait.

He swerves around too quickly, groaning in pain when it irritates his leg.

Oh god.

Oh, please no—

She seems to be unconscious, her face half-covered by her hair but...he can see it.

The blood.

Dripping steadily down the side of her face, staining her clothes and the seat. Chen tries hard to move, cursing and kicking with his other foot, trying to get the debris off his injured leg.

No, no. This isn’t going to work. He’ll only get himself more injured.

He calls for her, screaming her name and hoping she’ll wake up. Give him a sign. At least move a finger, dammit!

His mind is so panicked and fogged that it’s hard to think. But he needs to calm down. Deep breaths. He winces at the pain again.

Phone. Phone—right. Where’s his phone? Must be in his pocket. He tries his best to angle himself without hurting his leg to get the phone out. It’s cracked, but it seems to still work.

With trembling fingers, he calls for Junmyeon, praying that he’ll pick up.

Please, please please please please—

“Hello?”

The sunlight is blinding, rousing Chen from his sleep. The smell of antiseptic assaults his nose, alerting him where he is. He tries to sit up, noticing how his arms are bandaged and he can’t move is leg at all. Looking down, he finds himself in a cast.

“You shouldn’t be moving, dumbass.”

Looking up, he’s relieved to find Junmyeon glaring down at him, arms crossed and looking so displeased. “First Jongin, now you. You guys really trying to get yourselves killed?”

He manages to crack a grin, trying his best to lesson Junmyeon’s worries. He never meant for this to happen, especially not with what happened to Jongin recently. None of his members need another scare like that. He’s just so glad to be alive, honestly. “Sorry, man. I—I lost my head back there, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Junmyeon sighs, lips pursing into a thin line. “Shouldn’t have raced those bastards.”

“Yeah.” Chen agrees, silently resigned with what happened. Still, he was so fucking mad about his car. He had that Nissan Skyline for so long, it was his most treasured possession and—

His thoughts suddenly stop. His hands begin to tremble when he remembers something, and he forces out the question, “...How is she?”

Junmyeon goes silent. That’s never a good sign.

Chen trembles harder, eyes trained on Junmyeon, searching for a hint of her fate in his features. No. No it can’t be. Please no. “Well?”

“She’s, uh, okay.” He answers, his composure becoming uneasy, which is unlike him.

But still, he said she’s okay. So she must be alive, right? He wouldn’t lie about something like that.

“Okay, well.” Chen tries to get up, and Junmyeon hurries to stop him. “I need to see her.”

“You need to rest, Chen.” Junmyeon urges, pushing him back down onto the bed but Chen fights as best as he can in his state. 

“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Please, I need to see her.”

“No, Jongdae, listen to me. You...you shouldn’t see her right now.”

The uneasiness in his heart grows worse and he pauses, trying to catch Junmyeon’s eye but he seems to be avoiding him. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, uh...she’s hasn’t woken up yet.” He answers, but Chen knows that’s not all there is to the story.

“Tell me, dammit!” Chen screams, so tired of this conversation. “What happened to her?”

“Alright!” Junmyeon raises his hands in defeat, letting out a long sigh. He becomes much more serious, placing a comforting hand on Chen’s shoulder. “Just...calm down, okay?”

Baekhyun and Sehun are both in the room when Chen hobbles into her hospital room with Junmyeon helping him. They don’t say a word as step out after Chen takes a seat beside her bed.

Chen sucks in a sharp breath at the bandages around her head.

“Oh god.” He whispers, feeling his throat tighten and his heart so immensely heavy in his chest. He reaches for her hand, holding it tightly in his own and feeling how cold it is. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

It’s been so long since he cried; he thought he forgot how to. But the sting in his eyes and the pain he feels hits him so hard he struggles to even breathe.

How could this happen? How could he let this happen?

She was so kind, so innocent...she doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserve her.

She’s too good for him.

He should never have slept with her, never should have let her in. He should have left it at the first date, forever keeping her on the other side of the line.

He couldn’t. He couldn’t keep her away and now she has to pay for his weakness.

This is all his fault.

He ruined her forever.

The butterfly he tattooed on her collarbone peaks out from under her hospital gown, mocking him, reminding him of what he’s done.

He ripped her beautiful wings and she’ll never be able to fly again.

There’s nothing more he can do but repeat “I’m sorry” over and over again, praying to whatever merciful God out there that she’ll be okay. To let her wake up and smile at him again.

He doesn’t remember how he fell asleep like that, but Sehun and Junmyeon woke him up with dried tear streaks down his face, still gripping her hand tightly. They had to rip him away from her and practically carry him back to his own room. He was too tired to make a ruckus, but he didn’t want to leave if he had the choice. He wanted to be there when she woke up and apologize properly. When he went back to his room, the nurse scolded him for a while, but she let him off easy after seeing his swollen, red-rimmed eyes.

Junmyeon also got a small scolding for letting the patient walk about like that and how dangerous it is. Chen felt bad about it, but didn’t regret seeing her.

No one said a word about her condition after that, just simply telling him to eat and sleep properly so he’ll get better quicker. Baekhyun made a joke or two about how the garage will be quiet for a while, but how it won’t be as artistic.

Somehow it made Chen feel worse so Baekhyun stopped.

The sun’s already gone, and visiting hours are over soon. Junmyeon nags him once more about resting before they leave, seeing they won’t be getting a reaction out of Chen right now.

The room is dark and silent once they leave and Chen sits on his bed, just staring at his hands. 

His mind is so blank he wonders if he might’ve actually died already.

He kind of wishes he did so he won’t hurt like this.

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A/N: Oof, writing this hurt my soul. It’s almost over, so I hope you’ll read until the end! Hope to hear from you guys :)

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