#just like “guess I’ll have to carry my wounded friend

[twelvebooksstuff]

Finally!!! Some Book!Sarah Harding content!! Firstly I LOVE the art, it captures her VERY well!! Everything from the colors to the facial expression is just spot on!!

Secondly, they ABSOLUTELY did her dirty in the movie, to the point where they are barely even the same character anymore. And combining her with Richard Levine was a mistake for many reasons, not the least that they are foils to each others, and that Sarah would never be so impulsive!!

local man dismayed to learn that awesome female action hero is even more awesome in the book than the movie: “why did they do my girl dirty, watering her down like that?” he asks.

(meme below the cut)

[bunji-enthusiast]

One Whole, Became Two

Note || this took me so long to write, but I love this stupid idiot platonically. Chapter three my sleep-deprived folks 👍🏻

WC || 3,312

<(part 1)><(previous part)><(you are here)>

Sypnosis || you bring back a dear old dead heart to a wounded dog.

If someone ever told you that you would’ve come back to a desolate factory full of death and damnation you would tell them that in what world in which would that happen? You never would’ve heeded their words.

Oh, how wrong you were.

You hated being wrong.

Yet, many things may have happened, some of which allowed you to get in some exercise… you also gained some new friends. They are very near and dear to you, despite the small numbers you retain in your ragtag group of allies. You preferred the terminology friends, you’ve gotten close with Kissy Missy and Poppy, even DogDay too!

Speaking of which, this accursed Playcare was still a little too dark for your liking. You needed more power, more light to go the right way necessary. A light chuckle breaks you out of your thoughts, “A-angel, do you need some help?” DogDay inquired, watching as you had tried to remember which way he had pointed to the medical station.

You shook your head egregiously, trying to affirm your belief as you spoke, “I got it… I swear I know which way it is!” Your shoulders slumped as you let out a defeated sigh, having to hate asking him for help.

Asking for help wasn’t necessarily your most favorite thing in the world, in for the most of miniscule of things. You thought it was ridiculous, insipid to do, in no way would you ever ask for said help unless you really were struggling.

Apparently as of right now, these were one of those moments that you were truly struggling, and it was with directions as well. You couldn’t be any more ashamed, “Could you m-maybe tell me where it was again?”

DogDay let out an amused bark, not merely in making fun of you. He thought you were just cute, the way you were embarrassed, though DogDay will never actually admit this feeling to you. “Okay, Angel, you see that sign over there? It points to the direction of the medical station.” Your large companion points to the sign in question, you sorely cannot miss it no way, his paw was big. Actually, it’s nearly the size of your head.

“Ah, focus!”

The pathway was riddled with broken cobblestone and dirt, but do-able to make your way through. You just hated broken paths, no trouble still.

You nod to let him know you saw it, walking over to the sign that was now a few pacings away from you. The silence had now settled in place for the lack of conversation, it was seemingly getting awkward enough as is. Suddenly, a new voice interjects on the radio of your walkie-talkie.

“Oh there you are! I wasn’t able to connect to you on that side of the dome!” His light voice carried an undercurrent of worry. “No ouchies or lost body parts?”

DogDay raised a brow as you two had continued making your way to the medical station. You nodded your head curtly, as if angling your head to signify you’d explain the kid on the radio at a later time. You spoke out in reply, knowing full well you weren’t in any real danger at the moment, “I’m uh, I’m fine Ollie. Just taking care of a friend, they got hurt… real bad.” A wince left your throat at the tone you carried within your words, you didn’t expect that.

A thought rushed into your head, “Why’d I word it like that? I guess I’m just worried about revealing DogDay to Ollie just yet.” DogDay patted your leg as to reassure you, eyes gleaming as if they were smiling down upon you. 

“Alright, you can introduce me later,” Ollie paused, as if he were hesitating to get the words out of his mouth. As if something was holding him back from doing so, “Take care of them first then I’ll tell you what to do next. See you!”

Then, the radio was now silent. You let out a breath you held in your lungs, sometimes forgetting to breathe reminds you to even breathe manually. An odd habit but nobody will nitpick that for the life of all there is to know and exist. 

An abrupt cough shocked you out of your thoughts, you immediately became concerned for DogDay who had been patiently waiting for your dilemma and conversation to end. You knelt down and checked over his body, “No need to worry.” You lodged his resistance in the back of your head, looking for any external wounds beside the most obvious ones. 

“I shouldn’t have stopped.” You murmur, gently picking him up. There was no way you’d let him drag himself along the floor, not until he was in a better state.

“We’re alright Angel,” DogDay sputtered, you were unimpressed, not phased by his words. “Really… but who was that if I may ask?” 

Steadily, you continued walking–the stupid medical station finally in reach. “Ollie, apparently sometime after I dropped down here he told me he was an ally of Poppy.” You then trailed off, not sure if you wanted to mansplain the entirety of the story down right to when you came across DogDay. Sighing, you begrudgingly open the door to the station.

The room was messy, akin to the state of many other locations in Playcare. But in your modest opinion, you truly did not care about that. You just really needed to fix up DogDay, and he was the focal point of your attention right now. “Angel, you seemed to be incredibly bothered.” 

DogDay shifted on the weight of his body as you began setting him down, if you were being truthful, you couldn’t refute that very fact. Yet you felt too angry to get the words across, “I know, I.. I guess this stupid factory just has me all on edge.”

Then a silence settled into place, as neither of you were unsure of what to say next. Everything and nothing was happening all at the same time. You walked over the ruined carpet, it looked as if it was made in the 1980’s. Some doors seemed to be torn off of it’s hinges, but at least the supplies were barely stolen. There was enough to treat DogDay properly, as much as you can manage within your knowledge anyway.

The hard part would be treating DogDay, (as you unfortunately didn’t have enough knowledge medically) and getting him his legs back so he could walk on his own as well. 

Gently, you opened a door to a closet, full of bandages and gauze. 

“Perfect timing, guess I didn’t need to look that hard.” You thought to yourself, your hands already grabbing the bandages and gauze. A small smile graced your cracked lips, carrying a genuine air with you, “Hey, DogDay I found some supplies. Looks like they left this place pretty untouched.” You waved at him, holding the aforementioned supplies in hand. 

DogDay perked up from where he had been looking at some stray medical papers, most likely files of every patient to come in and out of the station. “Oh!.. Thank you greatly. You really are an angel my friend.” You become bashful at his words, an embarrassed chuckle leaving you as you scratched the back of your head. Standing up you walk back over to the large dog, motioning for DogDay to position himself to where you can get to all the spots correctly.

You sighed, having to take a moment in order to set yourself into focus, this was important. You didn’t want to screw up something so crucial to DogDay’s health, “Ok, This might hurt a little so bear with me.” You warn, crouching down as you laid out the supplies.

“I have no doubt you will do fine!” DogDay encouraged you, settling down to be calmer for you. Fine, yes you can do fine. Okay well enough maybe, you just need to be careful!

Why was this so difficult?

“Stupid brain, Stop giving me all these thoughts!” You groan lowly, setting into place to mend his more major wounds with a contemporary suture. First off, you needed to clean the suture, to which you had quickly done. 

You gently pressed a wet rag to the most prominent area, cleaning it out of any debris that might be left behind in the wound. DogDay was simply listening and quiet upon your actions, clearly a little too impressed for your liking. You swabbed the wound with water then threw away the rag a few meters from you, you internally winced at that. 

Injuries are a major case for you ever since you stepped foot into this factory, you just never expected to be having to treat another person (or toy for that matter). 

“Angel?” You let out a hum in reply, suturing the wound as he spoke. “You seem… incredibly bothered, maybe you should try to talk about it.” DogDay shifted slightly, wincing a little as he had done so. Concern washes over your expression as you went to hold him, he held out a hand to reassure you he was fine.

“Well.”

You sat back on the heel of your foot as you thought about it for a moment, your brows knitted together. It was practically hurting your head, giving you a headache to be thinkin about every little thing that was running through your head.

Your lips pressed together in a thin line, unsure of whether or not to air your concerns. But it seems you weren’t gonna have any other chance to talk about it then right now, you just didn’t wanna dump everything on DogDay all at once. 

Practically would seem like a lot. Far too much to say and too little to be sure of. 

“I guess I’m just concerned over whether or not I really can trust Poppy,” You signal, having a habit of talking with your hands. “And this, Prototype guy… didn’t you say CatNap worships this thing like a god?”

He nods, “Yes, I didn’t join the Prototype. Which is why he had deemed me a heretic.” You frown at his words, nobody deserves that type of treatment. Making it even worse, you would assume the two used to be very good friends. 

“Oh dear,” You echo, recoiling suddenly in embarrassment for voicing something you didn’t realize slipped out of your mouth. DogDay laughs at this, waving his hand as he sits himself upright so as to not slip onto his back, “You are very much correct Angel.” He nods, “If anything, he’s no longer the old CatNap I’ve come to know him as.”

You shrug, a little unsure of the situation right now. Then a thought you finally needed ran across your mind, “Hey, would you happen to remember where your legs are or if… any spare ones laying around anywhere?” You motion around the room as you spoke, voice trailing off as you sat back, and awaiting DogDay’s response. He appeared to be deep in thought, clearly thinking about your question.

“I believe they have some spares in a storage room at this station,” DogDay gestures at the specific door he thought of in mind. “But Angel, I might be wrong. Don’t trouble yourself for my sake beyond this.” His voice strains, as if pleading. 

You chewed your lips, nodding your head once more as you headed to the door of origin. You quietly crept into the room, seeing how dark and dank it was. Slowly but surely your eyes had adjusted to the light. 

“Now, where are you… stupid legs.” You mutter, taking notice of some poppy gas that laid in wait in the corner, not to mention how badly scratched this room was in particular. Probably the work of CatNap or some other toy. On instinct, your legs drove you forward as you stepped into the gas with a gas mask inset upon your face. You certainly didn’t feel like dying from the gas, or passing out for that matter.

You had a debt to pay.

Your eyes wandered aimlessly as you palmed around for the supposed legs, feeling around for each and every inch possible that you might miss. 

Suddenly you felt a fuzzy feeling run up across your arm, you jostled in surprise, a happy squeak leaving your throat when you pick up the legs. “Thank you, sweet baby jesus.” You huff in reprise, feeling accomplished at the place of convenience.

If you could laugh right now, it would be possible, heaven sure as hell wasn’t a place for angels anymore. Not even you, but you still had to follow through, you came here in the first place anyway.

A small sigh left your esophagus as you turned, walking back through as you made careful note not to trip walking back too. 

Something had your mind occupied, demons infested this place. Elliot Ludwig had created this place, and if he so proclaims to want to bring joy to thousands upon thousands of children around the world then why would he permit the experiments. All those children and the elderly… your heart couldn’t help but ache at the mere thought. 

You shake your head to get your mind out of the unilluminated gutter, DogDay lit up upon seeing you in his sights once more. “Angel, you are alright.” He mentions, paw held to his chest as if he were breathing a sigh of relief.  

Your nose was scrunched as you gutted a snort, “You say that like it’s so surprising DogDay.” DogDay shrugs, as if he was now expressing the vulnerability of being embarrassed at the prospect of his own words. 

“Ah I’m just joking with you,” You wave him off, DogDay remains silent at this, not having any thought at what to say back to you. You were right though, he shouldn’t be doubting you for what even anyone in particular is worth. Being freed for what feels like the first time in forever had been leaving him with brand new thoughts, even though he had been thinking and left well alone for nearly over a decade now.

One door closes, infinite more are open. One must beware the foreign class, otherwise you may as well see yourself dead. 

“I truly do apologize for Poppy’s actions… we all mean well.” DogDay begins, trailing off into nearly an inconceivable silence. You set down the legs, to which DogDay is delighted at this brand new aspect, yet still left without room to be uncouth. You didn’t speak at all, pressing between the fine line of the truth and his own words. 

“We must, break the circle.”

What?

“Angel?”

“You all are chained, if whatever happened all those years ago were true…” You sigh, rubbing the nape of your neck as you find yourself in an air of awkwardness. “Then I am also at fault for the way you guys are right now.” 

DogDay’s brows drew together, upset that you feel guilty for the entirety of this fortnight. At least it had felt that way for you, you sincerely had lost track of time since your watch had gotten destroyed. You tried keeping up with the time on the clocks you pass by, but you just generally had lost the energy and motion in doing so.

“Hmn.” He muttered to himself, then got up to hug you, which had clearly surprised you as you felt yourself being enveloped and wrapped in a very fluffy hug. You sigh and decompress after a few moments, the shock finally leaving your body.

“Thanks… DogDay,” You motion, patting the fluff resting upon his chest. “I actually really needed that, hugs are a rarity.” You admit, blush burning on your cheeks as you look away from him in a manner of speaking. You hear a chuckle interrupted by a cough, “Don’t thank me, you seemed to really need it Angel. Being exhausted is one thing, but no hugs?”

DogDay drew a paw to his chest as he spoke dramatically, “That is absolutely unacceptable!” Your hand crossed over your mouth, trying to stifle a laugh at what a drama king DogDay was posing as at this very moment. 

“You kinda remind me of someone I know.” You motion, then sat on the heels of your feet as you immediately went back to work in fixing up DogDay. 

“How so?” 

“You're pretty bright, act like a drama king sometimes and you even can be a little mean…” You wag a finger as you see him begin to protest at the mean comment, “I don’t mean like in a rude manner, just like in a brotherly way. You kind of act like a big brother sometimes.” You shrug with a hint of finality, fixing up his other injuries and repairing them with a gentle hand, even if the suture seemed to betray the tremble displayed. 

After silence had continuously settled in once again, you sigh, angling at the fact on what to do in order to mend DogDay’s very obvious injury with his lack of legs attached at the bottom of his torso. For a moment, you meander with the decision.

“Right, I’m gonna try my best to reattach them to you.” You spoke with a benign tone, more so displaying your own distrust of yourself. You hated that, you practically hated everything so why is this any different.

You just have to do it scared. 

Familiarity reigns over your heart as you see his large paw lay over your own hand, you sigh, sensations shuddering your body as you keep yourself calm. You silently thank DogDay as you gesture that you were okay now, you can be fine on your own.

You push the legs to his upper half, just barely enough that it would appear as if the legs were there and back again already. Your hand wanders over to the middle line, your eyes glaze over with forlorn worry taking your very worried brain. You sigh as you begin stitching, taking careful caution as you notice him flinching quite a few times throughout the process. At a leisurely pace, you notice by the influence you had made by taking care of him how much better he looks physically. 

Soon enough, you manage to completely stitch his legs back to right where they belong. “Well done, I knew you could do it Angel!.” DogDay shook with excitement, reassuringly glad at the prospect of being able to actually walk again. You swear you could collapse at the relief, you hold out a finger before you let him get excited any further, “I still need to bandage it all together, extra precaution if you catch my drift.”

Your large dog companion nods in understanding, shifting about so his body parts don't get sore from sitting in one place for too long. 

From before, grace was high in patriarchy, now then you were sure it was something high to fall from. You could climb to the top (bottom to be literal) and rip the Prototype off of his high horse, and free all the surviving toys. 

You shook your head, trying to calm yourself at the buzzing excitement that had resonated deep-seated into your heart. You quickly went to work on bandaging the middle line of his torso, carefully curating it enough so the bandages would cover the stitches completely. 

“There, now we are done and good to go!” You look up at DogDay, offering him a soft smile. “Angel really… thank you so much.” He gestures for you to come closer, so you oblige and go in, suddenly you feel yourself being hugged by unabashed warmth. You yelped as air bloomed across your skin, seeing as you are now in the air quite a few feet off the ground.

DogDay really was hugging you with the whole of his heart, so you melt into his touch, relenting as you found defeat–yet also peace with your furry friend.

[tokyo-1842]

Heyo, could you write a oneshot with Sanji and a reader who he thinks is a man? Reader actually dressed like a man and deepens their voice, they used to do it as a defense mechanism on their home island but they've made it a habit and haven't found the right time to break the news to their friends. Maybe after a rough fight, Reader has very bad injuries and Sanji has to take her to Chopper and realizes Reader is a woman,, you can add whatever storyline you want after that, I'm so sorry my brain ain't braining rn and I really liked your Luffy one shot with the kitsune reader 🫶🏽

(AINT GOTTA TELL ME TWICEEEE)

Sanji x F!Reader

——————————————————————————

Sanji x F!Reader who dresses like a boy!, a little suggestive, reader gets hurt, smallll Angst, THATSS ALL FOLKS.

——————————————————————————

Long ago before joining the Strawhat Pirates. You dressed up as a man to stay safe on your island. Slowly became a habit. It kept you safe from horrible people but over time it just…became a part of you.

That habit affected your life on the seas. You see, the crew had different awareness’s and opinions of your Identity.

Some just didn’t care, like Luffy and Chopper because you’re one of the straw-hats who cares about gender! (Aww). Some knew like Nami and Robin. But one didn’t know at all which was Sanji.

To be frank you didn’t really care and only got a little jealous of the princess treatment the other ladies get from time to time.

Ok you really cared because it wasn’t fair they got ice cream while you’re working your BUTT OFF. But not to the point where it caused you to reveal your self as a woman.

So now all of the unfair treatment brings us to here.

“We are going on a trip with our favorite cool looking ship! Zooming through the seas!” Usopp and Luffy sung together, hold each other’s shoulders. They laughed and made up songs. Making your trip to the market place of the island insufferable. “Ughhhhhh….” You groaned rubbing your face. “Why did I have to come…” you muttered. “Because it’s your guy’s turn to restock! Maybe control your pal Luffy because eventually, we’ll go so hungry the ship will be eaten.”

The cook inhaled smoke from a cigarette and exhaled. “Speaking of restock, we are going to spilt up. First of all” “Sanji.” “Not now Y/N, Usopp and Luffy will get essentials-“ “Sanjiii…” “Me and you will get food-“

“SANJI THEYRE GONE!” You shouted.

…

“shit.”

“Dammit! We can never have a normal day with those two!” Sanji gritted his teeth as you two wandered around a marketplace. “Maybe they are at a food stall.” You said. “They better fucking be or else I’ll-“ “language!” You shouted.

BOOM!

“The marines! Pirates!” A woman shouted as she ran. “Hurry!” A man screamed. Many people ran and stores were being closed.

You and Sanji stood and watched the chaos. “I guess we gotta cut the shopping trip short..ugh..”

“Take their heads DONT let them get away!”A marine officer headed straight for the pair.

The fight was pretty easy. Just when the last few men stood Sanji dropped some items when blocking a hit. “Leave it!” You yelled annoyed. “No way! This is for Nami-Swan!”

He turned around to pick it up, now the cook was in the open and a marine soilder swung.

“SANJI!”

SLICE

Silence fell as you landed on the ground. Sanji turned in horror as he looked at you bloodied body on the floor. “Y/N..”

You were too tired to see what had happened but you know those marines regretted it. Sanji was carrying you back to Chopper. His heart was pounding, thoughts running through is head. The blonde reached Chopper’s infirmary and demanded immediate attention.

Luckily the injuries weren’t that bad and you only passed out from shock. It was a cut right under your chest.(I couldn’t write on your chest bc i felt the pain😭) The crew was relieved, you were told to stay in bed by Chopper since the wound could reopen. Everyone visited then Sanji came in to bring you food last.

“Y/N dinners here.” The cook muttered and place it on the table next to you.

The blankets moved as you stirred awake and sat up, showing the bandages on your body. They covered the upper half of your torso and wrapped nicely around your (tatas🤯)

Sanji jaw dropped as he gawked at your features, eyes going lower and lower. Your eyes, your facial shape, your (melons), your waist. “Y/N-chan, you’re a GIRL!! So HOT!” You blushed, his eyes turned into hearts as he swirled.

“But that means…oh…IM SO SORRY Y/N-SWANN! HOW COULD I TREAT YOU LIKE SUCH A MONSTER IM SO SORRY I ASSUMED YOU WERE A-“ Bonk! “CAN IT MORON!” Nami screamed. “but!-“ Bonk! “Y/N! Are you really ok with him knowing?” The orange hair woman asked concerned. “It’s fine with me…” “I WANNA KNOW WHATS UNDERNEATH!” “shut UP!” Bonk!

After a good beating from the Navigator you were chatting with the cook at around 11pm.

“Say..Y/N swan, why do you dress up as a man? You’re so beautiful this way!” He inquired. “Well, it’s just a habit. I did this a lot for safety in my home island” You answered. “Who could make my precious Y/N swan feel unsafe to the point of hiding her beauty!? I’ll kill-“ “It fine Sanji!” You giggled and he melted into a dumb love sick smile.

“Im so sorry for letting my guard down back there! I should have thought first.” Vinsmoke held your hands and stared into your eyes with sorrow. A gentle hand was placed on his cheek. “It’s ok I mean, im alive aren’t I? That’s all that matters.” He blushed.

“Now I think we should come up with a punishment for Usopp and Luffy for causing this mess right?” You smirked devilishly.

“OH Y/N-SWAN YOUR SO CUTE WHEN YOU MISCHIEVOUS!~~~” The cook yelled at the top of his lungs.

“GET A ROOM!” Zoro shouted from the Crows nest.

“SHUT UP!” Nami screamed.

“FOOD!?” Luffy shrieked.

“SUPPPPERRRRRR!!!!” Franky bellowed.

“This calls for a song YOHOHO!” Brooked howled

“NOOO!!” Nami yelled in anger and disbelief.

——————————————————————————

I WASNT SURE IF U WANTED IT TO BE ACTUALLY DATING LOWKEY SOO- PHEW THAT WAS A LOAD I JUST KEPT ON WRITING AND WRITING TY FOR THE REQUEST ASK AGAIN ANYTIME!!!!

some gifs :)

HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT :3

[britany1997]

Cat and Mouse

Hope y’all love this! Comment to be added to my Spike Taglist:)

Spike x fem reader slayer

Warnings: SMUT minors DNI, predator x prey (sort of), roleplay, lotsssss of foreplay and a little bit of smut, cunnilingus, biting (duh), blood drinking (also duh), I think that’s it

You ran through the depths of Spike’s cave, desperately searching for a way out.

The tunnels seemed to wind on forever, and every turn seemed to lead you to a dead end. You feared it was only a matter of time before you met your own end.

As you raced down another tunnel, fear crept into your heart when you found yet another cold cave wall. A whispered “no” fizzled from your lips.

“Bad luck pet,” you tensed as a familiar voice purred from behind you.

In a flash, your back was pressed into the wall, held in place by the forearm of the most despicable vampire you knew, Spike.

You scowled down at him, your eyes full of ire.

Spike returned your scowl with a smirk. He leaned in to whisper in your ear. “I will know your blood, Slayer. I will make your neck my chalice... and drink deep.”

Your hateful expression melted to one of amusement.

“Did you script this?”

He glared at you, “you’re not supposed to break character.”

That was a yes.

The corner of your lip pulled up slightly, but you suppressed it before you could smile. Spike had obviously put a lot of thought into your little game, you’d hate to ruin it for him.

“In your dreams bloodsucker,” you bit back, pushing Spike off of you and into the cave wall across from you.

His smile was catlike as he brushed rubble off his clothes.

“Yes pet, exactly.” He grabbed your hand and yanked you towards him, “now tell me, do you dream of me too?”

You threw him off you, pulling your stake from its holster. “I dream of the day I can drive this through your hollow chest.”

He mock pouted. “You wound me love, who’ll you play with when I’m a pile of dust?”

You scoffed, moving forward to press the point of the stake into his chest, “vamps like you are a dime a dozen.”

“You’re half right pet,” he smirked, “Sunnydale may be overrun with vampires…”

In a flash he grabbed your wrist, wrestling the stake to the ground and maneuvering you against his chest, “…but there’s no one quite like me.”

Your thighs clenched as he slowly licked along your neck.

Spike had carried you out from his tunnel network, and into the bedroom area of his cave.

He threw you onto the bed before crawling over you, “your mine slayer,” he said as his lips moved to capture yours.

“Wait.”

He groaned, “what??”

Your eyes narrowed. “You catch me, ‘the super powerful, only slayer in all the world…’”

He nodded.

You pursed your lips, moving off the bed to think.

“That kinda makes it seem like you win.”

You could have sworn if he had any blood it would have rushed to his cheeks.

“Win?” He asked, laughing nervously. “You must be- no. Win? What?”

You crossed your arms.

He sighed, “can you just get on the bed.”

“Mhmm,” your finger reached out to caress his chin. “Since you’re the big, bad, strong vampire that defeats me, shouldn’t you be able to…you know, take me?”

He groaned, “believe me love I am trying.”

You giggled, “you know that’s not what I meant.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. You cleared your throat to suppress your laughing.

He looked up, “can’t you win next time?”

You smiled, “ok Spikey.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled as he picked you up and spun you around, making soft giggles fall from your lips.

“Oh no! The evil vampire has captured me again! Whatever shall I do now?” You threw your arm over your forehead dramatically.

He rolled his eyes, but smiled. “No stakes left, no friends around to save you slayer?”

You raised an eyebrow, “hmm guess I’ll have to resort to your methods,” you sunk your teeth into the skin of his neck.

“Oh fuck love.” he moaned, gripping your hair and pulling gently.

You sucked the skin of his neck between your teeth. God you hoped vampires could still bruise.

The hand not currently tangled in your hair slid to your waist, pulling you closer and squeezing.

When you finally pulled away, Spike’s eyes were practically all black. He was dripping with desire.

“My turn,” he pushed you back, pressing you into the mattress and letting his teeth sink into the familiar spot where your shoulder met your neck.

You let out a breathy mew and wrapped your legs around his waist as he drank.

“Mmm slayer,” he purred into your shoulder, “you’re too sweet to drink dry…I’d rather keep you instead.”

You bit your lip and rolled your hips, grinding against him. “What are you going to do with me?” You forced a scared look onto your face.

He lifted his head from your neck to peer down at you, “what I always do pet…” he paused, “make you scream.”

You couldn’t help it. You crashed your lips into his in a searing kiss. “Well then hurry up already,” you teased.

He smirked as he tore your clothes off, prompting a gasp to fall from your lips. “So impatient,” he teased back.

He tossed the remains of your clothes to the side and kneeled between your legs.

“You’ve got the prettiest cunt love,” he sighed wistfully.

Your ran your fingers through his hair, before pulling him in closer with a bit of slayer strength. “Yeah? Bet it tastes even better.”

His hand snaked around your leg as he leaned in to nip at your thigh. “Mmm I bet it does.”

He gently parted your legs further. He pressed soft kisses to each thigh, before leaning in to kiss your lower stomach.

You whimpered, desperate for more. “Enough teasing,” you grit through your teeth.

He chuckled as he moved to lick softly at your clit. As you did your hands threaded through his hair once more.

Spike, encouraged by your response, sealed his lips around your clit and began to suck. His eyes fluttering closed as he felt your thighs shake around his head.

Spike’s hands came up to hold your hips, and squeezed as he licked and sucked.

When you felt yourself getting close to the edge, his tongue licked a stripe upwards before laving at your clit, desperate to make feel you release into his mouth.

You screamed his name as you coated his face, causing him to moan in approval.

He left soft kisses on your thighs as he licked them clean, before crawling into bed beside you.

You hummed as he wrapped himself around you from behind, his head fitting into the crook of your neck. “You were right,”

“Right about what?” he asked as he planted a kiss on your cheek.

“There’s no one quite like you,” you turned to beam up at him.

He smiled back at you, stroking your cheek. Then his gaze turned sinister. “Just wait until round two slayer.”

You smirked. Your night had just begun.

Note: yes that’s an actual Buffy quote about him making reader’s neck his chalice lmao

Spike Taglist🦇:

@sad-ghost-of-garbage @6lostgirl6 @misslavenderlady @bloodywickedvamp @crustyboypix @dwaynesluscioushair @lostboys1987girl @anna1306 @arbesa-mind @ria-coolgirl @the-glitter-wizard

[charliedawn]

Heyy! Idk if you are taking requests but if you are. Could you write one of bnha in which Aizawa has a daughter and she gets in a dangerous fight and she arrives home hurt?

Thanksss :) 🤍🩷

It was late evening when Shouta, the ever-tired Pro Hero Eraserhead, sat at his desk grading papers. The room was dim, the only light being a small lamp casting a soft glow over the mess of papers and files on his desk. He had barely blinked through the last stack when his phone buzzed with a message. He ignored it at first, assuming it was another work-related notice. But then another ping followed, and a chill ran down his spine.

His daughter, who was supposed to be out with friends, hadn’t messaged him all day.

Quickly, he checked his phone. There was a message from her. "Dad, I’m coming home. Don’t freak out." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. The phrasing was strange, and that could only mean one thing: trouble.

Moments later, the front door creaked open, and Aizawa’s sharp instincts flared. He stood up from his chair and turned to face the hallway. His daughter stumbled inside, clutching her side, her clothes torn and blood staining her shirt. Her face was bruised, and there was a cut running down her arm.

His usually calm, aloof expression broke for a second, fear and anger flashing in his eyes. "What happened ?" His voice was low, tight with concern, though he quickly approached her with controlled steps. He knelt down, scanning her injuries. She tried to smile through the pain, her face contorting slightly. "It’s not as bad as it looks, Dad. Just...got caught up in a fight. Some villains decided to pick a fight on the way back. I handled it."

Aizawa's jaw clenched. He wasn't only angry at her for being reckless but also at himself for not being there when she needed him. "Handled it ? Is that what you’re calling it ?" His voice was sharper than he intended. "You’re bleeding."

"I didn't have a choice. They ambushed me." She swayed slightly on her feet, and he quickly caught her arm, guiding her to the couch.

"Sit down. I'll get the first-aid kit," Aizawa said, his tone now firm but a bit softer. She was home. That was all that mattered. He moved swiftly, returning with bandages and antiseptic. As he started to clean the wound on her arm, she winced but didn’t say a word. She knew her father was furious, but she also knew he wouldn’t raise his voice at her when she was in such a state.

"Who were they ?" he finally asked after a few minutes, his voice calm but still carrying a note of anger.

She hesitated, knowing this was the part he would not take well. "Some low-level villains. They were looking for you, and I guess they found me instead."

Aizawa’s hands stilled for a moment as he processed the information. His mind was racing, thinking of all the possibilities, how close she had come to serious harm and how it had all been his fault. He should have been there. He should have gotten hurt—not her. "You shouldn’t have been alone," he said quietly, resuming his work on her wounds after a brief moment.

"I wasn’t exactly alone," she murmured. "I had a few classmates with me, but they weren’t fast enough to keep up when it started. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, so I told them to run while I distracted the villains."

His grip on the bandage tightened, but he kept his composure. "You were reckless. Even as my daughter, you don��t get a free pass for taking unnecessary risks like that. You should have called me immediately."

She lowered her eyes. "I know. I’m sorry."

Aizawa sighed deeply, his frustration mixing with the overwhelming relief that she had come home alive. "You’re not just sorry. You’re lucky. Next time, there might not be a 'coming home' for you if you act like that."

Her eyes softened, knowing that beneath his scolding was genuine worry. "I’ll be more careful. I promise."

Aizawa finished tending to her injuries and sat back, running a hand through his messy hair. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, the tension in the air slowly dissipating.

"You’re too much like me," he finally muttered, his tone almost resigned.

She chuckled softly. "That’s what everyone says."

Aizawa looked at her, his usual tired eyes reflecting a rare, tender emotion. "That…wasn’t a compliment."

Your smile faltered a bit.

"It is for me."

He didn’t respond to that. He just sat there with her, the weight of what could’ve been still pressing down on his chest. He then suddenly pulled you into his arms.

"…Reckless idiot." he muttered. You were surprised by the hug, but returned it nonetheless with a smile.

"…I love you too, Dad."

[callsign-rogueone]

questions

Ridoc Gamlyn x reader (sweetheart!) Part three of Ridoc and Sweetheart's story words: 2.9k 🏷: no real book spoilers, this will make more sense if you've read Resson (Garrick's version) but it's not required, set a week or two into Iron Flame, this is a sweetheart chapter so warning for intrusive / self-deprecating thoughts and anxiety spirals, I made a bunch of stuff up about Ridoc's life because RY never told us anything, Rhith being a cool mom, this hasn't been proofread, oops. gonna go have a bagel now byeeee

Rhith had told you that Ridoc would meet you at the gates at eleven — so naturally you’ve been standing there since 10:45, rocking back and forth on your heels and peeling your cuticles.

Why did you agree to do this? Actually, this was your idea — why did you bring it up? What if he’s not going to show up, and you’re just going to stand here for an hour like an idiot?

“Hey! Am I late?” he asks, startling you out of your thoughts. He’s a little out of breath, like he’d ran here, but he offers you a wide smile nonetheless.

You open your mouth to speak just as the bells chime. 

“Guess not,” he laughs when they’re done. “You ready to go?”

You nod, stuffing your hands into your pockets so he can’t see the state of your fingers. Thankfully it’s not too hot to wear your flight jacket. This is your first venture into town, and you don’t want to have your relic on display when you’re in a new place — just going is scary enough.

He leads the way — of course he knows where you’re going. He probably goes out every weekend with his friends; another way you’re completely different.

“I figured we could play twenty questions,” he offers. “Get to know each other a little more. You can go first, if you want.”

You take a second to remember how to speak again. “Alright, um… do you have any hobbies?”

“Coming up with jokes is pretty time consuming.”

“And here I thought they were all completely spontaneous,” you say, shaking your head. “Do you write them all down in that fabled diary of yours?”

He laughs. “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t actually have one?”

You tilt your head to the side, considering it. “Only because I don’t see you spending your free time sitting down, writing.” 

“You wound me, sweetheart. I assure you, I’m perfectly capable of writing complete sentences.”

“I never said you weren’t. I just said that I didn’t see you doing it.”

“Fair. Tell me about your book,” he prompts. “The one you’re always carrying around.”

“That’s not a question.”

He gives you a sly smile. “Well played. I’ll rephrase, then. What’s the book about? Do you like it?”

“That’s two questions.”

He laughs, warm and full. “I can’t get anything past you, can I?”

“Three.”

“Okay, okay. The first one, then — what's it about?”

“The main character is a trained assassin who is called before the king to join a contest to become his hitman, basically. But the contestants keep getting murdered in the night by some creature that they can’t track down.  It’s part of a series, but I’ve never seen the other volumes anywhere. I like to imagine a different ending every time I read it.”

“You’ve read it more than once?”

You ignore the fact that that’s yet another question, answering it without protest. “Yeah. I know that’s dumb, but it was the book I was in the middle of when my life went to shit. It’s technically property of the library in Aretia, but it was burnt to the ground, so I never gave it back.”

Your heart beats a little faster at the mention of your hometown, and you immediately regret bringing it up, but thankfully Ridoc seems none the wiser. 

“There’s nothing dumb about it if it makes you happy.”

You’ve just stepped into the tiny restaurant when a man that you guess is the owner sees Ridoc and pulls him into a tight hug. “I was wondering when you’d bring your girlfriend!”

Your cheeks warm, but you don’t correct him — that would be too awkward.

Ridoc doesn’t correct him either. “I set up Ezra here with ice that never melts,” he explains with a smile.

“It’s been a blessing. Keeps everything fresh longer, so I don’t have to waste it. You two sit — I’ll make you something special, on the house.” He disappears into the tiny kitchen in the back, leaving the two of you alone in the nearly-empty dining room. 

Ridoc gestures to a table in the corner, away from the door, and you settle into the chair silently. You can’t help but run through Garrick’s mental checklist — your back is to the wall, and you have clear sight of the two exits. You have a knife in your right boot and one in your left sleeve — plus the blunt one laid on the table in front of you. The fork would probably do more damage, though.

“I think it’s your turn.”

“Hm? Oh. Right.” You take a moment to look at him. “Why are you here?”

He gives you a stupid grin. “Because you asked me on a date.”

You roll your eyes. “No, I mean, why Basgiath? Why the rider’s quadrant?”

“Oh, I know. I just wanted to remind you that this whole thing was your idea. But really… probably because I’m an adrenaline junkie who feels like he has to prove to the world that he’s not an idiot. And I’ve always admired the riders and their magic. We can do some pretty cool shit.” 

There’s a pause, and his voice softens as he continues. “I know you didn’t want to be here, so I probably sound super ignorant saying all that. I do think it’s fucked up that you didn’t get a choice — and the way that they handled all of it.”

“I respect your answer. It was honest.”

His turn for a question. “How do you feel about it, really, being here? Not here as in here,” he clarifies, tapping the table, “but at Basgiath.”

You look at him for a second. “Is that your question, or…”

“It can be. But if you don’t want to talk about it, we can go back to the dumb ones.”

“No, it’s fine,” you say quietly, thinking for a second. “I’ve accepted it, but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying.”

He’s quiet, giving you space to elaborate — the same way Garrick does; not prying, but silently offering to let you tell him what you’re thinking, if you want to.

“Challenges are the one thing here that doesn’t scare me, because I don’t have to think about it anymore. I know what to do if someone takes a swing at me, and I know how to disarm someone, because Garrick made me practice hundreds of times. But everything else…” 

“Is uncertain and unfamiliar, and therefore scary,” he finishes for you. 

You’re a little surprised by the gentle tone of his voice, the lack of judgment in his words. “That pretty much sums it up.”

Another pause.

“I’ve had an anxiety disorder pretty much my whole life,” you admit. “I was that kid in school that everyone thought couldn’t speak, because I never talked to anyone, except my siblings. Liam was my first real friend who was my age. He didn’t mind the quiet. We would just sit together, and he’d do his wood carvings while I read my books. That was good enough for both of us.”

“Where are they now? Your siblings, I mean.”

You’re silent for a moment, looking down at the tablecloth and the barely distinguishable pattern of flowers woven into it. 

“I know that’s two in a row for me,” he says, backpedaling. “And you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“I had a brother and a sister. They were eight and ten years older than me, but they were my best friends. I think they knew that I didn’t have anyone my age, so they always let me tag along for everything until they left for Basgiath.”

“They went here?”

You nod. “As infantry. When they graduated, they joined Fen Riorson’s movement, and a few years later, they were executed along with my parents.”

“I’m so sorry,” he says softly. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

Something compels you to keep talking, to push past the awkwardness and condolences. “I don’t mind talking about them. It’s hard, but they were an important part of my life, and they deserve to be remembered. Losing them was devastating, but Garrick and my foster sister helped fill that void.”

You trace a fingernail over one of the tiny flowers. “I think… I think that’s why I kept pushing you away, and why I haven’t really made any friends here. Being marked doesn’t help, but I can never let myself get close to anyone, because everyone I’ve ever been close to has left me, one way or another.”

You can’t bring yourself to say “died” — and that wouldn’t be quite correct, either. Garrick is very much alive, last you’d heard, but he’s at least a twelve hour flight away. 

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I only met her twice, but she was always kind to me and everyone she met.”

It takes you a second to realize that he means your foster sister — as far as Ridoc and the rest of the school know, she’d died at Resson along with Liam and Soleil.

“She was,” you say softly. 

It feels weird speaking about her in the past tense. You know she’s not dead, that she’s safe with Brennan and the elders, but the last time you saw her, she might as well have been — she’d felt so cold, and looked so drained, unable to respond to you or even open her eyes. 

She has to be awake by now, starting to recover. She has to push through, if for no reason other than that it would absolutely shatter both you and Garrick if she didn’t. 

Ridoc exhales, choosing his next words carefully. “I really am sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through any of that, especially so young. But for what it’s worth, which probably isn’t a lot — I think you’re handling it all incredibly well, and you’re really brave for it.”

You, handling anything well? and being brave? Yeah, right. You take a sip of water to cover the look of dry disbelief on your face, but he sees it anyway. 

“I mean it. Bravery isn’t “never being scared”, it’s “being scared but doing the scary thing anyway”, and you’ve been doing that every day for the last year — for your whole life, honestly. I think that’s admirable.”

You blink at him for a moment, surprised. 

“It’s true,” Rhith says gently. 

“Thank you,” you say softly — to both of them. “I’ve never thought about it like that before.”

He offers you a soft smile. “I think that’s enough deep questions for now. Thank you for telling me all of that, though. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

“It wasn’t,” you agree. “But I feel… lighter.”

“Lighter is good.”

Ezra arrives at the perfect time, holding a tray with two plates of steaming noodles and two glasses of water, placing them in front of you and making a quick exit.

Ridoc brushes a hand against his glass, and you watch the pattern of frost crawl over the edges as it chills itself near instantly. “Want me to do yours?”

You blink, realizing he’s speaking to you. “Sure. Thank you.”

He pushes the cold glass toward you, taking the other and chilling it for himself.

The question comes out before you can think. “How long did it take you to get used to the cold?”

He looks up at you, surprised. “Not long. A week, maybe. I run hot, so sometimes it’s kinda nice.”

You nod in understanding. He’d been warm to the touch when he’d wrapped his arms around you, and you’d melted right into him. That was a first. But so is this, and it seems to be going okay.

You both eat without further discussion, every minute of quiet a little more comfortable than the last. The food is good — better than anything they serve at Basgiath. 

“So, where’s home for you?” you ask after a while.

“Deaconshire,” he answers. “My dad’s still out there. It’s been just me and him for a while.”

“Not too far, then,” you comment, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he hadn’t mentioned his mother. 

“Yeah. I’ve thought about going AWOL for an afternoon, just to see him for an hour or two. But at least the letters will arrive fast.”

“Right,” you say softly, pushing the last piece of pasta around your plate idly. 

It hadn’t really sunk in yet that you can write letters now, as a second year. You could write to Garrick, but it would be too dangerous to send anything to Aretia, with the professors reading everything to make sure there’s no classified information being spread. You might be able to write to the Duke, and hope he passes it on to the right people, but that would still be deemed suspicious. 

Maybe Bodhi could help you.

“Where’d Garrick get stationed?” he asks.

“Samara,” you answer quietly. 

He winces, knowing that’s right on the front between Navarre and Poromiel, but he recovers quickly. “He’s with Xaden, right? They’ll take care of each other.”

“Yeah.”

“They’ll be fine,” he reassures. “They were the two biggest, most intimidating dudes in fourth wing. Nobody’s going to mess with them — but if anyone’s dumb enough to try, they’ll get what’s coming to them. And they can definitely kick ass in the air, too.”

He’s right — they’ll be fine.

Probably.

“Yeah,” you say again, hoping it sounds convincing. “They can definitely hold their own.” But against wyvern… what if what happened to Deigh happens to Chradh or Sgaeyl, and there’s nothing they can do? 

You force the thought out of your head before the universe can hear it and make it come true. 

“You ready to head back?” he asks gently.

You nod in affirmation, and he gets up, finding Ezra. The owner bids him a cheerful goodbye that includes a hearty pat on the back, while you stand by the table and offer him a weak wave and a soft thank you.

The walk back to the school is quiet, only the crunching of gravel under your boots, but this time the silence isn’t as loud.

You’ve already said everything you needed to say, laid all your cards face up on the table and shown them to the other — almost all of them, you think with a little flare of guilt, but there are some things you just can’t tell anyone, for the sake of Tyrrendor in its entirety.

“This one’s mine,” you say quietly, stopping in front of your door. 

You call it yours, but it doesn’t feel that way. Just because you sleep here and your stuff is piled up in the corner, yet to be unpacked, doesn’t make it feel like yours, and doesn’t make it feel safe, despite the ward that Garrick had helped you put up before he left for Samara with Xaden.

Ridoc offers you a warm smile. “Thank you for taking a chance on me. I’d really like to see you again, if you want.”

“I’d like that too.”

He lingers, and for a moment you’re worried that he’s expecting something of you, but he remains a few steps away, his hands in his pockets.

“Thank you,” you add. “For today. And for finding me yesterday.”

“Of course, sweetheart. And next time you start to feel that way, you can have Rhith tell Aotrom to get me, okay? You shouldn’t have to deal with that alone.”

“Okay,” you say softly. 

He gives you another knee-weakening smile before he heads off, disappearing into a room that must be his — eight doors down, on the other side of the hall.

You make it inside just as the bells strike twelve thirty. The afternoon is still young.

You decide to unpack — starting by shoving the box of your sister’s things into the bottom of the armoire. You’d burned most of her stuff, to maintain the appearance that she’s actually dead, but you and Garrick had both taken some for yourselves. Malek couldn’t get mad about that, right?

You don’t know if you should worry what he thinks or not — you despise him for taking everyone away from you, but you need to remain in his good graces if you want to keep the few people you have left. But you aren’t sure how — it remains unclear what you did, or didn’t do, to deserve that. 

“It was nothing you did,” Rhith says gently, startling you. “And you didn’t deserve it.”

“Sorry,” you stammer. “I didn’t mean to project that to you.”

“We’ve talked about the apologies, sweet one,” she prods. “They’re never necessary.”

“Sor—” you stop yourself before you can finish the word. “I’ll work on that.”

She changes the subject for you. “I’m proud of what you did today. I know that was difficult for you.”

“It’s easier with him,” you say quietly. “I don’t know why, but it is.”

“Many things don’t require explanation. It is enough to simply appreciate them.” 

Spoken like a true green. “I wish I could be as logical as you,” you sigh. 

“There is value in both logic and emotion, but there is a balance to be found between them.”

You sit with the statement for a moment as you start to fold the laundry you’d shoved into a bag and dragged up the stairs when you’d moved, trying to smooth out the wrinkles to no avail.

“What do you think?” you ask. “about him, I mean.”

“I think he has a good heart. He genuinely cares for you, but it is your decision whether to trust him or not. And even if you do, there are some things that he can never know.”

“Yeah,” you say softly. “I know.”

“I’m proud of you, my girl.”

You’re a little bit proud of yourself too.

[thomine]

limbo

cyno x reader, 900 words :: general audiences, dialogue heavy, hurt/comfort, physical wounds, death of a minor character, reposted, not proofread.

notes: work tag

“hey, cyno?”

“…”

“are you… there?”

there’s shuffling of feet.

“are you alone?”

“yeah.”

“…what’s the matter?”

“well… i heard from the matra the case was complex and dangerous, so i’m glad to hear you’ve returned.” you swallow the word ‘safely’.

“yeah,” a pause. “it was one of those that required more time, more risks.”

“you would only be gone for at most a week.” you force a laugh. “it was a long month of silence.”

“that’s expected. a matra’s work is no fun and games.”

“and… uh, i also heard that… you ended up—”

“that’s enough.”

“…”

he clears his throat. “i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to—” a deep breathe followed by a shaky exhale. “maybe now isn’t a good time.”

“let me say it, please.”

“…your curiosity is dangerous.”

“it is not curiosity. it is concern. you got hurt, cyno, and you expect me not to care?”

“…”

“when will be a good time?”

“…”

“the doctors told me you’ll need your rest. i guess maybe i am pushing it.”

“wait—”

“…yes?”

“what else did you hear? from the matra.”

“they’re innocent. i couldn’t get answers from you so i approached them.”

“unless i see a reason, you won’t have to worry about me punishing them.”

“they told me things with good intentions. they’re also worried for you.”

“…i’m aware. tell me still.”

you sigh, a hand clutching the other. “your coworker… no, your friend did this to you, didn’t he?”

a dreadful silence. then, a pained hiss.

“cyno? do you need the doctor?”

a breath is taken in through gritted teeth.

“no—just, a small mistake on my part.”

“don’t touch the wound.”

“sorry. instincts. no need to worry about me. rather, have you been drinking water? you always forget.”

“i get plenty of reminders from others,” you laugh, almost authentic.

“good.”

another silence, but gentle.

“it’s not the same though.”

“what do you mean?”

“it was different when you did it. seeing your gruff and serious face saying such kind words… i always found it funny.”

“is it really?”

“for the record, i missed your jokes. tighnari was all like ‘good riddance at least we have peace and quiet’ and i proceeded to carry your legacy.”

“want to hear another one?”

“you spoil me.”

“what’s left of a sumpterbeast when the beast dies?”

“…meat? horns? materials!”

“no. you leave it stumped.”

“…” but you laugh anyways. with your whole body. lungs filled with cheer.

“…why did you come alone?”

“collei and tighnari couldn’t come today, so i’m here to pass the medicine they wanted to give you.”

“is that all?”

“i bought more gifts! deyha gave some bandages. it’s also apparently really tight. that helps with blood flow, but i’m not sure if you can wear it just yet—”

“…”

“—and alhaitham told me to give you this—oh, they’re chocolates—not sure if they still taste good… it has melted a fair bit. then—”

“…”

“—there’s candace who sent her blessings, and nilou who gave you a trinket! it was used in a folktale to bring good luck. she says when you’re ready, she’ll host a celebration for your recovery. it’ll be within us, and maybe even the dendro archon will come.”

“…”

“why?”

“…why?”

“why didn’t you want to see them? i know it hurts to have been betrayed. you… surely don’t think we will, do you?”

“it’s not that. betrayal means nothing if all acts are weighed and brought to justice.”

“is it really nothing? the matra told me you returned with his dead body. you wanted a proper burial. you could have died too, trying to bring his body back.”

“what else did they tell?”

you inhale. “other than your wound, nothing else. cyno, i hope you’re not going to push us away.”

“it’s not that.” there’s a low growl. “… i just need some time for myself.”

“i understand. i’ll leave the gifts out here then. is there anything else you want to say before i leave…?”

“…my friend was mind controlled.”

“i see.”

“he didn’t deserve the death i gave him.” the atmosphere is tense. it’s hard to breathe. “when i’ve rested enough, i have this case to solve.”

“…rest…” you sigh and shake your head. “you’re not letting yourself mourn.” you place a hand on the door. “i’m sorry.”

“there’s nothing you have to be sorry about.”

“it wasn’t your fault either.”

“maybe i was too haste to pass judgement, but what’s done is done. his blood is on my hands.”

“cyno,” you breath out, like a drowning person letting out the last bubble. “you are only human.”

“…”

“promise me when you leave for your next case, to investigate on those who unfairly used your friend, that… you’ll come back safely.”

“i cannot promise that, but i will do my best.”

“that is enough.”

“…do you still want to see me?”

“that’s why i’m here, right?”

“huh, thought you were just acting as a delivery guy.” a dry chuckle.

“well, i’m that too.” you weakly laugh, lying your head against the door. “it must be hard dealing with it alone, but we’re all here for you, through the gifts we bring and the prayers we offer… i’m here too.” you press a hand on your heart.

there is a click.

“i’m coming in,” you say as you slip yourself through the door left ajar, careful of the items on the floor. it closes before you can catch a glimpse of him, but the familiar warmth that wraps you is enough to quell your uncertainties.

author's note: an old piece! from an old blog! hello! i wrote some author's commentary so i guess that'll be up next. i have not looked through this nor the commentary. this is raw. i wrote this to practice dialogue. might actually do more!

[m1ssunderstanding]

Get Back Rewatch 55 Years On: Day 15

The beautiful mess that would’ve been The Beatles plus Yoko Ono plus Billy Preston plus Bob Dylan plus whoever else. Although I guess that is sort of what George went on to do. He really did just want a group of friends that cared more about each other than the product, and that’s what he created for himself. 

John: And the dream I had was you. The camera: zooms in on Paul’s wounded puppy eyes. John: *staring at Paul* d’you get my meaning? Imagine doing that to literally any other human being. I would not be that intimate with my best friend, my husband, my sister . . . anyone. Let alone my ex, (not literally, you all get what I mean) in front of my current SO and multiple cameras. This kind of thing really makes me wonder what kind of insane shit he must’ve said/done when they were alone, especially in happier times. 

George painted his own psychedelic guitar, and it looks gorg. Who painted Paul’s. Anyone know?

How can I Not assume “Stand By Me” is *meaningful* if, firstly, this is the second time you’ve sung it at each other during this project, and secondly, if you look at each other like This while singing it? Then again, when are they not uncomfortably intense when singing together?

“Oh, help me, Daddy. I don’t even know how this thing works.”  He says about the instrument he plays in the most successful band of all time. Paul can play whatever he needs to to get what he wants out of someone, and that includes dumb.

John’s little “Ookaay.” At Paul’s weird carrying-on about his insecurities with his bass playing. It just screams, “You’re delusional and I’m not getting into this right now.” Which is 1000% valid. Imagine being Paul McCartney and second-guessing your bass skills. Reminds me of that quote where John’s like, “He’s an egomaniac about everything else, but he’s coy about his bass playing. Which is stupid because he’s one of the most innovative bass players . . .”

John and Paul nail the harmony on “HoooooohOoOoOme.” And the LOOKs, you guys.

But also the nonverbal vocal communication! It’s one of my favorite parts about them, really. One of the things that reminds me of how special their relationship is. John makes a face. Paul goes, “brroop”. John replies with a beaming, “Yeah!” To which Paul adds another “brrrrip” as they simultaneously continue the song. It’s just unreal. Nobody does that. They are magical and they were right to think they had special telecommunicative powers. 

The lunch orders today are everything you need to know about the Beatles. John: Sparrow on toast. Paul: Boiled testicle. George: Uh, Mal? So, we’ll have whatever the vegetables are, and if they’ve got any cheese sauce for the cauliflower. Ringo: Mashed potato. That’s it. That’s them.

“Then there’s another one,” says Paul, doing a shit job of pretending he hasn’t rehearsed this to sound like some accidental discovery. “Don’t let me down. Oh, darling,” sung suddenly, and forcefully, directly at John, “I’ll never let you down.”

John, beaming like the star quarterback just told him he looked pretty, tucks his hair behind his ears and says, barely hovering in the safety of a joking tone, “Yeah, it’s like you and me are lovers.”

John has of course taken Paul’s game of gay chicken an arm’s reach farther than Paul’s comfortable with, at least in front of cameras, so he can only nod, and brush his own hair back. Stiff, expressionless. "Yeah."

(Of course, Peter Jackson cuts out what eventually evolves into John and Paul singing “we’re a couple of queers” and talking about wearing skirts for the performance) 

Am I the only one getting the vibe that John genuinely dislikes Teddy Boy? Not because he thinks it sucks or anything but because he doesn’t like the obvious similarities to his relationship with Julia? Personally, I love it. It was my anxiety song a few years back.

The original lyric to “fancy me chances” was Not “frock” I absolutely guarantee. 

Love Paul checking on Billy. Love that they're all, even with everything they've got going, making sure he's set up and taken care of.

Sorry not sorry that I’m so thirsty over literally every woman in this show, but. Hello, Pattie! She just walks in, ignores everyone else, kisses him Like That, whispers something, and gets out to go live her own life. Queen. Gorgeous. Obsessed.

George Martin praising his children for "working so well together." I love that he refused to produce them after the white album, not because they were being disrespectful to him or anything, but because they weren't getting along. And that, although he's not producing, technically, he can't stop himself coming in to make sure they're okay. He's such a good dad, literally.

John over here being emo af by himself, playing “I Feel Fine,” because he definitely does Not feel fine and he’s just as nostalgic as Paul, which is way too fucking nostalgic. Poor baby. 

[kiryoutann]

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐍 ☆。*。☆ [ALHAITHAM X FEM! READER]

Warning(s): suggestive content at the end (no smut, though).

Genre: romance, modern! au, university! au.

Word count: 5,5k.

Blurb:

It's not a secret that Alhaitham is the most competitive and has great pride. But, what happens when you start 'stealing' his precious first rank from him? Alhaitham comes up with a plan; he will approach you, make you helplessly in love with him, distract you and steal his first place. Who would have imagined, though, that it would backfire on him?

Inspired by this post.

The clear sky stretches over the campus buildings. Birds were singing in appreciation of the cloudless and perfect weather. On the green grass of the park, college students chat while carrying the drinks they bought at a nearby kiosk. Everything about today said it was going to be a good day.

But not for Alhaitham.

The man was infamous for never smiling (though he believed they were all exaggerating since he had smiled once—when Kaveh slipped and fell into a pool of rainwater). His eyes always convey the impression that he is better to everyone, as evidenced by him usually occupying the top positions on every weekend exam. Usually.

No one would have believed that those eyes could be sharper than before while his lips were in deep gloom staring at the board where the ranking results were presented.

(Y/N) (L/N)

Alhaitham

His tongue clicked in annoyance. He has long known you’re a threat, proven when his professor also mentioned your name and the title of your research as 'good and well organized work’ in front of the class. However, Alhaitham didn't think you would actually succeed. Maybe he's been underestimating you all along.

A voice that sounded like a crowd of people talking and approaching made Alhaitham step aside, guessing whoever those people were going to look at the wall board. At first, he was going to keep standing there—with all his annoyance while staring at his name next to number two—but, one of them said something and made him freeze before turning his head.

“Hey, (Y/N)! You’re in first place!”

Pretty good way to sprinkle salt on the wound.

“Really?”

Enthusiasm is lacking in your voice, as if you had expected this—as if you had expected that Alhaitham would be number two, right below you. He stares at you reading the ranking results, then you turn to look at him, not intimidated.

The wind blows, your hair dances in the breeze, and Alhaitham is preoccupied figuring out what the smile on your lips means. While his rational mind says you're just trying to be friendly, his petty mind believes you're making fun of him. Alhaitham wasn’t going to believe the latter until you opened your mouth to say,

"Well, so we're now rivals?"

Rivals. Ha.

A scoff left his lips. “Funny." he started. "The last time I checked, for two people to be rivals, they have to be on the same level."

Instead of irritating you, his remarks widen your smile. "You're right." You glance at the board, your name is still emblazoned at the top. "Obviously we're not like that."

It was obvious you were mocking him, and plus, did you just boomerang his own words? Alhaitham inhaled through his nostrils. If it weren't for your friends waiting for you two to finish exchanging 'conversations', he would have continued this until you gave up having the last say.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” Alhaitham said.

"Totally. We're going to a sushi restaurant after this. Wanna join?” The smirk on your face widens, or is it just him?

“You’re shameless.”

"And you’re still second."

Alhaitham refrained from continuing. "Have the day you deserve, (L/N)." He said, then turned to leave. If you're thinking about giving him another 'smart' comment, he sincerely hopes that you'll literally bite your tongue.

“I’ll be having a good one then, thanks!”

It takes all the patience inside of him not to turn back and get back at you. Alhaitham clenched his fists. Next week will be different, this must all just be down to your luck or he didn't take yesterday's test seriously. Alhaitham vowed not to let that happen again and was confident he would regain first place.

Next week was much the same.

The first thing Alhaitham did when he arrived on campus was walk quickly to the information board, where last week's exam rankings were displayed with a group of students reading them. He made his way through them to get a better look. There it is, first place with your damn name on it. He's still second. He is. Still. Second.

Something is definitely wrong. A small difference in score separates your rankings which frustrates him even more. He has been in first place for two years, and he doesn't need anyone to break that.

"Two weeks in a row, (Y/N)." Someone behind him commented.

Someone—you, he guessed—chuckled. “That study group really paid off.” You said.

Study group? He thought. Alhaitham was about to make his way out of the scene quietly to avoid you but, when a gasp escaped you, he knew you had found him.

“Alhaitham, hi!”

That's the most sickening hello. Alhaitham turned his head to look at you, who were beaming at him. It must be satisfying for you, watching him stand here in the same glum after reading the ranking results. He is still second and you know it too.

You looked back at your friends. “We’re going for fast food this time. Wanna join?” Alhaitham did nothing but glare at you. ".. Or do you want to join next week?"

You're pretty confident to say you'll still be first. This luck lasts only two weeks, and if it turns out to be more than that, Alhaitham will find a way to ruin it—just like you did to his first ranking streak. He really likes challenges, loves competition. But, it was now at a point where it was an embarrassment.

He chose to turn around instead of responding to you. He'll reclaim his first rank.

Next week has come with everything that makes his patience dripping off.

When Alhaitham opened his messaging app and downloaded the PDF a classmate had sent him, his stomach churned in uneasiness. He watched the loading circle complete then pressed it quickly with his thumb. Turquoise eyes swept across the title—something he had never done before but now he did to buy time before lowering his gaze on number one and—

“Damn it!”

The entire bus turned their heads to the grey-haired. They looked at him with judgmental eyes, some thinking he had lost his mind (like most college students do because of their endless assigments). Alhaitham paid no attention to any of that. He was too busy swearing mentally while rereading your full name.

What the hell is going on?

Alhaitham is desperate. He was desperate for an explanation as to why the first place had slipped out of his hands. These two years, everything was fine; then what made him 'fail' like this? He closed his group chat and turned off his cell phone while preparing to get off at his stop. However, the question kept repeating itself in the back of his mind.

At lunch time, he walked into the architecture department cafeteria—four buildings away from Alhaitham's. He wouldn't have bothered to approach Kaveh—who was sitting at one of the cafeteria tables with the cheapest meal he was about to eat—if he hadn't needed a second opinion. The second those red eyes landed on him, Alhaitham watched his face change as if.. he had lost his appetite?

Regardless, Alhaitham kept walking and sat in the chair across from him. The crease between Kaveh's brows deepened.

"What do you want?" Kaveh asked, grumpily.

"I need your opinion."

The blonde crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "What?" He gave Alhaitham a quick once-over before smirking. “Wow, never expected the day you would beg for my help."

“Opinion, not help. I'll decide if it's helpful or not later.”

Kaveh—not feeling like arguing today—still made sure to exhale loudly enough for him to hear. “Whatever that keeps you out of my face." He stuck his fork deep into his food hoping it was Alhaitham instead.

Alhaitham fell silent in his thoughts. He was stroking his imaginary beard while thinking of ways to say it without telling him straight that he was in despair. If Kaveh knew someone beat him in the rankings, he would make fun of this. He didn't need that added to his plate.

"Something was stolen from me." He said carefully.

Kaveh raised one eyebrow before digging back into his food. "That's your problem?" He watched Alhaitham nod. "Buy it again. Problem solved. Now get off my table.”

"This isn’t something that can be bought."

Kaveh rolled his eyes. “Aren't you supposed to be the smartest? You ruined my precious lunch time.” He held his tray before standing up, about to switch tables. “Just steal it back. Done! You're done, right? Don't bother me. I've a little time before dealing with that lovesick guy Childe."

Steal it back. Lovesick.

Alhaitham had heard how complicated love was—a blessing and a curse, say those who had. He doesn't really care about people, but he does meet a bunch of friends who don't show up for meetings because they're busy dating (he ends up crossing their names off assignments, don't worry).

Steal it back. Lovesick.. Something clicked in his brain. That's it!

A new determination ignited and burned. He stood up from the cafeteria table with a smile, a sharp contrast to the state he was in when he entered it. The birds were fluttering their wings under a clear sky. This time he would take that as a good sign.

Today will be the start of his grand plan to approach you, date you, and infatuate you to the point where you’re so distracted with him that you once again come in second, as it should be.

It started after the last class of the day.

Seconds after the professor picked up his laptop and documents stating that class was over, Alhaitham immediately moved to approach you (who luckily sat alone in the absence of your usual friends). He watched you tidy up your books, your notes and all the colorful highlighters. One rolls over to the edge of the table and he catches not only that but your attention.

“..Hey.” You say hello, giving him a skeptical look before looking back perhaps he's here for someone else. After confirming that it was just you, you proceeded to ask: "Can I help you?"

Right. You two aren't exactly on good terms, so his sudden approach will no doubt make you feel uneasy. Alhaitham took a silent breath, feeling the air fill his lungs before he opened his mouth to say, "We need to talk.”

What a wonderful choice of words. Your lips curved into a faint smile as you stuffed your books and notes into your bag.

“So demanding.” you comment. "Are you always like this?"

Alhaitham has always lived with the rational side of his brain, so it's not a problem for him to control his emotions even though he has many words to reply to your clever comments. He stares at you, having the chance to notice the color of the irises under those curled eyelashes this time; he probably would have liked the color if not for the rivalry between you two.

"The other day, I was rude to you." He started, his own words piercing his pride. "I'm here to apologize to you."

You hummed in response, "Hmm, then let me hear it.”

Alhaitham fumbled around in his pocket. You see him set a bar of chocolate down on the table. A wrinkle forms in the middle of your furrowed brow. Your eyes return to his turquoise one, it reminds you of the gemstone described in the textbook you read last night.

Even though it felt better to bite his lip than to say it, Alhaitham really had no choice but to speak it this time.

“I’m sorry.”

"What are you sorry for?"

Something flashed in his eyes before it disappeared. Alhaitham was making a best efforts to keep a straight face, but as soon as he noticed how your smile became wider, he realized you were using this as an opportunity to play him.

"For being rude."

You nodded, still looking dissatisfied. "And why were you being rude?" The laughter at the corner of your throat was harder to contain when you saw his lips starting to form a glum shape.

“Do you really need to ask that?” Alhaitham protested.

"I need to make sure you're sincere."

A sigh escaped his lips. "Haah.. fine," He then continued, "Perhaps I was irritated because I was one rank below you." His badly damaged dignity would require a lot of time to mend.

Luckily it’s enough for you. "So, is the chocolate for me?" You glanced at the table where the chocolate bar was still sitting. It's from a brand you love but, never had the chance to buy again because it's quite expensive. Either this is just a coincidence, or Alhaitham also likes it or he has done a background check on you.

“I'm just going to put it there. It's none of my business if you eat it or not." He said.

Alhaitham could have worded it more politely—more kindly. He regretted saying it in his way, thinking you would react negatively to that. However, when his ears catch the sound of someone's laughter—yours—his eyes widen as he stares at you taking the chocolate from the table.

"Has someone ever said you have a weird way of talking?"

Someone has. Kaveh.

You waved the chocolate bar in your hand. "Apology accepted, as well as the chocolate." When you smiled at him, he wasn't irritated by it this time.

"I'll see you around." You’re about to walk away.

“Wait.”

You stop walking. Turning to the gray-haired, you looked at him with curiosity. Alhaitham moved his gaze to you. From this angle, you can see why he's secretly loved by many. With sharp eyes, lips that never smile, and a defined jaw; you wonder why he never thought of becoming a model instead of coping with college life. Probably the same reason as you.

Alhaitham turned his back on you completely. "You haven't found a partner for Professor Aabid's observation assignment yet, have you?" he inquired.

You unconsciously nodded, "That's right." you said before reflecting about his question. “Why do you—“

"Be my partner."

“.. What?”

Alhaitham crossed his arms over his chest. "Is there a reason for you to refuse?" he asked.

"No, but why me?" You shake your head.

"Because I don't have one either." He answered casually before smiling faintly. "Besides, I think we'd be perfect pair, don't you think so?"

Perfect? You think 'hellish' is more appropriate. A few days ago, you two were at each other's throats fighting for the first place, and now what? You really can't believe Alhaitham labeled you both as ‘perfect’ partners. He's working on something under his sleeve you know.

Alhaitham saw your doubt. "Shouldn't that convince you?" He glanced at the chocolate bar.

You followed his gaze and chuckled. “So it turns out this is a bribe."

"It could be."

"Ha! You're up to something, I can feel it." For a second, you swear you saw his eyes widen and he turned pale, but it could have just been your imagination. "But whatever, I'm game."

Alhaitham had an arrogant grin on his face. “See you at Monday then.” He didn't even deny it, only then turned his shoes on walking towards the exit.

You didn't miss a single detail when you told this to your friends. See? It's not just you who feels weird about his sudden change in attitude. Your girls warned you to be careful with him, some told you to change partners—speculating that he might be trying to abduct or kill you, adding your tragedy to the long list of criminal cases that are made into documentaries on Netflix. You doubt it though.

Monday came like in the blink of an eye. Or maybe your weekend was so much fun that you forgot you partnered with Alhaitham.

The second he landed his eyes on you entering the room, Alhaitham cleared his throat. He had spent the weekend finishing ten romance books to find out what makes someone fall in love fast. Today was the day he put it all into practice. He will claim his first position soon.

Maintaining eye contact.

"Hey." You greet him, take a seat next to him, and place your bag at your feet. "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine." Alhaitham replied.

You give a brief nod. He's still looking at you, giving you a chance to take in more detail of his eyes. It not only had a turquoise color, an amber hue surrounded its pupils. College life has not left any traces on his flawless skin. You won't deny that he was given a gift in the form of handsome face.

Alhaitham was still staring at you, as if you were an alien. Feeling uncomfortable, you look straight ahead hoping he will do the same.

Fourteenth second and he's still at it, you're starting to think you have something in your face. You take out your phone, open the camera app and find nothing. Maybe he wanted to ask something? You return to Alhaitham to confirm.

"Do you have anything to say?" you ask.

Alhaitham blinked then replied, “Sure.”

Sure? You don't know how to respond to that. "What do you want to say?" You rest your cheek on your palm.

"Just.." Alhaitham tried to remember the next step.

2. Touch them more often.

Alhaitham stretched out his hand quickly. A second later you feel warmth slightly touching the skin of your ear. He just tucked a strand of your hair away from your face. Alhaitham just tucked a strand of your hair away from your face. Maybe he's a perfectionist, disliking messy things like your hair that you rush into ponytail for fear of missing the bus. But, you really didn't expect this at all.

"Uhh.. thanks." You force a smile, shifting slightly away from him.

Maybe it's true what your friends say about him planning to kidnap you.

Meanwhile in his mind, Alhaitham mistook your wary demeanor as shyness. He suppressed a smile. He had doubts about the usefulness of the romance books, yet they paid off. It won't take you long to slip into his trap.

Professor Aabid's classwork is more difficult than one might imagine. Fortunately, two weeks were given to complete it. You and Alhaitham often meet to discuss paper material, which later leads to visiting your house as a comfortable place to work on it. Weekends with your friends are replaced by being with him. Books and laptops are now preferred over late-night karaoke.

A pen was placed on the carpet. You take a deep breath before stretching, feeling relieved after relaxing the tense muscles caused by your sitting posture. Alhaitham approached the table and set two mugs on the floor table.

You smell the sweet scent. "What's this?" You take one.

"Hot chocolate." He replied, drinking his own.

One of your eyebrows is raised. "Not coffee? Are you sure this won't make us sleepier?” you ask.

Alhaitham put down his glass which is now half down. "The only way to get rid of exhaustion is to sleep. Just go to sleep if you're tired; I'll continue the next page.” He pulled the laptop closer to him.

 “Really? Are you saying that to sound nice or do you really mean it?”

"Stop asking stupid questions." He fixed his eyes on the laptop screen.

You straighten your sitting posture. “Oh, come on. Can't you just smile or laugh once?” you protest.

Alhaitham's fingers stopped typing. A line he remembered from one of those romance books flashed in his mind. The third step to make someone fall in love: smile more often.

You see him turn to you, lips curling into a smile. It complimented him well, really well. His hand stretched out. But this time he wasn't aiming for your strands or your ears. He placed his palm on the top of your head and ruffled it gently.

"Go to sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

Yes, Alhaitham thought. This should be enough for her to fall—

His train of thought was interrupted when you took his hand and cupped it in front of your face. Thumb moved in a circular manner across his calloused fingertips. Compared to his, your skin is incredibly warm. Are you flirting with him? Before Alhaitham could have his answer, he watched as your lips curved into a smile wide enough to lift your cheeks.

"Okay." you answer. "Would you be fine alone?”

Alhaitham quickly and abruptly pulled his hand away. He immediately pretended to be focused on the laptop, his one free hand hiding his lips behind it and muttering: "I told you to stop asking stupid questions."

Another laugh from you and he doesn't like how his heart reacts to that. It was beating too fast, too different from normal. He knew he had no history of any illness, so why did his chest feel warm? He compared its warmth to your hands just now, and now he ends up thinking all about you.

You slept on the couch behind him. Alhaitham remained with his laptop and open book. Between you two is silence and a troubled heart.

The day before the deadline for submitting Professor Aabid's class assignments, the drizzling rain turned heavy. The usual clear sky was replaced with dark clouds that came in to block up the afternoon sun. Some students voiced their complaints, and others opened their umbrellas to flee. They concluded today would be a bad day.

Two people ran in an uneven pace beneath the man's black jacket. In the midst of the puddles that spread across the campus grounds, they no longer care if their shoes end up dirty later. You closely hold onto your freshly printed papers for fear that the rain will hit it and cause the ink to smear. Meanwhile, Alhaitham puts a hand on your shoulder guiding you to take shelter under the roof of one of the biology department buildings.

“Phew!” You let out a sigh of relief after checking your documents were safe.

Alhaitham glanced at you. "Are you alright?" He asked, worry was in his voice, but you failed to notice.

“Yeah,” You held up the brown envelope high. “the envelope got wet but, the rest was fine.”

"I asked about you, not the documents."

"Oh." After saying that, you let out a laugh—one that made Alhaitham hold his breath hoping it would stop the warmth that was seeping into his cheeks and chest. “It's just rain. The worst-case scenario is when I wash my shoes later."

Now that you mention it, those turquoise eyes can't help but steal a quick peek at your dirt-stained white shoes. He checked his and realized that it wasn't as awful as yours—possibly because the materials you two had were different. Not only that, he also realizes the size differences between your feet and his.

"We can always go to the shoe wash." Alhaitham suggested.

You seem interested in the idea. "And go for ice cream after?"

A smile automatically crawled onto his face after hearing that. He's been smiling a lot lately. "Sure." He replied, watching you squeal with joy.

The heavy raindrops were still falling onto the ground. Although the wind wasn't very strong, it was enough to cause shivers in people who had previously been drenched. Alhaitham noticed it in you. He swiftly wrung his black jacket and draped it over your shoulders.

"What about you?" you ask.

Alhaitham shook his head. "I can manage." The lie came out smooth. In reality, you catch him repeatedly rubbing his hands trying to keep himself warm.

So you took his hand, too suddenly and unexpectedly. He watched you bring it to your lips, felt the touch of your warm breath on his skin. His heart missed a beat. Something stirred in his stomach and Alhaitham didn't like one bit of it. He picks up a lot of details about you—from how your lips curl while you blow another warm air on his fingers to the strands of your wet hair tickling your cheeks.

The first step to make someone fall in love: maintain eye contact.

For some reason, he had a hard time doing it now. Every time he made an effort, his heart would continue to race and his hands would feel the need to have you beneath his touch—in his arms. His eyes will first go down your cheek, nose, and cupid's bow before settling on your lips. Shimmering lipgloss around your lips. Maybe one day he'll be able to taste it?

Alhaitham's thoughts stopped. What kind of desire just grew in his chest?

The smile that you’re now carving doesn't help the situation either. It came like a sea of roses, and Alhaitham didn't even like roses. But, if it looks like you—smells like you; then the thing he wanted to do was dive into it and never surface again.

Oh, now he understands.

Whole lines from the romance books he had read for his grand plan came back like boomerangs. Instead of making you fall in love, he fell in love. Instead of stealing back his ranking, he ended up being the one who got stolen.

This kind of feeling... he didn't know what to do with it.

Before Alhaitham could find the answer, the rain had died down. You turned around with a happy face, releasing his hand slowly (he wished he could still feel your skin on his). Your voice says about turning in assignments early, perhaps Professor Aabid will be kind enough to give you some extra credit. However, what Alhaitham can focus on is your figure stepping under the rays of the sun slowly coming out of the clouds that has finished its misery.

Alhaitham is conflicted about today. His feelings was left unspoken.

You did not show up to campus the next day. Alhaitham was at the front of the class when he received your message saying that you were sick and unable to attend class.

The old Alhaitham will take this opportunity to return to being the best in class and not give you any notes from the lecturer's explanation. The new Alhaitham has already started turning his shoes and sprinting towards the exit while he's fiddling with his cell phone sending you a message that he'll be here soon.

When he arrives at your apartment door, his index finger presses the bell button in agitation. Did you get sick from the rain?

When the door swings open, Alhaitham immediately scans you. Slightly messy hair, flushed face, hoarse voice as you call his name and ask why he’s here. It seems you were sleeping, so you didn't read his message. Regardless, Alhaitham made his way inside after closing the door.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I left."

Your ears are deceiving you, right? If not, then what is the reason that made you hear Alhaitham say that he left the class? You glance at the digital clock not far from the kitchen and find it's too early for class to end.

"Wait.. did you just skip class?"

Alhaitham stopped fiddling with the medicines he bought after hearing your question. Silence fell between you. You think he'll never answer until he opens his mouth to say, "Maybe."

You sneeze before asking, "Are you serious?"

"I heard you got sick. So here I am."

Alhaitham answered too briefly for you to think he did this for no reason. After placing the meds on the counter, he rushes into your kitchen (as if he owns it). You were still standing there in silence—still unable to believe what was happening. He comes up to you with a glass of water.

"I bought you soup, in case you haven't eaten."

"So you're saying that you ditched class just to come here?" you ask.

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned around like he was avoiding something. "Still talking about that? Isn't my answer enough?" He replies too softly requiring you to concentrate a little more to hear him; your plugged ear doesn't help either.

"Yeah, I'm bringing that up because the Alhaitham I know will take this opportunity to beat me." You walk quickly towards him. "And you're acting weird right now, you know."

Alhaitham turned to you, and you swear your heart skipped a beat when you found something different in those turquoise eyes of his. You're not really sure what, though. The height difference makes you slightly look up to stare at him back. You don't know since when you took every detail of him, but you can't miss how his Adam's apple bobs when he swallows out of... nervousness?

Alhaitham? Nervous?

Whatever it is, it's starting to affect you as well.

Alhaitham stares at you, pausing at your lips before returning to your eyes. “Are you going to make me say it?” His voice was soft, as if he was reading a secret love letter.

Now it's your turn to swallow. “.. Say what?”

"That I like you."

In that second, your breath caught. Your eyes burn from not blinking, but you're too frozen in place to do that. Your jaw is slack. His words have a way of warming your heart, or is it the gaze he still gives you? Beautiful turquoise color.. which is now only focused on you as if you were the only thing ever made in the universe.

“.. What?”

“I like you.” He repeated without complaining.

Now that he has said it more clearly, you can't help but stare at his flushed cheeks. You know exactly yours aren’t much different from his. Did Alhaitham really just make a love confession? To you, out of all the people? Confusion has taken over your mind. You blink a few times to make sure you really aren't dreaming. Alhaitham just made a love confession. To you, out of all the people.

In contrast to the flushed cheeks and the awkward silence he maintained, Alhaitham stood with his usual stoic face. Your lips opened without a word coming out.

Alhaitham took a breath. "It wasn't planned." He took the opportunity to add. "I.. didn't expect it either."

So what he's trying to tell you is that falling in love with you wasn't part of his plan? You swallowed again, your throat quickly drying. It's as if he's saying that whatever it was you did to make him fall in love, it was enough for him to become lost in his own ambitions. Your chest is warm—ten times warmer than when the warm chocolate he made flows sweetly.

"Maybe I should give you an explanation. I don't want to cause any misunderstanding—no, I don't want you to misunderstand me.” Alhaitham sighed before continuing, “You must have realized from the beginning that I didn't approach you by chance or simply to apologize. Now that I've said it, you should be able to figure out what my failed plan was."

You smiled awkwardly, “.. My guess is you plan to make me fall in love with you and distract me for first place, but maybe it's just me too—”

"That's right. How did you know?"

His turquoise eyes were even more beautiful when they enlarged, as he was doing right now. Your laugh caused his cheeks to turn redder. “Well, those sweet gestures doesn't exactly fit your personality. And I swear I heard a few lines  similar to those in this one romance book I read."

Alhaitham smiled faintly. "Guess I shouldn't waste my time on all of that, huh?"

Another laugh escaped your lips. "Do you regret it now?" you ask.

"Regret what?"

“Do you regret falling in love with me?”

Alhaitham blinks, two seconds later gives you a shake of the head. "Oddly enough, no, I don't regret it." He shook his head again. "I don't regret it at all."

You take two steps forward. “Good,” you said, tiptoeing up to his face. From this distance, those turquoise eyes looked more beautiful. "Because I wouldn't be helping you with your pick-up lines if it weren't for me."

One push and your lips were on his. He kisses back, placing his big hand behind your head to deepen the kiss. Your fingers find a way to crawl on his broad chest covered in his tight shirt. Without breaking the kiss, he moved closer to press you against the kitchen counter.

You're the first to let go for a breath and say, “W-wait, I have a cold. What if you—"

A quick kiss to silence you. "Don't worry, I bought us a lot of medicine." He said, voice deep and husky.

Alhaitham took off his denim jacket, threw it carelessly and kissed you again—this time more passionately. He directed his lips to the crook of your neck. Your legs hooked around his waist as you feel his breath on your skin.

He plans to steal, but instead ends up getting stolen. But, that's fine. He will gladly let you steal whatever from him, so go ahead and do it.

Check out more of my post: WRITING COMMISION. GENSHIN IMPACT MASTERLIST.

[nightghoul381]

Robin Doesn't Know the Evil Hiding in the Shadows ~ Ellis Twilight ~ Chapter 2

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

Jude said he was going to meet the victim’s classmate and I got into the carriage with Roger.

Roger: “We’re visiting a former medical school teacher. He was apparently the mentor of the murdered doctors.”

Roger: “Maybe he’ll know something they have in common that we haven’t found yet.”

We arrived by carriage in a quiet residential area.

And when I saw someone emerge from the house where the former teacher lived… I was a little surprised.

Ellis: “You…”

Haggard man: “Oh… You’re the man from this morning!”

Roger: “What, do you know each other?”

Ellis: “Just a bit, we met at the cake shop today.”

Feeling a strange connection, we told the man about the details of the incident.

Haggard man: “I see… I had no idea such an incident had occurred.”

Haggard man: “By the way, you don’t seem like police, but are you trying to catch the culprit?”

Ellis: “Yeah… I also wanted to talk to the culprit if possible.”

Haggard man: “Talk?”

Ellis: “Someone important to me mentioned it.”

Ellis: “If there wasn’t deep anger, no one would do something like this… that’s why I wanted to understand the mind of the perpetrator.”

Ellis: “There must be a reason behind this heinous act.”

Haggard man: “…I see.”

Haggard man: “Pardon me for asking… What would you do if the dignity of someone you care about was violated?”

I was surprised by the sudden question, but the man’s eyes were extremely serious and menacing…

There was an indescribable force that made me feel like I had to answer the question.

(If Kate’s dignity was violated…)

It’s a word that carries with it all kinds of possibilities, including physical and mental harm.

I don’t want to think about it, but as long as I’m in Crown, it’s a constant worry.

Ellis: “If something like that were to happen… first of all, I’d stay with Kate.”

Ellis: “I’d stay by her side until her wounds heal. And then—”

Ellis: “I don’t think I could forgive the people who hurt her.”

The man’s expression softened at my response.

Haggard man: “Ah… that’s correct. Me neither.”

Roger: “…I guess from the question you just asked,”

Roger: “You think the victim incurred some kind of grudge …and was murdered in revenge?”

Haggard man: “If the body was disfigured more than necessary, I think it’s definitely a case of resentment.”

Haggard man: “However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was revenge for an injury to one’s dignity, as I had asked.”

Ellis: “So, do you know anything about what the victims have in common…Any problems they had?”

Haggard man: “No…I can’t think of anything in particular. I think they were all diligent and excellent students.”

Ellis: “Yeah…”

Roger: “…”

I asked him a few more questions after that, but I couldn’t get any useful clues from him.

Roger: “Thank you for today. We’ll be heading back now, Ellis.”

Ellis: “Okay… Oh, one last thing.”

Haggard man: “…?”

Ellis: “I would never forgive anyone who hurts her. But—”

Ellis: “…I’ll protect her before she gets hurt.”

As soon as I said that, the man’s expression, which had been mostly calm up until then, became distorted for the first time.

Haggard man: “Protect…? No matter what, someone can’t always be protected. Not by anyone.”

The man’s words carried weight, as if he had actually experienced the dignity of someone he cared about be violated.

Afterwards, we tried to interview the victim’s family and friends, but our efforts were futile.

When Roger and I returned to Crown Castle, we were informed of a new victim--.

Jude: “Those classmates of the victim that I was plannin’ to interview were all murdered.”

Jude: “…Also, last site I went to I found this note.”

“My revenge is over. Tonight, many will die from the poison I brought.”

“If you can stop it, try to stop it.”

Ellis: “Is this… a confession letter?”

Jude: “He ain’t left anythin’ behind ‘til now, so I wonder what changed his mind this time.”

Roger: “…All the crime scenes so far have been in the same vicinity.”

Roger: “It says ‘if it can be stopped’ so the next one will probably happen somewhere near there.”

Ellis: “A lot of people are gathering around there tonight…”

Ellis: “…The venue for the event Kate is participating in is in danger…!”

I ran off to get to Kate right away,

Jude tried to kick me away--but I dodged it with a sidestep.

Ellis: “…What do you want, Jude?”

Jude: “That’s what I was tryin’ to tell ya, idiot.”

Jude: “Let’s put off rushin’ to the princess’s side. There’s still time ‘til the predicted night.”

Ellis: “But…”

Jude: “Yer goin’ even though ya ain’t found any information ‘bout the culprit? That mean yer only gonna save yer beloved princess?”

Ellis: “…, …”

(If she’s the only one who survives, Kate will surely be hurt.)

Roger: “Plus, Ellis. She was looking forward to today’s event, wasn’t she?”

Roger: “Well, then, let’s make sure she can enjoy it to the end… and take care of it before she even realizes it.”

Ellis: “…I understand. I’ll hold off on rushing to Kate’s side until the very last moment.”

Ellis: “But, where should we start to find the culprit…”

Roger: “Why don’t you go to medical school the victims are from?”

Jude: “What, somethin’ botherin’ ya?”

Roger: “Yeah. You heard it too, Ellis, about the former teacher.”

Roger: “The victims were ‘excellent students’ and ‘killed out of resentment’… don’t you think that’s strange?”

Ellis: “Indeed, if we suspect that the murder was motivated by resentment, we can’t say that there is nothing wrong with the students.”

Roger: “…Yeah. There’s something fishy going on.”

Roger: “Let’s look into whether there was any trouble around the victims.”

We then visited the medical school in London that the victims attended.

Medical school teacher: “Was there anything unusual happening around the victims?”

Ellis: “Yeah. Even something trivial is fine. Can you think of anything?”

Medical school teacher: “Now that I think about it… there was a tragic incident last year. I can’t speak about it too loud, though.”

Medical school teacher: “That day, the corpse brought in for the anatomy class turned out to be the teacher’s wife.”

Ellis: “…The teacher used his own wife in class?”

Medical school teacher: “No. On that day, a student had hired a company to prepare the body, but the it turned out to be a dishonest company…”

Medical school teacher: “They were grave robbers and dug up other people’s graves without permission and sold the bodies.”

Roger: “…London has a good number of medical students, but not many corpses to use in anatomy classes.”

Roger: “The imbalance between supply and demand has been a problem for a long time, and I’ve heard of people robbing graves from time to time…”

Roger: “And then they end up taking the teacher’s wife… what a tragic twist of fate.”

Medical school teacher: “Yes. I don’t think the teacher ever expected his wife to be brought in…”

Medical school teacher: “It came as such a shock to him… and he retired last year.”

The name of the teacher he spoke of was the same as the man Roger and I had gone to talk with.

(Is that what prompted the murders?)

(Then the culprit is--)

--Flashback—

Haggard man: “Thank you. Today is the anniversary of my late wife’s death...”

Haggard man: “She was sick and before she died, she wasn’t able to eat her favorite foods, so I really wanted to buy them for her.”

Haggard man: “Thank you so much.”

--2nd Flashback—

Haggard man: “Protect…? No matter what, someone can’t always be protected. Not by anyone.”

--End Flashback—

(…it was that man.)

Jude: “…Oy, ya listenin’?”

Jude: “—Ellis!”

Jude’s sharp voice brought me back to my senses.

Ellis: “Sorry…What?”

Jude: “What’s goin’ on? Didja remember that ya were in charge of the criminal search area?”

Ellis: “Here and… here, right?”

I pointed to the floorplan of the venue that Jude had spread out.

Jude: “What’re the precautions?”

Ellis: “There were traces of poison being processed in the perpetrator’s room. There’s a high possibility that he has it in his possession, so be careful.”

It seemed like I was right, because Jude didn’t say anything more and just clicked his tongue.

Roger: “Thoughts before the mission?”

Ellis: “Yeah… I just imagined it and it made me a bit anxious.”

Ellis: “What would I do… if Kate and I’s eternity was destroyed like that?”

I thought that the moment we took our last breath, time would stop for us and we would be happy forever.

But…

(What if Kate’s body is harmed in an unwanted way?)

(It feels like a shadow has fallen on… the happiness we were meant to have.)

With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why the perpetrator committed this heinous act,

Jude: “Yer free to sympathize with the perpetrator ‘n feel sentimental, but don’t go crazy.”

Ellis: “…It’s okay.”

Ellis: “I feel sorry for the perpetrator, but if he’s allowed to go unchecked, he’ll bring harm to Kate.”

Ellis: “I will not forgive anyone who gets in the way of our eternity.”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

[sheeparuu]

I’ll call it Severed link au for now.

So I was always a sucker for a bad ending and I wanted to put out a few ideas cuz I thought it would be fun. Yes it started from Linked Universe since I’ve seen people make their own versions and I thought it would be cool to do it too. Also, English is not my first language.

Games I’ve finished:

1.  Sky: Inheriting a god’s power after defeating them is not something Link would have expected to happen after stopping Demise. Still, if the corruption of his mind and body is not enough proof of that, his old home falling out of the sky might be.

2. Twilight: Having a pointy chunk forcefully jammed in one’s brain is bad, using it to keep switching between hylian and beast form is worse, loosing their mind the more they shift is the worst. At least he might be able to get a position as Ganon’s lap dog.

3. Wind: One would be surprised how hard it is to kill a parasitic entity, especially when it takes over your body as a host. Still, after such a gruelling fight, it might remain inactive for a long time, licking its wounds at the bottom of the sea.

4. Spirit: When the hero fails saving his best friend and end up having to swear allegiance to the demon lord inhabiting her body, everything seems to be going to hell. But having that fight with the said demon awaken something from the sea might be just as bad.

5.Wild: Sometime even if a friendly goat amputates your arm, it might not completely remove the malice from your blood stream, or stop it going to your brain. It might just slow it down enough for you to realize that something is taking over you from inside out.

Games I haven’t played/ finished but I tried to research:

6. Losing your uncle, the girl of your dream and having the path to Lorule closed might give someone things to grieve about. Hoarding magical items and knowledge for the purpose of “keeping the people you love safe” is also bad. Being swayed by the dark magic to the point where turning people into stone to “protect them” is, you guessed it, bad.

7. Time: Once a certain evil entity realizes that the kid carrying godness power is a better target than a mere Skullkid it might just have to switch hosts. Maybe if the other masks the “hero” carried weren’t splitting his mind like hair ends he could have stood a chance.

8. Four: Sometime allaying with the wrong side, even if you plan to change sides once you get the upper hand, might lead to actions that you can never forgive yourself for. And sometimes the shame grows to the point you can’t even face the three other versions of yourself, even when they are fighting the big bad of your world. And sometimes when they lose, you might feel the most vulnerable you’ve ever been.

9.Warriors: Maybe if the portals Cia chose to open lead to worlds were the heroes won their adventures, the story would have been different. Maybe if she never realized that Link wouldn’t be hers, even by force, she wouldn’t have turned him into a puppet king. Maybe if his mind wasn’t completely aware of everything around him, while being completely disconnected from his body he wouldn’t have had to agonize like this.

10. Hyrule: Sometimes when a the kindness and heroism of a child is rejected by the entire world and the cult that’s following him takes a much more manipulative approach instead of trying to kill him, it might just end much worse for the common man.

Notes: I always liked the idea that heroes are not purely good and always getting the good ending, and that if their life had just enough differences they would have failed/turned to the dark side. I mostly thought it would be cool for the characters to have a “failed” version and in my head they could serve as a “self discovery journey” for the og heroes. Like having to compare yourself with your worst version would cause some major introspection.

P.S: Yes I added Spirit since I think he and Wind could have some really cool dynamics. Also if someone already did the idea before me I'd like to know.

[ratasum]

Everyone is recovering in the aftermath of Scarlet's attacks, and things have settled down. However, Rhenn is still struggling to comprehend the motives of the quiet little healer that has continued to follow him through his misadventures. When he gets the wrong idea from picked up pieces of conversation, he's forced to take a step back and consider what might've happened that he was never allowed to know. Another step in my Inquest commander, Rhenn's, journey through the story (and to becoming less of a little twerp).

It had been almost a month since Scarlet Briar’s defeat. With all the remaining survivors of the siege on Lion’s Arch moved to the Vanguard Hospital in Divinity’s reach, the young commander had found his way there as well, helping move around supplies with his companion. He hadn’t expected Iuno to stay with him as long as she had, of course… but it was not the charr that his attention was focused on this time.

“That girl is impossible to get a read on.”

Rhenn’s comment caught Iuno off-guard and the charr paused in moving boxes, turning to look at him more fully, ears shifted forward. “…which one? Because there’s a bunch following you around these days, myself included.”

He squirreled up his nose, setting down the box he’d been carrying before gesturing at the young woman moving through the sick and injured, her attention focused, expression soft. She was talking with Kasmeer, who was moving along with her, carrying a tray of water cups. She and the little healer had made fast friends over the time they knew each other, so it hadn’t surprised him terribly that she’d volunteered to help when the sick and wounded were moved to Divinity’s Reach.

“I mean Kippa. She keeps following us around, and it’s not like we don’t know that she hates the Inquest. She made that crystal clear when we first met her. So why follow me around? You know. The son of an overseer? Still in the Inquest?”

“I heard her talking to Taimi before we came back here to move supplies,” Iuno stated, tipping her head to one side thoughtfully. “Something about Thaumanova?”

Immediately, Rhenn’s head snapped up. “Wait, Thaumanova? As in that reactor that blew in Metrica? What did she have to do with that?”

Iuno just shrugged, turning back to her own pile of boxes. “I heard them talking about family. Taimi’s an orphan, and Kippa said something about understanding since she lost her parents too.”

Rhenn seemed to consider for a moment, his ears twitching as he put his hands on his hips. “Her family must’ve been Inquest then, if they died in Thaumanova. So maybe that’s it! Just has a chip on her shoulder because she’s mad her parents didn’t make it out with everyone else. I can get that! So we just gotta… you know, apologize. Or I have to, I guess; you don’t have a moa in this race.”

“Wait, are you sure you wanna just… lead in with that? What if you’re wrong?”

He just flashed a grin, shrugging. “What could I be wrong about? What other connection to Thaumanova could she possibly have? I mean, maybe it wasn’t her parents, maybe it was a sibling or something but that’s about it.”

Iuno gave him a flat look, her ears flicking as she folded her arms. “Uh-huh. No other reason at all? Maybe she just doesn’t like that the Inquest keeps blowing things up.”

Snorting, Rhenn waved a hand at her. “Every asura blows stuff up; it’s part of our culture. Trust me, I’ll talk to her about this, smooth things out, maybe see if I can get her some reparations from my dad or something, and it’ll be water under the bridge!”

He was definitely ignoring the way Iuno tipped her head forward, shoulders squaring. “…if you say so, sir.”

“We’ve talked about this; you’re a free charr. You don’t have to call me sir anymore.”

“When you’re doing something stupid , like the old you, then I’ll call you sir.”

Rhenn just rolled his eyes. His mind was made up, and it seemed there was no deterring him, so for the moment, Iuno just folded her arms, leaned back, and watched him go. He was making his way through the cots, at the very least saying “excuse me” to Kasmeer as he passed, before grinning and clearing his throat. “Hey… Kippa? Got a second?”

The healer’s shoulders tensed briefly, but she took in a quick breath before blowing it out, letting her posture relax before she turned her head to look up at Rhenn. “Yes, Commander? Is there something I can help you with?”

“Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” He was grinning still. Something that Iuno was well aware wasn’t winning him any points, but he was trying. “I had gotten some information and just wanted to talk to you. I heard you had some familial ties to that nasty business at Thaumanova.”

This time, when Kippa’s shoulders tensed, it was without any attempt to relax them. Her chin tipped up, jaw visibly tightening as she drew herself in slightly. “I don’t think you should really be talking about that.”

Undeterred, Rhenn pressed on. “Look, I get it! It was a big deal. But I think I get it now. Your folks were in the reactor and didn’t make it out, right? We’re cut from the same cloth, you and me. And I’m sorry you had to go through that, but-”

He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence. Without warning, Kippa had lashed out, palm of her hand cracking hard across his cheek before, with a wet, angry sob, she hurried off to one of the side rooms of the hospital.

Click here to read the rest!

[modern-inheritance]

Modern Inheritance: Vinr Älfakyn (Short) (Post Galbatorix death or something)

(A/N: Jesus fucking christ I think this is Roran's first ever official appearance in MIC. 2024 is the year of firsts. Oh no I made an accidental smut joke there oh no okay just take this short and go away.)

~~~

“Roran!” He turned at the hoarse call of his name. Arya slowed her jog to a stop beside him, one hand landing on his shoulder as if to steady herself. “Sorry, you’re…a hard man to find in this mess. I thought I missed you.” The elf took a moment to catch her breath. If he hadn’t seen the same action done by half the injured elven warriors he passed in the last hour, he would have thought it was impossible. “Katrina? And Ismira?”

The names of his family softened the set of Roran’s jaw. “They’re safe. We just sent word to them that we won.” He tilted his head forward, shaggy hair falling into his eyes. The image of Barst swinging that damn mace of his like it was no more than a toy played in his mind. “Your mother?”

“Alive.” The word came as a cough. In the far distance, Roran saw Saphira’s wings sweep up in preparation for flight. Arya must have dashed the entire length of the sprawling camp, dodging wounded and worried alike just to reach him, Stronghammer, of all people. “Alive! In no small part thanks to your intervention.”

Arya drew herself up then, taking two steadying breaths. “I’ve been named Queen Regent until Islanzadí is back to full health.” She stumbled on the word full, falling silent for a brief moment.

“Congratulations.” Roran offered in the quiet between words. The sentiment was hollow, the former farmer knowing full well that Arya would have taken any job other than Queen of anything in less than a heartbeat. “That’s a step up, even temporarily.”

Arya let out a crack of a laugh, picking up on his tone. “I already hate it. But it does allow me the honor of this.” She reached into one of the pouches arrayed on her blood splattered combat belt. “It’s not up to the proper craftsmanship, and I’ll get you one made right when it’s not chaos. But…skipping the formal stuff that we’ll probably have to put a show on for later…”

Arya took both Roran’s calloused hands in one of her own rough palms and, in a voice ringing with power despite the exhaustion at the edges, proclaimed, “By my power as Queen of the Elves, I bestow on you this ring. Your actions and strength have done a great deed here today, for all of the Älfakyn, and for that, and for the help you gave in Queen Islanzadí’s hour of greatest need, I name you, Roran Stronghammer, son of Garrow, Vinr Älfakyn, an elf friend. You may use this ring to access all the benefits and honors that title carries.”

When she pulled away, Roran opened his hands to reveal a burnished gold and titanium signet ring. Stamped in the metal at the top was a familiar symbol, one burned into his memory from flashing at Brom’s finger countless nights of stories and shared meals.

“This…” Roran slipped the cool band around his finger. He lifted his hand to the half light of smoke-hazed dusk and watched the weak sun reflect in the metal. “This means a lot to you and yours, doesn’t it?” 

He lowered his arm. The weight of the ring was miniscule, but all at once the true meaning of the gesture and the bestowment dawned on him.

Him. A farmer’s son. Roran, Roran Stronghammer. Was now at the same standing with the elves as one of the Dragon Riders of old. The same standing as Brom, the living legend. 

The normal life in Palancar Valley suddenly felt so very far away indeed.

“Yeah.” The still somewhat out of breath grin would have caught Roran off guard if he had the energy for surprise anymore. “If you, Katrina or Ismira need help at any point, find an elf and show this to them. They’ll help you, no questions asked and no complaints. Unless it’s something heinous, I guess.”

Roran had only half a breath to flick his gaze to Arya’s face before the woman suddenly pulled him into a fierce hug that made his tired bones creak. 

“Thank you.” Arya murmured in his ear. “Thank you.”

[gluion]

[part two] of boundaries and secret glances (i'm lucky to be loved by you) ➵ kim sunwoo

idol!kim sunwoo x ex-idol!reader

as a well-respected independent producer in the industry, you get requests from different companies for collaborations. when you accept to work on chanhee and sunwoo's unit track for their upcoming album, you are left to your own devices as you work closely with sunwoo. who is to say what can happen over the days?

genre/warnings ➵ strangers to friends to lovers (though sunwoo has always had a crush on you since your debut), music and lyrics au, fluff, angst with happy ending, afab reader (they/them pronouns), drinking, kpop mistreatment, mental and physical abuse done by companies, close proximity, sunwoo is a FLIRT!!! and also obsessed with you, LOONA IS FREE HERE!!!, iz*one sadly does not exist </3, boundaries are definitely crossed in the sense that you should not be flirting this much with a co-worker turned friend, slight suggestive content at the end

word count ➵ 14.6k words (30.3k words in total)

parts ➵ [1] [2]

taglist ➵ @deoboyznet @kflixnet

a/n ➵ thank you for taking time to read the second part! please note that idols shown or talked about in this fic are not meant to reflect my real thoughts on them. i love all the idols here in this fic. i would really appreciate it if you could take the time to like and reblog this.

want to be part of my taglist? send me an ask! masterlist

It has been a week since your fight with Sunwoo. Soeun chose to defer her employment with IST for another two weeks until she can get her hands on someone to take her job under you. To be clear, you did not care about how Mr. Yoon attempted to screw you over. In fact, you were used to it and trained yourself to not think too much about it.

What bothered you about everything was how Sunwoo seemed to turn his back on you so quickly. Despite all the late nights and moments spent in close proximity, the friendship proved itself to be weak in the face of adversity. You guess Sunwoo needed more from you to truly think of you as a friend.

Now, you were seated in Sunwoo’s favorite Japanese restaurant which had turned into your favorite as well. You were only there for the sushi to patch the wounds that he inflicted on you; food cures everything. Yet, when Hikaru offered a bottle of sake for free, you could not deny her request.

A bottle of sake turned into two and a half, and you were officially drunk. You realize that sushi is not the most filling food to eat before you drink. As you stayed seated and slouched on your table around 1 AM, you were left with your thoughts as Hikaru stayed with you.

“Hikaru, I don’t know what happened,” You slur which has Hikaru letting out a hum.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“I… I don’t know what happened between me and Sunwoo,” You say as you finally sit up straight.

“Something happened between you two?”

You hiccup and take a moment to make sure you do not vomit. Before you could respond, you heard the bells ring. Once the mystery person made their way to you, you showed a lazy smile.

“Sunwoo!” The person in question sighs as he scratches his head.

“Thank you, Hikaru, for calling me. I’ll take care of them from here.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know something happened between you two.” As Sunwoo walks to you, you raise your arms.

“Carry me you asshole!” Despite the sting of your words, the way you exclaimed it was merrily. Sunwoo sighs, faces away from you, and crouches down.

“Get on my back.” You gladly accept his offer and wrap your arms around his shoulders, jumping on his back. The moment he stands up, you stumble but he holds on you tightly.

“Again, I’m sorry about this Hikaru. Do I have to pay for anything? Please send the receipt to the dorm if necessary,” Sunwoo tells Hikaru, making her shake her head.

“No, it’s okay. Just take care of Y/N. Do you need help?”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you!” With that, Sunwoo exits with you on his back.

As he was walking back to your place with you on his back, you were resting your cheek on the back of his head. In fact, you were mumbling something that he could not quite catch.

“Hmm? Y/N, did you say something?”

“Why…” The rest of your words turned into incoherent nonsense that Sunwoo was not sure if he should ask you to say again considering your state.

“Y/N, I couldn’t hear you.”

“Why do you not like me?”

That has Sunwoo stopped in his tracks. As he continued to carry you on his back, he looked at the path in front of him as you continued to mumble.

“Sunwoo,” You hiccup. “What happened to us? Do you not like me?”

Sunwoo’s heart ached at your words. He did not know how to reassure you that he enjoys everything about you, especially in your current state. In fact, it would be no use. With that, he continued to walk with you on his back.

The journey back to your place gave you enough time to rest and sober up somehow. As you gained a clearer conscience, you realized how having Sunwoo carry you on his back was terrible for you. There was no way you could live this down. Yet, you allow yourself to snuggle into him as you take in his smell.

Sunwoo smells of jasmine and rose. The scent of berry lingers on his hair along with the smell of laundry that clings onto his clothes. As you breathe him in, you realize how comforting his presence is in your life.

Once you two finally reached your place, he attempts to wake you up as he thinks you were asleep

“Hey, we’re here.”

As you got off his back, you look away and attempt to make your way to the door. Sunwoo grabs your hand before you could do so and spins you to face him. What he did not expect was to see tears falling down your face.

“Y/N, I’m–”

“Sunwoo, what did I do wrong? Did you not think of me as a friend?”

“What? No, I–” You attempt to shrug his hand off your wrist but fail.

“Let me go,” You say as more tears continue to fall down.

“No, I won’t.”

“Sunwoo, let me go.”

Greeted with no response as his grip remains firm, you attempt to shrug it off once more. Without any success, you start to sob even harder.

“Please, let me go!” Your sobs were even louder, your body shaking as your throat started to strain.

“Y/N, I can’t. I care about you.”

“No, you don’t! If you did, you would have never asked me to take that offer!” You argue back as you look at him straight into his eyes.

“Y/N–”

“Sunwoo, please! The longer you hold onto me, the more confused I get about our relationship. Like, what are we? Friends? Enemies? Strangers who want to flirt? What are we?! It’s so hard to understand you after everything!”

With that, Sunwoo pulls you into his chest and hugs you. As you continue to sob and hit your hands on his chest, he continues to hold you despite everything.

You wish he never bothered to be friends with you. Why could you two not remain colleagues? Why did Sunwoo have to reach out to you and leave you with a broken heart?

It took you a few minutes until your wailing started to calm down. As you start to get exhausted from crying, your arms began to grow tired while your throat started to ache. At that moment, you do not do anything as Sunwoo continues to hold you in his arms.

The moment he lets go of you, he caresses your face so that you could look straight into his eyes. Your bloodshot eyes along with tear-stained cheeks became a painful sight he could not bear to look at, especially knowing he was the cause of this. Despite everything, you saw how his eyes continued to hold the entire universe.

“Y/N, I need to say this to you right now because I’m scared you’ll go back to sleep thinking all of this.”

“I–”

“No, Y/N. Hear me out just this once, please?” Before you could say anything, he went on.

“Y/N, I have always thought of you as a friend. In fact, I regarded you as the one person I wanted to continue spending time with. Maybe it’s because our friendship is so fresh, but I loved every moment I got to have with you.” Sunwoo draws patterns on your cheek with his thumb. “Whether it would be in the studio as we worked in comfortable silence or in my favorite Japanese restaurant that turned into your favorite as well, every single moment is precious because it had you in it.”

“Sure, I was ecstatic to know that I would be spending time with my celebrity crush, but I learned more about you the more we continued to work together. Did you know that I fall asleep to the thought of spending more time–no, that I fall asleep to the thought of you? Everywhere I go at any moment, I always think about you; I wonder how you are today; I hope you got to eat well today; I wonder what other things you can reveal that can keep me absolutely hooked on you.”

“Y/N, I don’t think you realize just how precious you are in everyone’s lives. If you think I never saw you as a friend, well I need to tell you otherwise. I appreciate everything about you—your place in my life has become a comforting presence that I cannot imagine without. In the short period of time we got to know each other, I learned more about you outside of the idol persona I was infatuated with then.”

As your drunken brain tries to process, your mouth parts open.

“I… I don’t get it, Sunwoo. What are you trying to say?”

With that, Sunwoo lets out a sigh as he closes his eyes and loosens his hold on your face. As you continue to stare at him, he has no idea what to say. It was silent for a moment. 

“Chanhee and I talked to Jihoon. We’re trying to negotiate again with our CEO.” You were left in shock.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m trying to fix it, okay? Hyung just informed Soeun just today, and we’re trying. I don’t want to discuss the details now because I want you to be in a sober state to fully discuss it with you. But I just want you to know I’m doing everything possible to fix this. You do not deserve to be fucked over again—you deserve better,” Sunwoo continues.

The guy who betrayed you was doing all of this for you? It felt surreal that Sunwoo would go to these lengths to right this situation. Maybe it is because you thought that your relationship with him was built on nothing but shameless flirting, but he continues to prove you wrong—you’re so glad he does.

Before you could say anything, Sunwoo says, “I’ll see you when you’re sober, okay?” With that, he engulfs you in a hug.

And he whispers, “Y/N, I miss you. Just let me know when you’re ready to talk.”

With that, Sunwoo nuzzles his face into the top of your head. And before you know it, he gives you a small kiss on the crown of your forehead. Your eyes were closed as his lips linger. The warmth of his lips felt like a blanket you would wrap yourself with when the storm came. You could only wish it could remain like this.

He finally lets go of you and lets his hand hover over your cheek. As you looked up to the guy who had singlehandedly given you warmth and heartache over the weeks, you still wish nothing but happiness for him. It’s not that you lacked respect for yourself for what he did—it’s that Sunwoo still deserves all that is good in the world no matter what you may feel.

Sunwoo drops his hand back to his side and gives a small smile before he decides to walk away. As you stay rooted in place, you watch his figure become smaller as he continues to walk. But before you decide to go back into your house, Sunwoo looks back at you.

“I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. But I would never hold it against you if you couldn’t.”

It’s been a few days since your last encounter with Sunwoo. Currently, you were in your office going through your emails (which surprised Soeun—even yourself). As you were considering denying all of the requests from these different companies, Soeun continued to give you a rundown of what Jihoon told her regarding the negotiation process.

“Jihoon says that since the anticipated comeback day is coming closer, the situation works in our favor. He mentioned that they haven’t found the right producer to work on Chanhee and Sunwoo’s track. That means that with the tight schedule, their company may reconsider what you produced as the final track.”

You only let out a hum as you continue to scroll through countless emails.

“Hey, look at me,” She says as she snaps her fingers to grab your attention.

As your eyes rip away from the screen, you look at Soeun who had a frown on her face. Clearly, she knew something was up considering your behavior that night with Sunwoo.

“Y/N, I know you are an independent artist but you still need to be careful about what you do. You are a well-respected artist in the industry and we cannot do anything to risk that! Y/N, you are free to go drink out and whatnot but you can’t just drink in public alone! Imagine if people saw you, let alone see you get picked up by Sunwoo! Remember how Keeho and Intak were caught in the club? Or even Taehyun?”

You understood where Soeun was coming from because she is right. It was completely stupid on your end. It was bad enough that you had to sustain yourself as an independent artist. It would be even worse if the public commented on your irrational public drinking behavior.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

“I sure hope you know!” Her voice raises which you flinch at. Soeun notices the way you react and closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down.

“I’m… sorry for the way I’m reacting. Y/N, I know I’m going to work in IST soon enough, but I’m still your manager and friend. I’m trying to look out for you,” She says with her eyes open as she takes a seat in front of you.

“And in my attempt to look out for you, I want you to feel comfortable enough to tell me what’s on your mind.”

As she says those words, you lean your head back and look up at the ceiling. No matter how long you and Soeun have been together, you always found it hard to be vulnerable. It is not her fault but yours.

“Soeun, I don’t know. I’m just so lost in what I’m feeling and I–it’s all so confusing, you know? Like–oh my god, why is it so hard to vocalize my thoughts?” You let out a small laugh as you pick on your nails.

“It’s okay, take your time. You always know I’m here to listen, just say whatever comes to mind.”

So you talked, and it went on for hours. The best thing about talking to Soeun is that you always felt understood by her from how she responds to how she reacts. There really is no friend like Soeun—one who is willing to go to all lengths for your happiness and safety.

“Y/N, would you ever find it within yourself to forgive him? I mean, I don’t think I would,” She says, which makes you chuckle.

“The weirdest thing is that I would have never forgiven anyone for that. I mean, I opened up to Sunwoo about my own trauma only for him to completely disregard it.”

And it is true. Sunwoo should not deserve your forgiveness—just like how JYP Entertainment, Stone Entertainment, and IST Entertainment do not deserve it as well. To be treated as a tool that people can use at their own will to only benefit themselves is something no one should ever experience. You decided that you do deserve to be respected. So why do you find it in your heart to want to forgive him?

“I just find it crazy that I cannot bring myself to forgive these entertainment companies but for Sunwoo, I would. Call me infatuated or too up into my delusions, but all the days I’ve spent with him have only shown me a guy with a heart of gold and pure intentions to not only protect but to love immensely. Like, that’s just the type of guy he is! And this comes from someone who is always cynical about men.”

Soeun laughs, caresses your hand, and says, “No, you’re right. I’ve known you for how long and I have never seen you actually consider forgiving a man just like that.”

As you looked down at your intertwined hands, you could only sigh.

“Soeun, am I wrong for wanting to forgive him?” You ask as you look up to her.

With that, silence enters the room. As you wait for Soeun’s answer, anxiety starts to pool in your stomach. You did not want to come off as easy for wanting to forgive the guy who brought joy and sorrow within the past weeks.

“Y/N, wanting to forgive shows just how strong you are. Many people may disagree and say that you’re in the wrong for wanting to forgive him, but I believe that it just shows more of the Y/N I know. You’ve been wronged by so many people but I never see you use that as an excuse to treat people shitty, and that’s what I love about you. That’s why I always say you need to be kinder to yourself and give yourself more credit for all that you do.”

You felt yourself pout at what Soeun said. “Soeun, you’re going to make me sad!” She only laughs.

“I’m right though! I think even your fans would think the same, and I’m sure Sunwoo does.”

You press your tongue against the inside of your cheek as you think about her words. Instead of saying anything, you let go of Soeun’s hand and grab your phone. Once you typed out your message, you gave it one more read and sent it. 

It is 2:36 PM. You were seated in one of your favorite cafes that you would frequent back when you were still in 1CON. As you take a sip from your cup of earl grey tea, you scroll aimlessly through your Instagram.

“Y/N-ah!” You look up to see Jiwoo and Heejin whose smiles lit up the whole room.

Whenever you feel lost, you always find yourself going to these two. They were the ones you relied on the most back in your Produce 101 and 1CON days. Maybe it was due to being in the same unit groups during the competition or being roommates when you were still in 1CON that made you three grow closer. Nonetheless, you were happy that your friendship with them continues to last past disbandment.

“Heejin and Jiwoo! Thank you for meeting with me,” You say as you stand up and give the two a hug.

“Heejin-ah, I’ll get us our drinks. You stay with Y/N,” Jiwoo says as she makes her way to the cashier.

“Y/N, I have a feeling that I know why you called us,” Heejin says with a small smile as you two take a seat.

“Yeah, shocker,” You joke in hopes to lighten up the mood.

“Don’t worry about it. I get it, men truly are something.”

“They really are! I can’t believe I’m letting a man do this to me.”

Before Heejin can respond, Jiwoo comes to you two with some drinks and pastries.

“Here you go, Heejin! Let me just settle down and you can spill on Sunwoo,” She says excitedly which makes you chuckle.

With that, you explain to the two your whole situation with Sunwoo from the start to current. As you talked about the close proximity and all the other actions that transpired between you two, you could see Heejin and Jiwoo squeal.

“Yah! I never knew that all of this happened between you two! You downplay it or leave out so many details in your messages,” Jiwoo scolds you.

“I know, my bad. It’s just, it still feels weird to think that this all happened. But going back, my dilemma still remains. I don’t know what to feel about Sunwoo.”

Heejin scoffs and says, “Do you really not know what to feel about him or are you seeking some kind of external validation?”

“Hey! I mean, I’m both?” You shyly admit.

At first, Heejin and Jiwoo look at each other. A part of you had a feeling that they came prepared with whatever they wanted to say beforehand. With that, they look at you and give you a piece of their minds.

“Y/N, you should just talk to him,” Jiwoo starts off.

“I think it’s all hard to say whether you should forgive him or not if you don’t actually hear him out, you know?” Heejin takes a sip from her cold brew. “And I know that you’re the type of person who wants to come to these situations with a clear understanding of what to do, but it’s not fair for him. In no way am I trying to defend this guy’s actions because it is still pretty shitty and I would scold him. However, I think that your decision to forgive him or not will only be clearer if you talk to him.”

“I agree. If you come in there with a clear and strict decision of forgiving him or not means you don’t want to hear what he has to say. Plus, I do think it’s good on his end that he’s trying to make up for his behavior by trying to negotiate with his own agency. Everyone knows how hard it is for idols to stand up against their own companies—we would know out of all people would know,” Jiwoo points out.

Both of them made sense in what they were saying. If anything, you were starting to understand how important it is to have a talk with Sunwoo.

“So, I’m not wrong for wanting to forgive him?” You ask as you seek validation.

Jiwoo sighs. “You’re not wrong for wanting to hear him out. To hear out the person who betrayed you in hopes to understand and possibly forgive them speaks so much of your character, Y/N.”

“You know, you really are too good for this world. In other instances, I would have told you to ghost this guy and go on with your life.” You laugh at Heejin’s words. “Yet, the way you talk about Sunwoo and all the good things he’s done for you makes me hope that it all goes out well. You’re the one person I trust when it comes to forgiveness—you know that you deserve respect. Of course, you still need to work on acknowledging your achievements,” Heejin continues making you gasp.

“Hey! Soeun won’t get off my back on that, you know?”

“Yeah because it’s true and something you need to focus on,” Jiwoo argues and smacks your arm.

“You work too much!” Heejin exclaims.

“Heejin, I have to work or I’m going to be broke. Being an independent artist is hard,” You point out.

“We get it. I mean, you’re talking to us out of all people!” 

Your group bursts into giggles. It is crazy to think that you three had to undergo mistreatment that scarred your lives. In no way was it right but it is something you three trauma bond over.

“So, what are you going to do?” Jiwoo finally asks.

Instead of answering, you grab your phone and message the man who you needed to hear from.

Sunwoo was not focused during his dance practice. If anything, he has been unfocused since you first stormed out of the building that one day. Of course, he tried to do anything that would help him get his mind on track. However, with the comeback date approaching and no clear future for his and Chanhee’s track, he has been stressed out. It did not help that he missed your presence the most.

“Yo, Sunwoo? You good?” Kevin snaps Sunwoo out of his trance.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sorry.”

Everyone in the group knew that Sunwoo was not his usual self. With the stress of the comeback and his argument with you, many of the members noticed how scatterbrained he has been. Although Chanhee and Changmin made an attempt to talk to him about it, he always shut them down. This is why when Sunwoo approached Chanhee with the idea of talking to Jihoon, Chanhee was shocked about his best friend talking about you after so long.

Jihoon says that he is getting close to sealing the deal with Mr. Yoon. However, he requested to have a meeting with Sunwoo and Chanhee to hear the request from them. With the meeting happening in three days, Sunwoo found himself ridden with anxiety.

There are so many ways in which the meeting could play out; Mr. Yoon easily agrees with their negotiation and has Y/N’s work as the final track; he denies the request and pushes back the unit song for the next comeback instead; or, Sunwoo could lose his job. Everything about this situation stressed him out, but he knew that it was something that needed to be done.

“Okay everyone, let’s stay focused. We have so many segments to fix on,” Sangyeon calls everyone’s attention.

“Sangyeon’s right. Sunwoo, we really need your help here,” Changmin hated to say that to his best friend knowing fully well of the situation, but the time constraints were putting pressure on everyone.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry everyone,” Sunwoo apologizes as he rubs his eyes in frustration.

“Hey, let’s cut some slack for Sunwoo. He’s going through a lot,” Eric attempts to defend his best friend.

“Yeah, but if we don’t show Jihoon hyung anything good, we’ll be scolded,” Hyunjae explains.

“But you guys know that Sunwoo hasn’t been sleeping well since his fight with Y/N,” Chanhee chimes in.

“I know that, but remember when we delivered a bad performance to Sunghoon?” Juyeon shares which made the chatter stop.

The mention of their old manager brings the group into silence. Everyone’s experiences were different, but all would agree Sunghoon has single-handedly traumatized the members. Through insults, invasion of privacy, and gaslighting, many members of the group felt unsafe with him.

“Hey, don’t think about him. We’re safe now, okay?” Sangyeon says before anyone could continue spiraling down into memory lane.

“I’m sure Jihoon hyung will understand, but we still need to present something that would fulfill the standards of the company,” He continues as he stretches his shoulder.

Before anyone could say anything, the door of the practice room opens and reveals Jihoon and Jongseob, their choreography teacher.

“Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you, hyung,” Kevin exclaims with a smile on his face.

“Oh, talking about me? I hope you’re not planning to find a way to sneak out of the dorm again,” Jihoon jokes.

“To be fair, Hyunjae and Younghoon dragged us with them!” Jacob tries to defend him and Kevin while Jihoon only laughs.

“How’s the practice? I thought it would be good to leave you guys to work by yourselves,” Jongseob asks the group.

No one answers.

“I’m assuming that you’re still struggling.”

“Hyung, I think we’re getting stressed by the lack of time and progress,” Changmin pouts.

“And that’s why I’m here to help! Let’s try to refine up to the 2nd verse and work on the rest tomorrow, okay?” Jongseob asks which has the group scream out in happiness.

“Can I speak to Sunwoo first?” Jihoon asks.

Sunwoo only nods and walks out of the practice room with Jihoon. He continues to follow Jihoon until they reach an empty recording studio. Once the two entered, they made their way to the black couch that stood at the end of the room and sat down.

The thing is that Sunwoo is nervous. The name of Sunghoon being mentioned brought him memories he wished he could forget. So to be seated alone with Jihoon only rid him of anxiety.

Sunwoo did not have it in him to share what he went through with anyone. So when Y/N asked him back then what his experience is like with The Boyz, he purposely omitted it. It is not that he did not trust Y/N but more that it was hard for him to ever have to vocalize his own experiences with Sunghoon that almost pushed him to leave the group.

“Hey, Sunwoo? Are you okay?” Jihoon snaps Sunwoo out of his trance.

“What? I’m sorry. I’m okay, hyung,” Sunwoo says with a quick smile as a cover-up.

Jihoon only frowns and says, “Sunwoo-ah, I know you well enough to see that you’re upset about something. It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it but you don’t need to lie to me.”

Sunwoo shakes his head and lets out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, hyung. It’s just that I’ve been so lost with… everything, really,” Sunwoo attempts to joke as he lets out a chuckle.

“No, I get it. With what you’re going through with Y/N, the comeback date coming soon, and your upcoming meeting with Mr. Yoon, I would be surprised if you weren’t stressed.”

“Yeah but… I’m trying to deal with it.”

“And you know that you don’t have to deal with it alone, right?” Jihoon is only met with silence.

“Sunwoo, you are a very talented guy whose charisma manages to bring up everyone’s mood. You somehow–no wait, you are the life of the party for many and the shoulder to cry on for others. So you should know that whenever the burden is too hard to carry, you have people you can rely on—me, your members, Y/N even.”

Sunwoo only sighs as he plays with his hands. “I know, you’re right. I think it’s just weird to still be open about anything.”

“Hey, I understand. I mean, I get that it would be weird to be open with your manager but I always want you to know that I am not like Sunghoon,” Jihoon tries to make a point by holding onto Sunwoo’s hands.

“I’m sorry to bring his name up but I know the damage he’s inflicted upon you guys mentally and physically. Every day, I still see how his memory continues to live with you guys from the way you function during comeback season to the way you treat yourselves. So when I look at you now, I feel the need to reiterate it.”

Sunwoo cannot help but smile at Jihoon. One of the things that Sunwoo appreciates about Jihoon is that he has always been attentive to the needs of the group. From food cravings to fatigue levels, Jihoon always found ways to make sure every member was heard and understood.

“Thank you, Jihoon hyung. It means a lot. You do so much for us and I hope you know how much we appreciate you,” Sunwoo says, which earns a smile from Jihoon.

“I know that even if you guys tend to mess around or sneak out of the dorm every once in a while.” The two burst into laughter.

“Well, I just wanted you to know that. Now, the reason I called you here is to talk to you about more details about what to expect from the meeting.” Sunwoo nods. “Thankfully, Soeun and I discussed thoroughly the details and what might help with the negotiation pushing through. Thankfully, I will be in the meeting to help so you don’t have to worry too much. I do think you and Chanhee need to prepare a good and rational explanation as to why they should accept Y/N’s work as the final track and I can deal with all the technical details such as dates and whatnot. I’ll send you a proper message later tonight.”

Sunwoo nods firmly and shows Jihoon a smile. Before he could say anything, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. As he takes it out to see the notification, he is surprised to see a message from you. As he gasps, Jihoon could only guess what has Sunwoo in such a reaction.

“I am guessing that you have somewhere to be.” Sunwoo shoots Jihoon a smile and hugs him briefly.

“Thank you, hyung! I’ll see you later,” He says as he stands up and quickly makes his way to the door.

“Yah, don’t forget you need to be in the dorm by 9 PM latest!”

It is 4:21 PM. You were seated in the same cafe where you met up with Heejin and Jiwoo. You decided to get a chai latte to accompany your book. Although you tried to read the pages of Crying in H Mart, you could not keep your mind off of your upcoming meeting with Sunwoo.

You decide to grab your phone and look back at your conversation with Sunwoo.

y/n: are you free to meet?

zzoguri 🦝: of course! i can meet you around 4:30?

zzoguri 🦝: where should i meet you :]

y/n: there’s actually a cafe i frequent that’s near my place. it’s called milk and roasters

y/n: i can send you the google maps details if you need it

zzoguri 🦝: it’s okay i found it. i’ll see you :]]

As you continue to look down at the conversation that took place hours ago, you start to feel anxiety pool at the bottom of your stomach. Although you are the type of person who stands their ground and likes to hear people out, you cannot deny that you were the anxious type. Your tendency to overthink always brought you to hypothetical situations you never wanted to experience.

This is why you never noticed that Sunwoo entered the cafe as you continued to stare down at your phone.

“Hey.”

You felt yourself jump in your seat at Sunwoo’s sudden voice. As you look up at him, you notice a sheepish smile plastered on his face.

“Jesus! Sunwoo, you scared me.”

“To be fair, I wanted to see if you really were easy to scare like I’ve seen in the old 1CON vlogs,” He says as he takes a seat across from you.

“Oh god, you really watched those? I was such a baby then.”

“Of course I did! You were my number one pick—you still are.” You could only roll your eyes at Sunwoo.

“Plus, Haknyeon did mention you’re my celebrity crush,” He continues as he looks out the window.

You only giggle and say, “I can’t believe that getting me to work on your unit track was just a ploy for you to meet your celebrity crush.”

Sunwoo was about to protest but no words left his mouth. “Yeah, it really was.”

You try to hide the smile forming on your face by taking a sip of your chai latte (though you are not sure if you were blushing). Once you put your phone and book away, you look right at the boy seated across you.

“I’m ready to listen regarding the negotiation.”

Sunwoo lets out a sigh at first to prepare what he was going to say. Although he spent his time drafting a flow of what he would say on the way to you, he was scared that he would fuck this up.

“Ever since our, you know… fight, I’ve been trying to find a way to make this all right. I thought I could just apologize but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.” Sunwoo tongues the inside of his cheek. “I mean, I basically asked you to give your work as a demo despite knowing all the times your old companies didn’t credit you for your work—let alone properly pay you for it. That’s why I talked with Chanhee about negotiating again and he was open to the idea.”

“We eventually found ourselves talking to Jihoon hyung and one thing led to another. We’re trying to push for your work to be the final track for many reasons; there’s not enough time to outsource another producer who would deliver a track within the projected internal deadline; it would be impossible for me and Chanhee to squeeze in enough time to work with a new producer since we’re focused on our comeback performances; and it’s also not fair to you—above all reasons, that is the one that I find important to address.”

Sunwoo takes a deep breath. “Y/N, I’m sorry for ever asking you to do something that would only have you relive your trauma or create room for more disrespect directed towards you. When I looked back at our conversations about your time in JYP and Stone Music Entertainment, I only realized after our fight what I was asking you to do. You do not deserve to be forced to relive your trauma. So above everything, I’m sorry.”

You are silent for a moment as you process his words.

“Sunwoo, so why did you ask for me to accept the deal then?” He lets out a sigh at your question.

“I… don’t know,” He admits. “I know, that sounds so shitty but I really don’t know what was on my mind to push you into the deal. I think I wanted to believe that they wouldn’t make any significant changes to your work; I just wanted to rap to the song you produced,” He trails off.

“But also, I think a part of me was scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“I… I think I was scared of how Jihoon hyung and Mr. Yoon would react if you denied the deal. I–this isn’t about me, sorry. Just know that it was wrong on my end; I’m doing all that I can to fix this,” Sunwoo answers as he looks down at his crossed arms that rested on the table.

You do not know what came to you, but you found yourself reaching out to Sunwoo’s arm. As you rested your hand there, he looked up at you with eyes filled with guilt.

“Sunwoo, it’s okay. You can tell me—this is also about you as much as it is about me.”

At first, Sunwoo was hesitant to share with you something so traumatic and personal to him. He hates to vocalize any experience related to Sunghoon. Yet, the moment you showed your smile that filled him with warmth without fail, that is when he knew it was time to tell you.

“A part of me would think that I would have to carry the blame or the burden if you denied the deal,” Sunwoo starts off. “I felt as if I would have to be in charge to clean up the mess. I mean, I was the one who pushed for you to be the producer for the unit track. It made me think that if we didn’t get to use your work, I would need to do all the work once again. But most of all, I was scared that I would get scolded by the company.”

Sunwoo sighs. “Y/N, remember that conversation we had when we were at the convenience store? The one where you asked me what it’s like to be in The Boyz?” You only nod.

“I know I mentioned that the scolding was the worst of it all and… it’s because of what the group had to go through back then.” You found yourself slowly rubbing his arm in hopes to comfort him.

Sunwoo sucks in a breath.

“We had a manager before Jihoon; his name is Sunghoon. He was our manager back in our pre-debut to freshly debuted days. At first, Sunghoon was a great manager. I mean, he took care of us and defended us on most occasions. If anything, we trusted him so much with so many secrets.”

“But something flipped in him—or maybe he was just always a bad person and we never noticed. At first, he would manipulate us into thinking we were too fat or we lacked so much skill that it would cost our debut.” Sunwoo found himself shuddering at the memories. “At one point, I remember that he made Changmin believe that it would be impossible for him to improve in singing. Changmin took that to heart because he only had dancing. He knew that if he didn’t show any improvement, he would be kicked out of the group.”

Sunwoo closed his eyes. “I think one of the worst things I underwent is the physical and mental exhaustion he would subject me to.”

“Out of all the members, he expected me to be the perfect dancer—the one to get the choreography and perform it exquisitely within the first days of learning it.” Sunwoo shakes his head. “But for some reason, he made me believe that all the times I would slip up were the main reasons why I was holding the group back. Although the group tried to tell me that I was one of the best dancers and it was fine for me to make some mistakes, I started to believe that I was at fault if I wasn’t doing anything perfectly.”

“It started to reach a point where Sunghoon would force me to stay late in the practice rooms alone and he would force me to perform the same choreography until I got it perfectly. The other members said it was weird that only I was being subjected to that but the others had other mistreatments they were being put through; Haknyeon was put through inhumane diets; Juyeon and Changmin were forced to sing until their vocal cords would strain; Kevin and Jacob would not be allowed to talk to their family back in Canada; and so much more.”

The more Sunwoo shares his story, the more your heart would ache for him. It was not right that he had to go through such a traumatic experience in the same way that you should not have been discredited for your creative works. It is not right that so many trainees and idols are continuously subjected to mistreatment as if they are only tools for the success of these companies.

“No matter how many times Sangyeon tried to talk to Mr. Yoon, he would not believe us. And somehow, Sunghoon always found out whenever Sangyeon tried to talk. The–god, the physical abuse I had to see Sangyeon undergo was terrible. I think he had it worst out of all of us.” Sunwoo bites his lip.

You wish you knew what to say when you heard Sunwoo’s story, but his experience is something you do not think you had a place to comment on. All you could do is hold onto his arm—only caress him in a way that you wish could heal him of all wounds.

“Somehow, we managed to get our families involved. It was risky since we had no contact with them because of Sunghoon, but Hyunjae found a way. It only helped that some of us were still minors when we debuted. Mr. Yoon finally listened once our families got involved and we never saw Sunghoon again.”

“But the worst of it all is that no one knows what happened to us publicly. We weren’t allowed to talk about it outside of the group—even our families weren’t allowed.”

For a moment, silence comes to you two.

He sighs. “I don’t know what Sunghoon is doing now; many of us pressed charges against him but he quickly solved it. So while he continues to walk around, I’m here still picking up the pieces. I feel at fault for everything that doesn’t go the way we had planned out—just like how Sunghoon made me believe that any mistake I committed held back everyone.”

You do not say anything. In situations like these, you think it is best to just listen until the person speaking gives you a clear indication to talk.

As Sunwoo continues to look down at your hand that rested on his arm, he felt a sense of warmth fill him. And you least expect it when he grabs a hold of it and intertwines his fingers.

“Y/N, I want you to know that you do mean the world to me, and I’m sorry that I ever treated you like that.” His eyes are filled with guilt as he says those words. “But I feel even more sorry knowing that you started to doubt our friendship just because of my actions. So I meant every word I said that night when I brought you back home, and all others during the time we spent together,” He speaks as he draws circles with his thumb on the back of your hand.

It felt so nice to be cared for by Sunwoo—you could only imagine how it would feel to be loved by him.

“Sunwoo, I forgive you and I’m sorry you had to go through that.” You give him a small smile. “You don’t have to be sorry for ever keeping that memory to yourself; I would’ve done the same. Typically, people would just apologize or even go on with their days. You though… you went to such great lengths to fix all of this, and I’m forever thankful for you.” You take a look at your interwoven hands. “So I want to at least tell you… thank you for this, and I always want you to know I’m here for you every step of the way.”

Sunwoo cannot help but smile at your words. “You’re too good to me.”

“I think you’re talking about yourself,” You giggle.

Sunwoo was seated across from Mr. Yoon with Chanhee and Jihoon by his side. He still could not believe the day had come. He has had numerous discussions with Chanhee and Jihoon about what needs to be said. With the pressure of comeback day coming, the uncertainty of the NEWSUN track, and your overall happiness, he knew he had to do anything possible to have Mr. Yoon agree to the negotiation.

“Hello everyone. You have called this meeting to hold a negotiation regarding the NEWSUN unit song and to discuss our last encounter with Y/N,” Mr. Yoon starts off.

“Yes sir, I will have the boys speak first and I will present the technical data after,” Jihoon responds.

Chanhee sucks a breath in. “When Sunwoo and I were conceptualizing what we wanted from this track, we wanted to ensure a performance that captured our charms, capabilities, and message we wish to convey. It took months for us to truly decide on what type of song we wanted but we were always certain to have Y/N produce the final track from the start. It is our dream to work with them—let alone meet them. With that, both Sunwoo and I were happy to see the final product of the track that we believe fulfills the standards of the company, especially under the supervision of Jihoon hyung.”

“Although you wish to have Y/N’s work as a demo, both parties previously agreed to their work acting as the final track with only minimal edits if necessary. However, with them unaware of the change in the contract, we lost the perfect track to work with. With this, Chanhee and I agreed that it would be best to discuss with you on what can be done to proceed forward,” Sunwoo says.

Jihoon points his laptop screen to Mr. Yoon with the calendar showcased. “Sir, we have spent around a month working with Y/N as the producer as we were under the impression that their work would act as the final track. However, with your proposed changes of requesting a demo, it was impossible for the team to outsource enough producers willing to agree with the proposed internal deadline.

“Along with this, the group is now at the stage where they are heavily focused on refining their performance for the title track. With the time constraints, both Chanhee and Sunwoo may be unable to work with a new producer to create the track they envisioned. Lastly, it is important to point out that the company luckily got away with this as Y/N is an independent artist with not enough manpower to sue for a breach of contract. Still, it is not right that we amended the details of the contract and did not get a clear understanding of whether they were aware of the changes,” Jihoon continues.

“We ask for you to reconsider having Y/N’s work as the final track as it fulfills the vision of mine and Chanhee’s. Y/N is a well-respected artist in the industry whose tracks ensure success for the artists they work with. Through the number of sales and streams other artists have as seen here…” Jihoon shows a line graph. “... then we can hopefully predict similar results for the group as well.”

Sunwoo hesitates for a second as he gets a good look at Mr. Yoon whose facial expression never faltered. “My time working with Y/N has improved me as an artist as I got to learn from them. Not only that but I believe they are a well-respected partner that the company could keep close contact with. But above everything, Y/N does not deserve the treatment we subjected them to. If anything, it is an honor that we got to work with them.”

Sunwoo takes a second to breathe. “Both Y/N and I have grown closer during our time working, and I would hate to disrespect an artist and friend like them.”

For a moment, the CEO only looks at the three people who sat across from him. Sunwoo knew that Mr. Yoon could do anything he wanted and that they would have no absolute say in it. But for once, he was clinging onto that string of hope that maybe their company has changed and learned to listen to their artists.

“Okay.”

It took a bit for Chanhee, Sunwoo, and Jihoon to register what Mr. Yoon said. However, when he nodded, a smile showed on their faces.

“You are right, Y/N is a well-respected artist who we must keep in close contact with. With the time constraints, I cannot risk pushing back the unit track any further as the marketing materials have already been made. And Jihoon is right, I am lucky enough to have gotten away with this but it doesn’t make it right.” Mr. Yoon sucks a breath in. “So you are right, and I’m sorry for not listening to you. Jihoon, please send an email to Y/N’s manager. Hopefully, they would still allow us to use their work as the final track,” He orders Jihoon.

“Now, get back to work. You better deliver good results for this comeback.”

It is 3:23 PM. You were at home enjoying a bag of chips as you watched The Uncanny Counter on Netflix. Soeun had an emergency to attend to which is why you decided that today would be a good day to not do anything. As you were sprawled over the sofa, you watched So Moon and Do Hana interact on screen.

“Sejeong is so pretty,” You muttered to no one as you continued to snack away.

While you were invested in the show, you were surprised to hear the doorbell ring. You frowned to yourself as you got off the couch. Once you make your way to the front door, you take a look into the peephole to see Sunwoo.

“Shit!” You exclaim quietly as you look down at your clothes; a grey oversized RJ of BT21 shirt and blue checkered shorts.

You can hear Sunwoo’s snicker from the other side of the door.

“Yah, Y/N! I can hear you, let me in.”

“Sunwoo, I am not dressed up!”

“It’s okay, just let me in,” He knocks on the door.

As you get annoyed with his knocks, you give in and swing the door open. A smiley Sunwoo appears by your doorstep (though you did notice his smile getting wider when he saw what you were wearing). You frown at him and take a step to the side to let him in.

You close the door and say, “I did not expect to see you today.”

“Well, I’m here. I just had my meeting with Mr. Yoon.” You felt your lips part open as anxiety started to creep in.

“Oh my god, I thought it would take some more meetings.” For a moment, you felt yourself panic over what news Sunwoo may have brought into the household.

However, Sunwoo still had that stupid smile on his face (something you still greatly love and despise). And you are left shocked by what leaves his mouth. “I sealed the deal. Y/N, your work is now officially the final track of mine and Chanhee’s unit song!”

As soon as he shared the news, you felt yourself jump in happiness and hug Sunwoo. At first, Sunwoo was stiff as he was not expecting you to hug him so suddenly. But the moment you hugged him tighter is when he let himself melt into the hug. His arms went to wrap around your waist and lifted you off the ground slightly.

“Sunwoo, I can’t believe it! You did it!”

Although the negotiation seemed more about you, you believed it to be for Sunwoo. Ever since he told you his story in the cafe a few days ago, you were worried about him confronting his boss. You did not want him to do anything that would ultimately risk his career. And yet, here he stood before you, victorious than ever.

With your arms still wrapped around him and his with yours, you decided to lean a bit backward to look at him properly. “You managed to get the track! Now, you and Chanhee can say that you fulfilled your number one wish.”

Sunwoo chuckles as he looks directly back at you.

“Yeah, I guess so. But Y/N, that’s not my number one wish.” You let out a gasp.

“Kim Sunwoo, you’re saying that working with me is not your number one wish? After Haknyeon had to tell me that I was your celebrity crush?”

Sunwoo rolls his eyes. “How many times do I have to say that you are my celebrity crush?” You only frown at him.

“Haha, stop with the lies.” He shakes his head.

“Well, you better be happy you at least got to get that wish fulfilled—whatever your number one wish may be,” You mutter the last half bitterly which only makes him laugh.

You let go of him and make your way back to the couch in your living room. As you moved aside your bag of chips, Sunwoo took a seat beside you.

“Hey, you don’t want to celebrate this win?” You let out a hum as you were thinking over his question.

“Shouldn’t we be celebrating with Chanhee then?”

“Chanhee has something else he needs to attend to,” He says only for you to pout.

“I miss that guy, you know?”

“Well, we can try to celebrate with him on another day.”

You nod. “Well, what do you have in mind?”

“Honestly, I can only think of eating out as an option.”

You started to think of what other things you and Sunwoo could do. “Oh! What about drinking?”

As you look at him excitedly, he only shakes his head with a small smile on his lips.

“No drinking? Why? Is it because it’s your comeback soon?” You ask.

“No, it isn’t that.”

“Well, what’s wrong with drinking? You hate drinking with me, do you?” You tease only for Sunwoo’s smile to get bigger as he shakes his head once more.

It takes him a moment to speak. “I don’t trust myself with alcohol when I’m around you.”

You felt your eyebrows furrow at the statement. With such an ambiguous statement, you were not sure what to make of he just said.

“Okay… well we can just eat out,” You say as you shut off the television screen.

“Alright.”

“But before anything,” You move closer to him and give him another hug. “Thank you again, and I’m so proud of you.”

It is 3:34 PM. You were in the backstage area where The Boyz will be having their comeback showcase. The group wished to extend an invitation to you to show their appreciation for having you work on Chanhee and Sunwoo’s track. As you tried to peek through the curtains, you noticed how big and spacious the stadium was.

“Y/N-ah, we have to move,” Soeun grabs your attention by tapping your soldier.

As she started to walk, you followed her closely. Every time staff members would pass by you, they would always greet you ecstatically. It still feels surreal that many people recognize you and respect you despite 1CON disbanding two years ago. No matter how washed-out of an artist you try to make yourself out to be, the love and regard you receive from many prove otherwise.

Soeun stops in front of a door that you are unfamiliar with. The moment she knocks, the door swings open to reveal Eric all dressed up in an oversized shirt, fishnets, and leather pants.

“Y/N! It’s so nice to see you here,” He says with a smile and takes a step to the side.

“I’ll see you later. I’m going to meet with Jihoon,” Soeun briefly says before leaving you.

As you take a step inside, you could see Hyunjae, Sangyeon, and Juyeon getting their makeup done. In contrast, Changmin, Chanhee, and Younghoon were busy playing around while Jacob, Haknyeon, and Kevin were on their phones showing each other TikTok videos. All of them were dressed up in clothing that would involve corsets, fishnets, leather, and more. 

“Y/N! You’re here!” Haknyeon exclaims.

As everyone greeted you, you could only smile. “Hi everyone, I’m sorry I could not bring you guys anything to congratulate you on your comeback. However, I would like to treat you guys to dinner one day.”

“Ah, thank you! You really don’t need to,” Sangyeon responds.

“Please, I insist. I mean, you gave me an opportunity to participate in this album so it seems only right. I also got to make some new friends through this opportunity.”

Chanhee cannot help but smile. “Y/N, I still cannot believe that we got you to work on the NEWSUN track. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

“Will you be going to the afterparty later?” Kevin asks to which you nod.

Before you could say anything, you notice Sunwoo emerging from the back of the room dressed in a crop top with fishnets under and leather pants. For a moment, you feel your brain blank out at the sight of him (and his abs, though you hate to admit it). But the smile that shows up on his face when he sees you is something you could not help but feel so much warmth from.

“Y/N! I did not expect to see you here in our dressing room,” Sunwoo says as he walks closer to you.

Before you could say anything, he wraps his arms around you and gives you a hug. You felt shy at the sudden action, especially since his other members could see the interaction.

“You came to support me, didn’t you?” Sunwoo says cheekily with a wink to which you only roll your eyes.

“Sunwoo, can’t you just thank me for showing up?”

He only laughs and lets go of you. “Thank you, Y/N.”

“We also have a gift for you,” You spin to look at Juyeon who is not seated in his chair anymore.

You were surprised to see him bring out a signed album of theirs from behind him. “Wow, thank you!”

As he hands you the album, you closely inspect all the signatures on the cover of the album. You notice the smiley faces, the heart, and even a “Thank you, Korea’s Sweetheart Y/N <3” on it. You can only smile.

“If you look through the pages, you might actually find some doodles or notes from us,” Sunwoo shares as he looks over your shoulder.

As you skim through the pages, you can only giggle at the drawings that the members have left. “I hope you didn’t leave any of your drawings here, Sunwoo.”

“Hey, I can draw!” Sunwoo exclaims as you move your head to the side to be able to see him since your back was facing him.

“Whatever you say,” You smirk as you continue to flip through the pages.

Before Sunwoo could argue, Jihoon and Soeun enter the room.

“Ah, I see you’ve given Y/N the album. It would be good to take a picture of you all together and then Sunwoo, Y/N, and Chanhee.”

Everyone collectively agreed to take these photos so you all moved out of the dressing room to take a proper picture. Jihoon held his phone up as you and The Boyz repositioned for the photo. While half of them decided to crouch, the other half of them including yourself remained standing behind them. As you are pushed to the middle of Sunwoo and Changmin, you cannot help but hold the album up so it can be seen in the picture.

“You guys can get a little closer,” Jihoon calls out which has you all squeezing in.

“Perfect! I’ll be taking the picture now.”

“3…” You continued to hold up the album but felt Sunwoo nudging your side.

“2…” His arms start to snake across your waist.

“1…” And he brings you closer to him.

For a moment, you cannot hide the shock that appears on your face. But as you hear the shutter sounds, you quickly cover it up with a smile.

“There we go!” Jihoon says as he looks down at the photo.

“Can we just get Sunwoo, Chanhee, and Y/N?” Soeun asks those who are not part of the picture to step aside.

While Chanhee took his position beside you, Sunwoo’s arm never left your waist. You were hoping that you were not blushing hard enough for the members to notice—let alone Sunwoo. Though you could not help but look over at the other members who seemed to snicker at you two.

“Okay, 3…”

“2…” You felt Sunwoo rest his head on the side of yours.

“1…” All you can do is squint your eyes at his action.

The shutter sounds go off. “Y/N-ah, you’re so cute!” Soeun calls out.

Once you open your eyes, you can see Jihoon smiling in the pictures. “I’ll airdrop these to Soeun.”

“Can I see them?” Chanhee asks.

When Jihoon showed you three the photos, you could see your smile wide as ever and your eyes squinted as Sunwoo's head rested on yours. While Sunwoo opted for a wink, Chanhee chose to give a smile and a peace sign.

“Yah, Kim Sunwoo! Why do you and Y/N make me look like a third-wheeler?” Chanhee complained only for the others to laugh.

“So true, don’t leave out poor Chanhee,” Changmin jokes. 

“Hey, I’m not!” Sunwoo tries to defend himself.

The group continues to argue but all you do is watch. The best thing about these guys is that you could really see their love for one another. No matter how many quarrels or (friendly) bullying they decided to put each other through, you knew how much they cared for one another.

“I hate to break the conversation but we really need you guys on stage in 10 minutes,” Jihoon points out.

As the group quickly made their way closer to the stage, Sunwoo stayed back for a bit.

“I will see you later, right? In the afterparty?” He quietly asks.

You nod. “Yeah, good luck.”

The moment you smile at Sunwoo, he feels himself smile as well. And somehow, he was quick enough to give you a kiss on the cheek. As you were left stunned in your place, he could only smile at your reaction.

“I’ll see you later.”

As he left you and made his way closer to the stage, you could not help but melt at the feeling.

“Y/N… did I really just see that?” Soeun asks as she tries to hold back a squeal.

Instead of replying to her, you quickly open the album and flipped through. In the pages, you saw notes from members that talked about some of their fondest memories with each other during the production of this album. You noticed doodles on different members’ faces and messages directed to you all around.

Once you reached the section that discussed the NEWSUN track, you saw messages from Chanhee and Sunwoo. Before you read Chanhee’s, you found your eyes focusing on what Sunwoo had to say:

Hi Y/N!

I still can’t believe that I got to meet my celebrity crush of how many years just because I asked for you to produce it. I want to say thank you for all the time we spent together when we prepared for this track. This track was already personal to me when Chanhee and I spent months figuring this out, but it became even more meaningful when we got you on it.

In the few days we worked together and the following weeks that came, I’ve learned to grow as an artist and as a person because of you. I’m so glad to have you in my life, and I’m thankful to have gotten to know you in all aspects you shared with me.

♥️ Your number one fan forever, Sunwoo

God, you really needed to know what to make of your relationship with Sunwoo.

The showcase was a success. You really enjoyed watching The Boyz not only perform but even interact with the fans. It kind of reminds you of all the other showcases you had with 1CON. 

Now, you were being driven by Soeun to the location of the afterparty. You were typing away on your phone as you messaged Heejin and Jiwoo.

chuu chuu 🍎: oh my god y/n!! i thought you would ask what you guys really were before the showcase

heekki 🐰: yeah because didnt we agree on that?? what happened 🤔

y/n: well… i didnt LMFAO 😭 guys im so lost like i cant believe he just kissed me on the cheek infront of SOEUN!!!

heekki 🐰: that’s why you need to talk to him!!

heekki 🐰: it’s been so obvious he’s liked you since he met you

chuu chuu 🍎: i think him saying he can’t be trusted with alcohol when he’s with you just proves it too

chuu chuu 🍎: don’t forget the meaning of the song you worked on!!! remember!!!

heekki 🐰: omg he’s been hinting at their song when he said that? damn sunwoo 🤮 you are much smoother than i thought

y/n: STOP!!! okay i will talk to him i swear

“Y/N, we’re here,” Soeun says as she pulls up in front of the same building where you went to that one party with Sunwoo.

You exited the car and glanced back at Soeun. “I’ll see you later, maybe?”

Soeun only chuckles and says, “Yeah, unless Sunwoo decides that he wants to bring you home himself.”

“Soeun! Don’t say that!” You gasp at her comment only for her to laugh.

“Have fun!” With that, she drives off to wherever.

You continued to make your way into the building and tried to find the function room where the afterparty was being held. Thankfully, it was easy to find since you could hear songs from their newly released album being blasted through the walls.

Once you swung the door open, you saw staff members, idols that The Boyz is friends with, and others who are unfamiliar to you. You quickly made your way through the crowd of people in hopes to find anyone who could bring you to Sunwoo.

Before you could take another step, you felt someone grab on your wrist from behind. As you look back, you see Sunwoo dressed out of the crop top but in an open-button shirt with a tank top under.

“You really did come!” He says as loud as he could over the music that blasted.

“Of course I did, we need to celebrate your success.” He only shakes his head at your praise.

“Come on, I’ll bring you to the drinks–”

“Sunwoo, wait.” He stops pulling you in the direction where the bar is.

You suck a breath in. “Can we talk? Like maybe outside?”

For a moment, Sunwoo felt hesitant. His mind could only guess what the conversation may be about. With the way you look at him, he nodded and continued to walk in a different direction.

Eventually, you found yourselves by the outdoor area where you had a good view of the city lights and night sky. With his hand still holding onto your wrist, you continued to follow him to a green steel bench. The two of you sat down beside each other. As you tried to adjust your body to face him, you noticed that his hands have found themselves covering his ears. With that, you decided to rest your hand on top of his and bring it back down to his lap. 

“Hey, it’s nothing bad,” You attempt to ease his anxieties.

Sunwoo sighs. “I’m sorry, I think it’s the nerves.”

You can only smile at him as you draw circles on the back of his hand with your thumb.

“Well, you’re at a party with me where there’s alcohol surrounding us,” You try to joke as you look down at your intertwined hands.

Sunwoo only chuckles. For a moment, silence comes to you two. As the wind comes in and rustles the leaves of the bushes, you are left to hear the sounds of nature (and the muffled sounds of The Boyz’s music) as you try to think of the words to say.

“Sunwoo, we’ve known each other for a while now. I mean, I originally agreed to work with you guys to see Soeun’s new workplace. I had to come to terms that she was going to resign from being my manager. But I think I found it within myself to accept it.”

In some way, your time working with Sunwoo helped you prepare for letting Soeun go as your manager. Somehow, you also found yourself getting accustomed to the feeling of working inside a company throughout all the times you and he would work.

“It’s just, I really was not expecting to gain a friend when I accepted the request, especially a close one. It’s weird because for all the other people I worked with, we’ve only been friendly to each other. But you, you actually took your time to really… know me in the same way I got to know you.”

“You listened, understood, and even comforted me when I needed it. I hope you know that I am thankful for all of that.” You smile. “That’s why above everything, I’m so glad I got to meet you and become friends with you in the process. I mean, you really did show me the pleasures of being your friend. Despite our fight, you always found a way to fix it all up.”

You sucked in a breath with your eyes downcasted. “But Sunwoo, with all the moments we shared, I don’t… even know what we are. The more time we spend with each other, the more boundaries keep getting crossed.”

And you finally let it out. “Sunwoo, what do you want from this—from us? I can’t just let you get away with all the flirting, the compliments, even the kisses.”

You hear Sunwoo chuckle which makes your eyes look up to him.

“It’s just funny when you mention kisses as if you didn’t leave me a kiss the night I brought you home.” You cannot help but let a giggle slip out.

“Okay, I’m at fault too. But I’m serious now—I don’t think I would’ve given you that… kiss if it weren’t for all the times you flirted with me.”

Sunwoo smiles as you whisper those last words. With his free hand, he reaches out to your face to caress your cheek. For a moment, he only looks at you with eyes full of adoration.

“Y/N, I like you and I want something with you.” He tucks your hair behind your ear. “For the longest time, you are the one celebrity crush who I followed closely. In your work, performances, and charisma in your Produce 101 & 1CON days, I always found myself admiring you and feeling supported by you. Even if you didn’t know me personally, I always felt as if you motivated me to keep going during my newly debuted days.”

“But when I finally got to work with you, that’s when I got to learn about you more outside of what I saw. In those moments, I realized that what started off as admiration had turned into something intimate and genuine.”

Sunwoo’s thumb draws patterns on your cheekbone. “Remember how I admitted to having a bigger dream other than collaborating with you?”

“Yeah, can’t believe I wasn’t your number one wish.”

“Well, you are.” You cannot help but smile at his words.

“For a long time, I think you’ve always felt like this unattainable wish to have. Yet, I worked so hard to be able to meet and work with you—the universe listened,” He whispers those last words as if he stored such beautiful phrases within him.

“I mean it when I never expected a genuine crush to develop within me when I got to know you more. I don’t want you to think that all of what I feel is based on the crush I had on you when I saw you on TV. No matter what, I never want you to doubt the feelings I have for you.” The moment Sunwoo smiles, you feel every limb of your body filled with warmth.

Before he could say any more, you felt your eyes flicker down to his lips. With him aware of that action, he held himself back from saying anything. His breath hitches at such a small action. As you feel yourself slowly lean in, you let your eyes flicker back up to his.

“Can I?” You whisper.

Instead of Sunwoo replying verbally, he closed the gap between you two. You wish there were words to describe what it feels like to kiss him. For now, you can only think of one word—overwhelmed.

There were so many emotions that came with the kiss; genuineness, joy, and desperation were to name a few. Sunwoo’s plump lips on yours were something you dreamt about late at night; you cannot believe that the dream came true. In the same he described you as an unattainable wish, kissing him felt the same as well. As you feel yourself get stuck in a daze with the kiss, you break it off and rest your forehead against his.

“... Wow.” You felt your heart hammer in your chest as you processed what just happened between you two.

“Was that okay?” He whispers with his eyes still on you.

You take a deep breath. “It was more than okay. I just–I felt so overwhelmed.”

“We can take it down a notch if you would want.”

“No!” You said a little too quickly which made him grin.

“No?” He mocks you.

You scoff. “Just shut up.” And you brought his lips back on yours.

With your lips interlocked for the second time, you cannot help but wrap your arms around his neck. It is as if there is some carnal desire within you to be as close to him as possible. Nothing is on your mind except for Sunwoo; his smile; his heart of gold; his ability to make you smile; his lips. You feel Sunwoo start to smile in the kiss which has you parting ways.

“God, Y/N—I didn’t know you wanted me that bad.”

You frown at him. “As if you don’t want me too, Mr. “I have always had a crush on you” like…” Despite your words, you cannot help the smile that threatens to show itself on your lips.

“Yeah, I do want you,” Sunwoo says so casually as if he did not know the effect his words had.

You feel yourself blush. “You know, you say that shit so easily to me that a part of me started to believe that this was just your way of being friendly and that I was looking too much into it—though many people did keep saying you were hitting on me. Do you do this with others you work with?”

“You talked about me to other people?”

“That’s what you got from what I said?”

Sunwoo lets out a laugh. “I was hitting on you. To be honest, I was doing it since I first met you but I think everything started to feel genuine during our first time in the convenience store. I mean, that’s when I got to actually know you but I’ll never really know when I first started liking you that way. All I know now is that I like you now, no matter if you were in 1CON or not.” He smiles. “And no, I usually think I don’t pay attention much to others the same way I do with you.”

The great thing about Sunwoo is that he always tries to soothe your doubts. Somehow, the universe gave you someone who likes you for all that you are. You two had your own baggage that you guys brought to the relationship, but you knew that anything felt possible as long as he was there.

“Now, what did you tell others about me?”

“Can you not?”

“You know I can’t. I like knowing how much you like me.”

It is 1:47 PM. You were dressed up in semi-formal attire appropriate for meetings. As you held your iPad close to your chest, you felt your palms getting sweaty and your heartbeat booms loud in your ears. The last time you were this nervous was when you were waiting for the final line-up results for 1CON.

“Y/N?” The secretary called out your name.

As you shot up from your seat, the secretary pointed to a door. “You can enter now.”

Once you made your way to the door, you felt yourself take a moment to breathe. The nerves were getting the best of you, but you knew that now is not the time to ruin your chances. You swung the door open and were greeted by Song Jooyoung and Choi Kyusung—the members of Black Eyed Pilseung and CEOs of High-Up Entertainment. 

“Ah, Y/N! It is so nice to meet you once again,” Mr. Song says as he gets up from his chair to shake your hand.

“Ah, Mr. Song and Mr. Choi, it is a pleasure to see you once more.” Once Mr. Song took a seat, you sat in the chair across the two.

“I guess it is only right to first say that we were pleasantly surprised to see you when we opened auditions. It’s not all the time that you see Korea’s sweetheart wanting to audition for your company,” Mr. Choi says.

You smile at the two. “You’ve certainly improved since 1CON disbanded. Not only have you been producing music for yourself and artists but your vocals and movements have certainly grown over the years. When you weren’t signed, were you actively practicing?”

“Actually, I think I’ve been slacking when it comes to dancing. It was really me, my old manager, and two colleagues that really helped in making sure I would still be relevant in the industry.” You admit to Mr. Song.

“I mean, we can only imagine. It must have been a difficult experience,” Mr. Song says.

You let out a sigh. “It’s… definitely an experience. I think I learned a lot from this.”

“Well, you will have all the time to tell us about it later on. We evaluated your audition along with your recent works over the past two years,” Mr. Choi starts off. “After careful consideration, both Jooyoung and I agreed that you would be perfect for High-Up Entertainment. With your current skill set, we believe we can help you further hone these in hopes that you can reach your true potential.”

“Here in High-Up, we believe in the importance of artistic freedom. Not only will you be able to share your aspirations and dreams with us but we will guide you all throughout the process. Rest assured, you will not be alone—it is important to us that our artists can speak of what they wish to pursue,” Mr. Song says.

“Y/N, we know how difficult you’ve had it in the industry as an independent artist. Most of the time, you are criticized or praised for choosing to work on your own.” Mr. Choi takes a deep breath. “But we want to make sure that you know that we are here to support you every step of the way. You won’t have to work alone anymore.”

You feel yourself smile at the news. It means a lot to you for Mr. Choi and Mr. Song to say those words. After being subjected to mistreatment by different companies and being pushed under the spotlight for everyone to comment on everything you do, it warmed your heart to know that there are people who do care.

Not everyone is wishing on your downfall, and not everyone wants to treat you like a tool. Over the course of time, you realized that some people want to see you succeed.

“Thank you so much for having me,” You say as you bow your head.

“Before we officially sign you into the company, we will briefly discuss the terms of your contract. We will be sending it to your email right now,” Mr. Choi says as he types away on his laptop.

“Are you free to go over it? Don’t worry, we won’t pressure you to sign it right away. After all, we want you to have enough time to carefully deliberate.”

Instead of verbally answering Mr. Song, you opted for a nod.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

“Soeun, I got in!” You exclaim as you were seated on the bus going back to your place.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy for you! And you’re under the care of Black Eyed Pilseung.”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t signed the contract.”

You hear Soeun let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, Y/N. Please let me look through it tonight and I’ll email you back.” You chuckle at her reaction.

“Of course. I’ll be sending the original and revised contracts your way. It’s funny how you’re still looking out for me even if you work in IST now.”

“I’ll always look out for you.” You smile at Soeun’s reply.

It’s been four months since Soeun officially resigned from being your manager. During those four months, you did not accept any offers for any collaborations. You knew that it would make your life complicated if you entertained any offers without any manager present. Instead, you focused on creating more tracks for yourself and scouting a company that you felt is worth trusting.

The bus was nearing your stop. As you got off your seat, you waited for the doors to open.

“Thank you, Soeun. I mean, you’ve done so much for me,” You say as you finally step out of the bus.

“Hey, I hope you’re still not beating yourself up over the fact I left JYP Entertainment with you. That was my decision, you know?” Soeun said as you were walking back to your place.

You let out a sigh. “I know, but it was hard to just be… okay with it. But I hope you're enjoying what you do in IST.”

“I actually am. I’ve been helping out Jihoon often with The Boyz and handling some of the trainees. You know, Jihoon was not lying when he said The Boyz are really… boys.” You let out a laugh at Soeun’s sharing.

“C’mon, it’s a group of like 11 guys. You must have at least expected it.”

Soeun groans. “I know. Thankfully, they’re nice and fun to be with most of the time. Though they can get out of hand.” You can only laugh.

You finally reached your place and tried to fish out your keys. “Hey, I’ll call you back. I just got back to my place. I’ll send you the documents later.”

“No worries! Take care and love you!”

“Love you Soeun! Thank you again.” Once she hangs up, you successfully retrieve your keys and unlock the door.

As you entered your home, you closed the door behind you. “I’m home!”

“Welcome back!” Sunwoo says as he comes from the kitchen dressed up in a sweater and checkered sleep pants.

You and Sunwoo have been together since you confronted him the night of his showcase. Most times, you found yourselves staying at your place since Sunwoo shares a dorm with Chanhee, Changmin, and Younghoon. During the past months, Sunwoo has been with you during this weird unemployment but self-discovery period. Never was he ever condescending to you, and you needed that desperately.

“Hey, you,” You say once Sunwoo pecks you on the lips.

“You know, you still look so good in that outfit.”

You chuckle as he looks at you from top to bottom. “I know Sunwoo, you said that when you saw me getting ready.”

“Yeah, but…” Sunwoo gives you one more kiss. “I just want to remind you.”

“Well, thank you. I like those pants on you.”

“You like it more when it’s off.”

You roll your eyes. “Point taken.”

As you made your way to the living room, Sunwoo followed closely behind you. The two of you took a seat on the couch.

“So… how did the meeting go?” Sunwoo finally asks.

You smile at him. “I got in!”

“Really? Y/N, that’s huge!” He says as he brings you into an embrace.

“I know! It’s crazy that I might be working under Black Eyed Pilseung.” You giggle at his reaction.

He gives you a kiss on the forehead. “I’m so proud of you. I never doubted you.”

“Yeah. During all the times I was panicking, you were always there to keep me at ease,” You murmur as you nuzzle your face into his neck.

“Though, I need to go through the contract again with Soeun. Wanna go through it with me tonight?”

“Of course, I’d do anything for you,” Sunwoo says as kisses your cheek.

You feel yourself smile at his words. He never fails to comfort you with words that feel as if they came out of a poet (though you could consider him a poet with how many lyrics he has written).

“I know you do, and I’d do anything for you too,” You say as you look up at him.

“Yeah, you let me stay in your home even when you’re not around.”

You roll your eyes. “Sunwoo, you practically live here at this point considering all the times you’ve slept over.”

“You don’t want me over?” He pouts.

“You know I do.” You look away from him only to be greeted with more kisses all over your face.

“Of course I do!” He teases as you groan playfully at his kisses.

“Sunwoo! You’re so obsessed with me.” He laughs and gives you one more kiss on the lips.

For a moment, you two look at each other with adoration. Nothing was said but it did not matter for all that needed to be uttered was shared in that moment.

“I love you,” Sunwoo whispers.

You feel your lips quiver at Sunwoo’s confession. Never did you ever expect yourself to be liked by someone in the way Sunwoo likes you.

“I love you too,” You say in response.

As you see Sunwoo smile at your words, you knew that your future would have him in it. At that moment, you knew how lucky you were to be loved by Sunwoo.

if you liked this, please take some time to like and reblog this!

[annalu86]

Chenford + talk about their feelings

Jealous

(Sorry it’s taken so long Anon, I hope it’s ok!)

“The look on that guys face! It’s like no one had ever turned him down before and that definitely can’t be the case” full of noise and energy Lucy Chen, Angela Lopez and Nyla Harper burst through the doors at Mid Wiltshire station. The three women are all dressed casually but with care and the energy radiating off them was electric. All eyes are instantly drawn to them as they make their way to Angela’s desk and crowd around her computer screen.

“He certainly took a shine to you” Nyla Harper said whilst looking Lucy up and down, eyebrows raised.

“For all the good it did him” Angela laughed heartily.

A blush rose on Lucy’s cheek, both at the idea the man found her most attractive and the roundabout praise she had received from Angela “if he had just kept his hands to himself” she grinned “he wouldn’t have wound up with a face full of dirt”

At first Lucy didn’t register the change in countenance of her friends “and then if he hadn’t tried to touch my leg, whilst on the floor, he wouldn’t have ended up in cuffs…” Lucy had slowed right down by the end of the sentence, finally catching on the the change in her colleagues. Nyla was looking steadfastly at some dirt on the end of her shoe and Angela was suddenly very interested in the cuffs of her sleeves.

It could mean only one thing.

“Hey Tim” Lucy span slowly, her eyes coming level with his broad, solid chest. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

“Been having fun?” He barely smiled but his tone couldn’t hide the playful look in his eyes

“They let me come out with them” her voice rising as she jiggled on the balls of her feet “detective practice!”

Tim’s eyes shifted from Lucy’s joyful face, over her head and waited out his best friend until she finally deemed her cuffs ok and made eye contact with him

“We ran everything by Grey” Angela said hurriedly, ready to pass the buck. Tim just grumbled in response.

“Angela and I were just going to grab some food, you hungry?” Lucy swiftly changed the subject and Tim’s face returned to hers

“Give me 10 minutes to talk to Grey” Lucy’s mouth opened to interrupt “not about you” he pacified her before she had a chance to complain “and I’ll meet you at the food trucks”

“Perfect” Lucy grinned broadly and the group went their separate ways.

The lunch rush had died down by the time Angela and Lucy had taken their seats, Lucy had taken an educated guess and ordered for both herself and Tim. He was quite particular about what he ate but Lucy considered herself an expert in the particulars of Tim.

Angela ate in earnest as they chatted, whilst Lucy picked at her food more slowly.

“I’ll get out of your hair so you and Tim can talk about earlier” Angela grimaced slightly

“What do you mean?” Lucy was perplexed, Angela looked surprised “oh you mean with that guy earlier?”

“Yeah, I doubt he’s thrilled”

“He’ll be fine!” Lucy laughed but Angela remained unconvinced. Lucy leaned back in her chair, took a sip of her drink and carried on “honestly, it really won’t have bothered him as much as you think”

“Tim. Tim Bradford?” Angela leant forward, elbows on the table, food momentarily forgotten “not jealous, of some guy putting his hands on *his* girlfriend”

“It’s work!” Lucy’s expression remained light but her tone was insistent “it’s not like it’s never happened before, I rode with him for ages, you cannot imagine the amount of times I saw him get hit on!”

Angela smiled but pressed on “but your his girlfriend now”

“I would agree with you if we were in a club”

“Can we just take a second to imagine Tim in a club” Angela interrupted. Her faced creased into laughter, Lucy’s eyes glazed over and a smile crept over her lips “ok, stop imagining him at a club. You’re grossing me out” Angela’s laughter increasing.

“If we were in a club he’d probably get a little jealous” Angela snorted “but on the job, well, you sort of expect criminals to do kind of creepy things sometimes. He understands that”

“You can understand something, without liking it”

“Look, ask him yourself!” Lucy pointed over Angela’s shoulder.

Tim joined them both at the table, quickly kissing the top of Lucy’s head as he took a seat, Lucy slid his food in front of him

“Thanks” he said with a smile, lifting a fork towards his mouth he stopped when he glanced between the two women who were watching him keenly “what?” He said with a heavy sigh, setting his fork down.

“We were wondering” Angela ignored Tim crossing his arms, pointedly, across his broad chest “what did you think of Lucy’s take down early?”

“When you were undercover? The guy?” His eyebrow quirked

“That’s the one” Angela confirmed

“I wasn’t there, haven’t read the report” his tone serious “I’m sure it was great though” he offered a smile to Lucy who smiled back, a little apologetically.

“And the guy hitting on Lucy?” Angela moved to the straight forward approach

“An annoyingly common part of the job, we’ve all been there” he said matter of fact-edly

“You’re a very handsome boy” Lucy teased him gently, earning herself a gagging noise from Angela

“It really doesn’t bother you?” Angela seemed genuinely surprised

“I’m not surprised when criminals do something creepy” he said simply.

Lucy turned to Angela beaming “see!” She crowed

“You’ve changed Bradford” Angela said with a smile “right, I’m going to leave you two live birds to finish your lunch. I’ll see you both later” and with that she stood up and walked back to the station to finish the rest of her shift.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, both focused on eating. Or so Tim thought, after a few minutes he noticed that Lucy was mostly just pushing the food around with her fork.

“Do you want me to be jealous?” Tim asked, putting his fork down.

“What? No!” Lucy jumped “that’s stupid”

“Lucy?”

“You would have been jealous before, with other girlfriends though?” She wasn’t quite ready to meet his eyes

“Isabel? Definitely, Rachel? Ashely? Maybe”

“Oh” Lucy said quietly

“Lucy you know this is different, right?” Tim’s large hands reached across the small gap and took hers, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her knuckles

“Yeah Isabel was your wife, of course you’d be jealous”

“Isobel cheated on me, god knows many times, wasted our money on drugs and left me” despite the words he began to smile “Rachel and I were barely even really together, we certainly didn’t *know* each other and Ashley, well” he smiled as he moved a hand from hers and cupped her cheek instead “she was nothing much more than a distraction” at that her eyes snapped up to meet his, a smile starting the break across her features.

“What did you need distracting from” the smile fully erupting fully as she asked him smugly “what we’re you thinking about?”

He resolutely ignored her as he continued “I’ve nothing to be jealous of, I trust you totally. You can look after yourself and I know you”

He leaned across in his chair and kissed her gently on the lips, he let out a deep breath as he lent his forehead against hers.

“So” she whispered against his mouth as she moved in for another kiss “does this mean I’m not allowed to get jealous?”

She laughed as he slid his hand round the back of her head and into her hair, enjoying the fact it wasn’t in its usual tight work bun, he tutted as he pulled her in and kissed her deeply

“No. No jealousy”

[oceansssblue]

Note: I know this request is lengthy, detailed, and extra, so if you do not want to do this, I completely understand! Just let me know. If you do take this on, I owe you a MASSIVE thanks and words wouldn’t be able to express how thankful I would be. I wish you the best and I hope you have a good day! :)

May I request a fic where the Bad Batch are monster hunters and the (fem)reader is a close friend to them. As monster hunters, they have to kill every monster — even if the monster was a former family member or friend. It’s not something they’re worried about because the boys are immune and confident in their abilities to protect Omega and the reader. What would go wrong?

Someone disguising a werewolf mini as a dog, and then said “dog” trying to attack Omega but ends up biting the reader instead while they’re out alone on a shopping trip. That could go wrong.

The boys don’t get to see the bite — they only see the reader after her bite gets treated at the hospital. The reader finds out when she transforms in the safety of her own home, Omega pieces it together, and the boys are flabbergasted by the two’s new behavior that follows as consequence of this (reader and Omega are protective of each other, reader has a sudden appetite for meat, Omega prevents them from visiting at night by secretly causing incidents, Omega supports reader’s nonsensical alibis, etc.). Monster hunting is a BIG DEAL so the boys can’t just quit, and the reader doesn’t want them to lose their jobs. The boys find out the truth when the reader transforms to save Omega from an ambush from other monsters and they can’t get to her in time. Ensue the boys taking a deep breath, looking at each other, immediately being like “okay so we’re breaking the law right?”

“Yeah, sounds about right.”

“I’ll start making up alibis so reader never gets caught.”

Yoo this was such a cool idea I just had to jump straight to it! You've practically done it yourself haha, but I get it. Happens to me too, got a lot of ideas but not the actual time to write them, and Im eager to autoread my thoughts. Well, you have me love! Decided to make reader a monster hunter as well cause I wanted her to be that badass. This one's for you :)

Very cool request!

Xx,

Sky.

"ONE POWERFUL BITE"

—TBB REQUESTS (female reader, no romantic pairing) 📩💔💖

WARNINGS: MONSTERS, WEREWOLVES, BLOOD&WOUNDS&BITES, HOSPITAL, MENTIONS OF SUICIDE.

There was a wide spectrum of monsters in Delta-7. Not the ones that hid under children's beds –though you guess they could– and lived in one's fantasies; but actual real life monsters that wrecked caos through the planet's citizens. As a Monster Hunter yourself, you had had your fair numbers of encounters; from Tassas –ten meters long spiders that produced a viscous, paralyising mucus–, to dangerous predators like the Xenos –alien looking carnivorous beings with three rows of sharp teeth and no eyes– and less surprising creatures like werewolves or vampires. And here you were alive.

You belonged to Hunter's team of mercenaries –with Echo, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, the man himself and Omega–; and you were all quite known in Delta-7. You had captured and killed countless of monsters; your records always reaching the top of the list for those that shared your profession.

It's something you're proud of, being a Monster Hunter. Without people like you, Delta-7 would be a terryfying place; a nightmare. Monster Hunters drastically reduce the population of these dangerous creatures; as well as the chances of innocent people getting infected.

Oh, yes, that's the thing; people could get infected. Some monster's didn't have the ability to spread their condition, of course; like the Tassas or the Sand-worms. But the Xenos, Spreegans, Slenders, vampires, and werewolves... All of those were disseases carried in the blood, and all of them could be transmited to every-day humans. Humans like you or your own team; a fear you have never quite left completely behind.

You know what would happen if you got infected. The boys would have to kill you; and you expect them to. You don't want to become something like that; you don't want to forget yourself and become a monster like those who threaten your planet. You don't want to hurt innocent people. If that would be your fate, you'd prefer to be dead. And you'd do the same for each one of them. Luckily, the five brothers and Omega are inmune; so you don't have to ever worry about that.

It's a real relief almost half of Delta-7 population has antibodies to most of these contagious diseases. It limits the number of monsters that can go running around at the same time; makes them easier to find and kill. You can't begin to express how damn grateful you are that the Batch isn't at risk of becoming one of them. Your own situation is completely different –and the reason why they've tried to convince you to sit down the most dangerous missions more than once–; but you're confident in your abilities. You've been doing this since you could hold a blaster and a vibroblade. You'll be fine. You can't live in constant fear of turning, even if you're always aware of it.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You're walking around the dirty, desolated streets of the outskirts of Delta's capital when it happens. Omega is happily babbling about his new electric crossbow; and you've got one ear in the conversation and one ear in your surroundings. You'll never stop being aware of where you are, of what could be lurking in the shadows; and it's precisely that that saves Omega from a painful bite.

The dog jumps directly towards her arm, and you're barely able to push her off when his canines close around your forearm. You whimper in pain, knees almost collapsing under your weight with the surprise and power of the bite; before you're sinking your vibroblade in the dogs skull, an instant kill that leaves the animal dead in just a matter of seconds. You groan in pain, using all your strength to open his jaw and get hold of your wound; while Omega starts an endless line of "I'msosorry"'s and "pleaseforgiveme"'s that only make your head feel fuzzy.

"Fucking hell" you mutter, retracting the vibroblade and putting it back in its belt, before quickly wrapping your wound in one of the spare bandages you always carry in your backpack. "We'll have to stop by the hospital".

Omega quickly nods, eyes full of worry.

"Are you okay?"

You snort and let out a dry laugh in the air.

"Nah. Hurts like a bitch" you carefully observe the dead animal at your feet and sigh. "But it'll get better, just needs time. And antibiotics".

Omega seems slightly more relieved, though still very worried. She glances at the dog too.

"You think he was infected?" She questions, quietly now.

You pull your backpack back on your shoulders and restart your walk, Omega quickly following behind.

"Mm. Probably" you hum. "Dogs don't really attack humans without a reason that way. He would have probably been bitten by a werewolf or something".

Some animals, like cats and dogs, can get infected by the monsters; though they aren't able to transmit it afterwards to humans, as the desease doesn't fully develop in their bodies and it doesn't reach their blood; just grows in focused organs and make them malfunction, sometimes affecting their behaviour like common rabies. To sum it up, your bite has no risk at all.

"You should be more aware of your surroudings" you later tell Omega, frowning in pain when the very lost med student inyects antibiotic straight to the cleaned wound and redresses the bandage. "It could be a different thing next time".

Omega plays with her fingers, guilty.

"You know I'm inmune" she whispers, lowering her head.

You sigh, tiredly.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make you inmune to pain, claws and bites, sweetheart" you answer, softening your tone, and she nods dejectedly.

You let it go. Half an hour later, when Hunter gives her a ten minute speech once you take her back to their home and the boys worriedly hover over you at the sight of your bandaged forearm, you come to her rescue, excusing her and soothing Hunter's worries and anger.

"I'm sure she has already learnt from this, Hunter. And it's just a dog bite, thankfully. I'll be good to go in a few days" you pat his shoulder affectionately, and he sighs in defeat.

"Alright. Please take care of that and rest" he throws you a pointed glance.

You grin, nodding in acceptance.

"Will do" you answer, and then you start your short walk back home.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was definitively not a dog, because that night, when you're alone back at home, your bones definitively break and rearrange themselves.

It was definitively a unusually small, pathetic werewolf; but a bite is a bite, and now, you are one of them too.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You're very carefull the next handfull of days. You think about moving away, dissapearing from the world. You think about killing yourself. You're still convinced of what you've always thought; you don't want to become like them. But there's a small doubt wondering around your mind, a small fear. What if you don't? What if you can somehow control yourself? What if you can spare you're close friends, people you practically see as family, the grief of experiencing your loss?

You monitor yourself. You write down every change you notice. Film it, even. The first sign is your sudden ravenous apetite for meat; the raw the better. You almost salivate when you see it; your mind getting dizzy in your hunger. Your reflexes get sharper, your moves faster. Your muscles seem the same on the outside, but you're somehow stronger. You feel stronger, like your cells have turned to hard iron on the inside. It's a feeling that takes time getting used to.

You're aware of how the direction of your thoughts change too. You're almost scared when you feel almost anxious to finally leave behind your home retreat and get your hands on someone. But you breathe through the almost irresistible impulse and focus; and then you discover you can canalise those intentions towards a specific target. Thinking on killing other monsters soothes your mind, but picturing the boys death makes you wince. When you think of it, it's really not that different than your developed skills as a Monster Hunter, and so you breathe.

The first day you see the Batch again you're almost expectant, waiting for something bad to happen. But everything's fine; you're happy to see them, they're happy to see you, and nothing has changed at all on that part. You go out with the boys on another mission of monster hunting and kill three Tassas a bit too easily; and Hunter claps your hand proudly on your way back home, all of them chatting distractedly. There are no acussations, and so days pass by with no altercations.

It's surprisingly Omega the one that figures it all out. She carefully whispers her theory to you when you are both alone one night; and you're left paralysed outside your door. Fear instantly clings at you; and you literally fall to your knees and beg her to listen to you.

She does. You tell her all about it; every single change you've noticed, let her read and watch all the records you've made of yourself since that first transformation. You've never been more grateful for her patience and kindness. Omega believes you, and promisses to keep your secret. You both know the boys can't leave their jobs behind –they shouldn't, for Delta-7's safety–; and you're unsure on how they'd react. It stays between the two of you therefore, and you only grow more protective of her for that.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Hunter –and probably the rest of the Batch– starts to suspect that something is going on the fith time Omega causes an accident on their home –sometimes it's the kitchen, sometimes the bathroom gets flooded, once she distractedly hurts herself while helping Crosshair clean their equipment up–; but the reason only gets discovered a whole month later.

They all know it has to do with you. It isn't a coincidence Omega suddenly becomes clumsy when they talk about visiting you at night, either to watch a film together or share dinner; and though the both of you have always been close, it get's a bit too extreme. It's like your prawling around the blond's steps; over-protective, becoming her shadow, eyes always glancing back at her. At first they think it's just fear of losing her, caused by the accident from that night; but the truth is revealed to them shortly after that.

It happens an afternoon when your team follows a group of three Xenos through the south forest of Delta-7's capital. You all have to be sneaky; as the monsters have a very developed hearing to compensate for their lack of sight. It's a cold day, the wind freezing all of you even when suited up in your termo-regulated tracking clothes; making the weapons in your hands feel heavier than they already are.

The forest is deathly quiet. Hunter –as the great tracker he is– holds up a fist, a sign to stop and prepare yourselves; and out of nowhere, the three Xenos jump at you. It's a blood bath. The best way to get to one of those monsters is separating them, ambushing them in silence; but the tables have turned, and everytime one of you uses your weapons or dodges an attack rolling around the floor, one of the other monsters hears it, and lounges straight at you. Crosshair and Echo are both bitten once before you all manage to get rid of one of them; two left to take.

It's just when you're drawing your blade of the first one when you hear her scream. It's a high pitched, terryfing thing; Omega breaking rule number one when fighting against the Xenos. Don't make a sound. The second monster screeches angrily –a terryfying loud sound– and lounges towards where Omega is already trapped under the other one; three rows of teeth snapping hungrily and dangerously close to her vulnerable throat.

It's all pure instinct from there, and you don't think it twice. Your body snaps and transforms in mid-jump; claws landing on one of the Xenos face while you quickly turn around in your animal form and tackle the other one to the ground.

It turn's bloody very quickly. You feel their own claws slashing throw your body, opening deep wounds and lightening pain on your nerves. But you hurt them too, and you're fierce, and quick, and powerful, and you close your own jaws on their bony legs and arms and tug. Flesh separates from bones, and bones from their skeleton; and after a tiring fight, your mind knowing exactly where to attack, the two monsters lay dead on a pool of dark black blood.

Breathing heavily, and with the adrenaline quickly dropping, you turn to Omega and whimper in pain and relief, pushing your snout affectionately against her shoulder. Thankfull, Omega caresses your back.

You don't think it's a good idea to return to your human form right now –werewolves are able to heal faster, and you can feel and see wounds too deep and bones out of place–; so you exhaustedly slump down, energy extinguishing now that the danger has passed.

You're barely able to see them glancing at each other, eyes wary and carefull but weapons not pointing towards you, which is an impressively good sign.

"So we're breaking the law, right?" comes up Crosshair's almost bored drawl, and you can almost picture him taking one of those fucking sticks up to his mouth.

"Sounds about right!" Wrecker answers in a surprised laugh, and Echo smiles quietly while Hunter walks towards Omega and helps her up.

He then turns towards you and asseses your wounds, dropping his backpack on the floor besides you and grabbing the bacta.

Tech quickly taps at his datapad.

"I'll hack onto the capital's cameras and set up a loop so no one catches our return to her apartment. This secret stays with us".

A warm rush of love towards your boys and the fleeting, heavy-lifting relief is all you experience before you finally pass out and close your eyes.

THE END.

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Hope it is what you imagined love, it was fun to write!

I'll be writing the next requests on the following days. Stay tunned for more!

Xx,

Sky.

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