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engie-ivy · 3 years ago

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Remus is the uptight, swotty Prefect who's always getting the popular and beloved troublemakers Black and Potter in detention. Remus doesn't care what people say of him, and he absolutely doesn't care about Black's blinding smile.

A Book By Its Cover

Remus pulls his jumper closer around himself against the draught in the large, empty halls. The corridor is dimly lit and he hears nothing but the sound of his own footsteps. Everything is quiet. Too quite.

A loud clang suddenly sounds from behind one of the tapestries. Remus almost smiles to himself. Bingo. In a swift motion, he pulls away the tapestry.

Startled, Black whirls around. He’s surrounded by what appear to be paint cans and rope. His shock only last a moment, though.

“Lupin!” He exclaims, a beaming smile appearing on his face. “What a pleasant surprise!”

Remus crosses his arms over his chest. He makes an effort to keep a firm expression on his face, to show he’s not affected by Black’s notorious, blinding smile, like everyone else is. “Only pleasant if you like detention. And as for a surprise, I am a Prefect. I am supposed to be here making my rounds. So what are you doing here?”

“Preparing a prank,” Black says simply.

Remus doesn’t know whether he should be insulted Black doesn’t seem to take his authority very seriously, or glad that he doesn’t insult his intelligence by coming up with an excuse.

“Right,” Remus says, before taking out his notebook and pen. “Out of bed after curfew and engaging in illegal activity,” he scribbles down. “And where’s Potter?”

“Aw, am I not enough for you, Lupin?” Black pouts.

“I figured you could use some company in detention,” Remus replies smoothly.

Black clicks his tongue. “So thoughtful.”

“If you’re here setting up some prank, then it’s a given Potter is setting up that prank somewhere else in the school as well. So, where is he?”

Black shakes his head. “For you’re own good, Lupin, you don’t wanna put James in detention right now. People won’t be too pleased with you if the school’s football star misses the upcoming match against Slytherin thanks to you.”

“So thoughtful,” Remus repeats Black’s words, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But please, don’t concern yourself over me. I’ve never cared what others think of me, and I don’t plan on starting now. And you basically just admitted Potter is currently doing something that would warrant me giving him detention, so you might as well tell me where he is.”

Black sighs. “This is why people call you uptight.”

Remus’ expression hardens. “If people care so much, they should be mad at Potter for risking the football match in the first place by playing some stupid prank.”

Black gasps dramatically and clutches his chest. “Stupid? Our pranks are not stupid! They’re works of art! Jumping out of a cake on miss McGonagall’s birthday? Hilarious! Making a zip line to go from one floor to the other? Brilliant! Filling the gym with stray cats, many of whom were eventually adopted? Genius! People love our pranks. They make people laugh and bring some excitement in their lives. Much needed excitement, because let’s face it, school is boring. Sitting there, listening to old people tell you things you already know.”

“For you maybe,” Remus mutters.

Black scoffs. “Don’t pretend you’re not one of the smartest people in our class, Lupin.”

Remus just glares harder at Black, to show that no, he doesn’t care that Sirius Black, whom people are always falling over themselves for to get even a bit of his attention, has apparently noticed Remus’ academic achievements. No, he doesn’t care at all.

“Even the teachers love our pranks,” Black continues. “They put some life into this place!”

“We’ll see what miss McGonagall has to say about it when I report you tomorrow,” Remus says calmly. “I’ll go finish my rounds, and when I get back, you better have cleaned up this mess.”

As he turns around to leave, Black suddenly grabs his wrist. “Join us!”

“Wha...” Remus turns back, and his traitorous stomach flutters at how close Black is suddenly standing.

“Join us for one prank,” Black says.

Remus blinks at him. “Why in earth would I do that?”

“Because it’s fun! And honestly, Lupin, to me you always look like you can use a bit of fun.”

That catches Remus off guard. It’s true. Between struggling to get top marks, doing everything he can for extra credit, making sure he has a spotless record, excelling at his Prefect duties, and worrying about his sick mother, lately he often feels like just throwing his hands in the air and say ‘screw it all!’, and just do something crazy, something dumb or irresponsible. But he definitely never wanted for Black to notice that.

“Come on, Lupin,” Black says, as Remus stays silent. “Be part of the fun for once, instead of putting a damper on it.”

“Your childish pranks aren’t my idea of fun,” Remus bites back, feeling himself getting defensive.

Black just grins. “You won’t know that unless you join us for just one prank!”

“Why would you even want me to join you?” Many people would be lining up to be a part of one of Black and Potter’s infamous pranks. It’s beyond Remus why Black would ask that one stuffy guy who puts them in detention almost every week.

“Because I like you,” Black shrugs. “I like how hard you work for everything and how you don’t care what anyone thinks of you. And I think you secretly have a talent for it,” he adds with a wink, that absolutely does not make Remus’ knees go weak. “I bet you have a wicked side to you underneath all that swotty stuff.”

“But I’m a Prefect!” Remus argues. “I’m supposed to discipline rule-breakers, not break them myself!”

Black rolls his eyes. “You shouldn’t take that job so serious.”

This rubs Remus the wrong way. “Not everyone can afford to treat everything in life as a joke,” he says coolly.

Black folds his arms over his chest and stares. “A fancy title and a badge and suddenly you’re better than us?”

“It’s nothing like that!”

Black huffs. “Then why is that bogus job so important to you?”

“Because some of us can’t afford to have even one note on their record if they ever want to get anywhere in life!” Remus snaps. “Because some of us need perfect scores and every bit of extra credit they can get if they want universities not to immediately bin their applications! Because some of us don’t have a last name they can flaunt, a daddy who can make a phone call, a mommy who can throw some money around, and suddenly you’re top of the list! Because some of us can’t just look at their rich parents and rely on them to always give them everything they want!”

The change in Black is instant. He takes a step back, and instead of his usual easy smile and bright eyes sparkling with mischief, his face becomes an ice-cold mask. “Fuck you, Lupin,” he hisses. “You don’t know a thing about me.”

He pushes past Remus as he storms off, leaving him behind feeling very confused. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Yes, the system is unfair and Black is privileged, but Remus supposes that isn’t really Black’s fault. He knows Black isn’t actually a bad person. His heart is in the right place, and he’s usually kind, only ever mean to people who, quite frankly, deserve it.

Remus just wishes Black would stop with those bloody pranks.

Remus just wishes Black would continue with those bloody pranks.

Or do anything really that makes him seem more like his old self. Remus never thought he’d miss that loud, barking laugh, that infuriating smirk, those lame puns so much.

Ever since everyone returned from Christmas break, Black has completely withdrawn. He hardly talks to anyone, he just sits silently, his eyes staring off in the distance and his expression blank. Potter is always by his side, softly talking to him or just throwing him worried glances.

Since then, it has been the talk of the school, and even in the papers and on the news: Sirius Black has been removed from his parents’ custody. It was a messy affair, the police has even been involved. Black’s father was arrested on grounds of child abuse. Apparently, Orion Black, the noble and well-respected patriarch of the prestigious Black family, has a habit of beating his son. It must’ve been going on for a while, but over the break it escalated. People just can’t get over how Sirius Black’s life wasn’t as perfect as it always seemed to be.

Remus feels bad for Black, and especially feels like an idiot, having said the things he said. He knows he owes Black an apology. It has been a couple of weeks since the break ended, and the apology is beginning to be long overdue. Though he also knows that Black has probably not been waiting for an apology from the uptight twat that always gets him detention.

Maybe it’s more to ease his own consciousness that he hesitantly approaches the table where Black is sitting. Potter glares at him the moment he sees him, and half gets out of his seat, probably to tell him to piss off, and rightfully so. However, after a quick glance at Black’s face, who’s looking up at Remus, he sits back down, as if he sees something on his friend’s face that makes him chance his mind.

“Bla- Sirius,” Remus says, realising a tad late that Sirius might nor want to be reminded of his family name right now. “I’m sorry,” he blurts out. “I said some shitty things to you, and I shouldn’t have. You were right, I didn’t know anything about you.”

“It’s okay,” Sirius says softly. “You had good reason to be angry, it’s a rather fucked up system. And you didn’t know. Didn’t know that I would’ve gladly given up all that privilege to just have parents who... who love me...”

Sirius’ voice falters and he trails off. Potter is staring at him wide-eyed, and also Remus is surprised. He knows Sirius hasn’t talked about it to anyone, and he feels almost guilty he’s saying it to him of all people. He’s also surprised at the overwhelming urge he has to pull Sirius into a hug, hold him and tell him they never deserved him anyway. He has to leave before he does anything stupid.

“I should go,” Remus says quickly. “If there’s ever anything I can do...”

As he turns around to leave, Black suddenly grabs his wrist. “Join us!”

Remus turns back to look at him.

“Join us for one prank.”

“Why would you want me to join you?” Remus asks, much like the first time.

“Because I like you,” Sirius replies, much like the first time, only where he had then sounded nonchalant and slightly amused, he now sounds pleading and vulnerable.

“Yeah,” Remus says hoarsely, because his Prefect duties suddenly don’t seem so important compared to helping Sirius come back to his old self. “Yeah, I’ll join you for one prank.”

And then the most amazing thing happens: for the first time in weeks, Sirius Black smiles. It’s only a small smile, but the room already seems a bit brighter. In a moment of vivid clarity, Remus knows that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to make that boy smile.

#my tumblr writing #wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #wolfstar fic #marauders #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #sirius black #remus lupin #remus x sirius #james potter #boarding school au #prefect remus lupin

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animecreator3000 · 2 years ago

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Okay but who planned the season timeline or whatever they use to plan the episodes and when things happen? Because it seems like they wrote first about the monsters and the episode themes, and added some actual character drama where they could. The more I think about it, the more I realize how well made s1 was written, dammit

Yeah IoRyuu have two episodes and at least one manga chapter where they fight and fall out for a bit, but then make peace and team up to lead the fight against that day’s monster. Meanwhile TaiChiro have arguments, but never fall out to force a reconcilliation and don’t have any episodes for them like the Love boys did. Honestly quite a waste because they would’ve been a cute friendship if they were properly developed.

I’ve been mentioning it a lot lately, but what happened in ep4 with Ichiro makes my blood boil. It’s so mean- in this case, Yumoto would’ve gotten mad at his senpais and shown that they hurt him and his trust on them, like in s2 ep10 when they all called Binan Land sad and lame as it was closing. They ended up apologizing to Yumoto and inviting him to the park on its last day, but what happens when Ichiro’s friends go out of their way to violate his privacy and embarrass him? They all react like his letter, which he wrote when he was a literal child, is uncomfortable and embarrassing to read, including Ichiro himself who just accepts that his so-called friends just put their amusement before his privacy.

Like omg I’ve had friends like that!! Shitty friends that read through my private stuff and pretended to throw my drawings in the trash and made fun of me!! And I was only with them because I didn’t want to be completely alone but I tried to defend myself from them and left them as soon as I could!! My other very kind friends that I’ve had for many years would never do any of those things. And yet Ichiro gets humilliated by his supposed best friend and senpais (also they were in a tv set, so possibly that secret could’ve been recorded and aired on national tv), and he doesn’t even try to call them out for it or make any excuse. Nanao is the one who said “Well if he really doesn’t want us to read that letter, we totally have to read it now!” and moments later Ichiro is still praising him?? FFS BOY YOUR SELF-ESTEEM IS SO LOW PLS GET ACTUALLY GOOD FRIENDS

The fact that Ata, Taiju and Maasa, the villains, have so much more respect and genuine trust in each other than the good guys, just makes me angrier. Why are the embittered, resented bad guys better people than the heroes?!

I want to think that Kyou and Ryouma might have been a different case if we got more information on their friendship through the years, because child Kyou didn’t seem to be lazy or sleepy or anything like he is in the present, he just achieved things easily while Ata had to put effort into them. I headcanon that Kyou isn’t in a good mental place for different reasons and he kinda masks it with just being lazy and relying on others, but it’s not like his behaviour makes much more sense like that.

Every time I rewatch some episode of Boueibu HK I wonder again how the staff even planned this season. Like. Almost nothing meaningful happens with the characters

TLDR the characters with the most developement in HK are the monsters

Kyoutarou is there as a complete contrast to Yumoto while keeping the battle speeches so his characterization doesn't make much sense. Nanao is mere fujoshi bait. Taiju and Taishi have random bits of dialogue that hint at possible arcs for s2 but not enough to tell us what it really is. Maasa has an unfinished arc in his episode, where supposedly he's putting fatty butter in his cookies to make everyone else overweight because he resents Ichiro not defending him when they were little, but then his friends tell him it's fine and then he can move on??? This would work with Ichiro's theme of not wanting to be immature or dense anymore, except they only ever used this theme as a gag (misunderstanding the meaning of whatever the others have said) or to straight up humilliate him (ep4) and continue treating him like a stupid baby. At the end of the season Maasa and him have made peace somehow and that's it. Ata gets in my opinion the closest thing to a complete arc, even if it's just staring angrily at Kyoutarou for ten episodes, then explaining his problem while fighting him and finally getting his apology and reconcilliation. At least it's something. And poor Ryouma is just there to be the butt of a few jokes about how he lets Nanao and Kyoutarou use him, be in a couple of cute shippy scenes, and also for Ata to completely dismiss him from the flashbacks to the point where if they had first met in high school nothing would've changed.

The relationships barely have developement either. Love had anime episodes and manga chapters dedicated to the different close friendships solving their conflicts and becoming closer. There were also many instances of seeing how close the Hakone brothers-defense club and Beppu brothers' relationships were, and even though they didn't have any conflict between themselves, they made them strong sides for the final fight. Yumoto didn't get a character arc but through the entire anime he was revealed to be strong, considerate, forgiving and mature, willing to kindly befriend the Beppu twins for his brother but not let them walk all over him; contrary to how he was presented in the first episodes, like a stereotypical magical girl protagonist. Anyway in HK there's no meaningful conflict between any of them besides Kyoutarou and Ata. Taishi and Ichiro argue constantly but don't show to genuinely like each other after all like IoRyuu or EnAtsu did. Ichiro and Maasa never make any progress to be together again, Maasa hints once at liking Taishi and nothing comes from it, and Nanao and Taiju have the most artificial friendship in the cast that I just do not understand. They just ran an ice cream shop once with again unexplained success and make sassy remarks at each other ever since. And I guess Karurusu and Furanui had a bit of developement thanks to Kyou and Ata in ep12. Idk about the aliens, this time it's like they didn't do it completely well but also not as bad as with the rest of the cast. Maybe bc they didn't appear as much as the humans in most of the episodes

I'm realizing now that a few of these complaints are related to Nanao acting weird

Idk where to put this but I'd like to point out Kinshiro's principles of halting the fight with the Battle Lovers as soon as he finds out that the s1 conflict was set up for a reality show and actively defending them from an attack because they're Binan students, despite still not having received his apology from Atsushi. Ata might've done the same if the HK finale's events had gone in the same order (travelling to Honyalaland to fight Wao, then Kyoutarou apologizing to Ata), but he doesn't feel as a character as deep as Kinshiro in that sense bc they didn't really show him to be in other ways.

Love feels more like an actual group of people while HK feels like they were filling in friendship group roles or something

#the kyou thing is just a dumb headcanon and some projecting #''i love this character i wanna see them suffer'' stuff #apparently ichiro is the kind of guy to just laugh off everything? oof #his character song in contrast talks about never giving up and achieving your dreams with his help if you need it... he's so precious istg

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minniepetals · 5 years ago

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nightlight

— summary: things have never been easy for you but you never expected it’d be them that would make things easier

— pairing: bts x reader

— genre: angst, fluff, mafia!au, gangsters!bts, rich!reader

— word count: 7.7k

— warnings: (triggering topics!) reader is sold to bangtan, dysfunctional family, allusions to an abusive father/husband, harassment, reader has a tough life growing up, guns, violence, jungkook calls her a whore (but apologizes), mentions of death, minor character death, insomniac!reader, nightmares, hurt and comfort

— rec music: finding hope - nightlight

Starlight star bright.

Fallen stars shooting in your dreams.

A wish, a hope. A prayer to escape from the world. From responsibilities and from the sacrifices that keeps you trapped in these chains of yours.

You keep yourself from feigning a smile, knowing it means nothing, knowing there is no reason to fake anything when the rest of the world is already doing the job.

Your father doesn't love you.

If he does, he wouldn't have thrown you out of his life when things got too hard, too difficult because he messed with the wrong man.

The same man whom you kneel in front of. The same man who takes your face in his hands, gentler than your father can ever, and gives you a blank look when you meet his gaze.

Call it sickening but his eyes look quite lovely.

Beautiful even.

Maybe that is why you don't flinch away when he holds a sinister smirk. Or perhaps you had already gotten used to your father's actions and now he's the only one that can ever make you feel afraid.

That's why you can't be afraid of the mafia boss.

Because even though he kills, he doesn't hurt you.

Maybe not yet, maybe you're still expecting it, but his hands never hangs in the air, hoping to swipe it right across your face.

"Why do you always stay awake?"

You turn around from the window, catching the gaze of one of his most trusted men.

Park Jimin leans against the door to your supposed room, the moonlight illuminating his pretty face. He has an arched brow, pillow lips pressed together, arms crossed against his chest.

"Is the room not to your pleasing?" He asks you. A soft yet hard tone. "Do you need a bigger room, princess?"

He mocks you. The daughter of a businessman who should have known the consequences to his actions and now his business is at stake, with his daughter in the hands of one of the darkest gangs.

He played with the wrong card and these men will never let you forget it.

Yet you remain calm as you shake your head lightly. Sincerely. "I am thankful for this room," you tell him.

"Then sleep."

As if it is easy.

As if it had always been easy.

"I...will try," you promise him, not brave to go up against him or make excuses. He is scary but not as scary as your father.

You wonder what your father is doing right now. Is he sleeping? Living a better life now that you are gone?

You wonder if your mother is alright.

But then again, she's escaped him so perhaps she is indeed living a life far better than when she lived with the two of you.

"Trying is not hard enough," Jimin says and your gaze falls to the floor.

"I'm sorry."

Jimin scoffs. "Sorry?" He repeats. "For what? Not sleeping?"

"Yes," you hum softly, "and for being here."

"Not really your choice now is it?" He steps away from the door, arms uncrossing. "You've got to be braver than this, princess." The name is lighter. "There's no need to apologize for something you had no control over."

"Still, I.." you watch your hands hold each other, gripping against one another tightly, "I'm sorry for what he's done."

"That should be his words, baby, not yours."

You hear the door click closed and his footsteps echoing away.

"You know how to treat wounds?"

Hoseok stares at the concentrated look on your face, lips pursed, eyes barely blinking one bit as your fingers work their ways stitching him up.

"I've often had to do this," you tell him and it's a bit of surprise. "My father..gets in trouble many times."

He raises a brow. "He's messed with other gangs?"

"I have no clue on the backgrounds. He doesn't tell me and I am in no position to ask."

"You're his daughter."

You don't reply, just keeping quiet.

But he sees you blink, sees the slight hesitation in your hands, how your eyes just stares blankly for a brief moment before returning to focus.

You try to hide it but he knows there's something going on that isn't right.

He shouldn't be surprised. Your father is the one who offered Namjoon to take you in the first place and they allowed it only because they believed you were someone worthy to your father.

But it looks like that isn't the likely story.

He's tricked them, so maybe this should be the moment when he lets the rest know to kick you out.

You're not a pawn anymore at this point.

But he doesn't understand why he doesn't feel like making a move.

The halls of the mansion is dark and empty even when it is daylight so you can never really come to understand how much time has passed until you return to your room, tired and drowsy and check the windows.

It is usually dark by the time you come back from your duties of cleaning and cleaning but even then you can't fall asleep.

Some days are harder than the rest but it's better.

Better than playing your father's puppet in the media as the world's perfect daughter.

"Why don't you ever complain?"

You look up from scrubbing the floors, holding your forearm against your forehead to wipe the sweat.

Yoongi stands in front of you, dirty shoes on so you know you'll have to redo the floors all over again. Yet surprisingly to him, you show no sign of distress.

"You seemed to be living the perfect life as a rich man's daughter," he scoffs, "not that he's rich anymore. So why aren't you saying anything?"

You remain quiet for a moment and usually he'll hurt the ones who hesitates to answer him right away but to your surprise, he does nothing but wait for you.

"It's fake," you whisper.

His brows crease.

"The perfect life," you answer the unspoken question. "It's not perfect, as you can see."

"Oh?" A brow arches and he sounds a little amused. "I thought he was just desperate."

"He is," you say, "desperate to throw me away."

"Well," Yoongi begins to turn away, his steps walking off, "this just got a little more interesting."

You return to your duties, choosing to ignore what he means because you're sure he will not speak his mind if you ask.

You're afraid to ask. .

The library is more difficult to clean because it is so big but you enjoy yourself there more than most rooms.

Mostly because you get to take a moment to read a few things. No one comes in anyways, which brings out the question as to why waste a whole room filled with books when everything is dusty, as if no one has ever touched a thing.

"A-hem."

Your breath hitches at the sound and you're quick to get back on your feet, book slammed closed and placed right back into its slot.

The boss raises his brow. "Mythology?"

"F-forgive me, sir." You lay your head low, too afraid to meet his disapproving eyes.

"You like mythology?" He asks an unexpected question and you know you have to answer.

"It...interests me."

"Does it?" You nod. "Which one?"

"...Hades and Persephone, sir."

Namjoon chuckles. It isn't anything like the dark chuckles he gives to the ones that have offended him and you wonder why.

"What about that story interests you?"

"Well," you say. It's a little easier to speak. "I just..find it quite lovely. Persephone would have been a forgotten goddess if Hades had not given her purpose. Their love created the seasons. The darkness fell in love with the flower."

"More like he fell for her and stole her away to his kingdom."

"But she eventually found love within the Underworld God as well," you point out. "He showed her kindness, showed her that he's capable of love as well, and that he isn't as heartless and cruel as everyone deems him to be."

He takes a moment to be silent, his eyes meeting yours, the same ones that refused to be afraid of him from the moment he had first taken a good look at you.

You were pure, still pure, and too innocent to fall into the hands of a father who couldn't show his own daughter some bit of love.

Namjoon finds it disgusting honestly, and figured that was the case when you were first offered to him. So after finding out it was indeed true from Yoongi, the fact only makes him more bitter.

"I'm sure the God only felt a change in him because of her."

Yet you shake your head gently at his words. "No one can change you, you do that yourself," you say. "The people around you are the ones that inspires you to change."

Namjoon doesn't understand how anyone can ever dare to think of hurting someone like you.

A few days later, you don't know how you got here but here you are, standing in a room filled with people in an ivory dress that falls to the floor.

You've been to parties before, you've been to plenty of parties, and it surprises you that you're let out after just two months of staying with the mafia gang.

Are they not afraid of you escaping?

Then again, perhaps it's because they are prepared for your escape in case you do try to leave.

They'll hunt your father down.

He may not love you as you still dreadfully love him, but you won't risk him at the chance of death.

You stand alone, not understanding what your position is because this is their mission. They're here to hunt someone down.

Distraction, Namjoon states, but you don't understand what that means.

Someone walks up to you, a gentleman, who offers you a drink that you decide to let him down on.

Another walks up to you and another.

You feel uncomfortable in the crowd that surrounds you, making lame jokes, trying too woo you.

"How about we ditch this party?"

Oh no, you certainly cannot do that.

"You know, you look quite familiar."

You don't want to be known and expose your identity, you can't do that when you're in the middle of a mission you're supposed to be a part of.

But with these men around, you can't do your job even though you don't know what exactly you're supposed to be doing.

Someone touches you and you flinch. "Please don't do that."

But he only laughs.

They laugh, shrugging it off as if it is not inappropriate.

But it is and you hate it.

Someone slides a hand along your waist and you flinch again before relaxing when you see who the man is.

"She already came with someone," Seokjin glares at them, ready to hurt the guy who dared to touch you.

You don't know why he makes you relaxed but amongst the crowd that eventually dies down around you, Seokjin feels the safest despite knowing what he does.

Maybe it's because you know him.

A little.

When he turns to you, you lay your head in shame. "I-I'm sorry."

He scoffs. "For what?"

You look up at him, confused. "Hm?"

It's a cute hum. "You did your job distracting them, good job." That was what they meant? You really didn't like it and you think he can understand that by the look on your face. "It's okay, you can leave now. Now go there, we've located our guy."

You look over at where he beckons.

A hallway.

"You're...not coming?" You ask. You know it isn't good to question them and it almost scares you but Seokjin doesn't grow angry.

"I'm shutting this party down," he smirks and you can understand what that means.

When he lets you go, you hesitate for a moment, watching him, and when you come to comprehend the fact that he will do nothing until you leave, you bid him goodbye and rush away.

The gunshot comes a minute later as you're running down the hall and you hear the distant screams.

It's hard but you keep running.

Heels hurt but it doesn't matter.

You have to run.

Find someone, one of them. Leave with them.

Yet you can't get far enough because someone grabs you by the arm, pulls you into a room, and forces themself to hold you against their chest, arm choking you and a gun pointed to your head.

Jungkook stands before you with a gun pointed directly at you. Or maybe not at you, maybe at the man. With a blank stare, showing no sign of weakness.

"Let me go or I'll kill her," the man behind you threatens.

You don't know why he thinks you're important to the man and you're sure even Jungkook thinks that.

Because the youngest only shrugs.

"Kill her," he says nonchalantly. "As if I care."

"Then why'd she come with you?"

"She's just a maid."

The man laughs darkly. "A little whore, huh? I hear you don't usually keep girls around for long. Is she that good?"

"You're sick for an old man."

He laughs again, louder, and it brings shivers down your spine. "I can be sicker." Something wet swipes along your cheek and you realize it's his tongue.

His dirty, disgusting tongue.

It breaks you.

Memories flooding back. Your mother, her tears. You, a little girl, and your father not caring one bit.

Jungkook meets your eyes when it tears up, trembling, but he keeps on the nonchalant facade. As if he doesn't care what the man will do to you, so your tears only falls because you are so, so afraid.

You can't do this.

You're still pure.

You can't...you can't.

"Quite sweet," the man hums and you whimper. "What a sweeter voice."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "Quit your games and just face me already."

He chuckles. "Alright, fine." He releases you, pushes you down the floor where you yelp at the harsh sensation. "Don't worry sweetie, I'll clean you up later-"

But he doesn't get a chance to say anything further.

Once he's distracted, a bullet has already hit his shoulder with no hesitation.

His head snaps back to Jungkook who shoots again. And then again, and again.

You hold your hands over your ears, tears falling at the continuous gunshots that doesn't seem to ever stop and Jungkook's angry voice rings above it.

"After I'm done with you, I'll deal with your family just like you've done to mine. I'll kill them, each and every one of them. Not even your damn dog will be spared."

He can't hear him, you know he can't. There's no chance of survival left with the continuous gunshots that comes and comes, angry waves of hot tears escaping the maknae's eyes when you look up, and your heart shatters.

A broken little boy of a childhood that forced him into this life.

Seeking for revenge for what someone, that someone on the floor, has done to his very own family.

When the ammo is no longer, Jungkook throws the gun harshly at the wall where it hits and breaks, and runs to hold up the man by his collar, fist coming in contact with his face.

He's already dead but even then Jungkook is not satisfied.

How can he ever be satisfied?

His family is gone, never to return to his side.

A lost man. A lost child.

You get up from where you were thrown and take his arm to pull him away. "Jungkook-"

"Get away from me, you whore!"

You ignore his spiteful words and continue pulling at him. "Stop! He's dead!"

Yet Jungkook doesn't care.

"Jungkook!" A few more punches until you finally got him and push him away. "Jungkook," you call his name a little gentler, "it's okay."

He scoffs and pushes you away. "What does a whore understand?"

He goes to stand again but you force him back down, hands reaching out to lay against his shoulders. "It's okay, Jungkook. It's going to be okay," you repeat again. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I'm not-"

"You're going to be alright." You hold him down, staring straight into his eyes. "I know you're scared," you say, "I know you're confused. But it's going to be alright. You're just a little boy who's gone through so much. You must have been hurting for so long, Jungkook, but you're okay now and I am so, so proud of you."

You hold his face, a soft gentle sensation against him, thumbs brushing away the hot tears that had fallen from his eyes.

You wipe away the blood on his face. Watching him gently, holding him gently.

And Jungkook doesn't understand but he tears up a little more. His chest tightens and he feels himself trembling.

What a lovely pair of hands.

So he surprises you by wrapping his hands around your waist and pulling you in close, face resting against the crook of your neck.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

You freeze for a second before relaxing and holding him still, hairs running along his fluffy hair, stroking it sweetly. "You're alright now. It's okay."

"Jungkook-!"

The rest of them comes rushing into the room only to find a dead body, blood spilled all around, with you and Jungkook holding onto each other as Jungkook cries.

Jungkook's crying.

Holding you.

He doesn't do that unless he absolutely cannot take it anymore.

He doesn't ever do that in front of anyone but them.

And now you.

You look up at their faces, some bits of blood managing to wipe across your face, with eyes of innocence, and Namjoon wonders why you aren't running away despite the blood in the room.

Despite having just witnessed Jungkook killing someone.

Taehyung lays in the pool when you walk in to clean a day later, body floating under the moonlight, eyes laying closed.

So when he hears a soft gasp and a bucket falling against the tiles, his lids open and meets your eyes from where you stand.

Heat rushes to your face and you're quick to turn around. "I-I am so sorry, sir! I didn't know you'd be here. I-I thought that, that I could clean up early since no one would be here."

What a cute little thing.

"Cleaning up at one in the morning?" He swims over slowly to you, arms laying on the edge of the pool, chin resting against his wet skin with an amused grin. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I..I couldn't sleep, sir."

Sir.

He smirks, a hum leaving his lips. "Can't sleep, hm?" Jimin's told him he checks up on you from time to time and always find you awake at night. "Then come join me."

You turn around abruptly. "W-what? No, I can't do that."

"Why not?" Taehyung shrugs casually. "A good swim is a nice way to clear your head. And don't worry, I won't drown you or anything."

You aren't worried about that.

For some reason.

But you still don't think swimming in the middle of the night is a good idea whether he's your superior or not.

But Taehyung isn't a man who takes no as an answer.

He kicks himself out the pool and the next thing you know, he's wrapping his wet body around yours and dropping the both of you straight into the deep pool.

He watches you struggle from down there, a nonchalant expression resting on his face while your eyes are squeezed shut as you try and fail at getting air again.

So Taehyung swims on over and takes you in his arms where he swims back up and lets you breathe again.

You gasp for air while he holds you and lets you sit against his strong arms.

It takes a moment but you manage to come back to him eventually.

You don't rush to yell at him like he expects you to. You don't even make a scowl.

You just rest your hands against his shoulders, holding on tightly and panting and coughing because you don't know how to swim and the deep water scares you.

He's got to admit though, you look quite pretty all wet like this, resting against his hold, clothes completely drenched.

"Um..-"

He adjusts his hold and your face comes closer to him than the two of you expects.

Your face flushes some more, nose slightly touching, and your eyes gaze into one another under the bright moonlight from above.

"...hi," you squeak.

Taehyung laughs. "Hi."

"It's um...cold."

"Is it?" You hum. "I like swimming in the cold."

"Do you often swim at night?"

He nods. "It's nice after a day of...you know what. It's relaxing."

"Won't you get a cold?"

"I have thick skin, little one." You sneeze right then and he chuckles. "But it looks like you don't."

"I'm sorry," you say as he swims on over to the edge of the pool, "for this and for interrupting your time here."

The man shakes his head assuringly as he settles you on the tiles of the pool. "It's nice to get a visitor every once in a while. Can you stay a little longer?"

You blink. "You want me to?"

"I do," he hums. "Besides, you don't have extra clothes and the boss wouldn't want his floors wet."

You bite your lower lip. "Right."

"There's some towels over there and you can wear my clothes."

You look on over where there's a racket of the white towels and his clothes hanging. But is it right? "I..shouldn't."

"Why not?" He asks, stroking back calmly. "Take it or you'll catch a cold staying here all drenched."

It takes a few more moments of hesitation but you eventually give in and does as he's asked.

The night is a little less lonely as you sit beside the pool, watching as Taehyung floats around on his back, eyelids closed, with a soft tune humming from his throat.

"Hey, you okay?"

You look up at the sound of Jungkook's voice who walks into the main living room, a face of concern resting on his face in this late afternoon. He's gotten gentle towards you ever since that night.

"Um..why do you ask that?" You reply with your own question while spraying the coffee table and wiping it down.

"You look tired," he states. "Jimin says he doesn't see you sleeping a lot..or ever."

"I'm fine," you insist.

But he goes on anyways. "Is it the atmosphere? Or maybe you're one of those people who needs something in order to sleep? Taehyung can't sleep without hugging something or someone."

What a cute revelation.

"Do you need to hold something? But then again, you've got pillows." You don't know why he's acting so concerned. "Or maybe you need a physical someone to hold you?"

And if you do, what will he do?

"Or do you need a nightlight?"

"It's okay," you tell him. "I don't need anything."

"But you can't sleep."

"I'm used to it."

Jungkook frowns. "That's not good, Y/N. You need to sleep." He pauses for a brief moment. "Why can't you sleep?" You don't answer him right away so he calls your name sternly. "Y/N."

You may have gotten a little closer but you still work for him, and you and your father's life is indebted to him.

"I get scared."

It's an honest truth, something that scares you for even speaking off it.

He settles down before you, taking your hand from mindlessly wiping at the same spot for the past few minutes.

"Of what?" He asks, silently hoping for you to meet his gaze.

But you don't.

It only falls to your lap.

"The nightmares," you say.

He hums as if he understands and he probably does. A young boy walking into the mafia life. His nightmares may be a little different from yours but nightmares are all the same.

Leaving you afraid, scared, trembling, and weak.

Too weak and terrified to close your eyes again. Afraid for the darkness to consume you all over again.

Even the drowsiness is not strong enough to pull you back asleep.

"What are they of?" He carefully asks.

"It...varies." You stare at the hand that holds yours. "Sometimes it's of me, trapped and vulnerable. Sometimes it's of me dying. Sometimes it's of my father, or my mother."

You've never spoken of your mother except now.

He doesn't think he's ever heard anything about your mother before. Not from your father, not from Namjoon who holds records of your father.

Even the news that had once made your family relevant to the world has never said anything about your mother.

"She left us, thankfully, and I think that she's happier now so I don't really care that she ran away. But sometimes I dream back to the days when things were rougher. Rougher for her and I couldn't do anything to help. When she ran, I was about twelve then. She wanted me to go with her but back then I cared for my father's mentality and what he'd do if the both of us were gone. He wouldn't do well, he grew sick then. So I escaped last minute when we got on the train and made up excuses to my father not to hunt her down."

"Y/N..."

He squeezes your hand and holds his other one up to your face, brushing away the tears you hadn't realized had escaped.

"Jungkook," you hold the hand that touches your face, "I don't think my father is going to pay back what he owes."

"Yeah," he sighs, "we had a haunch since it's been months."

"Are you...angry?" You ask worriedly. "Is Namjoon angry?"

"There's a good and a bad," he tells you. "The bad thing is that there was a lot of money he borrowed from us. The good thing is," his gaze falls soft your way, his hand grazing your cheek in a gentle manner, "I don't care because he won't be taking you back any time soon."

"What if...what if I don't want him to take me back...ever?"

"Are you afraid of him?" You nod, lips quivering and honestly he knows that was a foolish question to ask. "Oh baby, come here." He takes your body, letting you settle against his lap, letting your head rest against his chest, and holds you there as you cry softly. "It's okay, you have us now, you have me." He strokes your cheek, the same one that filthy old baster had licked upon and though Jungkook feels angry for him and your father, he keeps himself calm for your sake.

"There's no need to be afraid anymore, baby." A gentle promise that makes your heart smile and ache all at the same time. "Even if he does ever pay us back, I won't let him near you, you got that? You don't have to worry anymore. I'm right here."

You go missing a few days later and it creates sets of panicking emotions.

"The security cameras didn't catch her anywhere outside," Seokjin claims. "She has to be somewhere in this house. Y/N can't just disappear like that."

"Look around," Namjoon orders and they all begin to split up.

He walks into the library minutes after searching a few other places with Jimin, running around, calling your name. The library is one of the largest rooms and Namjoon curses under his breath because he knows he should have checked here first.

The aisle that holds that mythology book you like so much.

And he does find you, sitting in the dark room, head against the book shelves.

He almost shouts aloud, afraid you had fainted or something, but then he hears a soft snore and he realizes that you've just fallen asleep.

"Hyung, have you-" Jimin pauses when he finds you as well and the two of them both lets out sighs of relief.

"Inform the others," he orders as he walks over to you, kneeling on the floor in front of you.

You're in a deep slumber but he's sure you're neck will be tense if you don't move in to a more comfortable position so he maneuvers you carefully from the support of the shelves to his own chest.

You stir a little and he hushes you softly.

"It's the first time I've seen her sleep," Jimin says in a low whisper as the two of them watch you.

You look so vulnerable.

Peaceful and lovely laying in Namjoon's arms.

But then your face distorts, brows creasing, lips pressed against one another. Your hands come to rest against Namjoon's shirt, clenching onto it tightly, soft whimpers falling from your lips.

There are two stray tears that falls, your head reaching to nuzzle into the comfort of the boss's neck.

"What happened?" Yoongi asks when he and the rest shows up not long after.

"Nightmare," Jimin guesses by what Jungkook has told him.

Namjoon strokes your cheeks gently, brushing away your tears, shushing you lightly. "Wake up, baby," he repeats a few times until you finally open your eyes, the nightmares too hard to bear. More whimpers leave your lips as you sob a little more.

So he holds you a little tighter. "It's okay, baby, I'm right here. I've got you. You're okay now, baby."

"Your father has gone off my radar."

"O..oh..."

You don't know what it means for you, what any of it would mean. But standing here in front of Namjoon's desk, it scares you a bit.

"I assume the man is trying to escape from the consequences of his actions, not that it's going to help him. If anything, this only makes things worse." He watches you steadily from where he sits, leaned back against his chair, one leg over the other. "Can you tell me where he might be?" He asks slowly. "A safe house? Headquarters? A vacation home he may escape to?"

"There's...a place," you say hesitantly. You aren't sure if your father will be happy about this but then again, is he ever happy when it comes to you? "He has a safe house on Jeju Island."

You tell him the address and he jots it down in a notepad.

"He's not going to give up that easily but neither will I. What's his weakness, Y/N? You must know that, right?"

He hopes and he doesn't hope that it will be you.

For one, if you are then it means he cares more about you than what he shows. But it'll mean he won't be able to get through to the man because he knows he will not use you as a pawn in this game. And two, if you aren't then he'll understand just how bad of a human this guy really is.

Worse than him, a mafia leader.

Because at least Namjoon has a heart.

"He cares a lot about his business," you tell him. "It'll hurt him if his business falls and he goes bankrupt."

Business over his own daughter.

What a piece of crap.

"What..." you hesitate again, afraid to look up since the very beginning when you've entered his office. "What will...you do..?"

"Will it hurt you to see him fall?" He asks you, observing you carefully.

There's a moment of silence as you think it over.

"If he falls...will I fall along with him?"

"No," he's quick to say. "Your father doesn't own you, Y/N, this is your life whether he likes it or not. When I'm done with him, you can choose whether to stay or leave. Either choice you make, I'll make sure you will never fall to the position I hope to break him at."

A choice at your own life.

How different has life finally changed for you.

You take another moment to think again. "Do you believe I should still care about him?"

"He doesn't deserve any of your love and care," he tells you honestly. "He deserves to rot away in hell."

Yet he is still your father.

A father who hurts, a father who doesn't care.

"It's your call, baby."

Your call.

No one has ever given you a choice at anything. First your father, and then the society he had place you in.

Serving as the perfect daughter. Smart, pretty, dependable, and listens well. You don't speak up for your own self even when others criticize you. You don't make friends because your father forbade it. You've never fallen in love, never felt love of any sorts.

And now Namjoon, mafia boss, leader to a ruthless, dark gang, one many fears, is asking for your call.

But you don't know what to do.

"I-I'm sorry, I...I don't know," you admit.

Yet Namjoon remains patient.

"Do you wish to live an independent life, Y/N?" He leans away from his seat, legs uncrossing, elbows resting upon his desk. "Without having to worry about your father or anyone else but yourself? Live your own life, care for your own self and just yourself."

It may sound better than living with your father but it sounds lonely.

So lonely.

So you shake your head. "I want to stay," you tell him and he raises a brow, a bit surprised.

"You don't hate it here?"

You shake your head again. "I like talking," you say, "I like having someone else to talk to. I don't wanna be alone anymore, it scares me."

"This world I live in should scare you more."

"But you're more human than my father can ever be and you care more than what my father can ever give. I-I'm sorry if I'm being selfish, I just-"

"You deserve to be selfish once in a while."

He stands from his chair, rolling it back to take slow steps your way. You look up, meeting his gaze, those intense, piercing gaze, and the world seems to fall silent.

All but the intense beating of your heart.

All but his slow footsteps making his way towards you.

It stops when he's just a few inches away, his height hovering over you and you feel oh so small.

"Human," he says lowly, "no one's ever called me that in a while. It sounds refreshing, like I actually have a heart."

"But you do," you say and point right at his chest. "It's right here."

Namjoon chuckles. "Yes," he hums, taking your small hand into his own, "it is." Your heart skips a beat. "I believe the members won't mind another one added to the family."

"And...you?"

A smirk dances on his lips. "Isn't it obvious? Of course I want you to stay." You let out the breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding onto and he finds it amusing yet sad. "I'll take care of your father," he tells you, a hand reaching out to stroke your soft cheek, "just stay with the maknaes until we get back, alright?"

You nod at his words and he smiles, patting your head.

"Good girl."

Three days later at around 3 am, the door to your room creaks open and you turn from the window to find Hoseok standing in your doorway.

"He's dealt with," the man informs you.

Black suit on, a messy hairstyle yet he still manages to look good.

More than good.

You don't know what to say, how to deal with this. On one side, this is your fault, you've exposed his weakness and location. Your own father.

But on the other side, he's never treated you as human, never treated you as the daughter you deserved to feel like.

So maybe this is the right thing? Staying in a large mansion bigger than yours once was, living a life far better than your father who...who knows what's happened to him exactly.

"He isn't dead," Hoseok tells you, "but he probably feels that way at this point."

"Did he...mention me?"

A part of you still has hope that he has some humanity left in him, wondering whether he's asked about you, whether he's worried what will happen to you.

And Hoseok sees that without you voicing your thoughts so he keeps the story to himself.

You don't need to know how your father only belittled you some more, or blamed you, calling you plain useless, and not caring about what they'd do to you from now on.

Yoongi punched him a good few times for that.

You didn't deserve such words and the old man doesn't deserve you.

So Hoseok just remains silent as he walks through the door, watching you steadily from where you stand.

He stops where you are, brows furrowing at the sight he sees. "You're tired," he says softly with a hand going on to stroke your cheek.

You take that hand, hold it between yours. "You're cold, Hoseok."

Small hands caressing his, rubbing it to give it your own warmth.

"Sleep, sweetheart."

He presses a kiss against your forehead. A soft kiss.

So maybe it's what makes you a little braver to rest yourself against his chest, against his hold.

He's cold but you welcome it.

"Thank you, Hoseok."

"You didn't come back last night," Taehyung smirks at his hyung's way when he walks into the kitchen, hair ruffled and messy from just waking up.

Hoseok doesn't hide it. "How could I?" He says, shrugging. "I wanted to make sure the little one fell asleep."

Fresh morning light filters into the room after years of living in just the darkness. Coffee beans and scrambled eggs filling the room.

Yoongi takes a sip of his hot drink with eyes checking the clock that reads somewhere around nine. "She finally slept."

"So what'd you do to the old man?" Jungkook asks.

"Left him to rot away like the life he deserves," Seokjin says bitterly.

"And Y/N? The media isn't going to try and get into her life are they?"

"I've dealt with them last night," Namjoon tells him. "She can live a peaceful life now."

"Not entirely," Jimin points out with a light scoff. "Since when have our lives been peaceful?"

"Well," Yoongi shrugs, "at least there's some light now."

Footsteps are heard, coming from afar, nearing and nearing, and they almost consciously reach for their guns but the steps are two soft for anyone threatening.

Too soft.

And quick.

You run in, stopping at the sight of them with a soft gasp and Jimin stands from where he sits to instantly rush to your side.

Tears fall from your eyes. You're scared, the nightmares making you feel terrified.

"Hey, it's okay, baby," he holds your face, brushing the tears away, gives you kisses on both your eyelids as the rest joins to surround you with worry. "It's okay. We're right here, baby. You're alright now. You're okay."

"Jin...?"

He hums, asking you to go on when you walk into his office hesitantly, eyes never straying from the computers that surrounds his office, fingers typing away with codes of black and green letters rushing through the screen.

Something you can never come to ever decipher.

"You..you're good with...tracking people down...right?"

He hums again and you fall a little more hesitantly this time.

When he doesn't hear your voice again after a few long seconds, Seokjin stops typing and turns his chair around to face you. "What is it, little one?" He asks. "Do you need me to track someone down?"

His brows are a little furrowed, hoping you don't mean your father. The same one who unfortunately doesn't care much about you.

He doesn't understand why you had the heart to stay and not run away, but then again, perhaps there was no escape.

After all, where would you have gone? He just wishes you hadn't loved him as much.

But the words that comes out of your mouth is something entirely different from what he expects.

"I want you to find...my mother." He stares at you for a moment, a little taken back, and you swallow a lump in your throat. "I just need to know if she's alright," you tell him. "At least then," you pause, "hopefully...another nightmare may go away."

The nightmares, right.

"I just need to know."

He lets himself take a breather, arms opening up for you. "Come here, sweetie." He snakes his arms around your waist, allowing you to fall against his lap. A hand comes up to your hair, fingers playing along a few strands. "If I find her, what will you do? Will you go to find out?"

You're adorable with the slight pout of confusion on your face. He just wishes you smiled more often.

"...may I?"

He gifts you a soft smile, planting a kiss on your temple. "I'll come with you, alright?"

You nod, knowing it'll be better that way. "Thank you, Seokjin."

The street looks like a nice neighborhood. Suburban home miles away from Seoul.

Peaceful and friendly looking.

"There it is," you say softly under your breath as you stop walking, staring at the number of the house a few feet away.

It's a pretty home with a spacious yard, and suddenly you're feeling quite nervous. Small and timid.

How will she react? Will she even want to see you? You had deserted her on that train after all, left her crying and calling out for you from the window. Her shouts echoes in your dreams from time to time, moments you shall never forget.

You told her you'd head to the bathroom, only to escape, hoping she wouldn't catch you. So the instant her eyes met yours outside the train, all thoughts of watching her quietly leave were thrown out and you ran.

Ran and ran without giving her a chance to chase after you because the train had already began to depart.

You left her a letter in your backpack. She had asked you to pack, fully expecting a few clothes and snacks.

But the only thing in it was a photo of you and her with departing words in sloppy handwriting on the back, signed your name.

Would she forgive you for leaving without a proper goodbye?

Would she forgive you at all?

Seokjin takes your hand without a word, squeezing it for comfort as if he understands your thoughts and insecurities.

You look up at him, smiling, and his heart almost melts.

It's a little sad but you haven't smiled so much so he knows that this is good enough.

You hear voices, a cheery child laughing as she jumps and gasp as you grip onto Seokjin's hand tightly and rush to hide the both of you behind a fence.

There's a child with her parents, holding onto their hands as she skips happily.

Her father makes a joke and they laugh. Her and...

Your heart skips a beat, breath held back, tears forming at the brim of your eyes, throat clogged up, mouth feeling dry all of a sudden.

"Careful, sweetie," she tells the child just around seven years old. "You might fall if you aren't too careful."

"But you and Daddy will be there to catch me, mummy."

"Even so," she grins, picking her up in her arms, "I don't want you getting hurt, okay?"

"Ah, mom, you're always so worried about the slightest thing!"

Her father chuckles as he places a sweet kiss on his wife's temple. They share an understanding gaze, something the daughter will not come to comprehend just yet, and walk into the very home you had been seeking for.

Your mother is always worried about the slightest thing because of you, a young child who's often clumsy, a young child who should have never been exposed to the dysfunctional life of what was supposed to be a lovely household.

But she's escaped that.

Got a new husband, a loving husband, and another daughter.

Your half sister, your step father.

"Y/N?" He calls your name, one of the seven reasons why your life has gotten better, why you're saved.

So you turn to him, smiling sweetly even with tears falling away, and take his hand.

"Let's go home."

Home.

The sun has already set when the two of you return, lights by the entrance doorway flicking on when you and Seokjin walk up the doorsteps.

The doors open, revealing Yoongi who has on a grumpy frown.

"Where have you been? It's late and you never answered. Do you have any idea how-"

You wrap your arms around him, falling against his chest, and he freezes up, eyes blinking in confusion, looking at his hyung for an explanation.

Seokjin just smiles and though he remains perplexed, he allows your warmth to welcome him and pulls you in closer.

"You okay, baby?"

You nod against him. "Hungry."

He chuckles lightly.

2 am.

There's a knock at their door and Taehyung comes to open it.

You stand there, looking up at him looking oh so small and adorable. There's hesitation in your eyes, small body rocking slightly from side to side, unsure if this is the right place to come to.

"Nightmare, sweet one?" He asks you.

You shake your head, rubbing at your sleepy eyes. "Can't sleep, want my nightlight."

He tilts his head slightly to the side. "Nightlight?"

"You."

How cute.

It has him smiling no matter how hard he tries to hide it because he likes it. He likes the sound of that.

"Come in, then."

They're already settled in, just a lamp turned on by the bedside and you crawl in to the middle of the large bed.

"Sorry," you mumble quietly as you settle in between Jungkook and Namjoon who holds onto you securely.

Jungkook has his arms around you from the back, spooning you and pressing a soft kiss on your shoulder. "It's okay, baby, don't apologize."

"Sweet dreams." Another kiss pressed against your head, Namjoon pulling the covers up to your neck as your eyes slowly closes.

Your hear the light flickering off and you know you'll have a pleasant dream you haven't had in a long, long time.

"Thank you," you whisper into the quiet night, a confession just on the tip of your tongue but you know you don't have to say it aloud for them to understand.

And they don't have to say a word for you to know either.

4K notes · View notes

princecharmingmendes · 3 years ago

Text

Birthday Girl | Raul Mendes

Where Raul makes sure his girl will have the best birthday ever despite anything else

Hello everyone, pausing a bit on the Heart by Heart series (I'll be back to it Thursday as usual) to celebrate the beautiful and amazing @sinceweremutual birthday! This a small blurb/oneshot I started writing as soon as I found out her birthday was today, so I hope this was worth it. Happy Reading!

And honey, happy birthday! Hope you like it!

-*-

*Word Count: 3.5K+

*Warnings: stablished relationship, minor cursing and overly sweet Raul.

*Posted: August 15th, 2021.

-*-

Y/N loved her precious hours of sleep.

Loved the sensation of waking up and knowing she had some time to go back to bed and cuddle back into her pillows (or boyfriend if he haven’t left already). She liked sleeping in just a bit more on the weekends and taking naps after a long hard day. Last night was not an exception. Her day sucked and Raul was stuck at the hospital for a night shift, only being able to make it back home on the early hours of the morning.

They weren’t necessarily living together yet, but they’ve been together for almost two years, having known each other for a lot more than that and nowadays the pretty much were always together, but both had their own apartment, even though they’re barely separated. So she came back to his apartment since he promised he’d come as soon as he was allowed to join her in her sleep.

Her day sucked. Her boss was unnecessarily mean towards her for a mistake she did not commit and wasn’t her responsibility to make sure that wouldn’t happen. Then she had to spend the whole day fixing the other team’s mistake and it took over three hours and a bunch of paperwork, but at the end of the day she was able to figure it out. Only to receive a half assed apology, her boss blaming it on his wife’s strange behavior or whatever lame excuse he could find to put the blame on someone else.

So by the time she reached his apartment she felt dead at her feet, only having enough energy left to shower and pull on one of Raul’s hoodie over her head, burying her nose on his faint scent in the fabric, before falling onto her back in his bed and allowing herself to relax. What was supposed to be a five minute nap, ended up being the whole night, even skipping dinner in favor of resting in peace, nuzzling further into her boyfriend’s bedding.

Raul got home around 2 a.m. and found his girl asleep in his bed, holding his pillow tight to her chest and he could feel his heart swelling in his chest at the sight. He carefully dropped his things in the closet before coming out to check if she was still asleep and unperturbed with him roaming around, and his suspicious were confirmed by her steady breathing and peaceful demeanor. He decided it was best to take a quick shower before diving under the covers with Y/N and pulling her into his chest.

He was at the hospital for goodness sake.

As soon as he was out of the bathroom and back into his dark room, with only a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips, he plugged his phone, checking his alarms and carefully climbing onto the bed. But as soon as the mattress dipped under his weight, he noticed Y/N shifting on her side, and he stilled his movements to check if he had woken her up or was just a dream.

Y/N turned her face to his side completely, eyes still hazy and sleep clouding her senses “Baby?”

“Hi, sweetheart, it’s just me” he mumbled hovering over her with his hands planted on each side of her head to hold himself up, before he leaned down to press featherlight kissed all over her face.

“Kissy?” her voice small and soaked in sleep as she puckered her lips at him.

Raul let out a low and warm chuckle, making an involuntary smile appear in her lips as she looked up at him, feeling all fuzzy inside with the sound of his voice and the way he looked at her, before leaning down and placing a slow peck on her pout “you know you can get all the kisses in the world, my love, you don’t even have to ask” he then connected their lips again in a longer yet sweet kiss as she sighed into his mouth happily.

“Missed you” she said as soon as he pulled away, only to place his pillow back in its place so he could lay down properly, then pulling her pliant body to accommodate on top of his.

He hummed placing a kiss to her forehead as she curled her body around his, throwing a leg over his to tangle them “Missed you too, but I’m here now and you should rest, your four minutes voice message was enough for me to know you need to relax”

Y/N just nodded nuzzling her face in his neck sighing contently as he rubbed circles on her back, slowly drifting off himself as well “good night, darling, sweet dreams” he whispered into her hair but she was already asleep, but that didn’t stop her from tightening her embrace on him.

-*-

She had a peaceful night of sleep until being coaxed awake with a bunch of tiny soft kisses being placed all over her face, making her scrunch her nose before slowly blinking her eyes open. She was met with her gorgeous boyfriend hovering over her with his megawatt smile he reserved only for her shining bright. Y/N giggled softly tucking her head on the bicep on her left that was holding his weight above her. Raul couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“Good morning, birthday girl” he murmured a bit raspy as he dragged his lips across her cheek until she looked up at him with a smile on her face.

“Hm good morning” she mumbled sleepily letting her eyes fall closed.

“Oh no, don’t sleep on me” he whined and she giggled.

“I’m not sleeping, silly, just resting a bit”

Raul let out a low chuckle before kissing the tip of her nose “happy birthday, my love”

“Happy birthday indeed” she mumbled before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to lay on top of her.

But before he could smash her into the mattress he was quick to roll them both over “no, no sleeping again” he laughed sitting them both up with Y/N on his lap.

“Why not?” she was physically unable to stop herself from pouting.

He only smiled sympathetically at her “you made me promise you I wouldn’t let you skip work today, and that was only two days ago and I don’t break the promises I make to you”

Y/N groaned rolling her eyes “stupid past me who thought working was worth skipping a day with you when I’ll have a crowded night and won’t even properly be able to enjoy my time with you”

“Having second thoughts on your night out, sweetheart?” he asked teasingly and she nodded “well, good thing Angela texted me to tell me she’s not making it tonight so she’ll reschedule with you later”

“Really??” she asked with a smile “I know I shouldn’t sound too excited about this, but this week was so long and I needed some chill time, you and a movie would be wonderful”

He only giggled and leaned his forehead against hers “That can be arranged, darling”

“Good” she hummed gently with a smile.

“Kissy?” Raul begged with a pout but a slightly teasing tilt in his voice.

It took her a while to realize he was mocking her from last night and she felt her face burning up “oh fuck you” she said trying to leave abruptly, but his arm around her kept her pinned in his lap as he laughed.

“No, no, drop it, it was just a joke, you were just so cute last night, could never say no to you” he mumbled kissing her jaw “come in, don’t be mad at me, I’ll do that thing you like for dinner, yeah?”

“This doesn’t sound like a food offer” she said with knowing look in her eyes and he had a smirk on his lips before she had even finished her sentence, making a laugh bubble up her throat “you’re the actual worst!”

Raul threw his head back in laughter, placing a kiss on her cheeks “come on, it was just a joke, you know I’ll give you anything you’d want, doll” and his eyes were so serious and so tender she almost melted into his chest.

“Oh God, it’s barely seven in the morning, I’m barely functioning and awake, and you’re already flirting, how do you manage that?” she asked incredulously, looking at him and he just laughed shaking his head.

“Well, I can’t help it when you look like that” he mumbled leaning in closer, rubbing their noses together.

“Like what?”

“Like the love of my life” he answered like it was the most obvious thing in the planet.

And he did it so easily, not even flinching at that, leaving her speechless.

Their relationship started with teasing and mindless flirting, becoming close friends pretty quickly. He flirted with everyone without even realizing, it was just natural, and she was just good with quick funny and slightly flirty remarks they just clicked. Their friendship blurred into a serious romantic relationship so easily, everyone surrounding them rooting hot it to happen. So this wasn’t necessarily a weird situation, they’ve been like this for years, but sometimes he’d utter the sweetest confessions between the little teasings and jokes with such rawness and adoration in his eyes that she’d end up frozen in place.

He did it because it would turn things a little easier to digest and he felt better that way, wouldn’t feel so intimidated since, and Y/N didn’t mind. She knew he could be honest and serious whenever he needed, but these tiny declarations that could be fitted into a casual conversation about their grocery list always caught her off guard. And it was so genuine and spontaneous, she couldn’t help but fall even harder for him.

So she just stared at him in awe for a couple of seconds before realizing she hadn’t said anything in return, before she babbled up a “I love you too”

Raul couldn’t contain the fond smile gracing his lips before he leaned in and pressed a long yet sweet peck at her lips “wait here only a sec, yeah?”

“What? Baby, you said no surprises!” she whined but got out of his lap anyway and he only smiled at her.

“It’s not a huge surprise or anything, I promise” he said before leaving her laying in his bed.

“Of course that is the only promise he’s able to break” Y/N grumbled under her breath grumpily.

Then she heard Raul chuckle as he approached the room again “I can hear you, you know?” and she only rolled her eyes from the bed and gasping as soon as she met him by the door.

He was holding a huge breakfast tray that had absolutely all of her favorite breakfast food and a beautiful flower arrange holding her favorite ones. The smile on her face was enough to make him aware that waking up after only 4 hours of sleep were worth it, and he’d do it all over again just to see her smile like that again.

“You didn’t have to” was all she could mutter.

Raul smiled and nodded “I know, I just wanted to make your day a bit better before work, and we can celebrate later”

“Thank you” she said in a hushed tone as he placed the tray on the nightstand, and as soon as it was out of danger of suffering a strike she lunged forward wrapping him in a hug as she knocked them both on the bed again “thank you so much”

Raul laughed wrapping his arms around her waist tighter “you’re so very welcome” he said as he placed a kiss to her hair.

“I love you so much” she mumbled squeezing him just a bit tighter.

“I know, love” he said with a hand tilting her chin up look at him “but I love you so much more”

“Ew” she teased and he laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and shaking his head.

He snorted making her laugh “Cruel beautiful thing”

Y/N leaned down to press a kiss to his lips “good thing you love me more than” mumbling before sitting back up to eat her breakfast.

And that was how she got ready for work, with one of the best breakfasts she’s ever had in her life, and sure the food as good, but that wasn’t all of it. She was still at home, in bed and content. Then after eating through light banter and little silly jokes, Raul followed her around his room and watched her get ready for work. She had enough stuff in his house she could easily live in there for a while, since it’s where they spent most of their time. So as soon as she was ready, with her boyfriend still hot in her tracks with every move she made, trailing behind her.

“Okay” she said as she grabbed her purse “this is your day off and I know you’re up super early for this and came home super late, so please sleep”

“Why? You plan on keeping me up all night?” he teased with his signature smirk and Y/N shook her head laughing.

She gently cupped his cheeks in both of her hands “you need to sleep, doctor��s orders, honey”

“I'm the doctor here” he protested and she only shook her head in response.

“Well, I’m in control here, mister, so to bed you go”

“Fine, but I’ll pick you up, alright?” he said pressing a kiss to her forehead and she nodded “Love you”

“Love you too”

-*-

Six p.m. sharp she heard her phone buzzing softly, indicating her overly excited boyfriend was already downstairs waiting for her. So Y/N started grabbing her things, letting him know she’d be there soon, and turning off her computer for the weekend. Before she could even get up from her chair, she saw her coworker and friend, Claire running towards her with a big smile on her face.

“Your prince charming is here!” she beamed and Y/N cringed at how loud she exclaimed.

“Keep it down, people are still working” she hissed at her friend but she only rolled her eyes at her antics in response.

“Come on, don’t leave him waiting!”

She shook her head laughing softly “okay, okay, I’m leaving”

“Happy birthday, girl, enjoy your six feet boyfriend”

Y/N looked at her funny “I will, thank you? What did he say to you?”

“Just go! And text me later!” she said as she pushed Y/N into the elevator, pressing the buttons and leaving her alone.

She laughed to herself, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder as she looked down at her phone, her foot tapping against the marble floor as she waited for the doors to open, and as they did, all the stress rolled off of her. Raul was standing just in front of her building wearing a beautiful button up, with a chain necklace hanging from his neck and peaking through the first opened buttons. His black shades covering his beautiful eyes and showing the reason behind his reputation of being a bad boy, when in reality he was just a softie.

But in his hands, he had another bouquet of flowers and as soon as he set his eyes on her, his face brightened up with a big smile. He was just leaning on his jeep and as she got closer he straightened his posture and took the final steps to meet her in between. He pressed a quick peck to her lips and extended the flowers to her, keeping their affection to minimum since neither of them were a fan of PDA.

“Hi there, gorgeous” she said trying to mimic his flirty tone and he only chuckled.

Raul opened the door for her “Hello, my love, ready for our birthday celebration?”

She kissed his cheek as she climbed in, bouquet on her lap as she buckled up “Is there food involved?”

“Of course, homemade and everything” he said closing the door before climbing on the drivers seat.

“Are you for real?” she asked as she turned to face him.

He only smiled starting the car, backing up and starting to drive them both to his place “Of course, could never lie to you, and it’s your favorite, even asked you grandmother for the recipe”

“Oh shit!” she squealed from her seat and he smiled at her nodding “you have to be kidding me”

“You can call her” Raul said teasingly “Or you could trust your very honest and loving boyfriend, both pretty simple options”

Y/N laughed shaking her head “you’re absolutely ridiculous”

“But you love me” he quickly added and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing harder.

“Of course I do, silly, it’s impossible not to when you’re literally being the best human being I’ve ever met and always making sure I’m happy” she said looking at the flowers on her lap before looking up at Raul.

“Stop it, you’re gonna make me cry” he teased and she shook her head with a giggle “I just want to make you happy, promised it to your mom and myself”

“And you’re acing this” she said and he grabbed her hand, planting a kiss on the back of it before parking on the garage of his building.

“Baby, before we go back home, could you please grab me my wallet, I think it's one the glove compartment” he mumbled grabbing his phone probably to reply to someone’s text.

And she did, but she was not expecting what she saw.

Inside the glove compartment there were a bunch of polaroids of them and rose petals scattered around, and right on the back of it there was a little key hanging under the phrase ‘move in with me, please?’ written in his calligraphy. She was still processing the whole thing when he cleaned his throat slightly nervous, making her look up at him with wide eyes and still not sure what to say.

“I know this is your birthday, and this is technically a gift for me, but I really couldn’t wait another day” he said softly, seemingly shyer than his usual confident self, making her heart swell twice its size in her chest.

“Raul, I- yeah, yes, of course I’ll move in with you!” she practically jump on him as much as she could due to the fact that they’re still in his car and space was limited.

Y/N was quick to capture his lips in a searing kiss and she felt him relax under her touch, tucking her bottom lip between his two, a hand cupping her face as the other held her waist to give her some sort of support on the pose she had. She backed way to recover a bit of breath she didn’t think she would need when she lunged forward to her boyfriend, so instead the pecked his lips only about a million times, making him laugh and press one long kiss to her lips then leaning away completely.

“Glad you agreed to it, cause I already told your parents” he said a bit nervous about it, a sly smile gracing his features to match his rosy cheeks.

“Of course you did” she said with a smile “what about yours? Are they okay with it?”

“Are you kidding me?? Mom wanted you to move in like three years ago” he said as he grabbed the key and the photos from the glove compartment “sorry, sweetheart, this is actually symbolic since you already have a key and this is actually mine”

“Figured” she laughed as she grabbed her stuff “And what do you mean three years ago? We weren’t even officially together back then”

Raul shrugged “guess that’s a mom thing, she said something about having never seen me this happy before and she was sure we were in love with each other, turns out she was right, I already loved you back then and didn’t want to admit it, and yeah, you make me the happiest man alive, sweetheart”

“You're absolutely ridiculous but I still love you” Y/N admitted and he smiled at her.

“I know” he opened his door “your real present, meal and a few other stuff are waiting for you upstairs”

“Oh my God, you really went all in” she giggled getting out of the car, and as soon as she was out, he was quick to pick her up bridal style making her squeak “what the hell are you doing?”

He looked down at her, taking a while to cal the elevator “Isn’t this how we’re supposed to do it?”

“Baby, I’m sure it’s only the door, not all the floors and we’re not married” she said with a giggled

“Well, miss skepticism, just let me be a goofball once in a while” he said with a mocking tone.

“Once in a while?” she asked incredulously.

He had a pout on his lips when he spoke up again “Come on, no teasing when I’m trying to be a hopeless romantic, please let me do this and treat you right” he said with a smile

“Alright, whatever you want” she admitted in defeat as she giggled, wrapping her arms around her neck “just don’t drop me, please”

“Would never, sweetheart”

-*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

#shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes writing #the mendes triplets #raul mendes #raul mendes writing #raul mendes au #the mendes triplets au #mendes triplets #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fan fic #shawn mendes fic #shawn mendes x reader #shawn mendes x y/n #shawn mendes x you #raul mendes x reader #writing

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peachhcs · 4 years ago

Text

Love Languages Pt. 2

Pairing: Luke Patterson x reader

Summary: Pt.2 to Luke asking you what Love Languages are

Warnings: talk of drinking and cheating but that’s it

Word Count: 1.6k

Here is part two that you all have been asking for! I deeply apologize for how long it took me to get this up, school is really kicking my butt. I have a bunch of people asking to be on my taglist and I’m currently in the works of making one so comment or reblog or something telling me you want to be on my taglist! Make sure you specifiy for my series or for small blurbs/oneshots like this or both!

Thank you so much for the amazing feedback! I love the comments and y’all are so amazing!

I’m not sure if this will have a part 3?? but let me know if you want one haha. I won’t be tagging anyone in this because my tags got lost in my notifications, so if you want to be tagged again, make sure you read above! :)

PART 1

* * *

You didn’t mean to avoid Luke, it just kind of happened. Junior Year was no joke and it felt like every night and every weekend you had piles of homework to get done, so you sort of drifted from going to Julie’s house everyday. She didn’t mind, she understood just as much and kept you updated on how the band was doing. However, you still felt guilty for avoiding the boys. You were worried that Luke would think he scared you away by touching you, but you were feeling the exact opposite. You wanted to explore more and find out more but here you were, in your room at 12am trying to finish this nagging essay that was due in 8 hours.

You felt your eyelids growing heavy but you shook your head, trying to keep yourself awake. The 3 monster drinks on your nightstand said enough about how much you were trying to keep yourself awake. You had 2 paragraphs left but you knew you were at a losing battle with yourself. The way your eyes were just glazing over at this point and rereading the same sentence over and over was becoming a very evident indication that you needed sleep. Before you could even think about quitting for the night, there was a noise from the side of your room and a grunt. Your eyes quickly darted over to where the noise came from and there stood Luke with that magenta pull over that you really liked.

“Luke?” His eyes quickly darted over to you, clearly surprised to still see you awake.

“Y/n..hey..” He started and you pushed your laptop away to give him your full attention.

“What are you..doing here?..” You weren’t really sure why he was here and you felt a small bit of tension in the room from avoiding him for the past few weeks.

“I uh..came to see you..” His voice was small and you pushed your eyebrows together in confusion.

“At 12 in the morning?..” You knew ghosts didn’t really sleep but it was still a strange sight to see Luke in your bedroom this late at night.

“Yup..” He trails off and pushes his glance down to the floor. You raised your eyebrow, knowing he wasn’t telling you the whole truth. You two were still best friends after all, so you could read him like an open book.

“Luke, seriously. What are you doing here?” You ask trying to push an answer out of him. He finally meets your gaze again and you see his small expression on his face.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

You blinked a few times at his bluntness. This time you were the one to avoid his gaze. You picked at your fingernails slightly, knowing Luke was watching you and waiting for an answer.

“I don't mean too.. School’s been tough and stuff.” You say cringing at how lame that sounded even though it was true. Luke stayed silent for a moment, trying to decide if you were lying to him or not. You avoided his eyes and kept your glance locked on the floor.

“Did I do something wrong? Did I overstep by touching you? I didn’t mean to scare you or anything..” Luke trails off and you frown. You quickly shake your head to tell him no.

“No, no, no. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve just been really swamped with homework..” You grimace to yourself for coming back to your really lame excuse. You watch as Luke steps a little closer, testing the waters. When you don’t object to him moving closer, he takes a slow seat on your bed beside you.

“You look tired..” He points out, gently reaching to touch your cheek. It warms both of your bodies as your skin makes contact. His hands were..warm..and comforting. You weren’t sure what you expected but it definitely wasn't this. Who knew ghosts were warm?

“I told you I’ve been swamped with homework.” You chuckle and this time Luke chuckles along with you. He gently pulls his hand away and folds them into his lap. You stare down at your feet for a few moments trying to figure out what to say next. This felt like completely new territory the two of you were exploring and by the energy and growing tension in the room; this was a little bit scary.

“Do you think you know..why we can..touch?” You ask hesitantly. Julie was filling you in here and there at school, but it wasn’t much and they didn’t seem to come up with anything as to why you had the “powers” too.

“No..it’s still all confusing. We think Julie’s mom has something to do with us being connected to Julie but we don’t know about you.” Luke says, side eyeing you and you weren’t sure if that was a hint for you to talk about your past or not.

You didn’t really open up about your past. No one had ever really asked so you never really talked. Julie knew a little bit, she knew that your mom and dad fought a lot and you didn’t like being at home that much, but that was about it. You didn’t talk about it further than that, so when you could feel Luke trying to dig into your past more, you shrugged.

“My parents don’t talk much about stuff. I don’t know.” You say, keeping it short and simple. Luke frowns a little at your answer, but he knows not to push so he doesn’t. The two of you sit in more silence beside one another. You picked at your finger nails while Luke’s eyes travelled around your room.

“I ran out on my mom. She didn’t believe in my dream and though dropping out of high school was the worst possible idea. We got into a fight and I ran out. That was the last time I saw her face to face. I died before I could make amends with her.” You glance at Luke, surprised at his openness. Even though you guys were best friends, talking about stuff like this was kind of off limits. The memory hurt too much so you never talked about at home, parent problems.

“Wow..I’m sorry. That must have been hard on both of you.” You admit and Luke nods.

“It was, but Julie helped me make amends with them last year.” Luke smiles a little and you smile too. You knew his little story was a play to get you to start talking so you took in a little breath.

“My dad cheated on my mom a few years ago with..a few other women. My mom keeps trying to make excuses for him to keep him around. They fight a lot because my dad doesn’t want to stay but my mom keeps pushing it. They’re both pretty heavy drinkers, too. It’s not a very good mix.” You explain. It felt weird to say it out loud, but it also felt nice to talk about it with someone.

“I’m really sorry, Y/n. I can’t imagine how difficult that is.” Luke empathizes but you only shrug.

“It’s a good thing Julie let’s me come over so much. She’s been there for me for it all and I really love her for that.” You say, smiling at the thought of Julie’s friendship. You really couldn’t ask for a better best friend to get through it all.

“Yeah, Julie’s really great. She does it all.” Luke laughs and you nod in agreement. More silence fills in between you two but it was comfortable silence. This time you lean your head on Luke’s shoulder and he pulls his arm around you to bring you closer. You could feel the tension slowly fading away. Sometimes all it took was one meaningful conversation to break the barrier.

“Oh yeah, I saw these on my way over here and I thought you might like them.” Luke smiles and you watch as he digs into his pocket before pulling out a small bouquet of those pretty Aster flowers. You sit up a little, instantly recognizing them. They were your grandma’s favorite before she passed away when you were little.

“Asters?” You ask and Luke glances at you a little surprised.

“Is that what they’re called? They’re really pretty.” Luke smiles and hands them to you. You smile, smelling them and instantly getting that fresh scent of your grandma’s house.

“They are very pretty. Thank you.” You smile warmly and Luke smiles again.

“Yeah, you’re welcome. They just reminded me of you.” Luke says and you chuckle. That was something your grandma had said to you a lot.

“You should probably get going. It’s getting late and the boys are probably wondering where you are.” You chuckle, glancing at how much later it had gotten and you still had to wake up for school the next morning.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll see you at Julie’s tomorrow?” Luke stands up and sends you a hopeful glance. You chuckle and nod a yes.

“Yeah, see you there, Patterson.” Luke smiles at your response. You watch as he hesitates to leave for a moment and you’re about to question him when in one quick motion he plants a kiss on your cheek before poofing out.

You sit there, a little stunned, before allowing a small blush to creep its way onto your cheeks. You got up to put your flowers in your little vase on your desk. It added a nice touch to your room. If Luke hadn’t come in to make you more alert, you would have missed it. On your desk by the vase was a small piece of paper with writing on it. Upon examining it further, it was one of the last notes your grandma had written to you before she passed away. You thought you had lost that somewhere in your numerous papers, but there it was, front and center on your desk.

I will be with you, today, tomorrow, and forever. You just have to look for the signs - Grandma

#julie and the phantoms #japt #japt luke #japt cast #alex japt #reggie japt #julie molina #love #angst #luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson x y/n #flynn jatp #ray japt #luke patterson imagine #willie japt #fanfiction

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kunimikat · 4 years ago

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When they find out you don’t love them anymore

(Heyyy, so there might be a few grammar errors, but this one is pretty long so hold on) Also do you want the good endings to these? Idk just asking

It started when you didn’t hang out as much with him

You’d make up excuses, ignore, or even give small lies

But he didn’t really take it in any way other than it was you having a hard time with school and stress

So he let you distance yourself

But when you started getting further, and started purposely giving out of the box reasons to not be around him

His gut started to churn

So each day he’d tried to get some way to get your attention

Monday

“Hey dumbass, let’s cook breakfast for the rest of the idiots today, just you and me.”

But when he went to get you up you just turned the other way. He rolled his eyes, a small smile making its way onto his face. The ash-blonde propped a knee up onto the edge of your bed, his hands caging you between them. Yet you barely reacted and instead you mumbled “Go away Bakugo, aren’t you supposed to cook with someone else today?” A hurt expression washed over his face in an instant, though he just thought it was just you being groggy. He started tickling you, a devilish smirk on his features, but you suddenly push his face back forcefully.

“I said get the hell out Bakugo! If it was you you’d be fuming when I try to wake you up so just go!”

You pulled the cover back up, and that was it. It hurt Bakugo even more when you didn’t even look back. But he just snarled and pent it up.

Breakfast didn’t taste as good as usual.

Tuesday

You were laughing with Todoroki when Bakugo entered the classroom. And he already didn’t like it as soon as he saw your hand on his shoulder, your leg brushed up against him. He immediately went over and snatched you back into his chest. You scoff “Bakugo- The hell?” You smack his hand off of you. You glare at him before nodding to Todoroki, not sparing Bakugo a glance as you walked back to your seat, starting conversation with Jirou as if that didn’t just happen. Bakugo stared wide eyed at your back then to a smirking Todoroki. He stood frozen. “Just lay off my s/o half n’ half.” He mumbleds as he went to his seat. ‘Was I....was I the wrong one?’ Bakugo jerked his head to the side to get rid of the thought. ‘Like hell I’m wrong.’

But he felt a pit in his stomach remembering your hand on Todoroki’s shoulder.

Wednesday

Bakugo wanted to take you hiking with him since you guys had been doing what you’ve wanted to do for the past few months.

But he didn’t expect you to be so upset.

“Really Bakugo? We always have to do some lame shit when you want to go somewhere, do you really like hiking anyway?”

He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyed confusion because you even asked that question.

“No shit, I’ve told you how many times I go hiking, do you not fucking listen? Last time I checked you ain’t deaf, so I thought you’d know by now.”

You quirked your brow up and rolled your eyes, walking off. Bakugo grabs your arm dragging you back, your faces so close your noses are touching.

“The fuck is your problem today? For the past few days you been bitching off, the hell is up with-“

“You, you’re my problem.”

And you pushed him back, opening your phone as you started to text someone and turn the corner in the hall.

Bakugo didn’t want to acknowledge the tears that streamed down his face as he walked to his dorm.

Thursday

Bakugo won the challenge in today’s lesson overall, yet he couldn’t help but look over and see your eyes on Todoroki the whole time. Even when he pushed himself, blew the biggest explosions, even won the damn thing. He couldn’t even get an ounce of his own s/o’s attention.

Bakugou huffs as he stormed to where and Todoroki were. He wrapped a arm around your waist. But he didn’t pay attention on the unimpressed expression on your face. But he did hear when you called back to Todoroki, “You did your best out there! See you tomorrow!”

And just like that you got of his arms and walked back to the locker rooms. But he grabbed your hand pulling you back almost instantaneously. “The fuck? You’re not gonna say anything to me? Is this a fucking joke?” A perplexed and pained expression on his face. But he was tempted to really do something when you sighed and started to walk off. “Yeah good job Bakugo, not like you need a boost in your ego though.”

For some reason hanging out with Kirishima at the arcade was the most amount of happiness Bakugo has had all week.

But as soon as he got back to the dorms the same depressing feeling washed over him.

Friday

“But why? Why don’t you love me anymore damn it!”

It was raining hard, the droplets kept mixing with the harsh rain as you both stood over the now soiled picnic food. He tried, he tried everything to get you to listen to him. But now you both just stood silently in the rain.

“I’m sorry Bakugo...it’s just I’m not really interested anymore. It not like I hate you or anything-“

“BULLSHIT!”

Bakugo was seething, rain starting to evaporate on his hands as they flared up.

“This past week...no,fuck, MONTH! You just cast me to the side like I’m a piece of fucking scum! I try...I try so fucking hard, and I’ve never even been in a damn relationship before! So I know I’m not perfect, I FUCKING KNOW. I KNOW I’m not like a prince like fucking half n half, but damn don’t you see I’m trying to work it out? I haven’t felt this much for anyone before Y/N! WHY... WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH? WHAT DID I DO SO WRONG? FUCK Y/N I’LL EVEN CHANGE! JUST.. Bakugo went quiet as a sob wracked his body, leaving him speechless for a moment. His voice cracks, “..don’t leave me alone Y/N, I don’t want to feel alone again after all this time.”

Yet even after Bakugo crouched to the ground, head in hands. He hears a disappointed sigh, his head almost gets whiplash from how fast he shot his head up. You looked at him with cold eyes and looked down at him with no interest.

“Listen Bakugo, I tried being nice about it but, I don’t love you anymore. I thought you were stronger than this, I guess not. What a shame. You brought me out here to say all of that? I’m cold, and I’m heading back to the dorms, but I did clean up the picnic during your tantrum. Sorry, Bakugo.”

Yet the apology was so cold it just felt like blurred lines of sentences came from your mouth to him. The rain drowning out any emotions other than the hurt and pain his heart felt. Bakugo sat in the muddy grass, his eyes blown as he reached pitifully at your form trudging farther and farther through the mud.

Aftermath

He just wasn’t the same.

Bakugo was even more aggressive but most times he’d take it out on the people that got too close to him.

But when he’s not angry, he’s just silent

Dozing off the all of a sudden at random times in class you’d look over to see his desk charred and he doesn’t even realize it

He’d had constant stress from the piling work on his desk as he sat in bed and stared at it with no motivation

Even though he got back on track, and a bit better, it still gnawed at the back of his head everyday of what he should’ve done instead what he did

During Hero Training when he’d hear you cheer for Todoroki, he knew he was never going to get a sincere apology

He knew he was never going to hear you cheer like you cheered Todoroki on

He knew he was never going to get the attention he wanted when he saw your arms linked with your group of friends during graduation as you walked off.

He knew he was going to never fill the void he thought he long forgot even after how many years of highschool he graduated, and how many years of hero work

Nothing and no one could make him feel the way you used to.

He noticed when you leaned out of his touch

Or the small unimpressed looks you’d have when you guys would kiss

And when he would ask you’d wave it off like it was nothing

Even when you surprisingly pushed him off of you as the class was doing movie nights, sitting with space in between

Midoriya noticed every single little thing

Yet when he confronted you about it you waved it off again and left before he could even ask you anything more

So, he decided to do a few things for you just in case he did something wrong and wanted to make it up

Monday

He placed a small gift on your desk. It was a small cat-version of all might in a box. At first you smiled, but then checked the signed name tag, he nearly screamed when you scoffed at it and just tossed it into your bag. He felt his heart clench but payed it no mind. He planned the right time to come in and walked right over to you.

“H-Hey Y/N! Did you like the little gift I bought?”

He could see the clearly fake smile on your face when you nod you head, but quickly dismiss him as you see Kirishima enter the room and walking over to him. Excitedly greeting him. Like he just gave you the gift instead.

Midoriya whimpered and gripped his bag straps. Ignoring how his stomach felt like it flipped.

Tuesday

Midoriya’s almost broke down when he went in to hug you in front of Kirishima and instead you went over and gave the redhead a ‘friendly’ hug.

“Hey Y/N! Are you and Midoryia busy or something?”You shook your head and went on in conversation, blatantly ignoring Midoryia, making him kind of want to throw up lunch. He frowned because, didn’t you guys plan something? Why did you lie?

The only person who actually paid attention was Bakugo, and even he felt a little bad. So he grabbed Kirishima’s collar and pulled Kirishima with him, locking eyes with Midoryia with an unknown expression. Then rolling his eyes and looking off. But Midoryia knew for sure he owed him a favor. He tried grabbing your hand but you pulled away.

“Sorry Izu, I uh...I have to go out for a bit.”

“But weren’t we going to go to the cafe today?”

“I know Izuku but...my friend texted me and there was a change in plans. I’ll see you later though!”

Yet he didn’t see you for the entire evening. He wrote down your conversation in a notebook. Analyzing what he could’ve said wrong. He didn’t even realize frustrated tears smearing the words.

Wednesday

People started to notice the nervous tics Midoryia did when you’d start talking to Kirishima.

“Are you okay Midoryia? Your hand is bleeding. Do you need to head to the nurse?”

“Ah! I-it’s okay Todoroki! It’s nothing, really!”

He didn’t want to leave the room right now, especially with the weird feeiling in his gut when he saw you lean in a little too close to Kirishima made his hand feel numb.

Thursday

Midoriya noticed your small lingering touches and stares on Kirishima during training. He even noticed you were quieter when cheering for him than you were Kirishima.

He noticed you smiled more at his jokes than his

He noted you suddenly liked the things you said you always hated when Kirishima said was into it.

And he kept in mind that evening you barely looked his way. He frowned at the thought and decided to walk over to you. But instead he wanted bawl his eyes out when you made eye contact, and instead of greeting him you started walking forward with Kirishima.

Friday

“I can’t find a single note on what I did so wrong to make you hate me so much.”

You couldn’t even realize the boy in front of you. Blind rage all over his face, fists clenched, and shaking body. All because of you.

You honestly wanted to cry because you were so used to the loving looks he’d always give you to the cold and angry one he had on now. But you knew you didn’t deserve to feel this way. You knew what you did was wrong yet, you can’t get rid of the guilt washing over yourself as you finally locked eyes with him.

“I...I give you so much time and attention. Love...appreciation, patience. So much fucking patientce Y/N. Yet, yet you just throw it away.”

The dead grass crunched under his weight as his knees slightly buckled. The snot and tears now covering a majority of his face as he cried. His sobs sounding louder and louder in the silent evening. He bit his lip as he clenched the part of his shirt over his heart.

“It..it hurts so much, why, why don’t you love me like I love you?”

He clenched his teeth before repeatly beating the same spot on his chest. You looked in horror, then rushed over to get him to stop. He grabs you hand just as you were about to stop him.

He looks at you with such a broken gaze. Puffy eyes, and tears still streaming down his face as his scarred hand holds onto yours. Quivering lip and clenched fist.

“Was I just never enough?”

Your eyes started to fill with tears as you covered your mouth. Shaking your head repeatedly, as words couldn’t leave your mouth.

“I’ve written so many lines of the possibilities of what I could’ve said wrong. Or what I gave you. How I kissed you, how I touched you, Y/N, I-...”

“It’s not that you did anything Izuku! It’s just...I fell in love with someone else and I didn’t know how to end it.”

You looked down in guilt.

“Haha...my prediction was right. I was just never lived up to what you wanted.”

“Izuku I-“

“It’s getting late L/N, let’s go.”

It was a quiet walk back to the dorms.

Aftermath

He just kind of went airplane mode

He wasn’t the same mumble-awkward teen he usually was

But instead he’d mostly stare out the window

Or endlessly write notes

He became engrossed in his studies

Rarely going out, barely talking to anyone, and even not eating cause he felt like it would interrupt his studying

When out on his patrols he’ll try to save anyone and everyone he can by himself.

And when he fails it sends him into a complete spiral

It makes him feel the same way he did that day when you two separated

Like he didn’t do enough so it was all his fault that it ended in this way

Regular panic/anxiety attacks

Bakugo actually leaving him alone and instead checking up on him and making sure he eats (forcibly)

Todoroki, Uraraka, and Iida routinely make sure he was actually going to sleep on time, or getting any at all

It did take him a while to actually get over it

And it totally affected how he looked at future relationships

When he does get with someone everytime he just suffocates them with attention, gifts, and anything he feels he isn’t doing right he’ll do it 110%

So a majority of his early adulthood he spent single- or in short-term relationships

Eventually he stayed single for awhile since he’d always compare them to you

Though he does have days where wish it was different

Wishes it was you next to him when he woke up

Wishes that you would hold his hand when he has a bad day at work

But when he has the bad days where the anxiety, hero work, and pressure gets to him.

He just thinks of the way you used to smile at him.

Eyyy so it was originally gonna be 3 but I realized I made it a little too long. I basically had really shit wifi so that was a part of the small hiatus. But also I was originally gonna be MHA boyos x Twitch Streamer Reader. Buuut Tumblr was cracked and deleted it so. 🧍Also do you want a part 2? Cause if not I’ll make my first fluff HCS for Valentine’s. Requests are open! So go wild

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stilemawillow · 4 years ago

Text

Ten Times in Total [Erwin Smith | Noble! Reader]

[I]

The first time, she was certain, came when her husband tugged at her hand at the ball. It was an official event that gathered together many sponsors and clients of noble heritage. Then there were the soldiers.

Whatever they did, however they dressed, however silent they stayed, they popped out. They were an attraction. They were something abnormal, like a wild animal let loose at a social gathering. Of course, soldiers hardly scared her as much as she would've wished for them to. She was, in actual fact, rather fascinated with them. They were always stoic and when they weren't - they were pretending. It was a funny thing, how every single one of them put on a different mask and underneath hid the same grief-stricken face lined with years of experience they would've preferred to die before rather than live through. And their eyes, oh, how pitiful that sight was.

Pools of silver, blue and brown and green, sad and desperate and sometimes searching for hope that wasn't there. It made her chest swell with fascination and pity at the very same time. How could a group of people so broken keep themselves together? How could somebody so desperate to die keep living on and on? Didn't their stamina, emotional and physical, ever come to an end? Would it one day? Would that be the happiest day for them or the most pathetic one? Or maybe both? Did they ever cry?

For her, they were all the same. Then he showed up.

Blond and tall and cold yet confident. His eyes were the first red flag that should've appeared in her mind, but they met hers and the red flags all turned white and ever so helplessly hung in the air.

His eyes were blue, like the ocean she'd once read about, and clear like its surface. It was like he saw right through her, into her head where the thoughts hid and intertwined and sought the connection between the dots. His eyes were something she remembered well even after that, a vivid memory borne of a hazy dream during a boring night.

Her husband was at once at her side, tugging at her gloved hand and silently requesting her immediate attention. But she was on the other side of the hall, standing in front of the tall blond man as he introduced himself to her and all the thoughts in her little head jumped out of her mouth and introduced themselves to him. His face was a mask, she told herself, but how exactly was she able to reach that conclusion when her gaze hadn't even left his eyes yet?

Her attention was at once averted when her husband became a tad bit more persistent. She faced him, put on her best smile and brought the glass of wine to her peach lips with an innocent excuse he ate up like a starving tramp. Her smile broadened the more she drank, keeping her thoughts at bay and the oddity of her stares at minimum. She allowed herself some more glances left and right when her husband wasn't closely supervising her actions, figuring out that the blond-haired soldier was hard to miss.

He was talking to the Commander of the Military Police, Nile Dok if she remembered correctly and the latter didn't seem the happiest. On the blond's left side stood another even taller male whose mouth opened once or twice, very shortly. Next to him, almost like a bird perched on his shoulder, was a brown-haired woman with glasses wearing a plain dress, entertaining herself with how fast she could talk his ear off. On the blond's right side stood a short frowning raven. Her head nearly tilted at the sight because she recognised him - Humanity's Strongest Soldier, Levi Ackerman.

To her utmost amusement, the shorty's mask was hard as steel but she could clearly see how he was probably the most broken out of the group. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips before his grey hues shot her a look, having pinpointed the presence of her orbs on his face. Her shoulders almost jumped, her eyes narrowed at his glare and then he just faced the front with a snort. He opened his mouth. And then his blond companion looked in her direction.

He was handsome, that was something rather undeniable. She raised the glass of wine to her lips again, not waiting for the blond to react to her curiosity regarding the people accompanying him. His expression seemed calm and his features soothing, almost like he was telling her everything was okay and she needn't hide her fascination with them, not when he could see it either way.

The ball ended about an hour after that. The only thing (Y/N) left with was the knowledge of the blond's name - Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps.

[II]

Second surely came that one time they bumped shoulders. (Y/N) was tired and bored, a very bad combination. She'd stated to the servants she wanted some air before sprinting away from the house like the wind. She felt, to put it mildly, caged in that house. It was almost like a nightmare - everything she hadn't wished for in one place, becoming truth the more she waited for it to turn back into an ordinary bad dream.

She hadn't been forced into marriage, rather consulted into it, and the fact she didn't love her husband certainly didn't stop her parents from adoring him in her stead. Rich, generally handsome and polite enough as to hide his displeasure at social gatherings - what more could a pair of reputation-concerned parents want for their daughter? Nothing, came the obvious answer, and in less than a month she was married and shipped off to that cage of hers. She came to loathe her days of not being able to go out and just walk around the town, now she had to treat everybody like peasants and communicate only with her husband and all the ladies of the high-class with their powdered noses and fancy gossip.

Frankly, she got away every chance she got and the servants rarely did anything to stop her. Her husband would never understand, she kept telling herself as she skipped down the street with awe in her eyes and joy in her heart. Just feeling the cobblestone street under her feet was enough to make her happy at times. Looking at the shops and admiring the blue of the sky above her head.

Almost like his eyes, she thought whilst staring into a bucket full of clear water. Then her shoulders went rigid. She was thinking of a soldier when there wasn't a soldier anywhere near her. Goodness, this surely meant trouble for her. As long as she didn't see him again it would all be good, she assured herself. But the point she was missing was that the trouble came from her internal wish to see him again.

Into a troubled daze and staring at the sky, she bumped into somebody and retraced her last few steps in a clumsy waddle, seeking balance along the distance. Once having regained it, (Y/N) looked up and what a very pleasant coincidence it was that Erwin Smith was the one looking down at her. That was when it happened, she believed. His blue gaze, the one she'd thought ever so recently of, made her stiffen. He offered a polite smile but she beat him to the apology.

"I apologise for bumping into you, I wasn't paying attention." Her words were an utterance of discomfort though courteous.

"It's not a problem." He worded curtly, with a nod of appreciation for the apology. She didn't manage a smile in spite of her own wish to do it, mostly because he had put on his stoic mask and was clearly uninterested in what facial expression she, in turn, had to offer. (Y/N)'s hands, maybe for the first time in her life, started fidgeting as she observed the blond in front of her. His gaze was calm and beautiful, but it prodded at her thoughts with disturbing persistence.

"If you'll excuse me, I have something to attend to." She attempted a lame excuse as to shine a light for herself on a possible exit out of this situation that wouldn't burden her with additional humiliation or discomfort. She walked past the male, now wearing his uniform in contrast with the formal attire he had on at the ball, but then his voice boomed behind her back.

"Mrs. (Y/N) Stevenson?" Just hearing her husband's surname, which had automatically become hers as well, made her lips purse ever so briefly. Luckily, the Commander wasn't a witness to the action, but she was curious as to how he'd gotten ahold of her name without an official introduction.

"Yes, Mr Smith?" She turned back to face him with the kindest smile she could muster, deliberately using his name as well as to show he wasn't the only one who could acquire information about her. His eyes seemed to darken just a tad bit before his lips parted. And maybe she stared at his lips a bit too long.

"Please, tell your husband how happy we were to receive his support at the ball. He is a very generous man." The compliment made the woman's brow twitch.

"As it would seem." Her voice was sweet as honey and her smile was so practised it didn't even seem fake anymore. (Y/N) spun on her heel and resumed her walk down the street, trying to calm her nerves and figure out the reason behind her husband's sudden generosity, moreover directed at a social group he'd dissed mere days prior to the ball with a wine glass in hand by the fireplace in the house and a condescending sneer on his face.

Like all other things, it took her some time, but she came to the conclusion her husband was never generous if somebody wasn't going to be generous to him in return. The case here, as it seemed, was no different. And suddenly, she found herself contemplating the urge to warn Erwin Smith about that.

[III]

The third time had to be the one at his office, at the very door as she exited it. She'd made an appointment but she hadn't expected for it to go through so very fast. She thought a commander was supposed to have a lot of paperwork to do and very little time to spare for personal meetings, but there she was, four days after sending a letter seeking an appointment with Erwin Smith, being handed the note with the exact hour by one of her servants in the house.

She took her time preparing the following day, making sure her husband knew what her excuse for leaving the house was and putting additional effort into making her hair and face look better than usual. It was a strange act coming from a married woman, but she felt herself doing it merely when it was already all too late. She spared herself the internal reprimand and exited the house. Thirty minutes later she was in front of the Survey Corps Headquarters, wondering if she should knock or just make her way inside.

As the lady she needn't be at the moment, she opened the door herself and noted she was supposed to take the staircase to the third floor, where Erwin Smith's office was supposed to be. The hallways were empty and cold, but she soon found her way around. She knocked on the first door in line on the third floor and heard a very cold voice questioning her motives.

"I'm looking for Erwin Smith." She announced steadily, trying to keep her cool. The door was sharply thrown open by Levi Ackerman and she had to look down to meet his gaze. He was truly, as the rumours suspected, abnormally short for a man that could kill titans five times his own size.

"What do you have to do with Erwin?" The raven-haired male questioned with a frown, grey hues glaring menacingly.

"I'm not obliged to answer and you're surely not authorised to ask." Her return was curt and cold, similar to his own. She had the right to get defensive since she was being questioned by somebody who she figured wasn't a personal secretary or lawyer to Erwin Smith and would very soon be also late for her appointment with him.

"I have every right to ask what a self-indulgent noble has to do with the person that's keeping her shitty self alive." He snapped even though the only proof of that happening was the harshness in his voice and the big crease between his brows. She let out a huff through her mouth as her eyes blinked his way in offence. The voice slipping past her lips was condescending.

"Fascinating, you truly are the most broken one, just hear yourself speak." It was like she'd just acquired proof of the true extent of his trauma as a soldier. Maybe it wasn't only because he was a soldier, maybe it came from his childhood as well. Whichever, he seemed furious because she called him out on it and because she was looking down at him while doing it. It was like it degraded his personality, to be talked to as if he was an inanimate object of no true value. Maybe it did.

"Pardon?" He spat - not spoke, features contorting in fury. "Listen here, you---"

"Thank you, Levi. I'll take it from here." A hand landed atop (Y/N)'s shoulder as she frowned challengingly in the midget's direction. Erwin's touch startled her, but the blond's attention was on his short right-hand man. After providing the latter with an expression the (h/c)-haired woman couldn't see, Erwin pulled her along the length of the hallway. The slam of the door to Levi's office reverberated off the stone walls loud enough to make her shoulders jump. "I apologise, please don't feel bothered by his demeanour." The blue-eyed male suggested kindly as they stood in front of his office.

"I'm guessing he's like that with everyone." She snorted as he opened the door for her and let her walk inside first. The only thing she noticed was that his desk was truly stacked with paperwork like she'd expected. The rest of the office was tidy and cosy, devoid of anything that might let her think it was really Erwin's - no pictures, no colourful additions or even a coat hanging from the back of the chair behind his desk.

"Every person who either insults or doubts him, yes." The blond closed the door behind their backs and rounded his desk, gesturing for her to sit across him. "Now, please take a seat and let's discuss what you've come here to state." Her lips pursed as she pondered the reason behind her visit again - it was rather impulsive of her to just show up.

"I'd rather not sit, I am truly here just to make a statement away from my husband's ears." Her attempt at making her voice seem confident failed rather miserably, but the man behind the desk paid that little attention at the moment. His fingers laced together, elbows propped on the wooden surface.

"Your husband? So he has something to do with this? Or is it something to do with him?" One of his thick eyebrows was raised and to deny it affected her determination would be a lie.

"I must say the latter. I told him what you requested, but I'm here to warn you his investment isn't that genuine." (Y/N)'s head was held high but her fingers itched to play around with the belt on her dress. "He's getting paid to support your army by somebody anonymous and he's receiving more money than he is giving. I'm afraid once those money stop, the ones given to you also will. I don't know if this deal of yours includes a contract or just somebody's word, but do be aware my husband's generosity might turn out less than expected at any time."

Erwin Smith, frankly said, seemed rather unfazed by her proclamation. More so, he gave off the impression of being interested in something that didn't concern any of the words that exited her mouth. His expression turned unreadable the moment it relaxed, like he'd put a wall between her and himself. She was unable to see past it. The only thing that told her anything were his eyes, and all they spoke of was infinite equanimity.

"I see the goal, in this case, is to make us seem even worse than we already do, by being lied to and eased into a frail financial state, but I don't seem to understand why the wife of the middleman has come here to give out warnings about it." His statement shocked her, but she'd anticipated this question and had come prepared to answer it.

"In this case, I'm not the middleman's wife, I'm just somebody who wanted to be honest. Good afternoon, Mr Smith. Or should I say Commander?" Her hand settled on the door handle as she looked back at the blond commander. His face had returned to its stoic features but his eyes were just as mesmerizing as the first time she'd seen them. He nodded his head very lightly and she pushed the handle, which resulted in both of them hearing a small click.

"Just Erwin is fine, Mrs Stevenson." There was a restrained smile on his face. A gesture born of politeness. She wondered why it seemed so obviously fake now when the one he offered to all those nobles at the ball the previous month was just as fake yet came to his aid way easier.

"Then you shall call me (Y/N) in return. I quite dislike my current surname." She stated stiffly, not enjoying the sound of her husband's surname. Before she stepped out of the room, her eyed fled back to his. So blue, they were so blue.

"Very well."

There was another smile on his face. It wasn't the one formed by his lips but the one in his eyes. The beautiful glimmer that loved to talk to her was now only smiling, softly so. It happened right then and there and she felt herself take a sharp breath before bowing lightly and stepping out. Once in the hallway, she breathed until she felt she was once again able to walk without having her knees wobble.

[IV]

Fourth was the time she watched him smile at her, genuinely.

With a kiss to her husband's lips and a small smile, (Y/N) closed the door and waited exactly thirty seconds before stepping back from it. Somehow, she did it every time Allan went out, just to test if he was truly gone. A sigh left her lips as she met the gaze of one of the servants. The elderly woman's mouth stretched in a sad smile and just as (Y/N) was about to retreat into the living room another knock sounded at the door. Her first thought was that her husband had forgotten something, but if he truly had he wouldn't knock at all since he was late as it was.

"I'll get it, Laura, don't worry." (Y/N) graced the woman with a smile before approaching the door. The servant headed in the direction of the kitchen as her master opened the front door and showed only her face outside. Her eyes widened. On the other side stood the tall muscular frame of Erwin Smith, blue eyes gazing down at her gently. "My husband's not here at the moment." Was the first thing she blurted out ever so stoically as the blond waved his hand dismissively at her.

"That is quite fortunate because I haven't come here to talk to him." He announced with a small smile, making her eyebrows furrow because it wasn't fake. Or at least it didn't seem that way. Not forgetting her manners, she opened the door fully and gestured to the insides of the house with a polite smile on her lips.

"Come in." The courteous invitation resulted in Erwin Smith attempting to make himself comfortable in the living room in an armchair across from her less than a minute later. Again, he laced his fingers together which just kept bringing her attention back to his hands. They were big and calloused, but his fingers were slender. She wondered if his palm could envelop both her hands in its hold - highly possible. And then his voice snapped her out of her inappropriate thoughts.

"I wanted to thank you, Mrs Ste--- (Y/N)." Her momentary glare softened as he corrected himself. She kept listening silently, finding out that his voice was rather attractive when not giving booming speeches about bravery and sacrifice. "I spent the last two weeks contacting other sponsors that would be able to support our budget. We'll be ready for when your husband's anonymous endorser deters his generosity. Quite the disaster has been avoided due to your warning, so I need to express my gratitude." (Y/N) was quick to raise an eyebrow at him. He provided her with a confused look with a small smile. Again, it didn't seem fake. "Seeing as you are quite endowed when it comes to anything material I've come to request your company instead."

The statement shocked her enough to render her speechless for the overall of the following half a minute. Erwin gave her time to think it through. She did, three times in the least, but stayed just as clueless.

"My... company?" She stared at the blond's face wondrously, searching for anything that might hint what the reason behind his invitation was. She was quite sure that if a man as busy as himself wanted to thank somebody he'd send a letter and get it over with. He wouldn't march to their doorstep and tell them he wanted--- what exactly did he want from her? As if having read her thoughts, he spoke up.

"Will you please accompany me on a ride into town, next week? Maybe you could even spend the evening at our headquarters." Erwin's voice was smooth and deep and she found herself already agreeing at least a thousand times in her head. The look on her face however was obviously not expressive enough on the matter. "You don't need to give me an answer immediately of course." He cleared out, a mild tone of concern finding its way into his voice. She hastily waved her hands around in a dismissive manner.

"No, I--- I accept, it's just that I was thinking what I would say to my husband." She explained despondently, making his eyebrows raise questioningly.

"You need an excuse?" She, once again, eyed his fingers. Her head gave a slight nod despite the fact her thoughts and mouth didn't agree on one and the same topic.

"I always do, never the leave the house without one. If he learned I'd gone out with somebody, not to buy something he'd go mad." Her statement didn't seem to surprise the male. She felt like that was an impossible task. And her thoughts drifted back to his hands, his face, his eyes.

"It seems as if it truly is fortunate I've come here when he's not present." Erwin Smith's thoughtful hum sounded like a rumbling purr at the back of his throat. (Y/N) briefly wondered what his laugh sounded like. What his mere chuckle sounded like. Her eyes trailed over his lips curiously but then she snapped out of her daze and her gaze fled to his own, hoping that he hadn't noticed her eyeing his mouth. He had, judging by the amused sparkle in his blue orbs. She could feel herself redden in the slightest.

"It is, very much so. I appreciate the offer, and I accept. Just give me the details and I'll be there." She announced, a small smile crawling over her lips. She didn't know if it was because of the tension she'd created in her mind or the fact she was overwhelmed by this 'date' she'd have in near future with a man she obviously considered attractive. And then it happened.

"Of course." Erwin Smith's mouth curled in her direction kindly, eyes glimmering soothingly. No teeth were showing but she felt herself redden again. The sight of his genuine smile was something, as she found out later that night, that had imprinted itself in her mind.

[V]

The fifth time hit her fast and out of nowhere, right about the time she realised what he was about to do. Everything had been well. Her excuse was perfect. Her husband was oblivious. Erwin Smith was waiting for her when she walked out of the house in a pair of white pants and a (f/c) blouse. Her hair was tied and her eyes held an abnormally bright sheen. She was smiling, almost from ear to ear.

Erwin had escorted her to the town, where, she believed, her first-ever date took place. It lasted four hours and she'd never been happier. Ever since she'd gotten married - three years marked by the first day of the upcoming autumn, she'd never smiled this much. Erwin Smith seemed to surprise her, over and over again. She completely forgot he was a soldier, she forgot he was broken and hurt and the destiny of many lay on his shoulders. She forgot she was married and a noble. She forgot how she hated her life - this was her life now.

The walking, the looking, the blond's blue eyes, the smiles and the carelessness - they were her life now. And when the day made way for the chilly evening, the Commander mounted his horse as white as snow and they rode towards the horizon, soon arriving at the HQ. He helped her off the horse as she laughed, making him smile in return. It was late and Erwin Smith seemed more human than usual. His tone, his eyes, his face and his clothes were all casual and unbothered. Just for this one day, the busy Commander had made time for her. It made her smile every time she remembered it.

When he brought her up to his office and asked her opinion she just laughed.

"I loved it, I've never laughed this much in my life." Came the contented answer out of her lips. The blond was leaning on his desk, letting her observe the muscles that rippled under the white button-up shirt he'd put on. She couldn't stop her thoughts from taking off in a different direction. "Thank you for everything, Erwin." Using his name seemed odd yet satisfying. She figured she'd get used to it quickly, more so if he kept looking at her like he did at the moment.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Another hum at the back of his throat, another indecent thought in her head.

"Now tell me, really, why you wasted a whole day on me." She crossed her legs and stared up at him from the chair in which she sat.

"Well, first and foremost, it wasn't wasted. Second, I thought I was showing gratitude." He pretended to be casual and clueless, but in truth, she was sure he knew exactly what she was talking about when she addressed the entirety of today and the reasoning behind it. The blond folded his arms across his chest just as she started speaking, distracting her momentarily.

"Yes, but you could've done that on paper too. Instead, you came to the house and knocked on the door, and then asked me out on something that really reminds of a date. Why?" She put most emphasis on the last word mostly because it was the one that bugged her most. Why had he done all that? What had he gotten from it? Not money or more time surely. Erwin's face seemed to fall for a second before he just snorted and looked into her eyes.

"It seems I've been compromised. You are very interesting, (Y/N), you're not a noble. Not a normal one. Not only did you agree to a date with a soldier, but you helped one - a whole division that is much hated by the public in fact. I wanted to see you for a bit." His last sentence, although smooth and soft, confused her. It didn't make sense with everything else he'd said. Like a part of a different puzzle. She cocked an eyebrow and pursed her lips in doubt.

"You've seen me already." Came the pointed reply that made the blond huff. There was something pulling at the corners of his mouth, but she couldn't figure out what exactly. Amusement? Entertainment? Confidence?

"I wanted to see the you that laughed without restraint, without thinking of her husband and worrying about her appearance at all times." He explained, making her eyebrows furrow. He had seen it alright, he'd seen her laugh and not worry and not think of her boring husband. So what had it given him? The satisfaction of charming yet another noblewoman and having her wrapped around his little finger?

"Has it satisfied you?" She asked with a narrow of her eyes, defiantly tipping her chin upwards.

"You're saying it like you're being used." Erwin was looking down at her harmlessly, but she knew if he was the Commander of the Survey Corps, then he was also a great manipulator. And a liar. She wondered which he'd use in this conversation with her.

"It sounds like it. Am I not an experiment of yours? Just the next on the list of women you've managed to charm?" She questioned with a frown that made him smile kindly at her. Maybe in his eyes, she was a stubborn child who wasn't used to being treated well by somebody who lacked an ulterior motive. And maybe that was true.

"I'm afraid that list is rather short because I'm too busy to charm women. You're not a conquest, you're... unique." The word slipped out innocently but she was momentarily stunned by its presence. She'd never been called unique. Pretty - yes, smart - not so much, calm - a lot. Unique - this right now was a first.

"Unique? It's such a strange word coming from you." She snorted condescendingly, fluttering her eyelashes at his handsome face. His arms uncrossed and instead grasped the edge of the desk he was leaning on either side of his body. It provided her eyes with a glimpse at the hands she liked to observe so much.

"Why so?" He inquired harmlessly, making her face the ground instead of his gentle expression. She pouted like a child and stubbornly refused to answer for the next few seconds. With a snort, she came to the conclusion he wouldn't speak before she answered him.

"You're the busy commander that has made time for a date that gives him nothing. You're the one that made me laugh like that." Her voice might've been reluctant, but her heart and head weren't. She was telling the truth. And she was afraid because she was very attracted to him, in every single way there was. He had her wrapped around his little finger the moment he looked into her eyes.

"I'm flattered." He couldn't help but chuckle. It was a magical sound. Then he reached out a hand in her direction as if asking her to dance with him. She didn't take it immediately. "I have a question for you." She hummed curiously as his eyes pinned her down. "Are you married today? Tonight?" A sly smile pulled at her lips before she took his hand, immediately understanding where things were about to head.

"For you, I never seem to be married." Her voice was a hush and his eyes were just so blue. The moment she got up from the chair, he pulled her closer to his body with a smile of his own. He was handsome and clever, and he could lie. She wondered if he was lying when his next words were voiced, but the glimmer in his blue eyes immediately denied everything and assured her of how truthful he was being.

"That is very fortunate because what I'm about to do will make you an unfaithful woman."

He was eyeing her lips and she could feel it deep in her chest, something was stirring. A smile sprung out on her face as she relaxed against his muscular body and let herself be kissed. One thing led to another and if she was to say the night that followed wasn't the best night of her life she would be lying. Very much so. Because amongst all other things, Erwin Smith was also a tender lover. It was her first time getting worshipped during sex and she loved every second of it. To the point she woke up the next morning grinning.

[VI]

The sixth time was a gradual process, yet abrupt in all of its miserable beauty. It came months after the fifth. Her hand was handling a suitcase and her cheek had been gifted a very colourful bruise minutes prior. She stood in front of the door to his office, fumbling with the thoughts in her head and the words at the tip of her tongue. She couldn't ask the things she wanted to ask. Maybe she had to go elsewhere. Maybe her parents wouldn't disown her. Maybe there would be a single person she knew that didn't hate her. Before she could turn around and leave, the door to the office was opened.

"I didn't make an appointment." She blurted out suddenly, letting him overcome the initial surprise caused by her unexpected appearance. Then he saw the condition of her face and clothes.

"(Y/N), what happened?" His eyebrows knitted together as his mouth pursed. His gaze seemed to linger over the bruise on her cheek before settling on her eyes. He didn't enjoy the sight of it. Seeing as she wouldn't answer, he figured the topic was not to be discussed in the hallway. He ushered her inside and let her rest on the small couch by the wall. The door of the office was locked. He crouched in front of her and held her hands. His eyes - she couldn't get enough of how beautiful they were even in such a situation, prompted her to talk.

"Allan figured it out, I guess. He wasn't happy. But the divorce papers should go through the court by the end of the week." She was looking down because looking into his eyes was scary and she wasn't ready to do it yet. She figured he'd be disappointed. Maybe even angry. She didn't even know how Allan had found out about them but it wasn't bad enough she was now to live on the streets, shamed and ridiculed by everybody, Allan would also make sure nobody ever sponsored the Survey Corps. She basically ruined everything for Erwin.

"I'm sorry, darling." His voice was a soft hush as he placed a palm to her unhurt cheek and rolled his thumb over the skin. Her lips pursed. He shouldn't have been so calm about this - he was way smarter than her and the conclusion she'd reached had to had appeared in his mind as well. So why was he still so gentle?

"It's nothing, Erwin. Really." Her gaze traced the floor and the tips of the blond's boots, but she didn't dare look up, no matter how he was looking at her. His hand prompted her to do so as he spoke up.

"You're free to stay here for as long as you wish. You can sleep in my room or I can assign you a new one where nobody will be allowed to enter without your permission." The length he'd go to for her made her guiltier. She met his gaze and kept herself from drowning in it, for this was a serious conversation. Her heart wasn't erratic but it wasn't calm either.

"I'm fine with staying in your room. I feel comfortable there." She truly did. She wouldn't handle living all alone with herself. She needed Erwin as to not let the nightmares and paranoia win. She needed him so she could sleep properly, she even needed him so she could breathe. Doing that in a room alone with her thoughts seemed like an impossible task, but she just hoped she wouldn't create too much trouble for him.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" The kind smile made its way back to his features, but his eyes stayed somewhat stoic. He was thinking. He was thinking about how he'd handle everything. Maybe there was a way to avoid all trouble. If there was he'd find it.

"I just want you to hold my hand." She murmured longingly, making him stop in his tracks as he was about to stand up. Instead, he took a seat next to her on the couch and grasped her hand. The warmth of his palm enveloped her and for a second she felt way calmer. Safe and secure. And loved. She looked up at Erwin and it happened, a gradual yet abrupt process that broke her out of her misery for just a second.

"That I can do." At that moment, she could hardly find the words to describe anything about him. Not his voice, not his eyes, not his expression. 'Loving' was close to perfect, but not there yet. So she settled for describing the warm tranquillity and unconditional affection that overcame her as she stared up at his eyes. And she liked to believe he saw that as clearly as she felt it.

[VII]

The seventh visited her that one time when she woke up in his bed and realised how much he meant to her. She'd been sleeping calmly. She'd been sleeping calmly for the past month. She was now officially, once again, (Y/N) (L/N) and she and Erwin had celebrated it not once or twice, but numerous times when he managed to spare a few hours for her. After that things had calmed down. The Survey Corps wasn't broke yet and (Y/N) wasn't living on the streets. And then everyone had gone on a mission.

It wasn't like she'd ever seen an actual titan in her life, but after hearing Erwin's stories about them it became her number one wish not to have to see one either. He'd always chuckle when she said that, but deep down they both knew it was true. Everybody would wish to avoid the titans if they had the choice. Most nobles had that choice. People whose duty wouldn't let them choose themselves over others, however, were a whole other story. People in the Survey Corps were like that.

Undoubtedly, the months she spent in the headquarters made her understand soldiers better. They were still fascinating but now it wasn't in the 'pet' kind of way, it was in the 'person' kind of way. She felt a strong sense of admiration for those people who just felt like sacrificing their lives in order for others to live. She got to meet quite some cadets and she felt like the only person out of place. Most of them had had terrible experiences and the only tragedy in her life was that she was newly divorced and forced out of her comfort zone.

Besides cadets, (Y/N) was also introduced to most superiors Erwin trusted, including Hanji Zoe - the madwoman with a titan fetish and admirable bravery, Mike Zacharius - the silent sniffer who turned out to be a close friend of Erwin's, and last but not least, Levi Ackerman - the short right-hand man with a freakish thing for cleanliness and the strongest character ever. Erwin told (Y/N) one night as she helped him with his non-confidential paperwork about Levi's past and how much he had to go through. Like the average person she was, she felt the need to voice how she'd noticed from the start how broken he'd been. Erwin had let out a heartfelt chuckle to that.

In truth, her radar stayed just as sharp after she started living amongst soldiers. She could still see the masks and the grief-stricken features at times, even on Erwin, but now she saw them on people with pasts who longed for a better future than the one they saw in their heads. Erwin Smith was an exceptional dreamer on that topic - he could stay up late and tell her stories about the world outside the walls he'd read about and what he planned to do once he reached it. As of late, his plans also started including her, which made her smile every time he'd dreamily slip it into the story without ever realising he had.

She loved listening to him. But she hadn't even heard his voice in a week. She hoped everyone was safe.

This morning was strangely slow for her. She opened her eyes and stared out through the window, letting her thoughts flow free. The blue sky was calming but it was also a reminder of Erwin. She felt like he had a thousand blues in his eyes. The water, the sky, the ocean he loved to talk about, the flowers in the field just past the training grounds. She wanted to see his eyes. So much.

She rose from the mattress when the clatter of hooves made its way into the room through the open window. She stumbled out of bed and showed herself, seeing the carts and the horses and the people. Some were wounded. Some were missing. And some she knew. She waved when Hanji noticed her. The brunette nudged Levi, who also spared her a glance. Mike threw her a small smile. But she couldn't see Erwin.

Sudden panic gripped her heart, making the smile on her face freeze. Levi's eyes narrowed at the stiffness in her figure but then he looked back ahead and pretended not to have noticed it as Hanji started talking to him. (Y/N)'s hand lowered and she eyed the rest of the soldiers frantically, searching for the tall Commander. He was supposed to be the leader, the first in line upon their return, but maybe he'd decided to ride back for once. Or he was wounded and was in one of the carts. Her eyes couldn't find him there. She tried not to let the third possible option get to her.

Erwin was coming back. He always came back.

She heard the door to the room open, which made her swivel and eye the intruder. When her eyes met his blue ones she felt her shoulders sag in relief. Her face clearly showed that as well because his expression was rather amused. There was blood on his shirt. It wasn't his. The seventh time was barely recognisable but the room was so silent they both might've been able to pinpoint it.

She snorted and then she was sprinting towards him. He had just enough time to open his arms before she jumped, making his back hit the door with a thud. A small snort escaped his nose as his arms wrapped around her. She was laughing, relief was coursing through her body, and when he met her gaze she felt like the happiest girl.

"I see you've missed me." Amusement and fondness both laced that sentence. She couldn't discern which was more and which - less.

"You scared me." She stated, small hands cupping Erwin's cheeks gingerly as her legs locked around his waist at the ankles. She didn't intend on letting him go anytime soon. He chuckled sweetly and she felt her heart melt.

"I apologise for that." He hummed as she pecked his lips and stared into his eyes with adoration. She didn't want to lose him, ever.

"Important thing is you're back." She smiled and he, although tired, smiled right back. She loved that smile.

[VIII]

Eighth was the time she caught him pulling a fourth all-nighter in a row. He was in his office and he'd ever so confidently lied to her, saying that he'd come to bed. That had been about three hours ago. (Y/N) rouse from the bed in the dark and saw a thin line of dim light sneak into the room from under the door that parted Erwin's office from his quarters. She stood and stretched, and her spine popped gratefully in response before she went to the door and opened it.

Erwin's eyes didn't stray from the papers he was reading. She also stayed silent, making her way through the office and out of the door. Maybe after the door closed behind her back he looked up. She made her way down the cold hallways with bare feet before arriving at the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and for Erwin, she prepared some coffee. On her way out she saw Levi go in. Once he saw the cups in her hands and she saw the tired expression on his face they nodded at each other knowingly and didn't spare the other another glance.

(Y/N) went back to Erwin's office and presented him with the cup.

"You could've asked for my assistance." She stated casually as he wrote. He shook his head lightly.

"This is confidential."

"Is there nobody else you could ask?"

"Everybody has something to do. This is what I have to handle." He stated seriously before glancing up at her briefly. "You should go to bed."

"I'm afraid I'm so angry I'll have to refuse." She settled on the couch with her tea in hand as he snorted and kept writing. She observed his big hands and the blue in his eyes. She watched his eyelashes create a half-moon shadow on his cheekbones. She admired the way his hair was always in place. Her eyes traced his nose and trailed over the lines of his lips. It would've been very nice if she could just distract him somehow but she knew he wouldn't let it happen unless he had little to no work left or he was too tired to handle any more of it.

She knew she couldn't help so she just sat there silently, pondering her feelings as her eyes slid over every part of him. At one point his fingers stopped in their tracks and let the pen drop from them. He picked up another paper and started reading it from the top, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. She could see he was tired, judging by the yawn he let out a few seconds later. She knew there was no way she could force him into going to sleep - his thoughts would torture him either way.

Then his eyes were on hers. First, it was just a flicker that she barely noticed in her daze, but then Erwin looked at her and left the paper back on the desk. He weakly gestured for her to approach him. She didn't know how long she'd sat there but judging by the way her legs had gotten numb when she got up she understood it had to have been more than half an hour.

"Sleep?" She questioned hopefully, making him shake his head with a weak smile. He took her hand in his and tugged her closer. She understood what he wanted, so she sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You need sleep, Erwin." She reminded softly when his head dipped forward and his lips pressed against her bare shoulder. She smiled at the contact while running her fingers through his hair. Even with all that pomade he used it was still soft and pleasant to the touch.

"Just let me rest for a bit like this." He mumbled, lips still pressed against her shoulder. She sighed before a small 'sure' slipped out of her mouth and she made herself comfortable in his lap. Erwin left lazy kisses along the length of her neck before snuggling his face into the crook of it and breathing in. At the beginning, she thought it was so he could make sure she was there, but with time she came to realise it was because he wanted to remember. Etch her scent into his brain so he never got to forget.

(Y/N) kissed the top of his head and felt his hands squeeze her waist. Big and warm, that was what Erwin was. He also deserved a lot better than her. But, she thought, for now, she wouldn't complain. At one point Erwin faced her - messy hair, soft blue eyes and a kind smile, and she swore she could melt. The bit of paperwork the blond commander did before she sat in his lap was the last of paperwork he got to complete that night and the next morning when they both woke up in the chair behind his desk (Y/N) could only chuckle as Erwin scolded himself and groaned in alleged exasperation.

[IX]

The ninth time, no doubt, came when he told her that. It was a calm afternoon, no arguments, no incidents, no nothing. Most cadets had left because it was their day off and they wanted to visit their families. The little who stayed were in the mess hall. Most superiors stayed. Levi, Hanji, Mike and Erwin all did, along with (Y/N) herself. Lunch had passed and Erwin had decided to go into town with (Y/N). Maybe on another date, she secretly hoped, but she knew he'd probably shop and she'd just enjoy being in town for the most part.

Everything was great until her ex-husband showed up, along with her parents. She could only snort at the sight because he was the perfect son they'd always wanted. More than they wanted her for sure. Erwin had entered a shop he obviously needed something from and she'd been left outside. She hadn't minded it, but now it was different. She pursed her lips and attempted to turn away but her mother had already seen her.

There was glaring and frowning and the usual amount of condescension, but before things could get ugly Erwin exited the shop and put a warm hand to her shoulder. (Y/N) could see Allan's whole face twitch in annoyance.

"What a Prince Charming you've found for yourself, (Y/N). I didn't expect a slut like you would be anywhere but a ditch after I threw you out." Her ex-husband sneered, making Erwin glare as she bit her tongue spitefully, in an attempt to keep the words in. "Have you nothing to say for yourself?" He taunted, making her snort. Erwin must've known what was coming because he was already smirking.

"I'm sorry, Allan, but I don't feel the need to humour your pathetic way of trying to make me feel bad. I'm tolerating you only because of the fact that if I don't you're going to be the one ending up in a ditch and I don't really want human blood on Erwin's hands. As my Prince Charming, he feels really obligated to slay the dragon if I deem it needed." The blond by her side smiled affirmatively, making Allan's face twitch again. She knew it was a bluff that wouldn't get called while also doubting it was an actual bluff. She hadn't seen Erwin in action but she could bet he could knock out somebody with no experience in combat with a simple punch and that would be more than enough to teach Stevenson a lesson.

"We have to go, (Y/N). We're late." Erwin tugged her along as she frowned up at him, confused. Her ex-husband and parents were left behind, fuming and ever so slightly embarrassed.

"Late?" She echoed, making Erwin sigh in disappointment. She wondrously eyed the genuinely sad expression on his face with growing worry. They stood in front of the stables and Erwin pulled out a small velvet box from the pocket of his uniform jacket, showing her the ring inside. Her mouth gaped.

"Yes, I was supposed to propose to you five minutes ago. I'm afraid we've already arrived at the part where you say 'yes' and kiss me." The explanation ended with a charming smile for Erwin and a slack jaw for (Y/N).

"You're not serious." She stated in disbelief.

"Only if you don't want me to be. Then the ring is a present and I stay the Prince Charming who loves you." The blond's confidence was astounding, but so was the gesture he was performing. She could start crying in the middle of the street and she wouldn't care. The meaning of his last words reached her subsequently just as she was about to open her mouth. All of a sudden there was no oxygen and Erwin's eyes had managed to hypnotise her.

"I say it plays the role of an engagement ring." She said in the end after being able to take a breath. He smiled and slipped the ring on her finger.

"That's technically a 'yes', you know." Erwin seemed smug and she couldn't stop staring at his face. He was so handsome. So important. So special and unique. Hers.

"I know." She was grinning.

[X]

The tenth time was a constant struggle where the opposition just couldn't win. She had to say it, she told herself continuously after the 'engagement'. A week later she still hadn't. And then she caught Erwin sitting by himself, not in his office like Hanji or in the mess hall like Levi, but on the steps of the HQ in the middle of the night. She'd tapped his shoulder and when he'd turned around to face her, she'd been mesmerized by the lines of his face in the moonlight.

"Don't stay too long. It's cold out here." She warned, making him nod. She stood at his side for two minutes before taking a seat next to him and following his gaze to the stars in the sky. Some were vivid, some were little and plain and some had just the right amount of sheen to be noticed fast yet not immediately. She felt like she was observing the night sky for the first time in her life.

The ring on her finger was heavy but not in an unpleasant way. It reminded her of the way she now belonged somewhere. With somebody. She stared up at the sky and wished she could stay this calm forever. That she could stay with Erwin forever. She knew that would also come to an end, but the optimist in her told her it wouldn't be in a tragic way. Erwin was a good man, a capable soldier and a person who deserved all the best. The universe would do a lot not to refuse him that at least. A little bit of the happiness he deserved.

A few minutes later she noticed the blond was looking at her, not the stars. She faced him and smiled. He was silent. Maybe this was the right moment, she told herself. She could do it now, she was brave enough.

"Erwin," she started hesitantly, immediately drawing in his focus, "I..." She found herself incapable of proceeding as planned. "I want to be with you." His gaze softened as she grasped his hand. "You keep telling me you'll disappoint me but you could never ever do that. You tell me you'll probably leave me early, but I say damn that. You'll keep coming back and I'll wait. I'll wait as long as needed."

"You said all that but still can't force out that last bit, can you?" He chuckled and she pouted, knowing he knew what she'd been meaning to say in the beginning.

"I can. Because I love you."

The sound of his chuckle halted and he stared into her eyes wondrously, not believing her words. The opposition had won. Then his face relaxed and he was smiling again.

"I know you can. You can do everything you want to." They'd had this type of moment so many times she couldn't keep track anymore, but this one was especially important because it was the first time in her life when she said 'I love you' to somebody and meant it. Erwin's eyes were beautiful and the flags in her head were still white and hopelessly waiting to be raised. His eyes saw right through her, all the way to the intertwined thoughts and the line connecting all the dots. They had from the very first moment.

"I adore your eyes." She shared bluntly, not minding the way in which he would react. He huffed and gave her a knowing smile.

"I've known that for quite some time." He shared in return, making her redden as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. When she looked into his eyes again the tenth time came - her heart skipped another beat. Her smile broadened the more Erwin kept looking at her. She counted mentally and the number ten sounded in her mind before her focus strayed to the stars in the sky again. She stared up at them, relishing in the feeling of Erwin's warm hold on her hand and the sensation of his beautiful eyes on her visage, figuring out the thoughts in her head.

Ten times in total did Erwin Smith make her heart skip a beat. But she'd keep counting in hopes that they grew; in hopes that he'd keep doing it until they grew old and grey together; in hopes that he'd do it every day as to prove he was there, and to make her remember him and every moment they'd spent in each other's presence. (Y/N) would keep counting, even when they became a hundred or a thousand or a million, or a number she no longer knew how to pronounce.

#erwin smith #erwin smith x reader #reader insert #snk fanfic #erwin smith fanfic #babessssss this is 10k words and one of the only two erwin fanfics i've ever written #i love our commander but i just cannot for the life of me write him properly #soooo #yeah #get this (probs) ooc stuff and enjoy?#it kind of has plot you know

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lyranova · 4 years ago

Text

Children of the Future:

Chapter 6: A New Addition

Hi guys! Sorry this chapter took a bit, but its done! The next one shouldn’t take that long though! Anyway I apologize this chapter isn’t very good, I’m a little tired 😅. I hope you all enjoy~!

Taglist: @eme-eleff @crazyclownthanos @talpup @jovialnoise (if anyone wants to be added please let me know!)

Word Count: 2,398

Warnings: None

———

Zora sighed as he slowly packed his stuff up, he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. That he had, not one child, but two with a complete stranger! It was mind boggling, he didn’t know that woman from Adam and yet he had kids with her in the future! He sat on his bed and shook his head, how did he get into this mess? Why did it have to be him?! He never even imagined himself with kids, sure maybe one day he would have them, but not now! Especially not two teenagers!

He shook his head as he heard Vanessa call him, he knew he was taking too long and if he was anymore late the Captain would probably drag him out of the house himself. Zora sighed as he grabbed his bag and walked out of the room and down the hall into the common room, where all the Black Bull members currently sat.

“ Well of all the members to have kids, you were the one I was least expecting!” Magna said in surprise, Zora made a hmph noise in response.

“ Yeah, you and me both. Especially with a complete stranger, and a prissy stranger no less.” Zora grumbled before letting out a sigh. “ I’d better get going before the Captain comes after me.” He added before walking out of the hideout.

“ Good luck! You’re going to need it!” Magna shouted after him, Zora gave a short wave before shutting the door behind him, hopping onto his broom, and flying towards his temporary home.

——

“ Shut up Solid!” Nebra shouted at her younger brother, who was currently laughing his tail off at her. Nozel had told him why he and Nebra had been summoned to the Wizard King and he thought it was a joke at first, but once he saw the look on his older siblings' faces he couldn’t stop laughing. At all.

“ I-I’m sorry Nebra, but this, this is too funny!” Solid said between fits of laughter, he was sitting in her chair by the window and was about to fall out of it he was laughing so hard.

“ Maybe to you it is! Imagine having a child, no correction, children with a complete stranger and according to said children you’re happily married to each other!” Nebra rounded on her brother, he suppressed his laughter for a few moments before standing up.

“ I can only imagine sister. You, on the other hand, are living it!” He said with a smirk, she grabbed a shoe and threw it at him before she grabbed her bag and walked out of her room.

“ I still don’t understand why we have to move in with all of them, I’d much rather be here than with the Black Bulls and all those kids.” Nebra grumbled as she walked outside their home and towards her broom, with Solid following behind her.

“ Because it’ll be easier to keep tabs on everyone if you’re all in one place.” Nozel said as he walked up to his sister, causing her and Solid to jump, they hadn’t seen him standing in the shadows.

“ I figured that out! But why couldn’t the Wizard King put a magical tracing spell on us or something?!” Nebra exclaimed in exasperation, she did not want to leave and stay with complete strangers in some dump out in the middle of the woods when she had a comfortable home right here!

“ Because those kinds of spells can be altered or other mages can track them. For now, all of you must be kept in hiding. Just until we can figure this out.” Nozel said with a sigh before handing his sister a broom. “ You’ll have to use this to get there. The Wizard Kings orders.”

Nebra looked from the broom to her older brother and back again, he wasn’t serious. Was he? There was no way she was using that!

“ You’ll have to use this to get around, if I were to fly you there using my mercury magic everyone would know something was amiss. So, for now, this will be your mode of transportation.” Nozel said shoving the broom into her hands and walking away, Solid snickered behind her before following his brother inside.

Nebra huffed as she inspected it, she was a royal not some commoner or peasant, she should be able to travel luxuriously not like this! But she sighed, her brother had basically ordered her to use this stupid thing without actually ordering her too. She quickly sat on it, using her mana to levitate it off the ground, and flew to her new ‘home’.

‘Why? Why me?!’

———

“ Took you two long enough!” Yami grumbled as Nebra and Zora walked in, the two looked anything but happy. They had arrived at the same time and did nothing but glare at one another. This was going to go great. Yami shook his head as he helped Charlotte finish dinner. She said it was some sort of stew her family used to have when she was growing up. From what he could tell it didn’t smell too bad, it would be anything like what Charmy cooked, but he hoped it would be close enough.

“ Sorry Captain. There was traffic.” Zora said as he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, Zebra rolled her eyes at his lame excuse and walked over to the chair opposite him and sat down as well.

“ Traffic my ass. You were stalling, both of you.” Yami glared at the red haired mage, who only shrugged in response. While the silver haired mage just ‘hmphed’ and looked away. Yami sighed as he looked over at Charlotte, they were both thinking the same thing.

This was going to be a nightmare.

“ Guys! Dinners ready!” Charlotte shouted as she walked over to the dining table and set the pot of stew down. Yami grabbed the bowls, glasses, and a few pitchers of water before he began to set the table, it was the least he could do since he wasn’t much help cooking.

The magic knights looked up as Hikari, Josslyn, and Ace walked into the room. Ace’s face lit up when he saw his ‘mother’ and he quickly walked over and sat down next to her, much to Nebra’s surprise, while Josslyn sat next to Zora.

“ I hope you all like this, I haven't cooked in a while so I can’t promise it’ll be very edible.” Charlotte said a little nervously as she sat down at one end of the table, Yami sat at the other end and Hikari sat on his left side.

“ I’m sure it’ll be fine, Prickly Princess.” Yami said with a shrug as he and the others began to fill up their bowls.

Dinner passed by awkwardly.

The families all didn’t really know what to say to each other, there were a few comments made complimenting Charlotte’s cooking, while there was a little idle chatter between Hikari and Josslyn. But what really made things awkward were the looks Nebra and Zora were giving each other. They just kept glaring at each other, and making snarky comments towards one another the entire evening. Poor Ace just looked between them with a sad look on his face, he couldn’t believe these were his parents, he just couldn’t!

“ Well, this is awkward.” Josslyn commented as they all sat there in silence, Hikari laughed softly before nodding in agreement.

“ Yes it is. But I think it’s mostly because we all don’t really know each other yet. As time passes we’ll all become more comfortable around each other.” Hikari said as she took a sip of water. Charlotte nodded in agreement.

“ She’s right. This is an adjustment for all of us. It’s going to take longer than a few hours or a couple of days for us to kind of get a sense of each other.” Charlotte turned as Zora snorted.

“ I dunno, you three seem pretty comfortable already.” Zora pointed at Yami, Hikari, and Charlotte before drinking his own glass of water. The three in question looked at each other in surprise.

He wasn’t wrong. The three had only known each other for a day at most, and yet they were already pretty comfortable around each other. Yami helped Charlotte cook dinner, which wasn’t something he normally did. Charlotte had asked Hikari if she had any boyfriends, which was something she didn’t normally ask people. It was strange.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and all 7 people turned towards it. Yami and Charlotte looked at each other before standing up and walking towards it, Yami had a hand on his Katana as Charlotte had her grimoire at the ready. Zora and Nebra stood as well, ready to give the Captain’s back up should they need it. Ace stood and ran towards his older sister and hid slightly behind her, the pink hair girl had her grimoire out as did Hikari. They all waited with baited breath as Yami slowly opened the door.

“ Vangeance?” Yami said in surprise as he opened the door wider to reveal the masked Captain of the Golden Dawn. As well as a white haired young man that stood next to him, a small smile on his face.

“ Ah Yami, it’s good to see you. Julius said you would be here. May I come in?” William asked politely, he nodded and moved aside to allow them in. Charlotte frowned slightly.

“ What are you doing here?” She asked as she crossed her arms, William laughed somewhat sheepishly which only confused her more.

“ Well, you see-.” William didn’t get to finish his sentence before Hikari interrupted.

“ Alistar?!” She quickly put her grimoire away and walked around the table to look at him. She couldn’t believe it, he actually made it! Well, of course he made it, she didn’t have a single doubt in her mind that he wouldn’t. But still, she couldn’t help but feel relieved to know he was here safe. She was his bodyguard afterall.

“ Hikari. It’s good to see you made it here in one piece.” Alistar said warmly, he felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of her. She was here, and she was safe. He may not have looked it on the outside, but on the inside his stomach had been in knots the entire way here, he was worried sick about her. Sure she could handle herself if she had too. But that still didn’t mean he couldn’t worry about her.

“ Oh great, pretty boy’s here.” Josslyn grumbled as she say back down and glared slightly at him, Alistar chuckled even though she was glaring icly at him, his warm smile still remained.

“ It’s good to see you too, Josslyn.” Alistar answered shortly, yet still polite. He noticed Ace still standing next to his sister and he gave the young boy a small wave, which was returned. “ It’s good to see you as well Ace.”

“ What? Were you worried about me Golden Boy?” Hikari asked, quickly changing the subject. Alistar’s smile turned into a bit of a smirk at her question.

“ Not at all. I knew you’d be ok. After all, I wouldn’t have made you my bodyguard otherwise.” Alistar said, but a knowing look passed between the two. He hadn’t asked her to be his bodyguard, she appointed herself his bodyguard shortly after they had met.

“ Uh-huh, whatever you say, Golden Boy.” She said with a shake of her head before walking up to him. She gave him a once over, probably to check for any injuries, before nodding in satisfaction that he was in fact ok. But oddly she didn’t notice Alistar had done the exact same thing. She was usually very observant.

“ Honestly though, I’m glad you’re ok.” Hikari suddenly looked up at him, and Alistar’s heart stopped dead in his chest.

She was smiling, not a smirk or a half smile like she normally would give him. But a smile. One that showed she was truly relieved to see him here, to see that he was ok. It was a warm friendly smile, and it caused Alistar’s heart to stop. No one knew he had a crush on the young Sukehiro, he had done his best to keep it hidden from people, but she made it very difficult to hide when she smiled at him like that. Alistar looked away and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“ Thank you, I’m glad you’re ok as well.” He told her kindy, he mentally face palmed himself. ‘Seriously?! That’s all you can say? Just repeating what she told you?!’ His mind shouted at him, anytime she showed her kinder and softer side he always became tongue tied and his mind would go blank. He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts as Hikari grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the table.

“ You’re looking thin and pale. C’mon, some of mom’s stew should fill you up!” She told him as she dragged him to the table, pushed him into the chair, and put a bowl and spoon in front of him.

The adults watched the exchange curiously, all the kids seem to know each other, and know each other pretty well. Yami turned to look at William.

“ Alistar’s your son I take it?” He asked before crossing his arms, William nodded.

“ He is. Which is why Julius sent us here.” William said before walking over to the couch and sitting down, Zora and Nebra walked over to others as well, deciding to let the kids all hang out together in the dining room.

“ How did you find him?” Charlotte asked curiously as she sat down as well.

“ We didn’t. He found us.” William said with a small laugh before leaning forward, Yami sat down across from him and leaned back in his chair.

“ I take it that’s what you were going to explain when the kids started catching up?” Yami asked and, again, William nodded.

“ Yes, I was. It’s a long story.” William took a breath before he began to explain his meeting with Julius and Alistar.

———

Again I apologize this chapter isn’t very good. But I hope you all enjoyed, thanks for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

#children of the future #black clover fanfiction #yami sukehiro #charlotte roselei #zora ideale #nebra silva #oc; alistar #oc; hikari #hikari is not my oc #oc; josslyn #josslyn is not my oc #oc; ace #ace is not my oc #black clover oc

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my-writings-and-musings · 4 years ago

Text

I have another lovely commission to share with you all! An awesome person wanted a super cute bit of interaction between Springload and Quillfire, so here it is!

Quillfire tried to keep the frown on his face from appearing too off putting as he left the base behind, keeping pace with Springload but ensuring the two of them had considerable personal space at the same time. To the benefit of their mission Earth's forests offered ample cover all around, ensuring neither had anything to fear in regards to detection. Though, to the anarchist, potential discovery was the least of his concerns. His last parting with the other mech had been under less than amicable terms, so he was fully anticipating a very unpleasant mission. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised to learn Springload was planning to ditch him at the nearest opportunity. Such a prediction seemed more likely than not considering how the amphibicon had a tendency towards the dramatic. Was he going to be accused of defying invisible spirits, or sullying important signals from some great deity before he was exposed to corrosive attacks? It all seemed equally probable...

Frowning a little harder, he watched Springload hop ahead of him and wondered if this mission would end in failure like the last. They'd been up against considerable odds, and things weren looking much better. Steeljaw had been very insistent on them teaming up, so he had a bit of hope this would go well, but-

Crossing his arms, he huffed quietly to himself as he abandoned the train of thought, plodding along behind his chosen partner all the while. Why should he be the one to mend things? More importantly, why did he want to? There were a million other activities he could be doing at the moment, all of them more conducive to speeding up a revolution than this! Just imagining all the injustice on this backwards planet made his quills twitch with unease. Oh, how he longed to tear down the tyranny that was evident around every corner-

"Can you move more swiftly?" Springload barked back at him unexpectedly, hopping along through the forest at a pace few could match with a mere walk. Admittedly though, Quillfire was lagging behind as he mused over his unhappy thoughts. The amphibicon fixed him with an impatient glare. "The sooner this mission is completed, the sooner I may return to my quest!"

Quillfire obeyed with a gulp, a reaction so out of character for himself he didn't know what to make of it. For some unfathomable reason, he wanted to make peace with this bot, and he was stuck with that. Perhaps he just didn't want to endure an entire mission tainted by awkward silences and angry glares, but what could possibly make things amicable between them? This bot wanted nothing but the treasure of a fabled city that didn't exist, how was he supposed to provide anything like that? Perhaps… just some conversation might do the trick? If only to lighten the mood...

As they came to a road that marked the next leg of their mission, he made an effort to think of something to say as the amphibicon pondered their map, as well as the instructions they'd been given.

"Steeljaw instructed us to wait here and construct an ambush site. When the human transport arrives, we are to steal their cargo…" he said, finishing the statement with a most distasteful croak. Clearly, his fellow bot was not especially interested in the mission either, and likely was imagining countless other ways his time could be better spent. Such was a common feeling at their rank, and he did truly share most of the frustration. With that as a starting point, Quillfire imagined they may have some common ground after all.

"I will keep watch on the road, so that you might strike at the most opportune time!" he declared boldly, emphasizing his faith in the others skills. It wasn't even a stretch, as he firmly believed the other was more than capable of getting this done. Looking up and down the simple paved path to ensure he had a good vantage point, he found one in the form of a sheltered outcrop. Looking to Springload for a reaction the entire time, he smirked confidently and clamored up to the flat bit of earth above the road, gesturing to the wide field of observable forest as he did so. "We will claim our quarry with a single attack, and return victorious!"

Springload merely observed him with a blink of apathetic consideration. "Yes, indeed." he said simply, hopping into position and making sure to face away from his teammate when he did so. Pulling out the holo of his supposed map, he began to study it as he always did, scanning the runes for what had to be the millionth time. A terse tone made his feelings on any future reconciliation clear. "Then I may continue my quest for Doradas, alone."

The anarchist's quills sagged at the turn of events. While he hadn't been expecting immediate friendship, he also hadn't anticipated that the other mech would be so openly hostile to any kind of amicable teamwork, and found himself quite disappointed by the lack of success. For whatever reason, he just wanted Springload to like him, and failing at that was bothering him. I'm fact, it was bad enough that some part of him just refused to accept the defeat. There had to be a way he could earn the other's camaraderie. Considering how much time they still had left before their mission began, he had a good window in which to ponder a solution.

Sitting back on the soft grass, he put a hand to his chin in intense thought. Springload himself only openly cared about one thing, and he didn't know him well enough to be aware of any other likes or interests… Casting a glance at the amphibicon, he felt his processor buzzing at the strain of thinking so hard to produce no results. He simply didn't know anything about geography, archeology, linguistics or any other topic which might help the other mech in his quest. The thought that he might not be able to do anything ate at him much more than it should have. It was enough to make him sigh sadly to himself at the hopelessness of it all.

"Do you see something?" Springload asked, mistaking his small sound for a potential signal. Embarrassed and surprised, Quillfire coughed and babbled out an excuse as fast as he could come up with one.

"Ah… no! I simply mistook a… an organic being for the target!" he explained lamely, not even believing himself. Springload arched an optic ridge, looking as incredulous as he did frustrated at the false alarm. Quillfire laughed awkwardly to clear the air, shrinking down beneath the edge of the outcrop to disappear from view. A dissatisfied croak let him know the outburst was thoroughly not appreciated.

Frowning miserably to himself, the anarchist occupied his lonesome by doodling in the dirt at his pedes, practicing his signature mark as he often did while thinking. What was he supposed to do? Apologies were not in his nature, least of all because he didn't want to give them. As a loner he just didn't have much practice saying he was sorry to anyone. Ordinarily he was busy disrupting systems of power, overthrowing tyrannical systems, or freeing trapped souls with no one else to save them… Thoughts and feelings like these were too new for him to know what to do with them.

Thinking hard, he tried to come up with something he could do to earn the favor of the other mech, but still came up short. It was frustrating enough to make him draw more aggressively, because deep down he was certain there had to be a way to succeed. Springload wasn't too different from himself, after all. A lone mech, seeking his goals, using his natural gifts and weapons to take down those who opposed him…

Just as he was about to growl to himself at his failure to be inspired, his digit bumped against something in the soft earth. Without anything better to do, he slowly went about digging the object free. A flash of a white, shiny exterior motivated him to continue. Briefly forgetting about his troubles, he dug until a dirty but visibly solid object began to reveal its shape. Round and about the size of his palm, a glossy white stone came from the dirt without too much fuss, and he smiled at the small accomplishment. It was a rather lovely treasure for such a simple planet.

Just as he began to dust some of the remaining dirt from the granite or quartz exterior, he was struck by an idea, one so foolish he had to wonder how it could work.

Still, he was a champion of crazy ideas, so he dared to consider it.

Springload was a mech who one could describe as… extravagant, both in mission and mind. He required one to go all out, as he never held back in regards to the quest that he'd dedicated his entire life to completing. Overall, he was just an unusual bot. Perhaps, if Quillfire was thinking this through properly, that meant he could be reasoned with through some unusual means?

Tilting the rounded stone in his servo, he dared to believe a simple yet unusual gift would be enough to at least get the two of them started on a path to mending their teamwork. If nothing else, he'd at least get to tell himself he tried. The hardest part would be working up the courage to begin, but hopefully after that things would be easier. He just needed to take that first step…

Peeking over the edge of the outcrop, he saw that the amphibicon was in the same place he'd last been, reading over his map and murmuring to himself. Despite having read it every day for eons, the dedicated bot didn't look the least bit uninterested in his work. If anything, he looked downright eager, as if on the verge of a breakthrough at any given time. Quillfire hoped interrupting him wouldn't cause an even greater rift to form.

Clearing his vents, he found his pump pounding with unnatural anxiety as he forced his voice box to speak up, his servos almost trembling about the stone as he took a considerable leap of faith.

"S-Springload?" he finally croaked out, nearly losing his nerve when the other mech looked up to him with painfully obvious annoyance. Gulping, he overcame his anxiety to speak up and stand tall to appear more confident than he felt. "Can you… come up here? There is something you must see!"

Brightly colored optics widened, then fixed him with a look equal parts incredulous and irritated. "Is it important?"

"Very!" he insisted, sounding honest because he truly meant it with all of his spark. What could be more important than mending his fued with a fellow teammate?

In a single hop, Springload tucked away his map and cleared the entire road, landing just before Quillfire with a graceful thud.

"I, er…" he stammered as the silliness of what he was about to do hit him in full. Unable to remember the last time he had given or received anything, he was without a clue as to what to say, so he simply held out the stone in his cupped palms with an attempt at a smile. There was a perceptible tremble in his arms as he did so, but he remained strong. "I believe I'm supposed to give this to you!"

Springload didn't immediately react beyond a raised brow, so he stammered forth more of an explanation, spark sinking in his chest. "As a s-sign of… teamwork."

"A white stone?" the amphibicon said at last, as if awakening from a light trance. Taking the rock carefully into his large servo, all while ensuring his acidic coat didn't touch the other mech, he held the item aloft into the light. Just seeing him interested made the anarchist dare to hope things might work out, but in his wildest of dreams he'd never have anticipated what happened next. Springload lit up like a mech beholding a Prime out of the blue, his optics turning away from the stone for just a moment.

"Just the same as those that line the gates of Doradas!" he exclaimed in awe.

Quillfire didn't have any response for that, good or bad as it may have been.

"What?"

"The sacred text makes it clear!" he shouted in explanation, bringing forth his scroll of indecipherable runes as if it made everything make sense. Gesturing to the lines of what Springload saw as gibberish, he began to proclaim their meaning with enthusiasm, optics wide and wild. "You see, here?! The gates of the Holy City will be lined with pure stones to mark the way!"

"I'm…" was all he could reply with, still a million miles behind the other mech in regards to understanding. While he'd hoped at most for appreciation or a mere thanks, Springload looked about ready to burst with excitement, and for reasons he couldn't even begin to comprehend. At the very least he figured he should be happy for the turn of events when he was surprised yet again.

"But how could you know?" Springload pressed, catching him more than a little off guard. Holding up his servos in surrender, Quillfire tried to figure out what exactly he was supposed to have known, and how he might have gone about figuring it out. He'd just thought it was pretty and would make a decent gesture of peace! Fumbling for a response so as not to lose his progress, he was saved by another burst of revelation he had no part in.

"Of course, the spirits!" he exclaimed, almost dropping the rock in his excitement. Clasping his servos over the apparently precious gift, he explained his excitement more or less by simply talking aloud to himself. "They must have guided you, enabling you to find such a sacred object, so that you could gift it to me!"

Accepting he would never truly understand, Quillfire only smiled and nodded at the other's exuberance. More than happy things had turned out so well, he was content to let the other mech believe whatever he wanted, even if he didn't follow it. "Of course!"

"As to why they would do this… they must know you are key to my quest!" Springload continued, using an avid free servo to clasp the other mech's arm in a sign of commitment. More surprised than confused, the anarchist tilted his helm in shock at how fast things had changed between them. Just like that, everything that had happened was forgiven? More than forgiven, in fact, he was seen as a friend and ally? It didn't seem inaccurate to say he was also being looked at as a divine being at the moment. By the Primes, this bot was like no other!

"I was a fool! To think, I tried to push you away!" the amphibicon cried, deactivating his acid so he could better cling to the taller mech. Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Quillfire wondered if he might start weeping, and hoped it wouldn't come to such a show. Not only was he not the best at providing comfort, he didn't have any tissues… Mercifully, the big optics looking into his seemed to sparkle with jubilation rather than tears.

"Ah, it's really nothing…" Quillfire reassured, beginning to blush from the high praise. A spare servo massaged the back of his neck in an open show of bashful deflection. Such a small thing hardly felt worthy of this kind of praise, even for a mech as glory seeking as himself. Not that he was disliking this turn of events.

"It's everything!" Springload corrected, emphatic and no longer impatient. "You must have been sent into my life by the spirits themselves!"

Actively blushing at that, the anarchist looked away, rubbing harder at the back of his neck. He hadn't a clue what to do with this newfound respect and admiration. Perhaps the other bot was just having a momentary burst of affection, which would give way as soon as the next symbol or sign grabbed his attention, but at present such a turn seemed beyond doubtful. Quillfire was being regarded in a way typically saved for the most ancient and holy of altars to the Primes. In the depths of his spark, he wanted it to last.

A distant but heavy sound caught his sharp audials, just as the tremor sensitive Springload perked up in synchronized recognition. Something was rumbling its way down the primitive earth road. Recalling their mission so fast his quills flared in alarm, the anarchist stood up to his full height, catching a glimpse of a truck through the densely packed pines. Their target was approaching fast. Worse, they were in no position to intercept it as planned.

Thinking fast, Quillfire pulled one of his namesake weapons from his back, preparing to strike as the unknowing human drove their way.

"I shall block the path." he announced, redirecting their strategy from before to include himself. Business came first for them both, so each was ready in an instant. Springload crouched low on his powerful legs in anticipation of his orders, which came just as the truck began barreling down the final stretch in their direction, multiple tons on a solid course they needed to stop. "You, render it motionless once it is stopped."

An agreeable ribbit communicated hearty understanding in the final moments before their strike.

While massive by earth standards, the truck was small enough for Quillfire to plan his moves without much of a risk. Still, he was careful in his timing, as the cargo was as valuable as it was delicate. Any great crash would render it useless. Their success hinged on him being precise more than cautious, so he waited for the perfect amount of distance to be between himself and his target before he leapt down into the asphalt below.

Well practiced using his own weapons, he tossed his quill just ahead of the already braking truck, funneling their path to the point of nonexistence. With nowhere to go, the driver was forced to slam on the brakes and skid to a stop, not having the option to go around or turn back. Quillfire smirked in pride at the human's textbook reaction, and could have sworn he heard Springload give a cheer at his victory. Near victory, that was, there was still one crucial step for them to see through.

"Now!" he ordered as the multiple tire sets came to a stop just shy of him. With the speed of someone working on the same page, the amphibicon dove from his perch, shooting his tongue out like a whip. Acid and force popped the tires in rapid succession, filling the air with a series of bangs and creaks until the heavy machine collapsed onto nothing but it's hubcaps. Rubber flew in every direction and nothing even resembling tires remained to spin, leaving multiple tons collapsed on the asphalt. The truck would not be going anywhere.

"A clean victory!" Springload declared happily, still clutching his gift as he hopped back beside Quillfire. "Truly, the spirits are on our side in full. You are their greatest emissary."

Beaming at the praise, Quillfire turned when he heard the door of the vehicle opening up. Both mech's turned just as the human driver jumped from the vehicle, landing in a heap on the ground as he did so. Catching their mutual gaze, the tiny being threw up his hands in surrender, wide eyed and terrified as could be. A gigantic, metallic frog and an even bigger metal porcupine had not been mentioned when he'd taken the job.

"Look, I'm n-not paid enough for this!" he stammered, gesturing wildly to the trailer as he slowly stepped backwards on shaking legs. Giving up the goods completely for his own sake, he unknowingly earned the approval of a certain anarchist. Abandoning one's shackles for self preservation was a key tactic, and he smiled as the human gave them both full clearance, dropping his keys on the spot. "Just take the truck! A-all of it!"

"We shall, your cooperation is appreciated." Springload replied, sounding a bit haughty. In truth the human's cooperation meant little; either mech was fully capable of taking what they wanted without much effort. Happy just to see someone making the right choices, Quillfire praised and comforted the terrified earthling in what he considered to be the best way.

"Fear not, brother. You have been liberated from the bonds of oppressive labor!" he encouraged, presenting the human with a smile of reassurance. Reacting with what he presumed to be unfathomable joy, the tiny being turned about and began to sprint, disappearing into the trees with a considerable ruckus of breaking branches and fussing animals. Screams of jubilation began echoing out after he was long gone from sight.

Waving the lucky one off, Quillfire smiled at the impossible fortune this day had brought him, happy to share it with others. If humans could figure out the true way to live, perhaps there was yet hope for them. He dared to believe as much while shouting after the former truck driver. "Go forth, tiny earthling! Enjoy the freedom we have given you!"

Turning back to the work yet to be completed, he found Springload using his selectively acidic touch to melt through the lock of the truck's trailer, his gift still peeking out through his other servo's protective grip. Marveling at how the other mech seemed intent on believing his truth, Quillfire still decided to let it be. Though happy just to be friends, it was quite likely this was just how things worked for such a dramatic bot. He was surprised how he was beyond accepting of such a concept, and in fact, quite looking forward to it.

As the doors opened, the two of them found a rather manageable cluster of boxes secured tightly to avoid damaging movement. Comfortable as the load would have been for two bots, it doubtlessly was too much for one, yet Springload began freeing it from its bonds with a smile.

"Allow me to carry this burden, great one! It is the least I can offer!" he said eagerly, tucking his stone away into a subspace beside his spark. Cutting their payload free, he began to move the boxes happily outside, no doubt planning to pile them all into his altmode. While usually happy to get some time off, Quillfire didn't feel right about leaving the other mech to handle it all. Their new partnership deserved to get off to a much better start than that.

"I can help." he reassured simply, taking his fair share of the boxes to carry in his hands. Though the smaller mech needed his altmode to handle his share, he didn't allow transforming to stop his eager chatting, and continued to extoll the virtues of his new ally as a happy pickup truck.

"Such generosity!" he praised, putting along to leave the abandoned truck behind them. Though a little overwhelmed by the idea of someone seeing him as a bona fide gift from ancient deities, he allowed the other mech's chatter to fill the walk home, finding it to be far better than the awkward silence that had followed them here. Who ever would have been able to guess a mere stone could change so much?

"I shall have to insist we are partnered together for future endeavors! As two individuals chosen by the spirits, our camaraderie can bring only success!" Springload gushed, turning about happily on his bouncing tires. "Would that please you, great one? I am certain riches will come to us both!"

Though he still had his own dreams, Quillfire didn't indeed find the idea of more missions like this very agreeable, so much so that he had no problem smiling in affirment.

"Riches indeed, my new friend!"

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